"As a partisan officer I never knew his superior. His daring was proverbial, his powers of endurance almost incredible, his tone of character heroic, and his sagacity almost intuitive in divining the purposes and movements of the enemy."

Turner Ashby was promoted from Captain to Colonel of the Seventh Regiment Virginia cavalry, and was made a brigadier-general just before his death. This regiment, at Ashby's death, was reputed to have twenty-seven companies, formed chiefly in the Valley, but so rapidly did they come and so active were Ashby's movements, that not until his death and the end of Jackson's great Valley campaign could they be formed into regiments and brigaded, which was then done, and subsequently Ashby's cavalry became the "laurel brigade" under the dashing Rosser.

Richard Ashby, brother of Turner, was captain of Company "A" in his regiment. "Dick" Ashby had already seen perilous service against the Indians in the West, but Turner Ashby was the more popular officer. Both were conspicuous types of the chivalrous cavalier-brave, dashing, and were idolized by their men.

Their regiment, in June, 1861, was at Romney, Va., operating against the enemy. On or about June 26th, Captain Dick Ashby, with a small detachment, while scouting near New creek, was ambuscaded by Federal infantry. Ashby, having fallen with his horse, and helpless, was bayoneted repeatedly by coward hands. Being rescued, he was carried back to Romney, where he died, about July 3d. His tragic fate spread gloom through the regiment and among all the troops. The funeral escort consisted of his company and Captain George R. Gaither's Maryland company.

Between the two brothers, Ashby, the close, tender ties existed that are so often found in Southern homes; hence the mortal wounding, under harrowing circumstances, of Dick Ashby, was believed by many to have made his brother, Turner, daring to desperationreckless of personal peril, and ever keen for a fight.

Ashby's cavalry and the Ashby brothers will be the theme of story and song for generations through the Valley and the Confed

eracy.

Many Marylanders served under the knightly Ashbys, among them Colonel Harry Gilmor, the famous partisan, who began his service as a private in the Seventh Virginia cavalry.

Memorial day, June 6th, is identical in the Valley of Virginia and Maryland. Two monuments in the Stonewall cemetery in Win

chester, Va., nearly side by side, mark respectively the graves of the Ashby brothers and the Marylanders. The Maryland infantryman in marble, at "parade rest," from his pedastal looks down upon the polished granite sarcophagus over the Ashbys.

Rev. James B. Averitt, an Episcopalian minister, and now resides in Cumberland, Md. Under Ashby he was a fighting chaplain. Since the war he has written historical accounts of his experiences and observations.

Judge Wilson, also, has a curious memento of the battle of the Crater, fought near Petersburg, Va., July 30, 1864—a cube of flinty clay which was unearthed by the explosion which caused the Crater. He was then serving with his battery, which was engaged

in the battle.

For the preceding sketch the Southern Historical Society Papers is indebted to Lieutenant-Colonel Winfield Peters, of the Maryland State Line, of Baltimore, the Maryland member of the History Committee of the United Confederate Veterans, late commander of J. R. Trimble Camp Confederate Veterans, etc., who was a private in the first Maryland infantry, C. S. A. This regiment, forming at Harper's Ferry, Va., was recruited largely from the First Rifle regiment of Baltimore, through the efforts of its commander, Colonel George Peters, father of Lieutenant-Colonel Peters, and his son. The Senior Colonel Peters also entered the Confederate service, served faithfully to the end, and died from the consequences of privation and exposure soon after the surrender. His sacrifices involved, not only his life, but his property also, and his entire family were launched into the Confederate struggle voluntarily, and suffered accordingly.

[Charlotte Observer, January 3, 1902.]

BROOK CHURCH FIGHT,

And Something About the Fifth North Carolina Cavalry.

DEATH OF JAMES B. GORDON.

He Was the Murat of the Army of Northern Virginia-The New Artillery and Its Disastrous First Experience Under Fire-Attack on Kennon's Landing-Sacrifice of Men and HorsesShelled with 100-Pounders.

The Brook turnpike above Richmond runs almost due north and south. The military road at Brook, or Emmanuel church, strikes it at right angles from the east, in which direction this road crosses the upper Chickahominy at Meadow bridge. In his midnight retreat of May 11th, from Yellow Tavern, General Sheridan took this military road at Brook Church to escape, intending to cross the Chickahominy and move to his right from there to the James. And this he did, but he assuredly had an awful time of it and a narrow escape at Brook church.

Early on the morning of the 12th, Colonel James B. Gordon was in his rear at Brook Church. Sheridan was met by our forces of cavalry and infantry at Meadow bridge, which we had destroyed, and the river there was otherwise unpassable. Sheridan says some fords were discovered by scouts, but if so, why on earth did he have such a desperate and deadly time repairing that bridge, as my references will show he did? Sheridan's rear occupied a strong position of his own selection on the military road, which he swept with canister constantly from several batteries. Gordon dismounted the First and Second cavalry, attacked him fiercely, and sent his aide, Lieutenant Kerr Craige, into Richmond for some artillery and to propose to the officer in charge of that portion of the city defences a combined attack on Sheridan's flanks. The Fifth was held in reserve in mounted column, under fire, just off the right of the military road, going east. With our regiment, as we all knew, Gordon intended to charge those batteries up the military road after he got some supports from Richmond. And that charge, which he would

have led in person, would have been about the last of the Fifth North Carolina cavalry.

In a few minutes some artillery came. And oh! such artillery! It was the most beautiful in all its appearances that we ever beheld. The smoke of battle had never been about it. Gordon placed it to the slight oblique right and front of our regiment on the elevation of some old entrenchments. It fired once Immediately, one or more of Sheridan's guns were turned on it—canister for the first time in its history rattled around those beautiful guns and among its wheels, and every man about the battery flew into the ditches of those old entrenchments. Gordon was furious. He raved and begged. He called it "Band-Box Artillery," which would have occurred only to him, possibly, under such a fire. But those artillerists "held the trenches faithfully" against Richmond's invaders. Some few of them couldn't even stand that, and came through the woods by us. We laughed at them, ridiculed them, and asked them to go back and man their guns. But they looked at us as if they thought we were surely crazy. Gordon became utterly disgusted and went back at a gallop right into the fire down that military road, and there he received the wound which ended his life and brilliant career six days later. The battle was raging furiously at Meadow bridge on Sheridan's front, and right flank. The command of the brigade now devolved on Colonel Andrews, of the Second, as ranking officer. The Fifth was dismounted to join in the attack on foot. Company F was in front of that column. The order was to cross the road, still swept by canister, and form on its left. Captain Erwin looked calmly around at us and said: “Come on boys." He led, and over the road the regiment went and formed in line of battle. We advanced fast to a horizontal, wide, board fence, which looked literally perforated with rifle balls, and after short firing on our part the enemy disappeared. Sheridan had broken over at Meadow bridge and escaped. Sheridan himself says on page 791, volume 67, War Records: "The enemy considered us completely cornered, but such was not the case.' Well, of course, none of us knew for certain, but those of us who were there will never cease to ' believe that if he had not broken over at Meadow bridge that he and his men would have been given quarters in Richmond for the rest of the war.

He also says, page 801, of his raid: "The result was constant success and the almost total annihilation of the Rebel cavalry."

This shows, I regret to say, how unreliable his statements are, as he soon had full proof of by that same "Rebel cavalry."

That the reader may see what a desperate state they were in at Meadow bridge, I refer to volume 67, pages 791, 813, 814, 819, and 835. He lost 625 men on his raid and 1,003 horses-volume 67, page 185, and volume 68, page 851. We had no force to follow Sheridan, and it was useless, as, after his passage of the Chickahominy, he could easily connect with Butler on the James, as he did, near Haxall's Landing on May 14th.

JAMES B. GORDON KILLED.

Our great loss at Brook Church was the gallant and glorious James B. Gordon. The Fifth loved him as its commander during the Gettysburg campaign, and, as his entire brigade did, for his splendid courage and merit in all respects. He was the Murat of

the Army of Northern Virginia, and had he lived he would have added increased lustre to our North Carolina cavalry. I want to identify him in closer relation in this way, and, therefore, I state that one of his sisters was the mother of Messrs. R. N. and James Gordon Hackett, of Wilkes. Wilkes, was rather famous for such cavalrymen-Colonel W. H. H. Cowles was born, and now lives

there.

The attack on Kennon's Landing was the most useless sacrifice of time and men and horses made during the war. The brigade was camped May 23d near Hanover 'Junction, recuperating a little from the terrible ride and fighting of the Sheridan raid. Late that afternoon an order came to each captain of our regiment for a detail of picked men for specially dangerous work." The Fifth regiment furnished about 225 men and officers, under command of Major McNeill. There were surely not over 1,000 men on the expedition from our brigade. Wilson's wharf was a fortified post of great natural and artificial strentgth on the James river, far below City Point, and consequently fully in the enemy's lines. It was forty-seven miles in a straight line, by best military maps, from Hanover Junction. It consisted of a fort built in semi-circle form on a bluff of the river with each end resting on the James, with heavy parapets and a canal of water the entire front of the half circle. There was open ground for several hundred yards all around the fort covered with. abattis and large fallen pine trees to impede assailants. If we could ever have taken it we never could have held it. The expedition was