The National tribune., 1901-10-31

! Carolina. At Gettysburg it and Lanes
were the only troops who were required
| to fight every day.
Mr.. w. Ii. Swallow, of Maryland. 9
| Confederate soldier and n writer of some
note, was wounded at Gettysburg. and in
one of his articles descriptive of the bat
tie says: Gen. Trimble. who command,
ed Pender's Division and lost leg in
| the assault. lay wounded with the writer
at Gettysburg for several weeks after the
battle, related the fact to the writer
Swallow that when Gen. Lee was in
specting the column in front of Scales's
| Brigade. which had been fearfUlly cut up
in the first days conflict, having lost very
heavily, including all of its regimental
! officers, with its gallant commander, and
noticing many of ScaleS's men with their
heads and hands bandaged, he said to
| Gen. Trimble: Many of these poor boys
| should go to the rear; they are not able
| for duty
| Passing his eyes searchingIy along the
| weakened ranks of Scales's Brigade he
turned to Gen. Trimble and tOuchingly
| added: L miss i'll this brigade the faces
of many dear friends
I'm few weeks some of us were re-
moved from the town to Il grove near
the wall that Longstreet had assaulted.
As the ambulances passed the fences on
the Emmitsburg road the slabs were so
completely perforated with bullet-holes
| that you could scarcely place half inch
between them. One inch-and-a-Quarter
board was indeed a curiosity. 1t was 16
feet long and II inches wide. and was
perforated with $50 musket-baIls.
learned afterwards that the board was
taken possession of by an agent of the
Pennsylvania Historical Society. This
board was on that part of the fence where
Scales's brave little brigade crossed it,"
STE'T- APT'c pDIc ,rfE
This brigade was composed of the 10th,
23d and 31th Va, the Maryland battalion
and the 1St and Sd n. C.. When Gen.
Ed. Johnson, supported by two of Rodes's
Brigades, made his attack on the morning
of the third day, this brigade displayed
conspicuous gallantry.
Had Gen. Longstreet moved forward
at the same time, the story of Gettys-
burg might have been written very diff
ferentiy. There was s:9t an Indifferent
company in this brigade. All were choice
troops. The Sd n. c. possessed in pre-
eminent degree the mental obtuseness pc
culiar TO so many North Carolina troops.
Try as they would, they never could mas
ter the art of aSSauting intrenchments
or fighting all day in an open field with
out having somebody hurt.
In the Sharpsburg campaign it had
more men killed and wounded than any
regiment in the army. At Chancellors-
vile there were only three-ail North
Carolina-whoSe casualties were greater,
and at Gettysburg dosing 80 per cent?
1t headed the list for its division.
The 1st \. C., somewhat smaller regi-
ment, in number of casualties always fol-
lowed close behind the Sd, except at Me
chanicsville, when it went far ahead. 1t
was indeed also one of those fool regi-
ments which could never learn the all-im-
portant lesson which so many of their
more brilliant comrades found no diff
Guilty in acquiring.
Col. Fox, in his "Regimental Losses"
says: TO all this some may sneer and
remembered that there are other reasons
than money or patriotism which induce
men to risk life and limb in war. There
Is the love of glory and the expectation
of honorable recognition: but the private
in the ranks expects neither; his identity
is merged in that of his regiment; to him
the regiment and its name is everything;
he does not expect to see his own name
appear upon the page of history, and is
content with the proper recognition Of the
old command in which he fought. But
he is jealous of the record of his regi-
ment and demands credit for every shot
it faced and every grave it filled. The
bloody laurels for which regiment con-
tends will always be awarded to the one
WIN iuG IDII Vi HDIDT. sears are
the true evidence of wounds, and regi-
mental scars can be seen only in its rec |
ord Of casualties"
DEFEAT WITH HONOR.
How much punishment must body |
Of troops receive before they can, with |
out discredit to themselves, confess that |
they have been defeated! In answer it |
may be stated that in front of Marye's |
Hill, at fredericksburg, Meagher's and |
looks Brigades lost in killed and wound |
ed. respectively, sc and 26 per cent, and |
that the killed and wounded of the 10 |
pennsylvania regiments constituting |
Aleades Division, which broke through |
Jackson's line, was 80 per cent. This
division was not only rcpuIsed but routed. |
and yet they were deservedly considered |
amongst the very best troops in their
army.
Ordinarily it may be safely said that
a loss of % per cent. satisfies all the re-
1uirements of military honor. Ordinarily
IS SAID advisedly, for in our army very
much depended upon knowing from what
State the regiment Or brigade hailed be-
fore it could be decided whether or not
t was justified in retreating When on
the afternoon of July 3, 1863. Petit
crews, Trimbles and Pickett's Divisions
marched into that ver-to-be-remembered
there was one regiment in
me hrst-naIned division. the 11th, Miss
which entered the assault fresh, carrying
n 30 officers and men. After losing 202
&llled and wounded, il, with its brigade,
eft the field in disorder. Correspondents
'f Virginia newspapers witnessing their
iefeat accused them OF bad behavior Fir-
slElan historians repeated their story, and
he SANDER of brave men, who had lost
~ per cent. before retreating. lives to this
lay: In the Spring of 1852 an army, con
;lsting of 10 regiments Of infantry one of
defeated in the Valley, and the loss in
iilled and wounded was 465.
In the Summer Of 1868 there were eight
'egiments in the same division who took
1art in certain battle and were defeat
ID; but they did not confess themselves
beaten till the number of their killed and
amounted 20 2,002-a loss so
,reat tLat it never was before or after
yards equaled in our army or in any
american army. In the first instance all
# the troops were from Virginia, and
Is consolation for their defeat they re-
.eived a vote of thanks from the Confed-
rate Congress. In the second case five
# the regiments were from North Caro-
ina and three from Mississippi. Did our
congress thank them for such nnprece-
Tented display of endurance? No, in
Iced! Corrupted as it was by Richmond
lattery and dominated by Virginian opin-
on, the only wonder is that it refrained
rom vote Of censure.
WESTERN ARMY.
-Four North Carolina infantry regiments
18th, 18th, 5Sth and Goth, and one of
avalry-served in the Western army and
co Nvtfh To thA,, H. |