the Carolina Light Infantry, of Charleston, Company L, Captain C. D. Barksdale; (4) the Edgefield Company, Company G, Captain A. P. Butler; (5) the Irish Volunteers, Company K-my old company, then commanded by Captain M. P. Parker-the color company; (6) the Horry Rebels, Company F, Captain T. Pinckney Alston; (7) the Marion Company, Company E, Captain William P. Shooter; (8) the Newbury Company, Company B, Captain J. C. McLemore; (9) the Richardson Guards, Charleston, Company I, Captain C. L. Boag; (10) Captain William T. Haskell's Company, partly from Abbeville and partly from Beauford, Company H, Company D, from Darlington, Captain D. G. McIntosh, was converted into artillery, and became the Pee-Dee or McIntosh battery, and so was separated from the regiment.

The 1st and 12th regiments had been generally in the advance during the morning of the 27th of June, and when at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, arrangements had been made by General Lee for a general attack on the Federal position at Cold Harbor, General Gregg directed the 1st and 12th to advance upon a hillside, the ground of which—especially in front of the 1st-was covered by a dense thicket of young pines. The advance was met by a continuous fire of small arms, and General Gregg finding that great damage was done by an enfilading fire from a battery established a good way to our right, directed Colonel Marshall with the regiment of rifles Orr's rifles, as it was known, to charge and take it.

Upon the attempted advance of the 1st and 12th, their lines were much broken by the dense growth of pines and brambles, through which they had to move, the 12th getting in rear of the Ist, and the first three companies on the right of the 1st, doubling up in rear of the rest of the regimental line. This put the Carolina Light Infantry, Company L, directly in rear of the Irish Volunteers, the color company, and so just behind the colors.

It was at this moment of confusion, when the alignment of the two regiments, 1st and 12th, were thus broken, that the Rifles debouched from the cover under which they had been lying and advancing in column of companies attempted to form forward into line to make the charge ordered by General Gregg. The appearance of the Rifles upon the field brought upon the three advancing regiments of General Gregg's Brigade a fire which is said to have been the greatest delivered at any time during the war. It was the fire of Sykes' Division of Regulars, of the United States Army, to which was attached the New York Zouaves. I have seen it stated

somewhere that the fire was that technically known as the "fire by file of companies," which, supposing the division to have consisted of ten companies in two ranks, and allowing for reserves, would have given more than 100 guns at every second of time. This fire of musketry was deafening. The great guns of the artillery, and all the confused noises of battle were completely drowned in the one continuous roar of the deadly fire of small arms. Before it, the Rifles, caught in the moment of executing a most difficult manœuvre, melted away; more than half of the regiment falling in a few moments in this its baptismal fire.

The fire was scarcely less fatal to the 1st and 12th. Of the 1st Lieutenant-Colonel A. M. Smith, Captain C. L. Boag, Lieutenants Grimke Rhett, Robert W. Rhett and A. J. Ashley were killed or mortally wounded. Lieutenants B. M. Blease, Josiah Cox, John G. Barnwell and E. D. Brailsford were also wounded, and under the fire the whole color guard went down. The loss of the 1st in this battle was 145, almost all of whom fell at this time.

As in all such incidents of intense excitement and violent and tragic scenes, the accounts of those who took part in this differ, and these differences increase as our memories fail as the years go by. But all agree that Color Sergeant Taylor-"Jimmy Taylor," as we all affectionately called him-fell at once under the fire, which was no doubt in a great measure directed to our great blue flag with the palmetto upon it, as it emerged from the woods. His blood was still to be seen upon its folds when, in 1889, my brother surviving officers and myself presented it to the State, with the request that it should always be kept at the capitol.

There are two accounts as to who took up the colors from under Taylor's body. One statement is that Colonel D. H. Hamilton, commanding the regiment, did so, and that he handed them to Corporal Shubrick Hayne, the color corporal for Company L. The other account asserts that Hayne himself took them up. However this may be, certain it is that Hayne bore them aloft until he fell, mortally wounded, when it seems equally certain that Alfred Pinckney, of Company L, seized them and was immediately killed with them in his hands. Then comes another point of difference. On the one hand it is said that Philip Gadsden Holmes, also of Company L, took them up and immediately fell under three mortal wounds. I am inclined, however, to believe that this is a mistake; that the fact was that Gadsden Holmes was, at the moment he was shot, just behind the colors, endeavoring himself to

get a deliberate aim at the advancing enemy. Then Dominick Spellman, one of the heroes of our war, a member of the Irish company, raised the colors and gloriously bore them for the rest of the day, for which he was made color sergeant of the regiment, and bore them until himself was shot with the battle flag at Manassas. This, I believe, is as nearly accurate an account of this memorable incident as ca nnow be given.

I have been thus particular to give the position of each company of the regiment at the time, as it explains how it was, that after the fall of Color-Sergeant Taylor, the great loss fell upon the Charleston companies, and how it was that to them the glorious opportunity was given, of showing how heroically Carolina boys would give their lives for the State. But it was only the accident of the doubling up of our regimental line, which put Captain Barksdale's company (Company L), behind the colors, and thus giving them the opportunity of furnishing the heroes, which every other company of the regiment would have done as well had the accidents of battle so decreed. Let me remind you also, that this is an account of an incident only of the battle, and hence it is that but three regiments of the brigade have been mentioned. Our comrades of the 13th and 14th regiments bore equally conspicuous and gallant parts upon that memorable day, but were not actively engaged at this time, the 13th being held in reserve, and the 14th hurrying into action after a long and tedious march from a distant position which they had been left temporarily to guard, and both coming to the assistance of the 1st, 12th and Rifles, in their great emergency.

Permit me, dear Mrs. Taylor, to express to you the gratification the survivors of the old 1st regiment experience in knowing that the ladies are taking an interest in our historic colors. I say historic, for the blue flag with the palmetto upon it, now in our State House, was carried from Fort Sumter and planted in the town of Gettysburg. It was, we believe, the first regimental flag unfurled in Virginia, for Governor Pickens, you know, sent Colonel Maxcy Gregg with his regiment to Richmond before the Virginia troops could be organized, and thus it was that it may truly be said the whole Army of Northern Virginia was gathered and organized around its folds.

I mentioned that Color Sergeant Spellman was shot at Second Manassas, carrying,the battle flag. I will explain that, commanding the regiment in that battle, I considered the regimental colors as too conspicuous and costing too many lives, and, therefore, carried into that field only the Confederate battle flag-a course which I believed

also to be more in accordance with military rule, and which course after Gettysburg, in which battle Color Sergeant Larkin was shot through the body as he was crossing the stone wall with them, was permanently adopted, and our loved colors not again carried into. action.

I am, dear madam, very respectfully and truly yours,

EDWARD MCCRADY.

[From the Richmond, Va., Times, March 14, 1897.]

A HORROR OF THE WAR.

HOW GENERAL CUSTER HUNG SOME OF MOSBY'S MEN.

Their Comrades wished to Raise a Monument to the Memory of Anderson, Love, Carter, Jones, Overby and Rhodes.

When Mosby's men met here at the last Confederate Reunion, and feasted and talked of the thrilling events of their lives on the frontier, they did not fail to recall the names of those who had fallen in the fight, but especially the six soldiers, who, after being taken prisoners, had been made the victims of the implacable ferocity of General George A. Custer, of Sheridan's cavalry. A committee was appointed to raise funds for the erection of a monument to these soldiers, and their appeal is published below.

The story of this tragedy is thus told in the Warrenton True Index, by an eye-witness:

After the defeat of General Early at the battle of Opequon, on September 19, 1864, his command fell back up the Valley. The brigade of cavalry, under General Wickham, occupied a strong position at Milford, twelve miles south of Front Royal, and Custer made repeated efforts to force him from the position, without effect. About this time it was reported to Captain Chapman, of Mosby's command, that a large wagon train was en route from Milford to Winchester, under the escort of a small body of men. He immediately made disposition for its capture at Front Royal. For this purpose he divided his men into parties. One party was to attack the train at the point where a cross road from Chester's Gap inter

The other, under the

sects the Front Royal and Luray grade. immediate command of Chapman, was to fall upon the front of the train about 600 yards from the town, where there is a hill on one side and a ravine on the other. It seems that Custer had divined in some way the Confederate plans, and. instead of a small train guard, he had his whole division behind the wagons. He waited till the attack was made upon the front, when he threw a large force up on the Manor Grade, a road running parallel with the Luray road, and took possession of Chester's Gap, Chapman's line of retreat. The latter promptly attacked the train, when he in turn was attacked in his rear. He immediately turned upon the force behind him, determined to cut his way out. The Federals, who had preceded him to the gap, had thrown a strong line across a narrow defile, under the command of a captain or major, who stood upon foot in the middle of the road. Chapman formed his men in column and boldly charged through the line. In the melee, the Federal officer saw he would be captured or ridden down, and offered to surrender himself; but the pressure behind the Confederates was too great for them to stop to parley with one man, and some of those in the rear, not understanding the situation, emptied their revolvers into the captain, killing him instantly. The most of Mosby's men succeeded in getting away, but some had their horses shot, and others were cut off. Among these were Anderson, Love, Overby, Carter, and Henry Rhodes, of the 23rd Virginia regiment. Custer determined to wreak summary vengeance upon these men. Rhodes was lashed with ropes between two horses, and dragged in plain sight of his agonized relatives, to the open field north of our town, where one man volunteered to do the killing, and ordered the helpless, dazed prisoner to stand up in front of him while he emptied his pistol upon him. Anderson and Love were shot in a lot behind the courthouse. Overby and Carter were. carried to a large walnut tree upon the hill between Front Royal and Riverton, and were hung. The writer saw the latter under guard in a wagon lot. They bore themselves like heroes, and endured the taunts of their captors with proud and undaunted mien. One of them was a splendid specimen of manhood-tall, well-knit frame, and a head of black, wavy hair floating in the wind, he looked like a knight of old. While I was looking at them, General Custer, at the head of his division, rode by. He was dressed in a splendid suit of silk velvet, his saddle bow bound in silver or gold. In his hand he had a large branch of damsons, which he picked and ate as he rode along, his yellow locks resting upon his shoulders. Rhodes