of May. We started to our assigned position about 2 o'clock on the morning of the 16th, and marched to where the Richmond and Petersburg River Road crossed a creek (Falling, I believe), which we crossed, and formed line of battle on the right of the road, near the crest of the hill, and lay down. We had been there but a very short time when the Eleventh and Twenty-fourth Virginia Infantry were ordered to the front to relieve Grade's Brigade, who were being badly cut up. In going forward we met a number of Gracie's men coming out, and they seemed to have been badly worsted. One of them, an officer, said: "Hurry up, boys, they are tearing us all to pieces." We went forward until we got to the edge of the woods, where we opened ranks to let Gracie's men pass, and as soon as our front was clear of the Alabamians we went to work to give the Yanks the best we had. On account of the very heavy fog and smoke we could not see ten feet in front of us. Mr. Butler's boys made it hot for us for about an hour. They were about ten or fifteen feet above us and knew the ground so well that they had a great advantage, for we did not know the land and were wasting lead in the ground, thinking we were on a level.
Colonel Terry, finding that their line was weak on their right, ordered the First and Seventh forward. We charged them, doubled them up, and came sweeping up the line. As we were only about thirty steps from the enemy's line, we could plainly hear the enemy yelling out to "stop shooting, that they were friends," but they soon found that the boys in gray had them, and right then and there Buck Terry's boys captured Heckman's. Brigade.
Colonel Richard L. Maury was in command of the Twenty-fourth Virginia in that fight, and he and the gallant Richmond boys of the old First Virginia, I think, will corroborate my statement. I do not know what became of the Alabamians, but suppose they were somewhere on the line doing their duty and fighting as Alabamians know how and always did. But they did not capture Heckman's Brigade. Terry's Brigade did that—the First, Seventh, Eleventh and Twenty-fourth Virginia—and on the 17th marched through Richmond with all four of the regimental colors of Heckman's Brigade drooping beneath our glorious Southern Cross.
