"The only battle we had that winter,"

[CSA Today]

"Burwell Cotton of the 34th North Carolina would write on February 25 1863: "We have plenty snow here and the soldiers appear to enjoy themselves finely snowballing each other. Pender's Brigade & Gregg's (McGowan's) had a powerful time yesterday."

At Camp Gregg that winter, Pender's men took full advantage that snow. "The only battle we had that winter," wrote one soldier, "was with General McGowan's Brigade of South Carolina." Heavy snowfall provided the ordnance for the engagement, state bragging rights the incentive, as Pender's North Carolinians took on their counterparts from the neighboring state. When McGowan's men advanced, waving their colors antagonistically, the "Tar-heel" boys responded in kind. The adversaries tangled with more than a bit of good-natured rivalry, which the witness described as "a hard fight" that ended when "finally the Tar-heels charged them, ran them into their quarters and on through camp, demolished a goodly number of shanties, and returned to their own quarters with but one casualty - that was the red-headed Adjutant of the 13th North Carolina, who was struck in the eye with a snowball nested with a flint rock."

Sadly these two brigades would charge together across Seminary Ridge at Gettysburg that summer. McGowan's Brigade would watch Pender's (Scales) Brigade get blown to pieces by artillery. They would chase those Yankee's through the streets of Gettysburg."