Attack of the 17th Massachusetts

One Union regiment, the 17th Massachusetts, advanced along the top of a railroad embankment toward a railroad bridge one quarter mile away and came under heavy fire from Confederate troops sheltered in a tree line. A survivor recalled volleys of musketry from the woods bordering the field, after which men who were not wounded jumped or rolled into the ditch beside the track and the regiment fell into wild confusion. After recovering, the Massachusetts men opened rapid fire on the enemy, using the raised railroad bed as a breastwork. They also faced artillery fire from a railroad car fitted with a cannon positioned at the entrance to the railroad bridge and firing down the tracks, forcing them to leave the track and cling to the embankment.

North Carolina · United States