The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-04-11

and very soon a courier from General
| Grimes rode up and told General Cox
that Grimes said to fall back which
General Cox soon commenced to do.
Ills men were IN a small body of WOODS
| and as soon as his brigade commenced
railing back and had gotten out of the
| WOODS, the enemy began to advance
| IN such numbers that it looked like
! they were rising out OF the ground an
over the country General Cox seeing
| them advancing, ordered his Brigade
TO face-about' and, charging a short
| distance, fired a Volley as one man.
This was the last organized firing |
heard that day. There were few
sharp-shcoters protecting the rear and
! they may have fired some shots. We
/ passed on by the courthouse and
! round all the other troops ahead of us
had halted"
| The first troops to reach the battery
| OF artillery, above referred to- we've
! the North Carolina cavalry of General
| w. +. Roberts as will be seen from the
| following letter written to him under
date of July 26. 1904. by his former
Acknowledgement. T. S. Garnett. of
| Norfolk, Virginia:
| MY recollection of the capture Of a
battery of artillery at Appomattox on
the morning of the 9Th of April, 1865.
/ IS simply this Your Brigade was i'm
mediately on the right of Gordon's
/ corps, our left joining Gordon's right
and advancing in line with the infan-
/ Try. The enemy's battery of four Ma
/ poleon guns was Immediately in our
] front on open ground, but near a BODY
OF woods towards our right AS we
advanced the enemy fired repeatedly.
/ Inelr ShOt being directed chiefly ut the
infantry of Gordons corps, thus af-
fordlng us an opportunity to get at
them easily
We approached the battery rapidly
and got among them with little loss
Ihey surrendered at once, but one gun
ilmbered up and got away The cap
tain Of the battery surrendered 70 mo
ana took his horse from him, telling
MIN to take the captured guns back
TO Appomattox Court House ana, send
ing FORBES (yOur courier) back with
him. We made their own drivers keep
| their seats and drive the guns back
and afterwards understood they arriv-
ed exactly as ordered We pressed for
ward ana participated in the continued
tlghtiEg, passing over a ditch in which
saw the gun which had escaped cap
ture lying overthrow and abandon
ed. Shortly after this we were ordered
TO fail back, which we did, returning
over the same ground towards the
courthouse"
In corroboration of the above is the
folloWing extract from q written state
ment, under date of June End, 1904
by Mr. j. p. Leach, of Littleton. who
was member of Co. G, 53rd North
Carolina Regiment.
Our command Grimes Division)
passed through the town of Appomat-
loH Court House between daybreak and
sunrise when upon the opposite side
OF the town and within a few hundred
yards of the courthouse we were PUT
in skirmish line on the road and rail
fence. In front of the command and
located in piece of woods. with an
open field of several hundred yards
between, several pieces of federal ar
tlllerY had been located and opened
ire in the early morning with vigor
ana unpleasant precision. We were
ordered TO charge the battery and went
forward at double-quick but before
gong two hundred yards the guns were
sllenced and in a few moments were
brought galloping toward my com
mand' each gun having six horses.
They were turned over to us, and with