[SURRENDER AT APPOMATTOX.]
BY BRYAN GRIMES.
On the night of Saturday, April 1, 1865, my division occupied a portion of the defenses around the city of Petersburg, my left resting on Otey's Battery, near the memorable crater, my right extending to the dam on a creek beyond Battery Forty-five. Ramseur's old Brigade of North Carolinians, commanded by Colonel W. R. Cox (holding appointment as temporary Brigadier) was on the right; Archer's Brigade of Virginia Junior Reserves, and Grimes' old brigade of North Carolinians, commanded by Colonel D. G. Cowand of the Thirty-second North Carolina, Battle's Brigade of Alabamians, commanded by Colonel Hobson, of the Fifth Alabama, Cook's Brigade of Georgians, commanded by Colonel Nash, extended to the left in the order above named, numbering for duty about two thousand two hundred muskets, covering at least three and a half miles of the trenches around Petersburg. One-third of my men were constantly on picket duty in our front, one-third kept awake at the breastworks during the night, with one-third only off duty at a time, and they were required always to sleep with their accoutrements on and upon their arms, ready to repel an attack at a moment's warning.
About 10 o'clock on the night of April 1, 1865, the cannonading from the artillery and mortars in my front became unusually severe, and about 11 o'clock the Federals charged, capturing my picket line, which consisted of pits dug in the earth for protection from sharpshooters, and occupied by my soldiers, varying in distance from one hundred and fifty to three hundred yards in front of our main breastworks. I took measures immediately to reestablish this line, which was successfully accomplished, and our pits reoccupied. About daylight of the second the enemy again drove in our pickets and charged Rune's salient at the point where Battle's Brigade was posted, carrying the works for a few hundred yards on each side of that point, doubling and throwing Cook's Brigade back a short distance. I hurried the commands of Colonels Cowand and Archer to the point of attack as rapidly as possible, charging the enemy, who were in possession of and protected by our traverses and bomb-proofs (which were erected to prevent our line being enfiladed, and also as a place of refuge from their perpendicular mortar fire), and continued gradually to gain traverse after traverse of our captured works.
I then secured four pieces of artillery, which were placed in our second line of works, and were invaluable in checking the advance of the enemy, thus confining them by grape and canister to this particular point at the salient, preventing their advancing to attack our lines in flank or rear; Cook and Battle holding them in check on the left, and Cowand and Archer on the right of the captured works, their only point of egress being exposed to the fire of the artillery.
I regret my inability to recall the names and thus give honorable mention to those gallant artillerists who rendered me such effective service.
During the forenoon a brigade, under command of Colonel ——, reported to me for duty, and was placed near the artillery in this second line of earthworks (which had been constructed to fall back upon in case of disaster to our first line). My dispositions were soon made to attack the enemy simultaneously at all points—Cowand and Archer on the right, Cook and Battle on the left, who were to drive them from the protection of their traverses. Colonel —— commanded in front with a heavy line of skirmishers, connecting his left with Cook and his right with Cowand. My four pieces of artillery poured grape and canister into the enemy, and I gave the signal for the infantry to advance, when a general charge was made, but through a direct violation of orders on the part of Colonel ——, this attack only partially succeeded, capturing that portion of the line alone upon which the skirmishers advanced, Colonel —— having changed the direction of attack, and charged the point assigned to the skirmishers on the right, thereby leaving a space of three hundred yards unassailed. There is no doubt in my mind that if Colonel —— had attacked with vigor at that time, we could have driven the enemy entirely from our works. After the lapse of an hour, during which time the enemy were heavily reenforced, I ordered another attack from the second line in which Colonel —— participated, but by again diverting the brigade in the direction of Cowand's Brigade, instead of towards the salient, the enemy were dislodged from only a small portion of the lines.
Subsequently sixty men of Johnson's North Carolina Brigade, under command of Captain Plato Durham, recaptured Fort Mahone, which for an hour had been so covered by our fire as to forbid its occupants showing themselves. In taking this fort a large number of prisoners were captured; so many, in fact, that when I first saw them skulking behind the earthworks for protection against the fire of their own men, I feared it was a ruse on the part of the enemy to surprise us. They had secreted themselves for safety in this work, and we, in our charge, had taken the only outlet.
After this no general attack was made, though we continued slowly but gradually to drive them from traverse to traverse.