Greensborough Patriot
February 5, 1863
Page 4
Gen.
Cook’s Brigade
Camp near Fredericksburg, Va.
December 19th, 1862
Sir: I think it
nothing but just and proper that regular reports from brigade commanders of
North Carolina troops should be made to you, in order that justice may be meted
out to those regiments and brigades who are entrusted with the honor and
reputation of the good old State, and have so successfully borne her flag in
the thickest of the fight, on two occasions, to take command of this brigade in
the heat of pitched battles, (Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg) owing to the
disabling of the commanders of the brigade early in the action, I feel that the
responsibility devolves upon me.
This brigade, commanded by Gen. John R. Cook, as gallant
an officer as ever lived, consists at present of the 46th, 15th,
27th and 48th regiments of N.
Carolina troops.
On the morning of the 11th inst., the brigade
was ordered to the front, and all, under his command, took position on Willis’
Hill, directly opposite Fredericksburg,
and well on the left of our lines. We
remained in line of battle until about 12 o’clock of Saturday, the 13th,
when we were ordered forward, at which time the battle was raging
furiously. Willis Hill overlooks the
valley of the Rappahannock, in which Fredericksburg
is situated, being about a fourth of a mile distant. On the crest, four batteries had been
erected. At the foot of the hill, Gen.
Cobb, with his brigade, under cover of a long stone fence, was hotly engaged
with the enemy, who were making a desperate attempt to storm the position. The Georgians fought valiantly and against
terrible odds. The enemy had succeeded
in forcing their way up to within forty yards of the fence, when Cook’s brigade
reached the crest of the hill, and in face of a deadly fire of artillery and
small arms, drove them back with great loss.
Our men were falling fast, for we were within two hundred and fifty
yards of twenty-five or thirty thousand of the enemy; but no men ever fought
better or with more enthusiasm. Not a
man is ____. The 46th and 27th
were ordered down the hill to support Gen. Cobb behind the stone fence, where
they remained all day, and suffered but little after arriving there.
The 48th, under Lieut. Walkup, and the 15th,
under Lieut. Col. McRae, remained on the hill and suffered severely. North
Carolina can boast of no braver men than the
commanders of those two regiments on that day.
Six different times afterwards did the enemy, with his heavy columns,
attempt to drive us from our position, but at each attempt was he thrown back
with immense loss, leaving the field literally black with their dead and
wounded. During the afternoon we were
reinforced by the 25th N. C. , Lieut. Bryson commanding, and one
other regiment of Gen. Ransom’s brigade further on our left, and gallantly did
they do their duty. Shortly after, Gen.
Kershaw, with a South Carolina
brigade, came to our assistance. The
troop I have enumerated composed all of our forces engaged on the left that
day, as far as I am aware of. I am
satisfied we did not have five thousand and we have since ascertained that we
had both Genl’s. Hooker and Summer to contend with. The enemy left at least one thousand dead on
the field in our front, and the wounded must have been three or four times as
many; we were killing and wounding as many men as we had to fight them
with. I am sorry to say that the loss of
the brigade was quite heavy, viz: four hundred and eighty seven out of about
thirteen hundred. Our General was so
severely wounded early in the action, but am glad to state that he is rapidly
convalescing. At nine o’clock that night
the brigade was relieved, and ordered to the rear to replenish their
ammunition, they having fired sixty rounds, and to hold themselves in readiness
for the renewal of the fight the next day.
Where ALL did their duty so well, it is impossible to
single out any one man for praise above another.
I have the honor to be
Very respectfully
Your ob’die’t serv’t
E.
D. HALL, Col.
Com’d’g Cook’s Brigade
To His Excellency, Gov. Z. B. VANCE
[Transcribed by Sharon Strout]
