The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1912-06-20
FIGHT AT BENTONVuLE.
How a Confederate Soldier Buried
His Brother.

On the 10th day of March, 1865,
Kershaw's old brigade, then Kenne-
dy's, had been bringing up the rear
of Hardee's corps for several days, in
fact ever since we had left Averys-
borough, N. c., where We had a bat
tie. On the morning of the 18th we
received orders to press forward with
all possible speed. In the morning
early we could hear cannonading
away in the direction we were going.
We were urged forward ever; now
and then the command "Close up"
Keep in your Places" 'No Strag-
Cling; keep up" About 10 o'clock
we had got near enough to hear the
small arms. Maybe now we were in
four miles of the battle. We would
have to go at double quick some time
to keep up with the officers, who were
riding in front.
A little after noon we reached the
place where the fighting was. Our
lines were doing the charging. OF all
battles I had ever been in or listened
to, I thought this was the heaviest
firing 1 had ever heard. AS we were
getting near enough to hear the
screeching of the shells we met Gen.
Hardee and staff coming from the
front. Some one asked Gen. Hardee
which side was doing the pressing.
He said the enemy.
Just before reaching the battlefield
we were ordered to the left. We had
not gone very arbefore ourfront met
a squad of cavalry trying to gain the
rear of our line of battle; but we sur
prised them and they retreated at
once, but not until they had made one
charge and found they had met line
of infantry. We did not get near to
them, but I saw a few prisoners and
a few riderless horses. We were on
the extreme left of Johnstone's line.
We formed a line of battle and wait
ed some time, but the cavalry never
returned.
We were then moved to the right
and formed in line in rear of the
troops that were fighting. We were
advanced till we came to line OF
works that our lines had driven the
enemy from. Our lines were still
pressing them. We were halted here
and held in reserve till late in the
evening, when we were ordered to ad-
vance over the works. We went on
through the pines into the heaviest
firing I ever heard. We did not see
many killed or wounded; neither did
we hear many bullets. We kept ad-
vancing. After while we came up
with two lines of battle lying on the
ground, loading and firing with all
their might. We asked what they
were firing at. They said the enemy
were right in their front. We were
ordered to halt and commence firing.
We had those woods so full of smoke
you could not see man any distance
in front.
l guess the enemy were not very
far off, for we had several men in our
company wounded. When night came
on we got mixed up with the Yam
KEGS. We captured some prisoners
and lost some men. Capt. Tom Duck
EFT was captured when he went after
a drink of water.
This ended all the hard fighting 1T
this place (Bentonville,) although
there was some sharp fighting the
goth and 21st. I had brother who
had gone through the whole war; had
been wounded twice before, and was
killed by a stray bullet on the even
ing of the 21st. We had to leave him
on the battlefield till night before
we could carry him off. We had an
ambulance come to haul him in and
two comrades, Sergeant Wilson and
Jacob Crouch, with James McK1t-
trick driving the ambulance. 1t was
dark and raining, and the driver
could not see his way. We lighted
a torch and were going along a road
in the woods where the enemy could
sea our torch, and they commenced
to throw shell at our torch, and kept
it up till we had to put out the
torch and make our way the best we
could in the dark. We finished bury
ing him about eleven o'clock at night
in a hard rain. We had no box or
substitute for a coffin; We just wrap
ped him in his blanket, cut his name
In a cartridge box lid, tackled it on
garden pailing and stuck it up at his
head. This was the last fighting
Johnstone's army did.-James Mitch
-, T. A,.,,horr1 Nhoarvor