Ironton Register 1 Sept. 1887 – We ran against Joshua Kite, at the county reunion, and asked, “What regiment were you in, Josh?”
“In the 2nd Virginia Infantry,” he replied.
“How come you got there?” we inquired.
“Well, you see, I went in on Lincoln’s first call for 75,000, but Ohio filled her quota of that call before I got there, and as a company was forming at Ironton for the 2nd Virginia Regiment, I joined it. That was Captain McAnally’s Company”.
“What was the closest call you had in the war?”
“About the closest call that occurs to me now was the first day at Second Bull Run. That was the 31st day of August 1863. Our regiment was in Milroy’s Brigade of Sigel’s Division, and made a charge on the rebel line, which was behind a graded fill of the railroad which made splendid breastworks. At first, we were not aware that there were any troops there. When we drove in the rebel skirmishers, they went over the breastworks and kept on going, so we did not think there were any troops hid behind the railroad, until we got within 30 or 40 steps, when they rose and let fly.
“Well, that was the narrowest escape ever I had. The man next to me on the right was killed and the man next to me on the left was badly wounded. It was a hail of musket balls, and why it didn’t sweep every man down is a mystery. But it did kill scores. I was so paralyzed I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t ever think of running, though the whole line retreated with great confusion. I did jump behind a clump of oak bushes and fired my old musket at the railroad fill. I was the only fellow there and the balls were millions, I thought. First, it occurred to me to fall on the ground and make believe I was dead. But then I thought that a stray ball of the few thousand would hit me and end the make-believe. Again, I thought, the rebs would come from their earth works and take me in charge, and I believed I had rather be killed. These things all revolved in my mind, when it occurred to me, the best thing to do was to strike for the rear, as fast as my legs would carry me.
“So, I bounded forth from behind the oak bush like a streak of greased lightning. My, how I flew! The earth seemed to skip beneath my feet like a flash of powder. As I emerged from the oak bush it seemed as if all of Hill’s Corps aimed at me. The balls plowed up the ground all around. I wondered if I wasn’t full of balls, and I was going so fast I couldn’t stop. They zipped all around me. One big shell went right over my head. I looked back and saw it coming. I thought sure it would burst as it struck my head, but it went on. As I ran, a wounded man called me, and I turned to help him. He was shot in the calf of the leg. I took him and carried him behind a sycamore tree for protection and set him up in as comfortable a place as I could. While standing there a moment, catching my breath, a ball struck the tree and I began to think the sharpshooters were now after me. I moved back further and soon got where our line was re-forming.
“I was in the fight the next day, and that too was terrible. Then I had a little experience that was interesting to me. I was struck by a grape ball, with a thump that nearly knocked me over, but it didn’t break the skin. It lodged in my blouse, however. You remember it was stated that in the Second Bull Run fight, the rebs shot pieces of T-rail from their cannon, and that the charge was denied. I can tell you it was true, for I saw it, and I saw where the chunks struck and plowed up the ground. But excuse me from a closer call than I got at Bull Run.
Lawrence County Civil War Vets’ Ranks Again Reduced
Joshua Kite, 96, Of Chesapeake, died Wednesday
Ironton Evening Tribune, 19 Aug. 1937, page 7
Another of Lawrence County’s civil war veterans is dead. Joshua Kite, 96, of Chesapeake, Ohio, passed away at 11 o’clock last night at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Earl Robinson.
The funeral for the prominent man will be held Friday afternoon at 3 o’clock at the Schneider Funeral Home in Chesapeake with Rev. Carl Hicks officiating. Burial will be in Getaway Cemetery under the directions of Schneider.
0 Comments