On the night following Howard’s break, according to common belief amongst the men, it fell to their fate to be the slayers of Gen. “Stonewall” Jackson, one of the severest blows to the Confederate cause during the entire war. The 6th and 10th Companies were on outpost when a party of Confederate horsemen rode down the Plank Road toward their lines. As a result of the volley then fired, Gen Jackson fell, the identification being made complete by Sergt. Charles F. Ferguson of the 10th Company, who was a prisoner-of-war for a few minutes, and happened to be close to the mounted officers when the fire was received. Ferguson made his escape in the ensuing confusion. This event was merely an accident of warfare, and entirely unpremeditated. While others claim to have been the agents of Jackson’s removal, and altho the Southerners say that their own men fired the fatal shots, still there is no good reason for rejecting the contention of the 1st Regiment,--in fact the evidence seems conclusive that our claim is valid. The plain shaft which marks the spot where Jackson fell is a painful reminder to men of the 1st. Returning a year later, at the opening of the battle of the Wilderness, May 5 and 6, 1864, they were stationed upon the very ground over which they had fought in ’63. And when, during a lull in the fighting, they inspected their surroundings, they found human bones and fragments of clothing sufficient to identify some of their own regimental dead. The bodies of those slain at Chancellorsville had never been buried. No wonder that men shuddered as they saw the “buzzards” soaring over head. Deep was the discouragement preceding Gettysburg. The failure at Chancellorsville had been due to no fault of the men and left them questioning whether they could ever meet Lee on favorable terms. They were not fond of Meade. Their march thru Maryland and into Pennsylvania was the most trying of the entire war. On June 25, 1863, after following the muddy tow-path of the C. & O. Canal all day, only two footmen were able to keep with the mounted officers until night-fall. Stragglers kept coming in during the entire night. Then, at Gettysburg, on the July days of 1863, July 1, 2, and 3, the tide finally turned, and the rebellion began to ebb away. [Illustration: THE SOUTH ARMORY, BOSTON Page 133] [Illustration: FORT MONROE IN 1861 Page 118]