The National tribune., 1908-10-15

/ but truly, North Carolinians have made
good their claim that their troops went
farthest at Gettysburg" Gen. Armi-
/! stead was killed 33 yards to the east Of
and In rear of Webb's front line. Now.
| what Is the evidence to show that the
North Carolinians fought at the left Of
| the vertex Of the Angle, that they ad-
vanced upon Smyth's Brigade behind
the receding wall before Webb gave
way, and that they went farther toward
| the receding wall than 33 yards (Gen.
Armistead having been killed S3 yards
| to the east of Webb's projecting line)
from an imaginary extension of the
rock wall in Webb's front toward the
| north? Col. Shepard, who commanded
Archer's Brigade, the right brigade Of
Heths Division, in his official report
said, that before the advance was half
made his brigade and that of Garnett's,
| the left of Pickett'S Division. were in
touch, and that afterwards, when the
| line reached the rock wall, the line
seemed to have melted away until there
was little of it left, and that four of his
regimental flags were captured at the
works. That account placed Archer's
| Brigade in front of Webb. Next to
Archer, on his left, was Pettigrew's s
Brigade, reinforced by Lane and Scales.
Maj. Jones. of the 26th n. c., then
in command of Pettigrew's Brigade. in
his official report, stated that, The bri-
gade dashed on, and many had reached
the wall, when we received a deadly
volley from the left Maj. Jones did
not have reference to the projecting
wall in front of Webb, but to the re-
ceding wall in front of Smyth. In a
| letter written by him within the same
month of the battle to the father of
Col. Burgwyn (Coi. Burgwyn having
been killed in the first days battle)
lon nd rly in In, 10
| Fayetteville Observer, he wrote that
the color-bearer of his regiment was
shot down while attempting to plant
the flag on the wall. II know Che fur
| ther wrote) we went as far as he
| (Pickett) did, and l can safely assert
some distance beyond, owing to the
shape of the enemy's works, which ran
backward in my front, in the form of a
curve, and which compelled Us to go
beyond where Picketts men were al
ready at their works, in order to reach
| them ourselves
"Col. Lowrance, in command of
Scales's Brigade (Gen. Scales having
| been wounded in the first days battle),
who went in Just where Pettigrew's s
Brigade did, said in his official report
| that he went forward until the right of
the brigade touched the enemy's line
| of breastworkS as they marched in a
| rather oblique line. He further said,
The two brigades (now reduced to
mere squads. not numbering in all 500
guns) were the only line to be seen on
that vast field and no support in view"
Gen. Lane in his official report said:
"The men reserved their fire in accord
ance with orders, until within good
range of the enemy, and then opened
with telling effect, repeatedly driving
the cannoneers from their pieces, COM
pletely silencing the guns in our imme-
] date front, and breaking the line of
infantry which was formed on the crest
Of the hill. We advanced to within a
few yards Of the stone wall, exposed all
the while to a heavy raking artillery
| fire from the right"
| In an article published in Vol 5, Of
North Carolina Regiments, 1861-1S65,
and written by Maj. w. NJ Robbins,
Major of the 4th Ala, and one of the
Gettysburg Battlefield Commissioners
since March, 1894, it is said: "And while
! Armistead and his heroic followers were
over in the Angle, where were Petit
crews thin but gallant battalions? They
were maxim desperate effort to storm
the high stone wall 80 yards east of the
Angle, and were being moved down
like grain before the reaper by the dou-