All was quiet on that part of the line all night.
The next morning, March 29 [March 30], it began to rain and rained nearly all day. We were ordered to the right and moved slowly along the works for some distance, were then moved back into a road in which we double-quicked a mile and struck the works again in which we were formed. General Lee came up the line on his gray horse, Traveler, and crossing the works at a low place rode out some distance in front and examined the country around through his field glasses, then galloped back down the line. That was the last time a great many of us ever saw him. There were no Yankees in sight at that place. We lay down in the works a short time, then marched slowly along the muddy road in the direction of Dinwiddie courthouse with the sharp shooters marching parallel with the troops in line, to guard against surprises and sudden dashes of cavalry. Our orders were in case of attack to drive them back if possible, and if not to retreat back to the troops marching in the road. We marched in single file five pieces apart, 100 yards out and paralleled with the troops in the road. Our route let us through fields, woods, and a tangled ravines q. We saw the Yankees scouts in several places watching our movements but a few well directed shots sent them to cover. In one instance a scout came very near fooling us or we him. Both sides had been marching and lying about in the mud till at a distance both sides looked alike and but for the flags, it was hard to tell them apart. We were marching across the field when we saw a man come out of the woods on the Yankee side, cross the fence, and start across the field toward us. We couldn’t tell whether he was a Yankee scout or one of our spies. We ordered him to halt which he did for a moment then started toward us again. We halted him again and ordered him to come to us. He seemed undecided what to do and kept looking back. Some of us the nearest him concluded we would hurry him one way or the other and raised our guns as Jeff going to shoot. When he saw that he broke back at the top of his speed, hopped over the fence, and disappeared in the woods. We all fired at him as he ran and all missed him. We had two fights with Sheridan’s cavalry that day. In the first we drove them back, and the second they drove us back. We fell back to the main line and a few valleys from the troops in the road sent Sheridan‘s famous cavalry man back out of sight. We marched on what was known as the White Oak Road to near Five Forks and lay there all night. It rained hard all night, raising the water courses until some of them could not be forded. Operations were suspended in both armies. The drenched troops lay about shivering till morning which dawned dark and dreary, but the rain ceased falling and about 9 o’clock the sun came out. We had lain all night in a skirt of woods about 100 yards from the road and near A large field. When light enough to see, we discovered a large body of cavalry encamped in the field. General Matt Ransom rode out and asked to what command they belonged, the answer was, Sheridan’s. General Ransom rode back slowly, so as not to raise any suspicion, and quietly ordered us to fall in immediately and march out up the road. We marched out at once expecting every moment to be fired upon, but the Yankees evidently thinking we were some of their own men did not molester us. If they had, we would’ve been in bad shape for a fight. We had camped together perhaps all night in the rain and did not know it. When we struck the road we ran into Wallace a South Carolina brigade marching up the road which caused a halt in order to fall in behind the South Carolinians. They were all broken down and drenched to the skin and were making slow progress. We waited on them impatiently, knowing that the Yankees were just back in the field. General Ransom ordered us to cut their line of march and move on. This tangled us up considerably (column 2 ends) but we managed to get possession of the road and get ahead of the South Carolinians.. Before the Yankees discovered is there a mistake, thus showing that Tar Heel troops could forge ahead in a retreat as well as in a charge. The most of the fourth the South Carolina brigade below where we had cut through were captured a short time afterwards.
After our narrow escape we moved up the road to near Dinwiddie courthouse and formed a line of battle and the sharpshooters were sent out. We left the troops lying in line of battle and moved out to left and front and halted in the woods for orders. The line in our rear was moved about from place to place as they were needed. At one place they met and drove Sheridan’s cavalry. We have been told by soldiers who had fought them that Sheridan’s men could not be driven, that they would ride over us, shoot us down with their revolvers, cut off our heads with their sabers and make short work of us generally, but when they threw themselves against Ransom’s Tar Heel veterans, they found they made a mistake.
We will now leave the troops in the main lines and continue the narrative of the sharpshooters. We were lying deployed in the woods when, about 3 o’clock in the evening, the battle opened up on our right and the battle of Chamberlain‘s Run, which was mostly a cavalry affair, was on. The order came for the sharpshooters to drive straight ahead. We moved off promptly, and passing through the woods, we entered an old pine field grown up with scrubby pines, cedars, and briars. We pushed on through, keeping our line dressed as best as we could, until we came to a field with a high fence around it. On the further side was a skirt of woods reaching to the public road by which the Yankees had advanced that evening and Barringer‘s cavalry command was then driving them back. While we were scrambling through the pines, the shouts of the victorious cavalrymen and the murderous roar of the carbines told us the tide of battle was moving swiftly to the left. If we could have had a heavy line instead of a thin skirmish line and could have gotten in a little earlier we could have cut them off besides getting in a heavy fire on their flank. When we reached the fence we halted and reformed. The battle was raging heavily to our right and the Yankees rushing back down the road. Forward was the order. We mounted over the fence and started across the field and a quick step, keeping our alignment five pieces apart. When halfway across the field a whole regiment of Yankees rose up behind the fence next to the woods and fired a full volley into our thin skirmish line. They made the air look blue with bullets, but never touched a man. I looked down the line. Not a man wavered. Oh, those brave old days! They will never be seen again. That volley fired in our face fired our blood. The Yankees fell back. We rushed through the smoke, over the fence and out through the woods after them. When we reached the road the Yankees were gone. Gone on and go as you please race down the road. At the same time General Behringer cavalrymen dashed up and halted. General Barringer was riding with the foremost squadron. They immediately formed line of battle to hold the ground they had gained. They had come about 2 miles down the road, sweeping everything before them, leving numbers of dead and wanted Yankees along the road.
There being no further use for us that’s our place, we set out to find our command, which, after a great deal of wandering we found bivouacked in a ravine with a little stick fires trying to keep from freezing.
The wind has veered around to the northeast and froze to the ground as hard as a brick. The little fires kept our wet clothes from freezing.
I had a small ration of flour which I had carried around, not having a chance to cook it. I mixed it into a kind of sticky dough with cold water, wrapped it around my iron ramrod, and held it in the fire until the outside was burned black and the inside was scarcely warm. This was my supper that night
Sometime in the night we were ordered to fall in and marched half a mile and lay the balance of the night in a high level field where the wind had full sweep. We all were ordered to lie on our arms and get any sleep we could. Lying on arms meant not sleeping with guns in hand. I was too cold to sleep. I lay awake and shivered all night.
This was the 29th regiment last night in bivouac as a regular command.
There was a large space left open in our lines on the right of Burgess’ Mill to enable us to cover the flank movements made by the enemy on our right were forging toward the southside railroad, our only source of supplies from the south. The line of battle was then over 40 miles long, and we had not the men to defend it. Every flank movement made it longer. The force in the trenches down at Petersburg was reduced almost to skirmish line and in some places further out on the right, almost in a guard line.
General Lee’s old veteran army was almost gone. Hood’s army shot to pieces at Fraanklin Tennessee, Johnston still kept a small army together but was kept continually on the retreat. On the other side, Grant’s great army outnumbered us 10 to one and had us almost surrounded and Sherman at the head of his house burners and chicken thieves was plundering through Georgia and the Carolinas to form a junction with Grant in Virginia to make a final crush of our little army. It was indeed a gloomy outlet for those of us who were left.
On the night of the 31st General Warren of the federal army, with 12,000 men, moved through the open space in our rear, while Sheridan with 15,000 infantry and cavalry held the front. The remnant of Wallace’s and ransoms brigade and a brigade of Virginia, the whole numbering 8000 men under general Pickett we’re all the troops we had end of Colin to meet us for us.
on the night of the 31st General Warren of the federal army, with 12,000 men, move through the open space in our rear, while sharing it with 15,000 infantry and Calvary held the front. The remnant of Wallaces and ransoms brigade and a brigade of Virginia, the whole numbering 8000 men under General Pickett where all the troops we had (column 3 ends[ to meet this force..
About daylight the next morning of the April 1, 1865 we left our cold bivouac and took up the line of march toward five Forks, moving slowly, feeling the way. On arriving there, we Immediately formed line of battle – – Ransom’s brigade on the extreme right with a regiment of cavalry to guard the flank. A small ration of cornbread and raw bacon, the last our government ever gave us, was issued and greedily devoured, and then to work digging and piling up logs for breast works. Distant fire he could be heard a way down on the line but at our position everything was quiet, as if preparing for the crash which was soon to come
On arriving there we immediately formed line of battle – – ransoms brigade on the extreme right with a regiment of Calvary to guard the flag. A small ration of cornbread and Rob bacon, the last our government ever gave us, was issued and gradually devoured, and then to work and digging in piling up logs for breastworks. Distant fire and could be heard away down on the line but at our position everything was quiet, as if preparing for the crash which was soon to come
The line ran along the public road. The 24th held the position on the road out to an open field on the extreme left, the 49th joining it on the right.
The place known as Five Forks was a crossroad with other roads cutting across near the angles, and three miles from Dnwiddie Court house It was on the extreme right of our line and approached from any direction. The country around was mostly coered with small timber except the field on our left where the 24th held position.
The Battle of Five Forks
On the first day of pril 1865 the 49th North Carolina regiment fought its last battle. It had received its baptism of fire under Colonel Ramseur in the seven days battles around Richmond and under Lieutenant Roulhac, an 18 year old boy at the battle of Five Forks surrounded by the enemy it fired its last gun. The gold battle scarred flag was captured, it was not surrendered. It was captured. I sa them snatch it out of Jap Stewart’s hands. As long as its tattered folds floated in the flames and smoke of battle its defender stood around it like a wall of iron, firing in every direction at the crowding foe who came up like black clods through the woods. We could not hold them back.
Sharpshooters to the front and Center
soon arriving at5 Forks the Orchard came: “sharpshooters to the front and center. “We ran out and formed in the road in the center of the brigade, deployed to the right and left and moved 200 yards down in the woods and lay down behind a small small trees with orders to keep a sharp lookout in the truck in the front in front further down in the woods September was large and the ground sloped off to a ravine,. I stood most of the time behind a small tree watching a field on the other side of the ravine which I could see through an opening in the trees. At that time everything was quiet along the way. After watching sometime, I saw a squadron of Yankee cavalry ride rapidly across the field to our right. I reported the matter to Lieutenant Bowers, who came and stood by my side, and together we stood and watched for the events which we knew would soon come. We are not going to wait. In a few minutes they came out of the ravine and was repeating garbage. They came up slowly, dodging from treated from one tree to another until they were within 75 yards of our line. We opened the battle by firing on them as soon as they came in a good distance. Our line was thin, being deployed out of five pieces apart. They quickly formed behind the trees and replied with a repeating carvings, giving us back seven boards for everyone we sent. We kept up a brisk fire for some time when the Yankees made a slight advance about that time Lieutenant Bowers came to me and said he was going to advance the line nearer the enemy. I told Him The Yankees were dancing on us watch a moment and he would see. He placed himself behind me and looked over my shoulder. He saw them coming. Slipping from one tree to another up through the woods. Expecting we would all be captured or shut down at our post he ordered us to fall back to the main line, which we did, expecting the Yankees to rush out and follow us, when we when they saw us leave our post but they did not. It was a fool of sure our posts, but I did not. It was a foolish order. We should have remained at our post until driven away. We learned afterward why they did not follow us. They knew what was behind us.
To be continued
Statesville record and landmark
February 6, 1934
page 6
columns one through four.
W. A. Day
49th North Carolina