The National tribune., 1901-10-31
BY CAPT. W. R. BOND Brigade Staff Army of Northern Virginia

The following extract is taken from
magazine article written by Mr.. }.
Rhodes in 1899:
Then the Union guns reopened. Whe
near enough canister shot was added, tn
slaughter was terrible The Confederat
artillery reopened over the heads of III
charging column, trying TO divert the tlI
of the Union cannon. but it did not chang
the aim of the batteries from the chargIn
column When near enough the Fedora
infantry opened, but on swept the devote
division. Near the Federal lines Picket
made a pause to close ranks and mas
for final plunge Armistead leaped tn
stone wall and cried, Give them the coll
steel. boys laid his hand on a Fedora
gun, and the next moment was killed
At the same time Garnett and kemper
Pickett's other BrigadierS, were killed
Hills Corps wavered, broke ranks, ant
fell back The Federals swarmed aroun'
Pickett, writes Longstreet, attacking OF
all sides, enveloped and broke up his com
mand They drove the fragments bacf
upon our lines. Pickett gave the word tC
retreat
To give n clear idea of the closing event:
of this assault it will be well to mention
several things not generally known. JUS
at the point which had been occupied
but was then abandoned by Webb's Bri
gade there was no stone wall, but {
breast work made of rails covered with &
little earth. These works Jutted out into
the field On both sides of this salient
there were stone walls. OF the 1,0OO meI
who reached these works of rails ant
earth only about 80 followed ArmisteaC
to the abandoned guns. The others stopped
there. Seeing this all to their right, more
than half the column did the same, and
having stopped they were obliged to lie
down. The left of the line continued tC
move ON for while when they, to pre-
vent annihilatiOn, also fell to the ground
This discontinuance of the forward move
ment, showing that the momentum of the
charge had spent itself, meant defeat. Our
men knew this, but there they lay wait
ing for-they knew not what. All other
things that happened-the capture OF
men, muskets, and hags-were for the
Federals mere details in reaping the har-
vest of victory.
SAFE SURRENDER OR DANGEROUS RETREAT
Leaving out Lanes Brigade, which lay
far over TO the left in the Emmitsburg
road our line, which was so imposing at
the beginning of the assault, covered the
front of only two Federal brigades at its
close. Into the interval between Lane
and Pettigrew's troops New Workers were
sent, who attacked the left of the latter
own brigade. About the same time YER
monters moved up and fired several vol
leys into Pickett's right. Which body of
these fankers first made their attack has
been a subject of some dispute, but 1t is a
matter of no Importance. Neither attack
was made before Armistead was wounded
But there is a matter of very great I'M
portance, and that is TO correctly decide
which of the two contrary lines of action
taken that day is the more honorable and
soldier-like. Here were troops lying out
in the open field, all of them knowing
that they had met with fnghtful defeat.
Those on the left, seeing a move on the
part of the enemy to effect their capture,
thought it a duty they owed themselves,
their army and their country to risk their
lives in an effort to escape. Acting upon
this thought they went to the rear with
a rush, helter-skelter, devil take the hind
ermOst, and the most of them did escape.
Those on the right when ordered to sur
render did so almost to man.
The North Carolinians, Alabamians and
Tennesseeans upon the field felt that to
surrender when there was a reasonable
hope of escape was very little better than
desertion. If the opinions of the Virgin
ians were not quite as extreme as this,
they certainly would have been surprised
at that time had they been told that their
conduct was heroic. Since then maudlIn
sentimentalists have so often informed
them it was that now they believe it. The
time may come when history will call
their surrender by its right name.
sTRAGGLERs.
The late Gen. James Dearing. of Vir-
ginia, at the time of the battle an artil-
lery Major, witnessed the assault, and
shortly afterwards, giving a description OF
il to a friend of the writer, mentioned
a circumstance which partly accounts for
the fact that all of Pickett's troops were
not captured. 1t was that from the very
start individuals began TO drop out of
ranks, and that the number of these strag
glers continued to increase as the line ad
yanced, and that before shot had ever
been fired at them it amounted to many
hundreds.
This conduct on the part of so many
must be taken into consideration in ac-
counting for the shortness of our line at
the close of the assault; also that the
troops both to the right and left dressing
upon Archer's Brigade there was in con-
sequence much crowding toward the cen
ter. BY adding to these causes the deaths
and wounds the explanation of condi-
ton which has puzzled many writers is
readily seen.
THE POST OF DEATH AND HONOR"
Gen. Longstreet is supposed to have
always thought that after the second of
Pettigrew's Brigades gave way there were
none OF Hills troops left upon the field.
This General, while honest. was SO largely
imaginative that his statement of facts
is rarely worthy of credence. He says
that Pickett gave the word TO retreat"
There are very many old soldiers, many
even in Richmond, who do not believe
that Pickett was there to give that word.
That in the beautiful language of Il re-
cent writer, He may have been trying
TO reach the post Of death and honor, but
he was far away, and yalor could not an
nihilate space"
Gen. Longstreet is reported to have
said at Gettysburg that if Gen. Meade
had advanced his whole line on July
he would have carried everything before
him. 1t is hardly fair for Gen. Long
street to do SO, but he is evidently judg-
ing the army by his troops, some of whom
are said TO have been so nervous and
shaky after this battle that the crack
of a teamster's whip would startle them
He is mistaken, for it must be remem-
bered that the enemy was about as badly
battered as we were, and that the troops
composing Ewelrs and Hills Corps had
beaten this enemy only two months be-
fore when it was on the defensive Now
we would have been on the defensive Is
it probable that we would have been
beatenI
PETTIGREw's BRIGADE
This brigade was composed Of the 11th,
26th, 47th, 52d and 44th n. C. When
the army went OH the Gettysburg cam
paign the last-named regiment was left
in Virginia. That this brigade had more
men killed and wounded at Gettysburg
than any brigade in our army ever had in
any battle is not so much 70 its credit as