fellows repulse three assults in force in front and one from the rear; and the enemy did not succeed in mounting the work until the fire of the fort had ceased, which, as Lieutenant Snow says, was due to want of ammunition. The enemy, after crowding the parapet, amid the wildest cheering and waving of numerous flags, fired down upon our men inside the works.
Chew's battery behaved splendidly; even before I left the work, two or three men were shot down in rapid succession while attempting to discharge a single gun. My men were on the right and centre, the supernumerary artillerists on the left, and Chew's battery was in the centre, so as to give the pieces the widest possible range of fire.
Yours, very respectfully,
Letter from Lieutenant George H. Snow, Thirty-third North Carolina Regiment.
General James H. Lane:
Dear sir—Your letter I received some time ago, and would have answered it earlier, but was prevented by unforeseen circumstances.
You desire to know the details of the fight at Fort Gregg. I think it due to the men of that noble old brigade, which stood the contest from Newberne to the surrender, that some true lover of patriotism and valor should espouse their cause, and place them second to none among the true defenders of that memorable fort. History does not reveal names more deserving of honor and praise than those of that detachment which I had the honor to command, and my mind painfully reverts to the agonizing adieu of each hero as he closed his eyes in death.
I cannot speak positively when I attempt to give the number of men belonging to your brigade or the miscellaneous commands in the fort, but I speak confidently when I say that at least three-fourths were of your brigade. I think I had between seventy-five and eighty men all told, with Lieutenants Craige and Howard, and two or three other officers whose names I do not recollect. I saw only two officers of Harris' brigade in the fort fighting bravely, but the number of their command I cannot exactly give, but think that ten will cover the whole. The artillerists fought bravely, resorting to small arms after being unable to use their cannon, and
