UNIT HISTORY
Battleflag of the 28th Regt. NC TroopsOrganization:
The 28th Infantry Regiment was organized and mustered into Confederate service in September 1861, at High Point, North Carolina. Its members were from the counties of Surry, Gaston, Catawba, Stanley, Montgomery, Yadkin, Orange, and Cleveland. The unit moved to New Bern and arrived just as the troops were withdrawing from that fight. Ordered to Virginia in May, 1862, it was assigned to General Branch's and Lane's Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia. It fought at Hanover Court House and many conflicts of the army from the Seven Days' Battles to Cold Harbor. The 28th was then involved in the long Petersburg siege south of the James River and the Appomattox operations. It came to Virginia with 1,199 men, lost thirty-three percent of the 480 engaged during the Seven Days' Battles, and had 3 killed and 26 wounded at Cedar Mountain and 5 killed and 45 wounded at Second Manassas. The regiment reported 65 casualties at Fredericksburg and 89 at Chancellorsville. Of the 346 in action at Gettysburg, more than forty percent were killed, wounded, or missing. In Appomattox, the unit surrendered 17 officers and 213 men.
First Commander:
James H. Lane (Colonel)
Field Officers:
William D. Barringer (Lieutenant Colonel)
Samuel D. Lowe (Major, Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel)
Thomas L. Lowe (Lieutenant Colonel)
William J. Montgomery (Major)
Richard E. Reeves (Major)
William H. A. Speer (Major, Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel)
Samuel N. Stowe (Major)Assignments:
District of the Cape Fear, Dept. of North Carolina (October 1861-March 1862)
District of the Pamlico, Dept. of North Carolina (March 1862)
Branch's Brigade, District of the Pamlico, Dept. of North Carolina (March 1862)
Branch's Brigade, Dept. of North Carolina (April-May 1862)
Branch's Brigade, Dept. of Northern Virginia (May 1862)
Branch's Brigade, A.P. Hill's Div., ANV (May-June 1862)
Branch's Brigade, A.P. Hill's Div., 1st Corps, ANV (June-July 1862)
Branch's-Lane's Brigade, A.P. Hill's Div., 2nd Corps, ANV (July 1862-May 1863)
Lane's Brigade, Pender's-Wilcox's Div., 3rd Corps, ANV (May 1863-April 1865)Battles:
New Bern (March 14, 1862)
Hanover Court House (May 27, 1862)
Seven Days Battles (June 25-July 1, 1862)
Beaver Dam Creek (June 26, 1862)
Gaines' Mill (June 27, 1862)
Frayser's Farm (June 30, 1862)
Malvern Hill (July 1, 1862)
Cedar Mountain (August 9, 1862)
2nd Bull Run (August 28-30, 1862)
Ox Hill [Chantilly] (September 1, 1862)
Harpers Ferry (September 12-15, 1862)
Antietam (September 17, 1862)
Shepherdstown Ford (September 20, 1862)
Fredericksburg (December 13, 1862)
Chancellorsville (May 1-4, 1863)
Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863)
Falling Waters (July 10, 1863)
Bristoe Campaign (October-November 1863)
Bristoe Station (October 14, 1863)
Mine Run Campaign (November-December 1863)
The Wilderness (May 5-6, 1864)
Spotsylvania Court House (May 8-21, 1864)
North Anna (May 22-26, 1864)
Cold Harbor (June 1-3, 1864)
Petersburg Siege (June 1864-April 1865)
Gravel Hill (July 28, 1864)
Fussell's Mill (August 16, 1864)
Reams' Station (August 25, 1864)
Jones' Farm (September 30, 1864)
Squirrel Level Road (September 30, 1864)
Pegram's Farm (October 1, 1864)
Hatcher's Run (February 5-7, 1865)
Petersburg Final Assault (April 2, 1865)
Battery Gregg (April 2, 1865)
Jetersville (April 5, 1865)
Farmville (April 7, 1865)
Appomattox Court House (April 9, 1865)Honors:
The flag of the 28th Regiment bore the names of many famous battles in which its men took part: Manassas, Mechanicsville, Harper's Ferry, Frazier's Farm, Hanover Court House, Ox Hill, Cold Harbor and Cedar Mt. (Cedar Run).
Companies of the 28th Regiment, North Carolina Troops:
Company A - Surry County
Company B -The Gaston Invincibles (Gaston County)
Company C - The Catawba Farmers (Catawba County)
Company D - The Stanly Yankee Hunters (Stanly County)
Company E - Montgomery Grays (Montgomery County)
Company F - The Yadkin Boys (Yadkin County)
Company G - Guards of Independence (Orange County)
Company H - The Cleveland Regulars (Cleveland County)
Company I - Yadkin Stars (Yadkin County)
Company K - The Stanly Guards (Stanly County)
Chronology of the 28th North Carolina
The following compiled by Frances H. Casstevens, 9/19/2007The shifting of troops makes it difficult to pinpoint the exact location of the 28th in some of the battles. However, the 28th took part, or was present, at the following places and battle sites:
September 21, 1861 - 28th Regiment organized at Camp Fisher near High Point, NC
From there, they go to Wilmington on September 30, and remain through the winter of 1861 and into the spring of 1862.February 13, 1861 - Wilmington
Strength of regiment at 933 men.
The 28th was assigned to Branch's Brigade, along with the 7th, 18th, 33rd, and 37th regiments.May 1862 - Branch's Brigade ordered to Gordonsville, Virginia
May 27, 1862 - Battle of Hanover Court House, VA
28th ordered to go to Taliaferro's Mill where they are cut off from the rest of the brigade. Col. James H. Lane, commander of the 28th, reported an encounter with the 25th NY. They then found themselves facing an entire brigade. The 28th engaged the enemy and held their ground for 4 hours, expecting reinforcements. None ever came, and they had to retire. Casualties not reported, but were substantial.Col. W. H. A. Speer and others captured. (See Allen Speer's book, Voices from Cemetery Hill).
June 28, 1862 - 28th Regiment down to 480 men
June 25-July 1, 1862 - Seven Days; Battle: Mechanicsville, Gaines Mill, Frazier's Farm
These battles were successful and the Confederates drove the Federal troops back. Richmond was saved once again. The 28th lost 19 men killed, 130 wounded, out of 4809 men. Gen. Lane was wounded at Frazier's Farm.August 9, 1862 - Battle of Cedar Mountain
Gen. Branch wounded, and Lane assumes command of brigade. Stonewall's division was flanked and retreated in disorder. N. C. Troops of A. P. Hill's division advanced and delivered a counterattack, routing the enemy from the field. Col. Lane reported: "The 28th, 33rd, 18th, and 37th moved cheerfully and irresistibly forward in perfect order." Many prisoners were captured, and many Federal soldiers voluntarily surrendered.August 28, 1862 - Second Manassas
Pope's Federal forces outnumbered Confederates 3:1. Branch's Brigade (including the 28th) was placed along the unfinished railroad cut where they were engaged in heavy fighting. The Confederates held for a day and a half until reinforced by Longstreet's Corp the next day. Confederates then went on offensive and droved Union troops from the field. Lane reported that the 28th "...advanced boldly into the woods, driving the enemy before it, although exposed to a left enfilade and direct fire, but fell back when it found itself unsupported. The men rallied and reformed in the center of an open field and advanced a second time, when the enemy was not only driven beyond the cut, but entirely out of the woods. Never have I witnessed greater bravery and desperation than was that day displayed by this brigade."
September 1, 1862 - Ox Hill (Chantilly, VA)
The day after 2nd Manassas, in the advance of Jackson's column, the 28th encountered the enemy at Ox Hill. Branch's Brigade was ordered to advance in a blinding rainstorm, and when ammunition ran low, they were ordered to hold their position with bayonets.Lane reported this engagement was one of the most severe held to date. Casualties among the 28th: 14 killed, 92 wounded, 2 missing. Afterwards, the cold, hungry, and wet men of the 28th were ordered back to the field for picket duty during the night, without fires for warmth and comfort.
September 17, 1862 - Harper's Ferry and Sharpsburg, Maryland
The 28th left Harper's Ferry on the morning of September 17 and marched on the double to Sharpsburg. They arrived in time to save Gen. Lee's right. During the battle, Gen. Branch was mortally wounded. Col. Lane was given permanent command of the brigade. After the battle, the Branch-Lane Brigade was one of three formed as the rear guard for Lee's Army f Northern Virginia as it crossed the Potomac River.November 1, 1862- Col. James H. Lane Promoted
Lane was officially promoted to brigadier general in charge of the former Branch's Brigade. Col. Samuel D. Lowe was placed in command of the 28th Regiment.December 13, 1862 - Fredericksburg, VA
The 28th was involved in the heavy fighting at Fredericksburg on the plain south of the town. Casualties were 16 killed and 49 wounded.May 1-4, 1863 - Chancellorsville, VA
The 28th was part of Stonewall Jackson's famous flank march around Chancellorsville, which took the enemy by surprise. A night attach on May 3 was repulsed by the 28th, together the help of the 18th and 33rd Regiments. During this attack, Company E of the 28th (the Montgomery Grays) captured the flag of the 3rd Main Volunteers.On May 3, the 28th was involved in 3 charges against the Federal breastworks, which were supported by heavy enemy artillery. Each time the Confederates charged, both the regiment and the brigade suffered heavy losses. Eventually, the Federals were forced to retire and the retreated back across the Rappahannock River, ending the 3-day battle.
Chancellorsville was considered Lee's greatest victory. However, that victory was tempered with the loss of Lee's greatest general, Stonewall Jackson. Jackson was mortally wounded by his own men (the 18th Regiment of the Branch-Lane Brigade reportedly fired upon Jackson while he was riding through the lines during the night).
The loss of Jackson forced a reorganization of the Army of Northern Virginia. The following campaign would end with the battle of Gettysburg.
July 1-3, 1863 - Gettysburg, PA
The 28th Regiment was one of the first two divisions to enter the little town of Gettysburg. The regiment saw action on the first day west of the town. On the second day, July 2nd, their position was a relatively quiet, but their division commander, General William Dorsey Pender, was mortally wounded. The third day was a disaster for the entire Army of Northern Virginia, which culminated in the now famous assault known as "Pickett's Charge."The 28th was a part of this assault, which was to be known as the "high tide of the Confederacy." After this battle, because of the heavy casualties, the Confederate Army was never able to garner enough manpower to gain the advantage in a major battle.
Against the advise of Longstreet and other generals, Lee sent 12,000 of his best troops against the enemy's center. The Federal forces of General Meade were on an elevated position nearly a mile from the Confederate lines. An open field, two fences, and a road lay between the opposing forces. The Federals were sheltered by a low stonewall, and behind them their heavy artillery were massed.
General Lane reported on part of his Brigade in the assault: "I moved forward to the support of Pettigrew's right, through the woods in which our batteries were planted, and through an open field about a mile in full view of the enemy's fortified position, and under a murderous artillery and infantry fire. My command never moved forward more handsomely. The men reserved their fire in accordance with orders and then opened with telling effect, repeatedly driving the cannoneers from their pieces, completely silencing the guns in our immediate 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 stonewall, exposed all the while to heavy ranking artillery fire from the right. My left was very much exposed, and a column of the enemy's infantry was thrown forward in that direction, which enfiladed my whole line. This forced me to withdraw my brigade, the troops on my right having already done so.
Capt. Lovell of Company A, 28th Regiment, reported: "Some of my men were wounded and captured inside the works." It has been established that the North Carolina troops advanced the furtherest in this assault. It is also known that the North Carolinians held their ground the longest before falling back.
Rev. George Sanderlin, Capt., Company E, 33rd Regiment, stated: "I am absolutely confident that Lane's Brigade held its position at the enemy's works longer than any other command, and that we did not move towards the rear until the rest of the line was in full retreat…"
After this disastrous battle, the Army of Northern Virginia retreated across the Potomac River, back into Virginia.
The flag of the 28th Regiment was captured. It was one of 33 Confederate flags taken.
During Pickett's Charger, the 28th Regiment lost 104 men out of 349 men involved.
Winter 1863-1864 - Liberty Mills, near Fredericksburg, VA
The winter months and until May 4, the Branch-Lane Brigade and the 28th Regiment were in camp on the Rapidan River, above Fredericksburg.May 5, 1864 - Wilderness
On May 4, 1864, General U. S. Grant began moving his Army of the Potomac across the lower Rapidan River and continued until he entered the dense woods known as the Wilderness, southeast of Fredericksburg. Lee moved his troops to stop Grant. The Confederates were outnumbered 2:1.The battle began on the morning of May 5 with heavy fighting. Lane's and Scales' brigades stopped the Federal effort to turn the Confederate flank. The Confederates stabilized their position.
On May 6, 134 Federal brigades attacked Hill's 8 brigades with such suddenness they hardly had tome to resist. Hill's men were driven back in disorder. Longstreet arrived to reinforce Hill and to prevent the collapse of Lee's right wing. The Federal assault came to a halt, and they were driven back. Lee managed to defeat Grant in their first encounter. However, the Wilderness was the scene of many terrible deaths when the woods caught fire and some of the wounded were burned alive.
May 8-12, 1864 - Spotsylvania Court House
The Confederate Army reached Spotsylvania, a strategic junction, before the Federals. Lee's men set up a strong defensive line. Lane's Brigade was on the left of Hill's line, and connected to Ewell's line at a U-shaped salient known as "The Mule Shoe" (later called the "Bloody Angle). The 18th and the 28th regiments were on the left of Lane's Brigade and they came under a sudden and violent attack early on the morning of May 12. Confederate troops, including the 28th, were driven back. The 28th lost many men and its flag. The 28th and 28th fell back to a parallel line with the rest of Lane's Brigade, and they managed to stop the Federal advance. Further to their left, Ramseur's Brigade was holding the enemy back in hand-to-hand combat. The men bravely held until a second line of defense was being completed across the base of the salient. Once it was completed, the original line was abandoned, which ended the Federal attack.The fight was not over for Lane's Brigade. As they moved south to Heth's salient, they were sent to attack the Federals on that part of the field. The brigade drove the Federals back, and captured many prisoners, as well as the flag of the 17th Michigan, and a battery of artillery.
At Spotsylvania, the 28th Regiment lost its colors and 126 men were either killed or wounded.
May 23, 1864 - Jericho Mills, VA
As Grant withdrew, Lee's army moved southeastward. The 28th Regiment was involved in a battle at Jericho Mills. Lane reported that the 28th advanced as far as any of the troops engaged, held its ground until relieved that night, and removed all its dead and wounded."June 18, 1864 - Petersburg, VA
The 28th was positioned on the extreme right of the Confederate line at Petersburg.June 22, 1864 - Jerusalem Plank Road
Lane's Brigade stopped the Federals from gaining a position on the Petersburg and Weldon Railroad.June 18, 1864 - Gravel Hill
The 28th was involved in a battle here.August 16, 1864 - Fussell's Mill
The entire Branch-Lane Brigade was involved in a battle at Fussell's Mill, where the Federals tried to breach the Confederate defenses.August 25, 1864 - Reams' Station
Along with Hill's Corps, the 28th took part in a victory over the Federals at Reams' Station. General Lee said to General Lane: "The three North Carolina brigades of Cooke's, MacRae's and Lane's which made the assault, after the failure of the first by other troops, had by their gallantry not only placed North Carolina, but the whole Confederacy, under a debt of gratitude which could never be repaid." In a letter to Governor Vance of North Carolina, General Lee said: "They advanced through a thick abates of felled trees under a heavy fire of musketry and artillery and carried the enemy's works with a steady courage that elicited the warm commendations of the corps and division commanders and the admiration of the army.It was during a conversation about the battle at Reams' Station that North Carolina received its nickname: It is said that after this battle, when the North Carolina troops were marching by the troops from another state, one of the soldiers called out to the North Carolina boys and asked them what they were gong to do with all that tar back home. "Jeff Davis is going to bring it up here and put it on your heels so you'll stick better in the next fight,' was the reply from a North Carolina boy. Upon hearing of the incident, General Lee reportedly said, "God Bless the Tar heel boys!" The name has stuck to the boys form North Carolina ever since.
September 9, 1864 - Jones' Farm
February 5, 1865 - Hatcher's Run
April 2, 1865 - Petersburg Lines
The Federal attack finally broke the thin Confederate lines at Petersburg, General Lane reported on the night of April 1 that his men were spaced 6 to 10 paces (18 to 30 feet) apart. Normally if enough men were available, they would have been stationed shoulder-to-shoulder. Lee did not have enough men by now to do that.The enemy penetrated the line on the right of the 37th North Carolina. The 28th was enfiladed on the left and on the right. They found themselves surrounded and were forced to fall back. The same was true all along the line and the order was given to evacuate Petersburg. Lee sent word to President Davis to leave Richmond.
April 3, 1865 - Appomattox River and Farmville, VA
The 28th was engaged in skirmished between the Appomattox River and Farmville until they received orders to return to Appomattox Court House and stack their arms. Their arms were actually stacked on April 12, 1865, 3 days after Lee surrendered.Of the entire 28th Regiment, which normally consisted of about 1,000 men, only 230 members were present at Appomattox.
History of the 28th North Carolina
Charlotte Observer - February 17, 1895
Written by General James H. LaneImmediately after organizing, the regiment was ordered to Wilmington, N. C., where it remained under General Joseph R. Anderson, commanding the "Cape Fear District," until the fall of Newbern. During its stay in that kind and hospitable town it performed post duty and guarded various bridges on the Wilmington & Weldon Railroad. It was kept under rigid discipline; and that it was well drilled and properly cared for will appear from the following extracts from the Wilmington Journal:
"On a recent visit to the camp of the 28th Regiment we were pleased to see that a complete town of neat wooden tenements has taken the place of the canvass village of the latter part of the summer and fall, affording convenient and comfortable quarters with chimneys for the men, houses for the stores and other purposes. We found nearly all finished, with the exception of some of the officers' quarters, Colonel Lane's among the number, these being left to the last, as, being less crowded, the necessity was not so pressing."
"Almost as we go to press the 28th moves down Second street, with steady tramp, the long line of their bayonets gleaming in the sun, and the firm bearing of the men indicative of determination and giving promise of gallant service when called upon. The drill and marching of the regiments are, to our feeble notions, as good as could be desired by regulars. If there is less of the pomp and circumstance of war with our plainly arrayed troops than with the fancy corps raised in northern cities, experience has shown that there is more of the pride that will stand and will not run unless it be forward. Colonel Lane may well be proud of his regiment."
On the 28th of October 1861, the regiment numbered 970 all told.
It reached Newbern the 14th of March 1862, just as the troops were withdrawing and it helped to cover their retreat. It fell back with them through mud and rain to Kinston, where it remained until it was ordered to Virginia. Soon after reaching Kinston it was assigned to the brigade commanded by General L. O'B. Branch.
It at once renewed its work of reorganizing for the war which it had so gloriously begun in Wilmington, and completed the same the 12th of April 1862. The following from a correspondent was published at the time in the Raleigh Journal:
"It is with no ordinary emotions of joy and pride that I inform you, and through your paper the public, that the Twenty-eighth North Carolina Regiment has 'reorganized for the war.' Six companies reorganized before we left Wilmington. Last week the four remaining companies reorganized, and on Saturday we had an election for field officers, when Colonel Lane and Lieutenant-Colonel Lowe were elected to their former positions by acclamation. For major we had some warm balloting. Several were nominated. After several ballotings, Captain Samuel D. Lowe was elected. I noticed that the captains were very popular with the first lieutenants. Perhaps the recent laws of succession in office had some influence."
"It makes us very proud to know that we are the first North Carolina Regiment to reorganize. The regiment is very large, now numbering 1,250 men."
"Considering that our original term of service would not have expired till the 21st of September, and being the first North Carolina Regiment to re-enlist and reorganize, we think very modestly, that we are entitled to some favors. We have no rifle companies. We would be glad to have two, though we are not disposed to grumble, and will cheerfully do the best we can."
"We are now realizing the privations and hardships of camp life. We often think of our comfortable quarters and the kind-hearted people of Wilmington. Some of the fair ones of Wilmington, I suspect, are remembered with more than ordinary feelings of friendship."
"We see nothing, hear nothing and know nothing here but to obey orders. A man has to be very patriotic, on good terms with his fellow soldiers, and on prodigiously good terms with himself, to see much enjoyment here; but so long as our country needs our services, we will be contented in her service wherever it may be."
This regiment, numbering 1,199 for duty, was ordered to Virginia May 2, 1862. It was armed with old smoothbore muskets from the Fayetteville arsenal, badly altered from flint to percussion. It soon threw them away and supplied itself with more serviceable and more modern weapons gathered on the bloody battlefield in that grand old State.
On reaching Virginia it was ordered at once to Gordonsville. It remained there at Rapidan Station doing picket duty only for a short time. With the rest of the brigade it was next ordered to join Jackson in the Valley; but on reaching the foot of the Blue Ridge, it was ordered back to Hanover Courthouse. On the 16th of May it was marched through mud and rain to "Slash Church." At that time the regiment had in it "many recruits just recovering from the diseases incident to the commencement of camp life." Latham's Battery reported to General Branch from North Carolina the evening before the brigade left Hanover Courthouse "with only half enough men for the efficient service of the guns and with horses entirely untrained."
On Tuesday morning, the 27th of May, General Branch ordered the 28th Regiment and a section of Latham's Battery, under Lieutenant J. R. Potts, to Taliaferro's Mill to capture, if possible, a reported marauding party. No one was found at the mill, and as the enemies were reported advancing on the "Old Church" road, it promptly retraced its steps, marching left in front, with flankers, and aft advance guard was thrown out. On reaching the pine thicket in front of Dr. Kinney's, on the direct road to Richmond, a squad of Federals stepped into the Taliaferro Mill road, in front of the command. The colonel suspecting an ambush, halted his regiment, faced it by the rear rank, and wheeled it to the right into the thicket. It handsomely cleaned the thicket of the enemy. On reaching the road in front of Dr. Kinney's it charged with rebel yells the 25th New York Regiment, concealed in Kinney's field of standing wheat, and almost annihilated it in front of Martindale's Brigade, drawn up in line of battle and strongly supported by artillery. It was not known then that the regiment had been cut off by an overwhelming force of infantry, artillery, and cavalry under General Fitz John Porter. It was withdrawn and reformed in the open field on the Hanover Courthouse side of Kinney's dwelling. Potts' artillery was also ordered into position, and never were two guns served more handsomely. The unequal contest was kept up for over four hours, inflicting greater damage than was sustained; and when it was found that the enemy was flanking the regiment in both directions, it was withdrawn in good order to Hanover Courthouse. On reaching St. Paul's Church, beyond the courthouse, where the road forks, and finding the enemy's batteries in position and the road to Ashland in their possession, it was ordered to take the fork to Taylorsville under a shelling. Knowing the cavalry was pursuing in force, it was thrown from the road to the field to take advantage of the cross-fences. On reaching a thin strip of woods beyond the railroad, it was ordered back into the road, and directed to move as rapidly as possible to Taylorsville, while Potts unlimbered his Parrott gun in the middle of the road. The other gun had been abandoned at Kinney's, as the horses had been killed or badly wounded. This bold piece of strategy on the part of the colonel and the lieutenant of artillery intimidated the enemy's cavalry, caused them to form line of battle on the other side of the railroad, and enabled the 28th Regiment to make its escape. Already exhausted from exposure to inclement weather, from hunger, from fighting and marching, it was three days before the regiment, by a circuitous route, rejoined the brigade on the right bank of the Chickahominy, where it was wildly and joyfully received. It was highly complimented by Generals Lee and Branch for its splendid behavior in this masterly retreat. The former was heard to remark that it was a wonder to him the whole command had not been killed or captured.
Company G, which was cut off from the regiment at Kinney's, can never forget how their brave, but frail and delicate young captain, George B. Johnston, afterward the accomplished adjutant-general of the brigade, swam the river to escape the enemy, and then swam back rather than appear to have deserted his men; how he marched as a prisoner of war from Kinney's farm to West Point in his wet clothes; how he was confined on Johnson's Island; how he read the Episcopal service regularly to his fellow-prisoners there; how he endeared himself to all in his captivity; how he was joyfully welcomed back to camp; and how, a physical wreck, he was soon forced to return home to die. A nobler, braver, purer Christian hero never lived.
From this battle at Kinney's farm, or Hanover Courthouse, as it is generally called, to the surrender at Appomattox Courthouse, the history of the brigade is the history of the regiment. It bore on its battle-flag the name of every battle in which the brigade participated.
Before the fights around Richmond, Branch's Brigade was assigned to General A. P. Hill, and became a part of the famous "Light Division." The 28th Regiment was with its brigade when it was the first, in those seven days' fights, to cross the Chickahominy at "Half Link," and clear the way for the crossing of the rest of the "Light Division" at "Meadow Bridge." When it reached Mechanicsville, on the 26th of June, it was ordered to support a battery on the left of the road. Next morning it was subjected to a short but severe artillery fire. On reaching Cold Harbor, on the 27th, it and the 7th North Carolina were ordered to the left of the road, where it behaved very handsomely, its own colonel being wounded on the head, and Colonel Campbell, of the 7th, killed with the colors of his regiment in his hands. At Frazier's Farm, on the 30th, it was on the right of the 37th North Carolina Regiment. After driving the enemy's infantry, it and the 37th gallantly charged the artillery in their front, when its colonel was shot in the face, and Colonel Lee, of the 37th, was killed. It was not actively engaged at Malvern Hill on the 1st of July. It was, however, ordered forward in the afternoon to support the forces engaged, and was under a very heavy artillery fire until some time after dark. It carried 480 into those bloody fights and sustained a loss of twelve killed and 146 wounded.
It encamped below the city of Richmond for a short time and was then ordered, July 29th, to Gordonsville, near which place it remained until just before the battle of Cedar Run, August 9th, in which it bore a very conspicuous part. Many of the men wiped their guns out as they advanced under the hottest fire; and when infantry and cavalry had been repulsed, and General Jackson appeared on the field in its front, the men wildly cheered him and called to him to let them know what he wished done and they would do it. The loss in this fight was three killed and twenty-six wounded.
In this battle, after the enemy had been repulsed and the regiment had crossed the road to connect with General Taliaferro's command, the colonel chided a member of Company F for falling out of ranks. When the soldier replied that he was no coward but was exhausted and could go no further, the colonel took off his canteen, handed it to him, and told him to take a "stiff drink" and rejoin his company. Not long after, as the colonel was passing down the line, complimenting his men for their gallantry, that brave fellow stepped out of ranks, saluted and said: "Colonel, here I am. I tell you what, that drink you gave me just now has set me up again, and I feel as though I could whip a whole regiment of Yankees." Everybody was in a good humor, and of course everybody laughed.
At the shelling across the Rappahannock on the 24th of August, the 28th was sent to the support of Braxton's and Davidson's Batteries, and a part of the regiment was thrown forward with instructions to prevent, if possible, the destruction of the bridge across the river near Warrenton White Sulphur Springs.
The most laughable fight was at Manassas Junction, August 27th, when Jackson got in Pope's rear, and the brigade chased Taylor's New Jersey command into the swamps of Bull Run. One of the 28th was very much astonished, after jumping over a bush from the railroad embankment; to find that he had also jumped over a Yankee crouched beneath. Another was still more astonished when he got on al fours to take a drink of water, to find that a follow had sought safety in the culvert. He was an Irishman, and after he had crawled from his hiding-place, he created an uproar by slapping the Tar Heel on the shoulder and remarking: "You got us badly this time. Come, let's take a drink." Both of them "smiled" out of the same canteen.
At Manassas Plains, on the 28th of August, this regiment was under a heavy artillery fire while supporting a battery. On the 29th it fought with great coolness, steadiness and desperation on the extreme left of Jackson's line. It was subjected to a heavy artillery fire the next day, the 30th, and there was heavy skirmishing in its front until late in the afternoon. Its loss was five killed and forty-five wounded.
The battle of Ox Hill, near Fairfax Courthouse, was fought September l, 1862, in a pouring rain. The Twenty-eighth was on the left of the brigade and fought splendidly, though many of its guns fired badly on account of the moisture. It was here that General Branch, when he made known the fact that he was nearly out of ammunition, was ordered, "to hold his position at the point of the bayonet." The Twenty-eighth, cold, wet and hungry, was ordered to do picket duty on the battlefield that night without fires.
This regiment was with the Army of Northern Virginia in its march into Maryland; and the first day after crossing the Potomac, September 5th, it feasted on nothing but green corn, browned on the ear before the fires made of the fences in the neighborhood. This was not the first time the regiment had indulged in such a repast.
On the 14th of September it was with the brigade when it climbed the cliffs of the Shenandoah at midnight, and lay concealed next morning on the left and rear of the enemy in their works on "Bolivar Heights," in front of Harper's Ferry, ready and eager for the order to assault, which order was never given as the enemy surrendered under the concentrated fire of the Confederate batteries.
It was in that memorable rapid march from Harper's Ferry to Sharpsburg. On reaching the right of the battlefield, the afternoon of the 17th of September, General A. P. Hill dashed up, and in person ordered it at a double-quick up the road to the left, leading to the town, to defend an unsupported battery, and drive back the enemy's skirmishers who were advancing through a field of corn.
Two days afterward, September 19th, it constituted a part of the rear guard of General Lee's army when he re-crossed the Potomac.
At Shepherdstown, on the 20th of September, when the Confederates could not use their artillery, it gallantly advanced "in the face of a storm of round shot, shell and grape," and gloriously helped to drive the enemy precipitately over the bank of the Potomac, where so many were killed attempting to cross the river at the dam above the ford.
Here the regiment was compelled to lie all day on the Virginia shore, and the enemy, from the opposite side of the river, fired artillery at every individual soldier who dared expose himself. When Colonel Lane, then in command of the brigade, General Branch having been killed at Sharpsburg, called to a litter to know who had been wounded and received the reply: "Lieutenant Long, of your regiment," he approached and expressed the hope that the lieutenant was not seriously hurt. The latter replied: "I have been shot in the back; the ball has gone through me and I am mortally wounded." Taking his colonel's hand, he put it inside of his shirt on the slug, which was under the skin of his breast, and added: "I am a young man. I entered the army because I thought it right, and I have tried to discharge all my duties." Then that young hero, with his colonel's hand still on that fatal slug, asked in a most touching tone: "Though I have been shot in the back, will you not bear record, when I am dead, that I was always a brave soldier under you?"
After this fight the regiment went into camp near Castleman's Ferry, or Snicker's Gap, in Clarke County, Va., where it remained for some time, doing picket duty in snowstorms and freezing weather. It subsequently camped near Winchester, where it remained until Jackson's Corps moved to Fredericksburg, November 22d. There it remained but a short time, and then took part in the great battle near that town, December 13, 1862. It held an advanced, open, unfortified position on the railroad, and fought with great coolness and gallantry, using all of its ammunition, including that from the boxes of its dead and badly wounded. All this, when the right flank of the brigade had been turned by a large force of the enemy going through that unfortunate opening and catching the intended support for the brigade with its arms stacked. After handsomely repulsing two lines of battle in its front, it was forced to retire before the third. Its loss was sixteen killed and forty-nine wounded.
In this fight, Private Martin, of Company C, coolly sat on the track and called to his comrades to watch the Yankee colors, then fired and down they went. This was done repeatedly. Captain Lovell, of Company A, the right company of the regiment, stood on the track all the time, waving his hat and cheering his men, and strange to say, neither he nor Martin was struck.
After the battle, when Captain Holland, of Company H, congratulated General Lane on his escape, he added: "And I am indebted to a biscuit for my own life." Running his hand into his haversack, he drew forth a camp biscuit about the size of a saucer, cooked without salt or "shortening" of any kind, and looking like horn when sliced--something that an ostrich could not digest--and there was a Yankee bullet only half imbedded in that wonderful biscuit.
It was here that First Lieutenant W. W. Cloninger, of Company B, as he lay at the field hospital, called Abernathy to him and asked why he had been neglected so long. When told that he was mortally wounded, and the surgeons considered it their first duty to attend to those whose lives might be saved, he replied: "If I must die, I will let you all see that I can die like a man." Folding his arms across his breast, that hero, far away from his loved ones, lay under that tree in Yerby's yard, and without a murmur quietly awaited death.
At 6:30 o'clock on the morning of the 12th, when the brigade was ordered to its position on the railroad, it passed the refugees streaming to its rear from that old historic town. As delicate women with infants in their arms and helpless little children clinging to their mother's dresses, all thinly clad, went by, some of those brave and chivalrous North Carolinians called out: "Look at that, fellows. If that will not make a Southern man fight, what will?"
The regiment spent that winter at "Moss Neck," below Fredericksburg. There it did picket duty on the Rappahannock, and helped to corduroy the roads when they became impassable, sometimes having to clear away the snow to lay the logs.
In the spring of 1863, when the enemy renewed his demonstrations at Fredericksburg, it occupied the second line of works near Hamilton's Crossing.
In the battle of Chancellorsville it accompanied Jackson in his flank movement, and on the night of the 2d of May it was on the left of Lane's brigade when formed for the night attack. After Jackson was wounded and the night attack abandoned, it was withdrawn from the left of the plank road, and placed on the extreme right of the brigade, with its own right resting on a country road leading from the plank road to a place called "Hazel Grove." About midnight, General Sickles, with two strong lines of battle, made his much lauded attack, and was repulsed by the Twenty-eighth and Eighteenth, and a part of the Thirty-third North Carolina regiments, chiefly by the Twenty-eighth. A number of prisoners, including field and company officers, were captured. Company E, of the Twenty-eighth, also captured the colors of the Third Maine Regiment.
Early next morning the Twenty-eighth, with the rest of the brigade, made a direct assault on the enemy's works and carried them, but could not hold them, as the brigade's support had broken in its rear, and it was attacked by fresh troops before General Ramseur could come to its assistance. It subsequently joined in the charge which drove the enemy from "Fairview" and the "Chancellorsville House," where it was much amused at that great cavalier, General Stuart, singing, "Old Joe Hooker, Get Out the Wilderness," while the battle was raging. Its loss was twelve officers, and seventy-seven men.
Later, having replenished itself with ammunition, it went to the support of General Colquitt, on the extreme left. There it witnessed the most harrowing scene of the war. The woods, already filled with sulphurous smoke, had been set on fire by the enemy's shells. The dropped rifles of the dead and wounded and the enemy's shells with imperfect fuses, exploded in every direction as the flames swept over them; the dead of both armies were being burnt to a crisp, and the helpless Federal wounded begged to be taken out of the line of the rapidly approaching and devouring fire. The brigade itself was forced to halt to let the flames sweep over the ground where it was ordered to form, and when it did form the ground was uncomfortably hot. That night it literally slept in ashes under those charred scrub oaks, and when it was ordered back next day, it afforded great amusement to its more fortunate comrades, for never was there seen in any army a dirtier and blacker set of brave men from the general down. As General Lane lay in the ashes that night a pretty little Yankee dog, branded "Co. K," persisted in making friends with him. In all the subsequent movements of the troops in Jackson's Corps that little dog kept his eye on the "Little General" and followed him back to camp where he became a great pet at brigade headquarters. He proved to be a splendid little fighter.
After this battle the regiment returned to "Camp Gregg" at "Moss Neck" below Fredericksburg, where it remained until the 5th of June 1863.
Crossing the Potomac at Shepherdstown on the 25th of June, it reached Gettysburg the 1st of July. It behaved as it had always done in the first day's fight at that place, when Lane's Brigade was ordered from the center of A. P. Hill's line to "the post of honor" on the right to protect that flank of the army from the enemy's cavalry while it fought his infantry in front.
On the 2d day of July it was under a heavy artillery fire several times during the day, and its skirmishers displayed great gallantry.
It took a very conspicuous part in the so-called Pickett's charge of the 3d of July. The brigade occupied the left of the imperfect \second line, and when Davis' Brigade was repulsed at Brockenbrough's, did not get beyond the position occupied by General Thomas, it moved handsomely forward with the rest of "Lane's brave fellows" who took the position of those two brigades on the extreme left of the first line. Though a column of infantry was thrown against its left flank and the whole line was exposed to a raking artillery fire from the right, it advanced in magnificent order, reserving its fire in obedience to orders, was the last command to leave the field, and it did so under orders. Its loss was twelve killed and ninety-two wounded.
On the 12th it formed line of battle near Hagerstown, Maryland, threw up breast-works and skirmished with the enemy until the night of the 13th. The retreat from Hagerstown through mud and rain was worse than that from Gettysburg, which was "awful." Some fell by the wayside from exhaustion, and the whole command was fast asleep as soon as halted for a rest about a mile from the pontoon bridge at "Falling Waters." On the morning of the 14th, Lane's brigade alone covered the crossing at "Falling' Waters," and Captain Crowell, of the Twenty-eighth, commanded its skirmishers. After all the other troops were safely over the Potomac, the whole brigade retired in splendid order and the enemy opened with its artillery just as the bridge swung loose from the Virginia shore.
On returning from Pennsylvania the regiment camped for a short time at Culpepper Courthouse, and was then ordered to Orange Courthouse, where it did picket duty on the Rapidan at Morton's ford. It was next ordered to Liberty Mills as a support to the cavalry, which was engaged at Jack's Shops. There it spent most of the winter doing picket duty on the Rapidan River and the Stanardsville road. Once during that winter it had a terrible march through sleet and snow to Madison Courthouse, trying to intercept some of the Federal cavalry raiders.
At Bristow Station, October 14th, this regiment was under fire but not actively engaged. There it helped to tear up the railroad, something at which it had become expert. As early as the middle of October, 1862, General Jackson complimented the brigade for the thorough manner in which it destroyed the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad at North Mountain Depot, where, beyond the cavalry pickets, it tore up about ten miles of the track; and the men amused themselves when the rails on the burning ties were red-hot by tying "iron cravats" around the adjacent trees. The depot was not burned at that time because the wind would have endangered private property. It remained in camp at Brandy Station until the enemy captured a large portion of the two brigades under General Early beyond the Rappahannock, on the 7th of November. When the corps formed line of battle near Culpepper Courthouse on the 8th of November, the regiment was with the brigade when it was ordered back on the Warrenton road, where it repulsed a cavalry charge with slight loss. After that it returned to its old and comfortable quarters at Liberty Mills.
When General Lee confronted Meade at Mine Run, November 27, 1863, the weather was intensely cold and the sufferings of the men were great. Not being allowed to have fires on the skirmish line, the men were relieved every half hour. The 28th was a part of the troops withdrawn from the trenches at 3 A. M. on the 2d of December and moved to the right to make an attack, but at daylight it was found that Meade had withdrawn.
Late in the afternoon of the 5th of May, 1864, the 28th went gallantly to the support of the hard-pressed troops in the Wilderness when Colonel Venable, of General Lee's staff, said to Colonel Palmer, of General A. P. Hill's: "Thank God! I will go back and tell General Lee that Lane has just gone in and will hold his ground until other troops arrive to-night." The brigade did more than hold its own; it drove the enemy some distance. The troops did not arrive that night as was expected, and next morning those brave men were compelled to retire before the overwhelming force of the enemy. The regiment lost four officers and eighty-four men.
The 28th also did its part nobly on the morning of the 12th of May, at Spotsylvania Courthouse, when Johnson's front was broken, and "Lane's North Carolina veterans turned the tide of Federal victory as it came surging to the right." It was also with the brigade the afternoon of the same day, when, under General Lee's orders and in his presence, it crossed the works in front of Spotsylvania Courthouse, and in that brilliant flank movement handled Burnside's Corps so roughly and relieved Johnson's front. Its loss in these two engagements was five officers and 121 men.
On the afternoon of the 21st it moved to the right of the Courthouse, and made a reconnaissance, in which Lieutenant E. S. Edwards was killed and two men wounded.
At Jericho Ford, on the 23d of May, the 28th advanced as far as any of the troops engaged, held its ground until relieved that night, and removed all its dead and wounded. Its loss was two officers and twenty-eight men.
On the 31st of May, at Storr's farm, on Tottapottamoi creek, near Pole Green Church, it was engaged all day in heavy skirmishing and was under a terrible artillery fire.
At the Second Cold Harbor it behaved as gallantly as it did at the first. It also behaved with its accustomed bravery at Riddle's Shop, June 13th; action three miles southeast of Petersburg, June 22d; action in front of Petersburg, June 23d; Gravel Hill, July 28th; Fussell's Mills, August 16th and 18th; and Ream's Station, August 25th. In the last-named battle it had to crawl through an almost impenetrable abattis, under a heavy fire of musketry and artillery. Captain Holland, of Company H, was among the first to mount the works, and seeing that they were still manned and but few of his own men were up, he yelled out: "Yanks, if you know what is best for you, you had better make a blue streak toward sunset." They made the streak, and the men often laughed and said Grant would have to send Hancock back north to recruit his command. General Lee, in speaking of this fight to General Lane, said that the three North Carolina brigades, Cook's, McRae's and Lane's, which made the second assault, after the failure of the first by other troops, had, by their gallantry, not only placed North Carolina but the whole Confederacy under a debt of gratitude which could never be repaid. In writing to Governor Vance about the same battle, he said: "They advanced through a thick abattis of felled trees, under a heavy fire of musketry and artillery, and carried the enemy's works with a steady courage that elicited the warm commendation of the corps and division commanders and the admiration of the army."
At Jones' farm, on the right of Petersburg, on the 30th of September, this regiment was second to none in bravery. In this fight both lines were advancing when they met. To the delight of all, this battlefield was rich in oilcloths, blankets, knapsacks and the like. Some of the knapsacks, judging from the appearance of the straps, were cut from the shoulders of their owners in their hasty retreat under a murderous fire accompanied with that well-known rebel yell.
Next morning the regiment advanced with the other troops and helped to drive the enemy from the works at the Pegram House, which were held in the rain until dark, when it returned to the works near the Jones House. It soon after went into winter quarters in rear of these works. During that winter, the Twenty-eighth constituted a part of the force sent against the Federal cavalry raiding on the Petersburg & Weldon Railroad. On that march it not only rained, but it snowed, and there was a high, bitter cold wind, and the men suffered intensely. The troops reached Jarrett's Station to find that the enemy had retired.
This regiment lay all night in the streets of Petersburg, as a part of the intended support for General Gordon, in his attack on Fort Stedman. After Gordon had retired, the enemy swept the whole Confederate picket line from Hatcher's Run, to Lieutenant Run, and it performed its part in helping to keep him out of the main line of works in front of its winter quarters. He got possession, however, of a commanding hill to the left of the Jones House from which he could fire into the huts. Next day, General Lee ordered General Lane to dislodge him. General Lane, who was in command of the division at the time, did so at daylight the following morning, with all of the sharpshooters of the division under Major Wooten, of the Eighteenth North Carolina Regiment, supported by his own brigade, and the Twenty-eighth again had its part to perform.
On the night of the 1st of April, when Grant made his final attack at Petersburg, Lane's Brigade was cut in two by an overwhelming force. The 28th was forced to fall back fighting to the plank road and then to the Cox road; and it finally succeeded in rejoining the rest of the brigade in the inner line of works, where it fought until night, when Petersburg was evacuated. On the afternoon of the 3d it crossed the Appomattox at Goode's Bridge, bivouacked at Amelia Courthouse on the 4th, and formed line of battle between the Courthouse and Jetersville on the 5th, and skirmished with the enemy. Next day while resting in Farmville, it, with the rest of the brigade, was ordered back to a hill to support the hard-pressed cavalry; but before reaching the hill the order was countermanded. It moved back through Farmville and sustained some loss from the enemy's artillery while crossing the river near that place. That afternoon it formed line of battle, faced to the rear, between one and two miles from Farmville, where there was more fighting, and the remnant of General Lee's army seemed to be surrounded. During the night it resumed its march, and on the morning of the 9th of April, while moving to its position on the left of the road near Appomattox Courthouse, it was ordered back into a woods and directed to stack arms, as the army of Northern Virginia had surrendered.
The tattered and starving remnants of this glorious North Carolina Regiment surrendered at Appomattox, consisted of seventeen officers and 213 men, some of the latter being detailed, non-arms-bearing, sent back to be surrendered with their command.
The aggregate in this regiment during the entire war was 1,826. After Colonel Lowe resigned and Lieutenant-Colonel Speer was killed at Reames' Station, the regiment was frequently commanded by Captains E. F. Lovell and T. J. Linebarger.
