The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-03-02
GENERAL W. F. PERRY
Continued from Page 1l.)

| ly respected citizens of Marengo County, Ali.. was standins by their lonely tent on the roadside. and as his Brigade
 moved by the men cheered ,hn nm. .orv of the charges which had been served on l him. He said that no copy had been l served, I suggested that he send note | to Colonel Sorrell, Longstreets Adjutant General. asking for a copy of the charges. LoIgstreers headquarters were not more | than 300 yards away. An answer was soon returned, saying that Law nao been
 furnished copy; that he was arresIea him. I then suggested to Law 10 seno Walker to Richmond by that evening tram, directly to the Secretary Of War. and to lay that reply with the copy ot was dnr.. The Secretary, acting under the Presidents instructions. released Law from arrest and again ordered him to assume command of his Brigade. Davis rev:ew.o the findings of McLaws in- | fiicting punishment upon him with sus. pens,on from command, etc, and set ass.s } the verdict and ordered him to resume command of his Division which he declined to do under Longstreet. The nam ch1i se against Law was this: He | tenderel his resignation, which Long | street approved: Law obtained leave 10 | tak. it to the War Department at Rich- mond, and never presented it, but de- stroyed it, which was an official paper | and alleged that the resignation was a | false pretense to get to Richmond. to se- | cure his promotion by personal solclIa- answer was that Law intended in good
 faith to resign. put when he reacnea | Richmond he called on General Hooo: | his old Division commander and informed
 him of it. Hood took the resignation and | would not allow Law to hand 1t in, ana | Hood talked with the President about II. | and 1t was this explanation to Davis ana Hoods activity which caused the denial | of d court to try Law. The President l took his side: Longstreet had too many | quarrels with his generals, and had ac- complished no good in Tennessee. He | would have been transferred from the | command of the First Corps but General | Lee objected. .
 | It was currently circulated in the corps 1 that the Secretary of War directed Gen l eral Lee to reprimand. in orders. Lleu-
 tenant General James Longstreet, which | if so, was never done for the reason that l he was seriously wounded on the eth or May. He published in his book many years after the close of the war, a note l which he wrote to General Lee, stating | that Law should not serve in his Corps. | and that If he did that he Longstreet l would not command 1t.
 The fighting began as soon as arant : | army crossed the Rapidan River on the l 9th day of May. That night Longstreet | with his corps was on the Catnarpin Road. about six miles south or the right ! of Lees army and was ordered across | through the country that night to the | Plank Road, where Lees right rested. | The column struck that road just about
 daylight on the morning or the eth apout | Lee desired us. At daylight the attack l of the Yankees was renewed. Hancock z | Corps had the previous evening turned
 A. P. Hills right and was now irving 70 | reach his rear. As we hurried down the Plank Road We soon met, or passed, num- | bers of our wounded on the roadside. ana
 the roar of musketry and saivos or ar
 fighting at that early hour was heavy; | Among the wounded whom we passed | was Brigadier Generals Kirkland Of
 North Carolina. Cook of Georgia ana
 Brewers book, page Sas; says gays
 that Laws Brigade was the frst l of Longstreets corps to reach | the field. but that is an error. The Texas
 action as it arrived. and as we passed | down the road General Robinson. US com | mander, had been wounded and was car | ried to the rear. and Lee attempted 70
 Into action. Colonel Perry was In com mand of Laws Brigade. which was the second of Longstreet's column 10 arrive. General Lee was on his big iron gray horse, Traveller with the cape or ms
 military overeoat thrown around his shoulders, Brigadier General Chiffon. his chief. and his staff in a little group 10 the rear. the bullets flying thick and fast
 
 from the South an exact crossfire; bat
 tery of Confederate artillery. forty or
 fifty steps to his right trying to fire in
 both directions at the same tune ad ana
 like he was the Monarch Nf the World.
 Large tall, with flushed face, dark pen
 etrating eyes, and gray beard ana gazlng
 southward where the lighting Just theh
 eral Chiffon and spoke with emphasis.
 Send an active young officer down
 there" Perry was forming the Brigade
 In line of battle with the right or the
 forty steps beyond General Lee, and ex-
 tending the line north of and at right
 angles to that road and when my regl-
 ment, the rear of the Brigade, was pass
 ing around Lee in double quick time. he
 looked down and said. What troops are
 these?" When one of the men In the
 ranks replied. Laws Alabama Brigaae.
 and he responded. God bless the Ala
 bamians." The moment my regiment was
 ln line Perry ordered the entire line for
 ward. We advanced through an old neld
 facing a storm of bullets from beyond a
 ravine in front, and just then heavy
 fire of musketry was opened on us from
 n copse of woods on our left. Captain
 Terrell. the assistant AdJutant General,
 brought me an order from Colonel Ferry
 to swing the 18th Alabama to the left.
 detaching 1t from the Brigade. attack
 and drive the enemy out of the woods
 on the left, In speaking of this incident,
 Colonel Perry said in his report, T never
 saw a regiment so efficiently and skill
 fully handled as Colonel Oates ,o did la,IaS hls
 the attention of line of men in double
 ranks more than 200 yards long aan amidst nd
 the roar of battle, under cross fire ana
 by a change of direction to the left
 swung them througi an arc ,sn3 or ad c,feie thss
 charged into the woods dislodged and
 drove from it more than double da the s nun. snH.
 thing cOmparable to it." The enemy
 which my regiment drove from the wooas SooS
 l.OOO strong, while my regiment had pres
 ent ip the charge only 46O ofncers er ana
 men. The regiment reformed after the
 charge, changed direction. crossed the
 ravine and came up to our place on the
 left inst in the nick of time. Our Brigade
 was lighting Wadsworths Division of
 regulars and under their destructive fire tbs 18th Alabama on the left was giving
 way slowly, and doggedly yielding the
 ground. But encouraged by our arrival
 it stood it's ground until the 18th changed
 m its right, made q half wheel and then poured in rapid fire on Nhe right flank