The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-02-28
,v,o was 4, every relation Of lie rue 20
his fomily, his country and MS God
FoRT GREGG AGAIN.
a Surgeons Defense OF the The Car ga
risOt1.

lSOls
Tditor Of The Tlmes- Dispatch:
s,r.-1tron, tho description Of the oattle
AZ ro,t Gregg, April 2, 1868, by Capta'"
A. *. Jones, of Mississippi, y woua w y,
near that the hattie was foueht go
slvely BY Alsslssippahs. I was s"'A'.o
at Fort Gregg all the precodt'hs WIZ
and early spring. I was with my gym.
!, ~ a. Fort Gregg from start TO finish
and know BY whom 1t was oeiei.''eu
Captain Chew, Of Maryland WIN WIN uooas
twenty artlllcry,ien, with two su''s' M
mart of Tie force Chew's other t"o gus
hnd he,,n taken out the fort 70 c iecA ~
nf1vnnce of the enemy in our rom. w ".
n, M p,,rposc; tho lean horses couliu ny.
nil, tile pieces through mo l '"'',e'
nina st,,mps In our immediate 'front.' anu
had to DO Abandoned. H.
All this took place hsfore we Werr re-
Enforced BY tho mdn from, Hatcher n''.i.
m the right Besides Chews ineil' wv ,'a =
1ycre something less than one huioieu
supernumerary" artillerymeh from a'l ~
Southern States. They we're urlheu W. -.
rifles for the time being. Win inc u' .;..,.
standing that they would resume III ~,
-
o,,ened IN The spring. Thus we had one
hundred ana twenty men. and they were
Tho mon that Captain Jones found on MS
a rival nj Fort Gregg. they had peei,
n,1c,,d there by General Lee They laa
MAYER. made thor escape from any pace
1ones,s statement Is that they mad es-
GA ned from the right and begged 70 go
t.. the rear and after hesltatng to conf
ny with tl,sir request he at last cot',
Guided to let them 60, provided they would
leave their guns with him; and TO ttat
they readily consented.
Surely Captain Chew and others VINO,
I hope, arc living will sustain mo ~ ~
saying that no man left Fort Gregg out
OF Chisw's command that day. we were
reinforced by men who had peen defcatea
on our right There were mo organized
regiments or companies entering Fort
Gregg. They came in slngly or IN SQUADS,
every man to his liking. Much Of Cap
tain Jones n report. Isl correct IN part
and regret that he has the actual Facts
mixed ii regard to, the men garrlsoned.
in Fort Gregg by order Of General Lac.
months before the battle on the "a OF
April. 1865.
After being recruited by about one hun
dred and fifty men, who CAME from the
lines on the right Of Fort Gnags, the
defenders numbered two hundred ana
fifty mel, With that small number we
we're crpnned by the Twenty-fourth army
corps Of nne thousand strong. What
other forces assailed us that day. II
my, don't lsr ow.
sH AS Captain Jones' says, we 5repulsed
several ,l,,t,rlnlnedb charges with great
Slaughter 10 the. enemy. The New York
Herald acknowledged q loss of, two thou
sand and four hundred killed und Grip
red.
When tn, Federals were forming for
shelr final charge, suggested to Cap
tain Chew, OF Maryland. to surrender,
as there was no chance Of ultimate sue
cess By hoIdlng out any longer. Ny ad-
vica was not accepted, as the captain
said he had been superseded by some in
fantry officers who had como In to help.
There were so many Fedcrals coming,
over tho pnrapet in the last charge we
could not shoot them nil; they swarmed
In and showed us no quarter. It was
not SO much their officers who caused
them to desist from shooting us. ..
General Lee was looking at u.s. and
when he saw what was going on he
dispatched his courier. William Calerton,
to Colones Poague's artillery, ordering
him to open fire on Fort Gregg with. all
AIS uIS, winch ne NJ once ulu. y ne LISL
she'll fell close in front of me. Four or
five Federals were killed. Then one, shot
after another In rapid succession drove
all he enemy on the opposite side of the
fort for shelter. Had 1t not been for
Colonel Poague's guns believe they
would have killed every one Of U.s. Cap
tain Gordon McCabe's History OF Cen
eral Lees Campaigns, on page 500, re-
ports thirty coming out of Fort Gregg
alive. AS for myself, I counted twenty
seven only. when giving their names to
a Federal officer. could say much more,
but enough! What have said Is only
n defense Of the plucsy men that gar
risoned Fort Gregg.
Respectfully, *
GEORGE w. RICHARDS.
Surgeon a, P. Hill Corps, A. n. Va.