Reminiscencies of a Confederate soldier of Co. C, 2nd Va. Cavalry

by Rufus H. Peck

Capt. Breckinridge told me to go and gave me paper and pencil to keep an account of the enemy’s regimental flags, and pieces of artillery that passed the road. There were lookouts stationed on my right and left to guard me as I was lying flat and watching the enemy’s movement, so could not watch myself.

I began my watching about 9 o’clock and was to leave my post at noon. It was a sweltering day, a real type of July and you may imagine how sleepy I got lying flat in that clover field and the rays of the sun just pouring on me. You see, I’d only had one night’s sleep since June 20, and had been marching day and night and this was July 3. My same old watch that I’d carried when I waded the Rappahannock, was still keeping good time and you may know I was glad when it indicated 12 o’clock.

When I went back to the Capt. and gave him the account of what I’d seen he sent it by a courier right on to Gen. Lee. I remember I counted 100 regimental flags and 70 pieces of artillery. Lee had men put on all the roads like this, so he’d have a knowledge of the size of the army he’d have to fight.

When I got back to the Capt. and gave him the paper, I was as wet with perspiration, as if I’d been dipped in the creek. I was so exhausted from hunger and general fatigue that I soon fell asleep and slept for an hour or so, the cannons firing all the time. At one when the general charge was made, I awoke though.

Soon we saw a skirmish line coming and they began firing on us, but we showed a bold front and they not knowing how many there were of us, as there were some buildings near and we were scattered around and they soon stopped firing on us. Looking south, we could see the smoke from the artillery and musketry, boiling up like a volcano. This elevated position gave us a fine view of the surrounding country. The roar of artillery was like a continuous peal of thunder. Our regiment was about a mile from where I was with the few men who had been sent out with me and in fact our skirmish extended on to us, but the main part of our regiment was heavily engaged, but were driven back by Kilpatrick’s regiment. They were fighting, without having had any food all day and the day before and the horses the same, only what they ate dragging us around the night before. The whole regiment had fared just as I had for the last two weeks and were broken down completely.

The hottest of the battle was fully two miles from where I was stationed. As I hadn’t had a bite to eat since breakfast Sat. morning and this was Sunday eve, I told Capt. Breckinridge I was going to risk my life and go to a brick house about 200 yards in front of our skirmish line and try to get something to eat. I watched and kept the house between me and the enemy’s skirmish line and went in at the window and down in the basement, I found a boiled shoulder of bacon, several loaves of bread and all the apple butter and marmalade I could carry and a lot of dutch cheese. The family had left on account of the battle, so I took my time to get plenty and made three trips and took enough back to feed all 35 of the men who had been sent out with me.

After emptying the crocks we put them on the fence back of the house and wrote a note to the lady of the house and put with the crocks, thanking her for her kindness. Her provisions had certainly been a friend in time of need.

The firing of the enemy stopped for a little while and we thought our forces had gained the victory, but when Pickett made his charge the firing began anew and as we hadn’t been ordered to advance, we soon knew that we had lost the day. We could not see the hottest of the battle, only the awful smoke. I’ll never forget that. Major Mason took us back to Gen. Lee’s headquarters about nightfall and we slept in the yard that night. About 10 o’clock it began raining and rained all night. Shortly after daybreak Monday morning, Major Mason gave us something for breakfast and Gen. Lee sent us to Gen. Meade’s headquarters under a flag of truce to get permission to bury our dead. So I had the privilege of sitting with Gen’s Lee and Meade at their respective headquarters the morning of July 4th 63. When Major Mason presented the dispatch to Gen. Meade, he immediately sent about 30 of his men with a dispatch back to Lee under a flag of truce.

About 60 of the U. S. Regulars took us all over the battle field and explained the position of the armies that fought the day before. We went to the hospitals where they had been amputating limbs and at some of them a six horse wagon could have been loaded with legs and arms. We passed a half doz. or more of these field hospitals. There were a doz. or more doctors at each of them. The dead men were every where to be seen, of course. It looked more like fields of flax spread out to dry than any thing I’d seen before. The most of the confederates had been gathered up ready for burial. There were several ten acre fields with men lying just as thick as they could lay. We saw them digging the graves several feet deep and a blanket was spread down and four men laid on it, then another blanket spread over them. The dirt from the next grave was filled on this one and so on until the whole line was buried. I learned afterward that the hurried dispatch Gen. Meade sent back to Gen. Lee, was to send men to mark the graves of the dead, but that he would have them buried. The regulars did not take us over the portion of the battle field occupied by the Yankees. We could see the fields strewn with the dead but we didn’t ride over the ground like we did among our own men. I guess they didn’t want us to see how many they had lost. The men were very nice and kind to us though. They explained how the dreadful slaughter of Pickett’s men occurred. His columns had been thinned out so much by the artillery and heavy firing they were subject to in crossing the low ground coming up to the foot of Cemetery Ridge, and he gave the order to close to the left, expecting Gen. Heath’s division to also close to the left and support him. But Heath couldn’t see the move Pickett made as his men were in a piece of timber and the trees being in full leaf, the view was obstructed. They advanced slowly and when Pickett charged the breastworks, Heath’s division was too far in the rear to aid him. There was a gap of about 700 yds. left between Pickett’s and Heath’s division and Gen. Warren, who was in front of Heath’s division saw the gap, marched a part of his men to the front and right faced and marched in behind Pickett and captured a part of his men, who had already taken the breastworks.

When Pickett saw Warren’s move and knew that Heath couldn’t support him to recapture the breastworks, he was compelled to retreat. Then was when the terrible slaughter occurred, as Pickett’s men retreated under the heavy fire from the artillery they had once taken, but was unable to hold.