Confederate Reports

Number 57
Report of Brig. Gen. William D. Pender, C. S. Army, commanding Sixth Brigade.

Headquarters Sixth Brigade, Light Division,

[August 21?], 1862.

General: I have the honor to state that, in obedience to your orders, I formed my brigade on the left of General Archer’s, on the left of the road going from Cedar Run to Culpeper, in the battle on the 9th instant. As he had moved forward before my line was complete, and as I had to move through thick woods, I found myself some distance to his left on coming into a field, and consequently flanked to the right; but on receiving a request to go to the support of troops in front, which were being flanked on the left, faced about and moved to the left until I had reached the wood on the extreme left of our position, and then I moved to the front. This maneuvering placed my line obliquely to that of General Archer, and as we moved forward, came together again, and from this time co-operated. However, before we had joined our troops, I met the enemy, repulsing him with heavy loss in almost the first round. He made but slight resistance again during the evening. I thought it prudent during my advance to detach the Twenty-second North Carolina to operate well on my left, as it looked probable that I might be flanked in that direction. This turned out to be timely, for as we advanced into the field after dusk a body of cavalry was seen on the left, but it soon scampered off, as this regiment was coming up in its rear and our advance was cutting it off. General Archer and myself advanced well to the front, and halted until we could feel our way with skirmishers in the wood on the opposite side of the Run. At this time we had gotten to the right of the wood. Here we received orders to halt, and remained until late, when we were ordered to the road to follow in pursuit.

My loss in killed was only 2, in wounded 11, and in missing 2, making a total of 15.

The officers and men behaved well. Lieutenant-Colonel Gray and Major Cole, Twenty-second,* and Captain Ashford, Thirty-eighth,* handled their men skillfully, showing great coolness.

Captain Ashe, my assistant adjutant-general, deserves notice for his conduct, being found at every point almost at the same time, cheering the men; and Lieutenant Young, my aide-de-camp, acted with his usual efficiency. Language cannot express the appreciation I have for his services in action.

[W.D.PENDER]

*North Carolina regiments.

38 NC
Account of Captain John Ashford, Thirty-eight North Carolina Troops, of operations July 29-August 30, 1862, including the Battle of Cedar Mountain, Virginia.

Sir: I will give you a short history of the Thirty-eighth Regiment of North Carolina Troops from July 29 to August 30, 1862.

The regiment left Camp Randolph near Richmond on July 29 and marched to Richmond, thence by rail to Gordonsville on the morning of July 30, where we bivouacked until the next morning. We then marched some two miles where we bivouacked for two days and nights. We then marched some five miles southeast of Gordonsville where we remained in camp until the evening of August 6, when we received orders to cook three days’ rations and be ready to march by daylight next morning.

We took up the line of march about 8 o’clock on the morning of August 7 [and] arrived at Orange Court-House on the night of August 7, where we bivouacked until the morning of August 9. We then marched in the direction of Culpeper Court-House and encountered the enemy at Cedar Run, completely routing them, taking several prisoners. Our loss was four wounded, none killed or taken prisoner. We slept on the advance line during the night (Saturday).

Sunday morning we fell back some six miles, where we bivouacked for two nights and a day. We then fell back five miles south of Orange Court-House, where we bivouacked until about August 18.

We then marched I the direction of the Rappahannock and lay under heavy artillery fire on Sunday, August 24, late Sunday evening, while Lieutenant-General [James] Longstreet made a feint attack, when we marched up the river some ten miles and crossed at Hinson’s Mills.

[We] reached Manassas Junction on the morning of August 27, attacked the enemy and drove them across Bull Run. We slept at the Junction (Manassas) until 2 o’clock that night, then marched to Centreville [and] remained at Centreville until about 10 o’clock Thursday, August 28.

We then marched to Manassas Plains but were not engaged during the day, though we were ordered to attack them, but they were driven from the field before we could reach it. We slept upon the field Thursday night; [we] marched forward some half-mile Friday morning, where we remained until 2 o’clock, when we attacked the enemy and put them to flight. Our loss was on killed, some twenty wounded.

We then fell back, where we remained until 12 o’clock Saturday morning when we were ordered forward to attack the enemy who had engaged a portion of the Light Division on our right, where I received a wound from a shell and was forced to leave the regiment.

Yours truly,

JOHN ASHFORD

Captain, Commanding Thirty-eighth Regiment

North Carolina Troops.

Killed and Wounded at Cedar Run, August 9, 1862:

Company A – Wounded, Thomas J. Armstrong, Thomas Kennedy.

Company I – Wounded, Private Thomas [S.] Costner.

James F. Landing, Company A, wounded accidentally whole on picket.

[From William James Hoke Papers, Southern Historical Collection, Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]

Hewett, Janet B., Trudeau, Noah Andre, Suderow, Bryce, A., eds., Supplement to the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Part 1 – Reports, Volume 2, Serial No. 2., Broadfoot Publishing Company, Wilmington, NC, 1994, 711-713.

Transcribed by Michael Block.

Brad Forbush ~ January 3, 2021