The Project Gutenberg eBook of Confederate Military History, Vol. 5, by Ellison Capers.

The writer of the following sketch does not attempt, in the space assigned him, to give a complete history of the various commands of Carolinians, who for four years did gallant and noble service in the armies of the Confederacy.

A faithful record of their names alone would fill the pages of a volume, and to write a history of their marches and battles, their wounds and suffering, their willing sacrifices, and their patient endurance, would demand more accurate knowledge, more time and more ability than the author of this sketch can command.

He trusts that in the brief history which follows he has been able to show that South Carolina did her duty to herself and to the Southern Confederacy, and did it nobly.

From the time that the election of the President was declared, early in November, 1860, the military spirit of the people of South Carolina was thoroughly awake. Secession from the Union was in the air, and when it came, on the 20th of December following, it was received as the ultimate decision of duty and the call of the State to arms. The one sentiment, everywhere expressed by the vast majority of the people, was the sentiment of independence; and the universal resolve was the determination to maintain the secession of the State at any and every cost.

The militia of the State was, at the time, her only arm of defense, and every part of it was put under orders.

Of the State militia, the largest organized body was the Fourth brigade of Charleston, commanded by Brig.-Gen. James Simons. This body of troops was well organized, well drilled and armed, and was constantly under the orders of the governor and in active service from the 27th of December, 1860, to the last of April, 1861. Some of the commands continued in service until the Confederate regiments, battalions and batteries were organized and finally absorbed all the effective material of the brigade.

First regiment of rifles: Col. J. J. Pettigrew, Lieut.-Col. John L. Branch, Maj. Ellison Capers, Adjt. Theodore G. Barker, Quartermaster Allen Hanckel, Commissary L. G. Young, Surg. George Trescot, Asst. Surg. Thomas L. Ozier, Jr. Companies: Washington Light Infantry, Capt. C. H. Simonton; Moultrie Guards, Capt. Barnwell W. Palmer; German Riflemen, Capt. Jacob Small; Palmetto Riflemen, Capt. Alex. Melchers; Meagher Guards, Capt. Edward McCrady, Jr.; Carolina Light Infantry, Capt. Gillard Pinckney; Zouave Cadets, Capt. C. E. Chichester.

Seventeenth regiment: Col. John Cunningham, Lieut.-Col. William P. Shingler, Maj. J. J. Lucas, Adjt. F. A. Mitchel. Companies: Charleston Riflemen, Capt. Joseph Johnson, Jr.; Irish Volunteers, Capt. Edward McGrath; Cadet Riflemen, Capt. W. S. Elliott; Montgomery Guards, Capt. James Conner; Union Light Infantry, Capt. David Ramsay; German Fusiliers, Capt. Samuel Lord, Jr.; Palmetto Guards, Capt. Thomas W. Middleton; Sumter Guards, Capt. Henry C. King; Emmet Volunteers, Capt. P. Grace; Calhoun Guards, Capt. John Fraser.

First regiment of artillery: Col. E. H. Locke, Lieut.-Col. W. G. De Saussure, Maj. John A. Wagener, Adjt. James Simmons, Jr.

Light batteries: Marion Artillery, Capt. J. G. King; Washington Artillery, Capt. George H. Walter; Lafayette Artillery, Capt. J. J. Pope; German Artillery (A), Capt. C. Nohrden; German Artillery (B), Capt. H. Harms.

Cavalry: Charleston Light Dragoons, Capt. B. H. Rutledge; German Hussars, Capt. Theodore Cordes; Rutledge Mounted Riflemen, Capt. C. K. Huger.

Volunteer corps in the fire department: Vigilant Rifles, Capt. S. V. Tupper; Phœnix Rifles, Capt. Peter C. Gaillard; Ætna Rifles, Capt. E. F. Sweegan; Marion Rifles, Capt. C. B. Sigwald.

Charleston, the metropolis and seaport, for a time absorbed the interest of the whole State, for it was everywhere felt that the issue of secession, so far as war with the government of the United States was concerned, must be determined in her harbor. The three forts which had been erected by the government for the defense of the harbor, Moultrie, Castle Pinckney and Sumter, were built upon land ceded by the State for that purpose, and with the arsenal and grounds in Charleston, constituted the property of the United States.

The secession of South Carolina having dissolved her connection with the government of the United States, the question of the possession of the forts in the harbor and of the military post at the arsenal became at once a question of vital interest to the State. Able commissioners, Robert W. Barnwell, James H. Adams and James L. Orr, were elected and sent by the convention of the State to treat with the government at Washington for an amicable settlement of this important question, and other questions growing out of the new relation which South Carolina bore to the Union. Pending the action of the commissioners in Washington, an unfortunate move was made by Maj. Robert Anderson, of the United States army, who commanded the only body of troops stationed in the harbor, which ultimately compelled the return of the commissioners and led to the most serious complications. An understanding had been established between the authorities in Washington and the members of Congress from South Carolina, that the forts would not be attacked, or seized as an act of war, until proper negotiations for their cession to the State had been made and had failed; provided that they were not reinforced, and their military status should remain as it was at the time of this understanding, viz., on December 9, 1860.

Fort Sumter, in the very mouth of the harbor, was in an unfinished state and without a garrison. On the night of the 26th of December, 1860, Maj. Robert Ander[Pg 7]son dismantled Fort Moultrie and removed his command by boats over to Fort Sumter. The following account of the effect of this removal of Major Anderson upon the people, and the action of the government, is taken from Brevet Major-General Crawford's "Genesis of the Civil War." General Crawford was at the time on the medical staff and one of Anderson's officers. His book is a clear and admirable narrative of the events of those most eventful days, and is written in the spirit of the utmost candor and fairness. In the conclusion of the chapter describing the removal, he says:

Colonel Pettigrew and Major Capers returned to the city and made their report to the governor and council who were in session in the council chamber of the city hall. That afternoon Major Anderson raised the flag of his country over Sumter, and went vigorously to work mounting his guns and putting the fort in military order. The same afternoon the governor issued orders to Colonel Pettigrew, First regiment of rifles, and to Col. W. G. De Saussure, First regiment artillery, commanding them to take immediate possession of Castle Pinckney and Fort Moultrie. Neither fort was garrisoned, and the officers in charge, after making a verbal protest, left and went to Fort Sumter, and the Palmetto flag was raised over Moultrie and Pinckney. In the same manner the arsenal in Charleston was taken possession of by a detachment of the Seventeenth regiment, South Carolina militia, Col. John Cunningham, and Fort Johnson on James island, by Capt. Joseph Johnson, commanding the Charleston Riflemen. The governor also ordered a battery to be built for two 24-pounders on Morris island, bearing on Ship channel, and his order was speedily put into execu[Pg 10]tion by Maj. P. F. Stevens, superintendent of the South Carolina military academy, with a detachment of the cadets, supported by the Vigilant Rifles, Captain Tupper. This battery was destined soon to fire the first gun of the war. In taking possession of the forts and the arsenal, every courtesy was shown the officers in charge, Captain Humphreys, commanding the arsenal, saluting his flag before surrendering the property.

By the possession of Forts Moultrie and Pinckney and the arsenal in Charleston, their military stores fell into the hands of the State of South Carolina, and by the governor's orders a careful inventory was made at once of all the property and duly reported to him. At Moultrie there were sixteen 24-pounders, nineteen 32-pounders, ten 8-inch columbiads, one 10-inch seacoast mortar, four 6-pounders, two 12-pounders and four 24-pounder howitzers and a large supply of ammunition. At Castle Pinckney the armament was nearly complete and the magazine well filled with powder. At the arsenal there was a large supply of military stores, heavy ordnance and small-arms. These exciting events were followed by the attempt of the government to succor Major Anderson with supplies and reinforce his garrison.

The supplies and troops were sent in a large merchant steamer, the Star of the West. She crossed the bar early on the morning of January 9, 1861, and steamed up Ship channel, which runs for miles parallel with Morris island, and within range of guns of large caliber. Her course lay right under the 24-pounder battery commanded by Major Stevens and manned by the cadets. This battery was supported by the Zouave Cadets, Captain Chichester; the German Riflemen, Captain Small, and the Vigilant Rifles, Captain Tupper. When within range a shot was fired across her bow, and not heeding it, the battery fired directly upon her. Fort Moultrie also fired a few shots,[Pg 11] and the Star of the West rapidly changed her course and, turning round, steamed out of the range of the guns, having received but little material damage by the fire.

Major Anderson acted with great forbearance and judgment, and did not open his batteries. He declared his purpose to be patriotic, and so it undoubtedly was. He wrote to the governor that, influenced by the hope that the firing on the Star of the West was not supported by the authority of the State, he had refrained from opening fire upon the batteries, and declared that unless it was promptly disclaimed he would regard it as an act of war, and after waiting a reasonable time he would fire upon all vessels coming within range of his guns.

The governor promptly replied, justifying the action of the batteries in firing upon the vessel, and giving his reasons in full. He pointed out to Major Anderson that his removal to Fort Sumter and the circumstances attending it, and his attitude since were a menace to the State of a purpose of coercion; that the bringing into the harbor of more troops and supplies of war was in open defiance of the State, and an assertion of a purpose to reduce her to abject submission to the government she had discarded; that the vessel had been fairly warned not to continue her course, and that his threat to fire upon the vessels in the harbor was in keeping with the evident purpose of the government of the United States to dispute the right of South Carolina to dissolve connection with the Union. This right was not to be debated or questioned, urged the governor, and the coming of the Star of the West, sent by the order of the President, after being duly informed by commissioners sent to him by the convention of the people of the State to fully inform him of the act of the State in seceding from the Union, and of her claim of rights and privileges in the premises, could have no other meaning than that of open and hostile disregard for the asserted independence of South Carolina. To defend that independence and to resent and resist any and every[Pg 12] act of coercion are "too plainly a duty," said Governor Pickens, "to allow it to be discussed."

To the governor's letter Major Anderson replied, that he would refer the whole matter to the government at Washington, and defer his purpose to fire upon vessels in the harbor until he could receive his instructions in reply. Thus a truce was secured, and meanwhile active preparations for war were made daily by Major Anderson in Fort Sumter and by Governor Pickens on the islands surrounding it. War seemed inevitable, and the whole State, as one man, was firmly resolved to meet it.

The legislature had passed a bill on December 17th providing for the organization of ten regiments for the defense of the State, and the convention had ordered the formation of a regiment for six months' service, to be embodied at once, the governor to appoint the field officers. This last was "Gregg's First regiment," which was organized in January, 1861, and on duty on Sullivan's and Morris islands by the 1st of February following. The governor appointed Maxcy Gregg, of Columbia, colonel; Col. A. H. Gladden, who had been an officer of the Palmetto regiment in the Mexican war, lieutenant-colonel; and D. H. Hamilton, the late marshal of the United States court in South Carolina, major. On March 6, 1861, the adjutant-general of the State reported to Gen. M. L. Bonham, whom the governor had commissioned major-general, to command the division formed under the act of December 17, 1860, that he had received into the service of the State 104 companies, under the said act of the legislature, aggregating an effective force of 8,836 men and officers; that these companies had been formed into ten regiments and the regiments into four brigades.

These regiments were mustered for twelve months' service, were numbered respectively from 1 to 10, inclusive, and commanded by Cols. Johnson Hagood, J. B. Kershaw, J. H. Williams, J. B. E. Sloan, M. Jenkins,[Pg 13] J. H. Rion, T. G. Bacon, E. B. Cash, J. D. Blanding, and A. M. Manigault.

The brigadier-generals appointed by the governor under the act above referred to, were R. G. M. Dunovant and P. H. Nelson. By an act of the legislature, January 28, 1861, the governor was authorized to raise a battalion of artillery and a regiment of infantry, both to be formed and enlisted in the service of the State as regulars, and to form the basis of the regular army of South Carolina. The governor appointed, under the act, R. S. Ripley, lieutenant-colonel in command of the artillery battalion, and Richard Anderson, colonel of the infantry regiment. The artillery battalion was afterward increased to a regiment, and the regiment of infantry converted, practically, into a regiment of artillery. Both regiments served in the forts and batteries of the harbor throughout the war, with the greatest distinction, as will afterward appear. These troops, with the Fourth brigade, South Carolina militia, were under the orders of the government and were practically investing Fort Sumter.

The States of Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas, having left the Union during the month of January, and the Confederate government having been organized early in February, at Montgomery, President Davis, on the 1st of March, ordered Brigadier-General Beauregard to Charleston to report for duty to Governor Pickens. Thenceforward this distinguished soldier became the presiding genius of military operations in and around Charleston.

Repeated demands having been made upon Major Anderson, and upon the President, for the relinquishment of Fort Sumter, and these demands having been refused and the government at Washington having concluded to supply and reinforce the fort by force of arms, it was determined to summon Major Anderson to evacuate the fort, for the last time. Accordingly, on April 11th, General Beauregard sent him the following communication:

Major Anderson, while conversing with the messengers of General Beauregard, having remarked that he would soon be starved into a surrender of the fort, or words to that effect, General Beauregard was induced to address him a second letter, in which he proposed that the major should fix a time at which he would agree to evacuate, and agree also not to use his guns against the Confederate forces unless they fired upon him, and so doing, he, General Beauregard, would abstain from hostilities. To this second letter Major Anderson replied, naming noon on the 15th, provided that no hostile act was committed by the Confederate forces, or any part of them, and provided, further, that he should not, meanwhile, receive from the government at Washington controlling instructions or additional supplies.

The fleet which was to reinforce and supply him was then collecting outside the bar, and General Beauregard at once notified him, at 3:20 a. m. on the morning of the 12th of April, that he would open fire on the fort in one hour from that time.

The shell which opened the momentous bombardment of Fort Sumter was fired from a mortar, located at Fort Johnson on James island, at 4:30 on the morning of the 12th.

For over three months the troops stationed on the islands surrounding Fort Sumter had been constantly employed building batteries, mounting guns, and making every preparation for the defense of the harbor, and, if necessary, for an attack on the fort if the government at Washington persisted in its refusal to order its evacuation. Lieut.-Col. R. S. Ripley, an able and energetic soldier, commanded the artillery on Sullivan's island, with his headquarters at Fort Moultrie, Brigadier-General Dunovant commanding the island. Under Ripley's direction, six 10-inch mortars and twenty guns bore on Sumter. The guns were 24, 32 and 42 pounders, 8-inch columbiads and one 9-inch Dahlgren.[Pg 16] The supports to the batteries were the First regiment of rifles, Colonel Pettigrew; the regiment of infantry, South Carolina regulars, Col. Richard Anderson; the Charleston Light Dragoons, Capt. B. H. Rutledge, and the German Flying Artillery, the latter attached to Col. Pettigrew's command, stationed at the east end of the island. These commands, with Ripley's battalion of South Carolina regular artillery and Capt. Robert Martin's mortar battery on Mount Pleasant, made up the force under General Dunovant.

On Morris island, Gen. James Simons was commanding, with Lieut.-Col. W. G. De Saussure for his artillery chief, and Maj. W. H. C. Whiting for chief of staff. The infantry supports on the island were the regiments of Cols. John Cunningham, Seventeenth South Carolina militia, and Maxcy Gregg, Johnson Hagood and J. B. Kershaw, of the South Carolina volunteers. The artillery was in position bearing on Ship channel, and at Cummings point, bearing on Sumter. The fleet making no attempt to come in, the channel batteries took no part in the bombardment of Sumter.

On Cummings point, six 10-inch mortars and six guns were placed. To the command and direction of these guns, Maj. P. F. Stevens was specially assigned. One of the batteries on the point was of unique structure, hitherto unknown in war. Three 8-inch columbiads were put in battery under a roofing of heavy timbers, laid at an angle of forty degrees, and covered with railroad T iron. Portholes were cut and these protected by heavy iron shutters, raised and lowered from the inside of the battery. This battery was devised and built by Col. Clement H. Stevens, of Charleston, afterward a brigadier-general and mortally wounded in front of Atlanta, July 20, 1864, leading his brigade. "Stevens' iron battery," as it was called, was "the first ironclad fortification ever erected," and initiated the present system of armor-plated vessels. The three mortars in battery at[Pg 17] Fort Johnson were commanded by Capt. G. S. James. The batteries above referred to, including Fort Moultrie, contained fifteen 10-inch mortars and twenty-six guns of heavy caliber.

For thirty-four hours they assaulted Sumter with an unceasing bombardment, before its gallant defenders consented to give it up, and not then until the condition of the fort made it impossible to continue the defense. Fort Moultrie alone fired 2,490 shot and shell. Gen. S. W. Crawford, in his accurate and admirable book, previously quoted, thus describes the condition of Sumter when Anderson agreed to its surrender:

The spirit and language of General Beauregard in communicating with Major Anderson, and the replies of the latter, were alike honorable to those distinguished soldiers. The writer, who was on duty on Sullivan's island,[Pg 18] as major of Pettigrew's regiment of rifles, recalls vividly the sense of admiration felt for Major Anderson and his faithful little command throughout the attack, and at the surrender of the fort. "While the barracks in Fort Sumter were in a blaze," wrote General Beauregard to the secretary of war at Montgomery, "and the interior of the work appeared untenable from the heat and from the fire of our batteries (at about which period I sent three of my aides to offer assistance), whenever the guns of Fort Sumter would fire upon Moultrie, the men occupying the Cummings point batteries (Palmetto Guard, Captain Cuthbert) at each shot would cheer Anderson for his gallantry, although themselves still firing upon him; and when on the 15th instant he left the harbor on the steamer Isabel, the soldiers of the batteries lined the beach, silent and uncovered, while Anderson and his command passed before them."

Thus closed the memorable and momentous attack upon Fort Sumter by the forces of South Carolina, and thus began the war which lasted until April, 1865, when the Southern Confederacy, as completely ruined and exhausted by fire and sword as Fort Sumter in April, 1861, gave up the hopeless contest and reluctantly accepted the inevitable.

The following is believed to be a correct list of the officers who commanded batteries, or directed, particularly, the firing of the guns, with the commands serving the same:

On Cummings point: (1) Iron battery—three 8-inch columbiads, manned by detachments of Palmetto Guard, Capt. George B. Cuthbert directing, assisted by Lieut. G. L. Buist. (2) Point battery—mortars, by Lieut. N. Armstrong, assisted by Lieut. R. Holmes; 42-pounders, Lieut. T. S. Brownfield; rifle gun, directed by Capt. J. P. Thomas, who, with Lieutenant Armstrong, was an officer of the South Carolina military academy. Iron battery and Point battery both manned by Palmetto Guard. (3)[Pg 19] Trapier battery—three 10-inch mortars, by Capt. J. Gadsden King and Lieuts. W. D. H. Kirkwood and Edward L. Parker; Corp. McMillan King, Jr., and Privates J. S. and Robert Murdock, pointing the mortars; a detachment of Marion artillery manning the battery, assisted by a detachment of the Sumter Guards, Capt. John Russell.

On Sullivan's island: (1) Fort Moultrie—Capt. W. R. Calhoun, Lieutenants Wagner, Rhett, Preston, Sitgreaves, Mitchell, Parker, Blake (acting engineer). (2) mortars—Capt. William Butler and Lieutenants Huguenin, Mowry, Blocker, Billings and Rice. (3) Mortars—Lieutenants Flemming and Blanding. (4) Enfilade—Captain Hallonquist and Lieutenants Valentine and Burnet. (5) Floating battery—Lieutenants Yates and Frank Harleston. (6) Dahlgren battery—Captain Hamilton.

On Mount Pleasant: (1) Mortars—Captain Martin and Lieuts. F. H. Robertson and G. W. Reynolds.

Immediately upon the fall of Sumter the most active and constant efforts were made by Governor Pickens and General Beauregard to repair and arm the fort, to strengthen the batteries defending the harbor, and to defend the city from an attack by the Stono river and James island. General Beauregard inspected the coast, and works of defense were begun on James island and at Port Royal harbor.

But South Carolina was now to enjoy freedom from attack, by land or sea, until early in November, and while her soldiers and her people were making ready her defense, and her sons were flocking to her standard in larger numbers than she could organize and arm, she was called upon to go to the help of Virginia. William H. Trescot, of South Carolina, in his beautiful memorial of Brig.-Gen. Johnston Pettigrew, has described the spirit with which "the youth and manhood of the South" responded to[Pg 20] the call to arms, in language so true, so just and so eloquent, that the author of this sketch inserts it here. Writing more than five years after the close of the great struggle, Mr. Trescot said:

President Lincoln had issued his proclamation calling for 75,000 volunteers to coerce the South; Virginia had withdrawn from the Union, and before the end of April had called Lee, J. E. Johnston and Jackson into her service; the seat of the Confederate government had been transferred from Montgomery, Ala., to Richmond; and early in May, General Beauregard was relieved from duty in South Carolina and ordered to the command of the Alexandria line, with headquarters at Manassas Junction. He had been preceded by General Bonham, then a Confederate brigadier, with the regiments of Colonels Gregg, Kershaw, Bacon, Cash, Jenkins and Sloan—First, Second, Seventh, Eighth, Fifth and Fourth South Carolina volunteers.

Before General Beauregard's arrival in Virginia, General Bonham with his Carolina troops had been placed in command of the Alexandria line, the regiments being at Fairfax Court House, and other points of this line, fronting Washington and Alexandria.

These South Carolina regiments were reinforced during the month of July by the Third, Colonel Williams; the Sixth, Colonel Rion, and the Ninth, Colonel Blanding. The infantry of the Hampton legion, under Col. Wade[Pg 22] Hampton, reached the battlefield of Manassas on the morning of July 21st, but in time to take a full share in that decisive contest.

On the 20th of June, General Beauregard, commanding the "army of the Potomac," headquarters at Manassas Junction, organized his army into six brigades, the First commanded by Bonham, composed of the regiments of Gregg, Kershaw, Bacon and Cash. Sloan's regiment was assigned to the Sixth brigade, Early's; and Jenkins' regiment to the Third, Gen. D. R. Jones. Col. N. G. Evans, an officer of the old United States army, having arrived at Manassas, was assigned to command of a temporary brigade—Sloan's Fourth South Carolina, Wheat's Louisiana battalion, two companies Virginia cavalry, and four 6-pounder guns.

On the 11th of July, General Beauregard wrote to the President that the enemy was concentrating in his front at Falls church, with a force of not less than 35,000 men, and that to oppose him he had only about half that number. On the 17th, Bonham's brigade, stationed at Fairfax, met the first aggressive movement of General McDowell's army, and was attacked early in the morning. By General Beauregard's orders Bonham retired through Centreville, and took the position assigned him behind Mitchell's ford, on Bull run. The Confederate army was in position behind Bull run, extending from Union Mills ford on the right to the stone bridge on the left, a distance of 5 miles.

The brigades were stationed, from right to left, as follows: Ewell, D. R. Jones, Longstreet, Bonham, Cocke, and Evans on the extreme left. Early was in reserve, in rear of the right. To each brigade a section or a battery of artillery was attached, except in the case of Bonham who had two batteries and six companies of cavalry attached to his command. Seven other cavalry companies were distributed among the other brigades. Bonham's position was behind Mitchell's ford, with his[Pg 23] four regiments of Carolinians; Jenkins' Fifth regiment was with General Jones' brigade, behind McLean's ford, and Sloan's Fourth regiment was with Evans' brigade on the left, at the stone bridge. With this disposition of his little army, General Beauregard awaited the development of the enemy's movement against him.

At noon on the 18th, Bonham at Mitchell's ford and Longstreet at Blackburn's ford, were attacked with infantry and artillery, and both attacks were repulsed. General McDowell was engaged on the 19th and 20th in reconnoitering the Confederate position, and made no decided indication of his ultimate purpose. The delay was golden for the Confederates. Important reinforcements arrived on the 20th and on the morning of the 21st, which were chiefly to fight and win the battle, while the main body of Beauregard's army held the line of Bull run. General Holmes, from the lower Potomac, came with over 1,200 infantry, six guns and a fine company of cavalry; Colonel Hampton, with the infantry of his legion, 600 strong, and the Thirteenth Mississippi; Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, from the Shenandoah, with Jackson's, Bee's and Bartow's brigades, 300 of Stuart's cavalry and two batteries, Imboden's and Pendleton's.

The reinforcements were put in line in rear of the troops already in position, Bee and Bartow behind Longstreet, covering McLean's and Blackburn's fords, with Barksdale's Thirteenth Mississippi; Jackson in rear of Bonham, covering Mitchell's ford; and Cocke's brigade, covering the fords further to the left, was strengthened and supported by a regiment of infantry and six guns, and Hampton was stationed at the Lewis house. Walton's and Pendleton's batteries were placed in reserve in rear of Bonham and Bee. Thus strengthened, the army of General Beauregard numbered about 30,000 effectives, with fifty-five guns.

General Beauregard had planned an attack on McDowell's left, which was to be executed on the 21st; but[Pg 24] before he put his right brigades in motion, McDowell had crossed two of his divisions at Sudley's ford, two miles to the left of Evans, who was posted at the stone bridge, and while threatening Evans and Cocke in front, was marching rapidly down the rear of Beauregard's left. Satisfied of this movement, Evans left four companies of the Fourth South Carolina to defend the bridge, and taking the six remaining companies of the Fourth, with Wheat's Louisiana battalion and two guns of Latham's battery, moved rapidly to his rear and left and formed his little brigade at right angles to the line on Bull run and just north of the turnpike road. In this position he was at once assailed by the advance of the enemy, but held his ground for an hour, when Bee, who had been moved up to stone bridge, came to his assistance. Evans, with his Carolinians and Louisianians; Bee, with his Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee regiments, and Bartow with his Georgia and Kentucky battalions, and the batteries of Latham and Imboden, with heroic fortitude sustained the assault for another hour, before falling back south of the turnpike. It was then evident that the battle was not to be fought in front of Bull run, but behind it, and in rear of General Beauregard's extreme left. Both generals, whose headquarters had been at the Lewis house, three miles away, hurried to the point of attack and arrived, as General Johnston reported, "not a moment too soon." Fifteen thousand splendidly equipped troops of McDowell's army, with numerous batteries, many of the guns rifled, were driving back the little brigade of Evans and the regiments of the gallant Bee and Bartow, and the moment was critical. The presence and example of the commanding generals, the firm conduct of the officers, and the hurrying forward of Hampton with his legion, and Jackson with his brigade, re-established the battle on the line of the Henry house, a half mile south of the turnpike and two miles in the rear of the stone bridge. Beauregard took immediate command on the[Pg 25] field of battle, and Johnston assumed the general direction from the Lewis house, whose commanding elevation gave him a view of the whole field of operations. "The aspect of affairs (he says in his report) was critical, but I had full confidence in the skill and indomitable courage of General Beauregard, the high soldierly qualities of Generals Bee and Jackson and Colonel Evans, and the devoted patriotism of the troops."

At this first stage of the battle, from 8:30 to 11 a. m., the troops from South Carolina actively engaged were the Fourth regiment, Colonel Sloan, and the legion of Hampton. Two companies of the Fourth, thrown out as skirmishers in front of the stone bridge, fired the first gun of the battle early in the morning, and the regiment bore a glorious part in the battle which Evans fought for the first hour, and in the contest of the second hour maintained by Bee, Bartow and Evans. The Fourth lost 11 killed and 79 wounded.

Hampton arrived at the Lewis house in the morning, and being connected with no particular brigade, was ordered to march to the stone bridge. On his march, hearing of the attack on the rear, and the roar of the battle being distinctly heard, he changed the direction of his march toward the firing. Arriving at the Robinson house, he took position in defense of a battery and attacked the enemy in his front. Advancing to the turnpike under fire, Lieut.-Col. B. J. Johnson, of the legion, fell, "as, with the utmost coolness and gallantry, he was placing our men in position," says his commander. Soon enveloped by the enemy in this direction, the legion fell back with the commands of Bee and Evans to the first position it occupied, and, as before reported, formed an important element in re-establishing the battle under the immediate direction of Generals Beauregard and Johnston.

The troops ordered by the commanding generals to prolong the line of battle, formed at 11 o'clock, took position on the right and left as they successively arrived,[Pg 26] those on the left assaulting at once, and vigorously, the exposed right flank of the enemy, and at each assault checking, or repulsing, his advance. No attempt will be made by the author to follow the movements of all of these gallant troops who thus stemmed the sweeping advance of strong Federal brigades, and the fire of McDowell's numerous batteries. He is confined, particularly, to the South Carolina commands.

The line of battle as now re-established, south of the Warrenton turnpike, ran at a right angle with the Bull run line, and was composed of the shattered commands of Bee, Bartow and Evans on the right, with Hampton's legion infantry; Jackson in the center, and Gartrell's, Smith's, Faulkner's and Fisher's regiments, with two companies of Stuart's cavalry, on the left. The artillery was massed near the Henry house. With this line the assaults of Heintzelman's division and the brigades of Sherman and Keyes, with their batteries, numbering some 18,000 strong, were resisted with heroic firmness.

By 2 o'clock, Kershaw's Second and Cash's Eighth South Carolina, General Holmes' brigade of two regiments, Early's brigade, and Walker's and Latham's batteries, arrived from the Bull run line and reinforced the left. The enemy now held the great plateau from which he had driven our forces, and was being vigorously assailed on his left by Kershaw and Cash, with Kemper's battery, and by Early and Stuart. General Beauregard ordered the advance of his center and right, the latter further strengthened by Cocke's brigade, taken by General Johnston's order from its position at the stone bridge.

This charge swept the great plateau, which was then again in possession of the Confederates. Hampton fell, wounded in this charge, and Capt. James Conner took command of the legion. Bee, the heroic and accomplished soldier, fell at the head of the troops, and Gen. S. R. Gist, adjutant-general of South Carolina, was wounded leading the Fourth Alabama. Reinforced, the Federal[Pg 27] troops again advanced to possess the plateau, but Kirby Smith's arrival on the extreme left, and his prompt attack, with Kershaw's command and Stuart's cavalry, defeated the right of McDowell's advance and threw it into confusion, and the charge of Beauregard's center and right completed the victory of Manassas.

In the operations of this memorable day, no troops displayed more heroic courage and fortitude than the troops from South Carolina, who had the fortune to bear a part in this the first great shock of arms between the contending sections. These troops were the Second regiment, Col. J. B. Kershaw; the Fourth, Col. J. B. E. Sloan; the Eighth, Col. E. B. Cash; the Legion infantry, Col. Wade Hampton, and the Fifth, Col. Micah Jenkins. The latter regiment was not engaged in the great battle, but, under orders, crossed Bull run and attacked the strong force in front of McLean's ford. The regiment was wholly unsupported and was forced to withdraw, Colonel Jenkins rightly deeming an assault, under the circumstances, needless.

The following enumeration of losses is taken from the several reports of commanders as published in the War Records, Vol. II, p. 570: Kershaw's regiment, 5 killed, 43 wounded; Sloan's regiment, 11 killed, 79 wounded; Jenkins' regiment, 3 killed, 23 wounded; Cash's regiment, 5 killed, 23 wounded; Hampton's legion, 19 killed, 102 wounded; total, 43 killed, 270 wounded.

Gen. Barnard Elliott Bee, who fell, leading in the final and triumphant charge of the Confederates, was a South Carolinian. Col. C. H. Stevens, a volunteer on his staff, his near kinsman, and the distinguished author of the iron battery at Sumter, was severely wounded. Lieut.-Col. B. J. Johnson, who fell in the first position taken by the Hampton legion, was a distinguished and patriotic son of the State, and Lieut. O. R. Horton, of the Fourth, who was killed in front of his company, had been prominent in the battle of the early morning. At Manassas,[Pg 28] South Carolina was well represented by her faithful sons, who willingly offered their lives in defense of her principles and her honor. The blood she shed on that ever-memorable field was but the token of the great offering with which it was yet to be stained by the sacrifices of more than a thousand of her noblest sons.

The battle of Manassas fought and won, and trophies of the Confederate victory gathered from the plateau of the great strife, and from the line of the Union army's retreat, the South Carolina troops with General Beauregard's command were put into two brigades, Bonham's, the First, and D. R. Jones', the Third. The Second, Third, Seventh and Eighth regiments made up General Bonham's brigade; the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Ninth, General Jones' brigade. Gregg's First regiment was at Norfolk, and Hampton's legion was not brigaded. Headquarters were established at Fairfax Court House, and the Confederate line ran from Springfield on the Orange & Alexandria railroad to Little Falls above Georgetown. No event of great importance occurred in which the troops of South Carolina took part, in Virginia, during the remainder of the summer.

Throughout the summer of 1861, in Charleston and along the coast of South Carolina, all was activity in the work of preparation and defense. On August 21st, Brig.-Gen. R. S. Ripley, whose promotion to that rank had been applauded by the soldiers and citizens of the State, was assigned to the "department of South Carolina and the coast defenses of that State." On assuming command, General Ripley found the governor and people fully alive to the seriousness of the situation, and everything being done which the limited resources of the State permitted, to erect fortifications and batteries on the coast, and to arm and equip troops for State and Confederate service.

Governor Pickens wrote to the secretary of war at Richmond about the time of the Federal expedition to North Carolina, and the capture of the batteries at Hatteras inlet, urgently requesting that Gregg's First regiment might be sent him from Virginia, as he expected an attack to be made at some point on the coast. In this letter he begged that 40,000 pounds of cannon powder be forwarded from Norfolk at once. The governor had bought in December, 1860, and January, 1861, 300,000 pounds from Hazard's mills in Connecticut, for the use of the State, but he had loaned 25,000 pounds to the governor of North Carolina, 5,000 pounds to the governor of[Pg 30] Florida, and a large amount to the governor of Tennessee. Of what remained he needed 40,000 pounds to supply "about 100 guns on the coast below Charleston." The governor estimated the troops in the forts and on the islands around Charleston at 1,800 men, all well drilled, and a reserve force in the city of 3,000. These forces, with Manigault's, Heyward's, Dunovant's and Orr's regiments, he estimated at about 9,500 effective.

On October 1st, General Ripley reported his Confederate force, not including the battalion of regular artillery and the regiment of regular infantry, at 7,713 effectives, stationed as follows: Orr's First rifles, on Sullivan's island, 1,521; Hagood's First, Cole's island and stone forts, 1,115; Dunovant's Twelfth, north and south Edisto, 367; Manigault's Tenth, Georgetown and defenses, 538; Jones' Fourteenth, camp near Aiken, 739; Heyward's Eleventh, Beaufort and defenses, 758; cavalry, camp near Columbia, 173; cavalry, camp near Aiken, 62; arsenal, Charleston (artillery), 68; Edwards' Thirteenth, De Saussure's Fifteenth, and remainder of Dunovant's Twelfth, 2,372.

On the first day of November, the governor received the following dispatch from the acting secretary of war: "I have just received information which I consider entirely reliable, that the enemy's expedition is intended for Port Royal." Governor Pickens answered: "Please telegraph General Anderson at Wilmington, and General Lawton at Savannah, to send what forces they can spare, as the difficulty with us is as to arms." Ripley replied, "Will act at once. A fine, strong, southeast gale blowing, which will keep him off for a day or so." The fleet sailed from Hampton Roads on the 29th of October, and on the 4th of November the leading vessels that had withstood the gale appeared off Port Royal harbor. The storm had wrecked several of the transports, and the[Pg 31] whole fleet suffered and was delayed until the 7th, before Admiral DuPont was ready to move in to the attack of the forts defending this great harbor.

Port Royal harbor was defended by two forts, Walker and Beauregard, the former on Hilton Head island, and the latter on Bay point opposite. The distance across the harbor, from fort to fort, is nearly 3 miles, the harbor ample and deep, and the water on the bar allowing the largest vessels to enter without risk. A fleet of 100 sail could maneuver between Forts Walker and Beauregard and keep out of range of all but their heaviest guns. To defend such a point required guns of the longest range and the heaviest weight of metal.

In planning the defense of Port Royal, General Beauregard designed that batteries of 10-inch columbiads and rifled guns should be placed on the water fronts of both forts, and so directed; but the guns were not to be had, and the engineers, Maj. Francis D. Lee and Capt. J. W. Gregory, were obliged to mount the batteries of the forts with such guns as the Confederate government and the governor of South Carolina could command. The forts were admirably planned and built, the planters in the vicinity of the forts supplying all the labor necessary, so that by September 1, 1861, they were ready for the guns.

Fort Walker mounted twenty guns and Fort Beauregard nineteen, but of this armament Walker could use but thirteen, and Beauregard but seven against a fleet attacking from the front. The rest of the guns were placed for defense against attack by land, or were too light to be of any use. The twenty guns of Walker and Beauregard that were used in the battle with the fleet, were wholly insufficient, both in weight of metal and number. The heaviest of the guns in Walker were two columbiads, 10-inch and 8-inch, and a 9-inch rifled Dahlgren. The rest of the thirteen were 42, 32 and 24 pounders. Of the seven guns in Beauregard, one was a 10-inch colum[Pg 32]biad, and one a 24-pounder, rifled. The rest were 42 and 32 pounders; one of the latter fired hot shot.

Col. William C. Heyward, Eleventh South Carolina volunteers, commanded at Fort Walker, and Col. R. G. M. Dunovant, of the Twelfth, commanded at Fort Beauregard. The guns at Walker were manned by Companies A and B, of the German Flying Artillery, Capts. D. Werner and H. Harms; Company C, Eleventh volunteers, Capt. Josiah Bedon, and detachments from the Eleventh under Capt. D. S. Canaday. Maj. Arthur M. Huger, of the Charleston artillery battalion, was in command of the front batteries, and of the whole fort after Col. John A. Wagener was disabled. The guns in Fort Beauregard were manned by the Beaufort artillery; Company A, Eleventh volunteers, Capt. Stephen Elliott, and Company D, Eleventh volunteers, Capt. J. J. Harrison; Captain Elliott directing the firing. The infantry support at Walker was composed of three companies of the Eleventh and four companies of the Twelfth, and a company of mounted men under Capt. I. H. Screven. The fighting force of Fort Walker then, on the morning of the 7th of November, preparing to cope with the great fleet about to attack, was represented by thirteen guns, manned and supported by 622 men. The infantry support at Fort Beauregard was composed of six companies of the Twelfth, the whole force at Beauregard, under Colonel Dunovant, amounting to 640 men and seven guns.

Brig.-Gen. Thomas F. Drayton, with headquarters at Beaufort, commanded the defenses at Port Royal harbor and vicinity. He removed his headquarters to Hilton Head on the 5th, and pushed forward every preparation in his power for the impending battle. The remote position of Fort Beauregard and the interposition of the fleet, lying just out of range, made it impossible to reinforce that point. An attempt made early on the morning of the 7th, supported by the gallant Commodore Tattnall,[Pg 33] was prevented by the actual intervention of the leading battleships of the enemy. Fort Walker, however, received just before the engagement, a reinforcement of the Fifteenth volunteers, Colonel DeSaussure, 650 strong; Captain Read's battery of two 12-pounder howitzers, 50 men and 450 Georgia infantry, under Capt. T. J. Berry.

The morning of the 7th of November was a still, clear, beautiful morning, "not a ripple," wrote General Drayton, "upon the broad expanse of water to disturb the accuracy of fire from the broad decks of that magnificent armada, about advancing in battle array." The attack came about 9 o'clock, nineteen of the battleships moving up and following each other in close order, firing upon Fort Beauregard as they passed, then turning to the left and south, passing in range of Walker, and pouring broadside after broadside into that fort. Captain Elliott reports: "This circuit was performed three times, after which they remained out of reach of any except our heaviest guns." From this position the heavy metal and long range guns of nineteen batteries poured forth a ceaseless bombardment of both Beauregard and Walker, but paying most attention to the latter.

Both forts replied with determination, the gunners standing faithfully to their guns, but the vastly superior weight of metal and the number of the Federal batteries, and the distance of their positions from the forts (never less than 2,500 yards from Beauregard and 2,000 from Walker), made the contest hopeless for the Confederates almost from the first shot. Shortly after the engagement began, several of the largest vessels took flanking positions out of reach of the 32-pounder guns in Walker, and raked the parapet of that fort. "So soon as these positions had been established," reported Major Huger, "the fort was fought simply as a point of honor, for from that moment we were defeated." This flank fire, with the incessant direct discharge of the fleet's heavy batteries,[Pg 34] dismounted or disabled most of Fort Walker's guns. The 10-inch columbiad was disabled early in the action; the shells for the rifled guns were too large to be used, and the ammunition for all but the 32-pounders exhausted, when, after four hours of hard fighting, Colonel Heyward ordered that two guns should be served slowly, while the sick and wounded were removed from the fort; that accomplished, the fort to be abandoned. Thus terminated the fight at Fort Walker.

At Fort Beauregard, the battle went more fortunately for the Confederates. A caisson was exploded by the fire of the fleet, and the rifled 24-pounder burst, and several men and officers were wounded by these events, but none of the guns were dismounted, and Captain Elliott only ceased firing when Walker was abandoned. In his report, he says: "Our fire was directed almost exclusively at the larger vessels. They were seen to be struck repeatedly, but the distance, never less than 2,500 yards, prevented our ascertaining the extent of injury." General Drayton successfully conducted his retreat from Hilton Head, and Colonel Dunovant from Bay point, all the troops being safely concentrated on the main behind Beaufort.

The taking of Port Royal harbor on the 7th of November, 1861, gave the navy of the United States a safe and ample anchorage, while the numerous and rich islands surrounding it afforded absolutely safe and comfortable camping grounds for the army of Gen. T. W. Sherman, who was specially in charge of this expedition. The effect of this Union victory was to give the fleet and army of the United States a permanent and abundant base of operations against the whole coast of South Carolina, and against either Charleston or Savannah, as the Federal authorities might elect; but its worst result was the immediate abandonment of the whole sea-island country around Beaufort, the houses and estates of the planters being left to pillage and ruin, and thousands of[Pg 35] negro slaves falling into the hands of the enemy. General Sherman wrote to his government, from Hilton Head, that the effect of his victory was startling. Every white inhabitant had left the islands of Hilton Head, St. Helena, Ladies, and Port Royal, and the beautiful estates of the planters were at the mercy of hordes of negroes.

The loss of the forts had demonstrated the power of the Federal fleet, and the impossibility of defending the island coast with the guns which the State and the Confederacy could furnish. The 32 and 42 pounders were no match for the 11-inch batteries of the fleet, and gunboats of light draught, carrying such heavy guns, could enter the numerous rivers and creeks and cut off forts or batteries at exposed points, while larger vessels attacked them, as at Port Royal, in front. It was evident that the rich islands of the coast were at the mercy of the Federal fleet, whose numerous gunboats and armed steamers, unopposed by forts or batteries, could cover the landing of troops at any point or on any island selected.

On the capture of Port Royal, it was uncertain, of course, what General Sherman's plans would be, or what force he had with which to move on the railroad between Charleston and Savannah. The fleet was ample for all aggressive purposes along the coast, but it was not known at the time that the army numbered less than 15,000 men, all told. But it was well known how easily a landing could be effected within a few miles of the railroad bridges crossing the three upper branches of the Broad river, the Coosawhatchie, Tulifinny and Pocotaligo, and the rivers nearer to Charleston, the Combahee, Ashepoo and Edisto. Bluffton, easily reached by gunboats, afforded a good landing and base for operations against the railroad at Hardeeville, only 4 miles from the Savannah river, and 15 from the city of Savannah. On this account, General Ripley, assisted by the planters,[Pg 36] caused the upper branches of the Broad, and the other rivers toward Charleston to be obstructed, and meanwhile stationed the troops at his command at points covering the landings.

General Drayton, with a part of Martin's regiment of cavalry, under Lieutenant-Colonel Colcock, and Heyward's and De Saussure's regiments, was watching Bluffton and the roads to Hendersonville. Clingman's and Radcliffe's North Carolina regiments, with artillery under Col. A. J. Gonzales, Captain Trezevant's company of cavalry, and the Charleston Light Dragoons and the Rutledge Riflemen, were stationed in front of Grahamville, to watch the landings from the Broad. Colonel Edwards' regiment and Moore's light battery were at Coosawhatchie, Colonel Dunovant's at Pocotaligo, and Colonel Jones', with Tripp's company of cavalry, in front of the important landing at Port Royal ferry. Colonel Martin, with part of his regiment of cavalry, was in observation at the landings on Combahee, Ashepoo and Edisto rivers. The idea of this disposition, made by Ripley immediately upon the fall of Forts Walker and Beauregard, was to guard the railroad bridges, and keep the troops in hand to be moved for concentration in case any definite point was attacked.

On the 8th of November, the day after Port Royal was taken, Gen. Robert E. Lee took command of the department of South Carolina and Georgia, by order of the President of the Confederacy. It was evident to him that the mouths of the rivers and the sea islands, except those immediately surrounding the harbor of Charleston, could not be defended with the guns and troops at his command, and, disappointing and distressing as such a view was to the governor and especially to the island planters, whose homes and estates must be abandoned and ruined, General Lee prepared for the inevitable. He wrote to General Ripley, in Charleston, to review the whole subject and suggest what changes should be made.[Pg 37] "I am in favor," he wrote, "of abandoning all exposed points as far as possible within reach of the enemy's fleet of gunboats, and of taking interior positions, where all can meet on more equal terms. All our resources should be applied to those positions." Subsequently the government at Richmond ordered General Lee, by telegraph, to withdraw all his forces from the islands to the mainland. When the order was carried out, it was done at a terrible sacrifice, to which the planters and citizens yielded in patient and noble submission, turning their backs upon their homes and their property with self-sacrificing devotion to the cause of Southern independence. Never were men and women subjected to a greater test of the depth and strength of their sentiments, or put to a severer trial of their patriotism, than were the planters and their families, who abandoned their houses and estates along the coast of South Carolina, and retired as refugees into the interior, all the men who were able entering the army.

At the time of the fall of Forts Walker and Beauregard, Charleston harbor was defended by Forts Moultrie and Sumter, Castle Pinckney and Fort Johnson, and by batteries on Sullivan's and Morris islands. All these were to be strengthened, and the harbor made secure against any attack in front. To prevent the occupation of James island, the mouth of Stono river was defended by forts built on Cole's and Battery islands, and a line of defensive works built across the island. No attempt had been made to erect forts or batteries in defense of the inlets of Worth or South Edisto, but the harbor of Georgetown was protected by works unfinished on Cat and South islands, for twenty guns, the heaviest of which were 32-pounders.

When General Lee took command, November 8th, he established his headquarters at Coosawhatchie, and divided the line of defense into five military districts, from east to west, as follows: The First, from the North[Pg 38] Carolina line to the South Santee, under Col. A. M. Manigault, Tenth volunteers, with headquarters at Georgetown; the Second, from the South Santee to the Stono, under Gen. R. S. Ripley, with headquarters at Charleston; the Third, from the Stono to the Ashepoo, under Gen. N. G. Evans, with headquarters at Adams' run; the Fourth, from Ashepoo to Port Royal entrance, under Gen. J. C. Pemberton, with headquarters at Coosawhatchie; the Fifth, the remainder of the line to the Savannah river, under Gen. T. F. Drayton, with headquarters at Hardeeville.

On the 27th of December, General Lee wrote to Governor Pickens that his movable force for the defense of the State, not including the garrisons of the forts at Georgetown and those of Moultrie, Sumter, Johnson, Castle Pinckney and the works for the defense of the approaches through Stono, Wappoo, etc., which could not be removed from their posts, amounted to 10,036 Confederate troops—the Fourth brigade, South Carolina militia, 1,531 strong; Colonel Martin's mounted regiment, 567 strong; two regiments from North Carolina, Clingman's and Radcliffe's; two regiments from Tennessee, the Eighth and Sixteenth, and Colonel Starke's Virginia regiment; the Tennesseeans and Virginians making a brigade under Brigadier-General Donelson. The above, with four field batteries, made up the force scattered from Charleston to the Savannah river, and stationed along the line, on the mainland, in front of the headquarters above named.

Nothing of great importance occurred for the remainder of the year 1861 along the coast of South Carolina, except the sinking of a "stone fleet" of some twenty vessels across the main ship channel on December 20th, in Charleston harbor. This was done by the order of the United States government to assist the blockade of the port, and was pronounced by General Lee as an "achievement unworthy of any nation."

On January 1, 1862, at Port Royal ferry, was demonstrated the ease with which a large force could be placed on the mainland under the protection of the fleet batteries. Brig.-Gen. Isaac Stevens landed a brigade of 3,000 men for the purpose of capturing a supposed battery of heavy guns, which, it was believed, the Confederates had built at the head of the causeway leading to Port Royal ferry. Landing from Chisolm's island, some distance east of the small earthwork, Col. James Jones, Fourteenth volunteers, had promptly withdrawn the guns in the earthwork, except a 12-pounder, which was overturned in a ditch. Believing the movement to be an attack in force upon the railroad, Colonel Jones disposed his regiment and a part of the Twelfth, under Lieut.-Col. Dixon Barnes, with a section of Leake's battery, and 42 mounted men, under Major Oswald, for resisting the attack, forming his line about a mile from the ferry. But there was no engagement. The deserted earthwork was easily captured, and the 12-pounder gun righted on its carriage and hauled off, under the constant bombardment of the vessels in the Coosaw river. The opposing troops caught glimpses of each other, and fired accordingly, but not much harm was done on either side. Colonel Jones lost Lieut. J. A. Powers and 6 men killed and 20 wounded by the fire of the gunboats, and Colonel Barnes, 1 man killed and 4 wounded; 32 casualties. The Federal general reported 2 men killed, 12 wounded and 1 captured. During the winter and early spring the fleet was busy exploring the rivers, sounding the channels, and landing reconnoitering parties on the various islands.

Edisto island was garrisoned early in February, and the commander, Col. Henry Moore, Forty-seventh New York, wrote to the adjutant-general in Washington, on the 15th, that he was within 25 miles of Charleston; considered Edisto island "the great key" to that city, and with a reinforcement of 10,000 men could "in less than three days be in Charleston."

It will be noted in this connection that early in March, General Lee was called to Richmond and placed in command of the armies of the Confederacy, and General Pemberton, promoted to major-general, was assigned to the department of South Carolina and Georgia. Major-General Hunter, of the Federal army, had assumed command instead of General Sherman, the last of March, and reported to his government, "about 17,000 troops scattered along the coast from St. Augustine, Fla., to North Edisto inlet." Of these troops, 12,230 were on the South Carolina coast—4,500 on Hilton Head island; 3,600 at Beaufort; 1,400 on Edisto, and the rest at other points. The force on Edisto was advanced to the northern part of the island, with a strong guard on Little Edisto, which touches the mainland and is cut off from the large island by Watts' cut and a creek running across its northern neck. Communication with the large island from Little Edisto is by a bridge and causeway, about the middle of the creek's course.

This being the situation, General Evans, commanding the Third district, with headquarters at Adams' run, determined to capture the guard on Little Edisto and make an armed reconnoissance on the main island. The project was intrusted to Col. P. F. Stevens, commanding the Holcombe legion, and was quite successfully executed. On the morning of March 29th, before day, Colonel Stevens, with his legion, Nelson's battalion, and a company of cavalry, attacked and dispersed the picket at Watts cut, crossed and landed on the main island west of the bridge, which communicated with Little Edisto. Moving south into the island, he detached Maj. F. G. Palmer, with seven companies, 260 men, to attack the picket at the bridge, cross over to Little Edisto, burn the bridge behind him, and capture the force thus cut off on Little Edisto, which was believed to be at least two companies. Palmer carried the bridge by a charge, and crossing over, left two of his staff, Rev. John D. McCul[Pg 41]lough, chaplain of the legion, and Mr. Irwin, with Lieutenant Bishop's company of the legion, to burn the bridge, and pushed on after the retreating force. Day had broken, but a heavy fog obscured every object, and the attack on the Federals was made at great disadvantage. Palmer captured a lieutenant and 20 men and non-commissioned officers, the remainder of the force escaping in the fog. Colonel Stevens marched within sound of the long roll beating in the camps in the interior, and taking a few prisoners, returned to the mainland by Watts' cut, and Palmer crossed his command and prisoners over at the north end of Little Edisto in a small boat, which could only carry five men at a time, flats which were on the way to him having failed to arrive. Several of the Federal soldiers were killed and wounded in this affair, the Confederates having two slightly wounded. But for the dense fog the entire force on Little Edisto would have been captured.

General Pemberton, on assuming command, executed General Lee's purpose and ordered the removal of the guns from Fort Palmetto on Cole's island, at the mouth of the Stono, and from the works at the mouth of Georgetown harbor. Georgetown was then at the mercy of the fleet, but there was no help for it, for Port Royal had shown that the guns which the Confederates could command were practically inefficient against the batteries of the fleet. For the rear defense of Charleston, James island must be the battleground, and the forces on the mainland, along the line of the Charleston & Savannah railroad, must depend upon rapid concentration to resist an advance from any one of the numerous landings in front of that line. The regiment of regular South Carolina infantry, and the regiment of regular artillery, splendidly drilled as gunners, and officered by accomplished soldiers, garrisoned the harbor defenses, and Ripley's energy and high capacity were constantly exerted to secure a perfect defense of the city of Charleston.

The troops on James island and on the line of railroad, as reported April 30, 1862, present for duty, numbered 22,275, rank and file, stationed as follows: In the First district, Col. R. F. Graham, 1,254; Second district, Brigadier-General Ripley, 8,672; Third district, Brigadier-General Evans, 5,400; Fourth district, Col. P. H. Colquitt, 1,582; Fifth district, Col. P. H. Colquitt, 2,222; Sixth district, Brigadier-General Drayton, 3,145; total, 22,275.

The above statement includes infantry, artillery and cavalry. They were all South Carolina troops except Phillips' Georgia legion (infantry), Thornton's Virginia battery, and a company of Georgia cavalry, under Capt. T. H. Johnson. Manigault's Tenth volunteers and Moragné's Nineteenth, with the two Tennessee regiments under Brigadier-General Donelson, had been sent to Corinth to reinforce Beauregard in the west, and Dunovant's Twelfth, Edwards' Thirteenth, McGowan's Fourteenth (Col. James Jones having resigned), and Orr's rifles had gone to the aid of General Johnston in Virginia. Such was the situation in South Carolina at the close of April, 1862.

In Virginia, Gen. George B. McClellan had been placed in command of the great army which he had fully organized, and his headquarters had been established at Fort Monroe early in April, preparatory to his advance upon Richmond by way of the James river and the peninsula. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston commanded the Confederate army for the defense of Richmond, with headquarters at Yorktown, April 17th. Holding Yorktown and the line which ran across the peninsula to the Warwick, until the 4th of May, Johnston retired from Williamsburg. His army, about 53,000 strong, was opposed by McClellan's splendidly equipped and organized army, estimated by General Johnston at 133,000. It was Johnston's intention to fall back slowly on the defenses of Richmond, and then, being joined by the division of Huger from Norfolk, and other reinforcements which he expected the Confederate government would order to his army, to give McClellan battle in front of those defenses on more equal terms.

Johnston's army at that time was composed of the divisions of Magruder (commanded by D. R. Jones), Longstreet, D. H. Hill and G. W. Smith. Magruder and Smith had passed beyond Williamsburg on the march to Richmond, and Hill, encumbered with the trains and baggage, was also moving beyond that point, on the afternoon of the 4th, when Longstreet's rear[Pg 44] guard was attacked, in front of Williamsburg, by the Federal advance. This attack was met and checked by two brigades under Brigadier-General McLaws (Semmes' and Kershaw's), with Manly's battery. In this brief history, the writer is confined, by the plan of the work, to the part taken in each action by the troops of South Carolina. The grateful task of speaking of troops from other States is resigned with the understanding that ample justice will be done them by writers who have been selected to record the history of their courage, skill and devotion as soldiers of the Confederacy.

In this affair of the afternoon of the 4th of May, Kershaw's brigade, the Second, Third, Seventh and Eighth South Carolina, bore a part, and though but little blood was spilled, the gallant conduct of the brigade received the notice and commendation of General McLaws, who, in reporting the action, said: "I call attention to the promptness with which General Kershaw placed his men in the various positions assigned him, and the readiness with which he seized on the advantage offered by the ground as he advanced to the front.... His command obeyed his orders with an alacrity and skill creditable to the gallant and obedient soldiers composing it." The result of the combat was, that McLaws checked the Federal advance, captured several prisoners, one piece of artillery, three caissons, and disabled a battery, and lost not exceeding 15 men killed, wounded and missing. A part of Stuart's cavalry was also engaged, and that officer complimented the conduct of the Hampton legion cavalry in high terms, for "a brilliant dash upon the enemy's cavalry in front of Fort Magruder.... Disinterested officers, spectators, speak in the most glowing terms of that portion of my brigade."

It was evident to General Johnston that the safety of his trains required that a more decided opposition be offered to the Federal advance, and Longstreet's division was put in position to meet it on the following morn[Pg 45]ing. The battle which followed, accordingly, on the 5th, fulfilled the general's expectations, and was a bloody engagement, continuing at intervals from early morning until near dark, the two divisions (Longstreet's under Anderson and D. H. Hill's) repelling the assaults of thirty-three regiments of infantry, six batteries of artillery, and three regiments of cavalry.

The battle in front of Williamsburg was fought in terrible weather, the whole country flooded by the rains, the roads almost impassable for artillery, and the troops "wading in mud and slush," as General Hill expressed it. On the morning of the 5th, Longstreet held the forts and line in front of Williamsburg. Anderson's South Carolina brigade, commanded by Col. Micah Jenkins, was stationed in Fort Magruder, and in the redoubts and breastworks to the right and left of the fort. This brigade was composed of the Palmetto sharpshooters, Lieut.-Col. Joseph Walker; Fourth battalion, Maj. C. S. Mattison; Fifth, Col. John R. Giles, and Sixth, Col. John Bratton, Lieut.-Col. J. M. Steedman.

The position at Fort Magruder was the center of Longstreet's line and was the point at which the battle opened at 6 o'clock in the morning. Major Mattison, commanding the pickets in front of Fort Magruder, was sharply engaged, and being reinforced by a battalion of the sharpshooters, had quite a picket battle before retiring to the fort. The attack on Fort Magruder and on the redoubts and breastworks to the right and left of it, was at once opened with artillery and infantry, and the superiority of the Federal artillery and small-arms put Jenkins' command at great disadvantage. But the artillery in the fort and the redoubts was so well directed, the gallant gunners stood so heroically to their guns, and were so firmly supported by the Carolina infantry, that the Federal columns could not assault the line, and were driven back and compelled by noon to change the point of attack further to the Confederate left. Mean[Pg 46]while, Longstreet was assailing the Federal left, and gaining ground with the remainder of his division, supported by reinforcements from Hill's, called back from their march beyond Williamsburg. In the afternoon, General Hill brought his whole division on the field, and reinforcing the center, commanded by Anderson, and leading the left in person, a final advance was made which ended the fighting by sunset, the Confederates occupying the field, the Federals being repulsed from right to left.

In the defense of the center and left, Anderson's brigade, under Jenkins, bore a conspicuous part. In Fort Magruder, the Richmond howitzers and the Fayette artillery lost so many men by the fire of the enemy, that details were made by Colonel Jenkins from the infantry to relieve the men at the guns. By concentrating the artillery fire on particular batteries in succession, and by volley firing at the gunners, Jenkins compelled his assailants to shift their positions, while the regiments of Bratton, Giles, Walker and Mattison poured their well-directed fire into the threatening columns of Federal infantry.

At an important period of the battle on the right, when the Federal left had been driven back and was exposed to the full fire of Fort Magruder, every gun was turned upon it. In the afternoon, and just before D. H. Hill's attack on his right, the Federal commander had gained a position almost turning the Confederate left. At this critical juncture, the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth South Carolina regiments, with the Fourteenth Alabama, Major Royston, splendidly supported by Dearing's and Stribling's batteries, and three guns under Lieutenant Fortier, met the movement with firmness, and, aided by the fire from Fort Magruder, checked and repulsed the Federal right, and held the Confederate left intact.

General McClellan claimed a great victory at Williamsburg, basing his claim upon the occupation of the town the[Pg 47] next day, the capture of 300 prisoners and 1,000 wounded, and five guns. But the fact is, that the battle was fought by General Johnston with two divisions of his army, for no other purpose than to secure his trains and make good his retreat upon Richmond, and this he accomplished. The divisions that fought the battle slept on the field, and left their positions without molestation on the morning of the 6th. Johnston marched only 12 miles on the 6th, and was not pursued. Four hundred wounded were left at Williamsburg because he had no ambulances, and the wagons were out of reach on the march toward Richmond. Four hundred prisoners, several stand of colors, and cannon were taken, and the Confederate loss, 1,560 killed and wounded, was only two-thirds that of the Federals.[A] With these facts before us, Williamsburg cannot be considered a victory for General McClellan.

Regarding the morale of the Confederate army at this period, a distinguished commander of one of its divisions wrote: "Our revolutionary sires did not suffer more at Valley Forge than did our army at Yorktown, and in the retreat from it. Notwithstanding the rain, cold, mud, hunger, watching and fatigue, I never heard a murmur, nor witnessed a single act of insubordination. The want of discipline manifested itself only in straggling, which is the curse of our army."

The security of General Johnston's march toward Richmond was seriously threatened on the second day after the battle at Williamsburg, May 7th. The menace came from the direction of Eltham's landing, at the head of the York, where General McClellan was disembarking several of the divisions of his army. Franklin's division had landed, and was in line of battle well in front and covering the disembarkation of the other divisions. In this position, Franklin's advance was within 3 miles of Johnston's line of march, and his trains and artil[Pg 48]lery were in danger. Gen. G. W. Smith's division, under Whiting, was halted at Barhamsville (West Point) until the rest of the army had passed, and had been kept fully apprised of the Federal position between Barhamsville and the river. To keep the enemy back until the army had passed this point, General Smith ordered Whiting's division to move out toward the river and attack and drive back the Federal line. The attack was made by Hood's Texas brigade and two commands of Hampton's brigade, with S. D. Lee's artillery. The troops engaged on the Federal side composed the division of Franklin.

It was a spirited affair, the Hampton legion infantry, commanded by Lieut.-Col. J. B. Griffin and Maj. James Conner, and the Nineteenth Georgia, Lieutenant-Colonel Johnson, vying with Hood's gallant Texans in the steady advance. The Federals were driven back to the river line and held their position firmly, and the guns of the fleet being opened on the Confederates, Hood and Hampton withdrew their supports and resumed the march that night toward New Kent Court House. Hood lost 8 killed and 28 wounded, and Hampton, 12 wounded. Forty-six prisoners were taken. The reported loss of General Franklin was, killed 48, wounded 110, captured 28; total 186.

After the affair, General Franklin reported it a success for his division, and concluded by congratulating himself that he had maintained his position. Hampton, in his report, complimented the officers and men of the legion, and of the Nineteenth Georgia, and mentioned particularly Lieutenant-Colonel Griffin, commanding his infantry battalion, Major Conner, in command of skirmishers, and Maj. Stephen D. Lee, commanding his artillery. In this affair the Confederates had five regiments and a battery actually engaged, and a brigade in support (but not engaged) on each flank. The return of casualties by the Federal record shows losses in six regiments, and a battery. The affair occurred for the most[Pg 49] part in the woods east and west of the road leading from Barhamsville to Eltham's landing, and within range of the guns of the vessels in York river.

Arriving before the defenses of Richmond, General Johnston encamped his army north and east of the city, with grand guards well out on the roads leading from Richmond to the crossing of the Chickahominy, and in the direction of the landings on the James. His cavalry, under Stuart, was immediately in observation of the troops of Franklin at Eltham, and of General McClellan's main advance from Williamsburg. The Federal army moved up the peninsula by the roads leading to White House, on the Pamunkey, and thence, on the north side of the Chickahominy, as far as Mechanicsville. All the bridges, including the York river railroad bridge crossing the Chickahominy, had been destroyed, and Johnston's army was south of that stream. By the 20th of May, McClellan had seized the crossings of the Chickahominy from Bottom's bridge up to Meadow bridge, the latter point being immediately north of Richmond, and within 5 miles of the defenses of the city. His left, at Bottom's bridge, was about 12 miles in a direct line from the city's limits. The general direction of the Chickahominy is from northwest to southeast, between these points. By the 26th of May, the Third and Fourth corps of the Federal army, under Generals Heintzelman and Keyes, had crossed at Bottom's bridge, and by the 30th, the latter corps had intrenched itself on the Richmond side of Seven Pines and Fair Oaks station, with its right refused toward the Chickahominy swamp. The other corps of the Federal army were north of the Chickahominy, opposite bridges which had been constructed for their convenience in crossing. Heintzelman's corps was in the vicinity of Bottom's bridge. There had been incessant rains, and the whole country was flooded with water and the roads almost impassable for artillery.

On the 30th of May, General Johnston determined to[Pg 50] attack Keyes on the 31st at Seven Pines, and crush his corps before it could be reinforced from the north of the Chickahominy or to any extent by Heintzelman from Bottom's bridge. To understand his plan of attack, it will be necessary to explain the situation more minutely. Seven Pines and Fair Oaks are about a mile apart, and distant from Richmond about 7½ and 7 miles. Fair Oaks is on the railroad, and Seven Pines on the Williamsburg road. Two roads which figure in this account, and the railroad, run east from Richmond practically parallel for 5 miles, the Nine-mile road to the north, below it the railroad, and further south the Williamsburg road. At Old Tavern, 5 miles from Richmond, the Nine-mile road turns southeast, crosses the railroad at Fair Oaks, and joins the Williamsburg road at Seven Pines. About 2 miles from Richmond, on the Williamsburg road, the Charles City road turns off to the southeast. White Oak swamp lies between Seven Pines and the Charles City road. To strike the corps at Seven Pines, the direct road would be the Williamsburg road, with the Charles City road running to the Federal left. To strike him at Fair Oaks, the direct road would be the railroad, with the Nine-mile road coming to the same point (Fair Oaks) from Old Tavern, and affording good points from which to turn the Federal right.

Johnston's plan of attack was admirably considered. D. H. Hill's division was to attack at Seven Pines by the Williamsburg road; Brig.-Gen. Benjamin Huger's division was to attack the left flank by the Charles City road; Longstreet's division was to attack at Fair Oaks by the Nine-mile road, and W. H. C. Whiting's division was to support the whole by guarding the Confederate left and watching against reinforcements coming from the north side of the Chickahominy. The plan was perfect, but it was not executed, except in one particular; the attack assigned to D. H. Hill was a splendid achievement, and won the main success of the day, May 31st. In securing[Pg 51] that success, the brigade of R. H. Anderson bore a most conspicuous part, and to describe its operations is now the writer's duty.

The battle, which had been ordered to begin at an early hour in the morning, was not opened until Hill led his splendid division to the attack at 1 p. m. The four brigades of the division, Rodes and Rains on the south of the road, and Garland and G. B. Anderson on the north side, with Bondurant's and Carter's batteries, had beaten Casey's Federal divisions with its supports, driven them back on the Federal second line, at Seven Pines, captured eight guns, and was now attacking the Federal line intrenched right and left across the Williamsburg road, at Seven Pines, running toward Fair Oaks. Pressing his attack on this position in front, and on the Federal left, Hill sent back for another brigade to co-operate in the attack, by moving along the railroad on his left and striking at the Federal right and rear. "In a few moments," says General Hill, "the magnificent brigade of R. H. Anderson came to my support," and being ordered by Hill immediately on his extreme left, it began its effective operations. General Hill ordered Colonel Jenkins, with the Palmetto sharpshooters and the Sixth South Carolina, Colonel Bratton, to march through the woods beyond his extreme left to the railroad, move down it toward the Federal right flank at Seven Pines, and strike at the rear of that position, while the rest of Anderson's brigade attacked on the immediate left of Hill, between Casey's captured line and the railroad, Anderson directing his own and Jenkins' movements. The sequel will show how remarkably well these battlefield orders were carried out. Jenkins, with his own and Bratton's regiment, and the Twenty-seventh Georgia, from one of Hill's left brigades, formed line of attack in the woods, facing northeast, and gallantly moved against a portion of General Couch's division posted there. General Anderson, with the Fourth[Pg 52] and Fifth South Carolina, under Major Mattison and Colonel Giles, on the right of Jenkins and on the immediate left of Hill's attacking troops, formed his line in the same wood facing with Jenkins' line, but some distance from it, and, supported by artillery fire from Hill's line, attacked in his front a portion of General Naglee's troops. Both attacks were successful and Couch's and Naglee's troops were beaten. Reaching the railroad, Jenkins halted and dressed his line, the Twenty-seventh Georgia being now recalled. Meeting General Anderson at the railroad, Colonel Jenkins was directed by him to move on. The sharpshooters and the Sixth marched ahead, fighting, and penetrated the Federal line, cutting off a part of those troops from Seven Pines. Changing front forward on his right, Colonel Jenkins, with his two regiments, now facing southwest, attacked the right of the position at Seven Pines on Hill's extreme left. "At this point," he reports, "the enemy, heavily reinforced, made a desperate stand and the fighting was within 75 yards." Pushing on, the Federals slowly gave ground, and the two regiments kept in close support and perfect order. Fighting forward and to his right, Jenkins reached the Williamsburg road, the Federal forces in his front falling back and taking position in the woods south of it, while the two South Carolina regiments formed in line in the road, facing south. The little brigade was now in a most critical position, in advance of Hill's line, with the foe in front, and troops coming up the Williamsburg road to attack his left.

Colonel Jenkins determined, as he says in his report, "to break the enemy in front before I could be reached by this new advance [coming up the Williamsburg road on his left], and then by a change of front to meet them." This was handsomely done, and sending two companies of the Sharpshooters, Kilpatrick's and Martin's, under Maj. William Anderson, to attack and check the Federal advance, the two regiments were formed across[Pg 53] the road, facing south, while Jenkins' adjutant, Captain Seabrook, hurried back for reinforcements. General Anderson, who had led the Fourth and Fifth forward on Hill's left in the general attack, sent the Fifth to Jenkins, under Lieut.-Col. A. Jackson, the gallant Colonel Giles having been killed; and the Twenty-seventh Georgia was also sent forward to him by General Hill. Before his reinforcements reached him, the Federal advance was so near that their commands and cheers could be heard, and the two regiments had been advanced to within 100 yards of them. The Twenty-seventh Georgia was the first to come up, and being placed on the right, the Sharpshooters in the center and the Sixth (Lieutenant-Colonel Steedman commanding, Colonel Bratton being wounded) on the left, Jenkins boldly advanced to meet his foe. "The two commands neared each other, to 30 or 40 yards," says Colonel Jenkins, describing this struggle. "Losing heavily, I pressed on, and the enemy sullenly and slowly gave way, leaving the ground carpeted with dead and dying." By this time the Fifth South Carolina volunteers came up at the double-quick. The Twenty-seventh Georgia (which had been repulsed) rallied and came forward on the right. Jackson came up on the right of the Georgians, "sweeping before him the rallied fragments who had collected and resumed fire from the woods to the right, and thus, at 7:40 p. m., we closed our busy day." A day of splendid achievement!

In his fighting and maneuvering, Colonel Jenkins had advanced on the arc of a circle for more than 2 miles, fighting first northeast, then east, then southeast, then due south, and lastly east. "We passed," he said, "through two abatis of fallen timber, over four camps, and over artillery twice, driving the enemy from three pieces. We never fought twice in the same place, nor five minutes in one place, and, steadily on the advance, were under fire from 3 p. m. to 7:40 p. m." Gen. G. W.[Pg 54] Smith, in his exhaustive and able book on the battles of Seven Pines and Fair Oaks, makes the following comment on this remarkable achievement: "It is believed that the annals of war show few, if any, instances of more persistent, skillful and effective 'battlefield fighting,' than was done by the South Carolina regiments, under Colonel Jenkins, on the afternoon of May 31st." The losses were heavy, as might be expected, but unhappily there is no official report of them. Colonel Bratton, after the war, reported to General Smith that the Sixth lost 269 killed and wounded, out of 521 taken into the action. The loss of the Sharpshooters must have been fully as large. Speaking generally of his losses, Colonel Jenkins says: "In my two color companies, out of 80 men who entered, 40 were killed and wounded, and out of 11 in the color guard, 10 were shot down. My colors, pierced by nine balls, passed through four hands without touching the ground." Capt. J. Q. Carpenter, commanding the color company, lost 16 out of 28, "and ever in their front, the fatal ball pierced his heart, when he turned to his company and said, 'Boys, I am killed, but you press on.'"

While the battle of Seven Pines was in progress, General McClellan at 2 p. m. had ordered General Sumner's corps to cross the Chickahominy and go to the assistance of the Federal forces now being driven by Hill's division and R. H. Anderson's brigade. In the first advance of Jenkins, it will be recalled that he cut through General Couch's forces, dividing them and leaving a part in rear of his left flank. This force was composed of four regiments and a battery of artillery, which retreated beyond (north of) Fair Oaks, and with the brigade of Abercrombie, stationed at Fair Oaks, took up a defensive line at the Adams house, facing Fair Oaks. This line was commanded by General Couch in person. In this position, Couch was on the left flank and rear of Hill's battle and in place to be reinforced by Sumner, who came to his[Pg 55] support in time to save him from destruction by the attack of that portion of General Johnston's army, under General Johnston's immediate direction, whose headquarters were at Old Tavern, about 2 miles from Fair Oaks. Anxious for the safety of the Confederate left, and fearing that it might be attacked by forces from the north of the Chickahominy, General Johnston had ordered the brigades of Whiting, Hood, Pettigrew, Hatton and Hampton, under Whiting, at about 4 p. m., to march by Fair Oaks to attack the Federal right and rear. The head of these troops (Whiting's brigade), reaching Fair Oaks, were fired upon by Couch's battery at the Adams house, and by his advanced pickets. A halt was made to take the battery, and to drive the Federal infantry out of reach of the road, when followed the battle of Fair Oaks, the effort of which was to keep Sumner and Couch from the field at Seven Pines, and leave Hill's division and Anderson's brigade masters of the battle in that quarter. But this was the main effect of the Confederate attack at Fair Oaks, for the battery was not taken, and Couch, reinforced by at least a strong division from Sumner's advance, with artillery, held his position against the assaults of Whiting, Pettigrew, Hatton and Hampton. The latter commanded the only South Carolinians who were in the engagement at Fair Oaks, the infantry of his legion.

There is no report from General Hampton, but the reports of Generals Johnston and G. W. Smith define his position in the affair on the left of the Confederate attack. General Smith says, that as the musketry fire of Whiting, Pettigrew and Hampton rapidly increased, opening the attack on Couch, he rode into the woods where the troops were engaged, and learned from Col. S. D. Lee, of the artillery, that "General Hampton had driven the enemy some distance through the woods, but that they were being rapidly reinforced [by Sumner], held a strong position, and extended beyond Hampton's[Pg 56] left. The firing indicated that Whiting and Pettigrew were being fully occupied by the enemy in their immediate front." Hatton coming up, he was put in immediately between Hampton and Pettigrew, and Gen. G. W. Smith ordered the line forward to carry the Federal position. The woods were dense, the undergrowth thick, and the smoke so great that officers leading their troops could not see "more than a limited number of their men at any one time." General Smith continues: "Various attempts were made to charge the enemy, but without that concert of action necessary to success.... On no part of the line where I was, did the enemy at any time leave their cover or advance one single foot. Our troops held their position close to the enemy's line until it was too dark to distinguish friend from foe." The attack had been in progress for nearly two hours when darkness put an end to it. The gallant Hatton was killed, and that noble and accomplished soldier, Pettigrew, had fallen, badly wounded, so near the Federal line that he was made prisoner. Brig.-Gen. Wade Hampton was seriously wounded, but kept his horse, had the ball extracted by Surg. E. S. Gaillard on the field, and refused to leave his troops. In this affair, Whiting's brigade (commanded by Col. E. M. Law) lost in killed, wounded and missing, 356; Pettigrew's, 341; Hampton's, 329; and Hatton's, 244; total, 1,270. The Hampton legion infantry, General Smith reported, suffered a greater loss by far in proportion to its numbers than any other regiment of the division, being 21 killed and 120 wounded out of 350. These numbers were furnished by Surg. John T. Darby, acting chief surgeon of Whiting's division.

Near the close of the action, General Johnston was unhorsed and seriously wounded by a fragment of shell, and the command of the Confederate army devolved upon Maj.-Gen. G. W. Smith, next in rank, who was succeeded by Gen. R. E. Lee on the following day.

On June 18th a reconnoissance was made on the Nine-mile road by Gen. J. B. Kershaw, with two regiments of his South Carolina brigade, the Second, Col. J. D. Kennedy, and the Third, Col. J. D. Nance. With the Second on the left and the Third on the right of the road, the front covered by four companies deployed as skirmishers, under Captain Cuthbert, and two companies under Maj. W. D. Rutherford, Kershaw advanced. The skirmishers were soon engaged, and those of the Federal force were driven back on the supports. The two regiments advanced to within 70 yards of the Federal line, developed his position, forces, etc., and then Kershaw withdrew to camp. In this affair, Kershaw lost 1 killed and 11 wounded, among the latter Capt. G. B. Cuthbert, of the Second, and Capt. F. N. Walker, of the Third. Private W. H. Thompson, Company E, was killed, and "the gallant Sergt. H. D. Hanahan," of the Second, lost a leg.

The situation of the Federal army at this time (toward the close of June) determined General Lee to take the aggressive. The center and left of General McClellan were south of the Chickahominy, strongly intrenched and covered by the cutting of trees in the dense forests. The extreme left rested on White Oak swamp, and the right of the center on the Chickahominy at New bridge. The Federal right, under Fitz John Porter, was well and strongly posted behind Beaver Dam creek, north of the Chickahominy, with a grand guard at Mechanicsville in front, and outposts still beyond, guarding the crossing. General Lee's determination was to attack this right and separated wing with three of his divisions, calling Jackson's corps to co-operate. Jackson's march, from his victorious campaign in the valley, was so directed that he was expected to be at Ashland, 15 miles north of Richmond, on the 24th of June. From Ashland a march of 15 miles, toward Cold Harbor, would place his corps on the right flank and rear of the Federal position at Beaver Dam, while A. P. Hill, D. H. Hill and Long[Pg 58]street, with their divisions, crossing the river at Mechanicsville, should carry that place and the strong position at Beaver Dam.

The morning of the 26th (Thursday) was fixed by Lee for this concerted movement against McClellan's right wing. But Jackson did not reach Ashland until the night of the 25th, his march having been delayed by obstructions put in his way by the Federal outposts, many bridges being burned over streams crossing his march. It was after sunrise on the 26th before Jackson left Ashland. He marched past the right flank of the Federal position, at Beaver Dam, and went into camp 3 miles in the rear of that flank, at Hundley's corner, in the evening. In consequence, the bloody battle fought on the 26th, along Beaver Dam, by the gallant division of A. P. Hill and Ripley's brigade of D. H. Hill's division, was fought without Jackson's assistance. The Federal position behind Beaver Dam was heroically assailed; but it was too strong to be carried by Hill and Ripley, who suffered heavy losses. With Ripley was Capt. A. Burnet Rhett's South Carolina battery, who built a bridge, crossed the creek and, pushing up close to the enemy, were in action until 10 o'clock at night, losing 11 wounded. They were particularly complimented by A. P. Hill. With A. P. Hill were the South Carolina batteries of Capts. W. K. Bachman and D. G. McIntosh, the latter of which (Pee Dee artillery) probably fired the first gun at Mechanicsville, and fired 160 rounds from each gun before night stopped the fight. The brigade of General Gregg did not become actively engaged on the 26th.

The position of Jackson, on the right and rear, and the divisions of D. H. Hill and Longstreet in front, all fresh and ready for attack in the early morning of the 27th, made the position of General Porter behind Beaver Dam untenable, and he promptly retreated and took up a strong position 3 miles further down the river.

On Friday morning (27th), A. P. Hill was ordered for[Pg 59]ward toward Gaines' mill, the South Carolinians in advance. Gregg formed a line of battle with the First volunteers, Col. D. H. Hamilton, and the Twelfth, Col. Dixon Barnes, with skirmishers thrown out under Captains Cordero and Miller; and the Thirteenth, Col. O. E. Edwards, and First Rifles, Col. J. Foster Marshall, and Crenshaw's battery in support. They moved forward across the creek, and through the discarded accouterments and burning stores of the enemy, until coming out in an open, Cordero's company was fired upon by artillery in front and Lieutenant Heise was wounded. This apparently hostile force, according to the report of General Gregg, proved to be Stonewall Jackson's command, with which communication was at once opened. After a conference between Hill and Jackson, Gregg marched on, and presently was stopped by General Lee, who gave him further instructions. Longstreet, soon afterward, informed Gregg that he was moving on a parallel road to the right. The skirmishers became briskly engaged at Gaines' mill, but Gregg soon ordered them forward at double-quick, and they gallantly drove the Federal skirmishers before them. The brigade followed and bridged Powhite creek. Hill reported of the crossing of the Powhite: "His whole brigade being over, he made the handsomest charge in line I have seen during the war." Gregg continued his advance, part of the time at double-quick and with continual skirmish firing, descended the hollow beyond Cold Harbor, driving out the enemy, and formed in line of battle on the hillside beyond. He found the enemy above him and desired to attack, but being refused, lay in position until 4 p. m., the artillery firing going on overhead.

General Lee thus describes Porter's position, at which the battle of Gaines' Mill, or Cold Harbor, was fought on the afternoon and evening of the 27th of June:

Old Cold Harbor was in front of the Federal right, and Gaines' mill in front of his right center, the length of his line being about 2 miles and running in a curve from the "wooded bluff" on his left to a swamp on his right. The attack on this position was made by two roads running parallel with the Chickahominy, one going to the Federal left, and the other by Gaines' mill, opposite his right center. Longstreet attacked on the former, and A. P. Hill on the latter, D. H. Hill and Jackson attacking from the direction of the Federal front and right. At 4 p. m. A. P. Hill ordered his whole division forward, and the desperate struggle began, in which every inch of ground was to be won by a great sacrifice of life, and to be disputed with heroic firmness. Gregg, who was first engaged, fought his way through the tangled wood and the boggy morass to the foot of the main position, when, confronted by a determined and unfaltering resistance, and his lines torn by artillery from the crest in front and by a battery on his right flank, he could make no further progress. Marshall was ordered to take the battery on the right, and advanced gallantly, Perrin's, Joseph Norton's, Miller's and Miles Norton's companies in front, under Lieutenant-Colonel Ledbetter. The battery was withdrawn, but its support in the woods, composed of a strong body of troops, among them the New York Zouaves,[Pg 61] held the ground in a fierce combat. The Zouaves attacking on the left flank, Lieutenant Higgins promptly assembled 30 riflemen, and held them in check. The attack being pressed anew, the regiment, having lost 81 killed and 234 wounded out of 537, and being unsupported, was forced to retire to its former position. But Marshall's gallant charge and contest had driven off the battery, and Gregg ordered the First, Twelfth and Thirteenth forward again. The struggle for the crest was renewed with heroic zeal and courage, and met with splendid firmness, driving Gregg back a second time. A third advance was ordered, and now the Fourteenth, Col. Samuel McGowan, being by Gregg's request relieved from outpost duty, was conducted by his aide, Capt. Harry Hammond, to his right flank. Passing through Crenshaw's guns, McGowan's men moved right forward, supported by the other shattered regiments of Gregg's brigade. "Tired as they were," says Gregg, "by two days and nights of outpost duty, and by a rapid march under a burning sun, they advanced with a cheer and at a double-quick. Leading his regiment to the right of the Thirteenth and across the hollow, Colonel McGowan arrived just in time to repulse the advance of the enemy and prevent them from establishing a battery on the brow of the hill." With varying success, backward and forward, Gregg struggled to gain and pierce the Federal line, but not until the final and united charge of Lee's whole line was made at 7 o'clock, and when Hood had gained the "wooded bluff" and turned the Federal left, did the Confederate commands mount the whole line of defense and drive its heroic defenders from the field.

Gregg lost 829 (estimated) killed and wounded. The severest losses in the brigade fell on the Rifles, the Fourteenth and the Twelfth. The Rifles lost 319, the Fourteenth, 291, and the Twelfth, 155. At one time every one of the color-guards of the First volunteers was shot down around Colonel Hamilton,[Pg 62] who took the colors. The color-bearer, Sergeant Taylor, fell with the colors in his grasp, as he was planting them forward of the line, and Corporal Hayne, seeing Colonel Hamilton take the flag, seized it, and gallantly going forward, fell mortally wounded. Private Spillman, of Company K, then took the flag and carried it to the final charge in triumph to victory. He was promoted color-bearer on the field for gallant conduct. Among the lamented dead of the First was the gallant and accomplished Lieut.-Col. A. M. Smith, who left a sick bed to take his place in his country's service. In the Twelfth, Colonel Barnes was wounded, but did not leave the field. Lieut. J. W. Delaney, commanding Company B, was killed in the first assault; Captain Vallandingham lost a leg, and Captains Miller, McMeekin and Bookter were wounded. In the Thirteenth, which was mainly in support, the loss was not so heavy, 8 killed and 40 wounded. In the Fourteenth, Colonel McGowan and Maj. W. J. Carter were wounded, as were also Captains Brown, Taggart and Edward Croft, and Lieutenants Brunson, O. W. Allen, Stevens, McCarley, Dorrah and Carter; and the gallant Lieut. O. C. Plunkett, Company H, was killed on the field. The First Rifles (known as Orr's Rifles) suffered terribly. Its gallant adjutant, J. B. Sloan, Captains Hawthorne and Hennegan, Lieutenants Brown and McFall, and Sergeant-Major McGee died heroically leading in Marshall's charge. In Gregg's battle, a section of Capt. D. G. Mcintosh's battery was called into action late in the afternoon, too late to take an active part in the battle, as the enemy's artillery in front had been silenced, or had retired. He lost 1 man killed and 2 wounded, and 5 horses killed.

The other South Carolina troops at the battle of Gaines' Mill were with Hood and Longstreet. The brigades of Hood and Law composed Whiting's gallant division, which had marched from Ashland as the advance of Jackson's corps. They went into battle in the late afternoon,[Pg 63] after A. P. Hill had been fighting for two hours.[B] With Hood was the Hampton legion infantry, under Lieut.-Col. M. W. Gary, and with Longstreet was R. H. Anderson's South Carolina brigade. These troops had the honor of taking part in Longstreet's and Whiting's final charge along the front and flank of the Federal left, and were among the first to gain the coveted crest and pierce and turn his flank, capture his artillery and decide the day.

Hood moved to the final assault with Hampton's legion on his left. On the left of the legion was Law's splendid brigade. Immediately on Hood's right was Pickett's brigade, and in support of Pickett the brigades of Wilcox, Pryor and Featherston. Thus, in the decisive charge, ordered by General Lee all along the battle line, they were hurled against and around the "wooded bluff" on the Federal left. In this grand assault, R. H. Anderson's brigade was divided, part of it supporting Pickett and part Wilcox. The writer regrets that neither General Anderson nor any one of his regimental commanders has a report of the battle on file. The same is true of the Hampton legion, Colonel Gary.

General Hood reports that he ordered the legion "to gain the crest of the hill in the woods and hold it, which they did." General Longstreet, reporting the action of his brigade, refers specially to the gallantry of General Anderson and Colonel Jenkins, these officers commanding the separated parts of the brigade of Anderson. In the official returns, the loss of Anderson at Gaines' Mill and Glendale (Frayser's Farm) is given in total at 787. The losses of the Fourth, Fifth and Palmetto sharpshooters at Gaines' Mill are reported as 173. The losses of the Second Rifles and Sixth South Carolina at this battle are not given separately from Glendale. Hood reports the legion's[Pg 64] loss at only 20. Anderson's and Gary's losses at Gaines' Mill could not have been more than 350, which was less than a half of Gregg's loss. Anderson and Gary were only engaged in the last attack, and Gregg was fighting from the opening of the battle to its close, with a short rest in the afternoon.

Referring to the gallant conduct of officers as well as soldiers, General Longstreet remarks in his report upon the battle of Gaines' Mill, that "there was more individual gallantry displayed on this field than any I have seen." General Whiting, in closing his report, pays the same tribute to a number of soldiers, and especially remarks upon the conduct of Maj. John Haskell, of D. R. Jones' staff, who had volunteered to carry information of the Federal movements to General Lee, as they were observed from the south side of the Chickahominy, and acted on General Longstreet's staff, as a volunteer aide. General Whiting says:

The South Carolina batteries were more fortunate in their losses than the infantry commands. Rhett, whose horse was shot under him, lost 2 wounded at Gaines' Mill; Bachman's battery (German Artillery) and McIntosh's, only a few men each. The nature upon the ground was not favorable to the Confederate artillery, and the batteries engaged under great disadvantage.

Under cover of night, following the 27th, General Porter made good his retreat by the bridges he had built across the Chickahominy, passing in rear of McClellan's fortified line on the south side, and destroying his bridges[Pg 65] behind him. His defense was beyond criticism. Reinforced from the south side by Slocum's division, he saved the army of McClellan by inflicting a heavy blow on the victorious columns of Lee, and by his able retreat at night. The timely arrival of two brigades, coming up just as Porter's line was carried, covered his retreat and successfully checked the disordered pursuit of the victorious Confederates.

General McClellan does not estimate his loss in this battle separately from those which immediately followed, but acknowledges the loss of twenty-two pieces of artillery. Over 5,000 prisoners were taken by the Confederates, and thousands of arms gathered from the fields and the short line of Porter's retreat to the river.

McClellan's rear guard, Sumner's corps, and Smith's division of Franklin's corps, made a stand on the 29th at Savage Station, covering the crossing of White Oak swamp against Magruder's corps. The South Carolina troops with Magruder were the brigade of General Kershaw and Capt. James F. Hart's Washington artillery. Hart's battery was with D. R. Jones' division. The Second, Col. John D. Kennedy; Third, Col. James D. Nance; Seventh, Col. D. Wyatt Aiken, and the Eighth, Col. John W. Henagan, with Kemper's battery, composed Kershaw's brigade of McLaws' division.

Early in the morning of the 29th (Sunday), Kershaw was ordered to advance on the Nine-mile road and develop the Federal position. Kennedy, covered by a line of skirmishers under Maj. F. Gaillard, made the advance and found the enemy beyond Fair Oaks, at Allen's farm. The skirmishing became general and the enemy opened an artillery fire. Having been repeatedly cautioned to avoid a collision with General Jackson's forces, Kershaw restrained the fire of his men, and sent a battle-flag to be waved on the railroad. He was then ordered back till Magruder's other troops should take position.

At 3 p. m. Kershaw advanced along the railroad to[Pg 66]ward Savage Station. The enemy had retreated, and when found again were in position on the Williamsburg road, occupying the rifle-pits and intrenchments made, doubtless, in McClellan's advance prior to the battle of Seven Pines. The Second and Third were thrown forward toward the left and formed to charge the position, while Kemper's battery opened a rapid fire that drove back the enemy without the aid of the infantry,[C] and Kershaw moved on to fight his battle at Savage's farm.

His line ran from the railroad to near the Williamsburg road. The battle began in earnest at 5:30 p. m. by the opening of Sumner's artillery on Kershaw's skirmishers under Gaillard and Rutherford, and lasted into the night. Kemper took position in the Williamsburg road, the Eighth on his right, in support, and the Second, Third, and Seventh on his left. Kershaw ordered his left regiments to charge, and they dashed into the wood, driving through to the open beyond. In this charge a heavy loss was inflicted upon the opposing force, which was thrown into much disorder, and many prisoners taken. But Kershaw could not maintain his position. Kemper and the Eighth were attacked and his right flank turned. To meet this emergency, he ordered his line back to the original position from which he had charged the wood, and at the critical moment Semmes' brigade attacked the force that had turned his right. Semmes, supported by Kemper's fire and the Eighth, drove back the flanking column, and Kershaw repelled the assault on his front. Night had come and Kershaw's battle was over. Major-General McLaws says: "The South Carolina brigade carried into action 1,496 men and lost in killed 47, wounded 234, missing 9; total 290." Semmes had only two regiments engaged and lost 64, and the loss in other commands of Magruder's force was only 36 in killed and wounded, which shows that Magruder's battle to beat McClellan's rear was fought by the brigades of Kershaw and Semmes,[Pg 67] and only two regiments of the latter at that. The brunt fell on the gallant command of Kershaw and his splendid battery. Hart's battery, which operated with Jones' division on Kershaw's left, lost 5 men wounded, 2 mortally. Hart engaged the enemy from D. R. Jones' right, "compelling the retreat out of view of the enemy's infantry."

Jones put his division in admirable position on Kershaw's left for attack, but he reports: "Scarcely had this disposition been made when I received orders from General Magruder to fall back to the railroad bridge with my whole command to support the right of his line." This unfortunate order was inspired by Magruder's overrating the movement which turned Kershaw's right, and which Semmes checked, at little cost. But for Jones' withdrawal at the moment he was about to attack, Savage Station might have been a harder blow to General McClellan. McLaws compliments his brigade commanders in high terms. Of Kershaw he says: "I beg leave to call attention to the gallantry, cool, yet daring courage and skill in the management of his gallant command exhibited by Brigadier-General Kershaw." Kershaw praises the gallantry, self-possession and efficiency of his regimental commanders, and the conduct of the men and officers. Lieut.-Col. B. C. Garlington, of the Third, was killed, sword in hand, at the head of his regiment. Lieut.-Col. A. D. Goodwyn, of the Second, and Lieut.-Col. Elbert Bland, of the Seventh, were severely wounded and honorably mentioned by Kershaw. Gaillard was distinguished in command of the skirmishers. Kemper added to the laurels he won at Vienna, Bull Run and Manassas. Captain Holmes and Lieutenants Doby and W. M. Dwight, of the staff, were active and gallant in dispatching the orders of their chief. The Second lost Captain Bartlett, "one of the most gallant and conscientious officers belonging to it;" and Lieutenant Perry, Company H, was severely wounded. The Third, besides its gallant lieutenant-col[Pg 68]onel, lost Capt. S. M. Lanford and Lieut. J. T. Ray. Colonel Nance mentioned especially Capt. D. M. H. Langston and Maj. W. D. Rutherford. The Seventh did not suffer as severely as the Third, losing 82 killed and wounded. The Eighth, which was mainly in support of Kemper's battery, lost but 2 killed and 8 wounded.

It appears from General Sumner's report, that three corps, his own, Franklin's and Heintzelman's, were under his command and put in line of battle at Savage Station. Heintzelman (15,000) was ordered to hold the Williamsburg road, but before the attack by Kershaw, General Heintzelman left the field, and crossed White Oak swamp. Sumner speaks of the assault by Kershaw and Semmes as being met by Burns' brigade, "supported and reinforced by two lines in reserve, and finally by the Sixty-ninth New York (Irish) regiment." He also speaks of Brooks' brigade "holding a wood on the left," "doing excellent service," and though wounded, "keeping his command until the close of the battle." He says the action was "continued with great obstinacy until some time after dark, when we drove the enemy from the field." It is evident that Kershaw attacked Generals Burns and Brooks, the Sixty-ninth New York, and "two lines in reserve." The reader may determine whether Kershaw and Semmes were "driven from the field" of Savage Station.

Sumner, having successfully guarded the passage of White Oak swamp by his unequal battle with Kershaw's and Semmes' brigades and Kemper's battery, followed Heintzelman's retreat at night, and crossing White Oak marched to Glendale, near the junction of the Charles City and Long Bridge roads. The passage across White Oak was skillfully broken up and the roads approaching it obstructed. Franklin, with two divisions and a brigade, stood on the south side, with batteries well posted, to dispute the crossing. This he did throughout the whole of the 30th, keeping Jackson's corps on the north side[Pg 69] and effectually preventing his taking any part in the battle of that day. While Jackson was thundering at Franklin with his artillery, and Franklin was preventing his passage of White Oak, McClellan was posting the divisions of Hooker, McCall, Sedgwick, Kearny and Slocum in line of battle across the Long Bridge road, confronting the expected advance of Lee down the Charles City and Darbytown roads.

The troops of Lee that had won the bloody battle of the 27th, north of the Chickahominy, did not cross that river in pursuit of McClellan until the morning of the 29th, at which time General Lee became assured that his able antagonist was retreating upon the James. His orders, as in the case of the first assault on the 26th, were faultless. Jackson was to cross at Grapevine bridge and press the rear of the retreat; Magruder was to attack the flank on the Williamsburg road; Huger to move down the Charles City road, and Longstreet and A. P. Hill down the Darbytown to the Long Bridge road; and Holmes to cross from the south side of the James and march down the New Market road. A glance at a good map will show that this plan was perfect in its conception. But McClellan was fully equal to this great emergency, and put White Oak swamp on his right, guarded by Franklin, and his five divisions in his center to meet the advance upon him down the Charles City and Darbytown roads, and selected a veritable Gibraltar for his left, crowned by artillery and defended by a fleet of gunboats and Porter's and Keyes' corps.

In carrying out Lee's plan, everything miscarried but the movements of Longstreet and A. P. Hill. We have seen how Kershaw and Semmes and Kemper alone carried out Magruder's flank attack on the Williamsburg road. On the 30th he was ordered to the Darbytown road and reached it in time to come into effective battle on Longstreet's right, but Holmes, moving on Malvern hill, saw that he had not force sufficient to attack, sent for aid,[Pg 70] and Magruder was sent to him. Neither of these divisions was engaged on the 30th. Huger reported his march obstructed by trees thrown across the road, had an affair with outposts in his front, and was so badly balked in his march that he did not reach the field of battle on the 30th. Jackson, whom Franklin stopped at White Oak, served no other purpose on the 30th than to keep Franklin's division and his artillery too busily engaged to join the five divisions at Frayser's farm. All this reflects the highest credit upon the military genius of McClellan, who directed the details of his masterly retreat.

Longstreet, in advance, came up with the Federal battle line, as above described, on the morning of the 30th. A. P. Hill was closed up on his march. Finding the enemy drawn up across his road, in front of the point where the Charles City road falls into it (Long Bridge road), he put his division in line of battle, with A. P. Hill in reserve, and waited anxiously to hear from Huger on his left, and Magruder and Holmes on his right. He felt sure that Jackson, crossing White Oak, would be in time to fall on the Federal right and rear. General Lee and the President were both at his headquarters when a Federal battery opened in his immediate front. A shell from this battery exploded so near the group as to wound one of the couriers and kill several horses. At this moment (4 p. m.) artillery fire was heard back on the Charles City road, and Longstreet, taking it for the signal of Huger that he was near at hand, ordered one of his batteries to reply, and the battle of Frayser's Farm was opened. The artillery on the Charles City road was Huger's affair with one of Franklin's outposts. R. H. Anderson, the senior brigadier, was assigned by Longstreet to the immediate direction of his front, and Colonel Jenkins commanded the South Carolina brigade, the first engaged in battle. He was ordered to silence the battery in front with his sharpshooters, but he preferred to capture it, and led his brigade forward, charged, drove[Pg 71] back McCall's division, and seized Randol's battery. Longstreet's whole division now engaged, the troops in his front being those of McCall's and Kearny's divisions. The battle was forward for a time and McCall and Kearny gave ground, but Slocum reinforced Kearny against the Confederate left, and Sedgwick and Hooker against the right, so that Longstreet's right was pushed back and his left checked and pressed. He was compelled to assume the defensive, and ordered up A. P. Hill to his immediate support. Gregg's South Carolina brigade was thrown into the battle on the extreme left. Hill restored the battle to its first aggressive stage, and McCall's division was forced to retire, and that general fell into Longstreet's hands. Longstreet and Hill, with their twelve brigades, drove one of the Federal divisions from the field, and successfully resisted the attacks of the other four, gaining ground forward and holding in the end of the struggle all that they gained. Gregg, on the left, and Jenkins, in the center, bore their full share of the great contest, the latter capturing the battery of Randol, which, being retaken, was again captured by Hill's advance.

The battle lasted well into the night, the Federal divisions leaving the field under the cover of darkness, followed by Franklin from White Oak, to take their places in McClellan's last line on the James river. There is no report from either R. H. Anderson, Gregg or Jenkins. Longstreet specially mentions Anderson, Jenkins and Captain Kilpatrick of the Palmetto sharpshooters in his report, for distinguished conduct. A. P. Hill reports that Gregg was sent by General Longstreet's request to support the brigades of Pryor and Featherston, and pushed their battle forward. Featherston being wounded and for a time in the enemy's hands, his brigade was driven back and scattered, "when," says Hill, "Colonel McGowan, with the Fourteenth South Carolina, retrieved our ground." Special mention is made by General Hill in his report of Colonels McGowan, Edwards and Hamil[Pg 72]ton, and Lieutenant-Colonel Simpson, of the Fourteenth. Gregg lost 12 killed and 105 wounded, the heaviest loss falling on the Fourteenth. Jenkins lost over 450, 234 of these from the Sharpshooters, the remainder being nearly equally divided among the other regiments. Longstreet and Hill took fourteen pieces of artillery, thousands of arms, several stand of colors and hundreds of prisoners. The battle that General Lee had planned to be fought by all the divisions of his army was actually fought by two.

The Federal commanders greatly exaggerate the Confederate strength in the battle. Before Gaines' Mill, A. P. Hill had 14,000 troops. He could not have had more than 10,000 in his division at Frayser's Farm. Nor could Longstreet's division have been larger. Kershaw carried only 1,496 into the battle of Savage Station, and his was one of Longstreet's best brigades. In McClellan's five divisions there were fifteen brigades, which, at 1,500 each, would make his force at Frayser's Farm greater than Longstreet's and Hill's by at least 2,500. It must be remembered, too, that A. P. Hill was not put into the fight until very late, when Longstreet had been engaged alone with the five divisions. It was a stubborn battle, and well contested on both sides, but the advantage was clearly with the Confederates.

In the battle of Malvern Hill, which followed the day after Frayser's Farm, but one of Lee's South Carolina brigades was seriously engaged, that of Kershaw. McClellan rapidly and skillfully concentrated his army on the night of the 30th of June and the morning of July 1st. He thus describes his position and concentration: "The left and center of our lines rested on Malvern hill, while the right curved backward through a wooded country toward a point below Haxall's, on James river. Malvern hill is an elevated plateau about a mile and a half by three-fourths of a mile in area, well cleared of timber, with several converging roads running over it."[Pg 73] In front of this position there was a good range for artillery, and on its left (west) the plateau falls off abruptly into a ravine. Expecting attack from the front and left of his position, McClellan made those points strongest and massed his artillery there, sixty pieces of artillery and ten siege guns being "so disposed on the high ground that a concentrated fire could be brought to bear on any point in his front or left." Commodore Rodgers placed his flotilla to command both flanks. The general line faced north and was nearly at right angles to the line of McClellan's retreat from Frayser's farm and distant about 3½ miles from that battlefield.

Before this unassailable position General Lee brought up his whole army. He resolved to attack with Magruder, Holmes and Huger, holding A. P. Hill and Longstreet in reserve. To Magruder was assigned the attack on Porter's position—the strongest on Malvern hill—supported by Holmes, whose small division was in line on Magruder's right, facing east. The attack was planned by Lee to be general along his whole line; Holmes, then Magruder, then Huger, then Jackson. In spite of McClellan's artillery, if this attack could have been made by noon, and made by the whole line in a grand charge for the batteries, the Federal army, already so terribly shaken, would have been unable to resist it, and Lee's antagonist would have been literally driven to his gunboats. Instead of all this, no attack was made until late in the evening. Holmes did not attack at all, deeming it "perfect madness;" Magruder and Huger, from the difficulty of communication with their commands, and the wooded character of the country, put in their brigades one after another, to charge across the open and up Malvern hill against nearly one hundred guns, supported by the Federal army, in full view, with the field and the woods swept by the gunboat batteries. Jackson sent D. H. Hill and Whiting forward, in order, and supported them with brigades from his own and[Pg 74] Ewell's division, and they met a bloody repulse; but they did not make the attack until after Magruder's and Huger's brigades had been successively repulsed, some of them from the very crown of the hill.

It was 6 o'clock before Kershaw was ordered forward. His description of his advance will indicate what doubtless happened to other gallant brigades. Being in McLaws' line, on the farm adjoining Crew's farm, he was ordered by one of Magruder's staff to "advance and attack the enemy's battery." Having no other instructions, in total ignorance of the country, or the position of the foe, Kershaw marched half a mile forward in a wood, nearing the sound of battle and moving really immediately against Porter's front, his artillery sweeping the open and the woods through which Kershaw was marching. Reaching at last the open, passing "three lines of troops" who had preceded him in the attack, he moved up a ravine to the slopes of Malvern hill. The artillery and infantry fire in front and flank was thinning his ranks, when his friends in rear (Twenty-sixth Georgia) by mistake opened fire upon him. At this crisis he ordered the whole brigade to retire and reform further to the right. While reforming on the Second South Carolina, General Ewell called him to support immediately a brigade he was about to lead against "the enemy's battery," and was so urgent, that without waiting for the rest of his brigade, he led the Second in support of Ewell's gallant and useless charge, and with this affair, night having fully come, Kershaw's brigade had done the part assigned to it at Malvern hill. The long march to this point, after the battle of Savage Station, with its losses, had reduced the strength of the brigade. Kershaw took into the advance on Malvern hill 956 men and lost 164. The attack on Malvern hill failed of its purpose, but one thing it did accomplish; the repeated assaults were so gallant and determined, and pressed so near the enemy's guns, and inflicted so great a loss upon him, and so many[Pg 75] brigades rested at night so close up to his defense, that he lost confidence in his ability to continue his successful defense on Malvern hill, and gave up the position during the night, leaving his dead unburied, his wounded in Confederate hands, and property and stores of great value on the field. His retreat was to a strong camp at Harrison's landing, immediately under the protection of Commodore Rodgers' flotilla.

With Malvern Hill, Lee's battles with McClellan in front of Richmond practically ended. McClellan reported his total losses, from June 26th to July 1st, inclusive, at 15,249. Lee, for the same time, reported his total loss at 18,351. In McClellan's report he acknowledges the capture of 5,958 of his army, under the head of missing; but clearly he is wide of the mark according to the actual count in Richmond. As General Lee reported: "More than 10,000 prisoners, including officers of rank, 52 pieces of artillery, and upward of 35,000 stand of small-arms were captured. The stores and supplies of every description which fell into our hands were great in amount and value, but small in comparison with those destroyed by the enemy."

[A] The loss of Jenkins' brigade was 10 killed and 75 wounded (including Lieut. W. J. Campbell, mortally).

[B] While waiting for Jackson, Lee ordered Longstreet to make a feint on the right, which became an assault, Whiting coming up in time to join on Longstreet's left.

[C] Called by Sumner the battle of Allen's Farm.

At the close of the spring of 1862, the Federal army in South Carolina, under General Hunter, had not made lodgment on the mainland. The enemy's gunboats, commanding the waters surrounding the islands, made ineffectual attacks on several of the batteries on shore.

On May 29th, a small force under Colonel Christ, of the Fiftieth Pennsylvania regiment, a company of cavalry and one company of the Eighth Michigan regiment, crossing at Port Royal ferry, made an attack at Old Pocotaligo with a view of reaching and cutting the Charleston & Savannah railroad. This force was met by the Rutledge mounted riflemen, Capt. W. L. Trenholm, and two companies, A and D, of the First battalion of South Carolina cavalry, the whole under Maj. J. H. Morgan. A spirited engagement followed along the banks of Screven's canal, but the Confederates, numbering only seventy-six men, were forced back to a point three-quarters of a mile beyond Old Pocotaligo, where they took up a strong position.

Col. W. S. Walker, commanding the Third military district, having arrived on the field, directed this movement and awaited the second attack. The first attack had been made at 10:30 a. m., and the Confederates were not dislodged until 1 o'clock. At 4 o'clock Captain Elliott brought up three pieces of his Beaufort battery, and Captains Izard and Wyman, with their companies[Pg 77] (I and F) of the Eleventh South Carolina, also reinforced Walker. Later Col. J. H. Means, with his regiment, 400 strong, came up to Colonel Walker's aid. But his dispositions were not to be tried by the Federals. Colonel Christ, though he had now with him a reinforcement of Connecticut artillery, determined not to attack, and being covered by the woods in his retreat, was far on his way to Garden's corners before Walker got information of it and began the pursuit. He succeeded in crossing Port Royal ferry at night in flats which were in readiness, before he could be engaged by the Confederates.

Elliott put his guns in position at the ferry next morning and battered the ferry-house which sheltered the Federal picket, and destroyed the flats. In this affair Christ reported a loss of 2 killed and 9 wounded, and Walker, 2 killed, 6 wounded and 1 missing. The Federal commander estimated the Confederate force at from 600 to 800, but in the actual engagement along Screven's canal, Walker had only 76 men, rank and file; 110 men, armed for the most part only with sabers, being held a mile in rear with the horses, under orders to charge in case of a disaster in front.

Colonel Walker, in his official report, mentions in special praise the conduct of Capt. W. L. Trenholm and his riflemen; Lieut. R. M. Skinner and his small command of the First battalion cavalry; Captain Elliott, of the Beaufort artillery; Capt. W. W. Elliott, acting ordnance officer; Lieut. L. J. Walker, of the Rutledge riflemen; Lieut. E. H. Barnwell, acting assistant adjutant-general; Corp. W. H. Jeffers, and Privates J. D. Taylor and W. K. Steadman of the riflemen.

This attempt, like all others, failed to reach the railroad, and served only to inspire Walker and other commanders along its line to increased watchfulness. Thus closed the spring campaign on the coast of South Carolina.

An event occurred in Charleston harbor on the morn[Pg 78]ing of May 13th which, no doubt, determined the movement of a large force against the Confederate position on James island. This was the abduction of the steamer Planter by a portion of the crew, who took the steamer out of the harbor and turned her over to the Federal fleet. The Planter was a swift, light-draught vessel, employed in transporting ordnance and stores to the forts and batteries of the harbor and the vicinity. She had a white captain, mate and engineer, and a crew of eight intelligent negroes. The day before her abduction she had been loaded at Southern wharf with heavy ordnance for the Middle Ground battery in the harbor, consisting of a banded rifle 42, an 8-inch columbiad, an 8-inch howitzer, and a 32-pounder. She carried for her own defense a 32-pounder and a 24-pounder howitzer. The captain, mate and engineer, contrary to written orders, were in the city, when four of the crew, under the leadership of one of their number, Jacob Small, fired up and boldly ran out of the harbor before daylight, the Planter being taken for a guard boat by the forts and allowed to pass. The crew were well-informed men and thoroughly acquainted with the situation around Charleston, and especially with the recent removal of the guns from the Georgetown defenses and from Cole's island, at the mouth of Stono river.

All this information was, of course, carried to the Federal commanders. Great excitement followed in the city, and all the troops and posts were ordered to be ready for attack, especially by way of the land. The abandonment of Fort Palmetto at the mouth of the Stono left the way open to the Federal fleet to enter that river, and to General Hunter to land a large force on James island. Following the plan which he had adopted after the fall of Port Royal harbor, General Pemberton gave up the defense of the sea islands and the harbor of Georgetown, and made the Charleston & Savannah railroad his main line south of Charleston, drawing in the[Pg 79] defenses on James island to a line running across the island from Secessionville on its left to Fort Pemberton, on the Stono, on its right.

This policy was unpopular with the governor, the military generally and the people, and made General Pemberton, an honest and patriotic soldier, both unpopular and mistrusted. The idea was abroad that he did not mean to defend the city to the last; that he was not confident of success, and that he was not equal to the emergency. These sentiments were freely communicated to General Lee and to President Davis by the governor and by prominent citizens of the State. General Ripley, who commanded the harbor defenses and the forces on James island, regarded the abandonment of Fort Palmetto as a fatal mistake, and at his request, he was ordered to join General Lee in front of Richmond. General Ripley had shown great energy and unusual ability as an artillery officer, and possessed the full confidence of the military and the people. He had made the Palmetto a strong battery and had put in command an accomplished officer, Maj. J. J. Lucas, with his artillery battalion supported by infantry. Cole's island, on which Fort Palmetto was situated, was surrounded by creeks and marshes, and the causeway in its rear ran along the river to Battery island, and thence by causeway to James island. Battery island was immediately on the river and was also strongly fortified. General Pemberton was satisfied that the Federal boats could run by both forts, and with their superior guns command the approach from James island so effectually as to make it impossible to send relief to either point. In this view of the situation he was fortified by the judgment of General Lee. Possessing the courage of his military convictions, the heavy guns from both positions were removed early in May, and by General Ripley's order were put in position at Elliott's cut and on the lines east of James Island creek. Cole's island was occupied by a battalion of the Twenty-fourth[Pg 80] South Carolina volunteer infantry, in observation, under Lieut.-Col. Ellison Capers, with instructions to prevent barges or small boats entering the Stono, or landing detachments on either Cole's or Battery island.

How far Major-General Pemberton communicated his views respecting the immediate defense of Charleston to his subordinates or to Governor Pickens, is not known, but to General Lee he wrote, on May 21st, after the gunboats had entered the Stono and anchored off Battery island, that he favored the abandonment of Forts Sumter and Moultrie and the defense of Charleston from the city itself. This remarkable judgment was expressed to General Lee in an official letter dated at Charleston, May 21, 1862, addressed to Col. A. L. Long, military secretary. The following are extracts:

These views of General Pemberton were certainly known to the "eminent gentlemen" who agreed in them, but they were not shared by Governor Pickens and his able council, nor by the military, nor by the citizens generally. Forts Sumter and Moultrie, garrisoned by well drilled and disciplined soldiers, commanded by accomplished and gallant officers, were the pride and hope of old Charleston, as they stood on either side of her great sea gate equipped and eager for her defense. Their history was destined to prove how well this confidence was placed.

Members of the governor's council addressed a communication to General Pemberton, which expressed the apprehensions as well as the fixed purpose of the State authorities. The members of the council proposed to the general specific interrogatories, to which they asked, in the most respectful terms, his immediate reply. He was asked: (1) If in the event of his determining, for military considerations, to retire the Confederate troops from Charleston, would he consider it an interference with his authority for the governor and council to undertake its defense? (2) Would he be willing to advise the governor and council in such an emergency? (3) Would he be willing to give any assistance in his power?

General Pemberton replied promptly, assuring the[Pg 82] gentlemen who had addressed him the interrogations of his appreciation of the situation and of his hearty willingness to promote in any way the defense of the city, and asking that any plans for defensive works undertaken by the governor and council be submitted to him. Meanwhile he was doing all in his power to strengthen the defenses on James island and to hold his forces well in hand to be concentrated at the point of attack. General Pemberton had under his command for the defense of Charleston and on the line of the Charleston & Savannah railroad, about 20,000 effectives, and in the department of Georgia about 10,000 from which he could draw reinforcements in the event of an attack on Charleston.

General Hunter, commanding the Federal forces in South Carolina, reported an aggregate of 16,989 effectives, stationed along the coast from Tybee, Ga., to Edisto island. These troops were commanded by Brigadier-Generals Benham, Viele, Stevens, Wright and Gilmore, and were mainly concentrated on Daufuskie island, at Hilton Head and Beaufort, and on Edisto island. The Federal force was greatly overestimated by the Confederates, and it was believed that an army of at least 25,000 or 30,000 could be thrown upon James or John's island in an advance upon Charleston from that direction, while a powerful fleet of armored vessels might be expected to attack by the harbor. The Federal commander, with a similar overestimate of the Confederate forces, wrote to Washington in the latter part of April, 1862, rating General Pemberton's forces as follows: At Savannah, 30,000; at Charleston, 25,000; at Augusta, 10,000; a total of 65,000! He was doubtless better informed by the intelligent crew of the Planter, and then determined upon the occupation of James island.

The Planter was stolen by her negro crew on the 13th of May, and two gunboats entered the Stono on the 20th following. The channel was open, the guns were all gone from the forts on Cole's and Battery islands, and the[Pg 83] gunboats threw their 11-inch shells with perfect impunity on the right and left as they ran up the river. They anchored beyond Battery island, which would have effectually cut off the retreat of the battalion under Colonel Capers, if no other means of escape had been provided. By the energy and forethought of Col. C. H. Stevens, commanding the Twenty-fourth volunteers, an interior causeway had been thrown up, and bridges built, running from Cole's island to James island, right through the marsh and over the creeks, and by this causeway Colonel Capers retreated without the loss of a man, having burned the military barracks at Fort Palmetto and removed the small supply of stores. It was now evident that the Federals planned a lodgment on James island, for the number of their boats increased gradually in the river, and on the 2d of June, General Benham landed a part of his command at Battery island, under Brig.-Gen. I. I. Stevens. Here they were secure under the guns of the fleet in the Stono. By June 5th another division under Gen. H. G. Wright, having marched across Seabrook and John's island from North Edisto, had crossed the Stono from Legaréville to Grimball's on James island. These two divisions constituted the force of General Benham, that of Wright covering his left on the Stono, and that of Stevens his right, immediately in front of Secessionville. The gunboats in the Stono, firing by signals from the Federal camps and advance pickets, enfiladed their front and afforded effective support.

On the early morning of June 3d, the day after General Stevens had landed, the first affair of the James island campaign took place. The One Hundredth Pennsylvania regiment had been advanced as far as the causeway crossing the marsh at Rivers' place, where the Charleston Riflemen and the Beauregard light infantry, Lieutenant Lynch and Captain White commanding, were on outpost duty. On the causeway in their front, three seacoast 24-pounder howitzers, of Captain Chichester's[Pg 84] battery, were bogged so badly in an attempt to take them across, the evening before, that they had been left in this position, and were now covered by the rifles of the Pennsylvanians.

Lieut.-Col. Ellison Capers, with four companies of the Twenty-fourth volunteers, was sent before day, on the 3d, to extricate the guns. He found Captain White and Lieutenant Lynch holding the Federal regiment in check, and, ordering them to join his command, at once made his dispositions for attack. A sharp conflict in the pines beyond the causeway drove the enemy back to the cover of a ditch and bank beyond, and this position being assaulted and carried, the Federals fell back across an old field and took shelter in a row of negro houses at Legaré's place. At this point of the engagement, Lieut.-Col. P. C. Gaillard, commanding the Charleston battalion, came up to the support of Colonel Capers. The following is his report to Colonel Capers of the affair which followed his arrival:

The three companies named above, with the Evans Guard of the Twenty-fourth volunteers, the Charleston Riflemen and Beauregard light infantry, were led in the charge on the houses by their gallant officers, Captain Gooding, Lieutenant Lynch, Captain Ryan, Captain White, Lieut. Ward Hopkins and Captain Miles, and stormed and silenced the Federals at the houses. Some of[Pg 85] them surrendered, but most retreated to their supports in the direction of Battery island. The gunboats, in full view in the Stono, opened a fire on the Confederates, and the enemy's supports, Twenty-eighth Massachusetts and Eighth Michigan, coming rapidly up, a retreat was ordered, and with a Federal captain and 20 other prisoners, Colonel Capers fell back to the position held by Colonel Gaillard. The enemy did not advance further than Legaré's, and the affair was over. The adjutant of the Charleston battalion, Lieut. Henry Walker, was wounded at the houses and fell into the enemy's hands. In this affair 9 men of the Twenty-fourth and 8 of the Charleston battalion were wounded.

The engagement just described, and a reconnoissance in front of Grimball's on the 10th of June, gallantly made by the Forty-seventh Georgia regiment, fully developed the positions and force of the Federal army on James island. General Pemberton was active and efficient in strengthening the lines of defense and in concentrating troops on the island. By June 15th a force fully equal to that of the Federal army was encamped behind the batteries, and on the lines of defense from Fort Pemberton on the Stono, at Elliott's, cut, to Secessionville on the extreme east, under Brig.-Gens. N. G. Evans, W. D. Smith and S. R. Gist, the former in chief command. Col. Johnson Hagood, First volunteers, commanded the advance guard, composed of his own regiment, the Twenty-fourth, Col. C. H. Stevens; the Eutaw battalion, Lieut.-Col. C. H. Simonton, and the Fourth Louisiana battalion, Lieut.-Col. J. McEnery. This force was encamped outside the line of defense, and was charged with guarding the front of the Confederate line, except the immediate front of Secessionville, which was protected by its own outposts.

Secessionville is situated on a peninsula cut from the east side of the island by an arm of Lighthouse creek, a bold tidewater stream which empties into the harbor of[Pg 86] Charleston, east of Fort Johnson. At the point of the peninsula of Secessionville where the battery was erected, the peninsula is narrowest, probably not more than half regimental front, and on either side of it run the tidewaters of Lighthouse creek and Big Folly creek, bordered by impracticable marshes. The banks of the peninsula in front and in rear of the battery were fringed by a thick growth of myrtle bushes. Col. T. G. Lamar was in command of the fort at Secessionville (afterward called Fort Lamar, in his honor) and its infantry supports. The garrison consisted of Companies I and B of Lamar's regiment of South Carolina artillery, Capts. G. D. Keitt and Samuel J. Reid; and the infantry support was composed of two battalions of infantry, the Charleston battalion, Lieut.-Col. P. C. Gaillard, and the Pee Dee battalion, Lieut.-Col. A. D. Smith. The battery mounted an 8-inch columbiad, two 24-pounder rifles, several 18-pounders, and a mortar. A gunboat battery on the east bank, anchored in Big Folly creek, and commanded by Capt. F. N. Bonneau, would have been an effective ally, had not its guns just been moved on shore to be added to those of the fort.

In the early morning of June 16th, the Secessionville picket was on duty at Rivers' place, a mile in front of the fort, and the Twenty-fourth, with six companies of the First South Carolina and one of the Forty-seventh Georgia, was covering the front of the east lines, under command of Col. C. H. Stevens. In the fort a gun detachment was awake and on the watch, but the remainder of the garrison was fast asleep.

At 1 o'clock a. m., Gen. N. G. Evans had started 100 picked men from Colonel Goodlett's Twenty-second regiment, under Capt. Joshua Jamison, as a fatigue party, to go over the bridge to Fort Lamar and assist in mounting Captain Bonneau's guns in the fort. These men reached the fort about daylight. Just at dawn the Secessionville picket was surprised and several of them captured.[Pg 87] The main picket force ran in and gave the first notice to Lamar of the enemy's rapid advance on his position. The garrison was aroused and at the guns and on the flanks just in time to meet the gallant assault of the Eighth Michigan, Seventh Connecticut, Seventy-ninth New York, Twenty-eighth Massachusetts, One Hundredth Pennsylvania and Forty-sixth New York, with Rockwell's and Strahan's light batteries and a company of engineers. The six regiments were moved forward in two lines, both under the immediate direction of Gen. I. I. Stevens, and each commanded by its senior colonel. As they advanced the peninsula narrowed, and when within short range of the works, the left regiment of the front line, the Seventh Connecticut, was crowded into the marsh. Just at this juncture Lamar fired the 8-inch columbiad charged with canister, and in rapid succession the 24's and 18's, and the mortar opened. The whole line wavered and was broken in some confusion. Urged on by their officers, the Connecticut, Michigan and New York regiments pressed forward, the latter two in larger numbers gaining ground. Groups of men and officers of these two regiments gained the ditch and both flanks of the work, and some of them mounted the work. They were met by the galling fire of the infantry of Gaillard and Smith, and were either killed or captured. Meanwhile the 100 men under Jamison, sent to mount Bonneau's guns, arrived and promptly took their places on the parapet, adding their rifles to the fire of the Charleston and Pee Dee battalions.

A number of the assaulting force, moving along the marsh under cover of the myrtle bushes, gained a lodgment on the right flank and in rear of the work, and were doing serious execution by their fire, hid as they were, and shielded by the bank of the peninsula. But they were soon dislodged by the rifles of the Fourth Louisiana battalion, sent by Colonel Hagood to reinforce the garrison as soon as he learned that the fort was being attacked.[Pg 88] The Louisianians coming up at a run were promptly put into position by their gallant commander, Colonel McEnery, and drove the Federals from the myrtles into the marsh or out into the field. Two 24-pounders, in battery on the west flank of the fort and west of the creek and marsh, had been silent up to this moment. Colonel Hagood, who had moved promptly down the Battery Island road to check any advance by that way, and protect the right front of the fort, noting the silence of the flank battery, dispatched Lieutenant-Colonel Capers to open the fire of these guns. Finding a small detachment of Lamar's artillery at the guns, under Lieutenant Kitching, a prompt and gallant response to the order to open fire was made, and under the direction of Colonel Capers solid shot and shell were delivered along the line of the myrtles, and into the regiments vainly endeavoring to form on the field in front of the work. The sun was now fully up and Lamar's victory was achieved, though both sides continued to fire until the Federal regiments had withdrawn from range.

During the assault upon the fort, a column of forty companies of infantry, two batteries of artillery and a squadron of cavalry, about 2,500 strong, under Brigadier-General Wright, advanced along the Battery Island road and up the west side of Lighthouse creek, as a covering force for the protection of the left and rear of the troops assaulting Secessionville. This force was made up of the Third New Hampshire, and companies of the Third Rhode Island, Ninety-seventh Pennsylvania, Sixth Connecticut, Forty-seventh New York, Forty-fifth Pennsylvania, and First New York engineers. The advance of Hagood down the Battery Island road, with a portion of the First and Twenty-fourth South Carolina and the Eutaw battalion, brought him in contact with General Wright's advance, which he checked and repelled. The Eutaw battalion was placed behind an obstruction of felled timber on the east of the road, and four companies[Pg 89] of the Twenty-fourth still further to the left and immediately in front of the enemy's advance. One piece of Boyce's battery, under Lieutenant Jeter, was put in position immediately on the right of the Twenty-fourth and the four companies of the First south of the road. Jeter opened fire on the enemy, in full view at Hill's place, and immediately Wright's artillery replied, shelling the whole front of Hagood's force and throwing solid shot at Jeter's gun. The Third Rhode Island advanced to charge the position, but was handsomely repulsed by Colonels Stevens and Simonton and the effective fire of Jeter. By this time the contest in front of Secessionville having been determined, General Wright retired his troops to their intrenched positions, and the battle of Secessionville was ended.

After the first repulse, the fort was again in danger from the fire of infantry and artillery in its rear and right flank by a portion of Wright's column, which had marched up the west bank of Lighthouse creek and were in position south and east of Hill's negro houses. It was this force that McEnery attacked as he came up, firing at short range across the creek. They were ultimately driven off by the fire of the 24-pounders in front of Clark's house, above alluded to, and by Hagood's troops. The latter were well posted, and when assaulted easily repulsed the attack. Lieutenant Jeter with his guns did good service in this affair; indeed, the position of General Wright's column at Hill's houses, though for a short time it took the work at Secessionville in flank and rear, was between the infantry fire of McEnery at the fort and Hagood's force and the 24-pounder battery at Clark's house. If Colonel Hagood had had his whole advance guard under his command, with Boyce's entire battery, he could have moved immediately against General Wright's column, striking him in flank and rear. On the contrary, if Wright had known that Hagood had with him only the total strength of a good regiment, with one piece of artil[Pg 90]lery, he would doubtless have attacked with his entire force instead of with a portion of the Rhode Island regiment only.

The force assaulting the fort numbered, of all arms, 3,562. It was defended by two companies of artillery, three battalions of infantry, and 100 picked men under Captain Jamison, a total of less than 1,000 men. Wright's column could not have been less than 2,500 to 3,000 of all arms. Hagood's force did not exceed 700 men, with one piece of artillery. The Confederate troops actually engaged did not exceed 1,800.

General Stevens reported a loss of 529 men and officers in his assaulting column; General Wright, 129; making an aggregate of 658. Colonel Hagood took 12 prisoners and counted 12 dead in front of Colonel Stevens' four companies, and 8 in front of the Eutaw battalion. More than the number reported by General Stevens were buried on the field, and while that general reports 1 officer and 30 men made prisoners, by actual count the Confederates took 65 wounded and 42 unwounded prisoners. The total Federal loss could not have been less than 750 to 800.

The Confederates lost in killed, wounded and missing, 204 officers and men, as follows: Forty-seventh Georgia, 1 killed; Fourth Louisiana, 6 killed, 22 wounded; Lamar's artillery, 15 killed, 39 wounded, 1 missing; Charleston battalion, 10 killed, 40 wounded, 2 missing; Pee Dee battalion, 3 killed, 23 wounded, 3 missing; First volunteers, 1 wounded; Twenty-second volunteers, 10 killed, 8 wounded; Twenty-fourth volunteers, 3 killed, 7 wounded, 2 missing; Eutaw battalion, 4 killed, 14 wounded; total, 5 officers and 47 men killed, 12 officers and 132 men wounded, 8 missing; aggregate 204.

Among the gallant dead were Capt. Henry C. King and Lieut. John J. Edwards, of the Charleston battalion; Capt. Samuel J. Reed, of Lamar's artillery; Lieut. Richard W. Greer, of the Eutaw battalion, and Lieut.[Pg 91] B. A. Graham, of the Forty-seventh Georgia. Colonel Lamar and Lieutenant-Colonel Gaillard were both wounded severely. Also among the wounded were Captain Walker, of the Fourth Louisiana; Capts. J. A. Blake, F. T. Miles and R. P. Smith, and Lieuts. J. W. Axson, George Brown, John Burke and F. R. Lynch of the Charleston battalion; Lieut. J. G. Beatty of the Pee Dee battalion; Lieut. F. W. Andrews of the Twenty-fourth, and Lieut. Samuel J. Berger of the Eutaw battalion.

It was a gallant assault on the part of the Federals and came near being a complete surprise. But for the heroic conduct of the garrison in standing to their guns, and the persistent and gallant support of the Charleston and Pee Dee battalions and Jamison's men, who fought on the parapet and on the flanks, the Michigan and New York regiments and the Seventh Connecticut would have swarmed over the work at the first assault, closely followed by their supports.

The news of the victory at Secessionville was heralded to every quarter of the State and the Confederacy, and filled the hearts of soldiers and people with joy and thanksgiving. General Pemberton congratulated the troops engaged in orders, and especially acknowledged the heroism and ability of Lamar and his garrison. In published orders, the following officers and soldiers were specially mentioned for good conduct: Col. T. G. Lamar, Lieut.-Cols. P. C. Gaillard, A. D. Smith, John McEnery and Ellison Capers; Majs. David Ramsay and J. H. Hudson; Capts. Samuel J. Reed, Henry C. King, F. T. Miles, G. D. Keitt, W. W. McCreery, F. N. Bonneau, R. E. Elliott, S. J. Corrie, H. W. Carr, Joshua Jamison, Samuel S. Tompkins and W. H. Ryan; Asst. Surg. James Evans; Lieutenants Hall and Matthews, C. S. N.; Adjt. E. J. Frederick; Lieuts. W. H. Rodgers, J. B. Kitching, J. B. Humbert, W. S. Barton, J. W. Moseley, T. P. Oliver, John A. Bellinger, W. M. Johnson, J. W.[Pg 92] Lancaster, L. S. Hill, H. H. Sally, J. B. Cobb, William Beckham, George Brown, A. A. Allemand, James Campbell and R. A. Blum; Sergt. W. H. Hendricks, and Privates Joseph Tennent, J. Campbell Martin, and T. Grange Simons, Jr.

Maj. David Ramsay, who succeeded to the command of the Charleston battalion on the wounding of Lieutenant-Colonel Gaillard, closes his brief report with this appropriate and just tribute, applicable to each of the commands engaged in the battle of Secessionville. "I have mentioned those especially noticeable, but can only repeat that I refrain from enumerating others because it would be to furnish a roll of those engaged."

Signally repulsed at Secessionville, and convinced of the strength of the line of defense across the island, the Federal commander-in-chief abandoned the campaign, evacuated James island the last of June, and aggregated the main portion of his troops at Hilton Head, Beaufort and North Edisto. There were left only the gunboats in the lower Stono, and the blockading fleet off the bar to menace Charleston. The troops which had reinforced the command of General Gist on James island were returned to their former stations on the coast and at Savannah, and the heroes of Secessionville were toasted on every hand.

During the remainder of the summer, several affairs occurred along the coast which illustrated the watchfulness and gallantry of the South Carolina soldiers. An expedition to Fenwick's island was organized and successfully conducted by Maj. R. J. Jeffords, commanding the Sixth battalion South Carolina cavalry, and the enemy's positions in the surrounding waters and on the adjacent islands fully reported to Col. W. S. Walker, commanding the Third district. On the 14th of August, the Federal gunboats, having entered Winyaw bay, steamed up Black river as far as Mrs. Sparkman's plantation, 20 miles above Georgetown. Maj. W. P. Emanuel,[Pg 93] commanding in that quarter, with a section of Wood's battery and all his troops south of the river, marched at once to Mrs. Sparkman's and boldly attacked the boats with rifles and battery. The enemy's force that had landed was compelled to re-embark, and the boats soon steamed down the river, shelling the banks on their way. Major Emanuel threw his mounted infantry forward at every available bluff, and gave the boats a spirited fight on their return to Georgetown. A picket force on Pinckney island was surprised and captured at dawn of the 21st of August, by Captains Elliott and Mickler. This was an incursion far into the enemy's lines, and at the risk of being cut off by his gunboats, which were in the immediate vicinity. The lieutenant commanding the Federal picket was killed, with 14 of his men, and 36 were captured, 4 of whom were wounded. The expedition left Bear island in nine boats, 120 strong, detachments from the Eleventh volunteers, Captains Mickler, Leadbetter and Wescoat commanding, and from the Beaufort artillery, Lieutenant Stuart commanding, the whole directed by Capts. Stephen Elliott and John H. Mickler. The affair was well planned and gallantly executed, with the loss of only 8 men wounded on the part of the Confederates.

On the 29th of August, General Beauregard, who had been in command of the army in Mississippi, was ordered to take charge in South Carolina. General Pemberton was directed to report for duty at Richmond. His policy of abandoning the attempt to defend the mouth of Broad river and the harbor of Georgetown, and especially his removal of the guns from the mouth of the Stono, had made him unpopular; but his energy, ability and patriotism commanded the respect of the military, and the government at Richmond reposed in him the highest confidence. Upon taking the command at Charleston in September, General Beauregard made a careful inspection of the department, and writing to Richmond, expressed his admiration for the amount and character of defensive work which General Pemberton had done, especially in the defense of Charleston.

Having requested General Pemberton to give his views upon the situation, and particularly as to the forces, guns, etc., necessary to the proper defense of the cities of Charleston and Savannah and their dependencies, General Beauregard received the following reply from Pemberton, dated September 24, 1862:

Upon this communication, General Beauregard endorsed: "Approved as the minimum force required, as above stated, to guard with security the department of South Carolina and Georgia."

General Beauregard was warmly received by the governor and council of South Carolina, by the military and by the citizens. Governor Pickens addressed him the following letter a few days after his taking command:

After an inspection of the harbor defenses, and the lines and work on James island, General Beauregard reported the result of his examination in the following letter, of date October 3, 1862, addressed to Adjutant-General Cooper at Richmond:

This communication gives a clear view of the character of the defenses of Charleston in October, 1862, and shows also the activity and engineering skill of General Pemberton, under whose direction the works, for the most part, were prosecuted after the abandonment of Cole's island early in May. The position for the fort at Secessionville was originally selected by Col. Lewis M. Hatch of Charleston, whose practical knowledge of the waters and islands surrounding Charleston and patriotic zeal in planning for their defense made his services most valuable, especially at the beginning of the defensive work, when so very few military men in Charleston had made a study of the approaches by land and water to the city. The victory of the 16th of June bore ample testimony to the value of the exact spot on which Fort Lamar stood.

In July, Col. Johnson Hagood was promoted to brigadier-general, and the First regiment came under the command of Col. Thomas Glover. Early in August, Generals Drayton and Evans were sent from South Carolina to reinforce General Lee, in Virginia. These generals took with them the First regiment, Colonel Glover; the Fifteenth, Col. W. D. De Saussure; the Seventeenth, Col. (Governor) J. H. Means; the Eighteenth, Col. J. M.[Pg 100] Gadberry; the Twenty-second, Col. Joseph Abney; the Twenty-third, Col. H. L. Benbow; Holcombe legion, Col. P. F. Stevens; Third battalion, Lieut.-Col. G. S. James, and Capt. R. Boyce's battery, all South Carolina organizations. Upon taking command, General Beauregard assigned Gen. S. R. Gist to command the First district, with headquarters at Charleston. This district embraced the coast from the North Carolina line to Rantowles creek, and included the islands touching the harbor. Col. R. F. Graham commanded on Morris island, Col. L. M. Keitt on Sullivan's island, Col. C. H. Stevens on James island, and Major Emanuel at Georgetown. Lieut.-Col. William Butler, First regular infantry, commanded at Fort Moultrie, and Maj. Alfred Rhett, of the First regular artillery, at Fort Sumter. Fort Pemberton on the Stono was commanded by Maj. J. J. Lucas, and the post of Secessionville by Lieutenant-Colonel Capers. General Gist had under his command 133 companies of all arms. In this enumeration by companies were included the following South Carolina regiments: First regular artillery, First regular infantry, First volunteer artillery, Twentieth, Twenty-first, Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth volunteers, ten companies each.

Brigadier-General Hagood, in charge of the Second military district, with headquarters at Adams' run, had in his command one regiment (the Sixteenth), Smith's and Nelson's battalions of infantry, two companies of cavalry, the Stono scouts, and two batteries (the Washington and Morrison artillery)—twenty-nine companies of all arms, all South Carolinians.

Col. W. S. Walker, commanding the Third military district, with headquarters at McPhersonville, had under his orders an aggregate of forty companies of all arms, as follows: Eleventh volunteers, First and Second battalions of sharpshooters, Third regiment of cavalry, First, Second and Sixth battalions of cavalry, Rutledge mounted riflemen, Charleston dragoons, Kirk's partisan rangers,[Pg 101] Elliott's Beaufort artillery, Kavanaugh's Lafayette battery, all South Carolina commands, and Nelson's Virginia battery. The whole Confederate force in South Carolina upon General Beauregard's assuming command, September 24, 1862, amounted to 202 companies of all arms, and aggregated 12,544 officers and soldiers present for duty.

On October 22d, the battle of Old Pocotaligo was fought by Col. W. S. Walker, with a small force of infantry, dismounted cavalry, and sections from two batteries of artillery, amounting in all to 675 men and officers. On the same day the railroad and turnpike bridges crossing the Coosawhatchie were successfully defended by the Lafayette artillery, Lieut. L. F. Le Bleux commanding; a section of Elliott's Beaufort battery, Lieut. H. M. Stuart commanding, and Capt. B. F. Wyman's company of the Eleventh South Carolina infantry. These engagements will be described separately.

A Federal force of 4,448 of all arms, under the command of Brigadier-General Brannan, sailed from Hilton Head on the evening of October 21st in transports supported by gunboats, destined for Mackay's point, on Broad river, with orders from the Federal commanding general "to destroy the railroad and railroad bridges on the Charleston and Savannah line." Landing his forces at Mackay's point during the night of the 21st and on the early morning of the 22d, General Brannan marched with all of his troops except the Forty-eighth New York and two companies of engineers, immediately up the road leading to Old Pocotaligo. The force detached was sent by boat up the Broad, and thence up the Coosawhatchie to destroy the railroad bridge over the latter river, where the main column, in case of victory at Pocotaligo, should unite with it in tearing up the railroad on either hand, including the bridge over the Pocotaligo and Tulifinny rivers.

If General Brannan had succeeded, he would have cut very effectually the communication between Savannah[Pg 102] and Charleston, captured the military stores at Coosawhatchie and Pocotaligo, and inflicted a serious blow to General Beauregard's line of defense. But his expedition signally failed, and he was defeated with brilliant success by Colonel Walker's troops at Old Pocotaligo and at Coosawhatchie bridge. Learning of his landing at Mackay's point and of his advance, Colonel Walker ordered by wire the artillery and infantry named above to repair to the bridge, and himself marched down the Mackay's point road, with all the force he could command, to meet General Brannan. Meanwhile, Col. C. J. Colcock, at Grahamville, commanding the Third South Carolina cavalry, dispatched Lieutenant-Colonel Johnson with five companies of his regiment, and Major Abney, with two companies of his battalion of sharpshooters, to march rapidly to Coosawhatchie and intercept the force which he had learned was moving up the river. These dispositions were effective, as the result showed.

Walker's force consisted of Nelson's Virginia battery, two sections of Elliott's battery, and the following commands: Maj. J. H. Morgan's battalion of cavalry, the Charleston light dragoons, Captain Kirk's partisan rangers, Captain Allston's company of sharpshooters, Capt. D. B. Heyward's company of cavalry, and Capt. A. C. Izard's company of the Eleventh South Carolina, Lieut. W. L. Campbell commanding. The aggregate of these troops was 475, one-fourth of whom were horse-holders and not in the engagement now to be described. Walker took position near Dr. Hutson's residence, on a salt marsh, crossed by a causeway and skirted by woods on both sides. A section of Elliott's guns, Allston's sharpshooters, and two companies of cavalry, under Maj. J. H. Morgan, had gone in advance of Walker's position and were skirmishing with the head of Brannan's advance and holding him in check. In this affair Major Morgan was severely wounded, but his command held the advance of the Federal troops sufficiently long to allow Walker to[Pg 103] post his gallant little force at Hutson's. Elliott's guns were posted in and near the road, and Nelson's in the field in rear of the skirmishers, and screened by woods in front. The rest of the command was put in line to the right and left of the road, covered by the trees which fringed the marsh.

General Brannan, encouraged by his success in driving in Major Morgan, pushed up with his infantry and attacked at once. Walker replied with the guns of Elliott and Nelson (Lieutenant Massie commanding) and with his rifle fire. The marsh was impracticable, but Brannan pushed his troops to its edge and opened an infantry fire from a force so much superior to Walker's as to inflict serious damage to his batteries by killing horses and wounding the gunners. The Federal artillery fired so incessantly that their ammunition fell short and their fire slackened.

Meanwhile Elliott and Massie raked the woods opposite with shell and canister. General Brannan reports that this fire twice drove his infantry out of the woods "with great slaughter;" "the overwhelming fire of the enemy tore through the woods like hail." But the position was not strong enough to be held against so superior a force, and as the Federal regiments pushed out into the edge of the marsh, enveloping both flanks of the Confederate position, and delivering a damaging fire from their superior rifles, Walker ordered a retreat upon Old Pocotaligo, some 2½ miles in his rear.

This was well executed and without confusion, Capt. J. B. Allston's sharpshooters and part of Company I, Eleventh volunteers, covering the movement. On the retreat, Capt. W. L. Trenholm, with his splendid company, the Rutledge mounted riflemen, joined Walker from outpost duty, and took command of all the cavalry.

Arriving at Old Pocotaligo, Walker took position in the old houses and behind the scattered trees of the hamlet, the Pocotaligo creek with its impracticable marsh[Pg 104] being in his front, and the ground higher and better adapted for defense than the position at Dr. Hutson's.

Capt. John H. Screven, just as the enemy appeared, opened fire, and after the last man of the rear guard had crossed, took a party of men and effectually tore up the long bridge on the causeway, and the fight began in earnest. Brannan brought up all his troops and artillery and poured in a galling fire, to which Walker's men replied from trees and houses and every bush on the edge of the marsh. Two of Elliott's guns and all of Morris' but one were disabled by the loss of the gunners, killed or wounded, and after the battle had been in progress some two hours, Walker had only three guns left. One of these he withdrew from the position commanding the causeway and put it in position under Sergeant Fuller, about 300 yards to his right, where it opened on the Federal left. Nelson's battalion (Seventh), 200 strong, under Capt. W. H. Sligh, came up at this juncture on Walker's right, and swelled his gallant little band to about 800 men. Half of Sligh's command, under Capt. J. H. Brooks, took position beyond Fuller's place, and opened fire from the woods fringing the Pocotaligo 700 or 800 yards beyond the hamlet of Pocotaligo. This fire created the impression of a strong reinforcement on Walker's right, and threatened the Federal left, which was in full view "in air."

General Brannan had sufficient force to hold Walker at Old Pocotaligo, and move at least 2,500 men around his right flank, crossing the Pocotaligo a mile or so above, where it becomes very narrow. But he cautiously held on to his position and kept up his fire on Walker's force, relieving his regiments as they became slack of ammunition. He could not get to Walker without forcing the causeway and relaying the bridge, and this he could not do as the fire of the artillery and every musket would be turned on the least advance. The creek was deep and the banks boggy and made an impassable ditch in Walk[Pg 105]er's front. Finally the Federal artillery ceased firing, and the entire force opened on Walker's left an incessant discharge from their rifles. Captain Sligh and the Charleston light dragoons on Walker's left replied with so much spirit and effect that Brannan gave up the fight, and at 6 p. m. withdrew from range and began his retreat to his boats at Mackay's point.

The bridge being destroyed and Walker's men thoroughly exhausted, it was some time before Colonel Walker could organize and direct the pursuit. Lieut. L. J. Walker, commanding the Rutledge mounted riflemen and Kirk's rangers, passing around the head of the Pocotaligo, pushed on down the Mackay's point road in the rear of Brannan's force; but the bridges were torn up and Walker could not reach the flying foe until the night made it impracticable to proceed. Brannan reached his gunboats in safety and re-embarked for his base at Hilton Head.

The force which attacked the bridge over the Coosawhatchie was met by Le Bleux's and Stuart's artillery and the fire of Captain Wyman's company, and was promptly repelled. A detachment, however, while the main force attacked the bridge, marched to the railroad, cut down a telegraph pole, cut the wire, and tore up two or three rails. A train carrying a portion of the Eleventh regiment and one company of Abney's battalion, under the command of Maj. J. J. Harrison, unhappily ran up just in time to receive a volley from the party on the railroad, by which the engineer was killed and Major Harrison lost his life.

Lieutenant-Colonel Johnson, with his cavalry, arriving at this juncture, the Federal force retreated and joined the force retiring from the bridge. The destruction of several bridges over marshes and creeks, which are numerous in the tidewater section, so impeded Colonel Johnson that he dismounted his men, and thus moved three companies in line to within 130 yards of the boats[Pg 106] and fired on the troops as they embarked. The gunboats returned the fire, and a gallant soldier, Private Thomas B. Fripp, was killed, and Lieut. T. G. Buckner and Corp. Thomas Farr wounded. When the train was fired upon and the engineer killed, the conductor, Mr. Buckhalter, with coolness and courage, ran his train on in the face of the ambuscading party. Thus ended the expedition to destroy the railroad and bridges on the Charleston line.

Walker lost 21 killed, 124 wounded, 18 missing; total, 163. Brannan's loss reported was 43 killed, 294 wounded, 3 missing; total, 340. Colonel Walker closed his report of the battle of Pocotaligo by commending in highest terms the conduct of the whole command, mentioning particularly Capt. H. J. Hartstene, naval aid; Capt. W. W. Elliott, ordnance officer; Capts. John H. Screven and George P. Elliott; Corp. D. L. Walker, and Privates Fripp and Martin and E. B. Bell, all of whom served on his staff. R. M. Fuller and the Messrs. Cuthbert, father and son, serving on the staff, rendered efficient service to the colonel commanding. The battle over, and the enemy safe on his gunboats, ample reinforcements arrived from Hagood and Gist, and from Savannah, but too late to do more than congratulate Colonel Walker and his heroic and victorious troops.

With the battle of Pocotaligo and the repulse of the New York regiment at Coosawhatchie bridge, the aggressive movements of the land forces of the enemy on the coast of South Carolina closed for the year 1862.

The Federal position at New Bern, N. C., protected by the heavy batteries of the fleet and held by a strong force under Major-General Foster, in 1862, afforded a safe and easy base of operations against the railroad line connecting Wilmington with Petersburg and Richmond. Goldsboro, on this railroad, was connected directly with New Bern by a railroad which ran through Kinston, the latter place being about halfway between New Bern and Goldsboro.

At Kinston, Gen. N. G. Evans was in command, with his South Carolina brigade and some North Carolina troops, including Lieutenant-Colonel Pool's heavy battery on the river. The Neuse, open to gunboats, runs by both Goldsboro and Kinston, crossing the railroad line within four miles of the former place. General Foster planned an attack, first on Kinston and then on the railroad at the bridge near Goldsboro. For this purpose he marched from New Bern on December 11, 1862, with 10,000 infantry, eight light batteries, forty guns, and a regiment of cavalry 640 strong. Foster's force was composed of twelve Massachusetts, one Connecticut, one New Jersey, four New York, two Pennsylvania, and one Rhode Island regiments, light batteries from Rhode Island and New York, and cavalry from New York.

Evans' brigade was composed of the Holcombe legion, Col. P. F. Stevens; the Seventeenth South Carolina, Col. F. W. McMaster; the Twenty-second South Carolina, Col. S. D. Goodlett; the Twenty-third South Carolina, Col. H. L. Benbow, and Boyce's light battery. With this brigade and Radcliffe's regiment, Mallett's battalion and Bunting's and Starr's light batteries, North Carolina troops, he fought the battle of Kinston. Lieutenant-Colonel Pool, commanding the work on the river just below Kinston, successfully repelled the attack of the gunboats. Taking post on Southwest creek, about 4 miles due west of Kinston, Evans was attacked by Foster on the morning of the 13th. The Federal general marched up the west bank of the Neuse. With his overwhelming force, he turned both flanks of General Evans and compelled his retreat to a position about a mile from the town, covering the bridge over the Neuse. Foster moved on this position at once and attacked again with his infantry and artillery. The conduct of Evans' little command was heroic, and their firmness enabled him to hold Foster in check throughout the day.

Early the next morning the battle was renewed, Gen[Pg 108]eral Evans taking the offensive; but the superior force of the Federal army enveloped the small command of General Evans, and after three hours of gallant battle, he ordered a retreat across the river and through the town. At the bridge Evans lost between 400 and 500 of his command, taken prisoners, but succeeded in taking over his artillery and most of his troops. He took up a strong position, toward Goldsboro, about 2 miles from Kinston, and was awaiting General Foster's advance when he received a summons from that general to surrender! This he promptly declined and prepared for battle, but night coming on, Foster gave up the further pursuit of General Evans on the east bank of the Neuse, and crossed to the west side of the river, encamping in that position for the night. On the 15th he resumed his march up the west bank toward the railroad bridge near Goldsboro, and followed with his attack upon the bridge and its destruction on the 17th. In this affair an attack was also made upon the county bridge crossing the Neuse, which was successfully defended by General Clingman and his gallant command of North Carolinians, strongly supported by Evans.

On the 18th of December, General Foster began his movement back to his base at New Bern. Almost without cavalry, the Confederate forces, now under the chief command of Maj.-Gen. G. W. Smith, could not follow him effectively, and he reached New Bern after suffering a total loss of 591, killed, wounded and captured. There is no record of the losses of the South Carolina brigade at Kinston, or at the railroad bridge in front of Goldsboro. General Clingman reported a loss of 20 killed, 107 wounded, and 18 missing; total, 145. Evans lost over 400 taken prisoners at the bridge at Kinston, and must have met heavier losses than Clingman in his battles on the 13th and 14th. His total loss could not have been less than 600 in killed, wounded and captured, out of a total in front of Kinston of 2,014. General Foster's[Pg 109] rapid retreat from the railroad can only be accounted for upon the supposition that he exaggerated the forces sent from Wilmington, Petersburg and Richmond to reinforce Goldsboro. The aggregate of all arms at Goldsboro on the 18th could not have reached 7,000 effectives, and General Foster's army, after its losses on the 13th, 14th and 17th, was fully 10,500 of all arms.

General Evans in his official report mentioned especially the gallant conduct of Adjt. W. P. Du Bose and Capt. M. G. Zeigler, of the Holcombe legion; Capt. S. A. Durham, Twenty-third South Carolina; his personal staff, and Lieutenant-Colonels Mallett and Pool, and Colonels Radcliffe and Baker of the North Carolina troops.

The expedition of General Foster with so large a force, and the reported presence of a large fleet of transports, carrying an army under General Banks, in the waters of Beaufort, made General Whiting, commanding at Wilmington, apprehensive of an attack on that city. Pending the movement of Foster, General Whiting telegraphed to General Beauregard urgently to send troops to his assistance, as Wilmington was protected only by its forts and a small garrison. General Beauregard promptly sent a division of two brigades under Brig.-Gen. S. R. Gist. The first brigade was made up of troops from the First and Second military districts of South Carolina, under command of Col. C. H. Stevens, Twenty-fourth regiment, and the second from the military district of Georgia, commanded by the senior colonel. Three South Carolina light batteries accompanied the division, W. C. Preston's, Waities' and Culpeper's. The South Carolina infantry included the Sixteenth, Colonel McCullough; the Twenty-fourth, Lieutenant-Colonel Capers; Twenty-fifth, Colonel Simonton, and Nelson's battalion. By December 17th, the day of the attack in front of Goldsboro, General Gist's division had arrived in Wilmington, and went into camp. The Twenty-fourth, with Preston's battery, was stationed at the railroad crossing of[Pg 110] the Northeast river, 9 miles east of Wilmington, and fortified the position and the roads approaching it.

The month of December passed, and the expected attack upon Wilmington was not made. The expedition under General Banks did not move inland and the fleet did not appear off Cape Fear. General Whiting wrote General Beauregard that a storm at sea, which had lost the fleet three of its monitors, had saved Wilmington from the threatened attack. About January 1, 1863, the division under Gist was returned to General Beauregard, except Harrison's Georgia regiment, Nelson's battalion, the Twenty-fourth South Carolina, and the three batteries, Preston's, Waities' and Culpeper's. These, with Clingman's brigade, sent from Goldsboro, and three North Carolina light batteries, made up the whole of General Whiting's disposable force for the defense of Wilmington, after Gist's division was returned to Beauregard.

Returning these troops, Whiting wrote to General Beauregard: "I send you this note by your able Brigadier-General Gist, of South Carolina.... I beg you will receive my true and real thanks for the promptness with which you sent your magnificent troops to my assistance at a time when it was thought they were needed." He made a special request that he might have General Gist's personal services, and accordingly that general was ordered to return and report to General Whiting for special duty, for which favor Whiting expressed his thanks, referring to Gist as always "cool, sensible and brave," characteristics which that officer manifested throughout his career.

During January, 1863, the Twenty-fourth South Carolina, with Preston's battery, under Col. C. H. Stevens, occupied the vicinity of Island creek, on the Holly Shelter road, as an outpost in advance of the Northeast bridge, fortifying the position and obstructing the roads. The expected attack not being made, the South Carolina troops were returned, to resume their positions on the coast of their own State early in February.

In April, 1862, following the battle of Shiloh, in response to the urgent call of General Beauregard, at Corinth, Miss., for troops to reinforce the army he then commanded, the Tenth South Carolina, Col. A. M. Manigault, and the Nineteenth, Col. A. J. Lythgoe, were ordered from the coast of South Carolina to report to that general. Arrived at Corinth, the two regiments were brigaded with the Twenty-fourth, Twenty-eighth and Thirty-fourth Alabama regiments, under the command of Brigadier-General Trapier, in the division of Major-General Withers. From December, 1862, the brigade was commanded by Colonel Manigault, and known as "Manigault's brigade." Lieut.-Col. James F. Pressley took command of the Tenth.

Covering the front of Beauregard's army, on May 2d, Manigault's brigade was brought into prominent notice by the firm stand it made against the enemy's advance. The supports on its right and left having retired, Colonel Manigault held his position and repelled the attack. No report of the details of this affair is at hand. It reflected much credit on the brigade, and gave the South Carolina regiments their first battle before Corinth. At Corinth and at Tupelo, the army suffered from exposure and bad water, and 17,000 sick were sent to the rear, and in these hardships the South Carolina regiments had their full share. The faithful chaplain of the Tenth, Rev. W. T. Capers, and many of the officers and men of both regiments were ill, and many died.

In July the army was moved to a healthier camp, and early in August it was concentrated near Chattanooga for an aggressive campaign in Tennessee and Kentucky. General Bragg was now in command, General Beauregard having been called to Charleston.

Bragg crossed the Tennessee, moved over the Cumberland mountains and entered Kentucky. When the army moved against Munfordville, Manigault was in advance and met and drove in the pickets. The garrison capitulated September 18th, and Bragg moved on toward Frankfort. Buell, who had left Tennessee and marched to Louisville, where he reorganized his army, struck at Bragg's exposed rear, attacking Polk at Perryville. Polk held his own with greatly inferior numbers, repulsed Buell, captured much artillery and many prisoners, but lost in killed and wounded over 3,000 of his little army. General Bragg retired toward the mountains, and crossing into east Tennessee, occupied Knoxville, Buell moving to Nashville. During the rapid retreat on Knoxville, the army suffered greatly from want of proper food, rapid marches and the exposure of the men in bivouac. After resting his army at Knoxville, General Bragg recrossed the mountains and ultimately took post at Murfreesboro, where he was attacked by Rosecrans (who had displaced General Buell), and the battle of Stone's River, or Murfreesboro, followed on December 31st.

Manigault's brigade bore a conspicuous part at Murfreesboro, and its operations in connection with that battle will now be described. General Bragg's line of battle was formed in front of Murfreesboro, running a little east of north and west of south. Stone's river ran southeast, in his front, cut off his right, and bending south ran along his rear. As the divisions stood from right to left they were placed in the following order: Breckinridge east of the river, then Withers, Cheatham, McCown and Cleburne, the formation in two lines, the cavalry well out on the flanks. Near the river, on the west side of it, the[Pg 113] Nashville railroad and the turnpike, running near each other, passed through Bragg's line nearly at right angles. The Wilkinson pike passed through the line on the left of Withers, running northwest.

Lieutenant-General Polk commanded the right wing, and Lieutenant-General Hardee the left; Breckinridge, Withers and Cheatham made the right, and McCown and Cleburne, with Wharton's cavalry, the left.

Rosecrans stood before Bragg with three army corps, commanded by Major-Generals McCook, Thomas and Crittenden, all west of the river. Crittenden faced Breckinridge with three divisions; Thomas, with five divisions, faced Withers and Cheatham; McCook, with three divisions, faced Cleburne and McCown. Wharton, with his splendid brigade of cavalry, stood forward of Hardee's left, ready to make his brilliant attack on Rosecrans' right and rear.

The signal for battle was given, and at 7 o'clock on the morning of December 31st, Hardee ordered Wharton with his troopers to find the rear of McCook's right flank and fall upon his supports, and directed his infantry and artillery forward. McCown, supported by Cleburne, advanced and engaged in severe battle, taking the enemy by surprise and forcing him back toward the Wilkinson pike. Bragg's plan was to drive back the right wing of Rosecrans, and when beaten to attack his center and right simultaneously. Hardee's battle pushed McCook beyond the Wilkinson pike, when Withers moved out against Thomas, supported by Cheatham. Bragg's battle was a grand right wheel, pivoting on the river, the wheel obliquing toward the wheeling flank, and the pivot gaining forward. By 10 o'clock, both of Hardee's divisions were in full battle, as were those of Withers and Cheatham, and later on Breckinridge sent over four of his brigades to reinforce the battle of the pivot.

When evening came the full right wheel had been completed and the army stood against its enemy in a line at[Pg 114] an exact right angle to its first position. The pivot had gained forward a half mile, but Rosecrans had held fast with his left on the river. In the wheeling fight, on Hardee's right, and in the struggle to move the pivot forward as it turned, Withers' division made its battle. That general reported the operations of his division with great accuracy and distinctness, and we shall follow his report for an account of Manigault's brigade.

As Withers placed his brigades from right to left, Chalmers' brigade was on the right touching the river, and formed the pivot of the great wheel; then came Patton Anderson's brigade, then Manigault's, and lastly Deas'. Manigault moved out in due time, and his left swinging around met the enemy on a wooded ridge, and stormed and carried it. In his wheel through an open field, and before the brigade could touch Anderson's, on its right, it was taken in flank by artillery and the fire of the force it had driven. Here fell the gallant Col. A. J. Lythgoe, of the Nineteenth South Carolina, at the head of his regiment. His major-general well said of him: "He dies well who dies nobly." The flank fire on Manigault broke his line and repelled his advance in some confusion. Rallying, the brigade continued its battle, now with more success charging and gaining ground. But it had gone beyond its right and left supports, and was again fired upon by artillery on the right flank; the brigade on his immediate left was repulsed and again Manigault had to retire. Maney's brigade, from Cheatham's division, was ordered to support Manigault's left, and again he advanced and with Maney's gallant aid the brigade swung forward and round in victorious advance.

This third advance brought the two South Carolina regiments directly on the battery that had done their brigade so much harm, and the Tenth and Nineteenth were ordered to charge and take it. The Tenth, led by Lieut.-Col. J. F. Pressley, and the Nineteenth, by Lieut.-Col. T. P. Shaw, moved as one man to take the guns. A Fed[Pg 115]eral brigade in support delivered its volleys so rapidly as to check the assault, when Anderson, who was on Manigault's right, moved up his brigade and attacked the supporting brigade, while the Tenth and Nineteenth dashed forward and took the guns. General Bragg allowed these regiments to have the battery, and they sent it to South Carolina to have the names of the gallant men who fell in its capture inscribed upon the pieces. General Withers closed this part of his report with high praise of Manigault's brigade. The brigade, says the major-general, had been subjected to a most trying ordeal, and had lost heavily. The calm determination and persistent energy and gallantry which rendered Colonel Manigault proof against discouragements, had a marked influence on and was admirably responded to by his command.

With these operations, thus described, the honorable part borne by the South Carolina regiments in the battle was practically ended. Manigault was in line with Hardee and touching the troops on the pivot, and night ended the great contest.

The brigade of Colonel Manigault lost a total of 517. The Tenth South Carolina had 109 killed and wounded and 2 taken prisoners; the Nineteenth had 80 killed and wounded, among the killed its gallant colonel. Maj. John A. Crowder and Lieut. J. T. Norris, of the Nineteenth, faithful and true men and officers, were among those mortally wounded. It is to be regretted that Colonel Manigault's report of Murfreesboro is not at the writer's command, and there is no official report from either regiment of record.

On the roll of those "conspicuous for courage and good conduct on the field of battle" at Murfreesboro, published by order of the Confederate Congress, are the following:

It is a grateful task to copy, in this connection, a paragraph from the report of Lieutenant-General Polk, in which he perpetuates an act of self-sacrificing heroism which is worthy of lasting remembrance, and gives an example of patient courage and devotion which the writer has never known surpassed by any of his Confederate comrades. It occurred just before the last charge of Manigault and Maney. Says General Polk:

With this act of devotion we leave the battle of Murfreesboro, making the following general remarks about it:

General Bragg's army, infantry and artillery, numbered 33,475. His cavalry, under Wharton, Wheeler and Pegram, aggregated 4,237, making his army, of all arms, 37,712. Wheeler's brigade reported on December 31st, 1,169, and was not in the battle, but was operating on Rosecrans' immediate communications. Pegram and Buford, with five regiments, 1,118 strong, were on the extreme right and scarcely engaged. Hanson's brigade, of Breckinridge's division, 1,893 strong, was east of the river. Deducting Wheeler's and Hanson's brigades from Bragg's total, that general fought in actual battle against Rosecrans' columns a force of 34,650, of all arms. These figures are taken from the field returns of the army, as they are given from the originals in the War Records of the Union and Confederate armies.

It is interesting to note General Rosecrans' estimates of General Bragg's forces and losses. He reported to Washington that he had encountered superior numbers, and gave Bragg's strength, 46,200 infantry, 1,200 sharpshooters, 1,840 artillery, and 13,250 cavalry, "making a total of 62,490." In like manner the Union general estimated the Confederate loss at 14,560. In this estimate[Pg 118] he missed it by over 4,000! General Bragg lost 10,266 of all arms, killed, wounded and captured. General Rosecrans took the actual loss in General Breckinridge's division and multiplied by seven, instead of five, the number of divisions. The Federal loss in killed and wounded as reported by General Rosecrans was 8,778. He estimated his loss in prisoners at 2,800. The inspector-general of Bragg's army reported to his chief over 6,000 prisoners! General Hardee reported 1,900 captured by Wharton's cavalry alone!

The writer, from his experience in the field, knows it to be very difficult to report accurately, after a great battle, the losses in killed, wounded and prisoners, but he has often been impressed with the exaggeration of generals, Federal and Confederate, in giving estimates of the numbers opposing them, and the losses they inflict upon their adversaries. Here we have Rosecrans reporting Bragg's army opposed to him at 62,490, and General Bragg reporting Rosecrans' army at from 60,000 to 70,000; Rosecrans estimating Bragg's loss at 14,560, and Bragg reporting an estimated loss for Rosecrans at 25,273. By the official statements of both generals, as shown in the army returns, now published by the government in its invaluable War Records of both armies, Rosecrans engaged Bragg's 34,650 of all arms, with a force of 43,400 of all arms. "On the whole," said General Rosecrans in his report, written six weeks after the battle, "we fought superior numbers on unknown ground, inflicted much more injury than we suffered, were always superior on equal ground with equal numbers, and failed of a most crushing victory on Wednesday [December 31st] by the extension and direction of our right wing." The facts are that Bragg was victorious everywhere on the field, except on his extreme right, and after the withdrawal of Rosecrans' left on the river, at night, the whole battlefield was Bragg's, with all its spoils. He captured 31 pieces of artillery; over 6,000 prisoners, two brigadier-[Pg 119]generals among them; several stand of colors, 200 wagons with their contents, destroying over 800 others, loaded with ammunition and army stores, all of which he secured and appropriated.

Both armies were non-aggressive on January 1st; on the 2d, Rosecrans crossed a force in front of Breckinridge, bringing on a bloody engagement in the afternoon with that division. On the 3d and 4th, no movement of importance was made, and Bragg, learning of reinforcements coming to his adversary, whose strength he estimated at 70,000, with the river in the rear rapidly rising from constant rains, and his army without tents and baggage and much worn by constant watching and battle, determined upon retreat, and fell back ultimately to Tullahoma, without firing a gun in his retirement. Here, as afterward at Chickamauga, General Bragg failed to take advantage of his success, and General Rosecrans claimed a great victory.

We left the South Carolinians of the army of Northern Virginia in front of McClellan at Malvern hill, whence the Federal army retreated and took shelter under the guns of the fleet at Harrison's landing. The latter, naturally a strong defensive position, the genius and skill of McClellan and his able engineers made a fortified camp, protected by impracticable swamps and water-courses, and the batteries of the fleet on its flanks. Here the army of McClellan was safe from attack and too much shattered to take the immediate offensive. Meanwhile the corps of McDowell, Banks and Sigel, which had been operating against Jackson in the valley, and in immediate defense of Washington, had been united under Gen. John Pope, and called the "army of Virginia." This army of Pope was to be reinforced by General McClellan and march on Richmond from the north.

Early in July, Pope was on the Rappahannock, with his outposts on the Rapidan. His army was over 45,000 strong, and the only obstacle to his advance was the cavalry under General Stuart. General Lee determined to check Pope's further advance, until he could be satisfied of McClellan's movements, and accordingly ordered Jackson to Gordonsville, and early in August reinforced him with A. P. Hill's division. With characteristic energy Jackson crossed the Rapidan, and on August 9th, in the battle of Cedar Run, gave Pope's advance on Richmond a telling blow. Gen. Maxcy Gregg's brigade of South[Pg 121] Carolinians was in A. P. Hill's division, with McIntosh's battery, but was not engaged in the battle. Greatly to the disappointment of the Carolinians, they were left behind to guard the passages of the Rapidan.

General Burnside, with a strong force, was at Fredericksburg, and McClellan (August 13th) was still in his fortified camp on the James, 30 miles from the city of Richmond. The battle on Cedar run had checked Pope, but he stood over 40,000 strong, in front of Jackson's corps, and was receiving reinforcements from Burnside. On the 14th of August, McClellan began the movement of his army by water to Aquia creek on the Potomac. Anticipating this, on the 13th, General Lee ordered Longstreet, with twelve brigades and their artillery, to move by railroad to Gordonsville, and on the 15th took command in person on the Rapidan. With Longstreet were Rhett's, Bachman's and Garden's South Carolina batteries; Anderson's old brigade, under Brig.-Gen. Micah Jenkins, with Corse's and Hunton's Virginia brigades, forming the division of General Kemper; and the South Carolina brigade of Brig.-Gen. N. G. Evans, which had joined the army in time to be slightly engaged at Malvern hill. This, an independent brigade, included the Seventeenth, Eighteenth, Twenty-second and Twenty-third regiments, the Holcombe legion and the Macbeth artillery, Captain Boyce. Kershaw's brigade in McLaws' division was left in front of Richmond; Hampton's brigade of cavalry, including the legion and Hart's battery, was in McClellan's front.

General Lee planned an attack on Pope immediately before his arrival on the Rapidan. R. H. Anderson's division was ordered up from Richmond, and the plan of campaign was to be carried out on the 18th by crossing the Rapidan and turning Pope's left. But a letter from General Lee detailing the movements of the cavalry fell into Pope's hands by the capture of Stuart's adjutant-general, and Pope, thus apprised of the plans of his[Pg 122] adversary, on the 17th fell back behind the Rappahannock to a much stronger position. The lost dispatch had broken up the plans for the expected battle, and Lee put his two corps in position on the south bank of the Rappahannock, Longstreet on the right and Jackson on the left.

Now, sure that he could with safety collect all his army on the Rappahannock, General Lee wrote the President for the divisions of D. H. Hill and McLaws, and General Hampton's cavalry. On the 19th, the President, fearing that Richmond would be endangered, telegraphed General Lee that until movements of the enemy were more developed he would retain those commands before the capital. Finally, on the 24th, Lee wrote Mr. Davis that he had intercepted a letter from General Pope to General Halleck (commander-in-chief of the United States armies), dated August 20th, stating his whole force for duty at 45,000, independent of Burnside, and revealing his plan to hold Lee in check until McClellan could come up from the lower Rappahannock. Thus General Lee was put in possession of General Pope's plans and formed his own accordingly. He wrote the President that he wished his whole army immediately, and all available troops, and added: "Hampton's cavalry I particularly require." Richmond, he wrote, must rely upon her defenses and field batteries. On the 26th, McLaws and D. H. Hill and Hampton were ordered to Lee, and Mr. Davis wrote him: "Confidence in you overcomes the view that otherwise would be taken of the exposed condition of Richmond, and the troops retained for the defense of the capital are surrendered to you on a renewed request." Neither of these commands was able to reach Lee, however, until immediately after the conflicts on the Rappahannock and the great struggle at Manassas. The fords on the Rappahannock were too full for the crossing of the army, and too strongly defended by Pope's artillery.

Several affairs occurred during the five days Lee was detained on the right bank. In one of these Gregg's brigade was moved up to support a battery, and subjected to a severe shelling from a high hill on the left bank, losing several men killed and wounded. On August 23d a more serious affair occurred, in which the brigade of General Evans and Boyce's battery were engaged. The enemy had fortified a hill near the railroad bridge at Rappahannock Station, and on the right bank. Evans, supported by several batteries, was ordered to attack. The brigade moved up promptly against the fortified position, under a sharp counter fire, but before they reached charging distance the enemy retired, leaving his intrenching tools and other property, but taking guns and troops securely over the railroad bridge, which he fired and destroyed. Evans ordered Boyce to occupy the steep hill with his battery, and that gallant officer at once moved up but was immediately subjected to the fire of four batteries from commanding heights on the north bank. He was compelled immediately to withdraw, losing 8 killed and 14 wounded, and 7 horses killed. Lieut. William Monro of the battery was severely wounded. The brigade lost in this affair 27 killed and 84 wounded, a total of 111.

Without waiting for the arrival of the reinforcements from Richmond, General Lee began his movement around the right of General Pope on the 25th of August. Jackson was to move up the right bank of the river beyond the extreme right of Pope, cross beyond Waterloo and move on his railroad communications. Longstreet, after demonstrating in Pope's front, was to follow Jackson. The genius of Lee, Jackson and Longstreet was to determine the precise field and the essential conditions of the battle.

Jackson marched early on the 25th, crossed the upper branches of the Rappahannock, and camped at Salem, on the Manassas Gap railroad. On the 26th he turned[Pg 124] due east, passed the Bull Run mountains through Thoroughfare gap, and by sunset was at Bristoe Station in Pope's immediate rear, and on his main railroad communication with Washington. The capture of Bristoe and Manassas Junction, with vast stores, followed.

Gregg's brigade, which had been under fire at Rappahannock bridge on the 21st, and further up the river on the Rappahannock hills on the 24th, crossed on the 25th at Henson's mill, and made a forced march of 24 miles that day up the Salem valley, and continued the march on the 26th "without wagons or baggage of any kind, turning to the right at Salem, through Thoroughfare gap, and sleeping at night in rear of our artillery in the road near Bristoe Station." General McGowan, whose report is quoted, continues:

As Gregg's brigade took this position, brisk firing was heard upon the right, where the divisions of Taliaferro and Ewell were thrown by Jackson against the column of Pope's army coming up the Warrenton pike, expecting to find Jackson at Centreville. A severe engagement followed, the battle of Groveton, in which Ewell and Taliaferro were both wounded. About dark Gregg's brigade was hurried to the scene of action, but the firing soon after ceased.

Jackson resumed his place behind the railroad and lay the night of the 28th in perfect silence, doubtless to create the impression that he had retreated. Capt. J. F. J. Caldwell, of the First South Carolina, Gregg's brigade, who has written an admirable history of his brigade, and was himself a gallant participant in all of its hardships and glories, thus describes the night of the 28th of August:

But Longstreet was not "beyond Pope," for he had that day forced the passage of Thoroughfare gap, after a sharp conflict in which Drayton's brigade (which included the Fifteenth South Carolina) took part, and that night his command camped in the gap and west of the mountain.

Daybreak of August 29th, upon the great battle plains of Manassas, found Jackson in his well-chosen position behind the railroad cut, Longstreet descending the east slope of the gap he had won, and the forces of General Pope forming for battle in Jackson's front. The plan of the Federal commander was to attack and crush Jackson before Longstreet could reach him. The battle opened by an artillery attack in force on Jackson's right, which was promptly met. This failing to move Jackson, an equally galling fire of artillery was delivered against his left, and this also was replied to effectively. At 2 p. m. the infantry battle opened against A. P. Hill on Jackson's left, and raged until 9 o'clock at night. Hill repulsed six separate assaults, the forces against him being the commands, in whole or in part, of the Federal generals Hooker, Kearney, Sigel and Stearns.

Gregg's brigade,[D] after sleeping on their arms on Ewell's battlefield, had returned to their first position on the left at early dawn of the 29th, and were put in line on the extreme left of the army, near Catharpin run, occupying a small, rocky, wooded knoll, having a railroad excavation bending around the east and north fronts, and a cleared field on the northwest. This position was slightly in advance of the general line, and besides being on the extreme left, was considered important because of its command of the Sudley Ford road. The brigade line made an obtuse angle toward the enemy, one side nearly parallel to the railroad cut and the other along the fence of the cleared field on the[Pg 127] northwest, and enclosed the knoll, which they were ordered to hold at all hazards. On this spot, barely large enough to hold the brigade, they stood and fought from 8 o'clock in the morning until dark.

The regiments of the brigade were posted from right to left in the following order: The Thirteenth, Col. O. E. Edwards; the First, Maj. Edward McCrady; the Twelfth, Col. Dixon Barnes; the Fourteenth, Col. Samuel McGowan; Orr's Rifles, Col. J. Foster Marshall, in reserve.

Early in the morning, the enemy's advance being reported, General Gregg sent forward McCrady to skirmish with it. The enemy lay in force in a wooded hollow in front, and McCrady's advance drew the fire of his line, front and flank. A sharp musketry contest followed and Gregg sent up the Twelfth on McCrady's left. The two regiments charged and gained ground forward, but on the right the enemy held his ground and fired on McCrady's flank. Barnes had passed on beyond, and McCrady's position was critical. Edwards, with the Thirteenth, came to his support, but met such resistance that he had to fight independently. Meanwhile Marshall, with the Rifles, had gone to Barnes' support, and those two regiments were driving victoriously forward. McCrady, fighting front and flank, was stubbornly holding his ground, and Edwards was stemming the tide against his regiment. At this juncture Gregg recalled the four regiments to the railroad position, as his orders were to act on the defensive and not to bring on a general engagement. Time was everything to Jackson, who knew his enemy was in his front with superior numbers, and he did not risk a battle until Longstreet was reported to be on his right.

The affair of the four regiments had checked the arrangements for assault in Gregg's front, and he was in solid line awaiting the next move. It soon came. Pressing on through the thick growth of bushes along Gregg's front, the attack drove in his skirmishers, and the[Pg 128] infantry of the enemy poured in volley after volley as they advanced to the railroad. It was a close fight of infantry, across the cut, and ended in a repulse of the attack. Reinforced, he came for a second battle with Gregg, and was repulsed. A third and a fourth assault were met, and a third and fourth battle fought with the same result. Gregg's brigade had now nearly exhausted its ammunition, and most of the field officers were killed or wounded, with many most active and gallant subordinates. Now came the critical hour of Jackson's battle. Coming up the railroad cut from the left and right, and screened by its high banks and the thick brush on both sides of it, the enemy massed on Gregg's right, opposite a thick wood. In this wood were Edwards and McCrady, forming the right of Gregg, McCrady supporting Edwards. Beyond Gregg's right was the left of Thomas' Georgia brigade, quite an interval being between the two brigades.

The fifth grand assault fell on Thomas' and Gregg's right, and easily filled the wooded interval between them, flanking both Thomas and Gregg. The moment was most critical. Edwards and McCrady changed front to face the woods filled with Federal troops, and fought desperately. Barnes came up to their help, while Marshall's Rifles heroically held Gregg's left. But the right was about to be overpowered and crushed, when Gregg sent in McGowan, his only reserve. The Fourteenth rushed upon the crowded ranks of intruders in the wood, delivered their volleys at close range, and shouting, charged the mass. At the instant Thomas attacked from his side with the Forty-ninth Georgia, and the victory was gallantly won. The whole assaulting force was driven by Gregg's and Thomas' forces back across the railroad, and into the woods beyond.

Almost exhausted by such terrible work, the cartridge boxes reduced to two or three rounds, Gregg held his railroad line with a fixed determination never to yield.[Pg 129] In this resolve he was supported by every officer and man of his brigade. When General Hill sent to ask if he could hold out, says McGowan, "he replied modestly he thought he could, adding, as if casually, that his ammunition was about expended, but he still had the bayonet." And on the bayonet the brigade was now to rely, as the most desperate assault from fresh forces in its front was about to come. The rush and noise of the advance were heard, the volleys of musketry swept over and through the thinned ranks of Gregg, and in another moment the charging lines of the enemy were mounting the banks of the railroad cut and rushing upon him. Meeting this heaviest assault of the day, and fighting, first with their last cartridges, and then with the bayonet, the men of the brigade gave slowly back. They were not driven far from their battle line, when Gregg's call for help was answered by General Hill. Branch and Field were sent in, and with portions of their brigades met and turned the tide of assault. Gregg's men were rallied by their commanders, and the Virginians, North Carolinians and South Carolinians drove back the great assault across and beyond the railroad, and again Gregg's line was formed. But the brigade, after fighting for several hours, was worn out and its last round of ammunition expended.

The gallant and heroic Marshall fell in this last conflict, as well as his able lieutenant-colonel, D. A. Ledbetter. Colonels McGowan and Barnes, Lieutenant-Colonel Farrow, and Majors Brockman and McCorkle were wounded and borne from the field. Captains and lieutenants and their brave men lay dead in every part of the field.

It was evident that another grand assault must be met. "Casting about for help," says General Hill, "fortunately it was here reported to me that the brigades of Generals Lawton and Early were near by, and sending to them, they promptly moved to my front at the most[Pg 130] opportune moment." Gregg was relieved, and Lawton and Early, now, late in the afternoon, advanced beyond the railroad, met the last assault of the day, and drove the Federals in confusion to the rear. Night had come, and with it rest for Gregg's heroic brigade. Jackson held his field, and the effort to crush him before Longstreet came up had disastrously failed.

The losses in Gregg's brigade were as follows: Orr's Rifles, 19 killed, 97 wounded, total 116; First, 24 killed, 119 wounded, total 143; Twelfth, 24 killed, 121 wounded, total 145; Thirteenth, 26 killed, 118 wounded, total 144; Fourteenth, 8 killed, 57 wounded, total 65; aggregate for the brigade, 613.

On this bloody day McIntosh did not have an opportunity to use his guns. At Manassas Junction on the 27th, he had done effective work and aided in silencing the enemy's battery and driving off his infantry. The brigade was not in action on the next day, the 30th, but took position under fire. While forming his command, Major McCrady received a severe wound in the head, after passing through the storm of battle on the 29th unhurt. McIntosh's battery, posted on Gregg's left, on the 30th, did splendid service in shelling the enemy's masses in front, and in breaking his advances against Gregg's position. The following officers are mentioned among the killed and wounded in the reports of McGowan and McCrady, the former reporting for the brigade:

Major McCrady mentions in his report for distinguished conduct on the field, Color-bearer Spellman and Sergeant Matthews, Sergeants Lorrimore, Smith, Darby, Kelley, Gore and Miller, Color Corporal Owens, Corporals Wigg and Larkin, Privates Ruff, Holloran and Carroll, Sergeant Ragan, Corporal Brereton, Privates Lyles and Duff. Capts. W. T. Haskell, M. P. Parker, W. P. Shooter, Barksdale and T. P. Alston, and Lieuts. James Armstrong, John C. McLemore, Thomas McCrady, Hewetson, Brailsford, McIntire, Congdon, John Monro, Wiborn, Seabrook and Hamilton were distinguished on the field.

The great issue of battle between Pope and Lee was to be determined on the 30th. Longstreet was in battle array on Jackson's right, with a front of seven brigades: First Hood, with his brigades, supported by Evans; then Kemper, with two brigades in his front line, Jenkins and Hunter, supported by Corse; then D. R. Jones, with three brigades in echelon, on the extreme right, reaching the Manassas Gap railroad. Wilcox, with three brigades, in column, was in close supporting distance, behind Hood and Evans. R. H. Anderson with three brigades was on the march for the field, moving from the direction of Warrenton. The brigades of Evans and Jenkins were composed of South Carolina troops; the Fifteenth South Carolina was in Drayton's brigade, with D. R. Jones on the right, and the Hampton legion infantry was in Wofford's brigade, with Hood on the left.[Pg 132] Bachman's and Garden's batteries were in Major Frobel's battalion, and Rhett's was in S. D. Lee's battalion.

Pope massed against Jackson, and after assailing him with a heavy fire of artillery, attacked his whole line with all the aggressive power he could command. Porter's corps assailed his right and center, and Heintzelman's and Reno's corps attacked his left and left flank. These three corps were supported by the divisions of King and Ricketts.

Jackson stood against this combination with his three divisions, and made desperate resistance. For three hours, from 1 to 4 p. m., his battle was purely defensive and held back the surging columns of attack, but he saw that his limit of resistance had been reached and sent to General Lee for a division. At that moment General Longstreet, riding out to a commanding position oh Jackson's right, saw the whole field of attack and seized the opportunity to enfilade the line. Chapman's Virginia, Boyce's South Carolina and Reilly's North Carolina batteries were called up at a run, and fully appreciating the situation, went into telling action. The assaulting lines were broken in ten minutes, rallied, returned, and were again broken. Rallying a third time, they were a third time staggered by the fire of Boyce, Chapman and Reilly, and Jackson's line was given a breathing spell. S. D. Lee now put his battalion into action, and his guns swept the field and "tore the line to pieces," says General Longstreet. Rhett's South Carolina battery, commanded by Lieut. William Elliott, with Lee's battalion, shared the honors of this grand assault of artillery in aid of Jackson's heroic battle. The moment had come for Longstreet to move, and as the commanding general rode on the field and ordered the grand assault, he was sending the order to his division commanders to advance.

It was now late in the afternoon, but before night had settled down on that great field of strife, Hood and Evans and Kemper and D. R. Jones and R. H. Anderson had[Pg 133] carried the battle beyond the Chinn house and to the base of the great plateau at the Henry house, which commanded the enemy's line of retreat over Bull run. But night had come and saved the plateau to Pope's army and his retreat was secured to him.

Lee's victory was complete. But it had been won by a mighty sacrifice of human life. South Carolina had laid down her noble sons in costly sacrifice. Her brigades and regiments in that great battle had given their very best. Among the gallant dead, and those who received mortal wounds, at Manassas, on the two days of heroic strife, were the following distinguished officers:

Col. J. F. Marshall and Lieut.-Col. D. A. Ledbetter, of Orr's Rifles; Col. Thomas J. Glover, of the First South Carolina battalion; Col. John V. Moore, of the Second Rifles; Col. John H. Means, of the Seventeenth; Col. J. M. Gadberry, Eighteenth; Lieut.-Col. Francis G. Palmer, of the Holcombe legion, and many other gallant spirits. Brigadier-General Jenkins was wounded at the head of his brigade and over 400 of his officers and men killed and wounded. Col. H. L. Benbow, Twenty-third South Carolina; Maj. W. J. Crawley, of the Holcombe legion, and other field, staff and company officers of the South Carolina commands were wounded on the field. It is greatly to be regretted that there are no reports from General Jenkins of record, or any one of his regimental commanders, respecting the operations of the 29th and 30th.

As Hood's right swept on in its battle, Jenkins and Hunton kept abreast of it, and Evans, in supporting Hood, came into battle connection with Jenkins. This was particularly the case when the guns were captured at the Chinn house. Colonel Corse in his report gives the line of program which Jenkins observed, as passing beyond the Chinn house and south of it, while Evans, who supported Hood's two brigades, passed beyond and north of it. Wofford, who commanded Hood's right brigade,[Pg 134] refers to his advance against a battery at or east of the Chinn house, when the Holcombe legion (of Evans' brigade) came up to his support and fought "with much spirit and gallantry." Colonel Gary, the commander of the Hampton legion infantry, in his report says: "We were then [Wofford's brigade] hotly engaged around the Chinn house, where the brigade captured several pieces of artillery. At this place the brigade of General Evans came up in gallant style and relieved us." Evidently the Chinn house, which stood about one mile southwest of Groveton, formed the center of the theater of battle for the brigades of Jenkins and Evans and the Hampton legion infantry, under Colonel Gary.

These commands carried their battle for a half mile east of the Chinn house, when darkness checked and ended their advance. Over the space indicated the South Carolinians fought with steady courage, attesting their devotion by the sacrifices of the day. In this advance fell the noble-hearted Governor Means, at the head of the Seventeenth; the accomplished and gallant Glover, at the head of Hagood's First; the brave Gadberry, leading the Eighteenth; the dashing Moore, commanding the Second rifles; the heroic Palmer, urging the Holcombe legion to the charge, and Henry Stevens, aide to Col. P. F. Stevens, falling with five wounds.

A single shell bursting in front of Company K, Palmetto sharpshooters, killed five young men—Theodotus L. Capers, James Palmer, Whiteford Smith, Bearden and McSwain—graduates and undergraduates of college, the very best Carolina could give for her cause. It is particularly noted, that these were representative young men, sons of men of prominence in the church and in the State. Never did one shell destroy more of the beauty and promise of life, or carry more sorrow to human hearts.

The Fifteenth South Carolina operated on the extreme right in support of cavalry, and is reported as losing 21[Pg 135] in killed and wounded. General Longstreet complained that Drayton was sent to the right without his knowledge, and expressed his regret that he could not command his aid when he needed it to reinforce the battle.

Major Frobel reported that on Friday morning he took Bachman's battery, by General Hood's order, to the extreme right on the Orange & Alexandria railroad, where Stuart's cavalry was operating. Here Bachman opened on a column marching to the Confederate right. Fifteen rounds were so well directed that the column halted and then disappeared toward the left. Later, Bachman and Garden took post on the Warrenton pike, and for two hours engaged the batteries of the enemy at the Groveton house, and silenced them. On the 30th, in the afternoon, following Hood's advance, Bachman and Garden advanced down the Warrenton pike, Bachman taking position on the right of the road and Garden on the left, both well out, and opened on the enemy's guns at the Dogan house. Again the batteries engaged and drove the enemy's guns away from the house, and prepared the way for Colonel Law's brigade to carry the position. Bachman had exhausted his ammunition, and Garden moved on until night stopped his progress. Major Frobel reported that Bachman and Garden handled their guns with great skill and effect. Lieutenant Siegling, a gallant officer of Bachman's battery, was struck from his horse by a fragment of shell, and seeing the exposed position of his mounted men, as he was falling gave the command, "Cannoneers, dismount." His wound was through the stomach, and was supposed to be mortal, but his cheerful resolution and strong physique, with skillful surgical attention, carried him through the ordeal, and he rejoined his command.

The following are the returns of casualties from the several South Carolina commands engaged at Manassas on the 29th and 30th. Except from Boyce's battery there are no reports of casualties in the artillery: Gregg's[Pg 136] brigade—Orr's Rifles, 116; First, 143; Twelfth, 145; Thirteenth, 144; Fourteenth, 65. Jenkins' brigade—First (Hagood's), 124; Second Rifles, 58; Fifth, 39; Sixth, 115; Sharpshooters, 68. Drayton's brigade, Fifteenth, 21. Wofford's brigade, Hampton's legion, 74. Evans' brigade, Holcombe legion, 155; Seventeenth, 179; Eighteenth, 113; Twenty-second,—; Twenty-third, 149; Boyce's battery, 6. The grand total is 1,714, and of these, 281 are given as killed on the field. Many of those reported wounded had received mortal hurt.

The morning of Sunday, August 31, 1862, dawned upon the plains and hills and valleys of Manassas to find them covered with the dead, the dying and the wounded of both armies. The trophies of victory cheered the awful prospect, but the sight of the great battlefield filled every manly heart with feelings of reverence for the dead and sympathy for the wounded, both friend and foe. Ten thousand wounded Union soldiers, 30 pieces of artillery, many stand of colors, and 7,000 prisoners bore witness to the steady courage and the heroic endurance of Jackson's three divisions on the 29th, and the gallant charge of Longstreet's wing on the 30th. Pope retreated after nightfall on the 30th and put his rear guard in the Confederate defenses at Centreville.

He reported that he had been driven in perfect order from the field, by overwhelming numbers; that the fight had been an unequal one; that Longstreet had crushed his left with great masses of Confederates, pouring down in a stream of reinforcements from the Bull Run mountains. " ... At no time could I have hoped to fight a successful battle with the immensely superior force of the enemy which confronted me, and which was able at any time to outflank me and bear my small army to the dust." But the official records show beyond question that on the field of Manassas he had under his command 10,000 more men than Lee commanded in his front on the 30th. Jackson's corps numbered scarcely 20,000 men of all[Pg 137] arms. Pope assailed it all day on the 29th, and made desperate attempts to destroy it on the 30th, and not a man reinforced Jackson on the 29th or the 30th; and the "superior forces" that assaulted General Pope's right on the 30th were just the corps of General Jackson after all its losses and work on the 27th, 28th and 29th of August.

General Longstreet tells us that on the morning of Sunday, the 31st, General Lee called General Jackson to his headquarters and gave him instructions to cross Bull run at Sudley's ford, march by Little River turnpike, and intercept the enemy's retreat. On receiving these instructions, says Longstreet, Jackson said, "Good!" and away he went without another word. He marched on the morning of the 31st, struck the Little River turnpike at Wykoop's, turned toward Fairfax Court House, and camped for the night at Pleasant valley. On September 1st he continued his march, passed Chantilly, and came upon Pope's forces at Ox hill, just south of the turnpike, and about halfway between Chantilly and Germantown. General Pope had due notice of the advance on his right, and early on the 1st formed a determination, as he reports, to fight a battle between the roads which come together at Fairfax, on one of which he was stationed, Jackson, followed by Longstreet, marching on the other.

Reinforced by Sumner's and Franklin's corps, General Pope arranged for battle on the 1st of September with a force of 57,000. The corps of Heintzelman, Reno and McDowell were in position south of the Little River turnpike, facing almost north. Against these corps General Jackson attacked on the afternoon of the 1st, the battle being fought during a storm of rain and wind, which blew directly in the faces of the Confederates. Jackson put his corps on right into line of battle, Hill, Lawton and Starke from right to left. Jackson attacked by Hill's division, and a severe battle followed until night. During the battle a portion of Ewell's division, com[Pg 138]manded by Lawton, supported General Hill, but the battle was mainly fought by Hill, the brigades of Branch, Gregg and Pender bearing the brunt of the fight. General Hill says that the enemy stubbornly contested the ground, but on the fall of the two prominent commanders on the field, Generals Kearny and Stevens, the enemy was driven back, but not far, retreating entirely after night. The battle was aggressive on Jackson's part, and as it progressed pushed the Federal forces back, but night coming on both sides ceased from conflict.

In this battle Gregg's brigade, leading Hill's division, came first into line by its right, the Thirteenth and Fourteenth in the front line, Orr's Rifles, the Twelfth and the First supporting. As the battle progressed, the Rifles and the Twelfth were advanced to the front line of battle, the First remaining in support, under command of Capt. C. W. McCreary. Lieut.-Col. W. D. Simpson commanded the Fourteenth, and Capt. James Perrin the Rifles. The losses in Gregg's brigade at Ox Hill were reported as follows: Orr's Rifles, 5 killed, 25 wounded, total 30; First South Carolina, 1 killed, 7 wounded, total 8; Twelfth, 1 killed, 10 wounded, total 11; Thirteenth, 5 killed, 24 wounded, total 29; Fourteenth, 3 killed, 23 wounded, total 26; total, 15 killed, 89 wounded. Lieut. W. C. Leppard, of the Thirteenth, and Adjt. W. C. Buchanan, of the Twelfth, were killed on the field after being distinguished in the action. Captain West and Lieutenant Youngblood of the Fourteenth, and Lieutenant Jenkins of the Rifles, were wounded.

We call the battle of Ox Hill a battle with Pope's rear guard, for such it was. Though his army was in position to give battle to General Lee on the 2d of September, his forces were arranged so as to secure his retreat, and this he actually made on the night of the 1st and the morning of the 2d, falling back on the defenses of Washington. General Pope seems to have regarded his army at Centreville on the morning of September 1st, though[Pg 139] numbering 62,000, including Banks, near at hand, no match for that of General Lee, which was not a man over 40,000, if so strong. If he had only known the actual strength of General Lee's army, the question arises, Would it have made any difference in the results of the Rappahannock-Manassas campaigns?

[D] For the part borne by Gregg's brigade on the 29th, I shall follow the official reports and Mr. Caldwell's history.

General Lee marched his victorious army from the plains and hills of Manassas to Leesburg, and crossed into Maryland, fording the Potomac between September 4th and 7th, and concentrating at the city of Frederick. His reasons for this move are here given in his own words:

The South Carolina commands with Lee in Maryland, were the brigades of N. G. Evans, Kershaw and Jenkins under Col. Joseph Walker; the Fifteenth regiment, Colonel De Saussure, in Drayton's brigade; the Hampton legion infantry, in Wofford's brigade, and Bachman's, Garden's, Rhett's and Boyce's batteries—all with Longstreet's corps; in Jackson's corps, the brigade of Maxcy Gregg and McIntosh's battery; and with the cavalry under Stuart, the Second cavalry, Col. M. C. Butler, of Hampton's brigade, and Hart's battery. Thus it will be seen that four brigades, a regiment and a battalion of infantry, six light batteries, and one regiment of cavalry represented South Carolina in the short and bloody campaign through which we are now to trace their career. We may not do more than make such general allusions to other commands as will put the positions and movements of the South Carolinians in their true moral and military aspect. The gallant comrades of other States, who fought by their side, and on whose heroic daring and sublime fortitude so much depended—whenever they touched their Carolina brethren in battle, their touch was an inspiration, and wherever they fought by their side, their battle was an assurance of strength.

When General Lee took post at Frederick, his position[Pg 142] warranted the expectation that the Federal forces in the valley of Virginia and at Harper's Ferry would retreat upon Washington, and he made dispositions to intercept them. In this he was disappointed. Martinsburg and Harper's Ferry were held fast, and Lee resolved to attack those points at once. He prepared an order detailing his combinations and directing the march of each corps and division, and the action of his cavalry. A copy of this, sent Gen. D. H. Hill, fell into General McClellan's hands, as a former order, issued on the Rapidan, had gone into the hands of Pope. Thus McClellan was informed that Lee's army would leave Frederick and cross the mountains at Boonsboro gap; that D. H. Hill's division was to halt at Boonsboro, while the rest of Longstreet's corps marched toward Hagerstown; that Jackson would cross the Potomac and move on Harper's Ferry; that McLaws' division, following Jackson, would enter Pleasant valley and possess Maryland heights, and that Walker's division, following McLaws, would cross the Potomac and possess Loudoun heights. Friday, September 12th, was to be the day when these combinations should result in the capture of Harper's Ferry. That accomplished, Jackson, McLaws and Walker were to rejoin the army at Boonsboro or Hagerstown.

McClellan, thoroughly appreciating the situation, promptly advanced against Boonsboro gap. In this forward movement he was delayed by General Hampton, who skirmished at every available point. As the advance guard approached Frederick with cavalry, infantry and artillery, Hampton drew in his outposts and formed his brigade for attack. The enemy posted a gun, supported by infantry, so as to command the city, and this gave Hampton his opportunity. As the gun opened he ordered Butler to charge, with the brigade in support. One brilliant dash at the gun and its support, and it was in Hampton's possession, the enemy scattered, many killed and wounded, and Colonel Moore, Twenty-eighth Ohio, and[Pg 143] 10 other prisoners taken. In this affair, Lieutenant-Colonel Meighan, of the Second South Carolina cavalry, and Captain Waring, of the Jeff Davis legion, acted with distinguished gallantry, and the Second, under its gallant colonel, was commended for its conduct. So successful was the repulse of the advance guard of the enemy that Hampton withdrew at a walk, and camped for the night at Middletown, taking with him the prisoners, and leaving Lieutenant-Colonel Martin, commanding the Jeff Davis legion, to cover his camp.

At daylight, Martin was attacked in the gap of Catoctin mountain which he was holding. Hampton sent up a section of Hart's battery to his support, and Martin held his position against odds until 2 p. m., the fire of Hart's guns driving the opposing artillery from several positions. Then the enemy, reinforced, gained a strong point for artillery, and Hampton withdrew Martin, and in front of Middletown formed for battle, which was soon joined. Hart's guns replied vigorously to those of the Federals, the sharpshooters became warmly engaged, and soon the whole brigade was in action, the fight being pressed by infantry on the enemy's side. Notified that Gen. D. H. Hill had taken position in Boonsboro gap, General Stuart, who had come forward, ordered Hampton to withdraw to the south, and sent Martin with Hart's guns through the gap in South mountain to Boonsboro. Hampton retired to Burkittsville, and on his way encountered a Federal cavalry command, which he charged with Colonel Young's Georgians, dispersed the force, with a loss of 30 killed and wounded on the enemy's part, and 4 killed and 9 wounded in the Cobb legion.

Hill's division, which had marched into Boonsboro gap, was composed of the brigades of Ripley, Rodes, Garland, Colquitt and Anderson. With these commands and Rosser's Fifth Virginia cavalry, Hill stood against the assaults of McClellan for five hours. Longstreet hurried back from Hagerstown to his support and arrived[Pg 144] between 3 and 4 p. m. With Longstreet were the South Carolina brigades of Evans and Jenkins, the Fifteenth South Carolina with Drayton, and the Hampton legion with Wofford. Evans' brigade, under Col. P. F. Stevens, was marched to the left of General Hill's battle to support Rodes, who was nearly overwhelmed. Stevens put in the brigade on the right of Rodes, and was at once assailed. The Seventeenth, under Col. F. W. McMaster, held its ground on the right of the brigade, supported by the Holcombe legion, but the pressure of the attack pressed back the Twenty-second and Twenty-third until these regiments, rallied by their gallant commanders, Lieut.-Col. T. C. Watkins and Capt. S. A. Durham and Maj. M. Hilton, returned to the battle, and supported by the Eighteenth, Col. W. H. Wallace, held the battle, in line with the Seventeenth and the legion. But not for long; the enemy crowded up the mountain in such strength that Rodes and Stevens could not hold their line and were driven from the crest.

In this brief struggle, Lieut.-Col. Thomas C. Watkins fell in the thick of the fight, rallying his regiment. His fall was a loss to his command and to his country, but he died as he wished to die, fighting for the independence of the Southern Confederacy. He was succeeded by Major Hilton, who rallied the regiment and restored its position on the crest. In the same contest Lieut.-Col. R. S. Means, of the Seventeenth, was severely wounded. At the moment of his fall the crest was carried, and Colonel McMaster ordered him borne from the field, but he generously refused the aid of his comrades, seeing they must inevitably be captured.

Colonel Stevens especially commended the conduct of Colonel McMaster, Major Hilton, Captain Durham and Adjt. W. P. DuBose. The latter officer was captured after night while endeavoring with a small force to reconnoiter the enemy's front. The loss in the brigade was comparatively small: Seventeenth, killed 7, wounded[Pg 145] 37, missing 17; Twenty-second, killed 10, wounded 57, missing 4; Twenty-third, killed 4, wounded 16, missing 4; no reports for the Eighteenth and the legion.

The rapid march of Longstreet from Hagerstown on the 14th had thinned the ranks of all his brigades. Men overcome with fatigue fell by the way in large numbers, and the rush up the mountain in the afternoon almost depleted some commands. Colonel McMaster, reporting the strength of the Seventeenth in the battle, said: "In this battle we had engaged 10 officers and 131 men, rank and file, and ambulance corps." General Longstreet, referring in his recent book to the effect upon the troops of the march from Hagerstown, and the marches and countermarches on the mountain, says:

Col. Joseph Walker, Palmetto sharpshooters, commanding Jenkins' brigade, reported his force only partially engaged. Much of his time in the afternoon was consumed by marches and countermarches, in accordance with orders, which carried his brigade first to the foot of the mountain on the west side, nearly 2 miles south of the Boonsboro pike, on which he had arrived from Hagerstown. Then he was sent to take position at the hotel on top of the mountain and north of the pike. From that post he was ordered to move across the pike obliquely to the south, and down the east slope of the mountain, where he made his partial battle. The First regiment, Lieut.-[Pg 146]Col. D. Livingston, the Sixth, Lieut.-Col. J. M. Steedman, and the Fifth, Capt. T. C. Beckham, were advanced to a stone fence, where they stood against the fire of the infantry and artillery in their front, the Sharpshooters, Second rifles and the Fourth battalion supporting. Walker held this post all through the evening and night, moving off on the morning of the 15th and covering the retirement from that part of the field, the Second rifles marching as rear guard. The losses in Jenkins' brigade were comparatively light, 3 killed and 29 wounded, total, 32, distributed as follows: Palmetto sharpshooters, 2 wounded; First, 1 killed, 15 wounded; Second rifles, 1 wounded; Fifth, 6 wounded; Sixth, 2 killed, 5 wounded.

The writer regrets that he can find no record of the service of the Fifteenth South Carolina, in Drayton's brigade, and the Hampton legion infantry, in Wofford's. Gen. D. H. Hill, in his report of the action of his troops, refers to the brigade of Drayton in the following words:

This is the only reference to Drayton's brigade in the action at Boonsboro, by which it appears that the Fifteenth South Carolina, and Fiftieth and Fifty-first Georgia, the three regiments that composed it, stood against the attack of three Union brigades until they were "beaten."

The battle of Boonsboro Gap was not anticipated by General Lee, and it came, on the 14th, in the nature of a surprise. Certainly Lee's army was not prepared for it.[Pg 147] All that could be done was done—the brigades of Hill and Longstreet, with such artillery as could be operated on the mountain, held back the advancing columns of Hooker and Reno until night put an end to the conflict. General McClellan reported the battle on his side as fought by the divisions of Hatch, Ricketts and Meade, of Hooker's corps; Willcox, Sturgis and Cox, of Reno's corps; and the brigade of Sedgwick, of Sherman's corps; with artillery and cavalry. That this force did not drive Hill in rout from the mountain before Longstreet came up is due to the firmness and heroism of his defense. That it did not envelop both Longstreet and Hill late in the afternoon, and force them down upon Boonsboro, is due to the skill of those generals, and the conduct of their troops and their commanders.

Having already stated the order for the investment of Harper's Ferry, we will have now to do with the part taken by Kershaw's and Gregg's South Carolina brigades in its capture. Kershaw was with McLaws and Gregg with A. P. Hill. To Kershaw, commanding his own and Barksdale's brigades, was assigned the task of capturing the south end of Elk ridge, called Maryland heights, which overlooked Harper's Ferry. The heights captured, McLaws was to plant his rifled guns there to co-operate with Walker, on Loudoun heights, and Jackson, on Bolivar heights. Kershaw marched on the 12th and ascended Elk ridge by Solomon's gap. The Union pickets offered a feeble resistance at the gap and retired, Kershaw ascending to the top of the ridge and marching on its crest toward the point of attack. Capt. G. B. Cuthbert, Second South Carolina, commanding Kershaw's right flankers, and Major Bradley, Mississippi regiment, commanding skirmishers in advance, met and easily drove back the outposts along the ridge. But the road was so obstructed, and so impracticable, that it was 6 p. m. before General Kershaw came up on the first line of defense, within one mile of the south end, or Maryland heights. This was a[Pg 148] strong abatis running across the ridge and flanked by high boulders. Here the enemy was standing in force.

Kershaw put his brigade in two lines of attack and held Barksdale in reserve. Henagan's Eighth South Carolina and Aiken's Seventh made the first line, Nance's Third, and Kennedy's Second in rear. Before these dispositions were made night came on, and the troops lay on their arms within sight of the battlefield. Early on the 13th the South Carolinians moved to the attack in beautiful order, and came under the heavy fire of the enemy. The Eighth encountered a ledge of rock which completely stopped its advance, but the Seventh had a clear field to the abatis. Aiken led his regiment on with a dash, mounted the obstruction, poured a volley into the faces of his adversaries, and the abatis was won, the enemy retreating a quarter of a mile to a still stronger position across the ridge. Kershaw sent Barksdale to his left to make a detour on the east slope, and gain the flank of the position. The Seventh and Eighth again advanced to the abatis and carried it, but the fire from a log breastwork in rear checked their progress. The Third, under Nance, reinforced the fire of the Seventh and Eighth, and these three regiments made the battle, losing severely.

Meanwhile Barksdale had worked his way around to the rear and right of the Federals and opened fire. Seeing himself assailed in front and flank, the enemy retreated down the south end of the mountain and across the river, by pontoon, into Harper's Ferry. Kershaw and Barksdale moved to the position captured, overlooking the enemy in his stronghold. Major McLaws, of the division staff, directed the cutting of a road by which four rifled guns were brought to the heights, and by 2 p. m. on the 14th, while the battle at Boonsboro gap was raging, and the enemy had penetrated Pleasant valley by Crampton's gap and was marching on McLaws' rear, Captains Read and Carlton opened their guns on Harper's Ferry and Bolivar heights.

Kershaw's work was done and well done, and he was ordered into the valley early on the morning of the 15th. While on the mountain the brigades suffered from want of water; not a drop could be obtained except at the foot of the ridge. The march on the crest was over crags and boulders, and the advance to battle was impeded by fallen trees and every possible obstruction. General Kershaw reported that not a man retired from his line who was not wounded, and especially spoke of the Seventh, Colonel Aiken, as bearing the brunt of the battle and suffering the heaviest loss. Lieut. Moultrie Dwight, of the brigade staff, was severely wounded by a fall from a precipice while communicating a message from Kershaw to Barksdale. Barksdale's loss was 2 killed and 15 wounded. Kershaw lost 33 killed and 163 wounded; total, 196. The Second South Carolina, not being engaged directly, suffered no casualties. The three regiments engaged numbered 100 officers and 863 soldiers. The Third had 14 killed, 35 wounded, total 49; the Seventh, 13 killed, 100 wounded, total 113; the Eighth, 6 killed, 28 wounded, total 34.

Gregg's South Carolina brigade marched with Jackson's corps from the vicinity of Boonsboro on the 11th and camped at Williamsport on the Potomac. On the 12th, crossing the Potomac, Jackson marched upon Martinsburg, occupied by a Federal force under Brigadier-General White. Gregg was in front and deployed for battle, but White retired upon Harper's Ferry. Jackson entered the town and the inhabitants rejoicingly received him and his troops. His hungry men were feasted, their general caressed and honored, and the sutler's stores and army provisions left by the enemy duly appropriated. Marching on for Harper's Ferry, Jackson was in position before that place, on Bolivar heights, by noon of the 13th. Next day Gregg was sent to Jackson's right (with Branch's brigade) to take position on the Shenandoah, move along its north bank, and be ready on the[Pg 150] morning of the 15th to assault from that point. Early on the 15th all the batteries opened on the defenses of Harper's Ferry, among them McIntosh's South Carolina battery. McLaws' rifled guns from Maryland heights, Walker's batteries from the Loudoun hills, and Jackson's from Bolivar heights poured their shot and shell into every opposing fort and battery, and the signal was about to be given to "cease firing" to give chance for the concerted assault of Jackson's infantry, when the banner of surrender was raised and Harper's Ferry was captured. The enemy replied from every one of his batteries with vigor, and kept up his defense until he saw his doom. Gregg had not lost a man, and remaining with A. P. Hill's division to secure the spoil of battle, his brigade reaped a harvest of good things at Harper's Ferry. The situation is thus described by Captain Caldwell:

The garrison of Harper's Ferry, surrendered, gave Jackson over 11,000 prisoners, 73 pieces of artillery, 13,000 small-arms, and a large supply of military stores.

General McClellan did not push his advantage gained at Boonsboro gap. It was 8 o'clock on the morning of the 15th before his troops appeared on the west of the[Pg 151] mountain, and General Lee had the columns of D. H. Hill and Longstreet beyond his reach by that time. Marching all the night of the 14th, these commands were in front of Sharpsburg early on the morning of Monday, the 15th. Jackson left Harper's Ferry on the night following, with McLaws', Walker's and Anderson's divisions, marched up to Shepherdstown, and crossed the river and reported to General Lee on the battlefield early on the 16th. He had left A. P. Hill's division at Harper's Ferry to parole the prisoners, secure the property captured, and hold the place. As will be seen, McLaws and R. H. Anderson did not reach the field of battle until it had been raging for hours, but they came up, as did A. P. Hill, in time to reinforce Lee at critical moments.

In writing of Sharpsburg there are particular features of that battlefield to which reference must frequently be made in order to comprehend the struggle, and these will first be noted.

The town of Sharpsburg is about a mile from the southward bend of the Potomac. A straight line running due east from the Potomac and passing through Sharpsburg would cross the Antietam river about 1½ miles from the town. The general direction of the Antietam in front (east) of Sharpsburg is a little west of south. And this, too, is the general direction of the Potomac in the vicinity of the battlefield. About 3 miles below Sharpsburg the Potomac makes a sweeping bend to the east and the Antietam to the west, the latter entering the former just below the point where the river turns sharply to the south. Lee's line was in front of Sharpsburg and behind the Antietam, which was easily forded, and crossed by good stone bridges in Lee's front and on each flank.

Two main roads gave direction to the battle, one running north to Hagerstown, and the other a little north of east to Boonsboro. About 1¼ miles from the town, on the Hagerstown road, was a church known as the Dunk[Pg 152]er's chapel, with a heavy wood north, south and west of it. The hills along the Antietam, on both sides, were high and commanding, and gave the best positions for artillery. The country between the Antietam and the Hagerstown road was undulatory, with good elevations for artillery, and south of Sharpsburg very much the same. The Antietam makes a very long bend to the west about 1½ miles below the town and then bends south again. General Lee's right rested on this bend, the hills being high and steep on the Sharpsburg side. Lee formed two lines of battle on the hills described, its direction parallel with the Antietam, bending toward the Potomac on the left.

On the 15th, Longstreet was posted on the south of the Boonsboro road, and D. H. Hill north of it. Hood's division prolonged the line on Hill's left bending west until it touched the Hagerstown road. Jackson, early on the 16th, was put on Hood's left, with his right on the Hagerstown road. Stuart with cavalry and horse artillery guarded the extreme left next the Potomac. Walker, with his two brigades, came up from Harper's Ferry by afternoon, and was posted on the extreme right and immediately on the Antietam bluffs. As the divisions slept on arms, on the night of the 16th, they stood for battle, from right to left, in the following order: Walker, D. R. Jones, Evans (brigade), D. H. Hill, Hood, Lawton, J. R. Jones, cavalry. The artillery opened the great battle at dawn on the 17th, and before the sun had risen Jackson was hotly engaged with Hooker's corps on the Confederate left.

Jackson's and Hood's troops held their ground with great courage and firmness, sometimes advancing in triumph and then repulsed by the front lines of the enemy. The history of Jackson's battle is a history of violent and bloody contention, advances and retirements, with ground lost, gained, relost and regained, until at last the enemy was forced to the defensive and the Confederate battle held on nearly its chosen line. The three corps of[Pg 153] Hooker, Mansfield and Sumner were engaged in these battles with Jackson and Hood, while the latter were reinforced from time to time by three brigades from D. H. Hill, one from D. R. Jones, and two with Walker. These forces, with Jackson's two small divisions and Hood's two brigades, had forced the battle beyond the Hagerstown road, and were on the successful offensive, as against Hooker's and Mansfield's corps, when Sumner entered the battle. His advance was against Jackson's right and center, two of his divisions (Richardson's and French's) operating east of the turnpike and south of the church, and one (Sedgwick's) moving against the woods just north of the church. Sumner's line operated at once to check the tide of his retreating friends, and to stem that on his advancing foes. Fresh, strong and admirably handled, the divisions of Richardson, French and Sedgwick moved to renew the waning battle. Richardson, supported by French, moved against D. H. Hill's left center, and Sedgwick attacked in front and north of the church.

Sumner's account of affairs on the battlefield when he reached it shows the work which had been done by the troops of Jackson, Hood, D. H. Hill and the brigade from D. R. Jones. He said: "On going upon the field, I found that General Hooker's corps had been dispersed and routed. I passed him some distance in the rear, where he had been carried wounded, but I saw nothing of his corps as I was advancing on the field. There were some troops lying down on the left which I took to belong to Mansfield's command. In the meantime, General Mansfield had been killed, and a portion of his corps thrown into confusion."

Sedgwick had pushed his battle successfully, and was now south and west of the church and about to clear the woods, when the head of McLaws' division arrived from Harper's Ferry, worn down by their forced march, without food, and many of them footsore. But they were[Pg 154] ready for battle, and appreciated the emergency. Portions of Hooker's and Mansfield's corps were attacking farther to Jackson's left, and Sumner's fresh corps was terribly aggressive. General Lee had ordered Walker from the extreme right, and he arrived in good time to join with McLaws. These commands, with portions of the troops that had been fighting all the morning, confronted the new advance, assailed it, beat it back, broke its order, and gained the position from which Sumner had advanced. Sedgwick was overwhelmed, but Richardson retired in order. The attack of Sumner on Lee's left and left center had failed, and failed by reason of the heroic, aggressive battle of McLaws and Walker, and the rallied fragments of Jackson's, Hood's, Hill's and Jones' troops.

In this great achievement Kershaw's South Carolina brigade, of McLaws' division, bore a distinguished part. Arriving on the field just as Jackson's battle had been driven into the woods south of the chapel and the enemy were in plain view, McLaws advanced Kershaw against him in direct attack, the Second South Carolina leading. The struggle to be made was for the possession of the wood west and north of the chapel. Kershaw threw the Eighth, Seventh and Third forward to Kennedy's support, and they pressed their battle into the wood and beyond the chapel, supported right and left by their comrades, and by the fire of Read's battery. Aiken approached within 30 yards of a Federal battery, drove its gunners off, and was about to seize the guns when a flanking battery opened upon him with canister and drove him back. The enemy reinforced made assault after assault, and were as often repelled. Kershaw had established his line beyond the church, and here he held his battle throughout the day. Reporting upon the conduct of his brigade, he said that the Eighth, under Lieut.-Col. A. J. Hoole, carried in 45 men, rank and file, and lost 23; the Second, first to attack and drive the enemy, suffered the loss of Colonel Kennedy from a severe[Pg 155] wound, and its gallant major, Franklin Gaillard, led it on against a front line, broke it, and pressed it beyond range of fire; the Third, under Nance, twice changed front under fire, and as often drove the opposing line; the Seventh, led by Aiken, trailed their progress to the cannon's mouth with the blood of their bravest, and out of 268 carried into action, lost 140, Colonel Aiken being among those most seriously wounded. The death of its gallant Maj. W. C. White deprived the service of an accomplished officer, a noble gentleman, and an elevated character.

Without a supply of rations from Monday to Wednesday; constantly under arms, marching, or in action during that period, no sleep and but brief halts for rest, Kershaw's gallant command fought at Sharpsburg as if they had come to the field from a well-provided camp.

But Sumner's work was not yet done. Richardson and French, supported by their famous batteries, many of them rifled guns, returned to the attack, directing their march directly against D. H. Hill's center on the Boonsboro road. He had sent Ripley, Garland and Colquitt to reinforce the struggle on the left, and had with him only two brigades of his own division (Rodes' and G. B. Anderson's), his batteries, Evans' brigade under Col. P. F. Stevens, and Boyce's battery. With these troops Hill met and repelled Richardson's first advance. General Lee sent up R. H. Anderson's division to his support, and Hill formed that command behind his front line. By the mistake of a subordinate, Rodes' brigade was moved from the front line and a broad gap left in Hill's defense. At once Richardson saw his advantage and pressed his troops into and beyond the gap. We give, substantially, General Hill's account. G. B. Anderson held his brigade in position, while the Federals poured through the gap, making all the defense he could, until he was wounded, when his brigade broke in panic, but Colonel Bennett and Major Sillers of North Carolina rallied a portion of[Pg 156] the brigade. There were no troops near, except some rallied fragments of commands, to hold the center. Hill was now back to the hill which commanded Sharpsburg and the rear. Affairs looked critical. A battery in a cornfield was ordered up, and proved to be Boyce's South Carolina battery, attached to Evans' brigade. It moved out most gallantly, in full view, and exposed to a terrible direct and reverse fire from rifled guns beyond the Antietam. A caisson was exploded, but the battery unlimbered and with grape and canister poured volley after volley so fast into the advancing troops that they halted, wavered, and then broke in retreat. With such of his troops as he could call to his immediate command, Hill charged, was checked, repulsed and charged again, and at last the center was secure.

The part borne by Evans' brigade of South Carolinians in this defense of the center is described by Colonel Stevens, commanding:

Boyce lost 15 horses. Sergt. Thomas E. Dawkins and Private James Rogers were killed, Privates B. Miller and E. Shirley mortally wounded, and Lieut. H. F. Scaife and 15 of the battery more or less severely wounded.[Pg 157] Sergt. B. T. Glenn continued to work his piece long after receiving a very severe wound.[E]

Colonel McMaster, of the Seventeenth South Carolina, Evans' brigade, reports that he carried into the battle only 59 officers and men, so great had been his losses from sickness and wounds and straggling. Out of these he lost 19 in battle. There are no separate returns of the losses of Evans' brigade at Boonsboro gap and Sharpsburg, but in these two they are reported as follows: Holcombe legion, 18 wounded; Seventeenth, 18 killed, 49 wounded; Eighteenth, 3 killed, 39 wounded; Twenty-second, 8 killed, 64 wounded; Twenty-third, 14 killed, 66 wounded; aggregate, 43 killed, 236 wounded.

While D. H. Hill was defending the center, Longstreet's line was assailed, on Lee's right. Crossing at the bridge and fords General Burnside's troops threw their masses against D. R. Jones' division. Jenkins' brigade under Colonel Walker was on the left of Jones' division, and the operations are reported by Colonel Walker. During the 16th the brigade lay in line south of the Boonsboro road exposed to an incessant fire of artillery from batteries posted east of the Antietam. In the afternoon of the 17th Walker was moved forward, and supported a part of the Washington artillery, of New Orleans. These gallant batteries were constantly engaged, and drew an unceasing fire upon Walker as well as themselves. The guns withdrew for ammunition and Walker went forward 400 yards to an apple orchard. The enemy being near, Walker attacked with the Palmetto sharpshooters and the Second rifles on the right, the Sixth, Fifth and First continuing the line to the left.

The fire of the brigade was so steady and so well deliv[Pg 158]ered, that when about to advance, the force in its front broke and retired to the woods on the Antietam. On Walker's right, the attack on Generals Kemper and Drayton was so heavy that those brigades were giving ground, and the enemy was pressing up a ravine in their rear and on their right. Walker changed his front, and attacking the flagging force, in concert with Drayton and Kemper, drove back the advancing line. In this repulse the guns of Rhett's battery, under Lieut. William Elliott, did splendid service, firing at short range on the infantry masses as they came up from the Antietam against Jones. The losses of the brigade at Sharpsburg were 26 killed and 184 wounded, the heaviest loss falling on the Palmetto sharpshooters. Capts. J. E. Lee and N. W. Harbin, of the sharpshooters, were killed; and Lieut.-Col. D. Livingston, of the First; Capt. E. B. Cantey, commanding the Sixth; Lieut. J. C. McFadden, of the Sixth; Lieuts. H. H. Thompson and W. N. Major, of the sharpshooters, were wounded. To that part of the action of Jenkins' brigade in which it was turned by Walker to deliver its fire upon the forces driving back Kemper and Drayton, Gen. D. R. Jones, the division commander, makes complimentary reference in a paragraph in which he also refers to the Fifteenth, in Drayton's brigade: "The Fifteenth South Carolina, Colonel De Saussure, fell back very slowly and in order, forming the nucleus on which the brigade rallied." In the two engagements of Boonsboro Gap and Sharpsburg, the Fifteenth lost 110 killed and wounded.

The attack upon Jones on the right, coming from a whole corps, and met by his division alone, numbering less than 2,500, and the artillery on his line, gave illustration of endurance, courage and resolution seldom if ever surpassed in the annals of war. General Toombs, with his artillery and two Georgia regiments, repulsed five separate assaults by Burnside's forces, and only retired when every cartridge had been fired and his position had[Pg 159] been turned by a passage below him. Just at the moment when Jones was driven back upon the town and the corps of General Burnside under General Cox was sweeping up on his front and right and making for a lodgment on the Shepherdstown road in his rear, Lee's line of retreat, the division of A. P. Hill, which had been marching all day, reported on Jones' right and formed forward into battle. This arrival saved the day.

Hill placed his batteries rapidly and opened with canister; but before his infantry could be formed the enemy had charged the guns and captured McIntosh's battery and flag. Not a moment was to be lost if Lee's line to Shepherdstown was to be saved, and A. P. Hill and Jones ordered the charge. "My troops were not in a moment too soon," says Hill. With a yell of defiance Archer charged [with Toombs] recaptured McIntosh's battery and drove the enemy pell-mell down the slope; Gregg and Branch, from Archer's left, poured in a deadly fire as they steadily moved down the slope, and the whole line of attack broke and retired to the Antietam. Night settled down upon the battlefield of Antietam and the bloodiest struggle of the war was over.

Gregg's casualties were 163 killed and wounded, of which the First lost 4 killed and 30 wounded; Orr's Rifles, 3 killed and 9 wounded; Twelfth, 20 killed and 82 wounded; Thirteenth, 1 killed and 14 wounded. The Fourteenth was not engaged.

The brave and accomplished Col. Dixon Barnes, of the Twelfth, fell mortally wounded. Lieut. Archibald McIntire, of the First, and Capt. F. A. Irwin and Lieut. J. B. Blackman, of the Twelfth, were killed. Capt. M. P. Parker, of the First; Capts. J. L. Miller and H. C. Davis and Lieut. R. M. Carr, of the Twelfth; Lieuts. J. M. Wheeler and W. L. Litzsey, of the Thirteenth, and Capt. James Perrin, commanding Orr's Rifles, were wounded.

Space does not permit a review of this great battle. It was a gigantic struggle of eighteen hours. General Mc[Pg 160]Clellan referred to it as a mighty contest in which 200,000 men contended for mastery! General Lee reported it as a protracted and sanguinary conflict in which every effort of the enemy to dislodge him from his position had been defeated with severe loss. The battle was not renewed on the 18th. General McClellan, reporting to his government, said that a sense of duty to the army and the country forbade a renewal of the fight on the 18th without reinforcements, the probabilities of defeat being too great. Whatever General McClellan's strength, it is certain General Lee fought around Sharpsburg with less than 40,000 men of all arms. When Lee was at Frederickstown, his army numbered, by its returns, in round numbers, 61,000 of all arms. The battles of Boonsboro, Crampton's Gap and Harper's Ferry, with the cavalry engagements, followed. These, of course, reduced the fighting force, but his heaviest losses were from straggling incident to the rapid marches and the actual suffering of the troops for the want of sleep and food between Boonsboro and Sharpsburg. The remarks of Gen. D. H. Hill will apply to most of the divisions. He says:

In leaving the battlefield of Sharpsburg, the writer pauses to pay a tribute of respect and love to a brave and accomplished soldier, his preceptor at the South Carolina military academy, and his honored friend. Col. Charles Courtney Tew, the gallant commander of the Second North Carolina, in Anderson's brigade of D. H. Hill's division, fell at the head of his regiment in Hill's defense of the center against the attack of Richardson in[Pg 161] the afternoon. After graduating at the head of the first class to leave the South Carolina military academy, Colonel Tew became one of its able and distinguished professors. Removing to North Carolina, he established a military academy at Hillsboro, and when the time came for battle he was at the head of the second regiment raised in the old North State. Modest, resolute, sincere, devoted to study and to work, he was an accomplished scholar, a true and noble spirit, and a resolute character. General Hill said of him, while reporting his ability and gallantry, and lamenting his loss: "He had no superior as a soldier in the field." Knowing him well, we can understand how his efficiency at the head of a regiment and his fine attainments as a soldier, would make such an impression upon his major-general. How many such men did the South yield up in willing and costly sacrifice on the altar of Southern independence!

The last guns of the Maryland campaign of 1862 were fired at Shepherdstown and by the cavalry in front of Williamsport, on the 20th of September. In both these actions South Carolina troops took part, under Generals Gregg and Hampton. General Lee's army was behind the Opequon on the 19th; that of McClellan was threatening the passages of the Potomac. The cavalry under Stuart, with Hampton's brigade in advance, had moved up the right bank of the Potomac and crossed into Maryland, at Williamsport, to watch and threaten the enemy's right and rear. Advancing from Williamsport, Hampton met a strong force of all arms sent to oppose Stuart, successfully skirmished with it all day of the 20th, and recrossed the river into Virginia without loss at night.

On the evening of the 19th, General Porter with the Federal Fifth corps was at the Shepherdstown ford, with his artillery on the Maryland hills and his sharpshooters lining the left flank. Under cover of his artillery, he successfully crossed a portion of his command, stormed the position on the Virginia side, drove off the infantry[Pg 162] force of 600 men, and captured four guns of General Pendleton's artillery. Early on the 20th, A. P. Hill was sent with his division to drive Porter's force back and hold the crossing. In executing this command General Hill fought the battle of Shepherdstown.

General Porter in his report represents the attack of General Hill to have been made upon two of his brigades, and a part of a third, who, by his order, recrossed the river, under the cover of his batteries, with little injury, except to the One Hundred and Eighteenth Pennsylvania regiment. He gives as the reason for his retrograde movement that the enemy (Hill) was reported as advancing in force. Reading the Federal general's report, one not conversant with the facts would naturally suppose that Hill's division met the Pennsylvania regiment alone in actual battle, and as Porter says that this regiment became "confused" early in the action, and their arms were ineffective, it would appear that Hill had little to do.

General Hill, after stating that the brigades on the Virginia side were making preparations to hold their position, thus describes the situation: "I formed my division in two lines—in the first, Pender, Gregg and Thomas, under Gregg; in the second, Lane, Archer and Brockenbrough, under Archer. The enemy had lined the opposite hills with some 70 pieces of artillery, and the infantry who had crossed lined the crest of the high banks on the Virginia shore.... The advance was made in the face of the most tremendous fire of artillery I ever saw." Mr. Caldwell, in his history, says: "We were under the fire of their batteries the whole time, though they did not open heavily upon us until we cleared the cornfield; then their fire was terrific! Shot, shell and canister swept the whole surface of the earth. Yet the advance was beautifully executed. It excelled even the marching of the enemy at Sharpsburg.... The roar of the pieces and the howl and explosion of shells were awful. Sometimes[Pg 163] a shell burst in the ranks, tearing and mangling all around it. In Pender's brigade I saw a man lifted in the air. But all in vain. The ranks closed up, and the advance continued without a falter." Alluding to this heroic advance, General Hill says: "Too much praise cannot be awarded to my regiments for their steady, unwavering step."

Describing the fighting with the infantry, General Hill said that his left brigade was so hotly engaged with the enemy's infantry that Pender called on Archer for help, and the latter moved his own brigade to Pender's, thus putting four brigades on the front line. The One Hundred and Eighteenth Pennsylvania, confused as it was, with damaged arms, could hardly have done so much against a line of battle that had marched to the attack through such an artillery fire as both sides report was poured upon it. At close quarters with General Porter's troops, Hill ordered the final charge, and the brigades of the Fifth corps were driven into and across the river, hundreds being drowned, over 200 prisoners taken, and the dead and wounded left on the field of battle.

In this battle the heaviest loss fell on Hill's left flank. The greatest loss of the South Carolina brigade was in the Fourteenth regiment, which had 10 killed, among them the gallant Capt. James H. Dunlap, and 45 wounded, most of them by the artillery fire. In the other regiments of Gregg's brigade, 8 were wounded, including Lieut. D. H. Hamilton, adjutant of the First.

After this engagement General Lee camped his army behind the Opequon, and the weary soldiers enjoyed a rest. Regiments and brigades were assigned new commanders to take the places of those who had fallen on the field. Men who had greatly distinguished themselves for personal gallantry in the ranks, were either elected to office by their fellow soldiers, or promoted upon special recommendation of their superiors.

The description which Mr. Caldwell gives of the condi[Pg 164]tion of the troops at this time is so graphic, and the writer, from his observations and experiences, knows it to be so true to the facts, that he quotes it here entire, as applicable to all the commands of Lee's army, after their marches and battles and toil and suffering in the memorable months of August and September, 1862:

[E] Captain Boyce mentions all his officers, Lieutenants Jeter, Porter, Scaife and Monro, and Sergeants Glenn, Humphreys, Bunch, and Young, and Corporals Rutland, Byrd, Watts and Schartle; and Privates Scaife, Garner, Hodges, Shirley, Simpson, Gondelock, A. Sim, L. H. Sims, Willard, Peek, Gossett and Franklin, for distinguished gallantry in the battles from the Rappahannock to Antietam.

Early in October, General Lee, from his camp at Winchester, in the Virginia valley, directed J. E. B. Stuart to take a picked force of 1,500 cavalry, cross the Potomac above Williamsport, penetrate the rear of General McClellan's army, damage his railroad communications, and gain such information of his positions, strength, etc., as this opportunity would afford. He was to return by such route as circumstances would determine. In this expedition, Hampton's brigade was in advance, and crossed at McCoy's ford by the dawn of day on October 10th. A section of Hart's South Carolina battery, and 175 picked men of the Second South Carolina cavalry, under Colonel Butler, were with Hampton. Lieutenant Phillips, Tenth Virginia, with 25 dismounted men, at the appointed moment waded the river and surprised the enemy's pickets above the ford, while Butler dashed across with his troopers and routed the guard, and in five minutes the ford was secured. Hampton's brigade leading, rode on rapidly, passing through the narrow strip of Maryland into Pennsylvania, and arrived before Chambersburg at night. Placing Hart's guns in position, the town surrendered upon demand (made through Lieut. T. C. Lee, Second South Carolina), and General Hampton moved his little brigade into it at 10 o'clock at night and established a rigid provost guard, with Capt. J. P. Macfie, Second cavalry, in command. The night was spent in Chambersburg, and on the morn[Pg 166]ing of the 11th, Hampton was ordered to destroy the depot and such storehouses as contained munitions of war. This was promptly done, and as rear guard General Hampton took up his march behind Stuart's column. The march was continued through the day and night of the 11th, and the early morning of the 12th found the rear guard at Barnesville, on the Potomac, with the enemy's advance pressing.

Hampton sent part of his command and one of Hart's guns down the Poolesville road on his left, and with the other and the Second South Carolina and Phillips' legion, he defended the crossing of the wagons, led horses and the two other brigades of Stuart. This being successfully accomplished, he crossed most of his brigade under cover of one of Hart's pieces, then sent the gun over, and brought his last regiment to the Virginia shore, without losing a man or a horse. The brigade brought over 260 horses captured on the raid. General Hampton mentioned in terms of praise the conduct of his whole brigade, and especially commended the service rendered by Captain Macfie, Second South Carolina; Capt. W. H. H. Cowles, First North Carolina; Capt. T. G. Barker, adjutant-general of the brigade, and Lieutenants Hamilton and Phillips.

Early in November, the Federal army, under McClellan, was concentrated about Warrenton, Va., and General Lee had thrown Longstreet in its front, at Culpeper Court House. McClellan's plan was to move directly upon Culpeper and Gordonsville. President Lincoln thought his movements too slow and cautious, losing much time after the battle of Sharpsburg, and had written him to this effect under date of October 13th. In this letter Mr. Lincoln revealed the insight of an experienced soldier and admirable common sense, incidentally paying the Confederate army and its chief so many tributes that we quote the paragraphs: "Are you not overcautious [he asked McClellan], when you assume that you cannot do[Pg 167] what the enemy is constantly doing? Should you not claim to be at least his equal in prowess and act upon the claim?" McClellan had called for the rebuilding of the road from Harper's Ferry to Winchester, in order to supply his army if he moved against Lee, then at Winchester. Mr. Lincoln reminded him that Lee was subsisting his army without a railroad, hauling his supplies twice the distance from Harper's Ferry to Winchester. The President rallied his general for not operating on Lee's communications and for being so anxious about his own, and said: "Change positions with the enemy, and think you not he would break your communication with Richmond in the next twenty-four hours?... You are now nearer Richmond than the enemy is, by the route that you can and he must take. Why can you not reach there before him, unless you admit that he is more than your equal on a march? His route is the arc of a circle, while yours is the chord. The roads are as good on yours as on his." The President was for aggressive action, and urged his general to strike at Lee directly, through the gaps in the mountains, on his communications, in any way, so he fought and beat him. "I would press closely to him; fight him if a favorable opportunity should present, and at least try to beat him to Richmond on the inside track. I say 'try;' if we never 'try,' we shall never succeed.... We should not so operate as merely to drive him away. As we must beat him somewhere, or fail finally, we can do it, if at all, easier near to us than far away. If we cannot beat the enemy where he now is [at or about Winchester], we never can, he again being within the intrenchments of Richmond."

This letter, written on the 13th of October, did not have the effect of either breaking up General Lee's wagon communications, or beating him in direct battle. The first week of November found the Federal army cautiously concentrating about Warrenton, and on the 5th of November, President Lincoln issued an order relieving Mc[Pg 168]Clellan from command and giving the army to General Burnside. The new commander took charge on the 9th, and on the 15th began his march on the "chord," while Lee took the "arc." Burnside's plan was to "beat" Lee to Fredericksburg, cross the river on pontoons and seize the heights, and "move upon Richmond from that point."

The advance of Burnside's army reached Falmouth on the 17th. Colonel Ball, with a regiment of Virginia cavalry, a regiment of infantry and two batteries of artillery, prevented a crossing and held the city of Fredericksburg.

On the 22d, at 8 p. m., General Lee informed President Davis by telegram from Fredericksburg, that General Burnside's whole army was on the left bank of the river opposite Fredericksburg; that he was on the heights with four divisions of Longstreet's corps, Pendleton's reserve artillery, and two brigades of Stuart; that the Fifth division of Longstreet would be up on the 23d, and that he would resist an attempt to cross the river.

On the 23d, Lee ordered Jackson, in the Valley, to move east of the mountains and put his corps in position at Warrenton, or Culpeper, on the flank of Burnside, where he would be in calling distance when needed. On the 25th he again wrote Jackson, that as far as he could judge, Burnside was repairing the railroad to the Potomac, getting up supplies, and making ready for a move on Richmond. "To delay him," said General Lee, "and throw him into the winter, I have determined to resist him from the beginning. From the circumstances which surround you, if you see that no good can be obtained from a flank movement on Culpeper or Warrenton, you can march directly to this point." Accordingly, on December 1st, Jackson was in position on Longstreet's right, and General Lee's army was united.

General Burnside's army was arranged in three grand divisions—right, center and left—commanded by Generals Sumner, Hooker and Franklin. In each grand division there were six divisions, with cavalry and numerous[Pg 169] batteries attached. According to General Burnside's report, he had in battle line in Lee's front, December 13th, an army 113,000 strong. There were four brigades of cavalry on his immediate flanks, and twenty-three batteries with Franklin's wing and nineteen with Sumner's and Hooker's. In the battle, as reported by the chief of artillery, all of Franklin's batteries were engaged on the field (116 guns), and only seven batteries of Sumner's and Hooker's. To cover the crossing of the river on the 12th, General Hunt reported 147 guns in battery along the Stafford hills.

Confronting this magnificent array of guns and infantry, Lee's army was drawn up on the hills behind Fredericksburg, "with a view to resist the enemy's advance after crossing," as General Lee expressed it. Longstreet's corps, five divisions, was the left, and Jackson's, four divisions, the right wing of Lee's army. From Longstreet's left, resting on the river at Taylor hill, to Jackson's right on the wooded height at Hamilton, the divisions stood as follows: Anderson's, McLaws', Pickett's and Hood's, of Longstreet's wing; and A. P. Hill's, of Jackson's wing. Ransom's division was in support of the guns on Marye's and Willis' hills. Behind A. P. Hill were the divisions of Early, Taliaferro and D. H. Hill in columns of division. A. P. Hill's division was in two lines, the brigades of Archer, Lane and Pender in front, and Gregg and Thomas behind them. There was a gap between Archer and Lane, and Gregg was some distance behind this gap. The woods hid the front line of A. P. Hill from its supports. Jackson had fourteen guns on his right and twenty-one on his left, posted in good positions to sweep his front and flank. Walton's and Alexander's battalions of artillery occupied the Marye's height and the hills to right and left, on which were also posted the batteries of the divisions of Anderson, Ransom and McLaws.

In this disposition of the troops the South Carolina[Pg 170] commands were posted as follows: Gregg's brigade on the right, as has been noted; McIntosh's battery, with Lieut.-Col. R. L. Walker's guns, on the extreme right of A. P. Hill; Jenkins' brigade with Pickett's division; Bachman's and Garden's batteries on Hood's line; Rhett's battery in Alexander's battalion; Kershaw's brigade in McLaws' line, with the left of the brigade resting on Hazel run. The brigade of Gen. N. G. Evans, with Boyce's battery, had been ordered to South Carolina early in November.

The part which fell to the South Carolina commands in the battle of Fredericksburg will now be related. That allotted to Gregg's brigade is sad to relate, for it involved the death of the gallant commander. The first attack of the day was made on Walker's guns and A. P. Hill's division, on the extreme right. The enemy's batteries, from the plain and from the Stafford hills, had been raking Hill's front for hours. Stuart had held the Federal infantry advance in check, with Pelham's enfilade fire, as long as he could maintain his exposed position in front of Jackson's right, and had been forced to retire. At noon, the division of General Meade, supported on its right by that of General Gibbon and on its left by that of General Doubleday, advanced to the assault of the position at Hamilton's, held by A. P. Hill. Meade received the fire of McIntosh's and Pegram's, Crenshaw's and Latham's guns, which checked, then broke, and finally drove back his advance. Promptly reforming, Meade and Gibbon marched steadily on through the artillery fire, and rushed against Hill. Archer and Lane and Pender met the assault, and the battle was sternly contested. Meade and Gibbon pressed their attack and entered the woods in the unfortunate interval between Archer and Lane. Lane and Archer were flanked right and left. Lane gave away slowly, and Archer's left was overwhelmed.

Thomas came to Lane's help in answer to his call, and they held Gibbon back, but Meade pressed on through[Pg 171] the woods and took Gregg by surprise. Gregg was fully persuaded that the time had not come for his advance, and being without orders from Hill, unaware of the interval between Archer and Lane, unable to see in the thick woods, and not believing the enemy near him, he had resisted the request of his men to fire for fear of damaging Lane and Archer. Suddenly Meade's troops came in sight of Orr's rifles on his right and opened a fire upon them before they could return it. This threw the rifles into confusion, and but for the firmness of the First regiment, immediately on the left, and the conduct of the left company of the rifles, under Lieut. J. D. Charles, the whole brigade would have been routed, for General Gregg, who had promptly ridden to his right, was immediately shot from his horse, and at the critical moment the brigade was without its head.

Col. D. H. Hamilton, of the First, senior officer, quickly grasping the situation, changed his front on his tenth company, to the rear, and opened on the mass of the enemy at close quarters, the left company of the rifles, under Lieutenant Charles, taking post on his right. Holding his position, Hamilton was immediately supported by the other regiments of the brigade, the Twelfth coming up on his left and the Thirteenth and Fourteenth, under McGowan, on his right, and they stood firmly against Meade's attack, delivering their fire at close quarters, without giving a foot. Driven from their guns, Orr's rifles were helpless, but every man who survived hailed the moment of his ability to regain his place in the front. Some of them, seizing their guns from the stacks, fought in the ranks of the First regiment. Sergeant Pratt, of Company B, rallied a number of the men, and took his place on the right of Lieutenant Charles' company. The Fifth Alabama battalion, the Twenty-second Virginia battalion, and the Forty-seventh Virginia regiment, from Archer's and Brockenbrough's brigades, came up to Hamilton's assistance, and together the Car[Pg 172]olinians, Alabamians and Virginians charged and drove back the bold assault of Meade. Jackson sent Early forward, and a sweeping charge of his division drove Meade and Gibbon back and beyond the railroad. The attack on Gregg was wholly unexpected by that brave and gallant soldier, who had exerted himself to keep his brigade quiet, particularly cautioning them that their friends were in front.

The casualties of the brigade were reported as follows: Orr's Rifles, 21 killed, 149 wounded; First South Carolina, 15 killed, 58 wounded; Twelfth South Carolina, 1 killed, 7 wounded; Thirteenth South Carolina, 3 killed, 52 wounded; Fourteenth South Carolina, 28 wounded; aggregate, 336. The main loss was sustained by Orr's rifles, who were attacked lying down behind their stacks, and 170 of them killed and wounded and their general slain, before they could grasp their arms in defense. In the First regiment Capt. T. H. Lyles was killed. Capt. T. P. Alston, Lieutenant Armstrong, Lieut. Thomas McCrady, and Lieut. W. J. Delph were wounded. Captain Alston returned to the field, after his wound was dressed, despite the remonstrances of the surgeon. Adjt.-Gen. A. C. Haskell, severely wounded, refused to leave the field until he sank fainting from loss of blood.

General Gregg was shot through the spine, and died the day after the battle. Seeing he must die, he sent his respects to the governor of his State, and assured him that he "gave his life cheerfully for South Carolina." General Hill said of him, in his official report, "A more chivalrous gentleman and gallant soldier never adorned the service which he so loved." General Jackson, in his report, deplored the loss of "a brave and accomplished officer, full of heroic sentiment and chivalrous honor." General Lee wrote to Governor Pickens to claim a share in South Carolina's sorrow, and to express his appreciation of her loss and the loss to his army. "He has always been at the post of duty and of danger," said General Lee. "His[Pg 173] services in this army have been of inestimable value, and his loss is deeply lamented. In its greatest triumphs and bloodiest battles he has borne a distinguished part.... The death of such a man is a costly sacrifice, for it is to men of his high integrity and commanding intellect that the country must look to give character to her councils, that she may be respected and honored by all nations." Mr. Caldwell, the brigade historian, pays his general a worthy tribute, and speaks of his high character, his heroic courage, his careful, unswerving, unselfish equity. He was a Ney on the battlefield and a Rhadamanthus in giving judgment.

The distinguished part borne by Kershaw's brigade at Fredericksburg will now be referred to. As already stated, Kershaw was in McLaws' line, to the right of Marye's hill. His brigade included, besides the Second, Third, Seventh and Eighth, the Fifteenth, transferred from Drayton's brigade, and the Third battalion, known as James' battalion. These transfers were made by General Lee on November 26th, and the policy adopted, as far as possible, of brigading troops of the same State together.

On the morning of the 11th, being called on to reinforce General Barksdale's pickets on the river, at Deep run, General Kershaw sent the Fifteenth, Colonel De Saussure, upon this duty. During the night, so bitterly cold was the weather, one of De Saussure's men was frozen to death, and others so badly as to be temporarily disabled for service. Under such circumstances of suffering the fortitude and courage required of the soldier on picket are as great and as noble as when displayed in charging the batteries of the enemy. The brigade was at work on the line strengthening the position, until the hour of its battle. At 10 o'clock on the 13th, while Meade and Gibbon were assaulting A. P. Hill, and Sumner and Hooker were throwing their divisions against Marye's hill, Kershaw was ordered to reinforce the position held by Gen[Pg 174]eral Cobb at the foot of the hill. The Second regiment, Col. A. D. Kennedy, and the Eighth, Capt. E. T. Stackhouse, were sent forward. Before these regiments could reach their destination, Kershaw was directed by General McLaws to go with his whole brigade and take personal command, as the gallant and noble Cobb had been mortally wounded, and General Cooke, who supported him from the crest in rear, was also wounded.

Riding rapidly forward, General Kershaw reached the point with the Second and Eighth just in time to meet and assist in repulsing a fresh assault. Kershaw describes the position at the stone wall so clearly that we quote his report:

The brigade of General Cobb had held the position behind the stone wall against the attack of the Federal Second corps, the three divisions of that corps, French's, Hancock's and Howard's, assaulting successively in the order named. In making his heroic defense, Cobb was supported by the artillery fire from the hill in his rear, and the infantry fire from the crest, delivered by the brigade of General Cooke. When Kershaw arrived, the attack of the Ninth corps was pending, and Sturgis' division of that corps was moving forward. Throwing his two regiments behind the wall, in the sunken road, the[Pg 175] line of Confederates, four deep, delivered their fire with such deadly effect that the column of Sturgis was checked, broken and driven in confusion back on its supports. Meanwhile the remaining regiments of Kershaw's brigade were reporting for position as they successively came up. Col. James Nance, with the Third, formed to the left of the Marye house with his right at the house, and the Seventh, Lieut.-Col. Elbert Bland, formed on the right of the house with his left in front of the house and touching the Fifteenth North Carolina, of Cooke's brigade. Bland's position was not so exposed as that of Nance, as he was partially protected by an abrupt rise along his front. Nance was in the open and terribly exposed. The Fifteenth, Colonel De Saussure, was placed in rear of Walton's battalion as a support.

These regiments took their position under the enemy's artillery and infantry fire. De Saussure being under the crest, could not reply, but Nance and Bland, firing over the troops at the stone wall, delivered their volleys into Getty's column of attack as it advanced boldly against Kershaw to make the fifth division assault of the day. Getty made a gallant charge, but all in vain. Walton's guns, the fire from the North Carolinians and the volleys of Nance and Bland, all pouring down on him from the hills, and the steady stream from the Georgians of Cobb and the Carolinians of Kershaw at the stone wall, broke up his front and his march, and he, too, went to the rear in confusion.

Three divisions of the Second and two of the Ninth corps had now been beaten in detail in the attempt to carry the Confederate position. General Sumner's right grand division had been repulsed by three brigades and the artillery. General Burnside, bitterly disappointed that Franklin, with 60,000 troops, had not crushed Jackson and turned Lee's right, and unwilling to accept General Hooker's assurance that it was a "hopeless" task to attack the stone wall again, determined that it must be[Pg 176] done, and ordered Hooker forward with his Fifth corps. Calling all his batteries at his command into service, and ordering General Butterfield to form Humphreys' and Sykes' divisions of the Fifth corps for attack, Hooker directed all his guns to open their fire, with the intention of breaking all "barriers" and clearing the way for "Butterfield's attacking column to carry the crest."

Seeing these preparations in progress in his front, Kershaw ordered down the Third, Seventh and Fifteenth regiments to take position in the road and behind the stone wall. General Kershaw described the artillery fire of Hooker's batteries as terrific. It was continued until near sunset, when Humphreys and Sykes advanced to carry the position with the bayonet. General Hooker says the attack was made with a spirit of determination "seldom, if ever, equaled in war." He assigns as the reason for its "almost immediate repulse," that the enemy had the advantage of an "impregnable position."

General Kershaw reports that the attack was gallant and impetuous, and assailed his whole front, lasting from 5 to 6 p. m., but that the columns were shattered and beaten by the time they came within a hundred paces of the position. Some of the assailants came as near as thirty paces, but were shot down, or, being unsupported, retreated with the mass. With this last assault the battle was practically ended, and the Confederate victory won. General Lee reports that not more than 20,000 of his army were engaged during the day.

At the last assault of General Hooker's, Kershaw had behind the stone wall and in the sunken road, his own and Cobb's brigades, and a brigade from General Ransom's division. It is not clear from the reports whether this last-mentioned brigade was not General Cooke's. If so, it is certain that Cooke's brigade fought from the hill, and the brigade from Ransom's division, to which Kershaw refers as being engaged in defense of the position, was not behind the wall. If this was the case, then only[Pg 177] Cobb's and Kershaw's brigades defended the wall against the successive attacks of eight divisions and their batteries!

The loss of General Kershaw's brigade was 373 killed and wounded, distributed as follows: Second South Carolina, 6 killed, 56 wounded; Third, 25 killed, 138 wounded; Seventh, 4 killed, 57 wounded; Eighth, 2 killed, 29 wounded; Fifteenth, 1 killed, 52 wounded; Third battalion, 1 killed, 1 wounded. The heaviest loss fell on Colonel Nance's regiment. Taking his position on the crest of the hill to the left of the Marye house, just as an assault was being made, and being in the open and in full view of the assaulting column and its supports, the Third was subjected to a terrible infantry fire, as well as the fire of the batteries. Seeing the importance of delivering a steady fire on the advancing column of attack, Colonel Nance held his men in position and delivered his fire until the attack was repulsed. Meanwhile he fell wounded, and Lieut.-Col. D. W. Rutherford, Maj. Robert C. Maffett, Capt. W. W. Hance and Capt. John C. Summer, who in succession took command, were all shot down. Colonel Nance lay on the field, and continued to direct his men, and when carried off, ordered up a fresh supply of ammunition and directed them to move more under cover. Captain Hance lost a leg, and Capts. J. C. Summer and L. P. Foster and Lieuts. James Hollingsworth and James C. Hill, all officers of high character and gallant men, were killed on the field. Capt. R. P. Todd, the senior captain of the regiment, was among those first wounded. The three field officers and the three senior captains were wounded or killed, leaving the fourth captain, John K. G. Nance, in command.

In the Second, Maj. Franklin Gaillard was twice wounded. Lieuts. R. E. Elliott and R. Fishburne, Jr., of Captain Cuthbert's company, were wounded. Captain Cuthbert was detailed to skirmish with the enemy's advance in front of McLaws' division early in the morning,[Pg 178] and remained on that duty all day. The Third battalion was also detailed for special duty at Howison's mill, on Hazel run, and was not with the brigade in the engagement. In the Seventh, Capts. Benjamin Roper and T. A. Hudgens and Lieut. J. C. Lovelace were wounded. In the Eighth most of the casualties were met while the regiment was taking position and exposed to the enemy's view. In the Fifteenth, Lieuts. B. P. Barron and J. A. Derrick were wounded.

Of the general staff, Adjt.-Gen. C. R. Holmes, Lieut. A. E. Doby, Lieut. J. A. Myers and Lieut. W. M. Dwight were specially mentioned. Doby's gallant and efficient conduct in directing the posting of troops under fire is particularly referred to by the regimental commanders. Dwight, not yet recovered from his injuries on Maryland heights, was again at his post, and was wounded by a fragment of shell. The Georgians and Carolinians who defended the stone wall against the assaults of eight divisions, with their powerful artillery, throughout the memorable battle of Fredericksburg, made it a veritable Thermopylæ, and won from their gallant assailants the declaration that their defense made the position "impregnable," and to attack it was a "hopeless" task. The name and death of Gen. Thomas R. R. Cobb will forever be associated with this heroic defense, and the honor and glory of sustaining the position which he held against such odds, will be the lasting possession of Kershaw and his brigade.

Jenkins' brigade, though under artillery fire and suffering the loss of 8 men, was but slightly engaged; Bachman's and Garden's batteries did effective service against the flank of the Federal attack on the extreme right. The rifle battery of Captain Rhett, attached to Alexander's battalion, was posted on an eminence south of the plank road. From this position Rhett's guns commanded the Stafford hills, a mile and a half away, and the approach to the stone wall. On the 12th, Rhett[Pg 179] opened on the bridge parties and enfiladed two of the streets of the city. The rifles of the enemy replied vigorously, but the battery was so well protected that no harm was done. On the 13th, the battery shared in the honors of that eventful day, and is associated with other batteries of Alexander's battalion and the batteries of Colonel Walton in the immortal defense of Marye's heights.

General Hampton's cavalry brigade, after November 10th, included two South Carolina regiments, the First, Col. J. L. Black, and Second, Col. M. C. Butler. While General Lee was concentrating his army at Fredericksburg, before the battle, Longstreet being already in position and Jackson halted at Orange Court House, General Hampton crossed the Rappahannock and made a brilliant dash into the enemy's lines, capturing an outpost on his immediate right flank. On the morning of November 27th, with 50 men from the First North Carolina, 50 from the Cobb legion, 40 from the Jeff Davis legion, 34 from the Phillips legion, and 34 from the Second South Carolina, a force of 208 men, Hampton crossed the river at Kelly's mill and moved northeast to Morrisville. Learning of an outpost stationed at a church 8 miles east of Falmouth, immediately on Burnside's right flank, and on the road from Morrisville to Fredericksburg, General Hampton at once determined upon its capture. The pickets of this outpost were advanced toward Morrisville as far as Deep run, a tributary of the Rappahannock, and on the roads leading toward Warrenton. Moving from Morrisville in an arc through the country, so as to avoid the picket on the Morrisville road and to get between those on the other roads and the post at the church, Hampton lay concealed the night of the 27th, within two miles of the church.

At 4 a. m. of the 28th, he left the Morrisville road, passed through the woods in a circuit and came into the marsh road a half mile from the church. The attack was[Pg 180] ordered, and Maj. J. H. Whittaker, leading the detachments of the First North Carolina and the Jeff Davis legion, dashed into camp, and Hampton coming up with the rest of his command, the surprise was complete, and the whole Federal squadron captured. The Cobb legion, sent up the White Ridge road, took the pickets in rear, and surprised and captured them. Taking his prisoners, except those too badly wounded to be moved, General Hampton went up the road toward Morrisville, and swept the picket at Deep run, thus completing the capture of two squadrons of the enemy's cavalry. The achievement was completed by 8 o'clock. This was a brilliant morning's work. With a small force, numbering 208 men, General Hampton had eluded the outpost pickets on two roads, surprised and captured the outpost, and then, in turn, swept in his pickets! With 2 captains, 3 lieutenants, 2 stand of colors, 87 privates, 100 horses and as many carbines as the fruit of his brilliant dash at the enemy, and without the loss of a man, General Hampton moved on to Morrisville and to the Rappahannock, and was in camp again by night of the 28th. To General Stuart he reported in high terms of praise the conduct of his men and their officers, mentioning particularly Major Whittaker, Capt. T. G. Barker and Lieut. T. P. Hampton of his staff.

On December 10th, General Hampton again left his camp at Culpeper Court House and rode out to capture Dumfries and operate on the Telegraph road up to the Occoquan. This would bring him on the line between Alexandria and Fredericksburg. His detachments were from the First South Carolina, Lieut.-Col. J. D. Twiggs; Second South Carolina, Col. M. C. Butler; First North Carolina, Lieut.-Col. James B. Gordon; Jeff Davis legion, Lieutenant-Colonel Martin, and the Cobb legion, Capt. Jerry Rich, a force of 520 men. Butler commanded the First North Carolina, Second South Carolina, and Cobb legion; Martin the First South Carolina and Davis[Pg 181] legion. On the night of the 11th, the command bivouacked within 16 miles of Dumfries, and by daylight on the 12th, Hampton had his troops on the main approaches immediately at the town. The surprise was complete, and Butler, dashing in, received the surrender after firing a few shots. Fifty-odd prisoners, 24 sutler's wagons and the telegraph operator with his battery, were the only fruits of this dash. The command was disappointed at not finding the large garrison they confidently expected, but Hampton proposed to sweep up the Telegraph road toward the Occoquan.

In this move, however, he was disappointed. General Sigel's corps was marching to Dumfries by the only road open to General Hampton's retreat, and he was compelled to retrace his march in order to save his wagons and prisoners. Marching in retreat on the 12th for 40 miles, he camped near Morrisville, and on the morning of the 13th, while the battle of Fredericksburg was in progress, recrossed the Rappahannock at Kelly's again, without losing a man.

Resting for three days, General Hampton left camp on the 17th for a third expedition against the enemy's communications, this time aiming to sweep up the Telegraph road and attack the garrison at Occoquan. His force, numbering 465 men, was made up of detachments from his regiments, as in the other expeditions; 100 from the First South Carolina, Col. J. L. Black; 75 from the First North Carolina, Capts. J. C. Blain and N. M. Addington; 75 from the Second South Carolina, Capt. T. H. Clark; 80 from the Phillips legion, Maj. W. B. C. Puckett; 75 from the Cobb legion, Maj. William C. Delony, and 60 from the Davis legion, Lieutenant-Colonel Martin.

Crossing the river at the railroad on the 17th, the brigade marched to the wood road and bivouacked at Cole's store at night. Moving rapidly down this road before day, Hampton by dawn was at Kanky's store, on the[Pg 182] Neabsco creek, 8 miles from Occoquan. At Kanky's a small post was surprised and captured, with eight wagons. Sweeping up the Telegraph road Major Deloney in advance, every picket was successively surprised and captured. Hampton moved on the town of Occoquan in three columns, commanded by himself, Deloney and Martin. The latter dashed into the town from the south side, and found a wagon train of Sigel's corps in the act of crossing the river, by ferry-boat. Dismounting his men, he deployed them on the south bank as sharpshooters, and compelled the wagon guard on the opposite bank to surrender. General Hampton entered the town from the north side, and Deloney came up the Telegraph road with his prisoners and two captured wagons, loaded with army stores. A force of 2,500 cavalry, marching from Alexandria, appeared at this juncture at Selectman's ford, 1½ miles south of Occoquan, and were about to cross, but General Hampton sent Captain Clark with part of his own and part of the Phillips legion to hold the ford, while he secured the wagon train.

Clark successfully disputed the crossing, and the enemy sent part of his force to recapture the wagons on the north side. In this they were defeated and driven off, and returned to the ford. Hampton sent word to Captain Clark to resist the crossing for an hour, and he would save the train. But the single boat was his only means of crossing the river, and the banks were high and the passage difficult. After twenty wagons, loaded with army stores, had been ferried over, General Hampton sent them off under Colonel Black, with the prisoners, and commenced his return march, Captain Clark covering his rear. The enemy's cavalry crossed, but Clark gallantly dashed at the head of their column and drove them back and across the river. Resuming the retreat, Clark skirmished with the advance of the enemy for two miles, when he gave up the pursuit. Marching by Greenwood church and Cole's store, the brigade camped on Cedar[Pg 183] run on the night of the 18th, and on the 19th the march was promptly resumed, the wagons and prisoners securely crossed over the Rappahannock, and General Hampton was "safely home without the loss of a man."

He brought in 157 prisoners, 20 loaded wagons, 30 stand of infantry arms, and 1 stand of colors. Again he reported to General Stuart the gallant bearing and spirit of his command, staff, field, line, rank and file. The wonderful escape from casualties on this expedition is hard to be accounted for, especially in the operations of Captain Clark while disputing the passage of Selectman's ford and charging the enemy's head of column. It seems ungracious to say that the only explanation is that the enemy were badly demoralized and fired wildly, for they fired abundantly. At the town and on the Telegraph road, there was no decided resistance offered. The surprise was complete, and the show of force and dash compelled almost immediate surrender.

These brilliant achievements of General Hampton's command were followed by a fourth expedition, led by General Stuart, with "select detachments" from the brigades of Hampton, Fitzhugh Lee and W. H. F. Lee. Hampton's command was composed of 175 of the First North Carolina, under Maj. J. H. Whittaker; 150 of the First South Carolina, Capt. W. A. Walker; 150 of the Second South Carolina, Col. M. C. Butler; 180 of the Cobb legion, Maj. William G. Delony; 130 of the Phillips legion, Lieut.-Col. W. W. Rich, and 85 of the Jeff Davis legion, Lieutenant-Colonel Martin; a force 870 strong. A section of artillery, under Lieut. F. M. Bamberg, was also with Hampton. General Stuart's purpose was to operate mainly on the Telegraph road, assured of finding it at this time well filled with trains moving to General Burnside's army. Gen. W. H. F. Lee was ordered to move on Dumfries, General Hampton on[Pg 184] Occoquan, and Gen. Fitzhugh Lee on the Telegraph road between these points, the brigades being in supporting distance.

Gen. W. H. F. Lee found the force at Dumfries too strong for successful attack. He captured all the pickets he encountered, about 50, and drove in the outposts, but the infantry and artillery defending the town were too well posted for his small cavalry brigade. Fitzhugh Lee was more fortunate. Encountering two regiments of cavalry drawn up in line of battle, he charged and routed them, following them for 8 miles and taking over 100 prisoners; captured 8 loaded wagons, and their guard, on the Telegraph road; crossed the Occoquan at Selectman's ford, attacked and routed a body of cavalry posted there, and took their camp and burned the railroad bridge over the Accotink, on the Orange & Alexandria railroad.

Hampton crossed the Rappahannock with the division, and pushed on to Cole's store with his brigade, capturing the pickets beyond that point. Butler, with most of the brigade, moved directly on the town of Occoquan; Hampton, with Martin's and Delony's detachments, supporting him. Colonel Butler drove in the pickets, charged into the place and routed several hundred cavalry, taking 19 prisoners and 8 loaded wagons, with the loss of 1 man wounded, the first casualty in Hampton's command on his repeated expeditions. Camping for the night at Cole's store, General Hampton returned toward Occoquan on the 28th. At Greenwood church, General Stuart sent Butler, with his detachments, to attack the enemy's force north of that point, at Bacon Race church, and ordered Hampton, with the other detachments, to follow Fitzhugh Lee across the Occoquan at Selectman's ford. Crossing in Lee's rear, he turned up the river, met and routed a small force of the enemy, and was joined by Butler at night, when the darkness stopped his pursuit of the enemy.

Colonel Butler, before joining Hampton north of the[Pg 185] Occoquan, had extricated his command on the Bacon Race road in the most skillful manner. Meeting a force of the enemy within a mile of the church, Butler's advance, under Lieut. W. H. Perry, charged and drove it back on its supports. Coming up with his main force, Colonel Butler charged the squadron in his front, and drove them in precipitous retreat. Following up their retreat, he came upon General Geary's division of cavalry, with artillery, on the march from Fairfax to Dumfries. Geary was in position to meet him, and at once opened with canister. Taking in the seriousness of his situation, he promptly retired a short distance, and by the time the enemy had formed column for advance, he wheeled about and presented a bold front, compelling a halt and the forming of a new line of battle by this movement. This gave time for retreat, but a strong force of Geary's division was on the road in his rear. Before either force of the enemy could attack him, Colonel Butler moved off on his flank, and by making a circuit of four miles, rejoined his friends and saved his command, with the loss of several horses and two of his men wounded. Colonel Butler had understood that his attack at the church was to be supported by General Hampton, and pushed his little force against Geary with the expectation of this co-operation. Finding himself in front of a division and under its artillery fire, he made the best of the situation, and extricated his command with admirable tact and the coolest judgment.

Hampton recrossed the Rappahannock on the 29th, with his captured wagons and 33 prisoners. General Stuart reported over 200 prisoners captured by his brigade, a large number of horses, mules, wagons, saddles, sabers, and other valuable property. He was disappointed in his expectation of finding loaded trains on the Telegraph road, and ascribed his ill luck to the numerous "descents upon that road by General Hampton and detachments from his command."

These brilliant achievements of the cavalry were acknowledged and published in orders to the army by General Lee, as follows:

The operations of the Federal naval and land forces on the coast of South Carolina at the beginning of the year 1863, pointed to an attack upon either Charleston or Savannah. General Beauregard, commanding the department of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, with the active co-operation of the Confederate government and the governors of the States, was making every preparation for the defense of both cities.

In South Carolina, on January 1, 1863, Gen. Joseph H. Trapier commanded from the North Carolina line to the South Santee; Gen. R. S. Ripley from the South Santee to the Stono and Rantowles creek; Gen. Johnson Hagood from Rantowles to the Ashepoo, and Gen. W. S. Walker from the Ashepoo to the Savannah. These officers had under their command a force of 14,500 of all arms, present for duty; more than half this force being stationed in the forts and on the immediate approaches to Charleston. The district, commanded by General Ripley, embraced the harbor defenses, Christ Church and St. Andrew's parishes, and the islands surrounding the harbor. Each island constituted a separate subdivision of the district, the parish of St. Andrew's being attached to James island.

Col. L. M. Keitt, Twentieth South Carolina, commanded on Sullivan's island; Col. William Butler, Fort Moultrie and the batteries outside. On Morris island Col. R. F. Graham, of the Twenty-first, was in charge.[Pg 189] Gen. States R. Gist, on his return from Wilmington, commanded on James island and in St. Andrew's. Fort Sumter, garrisoned by the First artillery, was in charge of Col. Alfred Rhett, and Forts Ripley and Castle Pinckney were commanded by Capt. H. S. Farley.

In aggregate the South Carolina commands were nine[Pg 190] regiments and three battalions of infantry; two regiments and three battalions of heavy artillery; thirteen light batteries; four regiments and three independent companies of cavalry. Besides the South Carolina commands, General Beauregard had under his command in the State the North Carolina brigades of Generals Clingman and Cooke, and several regiments and batteries from Georgia. His total effective force of all arms, in February, was about 15,500 for the defense of the State, with 10,000 near Savannah and on the coast of Georgia.

It will be recalled that when General Beauregard assumed command in South Carolina, October 1, 1862, General Pemberton, at his request, estimated the troops necessary for the defense of the State against a probable force which might be sent to attack Charleston, at 30,000 infantry, cavalry and heavy artillery, and fifteen light batteries, an estimate which General Beauregard approved as the minimum required. It was with great concern, therefore, that he contemplated the attack which was evidently pending in January, 1863, when his total of all arms in South Carolina was but a little over 15,000, with about 10,000 in Georgia. But with the war raging in Virginia and in the West, and a Federal army threatening North Carolina, the military resources of the Confederate government were taxed to the utmost. South Carolina had put all her fighting material in the field, and thousands of her noblest sons had fallen in Virginia, in Tennessee, and on her own soil. Meanwhile every preparation was being made to defend Charleston and the line of railroad connecting it with Savannah. January closed with two brilliant incidents in the history of this defense.

The Federal gunboats had control of the Stono river up to the range of Fort Pemberton. This strong work, mounting fifteen heavy guns, commanded the Stono and flanked the defensive line on James island to the west. John's island, on the west side of the Stono, was occupied[Pg 191] only by a cavalry picket, and gunboats ran up and down the river with impunity. It was arranged by Generals Beauregard and Ripley to surprise and capture one or more of them. These arrangements were most successfully carried out on the 30th of January. Maj. J. J. Lucas, commanding at Fort Pemberton, sent Capt. John H. Gary with three rifled 24-pounders to put them in battery, and under cover, at Thomas Grimball's place on James island. This was done in the night, and the guns carefully secreted from the enemy's view. They were commanded by Lieuts. W. G. Ogier, E. B. Colhoun and Capt. T. B. Hayne respectively, officers of Companies A, B and C, of Lucas' command. In the same way, lower down the Stono, at Battery island, Maj. J. W. Brown, Second artillery, concealed two rifled 24-pounders in the woods, at night, built platforms for them in the old battery, and kept in hiding for the event. Brown's guns were commanded by Lieuts. John A. Bellinger, Company B, and F. Lake, Company K. Fifty men of the Eighth Georgia battalion, under Lieuts. R. Hays and George Johnson, were detailed as sharpshooters. Lieut.-Col. Joseph A. Yates, First regulars, made a secret disposition of a larger force, on John's island, between the guns of Gary and Brown. He took two companies of Major Alston's siege train, A and B, commanded by Capt. B. C. Webb and Lieut. S. W. Willson, Jr.; Company F, Palmetto battalion, Capt. F. C. Schulz; a light battery, commanded by Capt. F. H. Harleston; one Parrott gun, in charge of Lieut. T. E. Gregg; Capt. John C. Mitchel's company, I, First artillery, and Companies H and I of the Twentieth infantry, Capt. S. M. Roof and Lieut. M. Gunter. Yates masked his guns at Grimball's and Legaré's points, on John's island, and awaited his opportunity.

The gunboat Isaac Smith, carrying a 30-pounder Parrott in her bow, and eight 8-inch columbiads, steamed up the river on the afternoon of the 30th, passed Brown at[Pg 192] Battery island and Yates on John's island, and dropped anchor opposite Gary's position, within 500 yards. Waiting a few moments for her to become settled in her anchorage, Gary unmasked his guns and opened fire. The Smith promptly replied with shot, shell and canister, but suffering from Gary's fire, she slipped her anchor and retreated down the river, followed by the shots of Gary's rifled guns and replying vigorously. But as she began her retreat, she was met by the batteries of Yates, which opened immediately. Reaching Legaré's point, she was too badly crippled in her machinery to proceed, and dropped anchor and surrendered. She lost 8 killed, 44 wounded, and surrendered 10 officers and 95 men. Private McQueen, of Alston's command, was mortally wounded, the only casualty on the Confederate side. The Isaac Smith was towed up under the guns of Pemberton, and subsequently did service in the harbor. In this affair the Stono scouts, Captain Walpole, rendered Colonel Yates valuable service.

Brown, at Battery island, was only to fire in case the batteries above him had failed to arrest the boat, and was silent until one of her friends attempted to go to her rescue. When within range, Brown opened with his rifles, and after a sharp conflict drove her down the river. Next morning a larger boat steamed up and engaged Brown's battery, but she would not stand long and expose her sides to rifles, and doing Brown no harm, after being hit several times she dropped down out of range. The guns were all removed on the night of the 31st, having done their work well.

Flag Officer D. N. Ingraham, commanding the Confederate naval forces in Charleston harbor, with the Confederate ironclad gunboats Palmetto State and Chicora, made a brilliant attack on the blockading squadron on the early morning of January 31st. The Palmetto State was commanded by Lieut.-Com. John Rutledge, and [Pg 193]the Chicora by Capt. J. R. Tucker. The Palmetto State carried Commodore Ingraham's flag. Waiting for a full tide in order to cross the bar with safety, the two steamers took position near the bar before day and passed over at 4:30 a. m., the Palmetto State leading. The plan of attack was to engage the enemy at close quarters and sink his vessels by ramming.

Rutledge encountered the United States steamer Mercedita immediately after crossing, took her by surprise, rammed and sunk her. The Chicora encountered a schooner-rigged propeller, engaged and set her on fire. A large side-wheel steamer was next met and engaged at close quarters, and ran out of sight, it being yet before day. The Keystone State was then met by Tucker and with her consort, a propeller, quickly engaged. The larger vessel struck, being on fire, but after Captain Tucker ceased his fire, she ran off. Meanwhile, Rutledge was vainly endeavoring to bring others to close quarters. The ironclads were slow, and except when taking the enemy by surprise they were at a disadvantage. Seeing the whole squadron in full retreat to the south and east, the flag officer chased them out of sight, and anchored his vessels outside at 8 o'clock.

Temporarily the blockade of the port was raised, but the fleet soon returned, much strengthened, and the gallant gunboats waited another chance.

The Federal land and naval forces had held possession of Port Royal harbor, and the islands surrounding it, since November, 1861. It was now April, 1863. During that period their only achievement had been the capture of Fort Pulaski, at the mouth of the Savannah river. Repeated attempts had been made to destroy the bridges and break the railroad communication between Savannah and Charleston, all of which had been signally repulsed. Battles had been fought at Pocotaligo, Coosawhatchie, and at numerous points along the line of the railroad, and repeated skirmishes with raiding parties of the enemy had always resulted in "driving him back to his[Pg 194] gunboats." The enemy advanced in force against Charleston, by way of James island, in June, 1862, but the Confederate victory at Secessionville, on the 16th of that month, compelled his retreat and return to his base at Port Royal. Charleston or Savannah being his objective, he had been threatening both cities for a period of seventeen months, without accomplishing anything more than the practical ruin of the sea-island planters and their property, the capture of Fort Pulaski, and the possession of the waters surrounding the islands.

The beginning of April, 1863, found the Federals concentrating in the Stono and North Edisto, for another attempt to take Charleston, in which the land attack was to be for the possession of Morris island, by way of Folly island, the objective being Fort Sumter; and the naval attack, by the ironclad fleet, was to be on that fort, Fort Moultrie, and the batteries defending the outer harbor.

On April 7th, General Beauregard commanded a force of 22,648 effectives, of all arms, for the defense of Charleston and the coast of South Carolina. In the forts and batteries, and on the islands surrounding the harbor, the effective force amounted to 12,856. The remainder of the troops were disposed along the main line of defense between Rantowles creek and the Savannah river, guarding the water approaches from Beaufort and the Edistos, while a small force of cavalry and light artillery operated in Christ Church, and beyond the Santees. On the 4th of April, seven monitors had been collected in North Edisto and twenty transports were in the Stono, landing troops on Cole's and Folly islands. On the 6th, the steam frigate Ironsides and eight monitors were off the bar, and on the morning of the 7th, having crossed, were lying off the south end of Morris island. The Federal land forces were commanded by Maj.-Gen. David Hunter, and the fleet by Rear-Admiral S. F. Du Pont.

No attempt by General Hunter's forces was made, or appeared to be in preparation, to attack either Morris[Pg 195] island from Folly island, or James island from Cole's island. On James island General Gist commanded a force fully adequate to hold the enemy's advance until he was reinforced; but on Morris island Colonel Graham was not strong enough to resist a division attacking from Folly island under the fire of gunboats, which lay off the north end of the latter island. If the Federal general had known his opportunity, he might have possessed himself of the south end of Morris island, and overwhelmed the gallant little force standing in his path. Graham's command on Morris island was his regiment, the Twenty-first South Carolina, Chichester's and Mathewes' companies of artillery at Battery Wagner, under Lieut.-Col. C. K. Hughes, and a detachment from the First South Carolina artillery at Cummings point, under Lieutenant Lesesne. Morris island was at the mercy of the Federal general, but happily he did not possess the military insight and the aggressive capacity to perceive and use his advantage. He remained inactive and secure in his island isolation, while Du Pont went into battle with the forts and batteries. After the defeat of the admiral, he wrote to that officer from the transport Ben DeFord, that he had been "a mere spectator," and that he "could do nothing but pray for him," which he assured him he had done "most heartily."

Du Pont moved to the attack at 2 p. m., on April 7th, in single file, steaming up Ship channel, the monitor Weehawken leading, and the flagship Ironsides in the center of the column. The plan of attack contemplated the destruction of Fort Sumter, whose high walls and broad sides were a noble target for the admiral's 15 and 11-inch turreted guns.

If there had been no Fort Moultrie, or Batteries Bee and Beauregard on Sullivan's island, and no Wagner or Cummings point battery, the noble walls of Sumter might have crumbled beneath the powerful impact of tons of iron; but the writer believes that the barbette and[Pg 196] casemate batteries of the east and northeast faces of Sumter, directed, as they were, by skilled and heroic officers, and manned by gallant soldiers, would have been equal to the disabling of the fleet before its powerful guns could have effected a serious breach.

The action began at 3 p. m., by a shot from Fort Moultrie, directed at the Weehawken. Fort Sumter and Batteries Bee, Beauregard, Wagner and Cummings Point opened their fire, and the action at once became general. All the batteries had been instructed to concentrate on the leading assailants, and following these directions, the concentration of fire soon disabled the Weehawken, and she steamed out of range, giving place to the next monitor, which steamed into action on the curve of an ellipse. The Ironsides came into action first against Moultrie, and then Sumter, approaching within 1,600 or 1,700 yards, but the fire of the forts and the batteries directed upon her drove her beyond range. The Keokuk, a double-turreted monitor, gallantly steamed under the walls of Sumter, within 900 yards of her batteries, and opened with her 11-inch guns. Sumter, Moultrie, Bee and Cummings Point concentrated their fire upon her, and for forty minutes she fought heroically for the breach in Sumter. The 10-inch shot and 7-inch bolts penetrated her armor, her hull and turrets were pierced, her boats shot away, the plating at her bow was ripped up for six feet in length and two and a half in width, and she was barely able to retreat to an anchorage off Morris island, where she sank. The battle was continued for two hours and twenty-five minutes, when Admiral Du Pont signaled his vessels to retreat. He had made a gallant fight, but his ironclads could not stand the fire of Ripley's guns, and his defeat was decisive. "I attempted to take the bull by the horns," he wrote General Hunter, the day after the battle, "but he was too much for us. These monitors are miserable failures where forts are concerned; the longest was one hour and the others forty-five [Pg 197]minutes under fire, and five of the eight were wholly or partially disabled."

By the 12th of April the surviving monitors had been taken to Port Royal or sent north for repairs, and the Ironsides, much damaged, was being repaired at her moorings on the blockading line outside the bar. There is no report at hand of the casualties in the fleet.

In the forts and batteries the casualties were very few. At Fort Sumter five men were wounded by splinters from a traverse. Their names are not reported. At Fort Moultrie the flagstaff was shot away, and falling, mortally wounded Private Lusty, Company F. Private Joseph Harrison, Company G, lost a finger, but after having his wound dressed, returned to his gun. Both these gallant men were of Colonel Butler's regiment. At Battery Wagner there were 8 casualties, 3 killed and 5 wounded, by the explosion of an ammunition chest. Sergt. G. W. Langley and Privates Amos Fitzgerald and Jerry Dyer were killed, and Lieut. G. E. Steedman, Corp. Matthew Martin and Privates Samuel Red, Marion Quillan and Thomas Prince were wounded. Total casualties, 4 killed and 11 wounded. Fort Sumter suffered some damage, but none of a serious nature. The other forts were entirely unhurt. At Sumter an 8-inch columbiad burst, a 42-pounder rifled gun was dismounted by recoil, and a 10-inch gun was dismounted by having part of its carriage shot away. The walls of the fort were not materially damaged. Fifty-five shot struck the east and northeast faces, damaging several of the embrasures to the casemates, cracking the parapet wall in places, and dislodging the masonry surrounding the spot struck. Three shot, striking very near each other, on the east face and near the parapet, made a crater 10 feet high, 8 feet wide, and 2 feet deep. In other places the penetrations were 2, 3 and in two instances as much as 5 feet, with craters from 2 to 6 feet in height, and from 1 to 5 feet in width. This damage was speedily repaired, and the fort[Pg 198] stood as strong as ever for battle in forty-eight hours after the action.

The brilliant victory of the forts over the much-dreaded ironclad fleet was celebrated on every hand, and the gallant commanders of batteries, their officers, and their men, were the boast and the toast of the day. The legislature being in session at the time, passed, amid much enthusiasm, a joint resolution of thanks to the officers and men for the gallant defense of Charleston "against the onset of the foe," and hailed their achievement as the bright harbinger of a still more glorious victory.

The forts and batteries engaged were garrisoned and commanded by the following troops and officers:

Fort Moultrie was garrisoned by a detachment of the First South Carolina regular infantry, drilled as artillery, and commanded by Col. William Butler, Maj. T. M. Baker second in command. The guns engaged were manned by Company A, Capt. T. A. Huguenin; Company E, Capt. R. Press. Smith; Company F, Capt. B. S. Burnet; Company G, First Lieut. E. A. Erwin, and the mortars, Company K, Capt. C. H. Rivers. Staff: Capt. W. H. Wigg, Lieut. Mitchell King, Capt. G. A. Wardlaw, Lieut. Thomas Williams.

Battery Bee was garrisoned by another detachment of the First South Carolina, and commanded by Lieut.-Col. J. C. Simkins. The guns were fought by Company C, Capt. Robert De Treville; Company H, Capt. Warren Adams, and Company I, Capt. W. T. Tatom.

Battery Beauregard was commanded by Capt. J. A. Sitgreaves, with Company K, First artillery, Lieut. W. E. Erwin commanding, and Company B, First infantry, Capt. J. H. Warley commanding. The commanders on Morris island have already been referred to.

Fort Sumter was garrisoned by seven companies of the First South Carolina regular artillery, Col. Alfred Rhett, Lieut.-Col. Joseph A. Yates, Maj. Ormsby Blanding. Colonel Rhett commanded the fort, Lieutenant-Colonel[Pg 199] Yates the barbette guns, and Major Blanding the casemate batteries. Lieutenant Clarkson's detachment of Company B, Charleston battalion, was posted in second tier of casement as sharpshooters. Companies B and D, Capts. D. G. Fleming and F. H. Harleston, fought the guns on the east and northeast parapet batteries. The other companies were stationed as follows: Company F, Capt. J. G. King, northwest parapet; Company I, Capt. J. C. Mitchel, west parapet; Company E, Capt. J. R. Macbeth, mortar battery and east casemate battery; Company G, Capt. W. H. Peronneau, northeast casemate battery; detachments of Companies C and E, Capt. C. W. Parker, northwest casemate battery. Lieut. W. H. Grimball, with regimental band, battery in second tier of casemates. Staff: Lieut. S. C. Boyleston, adjutant; Capt. T. M. Barker, quartermaster; Capt. S. P. Ravenel, chief of staff; Lieut. J. B. Heyward, ordnance officer; Rev. N. Aldrich, chaplain; Lieut. Edward J. White, engineer officer. Signal corps: T. P. Lowndes, Arthur Grimball, Joseph Seabrook.

The Weehawken, which led the attack, carried on her bow a huge raft for finding and exploding torpedoes, popularly called the "devil," which greatly retarded her advance, and was ultimately shot adrift by the batteries. Maj. W. H. Echols, of the engineers, in his report says of this raft:

It was a miserable contrivance and proved of no use to the fleet and only an object of merriment and curiosity to the garrisons and their officers.

On the morning of April 9th the United States steamer Washington was attacked in the Coosaw river by light batteries under Capt. Stephen Elliott, crippled and set on fire by shells, and totally destroyed. On the night of the 10th, Lieutenant-Colonel Dargan, of the Twenty-first, made a night attack upon the picket at the north end of Folly island, crossing from Morris island a small detachment in boats. The attack was a surprise, and completely stampeded the enemy's picket force, which fled to the south of the island. Colonel Dargan returned, after fully locating the enemy's camp, bringing off a single prisoner, and leaving one of the enemy's pickets severely wounded.

General Hunter addressed his energies to making raids up the river, destroying the property of the planters and carrying off their negroes, keeping his negro troops,[Pg 202] employed in this business, always under the protection of the gunboats. One of these gunboat raiding parties steamed up the Combahee on the 2d of June, burned four fine residences, with all their valuable contents, and six mills, and carried off about 700 negroes. Later in the month a greater part of the town of Bluffton, on May river, was burned by a gunboat raid, and the utmost vigilance was required by troops stationed on the rivers to protect the property of citizens from wanton destruction. In reporting the raid up the Combahee to the secretary of war, General Hunter, after expressing pleasure at the success which Colonel Montgomery had achieved, continues:

On May 2d the secretary of war telegraphed General Beauregard as follows: "Advices show the enemy abandoning their attack on the eastern coasts and concentrating great forces on the Mississippi. Send with utmost dispatch 8,000 or 10,000 men to General Pemberton's relief." General Beauregard replied that he had returned to North Carolina Cooke's and Clingman's brigades, but would send at once 5,000 men and two light batteries to General Pemberton's relief. He added that he would then have left only 10,000 infantry available for the defense of South Carolina and Georgia, and if he sent more troops to Pemberton, he would lose command of the Savannah railroad. This satisfied the secretary, and on the 4th he telegraphed General Beauregard to hurry the 5,000 troops on as soon as possible.

Accordingly, orders were issued, assigning Brig.-Gens. S. R. Gist and W. H. T. Walker to the command of brigades, with a light battery attached to each, and directing them to report to General Pemberton. These two brigades were composed of Georgia and South Carolina troops, the Fourth Louisiana battalion being attached to Walker's brigade.

By General Beauregard's order of May 4, 1863, the command of Carolinians and Georgians known in the Western army as Gist's brigade was duly formed. The following was its composition: Sixteenth South Carolina, Col. James McCullough; Twenty-fourth South Carolina, Col. C. H. Stevens; Eighth Georgia battalion, Capt.[Pg 204] Z. L. Watters; Forty-sixth Georgia, Col. P. H. Colquitt; Ferguson's battery, Capt. T. B. Ferguson.

On the 5th, General Beauregard telegraphed General Pemberton that he would send two brigades of his best troops, and requested that they be kept together under General Gist. On the 6th, the first of Gist's troops, five companies of the Forty-sixth Georgia, under Col. P. H. Colquitt, and the Twenty-fourth South Carolina, under Lieut.-Col. Ellison Capers (Col. C. H. Stevens remaining to bring on the stores of the regiment), left Charleston for Jackson, Miss., by way of Atlanta, Montgomery, Selma and Meridian. Delayed on the way, these commands reached Jackson on the evening of May 13th, and went into bivouac near the depot, with orders to be ready to march out on the Clinton road at dawn next day. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston reached Jackson by the same train.

The situation was most critical in Mississippi. General Grant's army was thrown between Jackson and Vicksburg, holding the railroad at Clinton, where McPherson's corps was encamped. Sherman's corps was between Jackson and Raymond, McClernand's in supporting distance. General Pemberton, with 17,000 men, was at Edwards depot and marching to give battle. General Johnston did not have exceeding 6,000 men in and about Jackson. The three corps of General Grant numbered about 45,000 effectives.

It was easy to beat Johnston at Jackson before Pemberton could possibly come to his aid, as the latter had only reached Edwards on the 13th, and formed for defensive battle at that point. Clinton was 8 miles from Jackson, and Edwards was distant 25 miles, so that Grant was between Pemberton and Johnston, 25 miles from the former and 8 miles from the latter. This was the situation on the night of the 13th of May. McPherson advanced upon Jackson early on the 14th, on the Clinton road, and Sherman at the same time, on the Raymond[Pg 205] and Mississippi Springs road, both corps converging on Jackson, while Pemberton was in line of battle at Edwards, and General Grant's cavalry was demonstrating in his front to keep up a show of attack. To check McPherson and Sherman while valuable stores were being removed from Jackson toward Canton, General Johnston sent the troops he could command out on the roads leading to Clinton and Raymond.

The Twenty-fourth South Carolina, Lieutenant-Colonel Capers, five companies of the Forty-sixth Georgia, Capt. T. B. Hancock, of Gist's brigade, with the Fourteenth Mississippi and Capt. J. A. Hoskins' battery of four pieces, were ordered out at daylight on the 14th, under Colonel Colquitt, to take position on the Clinton road, at a point to be designated by Brig.-Gen. John Gregg. General Gregg selected a good position on a ridge about 3 miles from Jackson, assisted Colquitt in arranging his defense, and left him with orders to hold the enemy until ordered to retire through Jackson. The Georgians (five companies) and the Mississippi battalion were posted on the right of the road, and the Twenty-fourth and Hoskins' battery on the left. The position was at Wright's farm, the command being on the right and left of his house. The Twenty-fourth was advanced some distance to take advantage of a garden fence, and the artillery placed in battery on the crown of the hill, one gun behind the Twenty-fourth, in support, and three at the main road. This little brigade, which did not number over 900 men and officers, was attacked at 9 a. m. by the Seventh division of the Seventeenth army corps, composed of three brigades with four light batteries, and held its position until 2 p. m. before it was forced to retire.

The enemy's official reports give his losses as follows: Second brigade 215, Third brigade 37, Fourth brigade 13; total in division, 265, exclusive of artillery. In defending this position Colquitt's little brigade of two battalions, one regiment and four guns lost 198 men and officers,[Pg 206] killed, wounded and captured. The heaviest loss was in the Twenty-fourth South Carolina, which held its position longest and lost 105 men and officers. Lieutenant-Colonel Capers was wounded, and Lieut. A. F. Cunningham, of Company F, was killed. On the enemy's part their main loss was in the center brigade, which made the direct attack in front.

The fighting in the final assault, which carried the position and forced a retreat on Jackson, is described as follows by the commander of the Tenth Missouri, which, with the Seventeenth Iowa, Eightieth Ohio, Thirty-sixth Illinois, and Company E, of the Twenty-fourth Missouri, made up the Second brigade:

But the Twenty-fourth, now under Major Appleby, had followed the remainder of the brigade in retreat, and joined General Johnston's little army moving out from Jackson on the Canton road. In the fight above described, the attack on the Georgia and Mississippi battalions was made principally by the Iowa and Ohio regiments, and was well sustained by the Georgians and Mississippians. The conduct of Captain Hoskins' battery was beyond praise. But for the service of his four guns, the[Pg 207] position could not have been held two hours against the attack of the Federal division. Writing to General Beauregard from Canton, on the 25th of May, General Gist said:

General Walker's troops were not engaged in the battle at Wright's house. The Eighth Georgia battalion of Gist's brigade arrived in Jackson by train on the morning of the 14th, too late to take part with the Twenty-fourth South Carolina and the Forty-sixth Georgia.

Looking back upon the event and reflecting on the performance of the little brigade at Wright's house, it seems almost ludicrous to read in the report of Major-General McPherson, commanding the Seventeenth army corps, an account of the formidable disposition he made to attack it. Erroneously stating that he found the enemy "posted in strong force under Gen. W. H. T. Walker," he continues:

Six brigades arrayed in battle by the accomplished General McPherson, against two battalions, one regiment, and a battery of four guns!

General Johnston's forces, about 6,000 strong, encamped the night of the 14th, 5 miles from Jackson on the Canton road. As many of the stores as could be run out of the city by railroads to Canton and Brandon, and by wagons, were safely removed, and General Grant's army was free to turn upon General Pemberton.

The situation in Mississippi was so serious that additional troops were ordered from South Carolina, and on May 15th the secretary of war directed General Beauregard to send Evans' brigade with all dispatch to General Johnston. The governor of South Carolina, the mayor of Charleston and General Beauregard all remonstrated with the President against stripping the coast of the State almost bare of infantry, but the President was firm in the belief that the enemy had but a small force in South Carolina; that his troops had gone to Virginia, North Carolina and to the southwest, and that 10,000 of all arms were sufficient for the defense of Charleston and the coast.[Pg 209] Accordingly Evans' brigade—Seventeenth, Col. F. W. McMaster; Eighteenth, Col. W. H. Wallace; Twenty-second, Lieut.-Col. J. O'Connell; Twenty-third, Col. H. L. Benbow; Twenty-sixth, Col. A. D. Smith; Holcombe legion, Lieut.-Col. W. J. Crawley—went to Mississippi, and was assigned to the division of Major-General French, in Johnston's little army.

On the 20th of May, General Gist, with the balance of his brigade, joined General Johnston at Canton, and was assigned to Walker's division. Meanwhile the disastrous battles of Baker's Creek and the Big Black had been fought and lost by General Pemberton, and Grant was investing Vicksburg, with his army greatly increased. By the 4th of June, General Johnston had collected at Jackson, Canton and Yazoo City, and on the Big Black, a force of 24,000 infantry and artillery, and 2,800 cavalry under Gen. W. H. Jackson. This force was almost without transportation, and was deficient in ammunition for all arms. The Big Black river, impassable except by bridges, interposed between General Johnston's army and Grant's, and was guarded at every pass by intrenched forces from the army investing Vicksburg.

Johnston decided that an attack on Grant under these circumstances was impracticable, though urged by the secretary of war to make it. Pemberton had 18,000 or 20,000 effective troops in the defenses of Vicksburg, and on the 4th of June, General Johnston wrote him: "All we can attempt to do is to save you and your garrison." He urged a simultaneous attack at the same point with a view of extricating Pemberton, and proposed that it be made north of the railroad. But General Pemberton deemed himself too weak to attack his foe, strongly intrenched, and General Johnston held the same view on his part, so that the siege of Vicksburg progressed, Grant being secured in his intrenchments by his overwhelming numbers and powerful artillery from Pemberton in front, and by the fortified crossings of the Big Black from Johnston in rear.

Finally, on June 29th, General Johnston put his army in motion for the Big Black, the force effective for service being reported, June 25th, at 28,569, of all arms. General Johnston puts it, on the 29th, at a little over 20,000 infantry and artillery, and 2,000 cavalry, supplied with transportation, full equipment of ammunition, and a serviceable floating bridge. "This expedition," General Johnston wrote in his Narrative, "was not undertaken in the wild spirit that dictated the dispatches from the war department." On the 21st of June, the secretary of war had urged Johnston to attack General Grant for the relief of Pemberton, and had said: "The eyes and hopes of the whole Confederacy are upon you, with the full confidence to fail nobly daring, than, through prudence even, to be that you will act, and with the sentiment that it is better inactive."

Johnston moved to the Big Black, not indulging the sentiment of Mr. Seddon, that it was better to dare an attack and fail, than to remain only in observation of the siege. His purpose was to make a reconnoissance along the Big Black to find a point of attack, his hope being to extricate General Pemberton's army and not to raise the siege. These reconnoissances on the 1st, 2d and 3d of July satisfied him that an attack north of the railroad was impracticable, and before he had made his proposed examinations south of the railroad, Vicksburg capitulated. Learning this, General Johnston fell back to the fortified line around Jackson, where he was invested by three corps of Grant's army, under Sherman, which, by the 10th, were intrenched in front of Johnston's semi-circular line. Daily skirmishes took place, and the city of Jackson was well pelted with shot and shell until the night of the 16th, when Johnston crossed Pearl river, saving his stores and public property, and carrying off his entire force, artillery and wagon trains. Ultimately the army was encamped at and near Morton, Miss., on the 20th of July. The enemy did not follow except in small force, and after[Pg 211] burning the town of Brandon, destroying the railroad bridges, and setting fire to the city of Jackson, which he utterly destroyed, on the 23d of July the ruined city was left to its distressed inhabitants, and Sherman's army returned to Vicksburg.

In the campaign above described, from May 20th to July 20th, Gist's brigade formed part of Walker's division, Evans' brigade of French's. The marches and countermarches to which they were subjected in the heat of summer, the men for the most of the time badly supplied with shoes and actually, at times, suffering for water fit to drink, fully tested the spirit and discipline of the brigade. In the short siege of Jackson, July 10th to 16th inclusive, Walker's division occupied a position on the left center of the line of defense, with its right on the Clinton road, the brigades posted as follows: Ector's, Gregg's, Gist's and Wilson's. Several casualties occurred in General Gist's brigade on the picket line, and in the trenches, but no return of them is available.

In the retreat from the Big Black, French's division reached Jackson in advance July 7th, and at daylight on the 9th, the troops were put in position in the trenches, Evans' brigade on the right resting on the Clinton road, with the batteries of J. F. Culpeper and B. A. Jeter on its front. On the 11th an effort was made to force in Evans' skirmishers, and handsomely repulsed by the Holcombe legion. The next attack was on Breckinridge, at the left of French, and the 13th was devoted to heavy cannonading. John Waties' battery was put in position at French's left. There was heavy firing all the morning of the 14th, with brisk skirmishing. Evans' line advanced, drove back the enemy, burned several small houses which sheltered the Federal sharpshooters, and then fell back to their line. Gist's brigade remained encamped near Morton until the latter part of August, when, in response to General Bragg's request for troops, Walker's and Breckinridge's divisions were ordered to report to him near Chattanooga.

Capt. James Gist, special aide to General Gist, and Dr. Thomas L. Ogier, division surgeon, both died of fever at Morton, lamented by their comrades. Captain Gist and Doctor Ogier were both identified with the brigade of General Gist from its earliest history, and were greatly loved and respected as efficient and faithful officers.

After the defeat of General Burnside's attempt to drive the Confederate army from its position in rear of Fredericksburg, both armies went into winter quarters, and remained inactive until about the middle of April, 1863. In January, General Burnside was removed from command, and Gen. Joseph Hooker, who had commanded the center grand division of Burnside's army, was placed in command of the army of the Potomac, and charged with the task of capturing Richmond. Upon assuming command, General Hooker published his general orders, No. 1, in which he contrasted the merits of his army with those of General Lee's in the following sentences: "In equipment, intelligence and valor the enemy is our inferior. Let us never hesitate to give him battle, wherever we can find him." It is hardly possible that such language could have disparaged the character of General Lee's army in the estimation of the Federal soldiers who had so often felt the force of its "equipment, intelligence and valor."

President Lincoln was not willing to give General Hooker so great a trust without warning and serious admonition, which he embodied in the following letter, under date of January 26, 1863:

How far the anxious President's candid letter influenced the generalship of the new commander may be seen by what follows in description of his unhappy experiences in "finding the enemy" and testing his "inferior equipment, intelligence and valor."

On April 30, 1863, the Federal army under Hooker had 133,708 men "actually available for the line of battle," organized in seven corps; the First under Reynolds, the Second under Couch, the Third under Sickles, the Fifth under Meade, the Sixth under Sedgwick, the Eleventh under Howard, the Twelfth under Slocum. The artillery included 370 guns, of all calibers. The cavalry force outnumbered General Lee's three to one.

General Lee's army was numerically not as strong as at the battle of Fredericksburg, Longstreet having been sent south of the James with the divisions of Hood and Pickett, and Hampton's cavalry brigade having been sent into the interior to recruit its horses. Lee's army confronting Hooker numbered of all arms, on the 1st of April, 53,303, with 170 pieces of artillery. McLaws and Anderson commanded the divisions of Longstreet's corps present, and Early, A. P. Hill, Rodes and Colston commanded Jackson's divisions; W. H. F. Lee and Fitzhugh Lee commanded the two brigades of cavalry under Stuart, and General Pendleton the artillery battalions of Alexander, Crutchfield, R. L. Walker, Brown, Carter, Andrews and McIntosh. McGowan's brigade, on April 29th, occupied the same position it held in the battle of December 13th.

By the 29th of April, three of Hooker's corps, the Fifth, Eleventh and Twelfth, had marched up the Rappahannock, crossed at Kelly's ford, and were marching for Germanna and Ely's fords on the Rapidan, on Lee's left flank. The Second corps crossed at the United States ford on the 30th, and at night Hooker was at Chancellorsville with four corps of his army, covering all approaches to that position. On the same day he ordered up the Third from in front of Fredericksburg, and by noon on May 1st he was in position around Chancellorsville with five army corps. General Sedgwick, with the remaining two corps, the First and Sixth, had crossed below Fredericksburg, and was demonstrating as if for attack. General Hooker was so much elated by the success of this concentration, that he published a field order congratulating his army on its "brilliant achievements," and declared that General Lee must "ingloriously fly" before such a combination, else "certain destruction awaits him, should he give us battle on our own ground." Nous verrons.

On the 29th of April, General Lee had decided that[Pg 216] Hooker's main attack was to be expected from the troops marching on Chancellorsville, and that the operations in his front at Fredericksburg were only demonstrations in force to deceive him. He made his dispositions at once, and leaving Early and Barksdale and the reserve artillery for the defense of the position at Fredericksburg, with the main army marched to meet Hooker at Chancellorsville. The divisions of Anderson and McLaws were advanced on the main approaches, the plank road and old turnpike, and became engaged with Hooker's advance on both roads, early on the 1st of May, about 4 miles from General Hooker's headquarters. Jackson, with his three divisions, was in supporting distance, and in immediate charge of the advance. Pressing forward, on both roads, the Federals were driven back upon the line immediately around Chancellorsville, in which they were strongly protected by natural and prepared defenses.

On the evening and night of the 1st, General Lee put his troops in position across the plank road and fronting General Hooker's line. Lee's right extended as far as the mine road, and his left was in front of and beyond the Catherine furnace. General Hooker's line extended as far as the river on his left, and on his right along the road to Germanna's ferry (the old turnpike) for a distance of 3 miles. This line was covered from end to end by a vast forest, which hid its extent from observation, and was protected by abatis of fallen timber, rifle-pits, breastworks of logs, earthworks, etc. The forest also hid General Lee's line, and by the activity of the cavalry on his flanks, General Hooker was led to magnify both its strength and its length.

Hooker was so strong in front that General Lee determined to attack beyond his fortified line. On the night of the 1st he held a long conference with General Jackson, as a result of which General Jackson was ordered to lead his three divisions early in the morning to the extreme right and rear of General Hooker's line, and assault[Pg 217] with vigor. Lee was to stand in Hooker's front with McLaws' and Anderson's divisions, and Early was to keep back Sedgwick. Jackson marched with 26,000 men, and left Lee in front of Hooker with 14,000. The wilderness was his defense. It hid his weakness and screened Jackson's march.

Kershaw's brigade, with McLaws—the Fifteenth, Lieut.-Col. Joseph F. Gist; Seventh, Col. Elbert Bland; Third, Maj. R. C. Maffett; Second, Col. J. D. Kennedy; James' battalion, Lieut.-Col. W. G. Rice, and Eighth, Col. John W. Henagan—was in the second line of battle at Zoar church on May 1st, and next day formed in the front line before Chancellorsville, with thirteen companies thrown forward in the dense woods, under Maj. D. B. Miller, James' battalion, engaged in continually pressing the enemy.

Jackson's three divisions were commanded by Gens. A. P. Hill, R. E. Rodes and R. E. Colston. His South Carolina brigade, in Hill's light division, was now commanded by Brig.-Gen. Samuel McGowan, who was colonel of the Fourteenth South Carolina under the lamented Gregg, and when that gallant and accomplished soldier fell at Fredericksburg, was promoted to take command of the brigade, thenceforth known in the army of Northern Virginia as McGowan's brigade. McGowan's brigade, after being engaged in skirmishing, and under artillery fire on the 1st, moved out with Hill's division early on the 2d. As soon as the First regiment left the cover of the woods, said Col. D. H. Hamilton, it was subjected to the "most trying ordeal to which any troops could be subjected. As soon as we reached the open ground, we were exposed in open and full view to the batteries of the enemy, and under a deliberate and annoying fire, we passed those batteries in review. My regiment stood the ordeal well. Projecting hills soon screened us from further annoyance, and our march was rapidly and success[Pg 218]fully continued until we reached a position beyond Chancellorsville, in rear of the enemy's line of works."

By 4 p. m. on the 2d, General Jackson was on the Germanna Ford road, and in rear of the right flank of General Hooker. The forest enveloping him covered his deployments, and his three divisions were put in line of battle, one behind the other, and marched up the road, and actually began the attack from the rear and flank before General Hooker's troops knew that they were being approached by a Confederate force. The Eleventh corps, General Howard, held the Federal right. Jackson's front line was led by Rodes, and so impetuous was the attack, and so complete the surprise, that the divisions of Howard were at once thrown into confusion and soon into rout. Rodes pressed on up the road and through the forest, followed by Colston and then by Hill, the great Jackson directing the advance. It was known that the enemy had a fortified line at the Talley house, and a second at Melzi Chancellor's house. Jackson's order was to carry the position at Talley's, and to move right on against the second at Chancellor's. Both were carried, and the entire right of Hooker's line defeated and driven back to the heights of Chancellorsville. Now, late in the day, General Jackson ordered A. P. Hill's division to relieve the divisions of Rodes and Colston at the Chancellor house. It was at this juncture, while Hill's division was taking position, that General Jackson, he and his staff being mistaken in the darkness for Federal cavalry, was fired upon and mortally wounded. Gen. A. P. Hill was soon afterward wounded, and the command of Jackson's corps devolved upon General Rodes for a time. General Stuart was then summoned, and the night of the 2d was spent by that active soldier in arranging for the morning's attack.

At sunset, McGowan's brigade had reached that part of the field that had been cleared of the enemy by Rodes'[Pg 219] division, leaving roads and fields strewn with the Federal dead. Colonel Hamilton's report continues:

At dawn on the 3d, Stuart's line was arranged for a renewal of battle, and by sunrise he moved forward, Archer's brigade, on the extreme right, being charged with the duty of uniting with General Anderson's left, and so reuniting Lee's separated wings. The battle of Chancellorsville was won by 10 a. m., by the united assaults of the two wings coming together at the center, where the victorious advance of Stuart and Anderson and McLaws swept back the heroic resistance which Hooker's broken forces made around the heights, and drove them from the entire field of battle.

In this, the final and crowning assault of that great battle, the two South Carolina brigades, under McGowan and Kershaw, bore an honorable and memorable part. Kershaw on the right with McLaws, and McGowan on the left with Stuart, were in the front lines of advance, and carried their troops to the extreme limit of the great victory. The sacrifice which Carolina offered at Chancellorsville was costly, indeed. Over 550 of her sons were killed and wounded in the battle of the 3d, and that at Salem church on the 4th, in which last engagement General Lee defeated Sedgwick and drove him over the Rappahannock, turning upon his advance toward Chancellorsville with the divisions of Anderson, McLaws and Early.

Of the part taken by McGowan's brigade, General Heth, commanding Hill's division, said:

Passing beyond the breastworks, the brigade soon became very hotly engaged, but on account of the oblique movement of Archer's brigade on their right, that flank was exposed and they were compelled to hold the line of works they had taken. Here, in the midst of a desperate fight, General McGowan and his able and gallant adjutant-general, Capt. A. C. Haskell, were severely wounded. Col. O. E. Edwards, of the Thirteenth, assumed brigade command, but this heroic soldier, exposing himself with characteristic intrepidity, was soon mortally wounded. Col. D. H. Hamilton, of the First, then took charge of the brigade. Here, also, the brigade suffered an irreparable loss in the fall of the accomplished Col. James M. Perrin, of the First rifles, who was mortally wounded at the breastworks. Among the gallant dead of McGowan's brigade were Lieuts. E. C. DuBose and C. P. Seabrook, of the First; Lieut. H. L. Fuller, of the Thirteenth, and Lieut. J. H. Fricks of the First rifles. Sergt. L. A. Wardlaw, Color-bearer G. S. Bell and Private T. R. Puckett, of the Rifles, were wounded bearing the colors. Maj. G. McD. Miller, of the Rifles, was severely wounded. The total loss of the brigade was 46 killed and 402 wounded. Col. Abner Perrin commanded the Fourteenth, and was in command of part of the brigade in the last charge. The Twelfth was not engaged.

The advance of Kershaw's brigade, early on the 3d,[Pg 221] suffered the loss of its gallant leader, Capt. G. B. Cuthbert, Second regiment, who fell with two wounds that caused his death. About 9 o'clock, General Kershaw reported, "the whole line advanced to the attack of Chancellorsville, and by 11 o'clock our troops were in possession of the position, the skirmishers only having been engaged. Moving over to the turnpike road to form a new front, under orders from the major-general commanding, I was directed by Gen. R. E. Lee to move with General Mahone toward Fredericksburg, to check the advance of a column of the enemy reported coming up from that point, along the plank road." This movement brought Kershaw's brigade into the battle of Salem Church, in which the Third regiment and part of James' battalion were engaged, on the right of Wilcox's brigade. Late in the evening of the 4th, the brigade took part in the engagement at Banks' ford, driving the enemy across the river. They spent all the night beating the thickets for Federals, finding only straggling prisoners; bivouacked at 4 a. m., arose at sunrise, and gathered over 800 stand of arms. About noon they marched to a point near the United States ford, and relieved Heth's brigade, and on the 6th, after the heavy rain had ceased, advanced and found there were no Federals on the south side of the Rappahannock.

Colonel Henagan's regiment was with General Jackson from the 2d. The loss of Kershaw's brigade was not great, 11 killed and 89 wounded; but the death of Captain Cuthbert and Capt. C. W. Boyd, of the Fifteenth, who fell together before Chancellorsville, par nobile fratrum, was deeply mourned. They were young men of the brightest promise, of commanding talents, high social position, and most attractive personality.

General Hooker's loss at Chancellorsville was greater than Lee's. The former lost in both wings, according to his statement before the committee on the conduct of the war, 17,197; by the returns in the War Records, 1,575[Pg 222] killed, 9,559 wounded, 5,711 prisoners or missing. General Lee's loss was 1,581 killed, 8,700 wounded. Both generals lost artillery, Lee eight pieces and Hooker thirteen, with 1,500 rounds of ammunition. General Lee gathered from the field, besides tents and army stores of various kinds, 19,500 rifles and muskets, and over 300,000 rounds of infantry ammunition.

After the battle, in his general orders of congratulation, General Lee recommended that the troops "unite on Sunday next, in ascribing to the Lord of Hosts the glory due unto His name," and quoted the following letter from President Davis:

The attempt of Admiral Du Pont and Major-General Hunter to reduce and capture the outer defenses of Charleston on April 7, 1863, having been signally repulsed, and the ironclad squadron badly crippled, both of those officers were relieved, and the energies and resources of the Federal government concentrated upon the capture of Morris island. Brig.-Gen. Q. A. Gillmore took command in place of General Hunter, and Rear-Admiral J. A. Dahlgren supplanted Du Pont. General Gillmore had confidently expressed his ability to reduce Fort Sumter from Morris island, and was an officer of recognized energy and skill. After the defeat of April 7th, it was well known in Washington that Admiral Du Pont had lost faith in the fighting qualities of his iron fleet, and General Hunter, in communicating with the government at Washington, had several times complained of "the inactivity of the admiral." The failure of the general himself to do more than organize raiding parties, which pillaged plantations, burned planters' residences, mills and barns, and were invariably driven back to the ubiquitous gunboat protection, must have impressed his superiors unfavorably. General Hunter complained of his removal from command as a reflection upon his military conduct, but Mr. Lincoln assured him that he was held in high esteem, that no reflection upon him was[Pg 224] meant, and that other and controlling reasons had determined the appointment of Gillmore.

On quitting the Stono, after the repulse of the ironclads on April 7th, General Hunter had left a brigade, under Brigadier-General Vogdes, on Folly island, with light artillery and some cavalry. This brigade had orders to conceal its encampments among the sand-hills, and in the dense woods and behind the growth of the island, and so effectually carried out the directions, that the force on Folly island baffled the attempts made to locate it or determine its strength. The island was unassailable by the Confederate forces on James island, and there were no troops in the department to spare for an attack from Morris island, across Lighthouse inlet. General Vogdes was known to be on Folly island with some force, but what he was doing, or what he was there to do, was a matter of frequent discussion, and was certainly never determined until Gillmore developed his force on Stono inlet, when Morris island, Battery Wagner and Fort Sumter were seen to be his objectives.

The department commanded by General Beauregard had been stripped almost bare to reinforce other points. Against this depletion of his infantry, General Beauregard, the governor of the State, the mayor of Charleston, and numerous prominent citizens had remonstrated, but the reply of the secretary of war was both inevitable and unanswerable: "It cannot be helped, however much it is deplored."

Gillmore's force of all arms amounted to 10,950, supplied with field batteries and siege guns of the highest capacity, supported in the Stono and on its left flank by a flotilla of gunboats, and on the right by the admiral's armored fleet. For the immediate defense of the city, General Beauregard had in position, on the islands and in the forts and batteries, a total of 5,841 men: On Morris island 927, on James island 2,906, on Sullivan's island 1,158, and in the city 850.

Morris island, the selected point of real attack, lies along the main ship channel, about 3½ miles in length, north and south, its north end, Cummings point, being three-quarters of a mile south by east from Fort Sumter. At Cummings point, Battery Gregg, named in honor of Brig.-Gen. Maxcy Gregg, mounted guns of the heaviest caliber which the department could command. This battery was an important outpost of Fort Sumter, and one of the strong defenses of the harbor. Three-quarters of a mile south of Battery Gregg stood, square across a narrow neck of the island, Battery Wagner, named in honor of Lieut.-Col. Thomas M. Wagner. Wagner touched the beach on its sea flank, and Vincent's creek on its west flank, covering the whole island width of about 280 yards. It is noteworthy that the Star of the West battery, which fired the first gun of the war, was located, in January, 1851, just in advance of the ground on which Wagner stood.

At the time of which we write (July, 1863), Battery Wagner mounted two heavy guns on the sea face, and some twelve or more, of lighter caliber, on the south and west faces. It was a strong earthwork, constructed of compact sand, upon which the heaviest projectiles produced little effect, with well-built traverses protecting the guns from the sea fire, high merlons, thoroughly protected magazine and bomb-proof, with a strong parapet on the north or gorge face, for the protection of the opening. The salients on the east and west were flanked by infantry and howitzer fire. The barbette guns of Sumter, distant a mile and a half from Wagner, commanded its immediate approaches from the south, while from the parapet of Sumter, with a good glass, Morris island for its entire length was in plain view for observation.

Late in May, General Ripley, commanding the defenses of Charleston, became dissatisfied with the progress of constructing batteries on the extreme south end of[Pg 226] Morris island, designed to prevent an attack by boats from Folly island. The enemy's strength on the latter island was unknown, boats and barges were at Vogdes' command, and if two or three thousand troops were to make a determined attack, Ripley felt unprepared to meet it. These representations were made by him to General Beauregard on the 24th of May, and the work on the south end was pushed slowly forward by an inadequate force. Meanwhile General Gillmore had come into command, and by the middle of June was preparing his plans for attack at the south end of Morris island.

When the attack came, on the early morning of July 10th, it was a surprise and overwhelming. Gillmore had put forty-seven guns and mortars in battery, facing the nine separate 1-gun batteries of the Confederates, within three-eighths of a mile of the rifle-pits, and without their knowledge. Observant officers and men were satisfied that batteries were being constructed on Folly island, but so well was the work screened, that not until the brushwood was cut away, the embrasures opened out, and the fire opened, did the little force on the south end of Morris island, or the general commanding the district, or General Beauregard, realize the true character of the attack that had been so secretly prepared. "With lookout stations on the ruins of the old lighthouse on Morris island; on the mast-head of a wrecked blockade-runner, off Lighthouse inlet, and at Secessionville on James island, there was yet no discovery of these Federal works. So far from it, that General Ripley (district commander) reports, that 'up to the 8th or 9th of July the enemy, so far as ascertained, had constructed no works on Folly island, except to shelter his pickets from our shells.'" (Johnson's "Defense of Charleston.") On this subject Major Gilchrist says, in his pamphlet on the defense of Morris island, himself a participant in that defense:

The writer of the pamphlet quoted cannot have been aware of the fact, that as early as March 10th General Beauregard had ordered the south end of Morris island fortified, that the work was promptly begun, and that when General Ripley complained, May 24th, of its slow progress, Capt. Langdon Cheves, of the engineers, was prosecuting it with an inadequate force, and no wood material furnished, necessary for magazine and bomb-proof. As a precautionary measure the works were ordered by General Beauregard, and more appreciated as being necessary by General Ripley, but neither of these generals expected them to be attacked except by boat howitzers and rifle guns of light batteries covering an[Pg 228] attack by infantry landing from small boats. In such an attack the batteries on the south end, supported by 1,000 men, could have successfully repelled the enemy. If an attack at that point should come, it was looked for only in that shape.

On July 4th, from his headquarters at Hilton Head, General Gillmore issued his order for the disposition of two divisions designed to attack Morris island. The First was commanded by Brigadier-General Terry, its brigades by Brigadier-General Stevenson and Colonel Davis; the Second by Brigadier-General Seymour, its brigades by Brigadier-Generals Vogdes and Strong. The brigade of Vogdes was already on Folly island, and had been since April 7th; Strong landed on the 6th of July, and Stevenson subsequently.

On the 9th, General Beauregard telegraphed Mr. Davis of the presence in Stono and off the bar of thirty-eight vessels and five monitors, and at noon of the same day to Governor Bonham, and to Richmond, that "an attack on Sumter along Folly and Morris islands is evidently imminent." General Mercer, at Savannah, and General Whiting, at Wilmington, were asked for support, and Generals Hagood and Walker were ordered to hold all available troops in the Second and Third districts in readiness to march or take the cars for Charleston at a moment's warning.

The batteries on Folly island were then under cover and still unknown. The only certain indication of the impending attack was reported by Capt. C. T. Haskell early on the morning of the 9th. That gallant and energetic officer had made a reconnoissance to the west of Folly island, by boat, and had plainly discovered the flotilla of barges and small boats in Folly Island creek, "moored and ready for crossing." This reconnoissance by Captain Haskell, and the landing of Strong's brigade on Folly island, persuaded General Beauregard to look for the attack on the south end of Morris island. How[Pg 229] was he prepared to meet it? Eleven guns were in position, in unconnected, detached batteries, three 8-inch navy shell guns, two 8-inch howitzers, one 24 and one 30 pounder rifled Parrott, one 12-pounder Whitworth, and three 10-inch mortars. Rifle-pits were dug in front, covering Oyster point. The guns were manned by 200 artillerists from the First regulars, under Capts. John C. Mitchel and J. R. Macbeth, and Lieut. H. W. Frost. The infantry supports were 400 men of the Twenty-first, under Maj. G. W. McIver, and one company of the First South Carolina infantry, commanded by Capt. Charles T. Haskell. The whole force amounted to 650 men!

Against this defense General Gillmore was to make his attack with forty-seven guns from his masked batteries, the guns of four of the monitors, and a brigade of infantry 3,000 strong, composed of four regiments and two battalions of four companies each. Just at daylight on the morning of the 10th, the guns on Folly island were unmasked and opened their fire on the Confederate detached batteries. The surprise was complete. The gallant men and officers on duty were expecting an attack, but such a volume and weight of metal was overwhelming. But Mitchel and Macbeth ordered their guns opened in reply, and McIver and Haskell manned the rifle-pits.

After the unequal combat of artillery had lasted about two hours, General Strong advanced from the northwest end of the island against McIver and Haskell. The few guns left mounted were turned upon the flotilla of boats, sinking a barge and killing and wounding many in the boats, but the advance was unchecked, and the brigade landed, stormed and carried the pits, and drove off the little force remaining unhurt by the assault. The gallant Haskell fell, cheering his men, sword in hand; Macbeth, badly wounded, was taken prisoner; Lieut. John S. Bee had fallen at his gun, and Lieut. T. H. Dalrymple on the infantry line. Fighting yet the last guns, the contest[Pg 230] was ended by the charge of the Sixth Connecticut on the rear and sea flank, met by the advance of General Strong from the west side. The Connecticut regiment had passed by the entire front and landed under cover of the sand-hills, and took the batteries in reverse. It was an unequal contest, but continued for hours. Seeing its hopelessness, Colonel Graham ordered retreat upon Wagner, covered by Nelson's South Carolina battalion, under Maj. James H. Rion, which arrived just as the retreat was ordered. Four monitors followed along, pelting the retreating and almost exhausted Confederates with their 15-inch shell and showers of grape. Colonel Graham reported a total loss in killed, wounded and missing, of 295; 183 in the Twenty-first, 12 in Captain Haskell's company, and 100 in the artillery.

The south end of Morris island was lost, and General Gillmore immediately reinforced Strong, and General Seymour took command of the division on Morris island, now in a position to assault Battery Wagner. On the 9th, General Terry, with about 4,000 men, had sailed up the Stono, supported by gunboats, and made such a demonstration of landing on James island as to keep all the troops there, under Colonel Simonton, under arms, and to turn others, arriving from Charleston, in that direction. Reports from James island, coming to the commanding general on the morning of the 9th, made it doubtful, for a time, where the most formidable attack was to be made, but the concentration of force on Morris island, and the action of the squadron, soon settled all doubts as to General Gillmore's designs.

Wagner was reinforced as soon as the troops could be sent over, and during the night of the 10th the garrison was increased to 1,000 infantry and 200 artillerists. A gallant band of Georgians, under Col. C. H. Olmstead, came to stand on the ramparts by the side of their Carolina brethren. There were thus assembled, for the defense of the fort, the following commands:

Infantry: Twenty-first South Carolina, Major McIver; Seventh South Carolina battalion, Maj. J. H. Rion; Company D, First South Carolina regular infantry, Lieut. J. M. Horlbeck; four companies First Georgia, Col. C. H. Olmstead; four companies Twelfth Georgia battalion, Lieut.-Col. H. D. Capers; three companies Eighteenth Georgia battalion, Maj. W. L. Basinger. Artillery: Detachments of Companies E, I and H, First South Carolina regular artillery, Capt. John C. Mitchel; Gist Guard, Capt. C. E. Chichester, and the Mathewes artillery, Capt. J. R. Mathewes. Lieut.-Col. Joseph Yates commanded the batteries, and Colonel Graham the fort. Colonel Graham kept his force in the fort under arms and on watch, all night, while Major Rion covered the front with 150 skirmishers. The infantry was stationed, in support of the guns, from right to left, in the following order: Seventh South Carolina battalion, Twelfth Georgia battalion, Twenty-first South Carolina, First South Carolina infantry, Eighteenth Georgia battalion, First Georgia volunteers.

At dawn on the 11th the assault came and the pickets were driven in. The attacking column was led by four companies of the Seventh Connecticut, Lieutenant-Colonel Rodman, followed by the Seventy-sixth Pennsylvania and the Ninth Maine. The Third and Seventh New Hampshire formed the reserve. The Connecticut detachment charged gallantly and followed Rion's pickets so closely that they were nearly at the left salient of the fort before the fire opened, the light being so imperfect that it was difficult to distinguish an object 100 yards in advance. The Georgians on the left opened the fire of the infantry, and then in rolling succession every gun was fired. The ranks of the Seventh Connecticut were broken and swept away, and the Seventy-sixth Pennsylvania was so stunned by the fire as to halt and lie down. Recovering, they arose and made for the center of the fort, while the Ninth Maine charged gallantly at the right sal[Pg 232]ient. It was all in vain. The withering fire of canister and musketry broke up the ranks, and the whole column retreated in wild confusion. General Strong blamed the Seventy-sixth for his failure to carry the fort, because they halted and fell on the ground under "the sudden, tremendous and simultaneous fire" which they met. But that same fire would have had an identical effect upon them if they had not lain down, as it had when they rose and rushed to the charge. No regiment can preserve its line of assault under the fire of canister from a dozen guns and the continued discharge of 1,000 rifles. If the two New Hampshire regiments had followed this first assault, and they, in turn, had been followed by still a third column of attack, they might have carried the fort; but to attempt its assault with two regiments and a battalion of four companies was to presume upon the character of its defenders and the strength of its defense.

General Strong reported his loss at 8 officers and 322 non-commissioned officers and soldiers. Colonel Graham lost 1 officer and 5 soldiers killed, and 1 officer and 5 soldiers wounded. Capt. C. Werner, of the First Georgia, was the officer killed, and all the casualties in the fort were among the Georgia troops.

Four monitors, lying a mile off, bombarded Wagner on the 10th, and on the morning of that day, Capt. Langdon Cheves, the engineer of Fort Wagner, just after receiving the intelligence of the death of his gallant kinsman, was killed in the fort by a fragment of shell, fired from one of the monitors, the first shot fired at the fort that day. Captain Cheves was an accomplished engineer, a devoted patriot and a gallant soldier. Battery Wagner was built under his direction, and his name, with those of others hereafter to be mentioned, who gave their lives in its defense, will be forever commemorated in its history.

Gillmore's third demonstration, on July 10th, the attempt to cut the railroad at Jacksonboro, was a failure. It was made by Col. T. W. Higginson, commanding a[Pg 233] regiment of recently enlisted negroes. With three armed steamers he ascended the South Edisto under the cover of a dense fog, until arrested at Willtown bluff by the obstructions in the river. Landing at that point a force of 100 or more Confederates, a section of artillery, without infantry supports, was surprised in camp and driven off, 2 men being taken prisoners. Removing the obstructions, Colonel Higginson steamed up the river with the purpose of burning the railroad bridge at Jacksonboro. At Dr. Glover's plantation, about 3 miles from the bridge, he encountered a section of Capt. George Walter's battery, under Lieut. S. G. Horsey, and after an action of an hour's duration the boats were beaten and turned down stream. Col. H. K. Aiken, commanding the Second military district, sent a section of the Marion artillery, Lieut. Robert Murdoch, to the plantation of Mr. Gibbes, below; and being joined at this point by Lieutenant White, with the section which had been surprised at Willtown bluff, the two sections caught the boats on their retreat, and badly crippled them. One of the vessels was set on fire and burned to the water's edge, and two of them made their escape out of the Edisto.

Colonel Higginson reported that the vessel destroyed grounded on the obstructions, was abandoned and fired by her commander, while Colonel Aiken reported her set on fire by shells from the section at Gibbes'. Two brass rifled guns were taken from the wreck and added to Aiken's artillery on the river. Higginson carried off over 100 negroes, several bales of cotton, burned the barns of Colonel Morris, and pillaged the residences in the neighborhood of Willtown bluff. Colonel Aiken had 2 men wounded and 2 captured. Colonel Higginson reported 3 killed and several wounded, himself among the latter. This expedition and the demonstration of General Terry on James island, were made at the same time as the attack on the south end of Morris island, and were intended to mask that important movement.

General Terry was still on James island on the 16th, with his forces at Battery island and Grimball's on the Stono, and at Legaré's on the Folly river side of the island. They were attacked at Grimball's and Legaré's on the 16th by General Hagood, and driven down on Battery island. They embarked at that point and evacuated the island on the following night. In this affair General Hagood commanded portions of Clingman's North Carolina and Colquitt's Georgia brigades, and the Twenty-fifth South Carolina under Lieut.-Col. J. G. Pressley, Colonel Simonton riding with General Colquitt to give that general the benefit of his accurate knowledge of the island. Perkins' (Marion) battery followed and engaged with Colquitt's column at Legaré's, and the North Carolinians, under Col. J. D. Radcliffe, with artillery under Colonel Kemper, attacked the gunboats Marblehead and Pawnee in the Stono above Grimball's. Colquitt's attack at Legaré's, led by the Twenty-fifth South Carolina, was followed by the quick retreat of the force before him, and that at Grimball's retired on Battery island before Colonel Radcliffe had defeated the gunboats above the point. General Hagood reports that his troops were under the fire of the gunboats mainly; that the troops of the enemy were mostly negroes and behaved poorly; that his loss was 3 killed, 12 wounded and 3 missing, and that of the enemy, as far as ascertained, 30 killed on the field and 14 taken prisoners.

The bloody repulse of the assault on Battery Wagner, July 11th, left General Gillmore in possession of two-thirds of the island, Colonel Graham holding the northern end for about a mile, with his outposts about 200 yards in advance of Wagner on a sand ridge. It was determined to hold Wagner to the last, and to relieve the garrison frequently by sending over fresh troops at night. Such reliefs were landed at Cummings point and marched up to Wagner, always subject to the shells of the fleet and the fire of Gillmore.

In what follows in this chapter the writer has taken the facts stated mainly from the official reports; the admirable pamphlet of Major Gilchrist, already referred to; and the account given by the accomplished engineer on duty at Fort Sumter, Maj. John Johnson, in his valuable book on the "Defense of Charleston Harbor."

Gen. W. B. Taliaferro, who had commanded a division in Jackson's corps, army of Northern Virginia, and was now serving under General Beauregard, was ordered to take command on Morris island on the 13th of July, and relieved Colonel Graham on the 14th. He reported the enemy had his pickets three-quarters of a mile in front; was busy erecting batteries along the hills 1,300 and 2,000 yards distant; that his riflemen were annoying, and that the fleet had thrown some 300 shell and shot during the day. On the night of the 14th, General Taliaferro ordered Major Rion to make a reconnoissance of the position in front, and gave him command of 150 men for[Pg 236] this purpose, detachments from Colonel Graham's garrison—Seventh South Carolina battalion, Twenty-first South Carolina, Twelfth and Eighteenth Georgia, and Fifty-first North Carolina. Major Rion was directed to drive in the enemy's pickets and feel his way until he encountered a supporting force. The duty was gallantly and well done. Rion pushed the pickets back, first upon their reserves and then upon a brigade in position, and moved on them so rapidly that the fire of the brigade was delivered into its retreating comrades. Accomplishing the purpose of the reconnoissance, Rion withdrew to the ridge 200 yards in advance of the fort.

Graham's gallant garrison was now relieved and Fort Wagner occupied by the Charleston battalion, Lieut.-Col. Peter C. Gaillard; Fifty-first North Carolina, Col. Hector McKethan; Thirty-first North Carolina, Lieut.-Col. C. W. Knight; the companies of Capts. W. T. Tatom and Warren Adams, of the First South Carolina infantry (drilled as artillery); Captains Dixon's and Buckner's companies, Sixty-third Georgia infantry and heavy artillery; section of howitzers, De Saussure's artillery, under Capt. W. L. De Pass, and a section of howitzers under Lieut. L. D. Waties, First South Carolina artillery. Lieut.-Col. J. C. Simkins was in command of all the batteries, as chief of artillery.

The right flank was assigned to Lieutenant-Colonel Gaillard, the center to Colonel McKethan, and the left to Lieutenant-Colonel Knight. The mortar battery, which fired at intervals of thirty minutes, was under charge of Captain Tatom. Outside the fort, two of Colonel Gaillard's companies, under Capt. Julius Blake, held the sand-hills along the beach and the face extending from the sally-port to the beach.

The artillery commands fired on the Federal working parties and the monitors at intervals. The bombardment was continued by the fleet throughout the 15th, 16th and 17th, three hundred or more heavy shot and shell being[Pg 237] thrown on each of these days. The casualties in the fort were not numerous, and the damage done in the day was repaired at night. Meanwhile the enemy's land batteries were pressed forward, the nearest being within the fort's range.

On the morning of the 18th, the batteries in front and the fleet on the flank opened on Wagner a concentrated fire from guns of the heaviest caliber. The Ironsides, five monitors and the gunboats Paul Jones, Ottawa, Seneca, Chippewa and Wissahickon, steamed within close range. General Gillmore's 10-inch mortars, 10, 20 and 30 pounder Parrott rifles, thirty-six pieces of powerful artillery, all opened on the fort, and kept up the bombardment for the whole day and until 7:45 in the evening. Major Johnson's careful estimate is that the bombardment was from a total of sixty-four guns and mortars. Wagner, Gregg, Sumter, Moultrie and batteries on James island replied, but the fire from the island and from Moultrie was at too great a range to be effective. The bombardment became heaviest about midday, and for nearly eight hours one hundred guns, in attack and defense, were filling the air with clouds of smoke and peals of thunder. Most of the men were kept in the bomb-proof. The gun detachments filled the embrasures with sand-bags and covered the light pieces in the same way, keeping close under the merlons. Gaillard and Ramsay stuck to the parapet on the right, and the gallant battalion stuck to them. With only the protection of the parapet and the merlons, "with an heroic intrepidity never surpassed," says General Taliaferro, "the Charleston battalion maintained their position without flinching during the entire day."

As night came on, General Seymour formed his column of three brigades for the assault. We quote from his report:

General Strong's brigade was to lead, with the Massachusetts regiment in front; Colonel Putnam's promptly to support General Strong, "if it became necessary," and Stevenson's was held in reserve. The hour of twilight was selected "to prevent accurate firing by the enemy". The bayonet alone was to be used by the assailants. "The Fifty-fourth Massachusetts, a colored regiment of excellent character, well officered, with full ranks, that had conducted itself commendably a few days previously on James island, was placed in front." Then, says Seymour, "the First brigade launched forward. It had not moved far, before the fort, liberated somewhat from the presence of our fire, opened with rapid discharges of grape and canister, and its parapet was lit by a living line of musketry. More than half the distance was well passed when, present myself with the column, I saw that to overcome such resistance, overpowering force must be employed."

Seymour, now wounded, ordered up Putnam, as Strong's brigade "as a mass had already retired, although detached portions, principally from the Forty-eighth New York and Sixth Connecticut, with the colors of those regiments, still clung to the fort." Putnam at first declined to obey General Seymour, alleging that he had[Pg 239] Gillmore's order to remain where he was. Meanwhile, portions of the Sixth Connecticut and Forty-eighth New York were vainly endeavoring to scale the parapet or were bravely dying on its crest. Some had gained the crest and the interior of the southeast salient, where the defense was assigned to the Thirty-first North Carolina. This regiment, which had an honorable record, and was yet to distinguish itself on many a field, was seized with panic in the bomb-proof at the first alarm and could not be got to the parapet. The whole bastion was undefended by infantry at the crisis of the attack.

Finally, Putnam came on and met the grape and canister and musketry of the fort, which broke his column to pieces. He gallantly led the mass of survivors against the left bastion, and mounting the parapet, entered the bastion enclosure with a hundred or more of his men. Here they maintained themselves for an hour until finally overcome, Colonel Putnam being killed, and the whole Federal attacking force on the outside of the bastion retreating along the beach. On leaving the field, impressed with the force and character of the defense, General Seymour had twice ordered the brigade under General Stevenson to follow Putnam, but the order was not obeyed, and that brigade took no part in the action. In the above account of the attack we have followed the report of General Seymour.

Calling for volunteers to dislodge the force in the salient, Maj. J. R. McDonald, Fifty-first North Carolina, and Captain Ryan, Charleston battalion, promptly responded, with their men. Ryan was selected and ordered to charge the salient. Instantly leading his men forward, he was killed in front of them, and this caused his command to hesitate and lose the opportunity. Fighting bravely, the Connecticut men and those of Putnam's brigade clung to the parapet and the interior of the salient, and suffered from the fire of the Fifty-first North Carolina whenever they exposed themselves above the work, or made any advance toward the interior of the fort. It was now past 10 o'clock, and General Hagood reached the fort with the Thirty-second Georgia. This regiment was sent along the parapet on the left and took position on the bomb-proof, and so completely commanded the force in the salient, that on demand they surrendered.

Thus the second assault on Wagner terminated after a bloody and heroic struggle. It cost the Confederates a small loss in numbers, but a rich sacrifice in the character of the men who lost their lives in its splendid defense. Lieutenant-Colonel Simkins, standing on the ramparts and cheering his artillery, fell in the heat of the battle, "a noble type, living and dying, of the gentleman and the brave soldier." Capt. William H. Ryan, devoted to his adopted country, honored and prized by his comrades, the gallant chief of the Irish volunteers, was killed leading them against the force who occupied the salient. Capt. William T. Tatom, an educated soldier, cool, true and brave, fell by the side of his guns. Maj. David Ramsay, worthy to stand by the side of the heroic commander of the Charleston battalion, type of the cul[Pg 241]tured citizen, worthy of the blood of Henry Laurens, scholar, soldier and hero, yielded his life at Battery Wagner, an offering of his love for South Carolina, though he had opposed her secession from the Union he cherished. The commanding general lost his gallant aide, Capt. P. H. Waring, who was killed by the side of his chief. Two others of his staff, Capt. W. E. Stoney, adjutant-general, and Capt. H. D. D. Twiggs, were severely wounded. The total loss in the fort was 181; 5 officers and 31 soldiers killed; 17 officers and 116 soldiers wounded; 1 officer and 4 soldiers captured. The Federal loss reported was 1,515; 28 officers and 218 soldiers killed; 75 officers and 805 soldiers wounded; 8 officers and 381 soldiers captured. Among the slain were Brigadier-General Strong and Colonels Putnam, Chatfield and Shaw. Each of these officers displayed the highest gallantry, and died on the rampart or in the immediate front of the attack.

Major Gilchrist, describing the scene of conflict the morning after the battle, thus speaks of the heroic dead: "In the salient and on the ramparts they lay heaped and pent, in some places three deep. Among them Colonel Putnam, with the back part of his head blown off; still the remarkable beauty of his face and form evoked from his victorious foes a sigh of pity. On the crest, with but few of his "sable troop" beside the flag he had vainly planted, was the corpse of the youthful Colonel Shaw." The wounded, Confederate and Federal alike, were sent to the hospitals in Charleston, and received every attention from the medical corps. The Federal dead were buried on the field "to be unearthed again by the advancing sap and Federal shells."

We extract from the reports and accounts the following incidents: By the explosion of a 15-inch shell and the falling of tons of sand, General Taliaferro was so completely buried that it was necessary to dig him out with [Pg 242]spades. During the heaviest period of the bombardment, about 2 p. m., the flag halyards were cut and the flag fell into the fort. Instantly Major Ramsay, Lieutenant Readick, Sixty-third Georgia (artillery), Sergeant Shelton and Private Flinn, Charleston battalion, sprang upon the parapet, raised and refastened the flag. Seeing the flag fall, Capt. R. H. Barnwell, of the engineers, seized a battle-flag and planted it on the ramparts. Again the flag was shot away, and Private Gilliland, Charleston battalion, immediately raised and restored it to its place. Lieut. J. H. Powe, of the First South Carolina artillery, so distinguished himself at his gun as to be specially and conspicuously mentioned, with Lieutenant Waties and Captains Adams, Buckner, Dixon and De Pass, for unsurpassed conduct. Lieut.-Col. D. B. Harris, chief engineer of the department, came down to the fort in the midst of the terrific cannonade. His cool and gallant bearing and well-known ability and judgment inspired confidence and contributed to the morale of the garrison. The signal made by General Gillmore to Admiral Dahlgren, fixing twilight as the time of assault, was read by the Confederate signal corps and duly transmitted to General Beauregard.

Maj. Lewis Butler, Sixty-seventh Ohio, in Colonel Putnam's column, was by the side of that officer when he was killed. He bore testimony to the care of the Federal wounded, saying that General Beauregard's order directed "that special care be taken of the wounded captured at Wagner, as men who were brave enough to go in there deserved the respect of the enemy;" and that "the effects, money and papers, belonging to members of the Sixty-seventh Ohio who died in Charleston hospital, were sent through the lines by flag of truce."

About the 11th of August, during a heavy fire on Wagner, a 15-inch shell burst in one of the gun chambers, doing much damage, and mortally wounding and killing several at the gun. Among the former was First Sergt.[Pg 243] T. H. Tynes, Company A, Lucas' battalion of artillery. Capt. John H. Gary, seeing his gallant sergeant fall, went at once to him, and was overcome by the sight of his terrible wound. "I am dying, Captain, but I am glad it is me, and not you." Devoted to his sergeant, Gary burst into tears, when Tynes gasped, almost with his last breath, "I can be spared; but our country can't spare you, Captain." His noble-hearted captain fell at the same gun the next day. Gary was an accomplished young officer, of the highest promise, beloved and honored by his command, and distinguished for his personal gallantry.

Speaking of Wagner and its remarkable strength, Major Johnson, than whom no more competent judge could testify as to the qualities of a defensive work, pays this tribute:

Brigadier-General Davis, at that time colonel of the One Hundred and Fourth Pennsylvania, and in Gillmore's command, says of Wagner in "Annals of the War," Philadelphia Times, 1879: "This was one of the strongest earthworks ever built, and gave evidence of the highest order of engineering ability."

After the signal defeat of this last attempt, July 18th, to carry Battery Wagner by storm, General Gillmore proceeded to lay siege to the fort, and approached by[Pg 244] regular sap.[F] The limits of this history will not permit a detailed account of this most interesting period of the history of Battery Wagner and Fort Sumter. In Major Johnson's book the full record will be found, and in the reports and correspondence published by act of Congress, the history and progress of the siege are related in every particular.

The following incidents embracing a period of fifty days are given from the records: On July 20th the fort was subjected to a combined attack by the batteries on land and water, and on the 23d, the second parallel was opened within 870 yards of the fort. Another attack from the fleet and the batteries followed on the 24th, and for five hours the fort was assaulted by the bombardment. During this period Wagner, Gregg and the batteries from James island fired incessantly on the enemy's working parties. Daily for the remainder of the month of July, the fleet assaulted the fort, and the land batteries fired throughout the night. On August 10th the third parallel was established, 540 yards distant. During this night Wagner, Sumter and the James island batteries drove off the enemy's working parties. The heavy guns of the enemy being advanced, he opened breaching batteries on the gorge wall of Sumter, firing over Wagner, and the fleet engaged Fort Sumter.

Covering the period August 16th to 26th, Major Johnson makes the notes following:

This was the last day of Wagner's defense, and the fifty-eighth day of the attack by land and sea. The sap had progressed on the sea face so far as to enable a large force to move on that flank and gain the rear of the fort, while the whole front was covered by the last parallel within 50 yards of the fort. The fire of the fleet and mortar fire from the trenches, with incessant fire along the parapet by the land batteries, made it fatal work for most of the fort's sharpshooters, and the gun detachments.

The garrison of the fort at this memorable period was as follows: Col. Lawrence M. Keitt, commanding; Maj. H. Bryan, adjutant-general; Capt. Thomas M. Huguenin, First South Carolina infantry (artillery), chief of artillery; Capt. F. D. Lee and Lieut. R. M. Stiles, engineers; Lieut. Edmund Mazyck, ordnance officer. The artillery: Captain Kanapaux's company, Lafayette South Carolina artillery; Company A, First South Carolina infantry (artillery), Lieut. J. L. Wardlaw; Company A, Second South Carolina artillery, Capt. W. M. Hunter; Company E, Palmetto battalion artillery, Capt. J. D. Johnson. The infantry: Twenty-fifth South Carolina, Lieut.-Col. John G. Pressley; Twenty-seventh Georgia, Maj. James Gardner; Twenty-eighth Georgia, Capt. W. P. Crawford. The total for duty was less than 900 men and officers, infantry and artillery.

During the day of the 6th, about 100 casualties were reported by Colonel Keitt. On this day Colonel Keitt, after consulting his engineers, reported to General Ripley the situation at the fort as desperate and recommended its evacuation, and added: "If our sacrifice be of benefit, I am ready. Let it be said so, and I will storm the enemy's works at once.... Before day dawns we should assault him if we remain here. Answer positively and at once." This dispatch was sent at 3:15 p. m., and at 5 o'clock General Ripley signaled Colonel Keitt to prepare to leave the fort at night. The evacuation was successfully accomplished, the rear guard leaving Cummings point at 1:30 a. m. on the 7th. The infantry having left the fort by midnight, its command was turned over to the rear guard, under Captain Huguenin, 25 men, Company A, First South Carolina infantry (artillery), 10 men, Twenty-fifth South Carolina, under Lieuts. F. B. Brown, R. M. Taft and James A. Ross. Capt. C. C. Pinckney, ordnance officer of the First district, Lieut. Edmund Mazyck, ordnance officer of Wagner, were also present and assisting Captain Huguenin.

At 12:30 the rear guard was withdrawn from the parapet and marched out of the fort for Cummings point. Huguenin, Pinckney, Mazyck, Ross and Ordnance Sergeant Leathe alone remained to lay the slow match which had been carefully prepared. Captain Huguenin reports: "In five minutes the train was fixed." Captain Pinckney reports regarding the spiking of the guns: "The vents of most of the pieces were greatly enlarged. In most cases the spikes dropped in loosely, and we were obliged to use two or three of them. We could have remedied this by driving them in and hammering the edges over the orifice, but absolute quiet was obviously necessary." The 10-inch columbiad was prepared for bursting. Ross took the lanyard and Huguenin gave the order: "The last gun from Battery Wagner, fire!" The primer failed! Another failed! A cartridge from a[Pg 249] Whitworth rifle was opened and the vent primed, but from some unknown cause the piece could not be fired. The fire from the parapet having ceased, and the enemy being just under the fort, Captain Huguenin lit the slow match to the magazine. The fuse burned brightly and the officers left the fort. But no explosion followed! The fort was under the fire of mortars, and doubtless a bursting shell cut, or put out the fuse; and the disabled fortress remained for the enemy's inspection.

At Battery Gregg, Capt. H. R. Lesesne successfully spiked his two 10-inch guns, spiked and threw overboard the other pieces, and fired the magazine. The transportation for the garrisons of Wagner and Gregg was skillfully collected at Cummings point and managed with perfect order by Lieut.-Col. O. M. Dantzler, Twentieth South Carolina.

The Confederate ironclads Palmetto State and Chicora sent their boats to assist in taking off the command of Colonel Keitt. The enemy's guard-boats from the rear of Morris island were very active and attacked the transport furiously, at long range. Overtaking two small boats, carrying some forty-odd men, under Lieutenant Hasker of the Confederate navy, they took both boats, and thus the Federal navy secured the only prisoners taken during the evacuation.

Referring to Major Johnson's journal of August 21st, 25th and 26th, and September 5th, mention is there made of attacks on "the ridge" in front of Wagner, and on Battery Gregg. These events will now be noticed more in detail. On the 21st, a force of the enemy charged the ridge and were repulsed, but established their line behind sand hillocks within 20 yards of the picket line. Lieutenant-Colonel Dantzler, with the Twentieth South Carolina, reinforced the pickets, crossed the ridge, and drove back the force in the hillocks, re-establishing the vidette stations and inflicting severe punishment on the intruders. General Hagood, commanding at the time at[Pg 250] Battery Wagner, reported the gallant and zealous service of Colonel Dantzler, and the splendid conduct of his command on this occasion.

On the 25th, the attack on the ridge was repeated with more determination and was repulsed with heavy loss to the assailants, and 25 casualties on the part of the defense. The fire of Wagner's picket line from the ridge had been so faithful and so effective that Gillmore's chief engineer reported that the sap could not advance unless it was silenced. "The engineer officers of the sap express the earnest wish that the enemy be driven out of the ridge with the bayonet."

On the 26th, General Gillmore "ordered General Terry to take and hold the ridge, and placed the resources of the command at his disposal for that purpose." On the evening of the 26th a Federal brigade charged and carried the coveted prize, capturing 67 prisoners, the larger part of the force holding the ridge. The engineer in charge of the sap remarked upon the position: "Rude rifle-pits in the excellent natural cover afforded by the ridge, were found, and sand-bags of a superior quality had been freely used for loopholes and traverses."

On September 5th, the signals between General Gillmore and Admiral Dahlgren apprised General Ripley of an intended boat attack by way of Vincent's creek on Battery Gregg, to be made that night. Gregg was accordingly ready for it. It came about 1:30 o'clock on the morning of the 6th, and is reported by Captain Lesesne as follows:

General Gillmore signaled to Admiral Dahlgren, who had furnished the boats and crews, that he found Gregg prepared for the attack and had failed.

During the siege of Wagner, General Gillmore had established a picket post at the mouth of Vincent's creek, on the James island side. Lieut.-Com. A. F. Warley, of the Chicora, with a launch and crew, and Capt. M. H. Sellers, with a detachment of the Twenty-fifth South Carolina in boats, the whole under the guidance of J. Fraser Mathewes, attacked and captured this picket on the 4th of August, Captain Sellers losing one of his gallant followers. The night following, Lieut. Philip Porcher, on the unarmed steamer Juno, with a crew armed with rifles, was out along Morris island reconnoitering the fleet. Encountering an armed launch of the frigate Wabash, Porcher ran her down, attacked her crew with his rifles and received her surrender, with most of the crew. The launch was turned over to Commodore Tucker for his use in the harbor.

The account of the defense of Battery Wagner may well be concluded with the following extract from Major Johnson's work:

The following dispatches between General Gillmore and Admiral Dahlgren, sent during the period July 22d to September 2d, and read by the Confederate signal corps, will show from the enemy's point of view how the conduct of Wagner was regarded, and how her fire damaged her adversaries:

[F] In his final report he said: "The formidable strength of Fort Wagner induced a modification of the plan of operations, or rather a change in the order previously determined upon. The demolition of Fort Sumter was the object in view as preliminary to the entrance of the ironclads.... To save valuable time, it was determined to attempt the demolition of Sumter from ground already in our possession, so that the ironclads could enter upon the execution of their part of the programme, ... and arrangements were at once commenced, and the necessary orders given to place the breaching guns in position. Arrangements were also made to press the siege of Fort Wagner by regular approaches."

The spring had gone and summer had opened in Virginia, when, seeing no indications of aggressive movement on the part of the Federal army lying opposite him on the Rappahannock, General Lee determined to draw it from his Fredericksburg base and compel it to follow his movements or attack him in position. General Lee's plan involved the movement of his army by its left to Orange and Culpeper, the crossing of the Blue ridge into the Shenandoah valley, the crossing of the Potomac, and the march of his whole force directly on Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania.

The army of Northern Virginia was now organized in three corps, commanded by Lieutenant-Generals Longstreet, Ewell and A. P. Hill. Longstreet's division commanders were McLaws, Pickett and Hood; Ewell's, Early, Rodes and Johnson; A. P. Hill's, Anderson, Heth and Pender. Still in the division of the gallant McLaws, under Longstreet, associated with Barksdale's Mississippians and Semmes' and Wofford's Georgians, was the South Carolina brigade of Gen. J. B. Kershaw. Also in the First corps were the batteries of Capt. Hugh R. Garden (Palmetto) and Captain Bachman's German artillery, with Hood's division, and the Brooks (Rhett's) battery, Lieut. S. C. Gilbert, in Alexander's battalion of Walton's reserve artillery. Gen. Micah Jenkins' South Carolina brigade, of Pickett's division, Longstreet's corps, was detached for special duty on the Blackwater, in southeast Virginia, under Maj.-Gen. D. H. Hill. In[Pg 258] the Third army corps (A. P. Hill's), South Carolina was represented by McGowan's brigade, Hill's light division—North Carolinians, South Carolinians and Georgians—now being commanded by Pender, and the South Carolina brigade by Col. Abner Perrin. Maj. C. W. McCreary commanded the First regiment, Capt. W. M. Hadden the First rifles, Capt. J. L. Miller the Twelfth, Lieut.-Col. B. T. Brockman the Thirteenth, and Lieut.-Col. J. N. Brown the Fourteenth. With the Third corps also was the Pee Dee artillery, Lieut. W. E. Zimmerman. In the cavalry corps of Maj.-Gen. J. E. B. Stuart, Brig.-Gen. Wade Hampton commanded his brigade, including the First and Second South Carolina cavalry, and Capt. J. F. Hart's South Carolina battery was part of the horse artillery under Major Beckham.

Thus it will be seen that there were two infantry brigades, five batteries, and two cavalry regiments of South Carolina troops in the army of General Lee on this march into Pennsylvania. Evans' and Gist's brigades were in Mississippi with General Johnston, and Manigault's brigade was with General Bragg's army at Chattanooga. Attached to those commands or serving in the West, were the batteries of Captains Ferguson, Culpeper, Waties and Macbeth. Most of the South Carolina troops of all arms were engaged in the defense of Charleston and the coast of the State, then being attacked by a powerful fleet and a Federal army.

On June 7th the corps of Longstreet and Ewell, with the main body of the cavalry under Stuart, were encamped around Culpeper Court House; Hill's corps being in position at Fredericksburg in front of General Hooker. The latter, vaguely aware of a campaign at hand, sent his cavalry, under General Pleasanton, up the Rappahannock to gain information. Pleasanton crossed his cavalry, supported by infantry and artillery, at Kelly's and Beverly fords, and advanced upon Brandy Station, one column approaching that railroad station from the[Pg 259] northeast (Beverly ford), the other from the southeast (Kelly's ford). The road from Beverly ford, before reaching the station, passes over a high ridge on which is the hamlet of Fleetwood. On the morning of June 9th, Jones' cavalry brigade was covering Beverly ford, and Robertson's, Kelly's ford. The Federal columns drove off the pickets at the two fords and marched directly to the attack. Before Robertson's brigade had assembled, General Stuart sent the First South Carolina, Col. John L. Black, down the Kelly's Ford road to check the advance until Robertson could take position. This duty was well done by the First, until relieved by Robertson, when the regiment went into battle on the Beverly road with Hampton. As soon as the firing in front was heard, General Hampton mounted his brigade and moved from his camp rapidly through the station and over the Fleetwood ridge to support Jones on the Beverly Ford road, leaving the Second South Carolina, Col. M. C. Butler, to guard the station. Throwing his brigade immediately into action on the right of General Jones, and in support, the division, after severe fighting, drove the column of attack back. At this juncture the Federal force which moved up the Kelly's Ford road had reached the railroad and was taking possession of the Fleetwood ridge in rear of the engagement on the Beverly Ford road. General Stuart promptly ordered his brigades to concentrate upon this, the main attacking force, and the battle followed for the possession of the ridge. The brigades of Hampton, Jones and W. H. F. Lee by repeated charges, front and flank, swept the hill, captured the artillery which had been placed on its summit, and drove the enemy in full retreat for the river. His strong infantry and artillery support checked the pursuit and covered his crossing. The First South Carolina lost 3 killed and 9 wounded, among the latter the gallant Captains Robin Ap C. Jones and J. R. P. Fox.

Meanwhile the Second South Carolina had been fight[Pg 260]ing, single-handed, an unequal battle on the road running from the station to Stevensburg, 5 or 6 miles south, and beyond that place on the road leading to Kelly's ford. A column of cavalry, with artillery, had advanced from Kelly's toward Stevensburg with the evident intention of moving up from that place to the support of the attack at Fleetwood, and if it had reached the field of battle in the rear of Stuart, might have turned the day in Pleasanton's favor. But, being advised of this menacing movement, General Stuart sent Colonel Butler's regiment, 220 strong, down the Stevensburg road to meet and check it. Leading the advance of Butler's regiment, Lieut.-Col. Frank Hampton met and drove back the Federal advance beyond Stevensburg. Then Butler formed his command across and to the left of the road at Doggett's house, about 1½ miles beyond Stevensburg, and stood ready to dispute the advance of the main body of the enemy. Lieutenant-Colonel Hampton was charged with the defense of the road, with a few sharpshooters and one company, Capt. T. H. Clark's. Here he held the right for a half hour, while Butler and Major Lipscomb resisted the attack in the center and on the left, the line of defense being nearly a mile in length.

Massing his squadrons, the enemy charged the right, and to break the force of the onset, Lieutenant-Colonel Hampton, with 36 men, dashed forward at the head of his column. He fell mortally wounded, and the onrushing squadrons scattered his little band. Butler retired his center and left up the Brandy Station road and took post on an eminence at Beckham's house, where his command was reinforced by a squadron from the Fourth Virginia, sent by General Stuart and led by Capt. W. D. Farley of his staff. While holding this position a shell from one of the enemy's batteries passed through Colonel Butler's horse, shattered his leg below the knee, and mortally wounded the gallant Farley. The artillery fire was sweeping the road and the hill, and the Federal[Pg 261] squadrons were forming to charge, when the men offered to bear Farley off. Smiling, with grateful thanks, he told them to stand to their rifles, and to carry Butler out of the fire. Then, with expressions of resignation to his fate and devotion to his country, he expired on the field. Major Lipscomb took command and drew off slowly toward Brandy Station. But the battle had been won for the Confederates at Fleetwood, and Lipscomb soon had opportunity to advance and drive the Federals before him in the general retreat, until he posted his pickets at the river. In this famous cavalry battle Stuart captured 375 prisoners, 3 pieces of artillery and several colors.

A few days later, being satisfied that General Lee was beyond his right flank in force, Hooker began moving his army to keep between Lee and Washington. Meanwhile Ewell marched upon Milroy at Winchester in the Valley, attacked and captured 4,000 prisoners and 28 pieces of artillery, and cleared the Valley for Lee's advance.

General Lee now ordered up A. P. Hill's corps to join in the march for the Potomac. Kershaw's brigade, with McLaws, marched to Sperryville on the 16th, thence to Ashby's gap, where Rice's battalion rejoined the command, crossed the Shenandoah at Berry's ford on the 20th, recrossed and formed line of battle to meet a threatened attack on the 21st, and then continuing, crossed the Potomac on the 26th and encamped near Williamsport. Reaching Chambersburg, Pa., on the 28th of June, they remained there until the 30th, then marching to Fayetteville. McGowan's brigade, with A. P. Hill, also occupied a position near Fayetteville on the 29th. Stuart's cavalry, moving on Longstreet's right flank, left General Hampton on the Rappahannock to watch the enemy. On the 17th, Fitzhugh Lee's brigade made a splendid fight at Aldie, but Pleasanton occupied that place with a large force, and Stuart called Hampton and his other scattered commands together at Middleburg. Here he was at[Pg 262]tacked by cavalry, infantry and artillery on the 21st. Hampton and Jones received the attack gallantly, but were compelled to retire. Here, said General Stuart in his report, "one of the pieces of Captain Hart's battery of horse artillery had the axle broken by one of the enemy's shot, and the piece had to be abandoned, which is the first piece of my horse artillery that has ever fallen into the enemy's hands. Its full value was paid in the slaughter it made in the enemy's ranks, and it was well sold." The fight was renewed at Upperville, before Ashby's gap, and there, said Stuart, "General Hampton's brigade participated largely and in a brilliant manner." On the night of the 24th, Stuart's brigades rendezvoused secretly near Salem Depot, and started toward Washington, encountering Hancock's corps marching north, at Gum Spring. When Hancock had passed they moved to Fairfax Station, where Hampton's advance had a brisk fight on the 27th. Stuart was now between the Federal army and Washington, and Hampton, in advance, crossed the Potomac near Dranesville, and on the 28th started northward. At Rockville a Federal army train, about 8 miles long, was captured, and the subsequent movements of the cavalry were embarrassed by the attempt to convoy the train to Lee's army.

Ewell, meanwhile, taking a more easterly route than Longstreet and Hill, on the 27th camped at Carlisle, Early's division of his corps marching to York, and menacing the Pennsylvania capital. General Hooker did not cross the Potomac until the 25th and 26th, and on the 28th General Meade was placed in command of the Federal army.

On the 28th, General Lee learned from a scout that the Federal army was marching to Frederick and was in part located at the base of South mountain, and he changed his design of marching up the valley to Harrisburg and ordered Hill eastward toward Gettysburg. Heth took the lead, and the South Carolinians, with Pender, reached[Pg 263] Cashtown, 8 miles from Gettysburg, on the last day of June.

On that day both Meade and Lee were marching unconsciously to the point at which they were to fight the great and decisive battle of the year, if not of the war. It is interesting to note that the Southern general was concentrating from the north and the Northern general from the south. Ewell's corps was approaching the battlefield from Carlisle and York, and Hill's from Chambersburg. Before the close of the day Hill learned that Pettigrew's North Carolinians, of Heth's division, in advance near Gettysburg, had met a strong cavalry force, before which they withdrew without battle.

Early on the morning of July 1st, General Hill pushed Heth's division forward, followed closely by Pender's. With Heth was the Pee Dee artillery, in Pegram's battalion; with Pender, the battalion of McIntosh. About 10 a. m. Heth met Buford's Federal cavalry and drove it back across Willoughby run, where the cavalry was promptly supported by the First corps of Meade's army, three divisions, under General Reynolds. General Hill deployed Heth's division on the right and left of the road, Pender's in support, and the battle became severe.

Pushing his battle forward, Hill was checked at the wooded ridge known as Seminary hill, where the First corps with artillery was strongly posted. Putting his artillery in position Heth gallantly charged the heights with his four brigades, and made so strong a battle that General Howard, with part of the Eleventh corps, reinforced the line of the First. At this juncture Ewell's two divisions came in on Hill's left, and the latter ordered Pender forward to relieve Heth. Ewell's line was at right angles to that of Hill's, and both lines now swept onward with irresistible force. Pender's advance was with Thomas' Georgians on the left of the road, and Lane, Scales and Perrin (McGowan's brigade) on the right. The combined assault of Pender and Ewell's[Pg 264] divisions swept the hill and routed the two Federal corps, driving them through the streets, capturing 5,000 prisoners, exclusive of the wounded, several colors and 3 pieces of artillery.

Reporting the advance of Pender, General Hill said: "The rout of the enemy was complete, Perrin's brigade taking position after position of the enemy and driving him through the town of Gettysburg." This special mention by the corps commander of McGowan's veterans, under Perrin, was well deserved. Never was a brigade better handled in battle, and never did regiments respond more steadily to every order for advance in direct charge, or change of front under fire. The Fourteenth, under Lieut.-Col. J. N. Brown and Maj. Edward Croft, and the First, under Maj. C. W. McCreary, on the right of the brigade; and the Twelfth, under Col. J. L. Miller, and the Thirteenth, under Lieut.-Col. B. T. Brockman, on the left, stormed the stone fences on either side of the Lutheran college on Seminary hill and routed their foe from this strong position, capturing hundreds of prisoners, 2 field pieces and a number of caissons, and following the routed columns through the town of Gettysburg. The colors of the First South Carolina were the first Confederate standard raised in the town as Hill's troops were entering it. Late in the afternoon, when Perrin drew up his brigade for rest on the south of the town, a battery which had been driven before Perrin took position on Cemetery hill and fired the first shot from that memorable eminence at the South Carolina brigade. Colonel Perrin reported this fact, and stated that he had watched the battery on its retreat as it was pursued through the town, and saw it take position on the hill. But the loss of the brigade did not fall short of 500. Every one of the color sergeants taken into the fight was killed in front of his regiment.

Perrin was in position in front of Cemetery hill on the 2d, the Federal sharpshooters in his front on the Emmits[Pg 265]burg road. In the afternoon he was ordered by General Pender to push his skirmishers to the road. Capt. William T. Haskell, of the First regiment, commanding a select battalion of sharpshooters, was intrusted with this duty, and Major McCreary led the First regiment, now only about 100 strong, in Haskell's support. The gallant Haskell threw his sharpshooters against the Federal skirmishers, captured the road and drove his opponents up the slope and under their guns. While putting his men in favorable positions on the road, Haskell received a mortal wound and expired on the field. His fall was felt to be a serious loss to the whole brigade. South Carolina gave no better, purer, nobler man as a sacrifice to the cause of Southern independence at Gettysburg.

Perrin held the skirmish line Haskell had won, and on the 3d threw forward the Fourteenth to maintain it against a strong attack. His sharpshooters from the road commanded the cannoneers on the hill, and a desperate effort was made to drive them off the road. In the fight of the Fourteenth regiment to sustain the sharpshooters, Lieutenant-Colonel Brown and Major Croft were severely wounded. The skirmish line was held until the massing of artillery and infantry on the crest made it no longer tenable.

The total loss in McGowan's brigade at Gettysburg was 100 killed and 477 wounded. Including the loss on the retreat, the total was 654. Orr's Rifles, left to guard the trains, did not participate in the battle of the 1st, or the affairs of the 2d and 3d, and lost but few men. The heaviest casualties fell on the Fourteenth, two-thirds of its men being killed or wounded in the three days' engagements. Colonel Perrin mentioned particularly the conduct of the following officers: Major Croft, of the Fourteenth; Maj. I. F. Hunt, of the Thirteenth; Maj. E. F. Bookter, of the Twelfth; Capts. W. P. Shooter,[Pg 266] T. P. Alston and A. P. Butler, of the First; Capts. James Boatwright and E. Cowan, of the Fourteenth, and Capt. Frank Clyburn, of the Twelfth.

Among the gallant dead were Lieut. A. W. Poag, of the Twelfth; Capt. W. P. Conner and Lieuts. W. C. McNinch and D. M. Leitzsey, of the Thirteenth; and Lieutenant Crooker, of the Fourteenth. Lieut. J. F. J. Caldwell, of the First, whose graphic and instructive history of the brigade has aided the writer materially, was among a host of wounded line officers.

The break of day on the 2d revealed the army of General Meade in line of battle on the heights south of Gettysburg, running north and south with the Emmitsburg road in his front. General Lee thus described his position: "The enemy occupied a strong position, with his right upon two commanding elevations adjacent to each other, one southeast (Culp's hill), and the other (Cemetery hill) immediately south of the town which lay at its base. His line extended thence upon the high ground along the Emmitsburg road, with a steep ridge in rear, which was also occupied. This ridge was difficult of ascent, particularly the two hills above mentioned as forming its northern extremity, and a third at the other end (Little Round Top) on which the enemy's left rested. Numerous stone and rail fences along the slope served to afford protection to his troops and impede our advance. In his front the ground was undulating and generally open for about three-quarters of a mile."

Immediately south of the Federal left, as described by General Lee, was a still higher hill, known as Round Top, which commanded the whole left of the Federal position, and was not occupied early on the morning of the 2d. To attack a superior force in a position so strong presented a difficult problem for solution, and gave the Confederate general serious pause. He had Ewell's corps on his left, confronting Culp's and Cemetery hills, and facing southwest and south; and Hill's corps on the[Pg 267] right facing east. McLaws' and Hood's divisions of Longstreet's corps camped within 4 miles of the battlefield on the night of the 1st, left camp at sunrise on the 2d, and marched to the right of Hill's corps. The Third division of Longstreet's corps (Pickett's) was left to guard the trains at Chambersburg, and did not reach the vicinity of Gettysburg until the afternoon of the 2d. General Longstreet received his definite orders for position and attack about 11 o'clock, and by 3:30 p. m. McLaws was in position opposite the enemy's advanced position at the peach orchard, with Hood on his right facing the Round Tops. General Lee's order of attack directed that his right (Hood and McLaws), strongly supported by artillery, should envelop and drive in the Federal left; that simultaneously with this attack against the Federal left, the Confederate left should storm Culp's and Cemetery hills; and the Confederate center at the same time should so threaten the Federal center as to prevent reinforcements to either Federal wing. General Lee's plan of battle contemplated prompt movement, and concert of action along his entire line. If these conditions, essential to the success of the plan, had been given in its execution, the writer believes that the battle of Gettysburg would have been won by General Lee on July 2d by a victory as complete as Chancellorsville. They were not given and the plan failed.

The actual fighting of the separate assaults was gallant and heroic, and the resistance both steady and aggressive; the Federal position along his main line being unmoved by the assaults. On the Confederate right two divisions of Longstreet's corps made the advance at 4 p. m. (Hood's and McLaws'), supported by four of the five brigades of Anderson's division from the center. Hood on the extreme right, next McLaws, and then Anderson, were fighting forward and struggling to storm the last[Pg 268] position of the Federal army on the heights, but these divisions were fighting it out without the simultaneous battle which Lee had ordered on the left.

They had carried the stone walls and numerous hills and woods, the peach orchard, the great wheat-field and rocky bluffs in their front, and were on the slopes of the Round Tops and the heights north of them, but still the battle had not opened on the left. There was not a man to reinforce Longstreet's line, and the enemy in his front was reinforced by both infantry and artillery. Hours passed (General Lee said two, General Longstreet four and Gen. Edward Johnson said it was dark) before General Ewell's left division moved to the attack on Culp's hill, which, after some time, perhaps another hour, was followed by the attack on the north face of Cemetery hill. Edward Johnson's division made the attack on Culp's hill and Early's division on Cemetery hill. The Third division of Ewell's corps (Rodes') did not attack at all. Anderson's (of Hill's corps) was the only one of the three center divisions that attacked from the center.

It is evident from these statements, which are made from a careful study of the official reports, that the prime conditions of success, concert of action and simultaneous movement, were not given the plan of the commanding general. Edward Johnson's three brigades did not begin the actual attack on Culp's hill until dusk, according to his own and General Ewell's statements. General Early, with two of his four brigades, Hays' and Hoke's, attacked Cemetery hill still later. These two brigades carried the height and actually took the enemy's batteries, but were unable without support to hold what they had gained. It is in the report of Rodes, who did not advance at all, on account of darkness, that particular mention is made of his having observed the enemy on Cemetery hill, during the afternoon, withdrawing artillery and infantry to reinforce against the attack then in progress on the Confederate right. The troops of the Federal army in posi[Pg 269]tion at Culp's and Cemetery hills were those beaten and routed on the 1st, and considering the success gained by the brigades of Hays and Avery, there can be no reasonable doubt that with the immediate support of Rodes, the attack being made at the earlier hour ordered, Cemetery hill would have fallen, and with its fall the Confederate left and center would have driven the Federal right in confusion and Gettysburg would have been added to the long list of General Lee's great victories. The Comte de Paris, in his review of Gettysburg, has truly said, that "the way in which the fights of the 2d of July were directed does not show the same co-ordination which insured the success of the Southern arms at Gaines' Mill and Chancellorsville."

But it is time that our attention was directed to the South Carolina brigade, under Kershaw, operating with McLaws, in Longstreet's attack, and the batteries of Bachman and Garden, operating with Hood, on the extreme right of Longstreet's battle.

Kershaw formed the right of McLaws' division and Barksdale his left, Semmes behind Kershaw and Wofford behind Barksdale. In front of Barksdale was the peach orchard, 500 yards distant and in front of Kershaw and on a line with the orchard a stone house, stone barn and stone fence. The peach orchard was on an eminence, and was held by infantry and a battery. Beyond the stone house was another eminence, defended by a battery, and beyond this battery a stony hill, wooded and rough. This stony hill was in front of Kershaw's center, and beyond the hill opened the great wheat-field which spread forward to the slopes of the Federal main position. Barksdale moved against the orchard and Kershaw against the stony hill and the battery in front of it. Before moving General Kershaw had detached the Fifteenth South Carolina, Colonel De Saussure, to support a battery between his right and Hood's left.

Marching forward under the fire of canister from the[Pg 270] battery in his front, and the infantry fire from the south side of the peach orchard, the Carolina brigade swept past the battery and reached the hill, Barksdale clearing the orchard and its battery on Kershaw's left. Taking possession of the rocky hill, the enemy at once advanced upon it over the wheat-field in two lines of battle.

As the brigade stood on the rocky hill to receive the advance, the regiments were ranged, from right to left: The Seventh, Colonel Aiken; Third, Maj. R. C. Maffett; Second, Colonel Kennedy; Third battalion, Lieut.-Col. W. G. Rice; Eighth, Colonel Henagan. The Fifteenth, Colonel DeSaussure, was still in battle in support of artillery between Kershaw and Hood. Here, at the rocky hill, was the battle ground of the brigade. The Eighth, Third battalion and Second held their ground and beat back the attacks coming again and again against them. Moving around Kershaw's right, before Semmes could come to his support, a large force assaulted the Seventh and pushed back its right. The Third held its ground until the Seventh was crowded back at right angles, and then changed its front to support the Seventh. A part of Semmes' brigade came up, but the enemy were so far in rear of Kershaw's right as to cut off the support. Surrounding his right, the attacking force drove back the Seventh, and the battle on Kershaw's right was with the Third and Seventh and one of Semmes' regiments at close quarters among the rocks and trees of the hill-crest and sides.

Meanwhile the left was holding fast. On came Wofford toward the conflict, and on the right Semmes' other regiments and the Fifteenth South Carolina. Sweeping up to the battle everything gave way before the charge, and joining Wofford and Semmes, Kershaw's line moved forward, the advance sweeping the whole wheat-field and beyond to the foot of the mountain. Night came on, and the brigades of McLaws were put on the hill along the positions gained by the battle.

General Kershaw's losses were severe and grievous. The brave and able Colonel De Saussure, of the Fifteenth, and Major McLeod, of the Eighth, gallant in fight and estimable in life, had both fallen; Colonel De Saussure killed on the field and Major McLeod mortally wounded. Among the wounded were Colonel Kennedy of the Second, Lieut.-Col. Elbert Bland of the Seventh, and Maj. D. B. Miller of the Third battalion. The writer regrets that he can find no list of the line officers killed and wounded in the brigade at Gettysburg. The brigade lost 115 killed, 483 wounded and 32 missing, making a total of 630. Bachman's and Garden's batteries with Hood's right, and Rhett's battery, under Lieutenant Gilbert, were in action during the day, but there are no reports at hand of their casualties.

If the problem presented to the mind of General Lee on the morning of the 2d, as he saw his army, inferior in numbers and equipment, confronted by the army of General Meade on the heights of Gettysburg, was one which gave him the deepest concern, how much more serious was the situation on the morning of the 3d! General Longstreet's battle on the right had driven the Federal left to the crests, and the Confederate infantry and artillery of that wing were occupying the positions which the Federal forces had held on the morning of the 2d. But now the Federal army was intrenched on those heights, with the Round Tops bristling with artillery and Cemetery hill and Culp's hill crowned by batteries, seven corps behind breastworks of stone or earth, and the slopes in front guarded by advanced lines lying behind fences or covered in the woods.

There is no record of a council of war. Longstreet, second in command, continued to favor a movement around the Federal left; but General Lee disapproved, and resolutely determined to attack the Federal citadel, confident that the men who had swept Hooker's army from the heights of Chancellorsville, if properly sup[Pg 272]ported, could carry victory to the heights of Gettysburg.

He selected the Federal left center as the point of attack; ordered, as on the 2d, concert of action from both wings of his army, and organized his assaulting column of 15,000 men. Stuart's cavalry had come up on his left and confronted the main body of Meade's cavalry. The situation on his extreme right was more serious than the Confederate general realized. This is evident from the reports. The Round Tops were unassailable by the force at Longstreet's command, and a division of cavalry, Farnsworth's and Merritt's brigades, was in position on the right rear, confronted by a single regiment, the First South Carolina cavalry, Bachman's South Carolina battery, and three regiments of Anderson's Georgia brigade. Anderson's regiments were at right angles to Longstreet's line, and Colonel Black's cavalry was on Anderson's right flank. Black had only about 100 men in his regiment. In Longstreet's immediate front the situation was such that there was nothing to do but stand on the defensive. He was weaker in numbers on the 3d than he was on the morning of the 2d, and his enemy was stronger by reinforcements and the occupation of the greater of the two Round Tops. If, however, the assaulting column of 15,000 could break the center, the wings of General Meade's army would be so shaken that both Longstreet and Ewell could attack with good hope of success, and Lee was fixed in his purpose.

The column of attack was made up of the divisions of Pickett and Pettigrew (Heth's), to be supported by Wilcox and the brigades of Lane and Scales under Trimble.

All the available artillery of Hill's and Longstreet's corps was put in position by Col. E. P. Alexander, and at 1 o'clock General Longstreet ordered the batteries to open. For two hours more than 200 cannon were in action across the plain against Federal and Confederate. At 3 the assaulting column moved out from cover and down toward the Emmitsburg road, which ran between[Pg 273] the two armies, and at the point of attack was held by the Federal pickets. The Confederate batteries had ceased firing and could give no more support, for their ammunition was nearly exhausted, no supply near at hand, and it was essential to reserve the supply in the chests.

All the reports of the advance concur in the statement that the troops moved over the field and into the fire of the enemy's batteries in beautiful order. Coming under the canister fire of the batteries on the crest, the ranks began rapidly to thin and officers to fall, but the advance was steady. General Trimble, riding with his line, then 100 yards in rear of Pettigrew, said: "Notwithstanding the losses as we advanced, the men marched with the deliberation and accuracy of men on drill. I observed the same in Pettigrew's line."

The enemy's batteries were on the crest. Below them 30 or 40 yards on the slope, and running almost parallel with the crest, was a stone wall, breast high. Behind this wall lay the Federal first line. Below this line, some hundred yards, concealed in the undergrowth, lay his advance line. Beyond it, at the road, ran his picket line. Meeting the pickets, they were immediately driven in, and Garnett and Kemper marched against the advance line in the undergrowth. The resistance was slight, prisoners were made, and the attack so vigorous and dashing that the Federal line was driven in rout. But the enemy's batteries opened with redoubled activity, and the fire from the stone wall was galling. A battery on Little Round Top, enfilading the front of the stone wall, and another from Cemetery hill, plunged their shell into the ranks of Kemper and Garnett and raked the advancing line of Armistead as it moved up in support.

Garnett led his brigade forward against the stone wall and got in advance, and arrived within 50 yards, where the fire was so severe that it checked his onset and he sent back to hurry up Kemper and Armistead. Both[Pg 274] these brigades were struggling through the withering fire, and in a few moments were abreast with Garnett. At 25 yards from the wall Garnett was shot from his horse. Kemper had fallen and Armistead had been killed, but officers and men rushed for the wall and planted their standards. The fighting at this line was desperate, and hand to hand. But the conflict was too unequal to avail the gallant survivors of Garnett and Kemper and Armistead. Of the three brigades scarcely a picket line was left to grapple with the battle array of their foe. The remnant gave up the fight and left the field. If Wilcox could have reached the wall with his gallant Alabamians, the fight might have been prolonged—it might have been successful. But to reach that stone wall Wilcox must march through the fire that shot to pieces the brigades of Kemper, Garnett and Armistead. General Wilcox says that he reached the foot of the hill; that he could not see a man whom he was sent to support; that he was subjected to such an artillery fire from front and both flanks that he went back in search of a battery; that he could find none; that returning to his brigade he regarded further advance useless and ordered a retreat.

On the left, Pettigrew and Trimble carried their battle to the Emmitsburg road and to the advanced line. Archer's brigade, on Garnett's immediate left, had 13 color-bearers shot one after another in gallant efforts to plant the colors of his five regiments on the stone wall. The direction of the Federal line was oblique to the general line of advance. Pettigrew's line was exposed longest to the front and flank fire, and at the Emmitsburg road he had suffered more severely than Pickett's brigades. When Pettigrew was yet 150 yards from the Emmitsburg road, says General Trimble, who was about that distance in his rear, "They seemed to sink into the earth from the tempest of fire poured into them." Although wounded, Pettigrew led his line across the[Pg 275] road and against the first line, but his brigades were shattered too badly to make organized assault further. Archer's brigade on his right fought at the stone wall, as did Garnett's and Kemper's and Armistead's, and suffered a like repulse. Officers and men from the other brigades reached the wall and fought with desperate courage, and died beside it, but the division in its organization was torn asunder and shot to pieces by the time they reached and attacked the first line. Trimble's brigades were as helpless for successful assault as Pettigrew; and yet they moved on until within pistol shot of the main line. As General Trimble followed his line back to Seminary ridge, on horseback, under the increased fire of shell, grape and musketry, he reported his wonder that any one could escape wounds or death. And, indeed, but few did. The loss is reported for Garnett, Kemper, Armistead and Wilcox, but there is no report given of the particular loss of July 3d in Pettigrew's command, or Trimble's. The three brigades of Pickett lost their brigadiers, nearly every field officer, and nearly or quite 3,000 men.

With the failure of this attack, the great contest at Gettysburg was decided. While it was in progress General Stuart, on the rear of General Lee's left, was fighting a great cavalry battle with the main body of General Meade's cavalry. Stuart had the brigades of Hampton, Fitz Lee, Chambliss, W. H. F. Lee and Jenkins. In the battle much of the fighting was at close quarters and with pistol and saber as the charging lines came together. In one of these contacts General Hampton was twice severely wounded. On the day previous, his having been the first of General Stuart's brigades to reach the vicinity of Gettysburg, he was just in time to meet a cavalry force moving from Hunterstown directly against General Lee's unprotected left. After a sharp engagement General Hampton defeated this force, and drove it beyond reach. The arrival of Stuart on the 2d was a[Pg 276] source of infinite satisfaction to the Confederate commander; indeed, if he had not come, the three divisions of General Pleasanton would have taken complete possession of General Lee's communications, and the battle of Gettysburg would have been a still greater disaster to the Southern army.

After the defeat of the assaulting column, Meade was too cautious to risk his lines against the army that had held the heights of Fredericksburg. He stood resolutely on the defensive throughout the 4th of July. On that night General Lee began his masterly retreat to the Potomac, which he crossed in the face of his enemy on the morning of the 14th. Ewell's corps forded the river at Williamsport, Generals Longstreet and Hill crossed by pontoon at Falling Waters, and by 1 p. m. of the 14th the Gettysburg campaign was over.

The armies of Generals Bragg and Rosecrans, which were to fight the battle of Chickamauga on the 19th and 20th of September, 1863, were widely separated in the early part of August, Bragg at Chattanooga and Rosecrans beyond the Cumberland mountains, with the Tennessee river rolling between them.

About the middle of August, the Federal general broke up his encampments and moved his army across the mountains to the Tennessee. Crittenden's corps threatened Chattanooga through the gaps in Walden's ridge, while Thomas' corps and McCook's moved to Stevenson, Bridgeport and the vicinity. Rosecrans established his depot at Stevenson and passed his army over the river on pontoons, rafts and boats, and boldly crossed Sand mountain to Trenton. He was on the flank of General Bragg by the 8th of September, and by the 12th had crossed Lookout mountain.

Bragg, having left Chattanooga on the 8th, Rosecrans sent Crittenden's corps to occupy that place and move on the railroad as far as Ringgold, while Thomas and McCook took position in McLemore's cove and down as far as Alpine. Rosecrans' corps was widely separated and his wings were by road, 50 miles or more apart! Meanwhile Bragg was on the line of Chickamauga creek, with his left at Lafayette and his headquarters at Lee & Gordon's mills. General Gist's South Carolina brigade, with Ferguson's battery, was guarding his extreme left at Rome and supporting the cavalry in that quarter. Crit[Pg 278]tenden's corps at Ringgold and vicinity was at General Bragg's mercy. He was only 10 miles from Bragg's headquarters, with the Chickamauga between himself and Thomas, and by road at least 20 miles from that general's support. McCook was fully as far from Thomas on the other flank. "It was therefore a matter of life and death (says Rosecrans in his report) to effect the concentration of the army."

Crittenden marched across Bragg's right, passed the Chickamauga and moved down toward Thomas, and McCook marched up from Alpine toward that general's position in McLemore's cove. Pigeon mountain range covered McCook and Thomas; but Crittenden's march was open to attack. His corps should have been beaten and driven off toward Chattanooga. General Bragg clearly saw this and endeavored to strike Crittenden at the proper moment, giving explicit orders to that effect. These orders were not executed, the opportunity passed, and Rosecrans united his corps on the west side of the Chickamauga, while Bragg confronted him on the east. The great battles of the 19th and 20th of September were now imminent. We give the organization of the two armies as they were engaged in that memorable conflict, omitting those troops which were not in the battle; as, for instance, the brigades of Hood's and McLaws' divisions, and the artillery of those commands. Longstreet had only three brigades in battle on the 19th and five on the 20th, the artillery and other commands of his corps not having arrived. Among his absent brigades was that of Gen. Micah Jenkins, composed of South Carolina regiments.

The number of infantry divisions and brigades, as reported, was the same in both armies. Bragg had more cavalry in the field than Rosecrans, but in the battle of Chickamauga, on his immediate flanks, Wheeler had not more than 2,000 and Forrest about the same number. It is always difficult to estimate the strength of[Pg 280] armies by counting their divisions, brigades or regiments, for the reason that it is impossible in an active campaign to keep up the relative proportions of separate corps, engaged at different times and often with no option as to whether a fresh or a decimated command shall go into action. The writer was an officer of General Walker's division, and knows that at the battle of Chickamauga, on the 20th, that division of three brigades did not number 3,000 men. General Gist's brigade, to which the writer was attached, went into action on the 20th, 980 strong, one of its regiments (Sixteenth South Carolina) and its light battery being absent at Rome.

By studying the field returns of both armies, nearest to the opening battle on the 19th (Rosecrans' of September 10th and Bragg's of August 20th), and making deductions for commands on stations or on detached duty, and counting in for Bragg's army the two divisions from Mississippi (Breckinridge's and Walker's), and Longstreet's five brigades and Buckner's troops, and estimating losses for both armies up to the battle of the 19th, it is believed that Bragg crossed the Chickamauga on the 18th, 19th and 20th with 45,000, exclusive of his cavalry. By the method of estimating the strength of General Bragg's army, the writer believes that Rosecrans confronted Bragg with 53,000, exclusive of his cavalry.

Before the battle, each general overestimated the strength of the other and underestimated his own. On September 12th, General Rosecrans believed that "the main body of Johnston's army had joined Bragg," and that he had been heavily reinforced from Virginia. The truth is, that so far as Bragg's reinforcements affected the engagements of the armies at Chickamauga, they did not add a man more than 10,000 to Bragg's strength, if, indeed, they added so many.

The two armies facing each other from opposite sides of the Chickamauga, Bragg gave order for battle. Rosecrans' left, under Thomas, was at Kelly's house on the[Pg 281] Chattanooga road, his right stretching beyond and south of Lee & Gordon's mills. The Chattanooga road spoken of is the main road from LaFayette to Chattanooga, crossing the Chickamauga at Lee & Gordon's mills. Kelly's house was opposite Reed's bridge, and south of it, on the road, were the houses of Poe, Brotherton, Brock, Taylor and Vineyard. Nearly a mile north of Kelly's was McDonald's. From McDonald's to Lee & Gordon's mills (the road running nearly north and south) was about 4 miles.

The crossings of the Chickamauga were by fords and two bridges, Alexander's and Reed's; the former opposite Vineyard's house, and the latter opposite Kelly's. Hunt's (or Dalton's) ford came nearest Lee & Gordon's mills; then Thedford's, then Alexander's bridge, then Byram's ford, then Reed's bridge, and a mile further north, Reed's ford. General Bragg's order designated the ford or bridge at which the different commands were to cross and directed each to attack in front, beginning from the Reed bridge crossing and moving against the Federal left and rear.

Thomas marched his head of column beyond Kelly's house, faced the Chickamauga, and sent one of his divisions (Brannan's) to reconnoiter toward Reed's bridge. From Kelly's to Reed's bridge was about 2½ miles. At Jay's mill, near the bridge, Brannan met Forrest, and the battle of the 19th was opened. Forrest pushed Brannan back, the latter was reinforced by Baird's division, and Walker (marching from Alexander's bridge toward Forrest's battle) sent two of his brigades, Ector's and Wilson's, to Forrest's support. Brannan and Baird were driving Forrest back to Jay's mill when Ector and Wilson came up, and then in turn Baird and Brannan were driven, artillery and prisoners captured. Thomas now reinforced his battle by Reynolds, and McCook sent in Johnson's division. Walker, coming up with Liddell's two brigades, took command of the battle and attacked vig[Pg 282]orously with Forrest and his four brigades, driving Reynolds, on the Federal right, in rout; but Palmer's division sent by Crittenden to reinforce Thomas, met and drove Walker back. Meanwhile, Baird and Brannan were checking and holding Forrest.

General Bragg sent up Cheatham's division on Walker's left, and Thomas moved Brannan from his left to his right. Cheatham attacked against the Federal right, further reinforced by Van Cleve's division, drove forward for a half mile, was checked, his flanks threatened, and retired to his first position. The Federal right advanced, attacked Cheatham and Walker, and were handsomely repulsed; meanwhile Forrest holding fast the right. Finally, near night, Cleburne came up in Cheatham's rear and forming on his right, attacked and drove for a mile the Federal left, capturing three pieces of artillery, several stand of colors and 300 or more prisoners. It was now past night and the battle on the Confederate right was over. Lieutenant-General Polk arrived on the right and took command at about 5 p. m. Walker's, Cheatham's, Cleburne's and Forrest's battle was from Jay's mill (a half mile from Reed's bridge on to the west) toward Kelly's house, the line of battle extending for a mile on either side of the road from Reed's bridge toward Kelly's. Early in the afternoon, Stewart's division in front of Vineyard's, and Hood's on his left, vigorously attacked. Stewart drove in the Federal center and crossed the Chattanooga road, but was repulsed. The battle of Stewart and Hood was vigorous and aggressive from the start, but was not reinforced and was repulsed from the road. Stewart nor Hood had artillery, and neither could hold what was gained at and beyond the road.

Thus ended the battle of the 19th. Rosecrans held the ridge of the Chattanooga road, formed and strengthened his line during the night, and Bragg called his corps commanders and gave his orders for the battle of the 20th to open at daylight. General Rosecrans remarks of the[Pg 283] 19th, that "at the close of the day we had present but two brigades that had not been squarely and opportunely in action, opposed to superior numbers of the enemy." On his part, the whole of his infantry, two brigades excepted, had been "opportunely and squarely in action." On Bragg's part, six divisions of eighteen brigades, with Forrest's cavalry, had been "squarely in action."

There was but little rest or sleep for soldier or officer on the night of the 19th. Rosecrans was felling trees along his front, building breastworks of logs and rails, and massing his army in line from beyond Kelly's to Vineyard's, a distance of 2 miles. Bragg gave his right to Lieutenant-General Polk and his left to Lieutenant-General Longstreet; the latter did not arrive until 11 p. m. on the 19th. Forrest was well out on the right, in front of McDonald's; Wheeler on the left, at Lee & Gordon's mills and beyond. Polk's command was arranged from right to left, as follows: Breckinridge, Cleburne, with Walker behind the former and Cheatham in rear and to the left of the latter. On the left, Lieutenant-General Longstreet's wing was organized from right to left as follows: Stewart (touching Cleburne), Johnson, Hood, McLaws, Hindman and Preston. The line of the Confederate battle for most of its entire length was in the forest, which made it difficult to handle artillery until the openings along the road were gained.

The South Carolina brigades, Kershaw's, Manigault's and Gist's, were with the divisions of McLaws, Hindman and Walker. Kershaw reached Alexander's bridge from Ringgold at midnight and went into camp on the west bank at 1 a. m. on the 20th. General McLaws not having arrived, General Kershaw was in command of the two brigades of the division present, Humphreys' and his own.

While Kershaw was marching from Ringgold for Alexander's bridge, General Gist was marching from[Pg 284] Catoosa Station for the same point, having arrived from Rome with part of the Forty-sixth Georgia, the Twenty-fourth South Carolina and the Eighth Georgia battalion; the Sixteenth South Carolina and Ferguson's battery awaiting transportation at Rome, with the remainder of the Forty-sixth Georgia.

General Gist had under his charge an ammunition train which delayed his march and prevented his leaving Catoosa before 10 p. m. on the 19th. After an all-night march Gist crossed Alexander's bridge at sunrise, halted a mile beyond, and after a brief rest was directed to the right to join Walker, arriving about 9 o'clock. General Walker at once assigned Gist to the command of his division (Ector, Wilson and Gist), and Gist's brigade was commanded by the senior officer, Col. P. H. Colquitt, Forty-sixth Georgia. Kershaw marched his own and Humphreys' brigades to the left and took position in support of Hood. Manigault's brigade, including the Tenth and Nineteenth South Carolina, under Colonel Pressley, was under fire on the 18th, Pressley losing 6 men, crossed at Hunt's ford on the afternoon of the 19th, with its division (Hindman's), and on the 20th was in line near the extreme left. Culpeper's South Carolina battery was with McNair's brigade, Johnson's division.

The province of the writer does not permit him to do more than first sketch the outline of the battle, and then more particularly to speak of the action of the South Carolina commands. The attack began between 9 and 10 a. m. by a vigorous assault of Breckinridge's and Cleburne's divisions on the extreme left of Rosecrans' line, in front of Kelly's. This assault was repulsed. Fighting on the right throughout the morning failed to carry the Federal left. The battle progressed from right to left, the Confederate center and particularly the left being more successful. The Federal center and right were gradually driven until forced from the road at Poe's, Brotherton's and Vineyard's. Rosecrans' line was bent[Pg 285] first into a curve, and then broken into a right angle, the angle being about opposite the left of Polk's wing. The Federal right found a strong rest at Snodgrass hill, where Thomas, now commanding on the field, concentrated artillery and all the troops as they were driven from the line. This position, assaulted again and again, repulsed the assaults and proved the salvation of Rosecrans' army, for behind it the Federal divisions retreated on Rossville and Chattanooga.

The Federal left held the position at Kelly's until late in the afternoon, about 5 o'clock, when General Polk ordered his wing forward. The attack carried the position for its whole front and Baird's division followed those on his right in the retreat behind Snodgrass. This last stronghold was abandoned during the early part of the night and Bragg's victory was complete.

When the first attack against the Federal left had failed, and the divisions of Breckinridge and Cleburne were withdrawing, General Gist's brigade, under Colquitt, not 1,000 strong, was hurried in to the support of Breckinridge's left brigade, that of General Helm. No opportunity was given for reconnoitering the woods, and the lull in the firing made it uncertain as to the exact position of the enemy. Colquitt was ordered to advance due west and support Breckinridge, on his left, and his left (Helm) was repulsed and retiring in disorder. Meeting and passing Helm's men, the little brigade, dressing on the center (Eighth Georgia battalion), marched on into the great forest. Colquitt's three companies were on the right and the Twenty-fourth South Carolina on the left. It was now about 11 o'clock. The first attack had been made at about 9:30. General Baird, who received the attack, fixes the hour at between 8 and 9 a. m. The well-known order of General Bragg had directed it to be made at daylight.

The attack of Breckinridge and Cleburne, which preceded this advance of Colquitt, struck the Federal left[Pg 286] flank in front of Kelly's house. Baird's division was in position here, behind breastworks of logs and rails, the timber freshly cut from the abundant forest. The position was a quarter of a mile east of the road, in the forest, with open fields behind it running to the road and surrounding Kelly's house. The breastworks made a sharp angle about opposite the right of Polk's brigade (on the left of Helm) and ran back northwest to the road. From the angle to the road King's brigade of regulars was stationed, and on their right Scribner's brigade and then Starkweather's. General Baird formed his division in two lines, and reported that King's regulars were even more concentrated. Three batteries of artillery belonged to Baird's division, but that general reported that much of it was disabled on the 19th, and that he defended his line with but four guns.

Gist's brigade, not 1,000 strong, plunged into the woods, without support right or left, to storm the position from which Cleburne on its left and Helm in its front, were retiring. The gallant Helm had fallen and his brigade, supported on its left by Polk, was repulsed, after three attempts to storm King's regulars. In a few moments the Twenty-fourth South Carolina passed the angle in Baird's line unseen in the thick forest, and his artillery and infantry opened an enfilade from King's front. Promptly as the fire opened, Col. C. H. Stevens commanded the Twenty-fourth to change front to the left, and was instantly wounded and disabled, his horse being shot. Lieutenant-Colonel Capers executed the change of front and directed the fire of the Twenty-fourth in reply. The gallant adjutant of the Twenty-fourth, Lieut. J. C. Palmer, fell pierced through the head. Then Maj. J. S. Jones was badly wounded, and in bringing up his right to form on the Twenty-fourth and Eighth Georgia, Colquitt fell. The assault was ordered, and while leading it Lieutenant-Colonel Capers received a serious wound in the thigh, his horse was disabled, and the little[Pg 287] brigade was repulsed. Capt. D. F. Hill took command of the Twenty-fourth and Lieutenant-Colonel Napier, Georgia battalion, took command of Gist's brigade.

In the battle of the afternoon the Twenty-fourth with the brigade had better luck. Reinforced by the absent companies of the Forty-sixth Georgia to 1,400 strong, Napier led the brigade in the glorious battle of the right wing and had the happiness to follow the broken and routed columns of Baird, Johnson and Palmer, until night came to give rest and sleep to men who had enjoyed none since leaving Rome on the early morning of the 18th.

In the struggle before Baird's position, which lasted not more than forty minutes, the Twenty-fourth South Carolina lost 169 men and line officers, killed and wounded. Colonel Colquitt, an accomplished soldier and gallant leader, fell from his horse mortally wounded in front of the center of his line. At the moment Colquitt's 980 men were sent in to support Breckinridge, Lieutenant-General Hill (who gave the order) did not know that Helm and Polk were badly repulsed. Learning it, he sent General Gist forward with Ector and Wilson's brigades to support Colquitt's attack, but before Gist reached Colquitt, his attack was over, with the result above described. Indeed, the history of Colquitt's attack and repulse is the history of the fight of the right wing throughout the morning of the 20th. It was not until the afternoon, when the whole wing went forward, that victory crowned its battle.

In the left wing Manigault and Kershaw were in the thick of the fight. Kershaw commanded the two brigades of McLaws' division, and after General Hood was wounded, he took the direction of his three brigades. Kershaw attacked about 11:30 and Manigault shortly after, the former in front of the Brock house and the latter just north of Vineyard's. Both attacks were successful and crossed the Chattanooga road, swinging with the left wing in a[Pg 288] grand wheel to the right. In his advance Kershaw reached the Dyer house, almost in rear of Brotherton's and half a mile beyond the Chattanooga road. Manigault reached a point on Kershaw's left and in line with his advance, the divisions of Preston, Hindman, Kershaw and Hood driving the Federal right to Snodgrass and drawing around that point. Here followed the hardest and most prolonged struggle of the day. The order of the divisions was somewhat broken up, and brigades went in wherever they could assist in a charge. About 5 p. m. Gracie and Kelly, from Preston's; McNair, with Culpeper's battery, from Johnson's; Anderson from Hindman's, and Law from Hood's, with Kershaw's brigade, all directed by Kershaw, moved on the front and east of Snodgrass, while Hindman with Manigault's and Deas' brigades, Johnson with Gregg's, and Preston with Trigg's, attacked the west flank. This, says Kershaw, "was one of the heaviest attacks on a single point I ever witnessed! The brigades went in in magnificent order. For an hour and a half the struggle continued with unabated fury. It terminated at sunset." The hill was not carried. It was held with splendid courage and was defended by all the forces of the center and right which could be rallied, and by Steedman's division of Granger's reserve corps; the whole put in position by General Thomas, now in command of the field, General Rosecrans having given up the battle as lost and gone to Chattanooga to arrange for the morrow.

As soon as the Confederate right had driven the Federal left, Thomas began the retreat of the center behind his citadel on Snodgrass, and after night withdrew the divisions of Wood, Brannan and Steedman from the hill, and the great battle had been fought to its victorious end.

The losses had been terrible on both sides. Among the Carolina commands some of the choicest spirits had fallen. Kershaw lost 488 killed and wounded; Manigault[Pg 289] 539, and the Twenty-fourth South Carolina (Gist's brigade) 169; a total of 1,196. Lieut.-Col. Elbert Bland, Seventh South Carolina, fell at the head of his regiment, and a few moments later Maj. John S. Hard, his successor, was instantly killed. Capt. J. M. Townsend, commanding the Third battalion, Lieut.-Col. Hoole, Eighth regiment, and Capt. W. A. Williams, acting major of the Third, were killed in the gallant performance of duty. Capt. D. R. Huger of General Manigault's staff fell in front of Snodgrass hill, and others of that gallant brigade sealed their devotion to duty with their heart's blood.

In the report of General Kershaw, the following officers are mentioned for gallant and noteworthy conduct: Lieutenant-Colonel Bland and Major Hard of the Seventh; Captain Townsend of the Third battalion; Col. James D. Nance of the Third regiment; Lieut.-Col. Franklin Gaillard of the Second; Col. John W. Henagan of the Eighth, and Col. Joseph F. Gist of the Fifteenth; Capts. C. R. Holmes, H. L. Farley, and W. M. Dwight of the brigade staff, and Couriers M. F. Milam, Company A, Third battalion, and Rawlins Rivers, Company I, Second regiment; both killed carrying General Kershaw's orders on the field.

General Gist mentioned Maj. B. B. Smith, Capt. M. P. King, and Lieuts. L. M. Butler and J. C. Habersham, of his staff, for efficiency and gallant conduct; Col. C. H. Stevens and Lieut.-Col. Ellison Capers, Twenty-fourth, for the same; and Adjt. J. C. Palmer and Capt. D. F. Hill, of the Twenty-fourth, "and other brave and true officers" of the same regiment.

General Manigault mentioned the following as "distinguished for conduct on the field:" Col. J. F. Pressley and Lieut.-Col. Julius T. Porcher of the Tenth; Maj. J. L. White and Adjutant Ferrell of the Nineteenth; Capt. C. I. Walker, assistant adjutant-general, and Lieut. William E. Huger, aide-de-camp. These names are given from the reports, but how many are left unmentioned![Pg 290] The men and officers of the line who carried their colonels and lieutenant-colonels and majors and generals forward to victory are worthy of lasting honor. South Carolina has recorded their names on her roll of faithful and devoted soldiers and citizens, and while her archives endure they may be read by their descendants as the witness she bears to their courage, their patriotism, and their self-sacrificing devotion to duty.

On August 24, 1863, General Gillmore, in a communication to the general-in-chief of the United States armies, said: "I have the honor to report the practical demolition of Fort Sumter as the result of our seven days' bombardment of that work. Fort Sumter is to-day a shapeless and harmless mass of ruins." It was on this day that the garrison, under Colonel Rhett, was visited by General Ripley and the chief engineers, Colonels Gilmer and Harris, and it was determined to hold to the last extremity the fort which Gillmore had reduced to "a harmless mass of ruins." The men worked night after night transferring the contents of the magazines to safer places, preparing much of the munitions for shipment to the city, and building new works from the débris. The east magazines were not damaged.

After this the fire from the Federal batteries on Sumter was comparatively light, until the 30th, when 322 shot and shell struck outside and 168 inside, doing a great deal of damage. Next day, Fort Moultrie by mistake opened[Pg 292] upon the steamer Sumter, carrying two regiments from Morris island, disabling the steamer, from which 600 officers and men belonging to the Twentieth South Carolina and Twenty-third Georgia were saved by boats from Fort Sumter and the navy. September 1st was another destructive day for Sumter, six monitors and the Ironsides aiding in the fire. On September 4th there was not a single gun en barbette, and but one smooth-bore 32-pounder next the sally port on western face that could be fired. Colonel Rhett reported:

The work of repair went on, however, and on September 4th the Charleston battalion arrived at the fort, under command of Major Elliott, and relieved Colonel Rhett, commanding, and Captain Fleming, Company B, detachment of First South Carolina artillery and Twenty-seventh and Twenty-eighth Georgia volunteers, who had endured the first tremendous bombardment. Colonel Rhett was put in command of the interior batteries in and about the city, with Castle Pinckney and Fort Ripley.

As soon as the Federals occupied Battery Wagner, it was opened upon by Batteries Simkins and Fort Moultrie and the works adjacent. Soon afterward a flag of truce was sent to Fort Sumter, with a demand for surrender, which was refused by Elliott, though he was utterly [Pg 293]unable to maintain an artillery fire. Following this refusal, the Ironsides and five monitors came up the channel and opened fire upon Sumter and the Sullivan's island batteries. At Battery Beauregard, Lieut. E. A. Erwin, First regulars, was killed.

On the 8th, the fight with the ironclads was renewed, and one shell did fatal work in Fort Moultrie, disabling an 8-inch columbiad, exploding a magazine, and killing 16 and wounding 12 men of Capt. R. Press Smith's company of the First regulars. Besides these casualties from the explosion there were others, including Capt. G. A. Wardlow and Lieut. D. B. De Saussure, wounded.

About 1 o'clock on the morning of the 9th, an attempt was made by the Federals to land a force at the foot of the ruins of Sumter and carry the position by storm. Major Elliott waited until the thirty or forty barges of the enemy were within a few yards of the southern and eastern faces, when he greeted them with a rattling fire of musketry, while hand-grenades and fragments of the ruins were thrown over on the advancing foe, completely demoralizing him. At the same time the gunboat Chicora, Fort Moultrie, the Sullivan's island batteries and Fort Johnson, warned by signal, swept the skirts of the ruins and the water round about with a fire that nothing could survive. Elliott captured 5 boats, 5 stand of colors, 12 officers and 109 men. Among the colors captured was a worn garrison flag, which, it was believed, was the flag lowered in 1861 by Maj. Robert Anderson, and hoped to be hoisted again by this storming party.

On the night of August 20th, Capt. J. Carlin, commanding a torpedo ram, with a guard on board under Lieut. E. S. Fickling, made an attempt to explode a torpedo against the New Ironsides. As he ranged up alongside, Carlin was hailed, and to the demand for the name of his craft, he replied, "The steamer Live Yankee." The ironclad was swinging to the ebb, so that it was impossible to do the work undertaken, and [Pg 294]Carlin's only hope was of escape. In this he was successful, although the Ironsides was soon sweeping the horizon with her guns. On October 5th, another attempt was made to blow up the Ironsides, by Lieut. W. T. Glassell, C. S. N., First Assistant Engineer J. H. Tombs, Walker Cannon, pilot, and James Sullivan, fireman, on board the propeller David, a small submerged steamer. The boat approached the ironclad at 9 p. m. at full speed, and when hailed, Glassell answered with a shot from a double-barreled gun. The boat struck fairly under the starboard quarter, and the torpedo was exploded about 6½ feet below the surface, but it proved to be of too light a charge (70 pounds) to injure the heavy plates of the enemy. The David was riddled by the fire of small-arms from the Ironsides, and almost swamped by the great column of water thrown up by the explosion. Although the little craft escaped sinking, the fires were put out and the iron ballast thrown among the machinery, so that it would not work when the engine was reversed. In this critical situation, and believing the boat to be sinking, Glassell and Sullivan jumped overboard, and swimming in the direction of the enemy's vessels were made prisoners. The pilot stuck to the boat, and Tombs, after being thrown overboard, swam back to it when he saw that their cries of surrender were not heeded. The two coolly got up steam under a continuous fire and managed to make their way back up the channel, escaping two 11-inch shot sent after them, passing through the Federal fleet and within three feet of one of the monitors. Though unsuccessful, this was justly considered one of the most daring exploits of the war, and inspired Beauregard to ask for the purchase of swift torpedo boats from English builders.

On November 15th, Maj. John Jenkins, Third South Carolina cavalry, reported that the enemy had reoccupied Seabrook island (John's island) in large force. On the following day there was a considerable action between the Federal monitors and the Sullivan's island batteries,[Pg 295] Capt. Jacob Valentine commanding at Fort Moultrie, Capt. C. H. Rivers at Battery Rutledge, and Maj. W. S. Basinger at Battery Marion.

During October the Federals were busy making Batteries Wagner and Gregg formidable against the Confederate defenses, without much molestation in their work, while they maintained the bombardment of the ruins of Fort Sumter. The reports of Major Elliott show that 625 shots were fired at Sumter on the 27th, with particular attention to the gorge wall, and on the 29th, 1,039 shots. Their effect was to cut away all the arches on the sea face, and to make that and the gorge easy of access. It was evident that the enemy was preparing for another assault from boats. As many shots of all calibers struck the fort on the next day, and this destructive torrent of rifled shot and shell and mortar shells, from the batteries and the monitors, continued for several days. The casualties in the fort were comparatively few, the main loss being the burying of twelve members of the Washington light infantry, Twenty-fifth regiment, and one man of the Twelfth Georgia battalion. While they were in position for mounting the parapet in case of assault, a Parrott shot struck an iron girder of the sea wall, and the roof fell in, crushing them.

On November 1st, the southwest angle was the main object of the bombardment. The flagstaff was twice shot away, and replaced by brave men of the Georgia battalion, who were finally compelled to substitute their own flag for the riddled garrison flag. On the 4th, Major Elliott remarked, regarding the rifled shells: "The practice with these projectiles is very beautiful, the adjustment of the time fuses being so perfect that the occupants of the gorge wall are secure from the effects of the explosion, which rarely fails to occur during the passage of the shell over the parade." On the 6th the flagstaff was again shot away, and replaced by Sergeant Currie and Corporal Montgomery of the Twenty-fifth South Caro[Pg 296]lina. On the 12th, again, some of the Georgians had the honor of replacing the flag under fire. Hardly a day passed without some one being killed and several more or less seriously wounded. During the week ending November 16th, over 3,000 shots were fired at Sumter, and on the night of the 19th a second attempt was made to land a force from barges and storm the ruins, but Elliott and his men were on guard, and their musketry fire prevented the barges from reaching the island. On the 24th, Capt. F. H. Harleston, having gone down the slope of the sea face to inspect the obstructions against storming parties, was mortally wounded by a Parrott shell.

About this time the continuous pounding of the ruins by the enemy's projectiles had produced a steep slope on the exterior of the fort, with very insecure footing, and Colonel Elliott, after an examination, had no serious fears of an assault. On the 11th, the most fatal calamity in the history of the fort occurred—the explosion of the southwest magazine—a danger of which the heroic defenders had been in constant dread. The occupants of the adjoining rooms were killed or badly burned, and the flames, which instantly caught, spread with fierceness, filling the casemates with stifling smoke. As soon as the enemy observed the fire, he opened upon the fort with rifled shells and mortars. Colonel Elliott was slightly wounded, Capt. Edward D. Frost and 10 others [Pg 297]were killed, and 40 sustained more or less serious injuries. Capt. John Johnson, Lieut. L. A. Harper and Capt. M. H. Sellers were distinguished for bravery and coolness amid the excitement and danger. The fire was not entirely extinguished until a week later.

On the last of the year the undaunted Elliott recommended that he be provided with two iron shields for casemate batteries, which he said would render his position one of "comparative invulnerability." His report at this time showed that since August 12th nearly 27,000 projectiles had been fired at Sumter, of which 19,808 had struck. During the same time 38 men had been killed and 142 wounded.

On Christmas day an artillery attack was made upon the United States gunboat Marblehead, lying off Legaréville, by Col. P. R. Page, but with the assistance of the Pawnee the vigorous efforts to capture the vessel were repelled.

During all this period Forts Moultrie, Johnson, Simkins, Cheves and other batteries, maintained an effective fire upon the enemy's works and fleet, and attempts were otherwise made to destroy the naval force of the Federals, but without success. On October 11th four floating torpedoes were set afloat from Fort Sumter with time fuses, but they exploded at too great a distance from the fleet. On the 15th the submarine boat was lost in an attempt to run under the navy receiving ship. As soon as she sunk, air bubbles were seen to come to the surface, indicating that the manhole was not properly closed. Capt. F. L. Hunley and seven men were lost.

In November, the throwing of shells into the city, which was commenced August 21st, was resumed with more frequency. Mr. T. S. Hale, the observer at St. Michael's steeple, reported his post as the enemy's principal line of fire, radiating to the northeastward as far as St. Philip's church. He counted 27 shots on August 21st and the three days following, and 3 on October 27th, but[Pg 298] the regular bombardment may be said to have begun on November 17th, after which to January 5, 1864, 442 shells fell in the city. The shells first thrown were 200-pound Parrotts, but later 100-pound projectiles were mainly used. Only five deaths resulted, two ladies, two civilians, and one slave. A number of buildings were ruined, and thousands of persons compelled to leave their homes and seek refuge in the upper part of the city or in the interior of the State. The heaviest bombardment in 1863 was on Christmas day, when 150 shells were fired at the city, and a considerable fire caused in the vicinity of St. Michael's church. Several citizens, soldiers and firemen were wounded.

In December, 1863, a complete system of interior defense was perfected at Fort Sumter, by the aid of which the garrison, in the event of being driven to take refuge in the casemates and bomb-proof, could protect itself, while signaling for assistance from the surrounding Confederate batteries. Through the heroic efforts of its garrison, under eighteen months of constant fire, the stronghold was maintained as an effective part of the city's defenses. Says Major Johnson:

The shelling of Charleston continued during January, 1864, on one day 273 shells being thrown, and in the latter part of the month the fire on Sumter was renewed. On the 30th the flagstaff was shot down, and replaced by Private F. Schafer, of Lucas' battalion, who at the close of his work stood on the traverse amid a cloud of smoke and dust from bursting shell, waving his hat in triumph.

Early in February, General Beauregard was advised of Gillmore's expedition in Florida, threatening the capital of that State, and he immediately began forwarding troops to that almost defenseless region. Colquitt's Georgia brigade was under orders to move, when news was received of a Federal advance on John's island, doubtless undertaken to detain troops at Charleston, or to take advantage of their absence. Gen. Henry A. Wise, in command of the Sixth district, reported that the enemy landed in force on Kiowah island, the night of the 8th, crossed Seabrook island, at the Haulover to John's island, driving in the pickets of the advanced post held by Maj. John Jenkins, with part of the Sixth South Carolina cavalry. Jenkins, though outnumbered, made a gallant resistance when attacked on the morning of the 9th, and suffered considerable loss, Capt. M. B. Humphreys, commanding the cadet cavalry company, being severely wounded. Said General Wise:

On the morning of the 10th, Jenkins was reinforced by Charles' South Carolina battery and a battalion of the Twenty-sixth Virginia, under Col. P. R. Page, who took command until General Wise came up and retired the forces to a more advantageous position, across the Bohicket road. Part of Colquitt's Georgia brigade soon arrived, and a strong line was formed. The enemy's advance was met by the artillery, before whose effective fire the Federals retreated from the field. General Wise[Pg 300] did not order an advance till next morning, when it was found that General Schimmelfennig, the Federal commander, had abandoned his enterprise and left the island under cover of the gunboats. In these operations about 15 men were killed or wounded in Jenkins' command. The Federal loss was about the same. Colquitt's brigade was immediately forwarded to Florida. On the morning of the 11th, all the harbor batteries bearing on Morris island opened a vigorous bombardment, as though preceding an attack by infantry, to make a diversion in favor of General Wise.

The night of February 17th was made memorable by the destruction of the United States sloop-of-war Housatonic. This was done by the submarine torpedo boat H. L. Hunley, under command of Lieut. George E. Dixon, of Alabama. This brave officer and his associates left Battery Marshall, on Sullivan's island, that night, for their daring deed, and were never again heard from. They shared the fate of the vessel they destroyed.

The usual daily round of artillery firing continued in the harbor defenses, with little activity on the part of the enemy, during the following months, when both North and South were preparing for the great struggle between the armies in Virginia and Georgia. The guns of Fort Sumter, at noon of April 13th, fired a defiant salute in honor of the surrender by Major Anderson, and provoked a fire in which J. P. Huger, of the signal corps, was killed. A day or two later Colonel Elliott was relieved in command by Capt. John C. Mitchel, of the First artillery. On May 16th, two monitors moved up and opened fire on Sumter, but were driven off, seriously injured by the Sullivan's island batteries.

Sumter's flagstaff was again shot away on June 20th, the Federal gunners at Cummings point hitting the staff at the second shot and cutting it in two. Lieut. C. H. Claibourne, First regulars, assisted by Sergt. N. F. Devereux and Corp. B. Brannon, mounted the gorge[Pg 301] wall and lashed the two pieces of staff together, under a rapid fire. The flagstaff was again struck on the 25th, and twice shot away on the 26th, the last time being replaced by Privates Walter Steele and D. E. Badger. In return, a skillful gunner at Fort Johnson brought down the Federal flag at Battery Gregg.

With the approach of the May campaigns in Virginia and Georgia, heavy drafts were made upon General Beauregard's forces. On March 17th, the First and Second cavalry were ordered to South Carolina, and the Fourth, Colonel Rutledge; Fifth, Colonel Dunovant; Sixth, Colonel Aiken; Seventh Georgia, and Millen's battalion, and the cavalry companies of Captains Tucker, Wallace, Boykin, Trenholm and Magee were ordered from General Beauregard's department to Virginia. On April 14th, General Evans' brigade, under Gen. W. S. Walker, was ordered to Wilmington, N. C. The Eleventh and Eighteenth South Carolina, Colquitt's brigade, and Company A, siege train, were ordered back from Florida. General Beauregard, on the 20th, was assigned to command of the department of Southern Virginia and North Carolina, and Maj.-Gen. Sam Jones succeeded him at Charleston. A week later Hagood's brigade was ordered to Virginia. Several Georgia regiments were sent to General Johnston at Dalton. On May 3d, both Wise's and Colquitt's brigades were ordered to Richmond. On the 4th General Jones telegraphed to Johnston, "I am sending off my last infantry brigade to Virginia." Under this pressure for troops, General Jones requested the mayor to organize the fire brigade into companies, ordered all the detailed men in his staff departments to be organized, and called on the president of the South Carolina railroad to muster in his employes for defense of the city. Commander Tucker co-operated in this effort by organizing a naval battalion. On the 24th Colonel Keitt's regiment was started for Richmond. Federal troops, also, had been sent to Virginia and Gen[Pg 302]eral Gillmore had been called to that field and replaced by General Foster.

While these troops were being ordered from the State, the "reserves" were called out by the government at Richmond. In a communication to the secretary of war on this subject, Governor Bonham pointed out that in South Carolina, unlike other States, militia officers and magistrates were not exempt and were already in the field, and that the taking away of the remaining population at home, under eighteen years of age and over forty-five, would cause great suffering next year, and in view of the loss of upper Georgia, possible starvation.

At the same time there was much change in district commanders, one of the most important being the assignment of General McLaws to the Third district and Georgia.

On July 31st, the aggregate present in various commands under General Jones was as follows: First and Fourth districts, Gen. R. S. Ripley, 3,177; Seventh district, General Taliaferro, 3,742; Second and Sixth districts, Gen. B. H. Robertson, 1,280; Third district and district of Georgia, General McLaws, 3,600.

The bombardment of Charleston having continued for ten months, on June 13th General Jones addressed the following letter to the Federal commander:

General Halleck, Federal chief of staff, in a letter to Foster, June 21st, stated that the secretary of war approved his suggestion, and had ordered an equal number of Confederate generals and field officers to be forwarded to be treated precisely as the Federal prisoners were, and with proper precautions to prevent escape, "putting them in irons, if necessary, for that purpose." The first roll of Confederate prisoners of war made out for this purpose was from those confined at Fort Delaware, and included Maj.-Gens. Edward Johnson and Franklin Gardner, Brig.-Gens. J. J. Archer, G. H. Steuart and M. Jeff Thompson, and 46 colonels, lieutenant-colonels and majors.

General Jones, on July 1st, proposed to General Foster that they should exchange prisoners, if the respective governments approved, and enclosed communications from Brigadier-Generals Wessells, Seymour, Scammon,[Pg 304] Heckman and Shaler, the Federal general officers in his hands, in which they declared that a prompt exchange of prisoners, if an exchange were to be made, was called for by every consideration of humanity. They also asked for the Confederate officers who had arrived at Hilton Head, "every kindness and courtesy that could be extended them, in acknowledgment of the fact that we at this time are as pleasantly and comfortably situated as is possible for prisoners of war, receiving from the Confederate authorities every privilege that we could desire or expect, nor are we unnecessarily exposed to fire."

General Foster replied to General Jones that he fully reciprocated the desire for an exchange, but added: "Before any steps can be taken to effect it, it will be necessary to withdraw from exposure to our fire those officers now confined in Charleston. I have not yet placed your prisoners in a similar position of exposure." To this General Jones rejoined that a removal of the prisoners would be an implied admission that they were unduly exposed, which they had themselves denied.

The Confederate prisoners were placed on Morris island, under the fire of the Confederate batteries, the number being increased to about 600 officers of all grades, and were there held, until in October they and the prisoners at Charleston were removed.

General Foster, on June 23d, notified the Federal chief of staff that he would begin important operations soon, saying: "I propose, first, to destroy the Charleston & Savannah railroad, and then to make a sudden attack upon some of the defenses of Charleston or of Savannah. If I fail in one, I will try the other." On July 1st, he sailed from Hilton Head with a force of 5,000 infantry, 100 cavalry and two sections of artillery. Two brigades, under General Hatch, were landed on Seabrook island with orders to push to the north end, seize the ferry, cross over and destroy the railroad. Another brigade[Pg 305] was landed at White Point under General Birney, with orders to torpedo the railroad track and destroy the South Edisto and Ashepoo bridges and the trestle. At the same time General Schimmelfennig was to attack on James island, a boat expedition of 1,000 men was to assault Forts Johnson and Simkins, and the bombardment of Fort Sumter was to be renewed with the intention of leveling its walls preparatory to storming.

This combined attack was a serious one and taxed the heroism of the brave defenders of Charleston, but, as in previous emergencies, they were successful in meeting the enemy at every point. Birney, Foster said, encountered a small force of the enemy with a battery, and though Foster helped him with gunboats on Dawho creek, he retreated and fell in behind Schimmelfennig on the Stono. The latter carried a battery on James island, but was shelled out of it by the batteries from Secessionville to Fort Pringle. Hatch marched across John's island but found it too hot to fight the Confederates concentrated at the ferry. Colonel Hoyt, of the boat expedition, was compelled to surrender with 5 officers and 132 men. Such, in effect, was Foster's summing up of results on July 7th. On the 12th, he added, that having been successful in one respect, forcing the Confederates to accumulate a large force to meet him, he had re-embarked to give his men a few days' rest, after a loss of 54 killed and drowned, 133 wounded and 143 missing. His rest continued until November.

Gen. W. B. Taliaferro was in command on the Secessionville line, which included Forts Johnson, Haskell and Pringle, and Batteries Simkins, Wampler, Cheves, etc., whence an active fire had been maintained at the enemy, varied at times with skirmishing against Federal demonstrations. On July 2d he observed the advance of the enemy in force, driving in the cavalry vedettes upon the infantry pickets stretching from Rivers' causeway to the Stono. There a stubborn resistance was made by Maj.[Pg 306] Edward Manigault, supported by Lieutenant De Lorme's light artillery and a detachment of the siege train serving as infantry under Lieutenant Spivey. The gallant De Lorme, fighting too long against a line of battle, at the fourth charge of the enemy lost his guns after they had occasioned great loss in the Federal ranks. The picket line was withdrawn in range of the batteries, and the enemy advanced and intrenched, Taliaferro not having force enough to attack, being compelled to weaken Fort Johnson to hold his main line. A gunboat came up the Stono to cover the Federal flank, but was driven back by Battery Pringle. The enemy made one advance in force, but met such a warm reception from the artillery that no further effort was made that day.

Next morning at daylight the enemy landed from barges at Shell point and made the attack on Battery Simkins and Fort Johnson. Both were fiercely assaulted by the Federals, but, said General Taliaferro, "the gallant garrison, under the command of Lieut.-Col. Joseph A. Yates, received them with heroic determination, and soon staggered and drove them back, when, with a rapid charge headed by Lieutenants Waties and Reynolds, 140 prisoners, including 5 commissioned officers, were taken." The participants in this brilliant affair were the companies of Lieutenant Waties, Captain Gaillard and Lieutenant Cooper, of the First artillery, and of Lieutenants Halsey and Raworth, Second artillery. These officers and Corporal Crawford were distinguished for gallantry. Five barges were captured.

The 3d was opened with an artillery battle along the line, and the enemy's monitors and gunboats were seen ascending the Stono. Legaréville and other points on John's island were occupied, and Taliaferro was led to believe that the enemy was engaged in a serious movement, on the same line as that adopted by Sir Henry Clinton in March, 1780, who occupied John's island, crossed the Stono at the site of Fort Pemberton, and[Pg 307] after gaining possession of the Stono, moved from James' island to the mainland. Nevertheless the Confederate line put on a bold front and Colonel Harrison, with his Georgians, advanced and drove back the Federal pickets to their original line. For several days afterward artillery firing continued along the lines, and attacks upon Manigault's picket line. The Federal fleet opened a terrific fire on Battery Pringle, disabling several of the guns. To relieve the exhausted garrison at the latter point, Colonel Rhett was assigned and Major Blanding with two companies of the First artillery. Battery Tynes was also under fire, but ably defended by Captain Richardson, of Lucas' battalion.[G]

On the 8th Colonel Harrison, with his brigade, was sent to the assistance of Gen. B. H. Robertson, commanding on John's island. The latter had repulsed several assaults, Major Jenkins commanding at the front, and after the arrival of the Georgians, made an attack in turn, on the morning of the 9th, driving the enemy from his first intrenched line to the second, beyond Burden's causeway, and occupying the elevated ground necessary to the Federals to enfilade Taliaferro's[Pg 308] line on James island. The entire Confederate loss was 37 killed and 91 wounded.[H]

While the battle was in progress on John's island, a Brooke gun, brought to Battery Pringle, drove the enemy's wooden boats down stream. An attempt of the enemy to float fire rafts with the tide against the Stono bridge was defeated by Lieutenant Smith, with a detachment of the naval battalion, who brought them to shore, and a second barge attack on Fort Johnson was repulsed, the garrison being aided by Le Gardeur's battery and a company of marines. On the 11th the enemy disappeared.

In his detailed report, Gen. Sam Jones said: "Officers captured concur in representing that the expedition was well and carefully considered and planned, and was confidently expected to result in the capture of Charleston. That it failed is due, under Providence, to the gallantry and good conduct of our officers and men." His aggregate of losses was 33 killed and 96 wounded.

The part of this campaign which fell upon Fort Sumter was a fierce bombardment by day and night, in which from July 7th to July 31st inclusive, 7,000 shot and shell took effect. On the 7th the flag was cut down three times. On the 20th Commandant Mitchel, one of the most gallant officers of the artillery service, was mortally wounded while making an observation from the highest point of the fort. Capt. John Johnson, the faithful engineer-in-chief, was severely wounded on the 28th. But in spite of this terrific bombardment, and a new sort of attack—floating powder boats to explode in its vicinity—Sumter remained invulnerable. Capt. Thomas A. Hu[Pg 309]guenin succeeded Mitchel in command, and remained in charge until on the night of February 17, 1865, he went the rounds of the indomitable fortress for the last time, and abandoned it to the enemy who had never been able to enter its walls while a Confederate soldier remained on guard.

Major Jenkins, on August 20th, found it necessary to burn the village of Legaréville. The Stono scouts, owners of property in the place, volunteered to aid in the work, sixteen of the members applying the torches to their own dwellings.

On October 5th, Maj.-Gen. W. J. Hardee took command of the department, relieving General Jones, whom he assigned to command of the State, exclusive of General McLaws' district in the southeast.

[G] General Taliaferro gave his loss in the campaign at 10 killed and 25 wounded. He particularly commended the gallantry of the men on his advanced line under unremitting fire for eight days and nights from the enemy's monitors, gunboats, mortar boats and land batteries. These troops were detachments from the First and Second artillery, Company B, siege train; First cavalry, First infantry (regulars), Kirk's and Peeples' squadrons of cavalry and Harrison's and Bonaud's Georgians, the South Carolina officers commanding being Major Manigault, Major Blanding, Capts. R. P. Smith, Dickson, Warley, Rivers, Witherspoon, Burnet, Humbert, Stallings, Kennedy, Porcher Smith and Trezevant. The Stono batteries, under Majors Lucas and Blanding, were commanded by Captains Hayne, Richardson, Rhett, King, Lieutenants Ogier (specially distinguished), Martin, Reveley, Lucas, Ford and Stuart. Lieutenant-Colonel Brown at Fort Lamar, and the light batteries under Captain Wheaton, did good service, and Colonels Black, Frederick and Rhett were faithful and efficient in their duties commanding on the east and west and in reserve.

[H] General Robertson specially commended, aside from the gallant Georgians who led in the charge on the 9th, the Washington, Marion, and Inglis batteries, under Colonel Kemper, Major Jenkins, Sergeant Jervais and Privates Miller and Bryan of the Stono scouts; Private A. J. White, of the Second cavalry, and a portion of the Second cavalry under Captain Clark, who defended the right of the line on the first day and lost 13 out of 21 engaged. Captain Dean, of the same regiment, with 13 men, also participated in this heroic fight.

Following the battle of Chickamauga, Bragg's army occupied Lookout mountain and Missionary ridge, beleaguering Rosecrans, whose troops soon began to suffer for want of food. Longstreet, in command on the left, had the important duty of holding the river line of communication, and cutting off Rosecrans' supplies. Hood's division, at this time, was commanded by Brig.-Gen. Micah Jenkins, and Col. John Bratton commanded Jenkins' brigade, which joined Longstreet after Chickamauga. The First regiment was under command of Col. F. W. Kilpatrick; the Second Rifles, of Col. Thomas Thompson; the Fifth, of Col. A. Coward; the Sixth, of Col. M. W. Gary, and the Palmetto Sharpshooters, of Col. Joseph Walker.

In October, 1863, Rosecrans was replaced by Thomas, Grant became commander-in-chief in the West, and prompt efforts were made by them to relieve Chattanooga. On Longstreet's part Law's brigade of Jenkins' division was moved down the river below Lookout mountain, and on the 25th the brigade observed a force from Chattanooga cross the river and seize a strong position, where it was soon reinforced by Hooker's corps from Virginia. On the 28th Longstreet arranged for a night attack upon Geary's division, marching down Lookout valley toward Brown's ferry, in which Bratton's division[Pg 311] was to assail the enemy's rear.[I] The South Carolinians made a gallant attack, and, Colonel Bratton reported, "drove the enemy through their camp, and entirely beyond their wagon camp." The brigade became seriously engaged, and apparently had prospects of success, if supported, but the Federal divisions of Carl Schurz and O. O. Howard were close at hand, and Bratton was ordered to withdraw. The loss was heavy, 31 killed, 286 wounded and 39 missing. Colonel Kilpatrick, distinguished for gallantry and efficiency, was shot through the heart early in the engagement. Capt. James L. Coker, of Bratton's staff, was seriously wounded. In an account of this combat, Captain Coker has written:

Early in November, Longstreet, with the divisions of McLaws and Hood (under Jenkins), including the South Carolina brigades of Jenkins and Kershaw, and Fickling's battery, was ordered up the Tennessee valley to wrest Knoxville from Burnside and to divert to that region some of the heavy reinforcements Grant was massing against Bragg. The South Carolina brigades participated in the combats of the advance and the investment of Knoxville. Jenkins' brigade bore the brunt of the engagement at Lenoir's Station, November 15th, in which the gallantry and dash of the skirmishers, said Jenkins, were never surpassed. Lieutenant-Colonel Logan, Hampton's legion, and Lieutenant-Colonel Wylie, Fifth South Carolina, were particularly distinguished. The brigade lost 18 killed and 106 wounded.

On November 18th, before Knoxville, General Kershaw's brigade was ordered to assault the advance line of the enemy occupying breastworks of rails, upon a hill, and the Armstrong houses. The charge was brilliant and successful. Colonel Nance, of the Third, reported it "was the most desperate encounter in which the regiment was ever engaged." Among the mortally wounded was Lieut. D. S. Moffett. Colonel Kennedy, of the Second, [Pg 313]was wounded. Maj. J. F. Gist, the brave and intrepid commander of the Fifteenth, was killed by a Federal sharpshooter, the command devolving on Capt. J. B. Davis. James' battalion lost 27 killed and wounded. Part of Kershaw's brigade was in action during the unsuccessful assault of November 29th, and both brigades, with occasional fighting and continuous suffering for want of shoes, clothing and rations, passed the inclement winter in rugged east Tennessee.

On November 20th the South Carolina commands with Bragg on Missionary ridge were the Tenth and Nineteenth, Maj. James L. White (Manigault's brigade); the Sixteenth, Colonel McCullough, and Twenty-fourth, Colonel Stevens (Gist's brigade), and Ferguson's battery. These troops fell back with the army on November 25th, and passed the winter of 1863-64 in the vicinity of Dalton.

While their comrades were thus engaged in the West, the South Carolinians in the army of Northern Virginia were undisturbed except by the Bristoe campaign in October, and the Mine Run campaign in November. Abner Perrin, promoted to brigadier-general, commanded McGowan's brigade; Col. D. H. Hamilton, the First regiment; Col. J. L. Miller, the Twelfth; Col. B. T. Brockman, the Fourteenth; Col. F. E. Harrison, Orr's Rifles. This brigade, with Lane's, Scales' and Thomas' formed the division of Maj.-Gen. C. M. Wilcox, A. P. Hill's corps. General Hampton, promoted to major-general, commanded a division of the cavalry corps, and his old brigade, under Brig.-Gen. M. C. Butler, included the First and Second South Carolina cavalry, under Colonels Black and Lipscomb. Hart's battery was still with the cavalry, the Pee Dee artillery with the Third corps, Garden's with Maj. J. C. Haskell's battalion of the reserve artillery. Butler's cavalry brigade, under Col. P. M. B. Young, early in October was distinguished at Bethsaida church. "The enemy were drawn up in line to meet us," General Stuart reported, "but being gallantly charged in flank and rear by the First South Carolina[Pg 314] cavalry, Lieut.-Col. J. D. Twiggs, broke and fled in confusion." Pursuing to James City, Kilpatrick's whole division was encountered. During the skirmishing which followed, a dash of the enemy at the horse artillery was gallantly met and repulsed by 150 sharpshooters under Capt. R. Ap C. Jones, First South Carolina cavalry. Fighting followed around Brandy Station, and Young's brigade made a successful stand at Fleetwood hill on the 12th. On the 19th, at Haymarket and Buckland mills, when Kilpatrick was finally routed with the loss of 250 prisoners and General Custer's headquarters baggage, the First South Carolina gallantly led in the impetuous charge of Stuart's troopers. "The rout at Buckland," said Stuart, "was the most signal and complete that any cavalry has suffered during the war."

When the great Federal army under Grant and Meade crossed the Rapidan in May, 1864, Longstreet had his corps again in Virginia, with headquarters at Gordonsville. Brig.-Gen. J. B. Kershaw was in command of McLaws' division, and his brigade was led by Col. John W. Henagan. Lieut.-Col. Franklin Gaillard commanded the Second, Colonel Nance the Third, Capt. James Mitchell the Seventh, Lieut.-Col. E. T. Stackhouse the Eighth, Col. John B. Davis the Fifteenth, Capt. B. M. Whitener the Third battalion. General Jenkins was in command of his brigade, in the division now led by Maj.-Gen. C. W. Field, and the First regiment was commanded by Col. James R. Hagood, the Second (rifles) by Col. Robert E. Bowen, the Fifth by Col. A. Coward, the Sixth by Col. John Bratton, the Palmetto Sharpshooters by Col. Joseph Walker. General McGowan was again in command of his brigade, of Wilcox's division, on the Rapidan. The South Carolina cavalry brigade, under Gen. M. C. Butler, composed of the Fourth regiment, Col. B. Huger Rutledge; Fifth, Col. John Dunovant, and Sixth, Col. Hugh K. Aiken, was assigned to General Hampton's division. Garden's battery, the Palmetto artillery[Pg 315] under Captain Fickling, the Pee Dee under Zimmerman, and Hart's battery continued in their former assignments.

In this first fight in the Wilderness, May 5th, McGowan's brigade was hurried into action, the line being formed of the First regiment, Orr's Rifles, Twelfth, Thirteenth and Fourteenth, from right to left. In this order the brigade made a charge in which the enemy were driven through the thickets, and in the onset, though suffering heavy losses, it captured a considerable number of prisoners, including a brigadier-general.

The attack of the Federals on the 6th fell upon the right flank and front of McGowan's brigade, forcing it to double up and fall back on Poague's artillery, where it was reformed. At this juncture, Kershaw reached the field, with the head of Longstreet's corps, and Colonel Henagan formed his brigade in line of battle just in time to screen the retreating masses of Heth's and Wilcox's divisions. "Almost immediately," says Kershaw, "the Federals were upon us." He continues:

Colonel Bowen, in describing the service of his regiment (Jenkins' brigade), says:

The return of Colonel Hagood, of Jenkins' brigade—10 killed and 82 wounded out of 261—indicates the losses of the troops engaged. The 7th passed without a general[Pg 318] engagement, but instead the positions of both armies were changed from day to day, and a part of Kershaw's command fought with success on the 8th, at one time using the bayonet. Repeated and heavy assaults were made on Ewell's corps during the 10th, and on the 11th the two armies confronted each other at Spottsylvania Court House, ready for the awful battle of the 12th of May.

The great struggle over the possession of the "bloody angle" began just before dawn by the successful sweep of the Federal divisions through Gen. Edward Johnson's line of intrenchments, thus threatening the overthrow of Lee's army. The particulars of this fearful encounter, which resulted, after the day's bloody fighting, in the defeat of Grant's purpose, will not be given here, but the part taken by McGowan's brigade deserves special mention. This brigade, stationed far out on the Confederate right, was summoned to action about sunrise, May 12th, and after a march of two miles to the left, was moved at double-quick along Ewell's line. General Rodes, seeing them approach, asked: "What troops are these?" and was answered, "McGowan's South Carolina brigade." "There are no better soldiers in the world," was his inspiring reply. Almost immediately the South Carolinians entered the fight, the Twelfth on the right, and the First, Thirteenth, the Rifles and the Fourteenth extending to the left consecutively. At double-quick and with the "rebel yell" they went into the inner line, where McGowan was wounded by a minie ball, and compelled to yield the command to Colonel Brockman, who in turn being quickly disabled by a wound, was succeeded by Col. J. N. Brown.

"At that time," says Col. I. F. Hunt, in his account of the battle, "the position of the Thirteenth regiment was in an open field, and about fifty yards in rear of a line of works occupied by Confederate troops (Harris' Mississippians), a position where we could do no good,[Pg 319] while subjected to a terrific fire from the enemy, somewhat on our right. I saw General Gordon passing, and obtained permission to move the regiment to the right. He ordered me to take it to the point where the fighting was hardest." In moving to the right Colonel Hunt was informed that all his seniors had been killed or wounded and he took command of the brigade. He found the right of the brigade in a short line of reserve works, and perceiving that his men must either charge or retreat or die where they stood, he ordered a charge, and drove the enemy from the salient, or "bloody angle." In occupying that work the left of the brigade connected with and possibly lapped other troops, but the right was unprotected, and as far down the right as Hunt could see, the Federals held the opposite side of the works, with the captured Confederate guns turned against him. The ammunition soon began to give out, and although it appeared to be certain death to leave the shelter of the works, Privates William Kelly and Chance Evans of the First volunteered to, and did bring ammunition from, the rear in boxes and tent flies during the entire engagement. At 1 p. m., the enemy about ten paces distant, raised a white flag, and a general advanced who, when met by Hunt, demanded a surrender, which was promptly refused. Soon afterward Col. J. N. Brown took command.

The fierceness of this close engagement by McGowan's brigade,[J] in which Harris' Mississippians bore an[Pg 320] equally gallant part, on the left, was probably not exceeded in any war. The firing, when resumed after the parley above mentioned, continued incessantly all the remainder of the day and far into the night. Just before day the brigade was withdrawn without pursuit to a position near a part of Longstreet's corps, and there rested with their Confederate comrades ready for the enemy, who did not choose to advance. In this battle the brigade lost 86 killed, 241 wounded and 117 missing. Among the missing, it was afterward learned, were a large number wounded and left in the trenches and others that were killed. Among the casualties were Lieut.-Col. W. P. Shooter, of the First, and Col. B. T. Brockman, of the Thirteenth, killed; Col. C. W. McCreary, of the First, and Lieut.-Col. G. McD. Miller, of the Rifles, wounded.

On the same day General Bratton's brigade (Jenkins') was in battle on the Brock road, on the right of Kershaw's brigade, and the two repulsed a heavy assault. Bratton reported that his brigade was about 1,250 strong, and lost not more than 15, but the enemy left 500 dead in its front. During the night Bratton's brigade covered the withdrawal of McGowan's brigade from the bloody angle, and without firing a gun, lost 70 men.

On the Cold Harbor line, June 1st, when a strong Confederate movement by the right was ordered, a diary of the First corps says:

The South Carolina cavalry and horse artillery participated in this memorable campaign under Stuart, until that famous leader fell at Yellow Tavern, then under Hampton. In Hampton's successful battle with Sheridan at Trevilian, Butler's South Carolina brigade opened the attack and was distinguished throughout. Among the wounded was Colonel Aiken, of the Sixth cavalry. Before the battle of Nance's Shop, Hampton was joined by Brig.-Gen. M. W. Gary, with a brigade including the Hampton legion cavalry and Seventh South Carolina cavalry. Gary opened the battle at Nance's shop and contributed materially to the victory.

Meanwhile other gallant South Carolinians had been on duty under General Beauregard, guarding the approaches to the Confederate capital, and holding back the advance of the Federal army under Gen. Ben Butler. These South Carolina commands were Brig.-Gen. Johnson Hagood's brigade; Evans' brigade, under Col. Stephen Elliott; the Seventh cavalry, Col. W. P. Shingler, and Kelly's battery (Chesterfield).

The Twenty-first and part of the Twenty-fifth arrived at Port Walthall junction on May 6th, and at once went out under Colonel Graham to meet the enemy. They were successful in checking the enemy. The whole brigade, arriving, was engaged in battle at the junction on the 7th, repulsing the enemy, and at Swift Creek on the 9th. The brigade loss was 177. The brave Lieutenant-[Pg 322]Colonel Dargan fell at the head of his men; Colonel Graham was wounded in two places; Lieutenant-Colonel Pressley, and Captain Stoney, of the staff, were seriously, and Lieutenant-Colonel Blake, Twenty-seventh, and Captain Sellers, Twenty-fifth, slightly wounded.

At the battle of Drewry's Bluff, May 16th, according to General Beauregard's report, "Hagood and Bushrod Johnson were thrown forward and found a heavy force of the enemy occupying a salient of the outer line of works.... Hagood with great vigor and dash drove the enemy from the outer lines in his front, capturing a number of prisoners, and in conjunction with Johnson, five pieces of artillery. He then took position in the works." The casualties of the brigade were 433 out of 2,235. Captain Brooks, of the Seventh, received three severe wounds. Fifty-seven bullet marks were found upon the flag of the Seventh battalion after the fight, and in one of its companies 19 were killed and 46 wounded. It was by such heroic fighting that Petersburg and Richmond were held in May, 1864.

Brig.-Gen. Stephen Elliott reported a severe fight on June 2d, in which the Seventeenth and Twenty-second South Carolina were engaged, and the latter regiment lost its colonel, O. M. Dantzler, who fell mortally wounded while leading a charge.

Grant having transferred his army south of the James, Bratton's brigade was sent across to Beauregard's line near the Howlett house, on June 16th. Taking position on the right, they saw next morning that the enemy was still in partial possession of part of Beauregard's line. "About the middle of the day the division (Field's) made a sort of spontaneous charge," as Bratton put it, "in which my skirmish line participated, and recovered the line." Next morning, relieved by Pickett, Bratton moved to the Petersburg line beyond the Appomattox, taking position on the right of where the mine was sprung later. Here for several days, during the first[Pg 323] assaults of Grant's army, under incessant fire night and day, Bratton's men had their severest tour of duty in all the four years. On June 24th they were relieved by Elliott's South Carolinians, and took other positions on the line until transferred north of the James.

Hagood's brigade served with distinction in the Petersburg battles of June 16th to 18th, repelling all assaults. Reaching Petersburg from the Drewry's bluff line on the night of the 15th, the brigade pushed out at the City Point road where the Confederates were being driven from the outer intrenchments. Under a fierce shelling on the 16th and 17th, many were killed. Captains Hopkins and Palmer and Adjutant Gelling, of the Twenty-second, were killed by the shells. Lieutenant Allemand was mortally wounded. So they fell all through the first two months in Virginia, till many of the best and bravest were laid to rest.

On the 18th Hagood fought to hold and did hold Hare's hill, the scene of Gordon's desperate sally in February, 1865. Lieutenant Harvey, Seventh battalion, was killed that day, and Lieutenant Felder, Twenty-fifth, and Major Rion, Seventh battalion, were wounded. The brigade lost about 220 in the three days. On the 24th Hagood's brigade occupied a single line of intrenchments, on the left of the Confederate line, the Twenty-seventh, Twenty-first and Eleventh between Appomattox creek and the City Point road, the Twenty-fifth and Seventh battalion south of the road, facing the enemy, who was intrenched in three lines. At dawn the South Carolinians were told that a general engagement was ordered, which they were to open, after a heavy cannonading of the enemy by the batteries north of the Appomattox. The three regiments north of the road were to charge and wheel to the south, and supported by other brigades, it was hoped to roll up the Federal flank and drive them beyond Hare's hill. Lieutenant-Colonel Nelson, Seventh battalion, was put in command of 400 picked men for the skirmish[Pg 324] line, a detail which left only 550 men of these regiments in the second line. The attack was made, and the enemy driven from his rifle-pits and part of the first line of intrenchments, but the South Carolinians were too few to go further, and their expected support did not arrive in time. So the battle failed, but Hagood held the Federal rifle-pits all day. The loss in the three regiments and Seventh battalion was very heavy, 25 killed, 73 wounded and 208 whose fate was at the time unknown. Lieutenant-Colonel Nelson was missing; Captain Axson, Twenty-seventh, was killed; and Lieutenants Huguenin and Trim, Twenty-seventh, Chappell, Ford and Vanderford, Twenty-first, and Smith, Eleventh, wounded; Captains Mulvaney and Buist (wounded) were captured; Captain Raysor and Lieutenants Reilly, White and Clemens, missing.

On the 29th of July, Bushrod Johnson's division was arranged in the works with Ransom's North Carolinians on the left, Elliott's South Carolinians next, then Wise's Virginians, and Colquitt's Georgians on the right. A projecting part of the works known as Pegram's salient was occupied by Pegram's battery, with the Eighteenth South Carolina on its left and the Twenty-second behind it and to the right. To the left of the Eighteenth were the Twenty-sixth and Seventeenth, and to the right of the Twenty-second was the Twenty-third, all along the parapet. A second line of intrenchments, behind, Elliott did not have men enough to occupy. Upon these devoted South Carolinians in the parapets was to fall a tremendous blow, which was expected to open a way for Grant's army into Petersburg.

About 4:55 on the morning of July 30th, after a moment's appalling rumbling and trembling, the earth burst like a volcano beneath them, and great masses were cast in the air. Mingled in this horrible eruption which followed the explosion of the Federal mine, were the bodies of men, who fell nearly all of them lifeless, while scores[Pg 325] of others were buried as the upheaval settled about the great "crater," nearly 100 by 150 feet, and 30 feet deep. Five companies of the Twenty-second South Carolina were blown up with the left of the battery, and four companies of the Eighteenth were thrown in the air or buried. The loss of the first regiment was 170; of the latter, 43 killed, 43 wounded, and 76 missing—buried or captured. Stunned by the shock of this explosion, both Federals and Confederates for a little while made no move, but when the torrents of dust had subsided, the Federals were seen pouring into the breach, and at the same time there was another and more deafening outbreak—that of the Federal artillery, all along the line, in a torrent of shot and shell and continuous reverberation, surpassing any previous artillery fire in the war. But Lee's undaunted veterans held firm.

First to meet the advancing enemy were the Twenty-third and Seventeenth South Carolina regiments and the survivors of the Eighteenth and Twenty-second. The remainder of the division hurried to the firing line, and Wright's battery and Major Haskell's mortar batteries came into action with terrible effect upon the crowded masses of the Federals. General Elliott fell dangerously wounded, but his place was taken by Col. F. W. McMaster, Seventeenth, and Colonel Smith, Twenty-sixth, formed a line to the left and rear of the crater composed of his regiment, part of the Seventeenth, and the Twenty-fourth North Carolina. The Twenty-third, under Captain White, and the remnant of the Twenty-second, under Captain Shedd, held the trenches on the right. "The South Carolina troops on that side," said General Johnson, "succeeded in placing a barricade on the side of the hill and planting themselves in it and the sunken ways running to the rear, maintained their position within 30 yards of the crater for about five hours, during which the enemy never drove them a foot to the right, though they made several assaults and attempted[Pg 326] several times to form a line in rear of our works, so as to move on the flank and rear of this gallant little band. In the events of the 30th of July there will perhaps be found nothing more heroic or worthy of higher admiration than this conduct of the Twenty-second and Twenty-third South Carolina regiments."

After Mahone's division came up, Colonel Smith's line joined in a charge which cleared the enemy from part of the second line of intrenchments, and the final charge which resulted in the complete rout of the enemy was participated in by the Seventeenth under Major Culp, and Captain Shedd's line, which captured three flags and many prisoners. "For every buried comrade," General Johnson said, the South Carolinians "took a two-fold vengeance on the enemy." In the last charge Sergt. J. W. Connelly, Twenty-second, captured the colors of the First Michigan sharpshooters. The loss of Elliott's South Carolinians on that terrible day was 15 officers killed and 18 wounded; 110 men killed and 204 wounded; 14 officers and 337 men missing; total, 698. This was the main part of the Confederate loss. The Federal return of losses was 4,400.

Grant's demonstrations north of the James, on the old Seven Days' battle ground, to draw Lee's forces away from the vicinity of the mine explosion, had caused Bratton's brigade to be sent across at Drewry's bluff to Fussell's mill on the 29th, and thence to New Market heights. Kershaw had taken position at Chaffin's bluff several days before, and on the 28th, Conner's (Kershaw's) and Lane's brigades attempted to dislodge the enemy from the Long Bridge road, causing a severe fight. Heth's, Field's and Kershaw's divisions were massed here; the enemy abandoned the advanced position and Kershaw recrossed the James on the 30th.

On July 27th, Hampton was ordered from Drewry's to intercept Wilson's cavalry expedition, returning from Staunton river bridge to Grant's army. He attacked at[Pg 327] Sappony church, next day, and his thin line held the enemy in check all night, 200 of the Holcombe legion infantry, under Crawley, in the center. At dawn, the whole command, including Butler's brigade, charged, drove the enemy from two lines, pursued his scattering forces two miles, and captured over 800 prisoners, while Fitzhugh Lee was fighting with like success at Reams' Station. The gallant Lieutenant-Colonel Crawley was severely wounded. This pursuit, General Hampton reported, closed the operations begun on June 8th, a period of twenty-two days, during which his command, poorly fed and without rest, had marched over 400 miles, fought six days and one night, captured over 2,000 prisoners, and many guns and small-arms, and defeated two formidable Federal expeditions, at a loss of 719 men.

[I] Col. Robert E. Bowen, then senior captain commanding the Second Rifles, in a description of this battle of Wauhatchie, Will's Valley, or Lookout Valley, as it is variously called, says that during an observation of the Federal movements from the summit of Lookout, General Jenkins asked permission to attack and capture "the supply train for Rosecrans' army," for which Hooker's troops were mistaken, and the attack was made with that understanding, Law's brigade being stationed at the river to prevent reinforcements from Chattanooga. Captain Bowen commanded the brigade skirmish line of six companies, which drove in the Federals, until he found them in heavy force in line of battle, when he notified General Jenkins, and was ordered to go as far as possible. His men opened fire, lying down to load, and the brigade advanced to their line, within a hundred yards of the Federals, and there stopped on account of the evident strength of the enemy. Captain Bowen was severely wounded, and Sergt. G. W. Bradley, a noble soldier, was killed.

[J] Colonel Hunt says: "Accident gave the brigade the position in front of the salient, and it sustained its reputation by charging, retaking and holding it for seventeen hours. No one can describe what we endured during that struggle. The trunk of that oak tree now on exhibition in Washington tells better than words the heroic endurance of the Confederate soldier, and gives a faint idea of the storm of minie balls hurled at us. When we took the works, the bark on it was intact. It stood near the right center of the salient. A little to the left and in front of it stood a hickory tree about eight inches in diameter, of which I have never seen any mention. The hickory was shot down before night and fell across the works, catching some of the men in its branches. Its body and branches were chipped into splinters by minie balls.... I saw some very reckless acts of individuals, for instance Private W. W. Davenport, of the Thirteenth, and a boy of the Twelfth, whose name I cannot recall, mounted ammunition boxes, not over ten feet from the hickory, and fired over the salient while three or four men loaded guns for them until the minie balls almost stripped the clothing from them. During the afternoon the enemy's front line would seek protection under cover of our works and fire by placing the muzzles of their guns below the top logs of the works, while their second line would fire over their heads. Frequently our men would seize their muzzles and direct their fire to the rear."

Simultaneous with the crossing of the Rapidan river in Virginia by the Federal army of Meade, Gen. W. T. Sherman, in command of the armies of the Cumberland, Tennessee and Ohio, under Thomas, McPherson and Schofield, in all about 100,000 strong, advanced against the army of Tennessee, then under Gen. J. E. Johnston, and occupying the valley and mountain strongholds about Dalton, on the railroad from Chattanooga to Atlanta. South Carolina was represented in each of Johnston's two corps, in Hardee's by the Sixteenth regiment, Col. James McCullough, and Twenty-fourth, Col. Ellison Capers, in Gist's brigade of W. H. T. Walker's division, and Ferguson's battery, Lieut. R. T. Beauregard; and in Hood's corps by the Tenth regiment, Col. James F. Pressley, and Nineteenth, Lieut.-Col. Thomas P. Shaw, in Manigault's brigade of Hindman's division. Upon the junction of Polk's forces, Waties' battery, with Jackson's cavalry division, increased the South Carolina contingent. Brig.-Gen. C. H. Stevens commanded a Georgia brigade of Walker's division.

The South Carolinians shared fully in the campaign which followed, in the course of which General Johnston skillfully withdrew his forces, with inconsiderable loss, from one position to another, as each became untenable, also firmly holding the enemy for weeks on the New Hope church and Kenesaw mountain lines, repulsing fierce assaults and permitting Sherman to gain no adva[Pg 329]ntages except such as were due to the power of flanking inevitable to superior numbers.

The official reports of the campaign are meager, and afford no particulars of the service of Manigault's brigade. Colonel Capers, reporting September 10th, for Gist's brigade, said that on May 6th the brigade marched out of its winter quarters near Atlanta, and took position near Mill Creek gap. Captain Wever's company, of the Twenty-fourth, was the first engaged at this point, but the brigade was soon transferred to Resaca, to meet the Federal flanking column under McPherson. Then crossing the river the two regiments were engaged below Resaca against the enemy, whose crossing endangered Johnston's position. Meanwhile the battle of Resaca came on and Walker's division hurried back across the river, the Twenty-fourth leading, under fire of the enemy's batteries. They took position at the center, but Johnston was compelled to withdraw that night. On the 16th Hardee's corps was in bivouac on the Rome road, when the enemy drove in his pickets and the Federal shells began to fall in his camp. Colonel Capers, with his regiment and Shaaff's Georgia sharpshooters, was sent to re-establish the pickets, and his men were successful in a gallant charge, but lost 9 killed and 30 wounded, among the latter Capt. T. C. Morgan and Sergt.-Maj. J. B. Dotterer.

At Cassville, "the greatest enthusiasm prevailed in our ranks as the men and officers saw the army formed for battle;" but the order was countermanded, and May 25th found them in rear of and supporting Stewart's division at New Hope church. They were not engaged in the battle, but lost several killed and wounded. After various changes of position they were formed on June 19th south and west of Kenesaw mountain. The right of the Twenty-fourth touched French's division, which occupied the mountain.

The line, which was strongly intrenched, was soon[Pg 330] under the fire of the enemy, who established his intrenched line within 300 yards, and maintained such a constant fire of small-arms and artillery that the men had to keep close behind the works. Maj. C. C. O'Neill, of the Sixteenth, was killed on the picket line, which gallantly faced the enemy. On the 24th Colonel Capers' regiment went forward to assist the pickets in covering the brigade front, facing a Federal line of battle. The famous assault occurred three days later, and was repulsed from the line of the North Carolinians by their steady fire, assisted by the raking artillery fire from General French's batteries. But the Federals drove in the picket line and planted themselves within 100 yards, whence they maintained a galling fire of musketry. After thirteen days of such fighting at Kenesaw mountain the brigade was retired, with the army, the Twenty-fourth having lost 57 men. The experience of all the South Carolina regiments was similar.

On July 9th Gist's brigade crossed the Chattahoochee. "On the 17th," Colonel Capers wrote in his report, "the commanding general (Johnston) published an address to the army, and announced that he would attack General Sherman's army so soon as it should cross the Chattahoochee."

On the 20th, the Federal army having crossed the river and become separated in a movement toward the southeast of Atlanta, General Hood caused an attack upon Thomas on Peachtree creek by Hardee and Stewart (Polk's corps), while his corps, under Cheatham, met the enemy on the east. In this fight Walker's division made a gallant but unsuccessful assault and suffered considerable loss. On the 21st the fighting was brisk on the east of the city, participated in by Manigault's brigade. Next day Hardee made a circuitous march and fell upon the enemy's southeastward flank and rear, while Cheatham and Stewart attacked in front. In this hard-fought battle of July 22d the Federal right was rolled up and severely punished, but the Confederate loss was great, including General Walker, killed.

Gist's brigade fought in the front line on the Federal flank, and Manigault's brigade, in another part of the field, charged forward against the works occupied by the Federals on the Georgia railroad. Part of the Nineteenth regiment entered a large white house to fire from the windows, and seeing the enemy breaking, soon the men were leaping over the works and capturing prisoners. Capt. E. W. Horne reported: "Then mingling with men of other regiments, they passed about 150 yards left along the works, on the enemy's side of them, to the brick house, where they captured other prisoners. Maj. James L. White, who was in command of the regiment, acted well his part." The brigade was taken back to the white house, and formed, and then advanced again under the heavy enfilade fire of the batteries that Sherman had hurried up to protect his center, and occupied the trenches left of the brick house, where Major White was severely wounded. The brigade was soon afterward withdrawn. The loss of the Nineteenth was 97. The Tenth advanced on the right of the Nineteenth, the right of the brigade line, and was conspicuous in the fight. It was there, where the South Carolinians fought, that the[Pg 332] Illinois batteries of Captain DeGress were captured, and the honor of this achievement is claimed by Manigault's brigade. After this battle Gist's brigade was transferred to Cheatham's division.

On July 27th Stephen D. Lee, who went to Virginia in 1861 as a South Carolina artillery officer, took command of Hood's corps, with the rank of lieutenant-general, and on the next day he was ordered to attack the Federal right, being extended southward west of the city. In this fight Manigault's brigade was again engaged. Capt. T. W. Getzen was in command of the Twenty-fourth, and after he and Captain Home were wounded, the gallant "Adjt. James O. Ferrell reported to General Manigault that all his captains were now wounded or killed, and the general ordered the adjutant himself to take command." The loss of the Twenty-fourth that day was 53. The Tenth was engaged with like gallantry, its commander, Lieut.-Col. C. Irvin Walker, falling painfully wounded. Lieuts. G. A. Jennison and W. E. Huger, of Manigault's staff, were among the wounded. The brigade made repeated assaults, and left dead and wounded within a few feet of the Federal intrenchments, but the Confederate battle was not successful.

The investment of Atlanta was actively pressed after the battles of the latter part of July to the 25th of August, 1864. During that period the Federal line was firmly established on the east, north and west of the city, and steadily pushed southwestward. On August 25th, Hood's line, west and south of Atlanta, had extended to cover East Point, on the Macon railroad, 5 miles distant from the city.

Early in August General Hood sent General Wheeler with half his cavalry force to operate on Sherman's railroad communications with Chattanooga. Satisfied of his ability to hold Atlanta and keep open his Macon communications, he was equally well satisfied that Wheeler's success would compel Sherman to assault or raise the[Pg 333] siege and recross the Chattahoochee. But Sherman had already determined to raise the siege, to intrench one of his corps on the Chattahoochee to guard his supplies and protect that crossing, and to throw the Federal army first on the West Point and then on the Macon road, south of Atlanta. After an ineffective cavalry expedition, Sherman's movement began on the night of the 25th, and by the morning of the 28th nearly his whole army was in position on the West Point railroad, tearing up the track from East Point to Fairburn. Finishing this work of destruction on the 29th, Howard and Thomas were ordered to march on the 30th across to the Macon road and take possession of General Hood's only remaining railroad communications. Howard's destination was Jonesboro, 20 miles south of Atlanta.

Meanwhile General Hood had been uncertain as to the real character of the Federal general's movements, but supposed his main force was actually recrossing the Chattahoochee in retreat. Not until the evening of the 30th was General Hood convinced that his rear was seriously attacked. General Hardee was then ordered to march immediately with his own and Lee's corps, and to attack and drive across Flint river the force reported to be marching for Jonesboro. The head of Hardee's corps reached Jonesboro about sunrise, and the last of Lee's corps did not arrive before 1 p. m. Howard had crossed Flint river with one corps in the afternoon of the 30th, and occupied and fortified a ridge of high ground parallel with the railroad and between the river and Jonesboro. He could just as well have occupied the hamlet of Jonesboro and intrenched himself across the coveted railroad facing the city of Atlanta, for he had nothing to oppose his army but a brigade of cavalry. But he was deceived by reports that Jonesboro was occupied by a large force of infantry. Before "bedtime" of the 30th, General Howard had two corps in position, the Fifteenth east and the Sixteenth west of the river. Early on the morning[Pg 334] of the 31st the Seventeenth corps came up, and his army of the Tennessee was ready for battle.

As the troops of Hardee and Lee arrived on the 31st, they were quickly put in line of battle facing west, and immediately confronting the Fifteenth corps, commanded by Gen. John A. Logan. Lee's corps occupied the right, the divisions of Patton Anderson (including Manigault's brigade) and Stevenson in front, and Clayton's in reserve. Hardee's corps, commanded by General Cleburne, occupied the left, the divisions of Bate (under J. C. Brown) and Cleburne (under Lowrey) in front, and Cheatham's (under General Maney, and including Gist's brigade) in reserve. General Hardee ordered the attack to begin on the extreme left by Lowrey, to be followed up from left to right, Lowrey and Brown wheeling to their right and Lee attacking directly in front. Lowrey engaged the skirmishers in his front at 3 o'clock, and Lee, hearing his fire, led his corps forward. Lee was repulsed, but Lowrey on the extreme left was brilliantly successful, driving the enemy in his front across the river. He established his line on the east bank of the river, but the attack having failed on his right, he was recalled to his original position. Patton Anderson's division was conspicuous in the attack of Lee's corps. He was severely wounded and his division suffered heavily. Persuaded of the certain advance of General Thomas, and interpreting General Howard's defensive attitude as indicative of his near approach, Hardee wisely decided not to risk another assault and also stood on the defensive.

In the attacks, right and left, the brigades of Manigault and Gist were each in the line of support to the line of attack. Gist's brigade (commanded by Lieut.-Col. James McCullough, General Gist being absent wounded) was on the extreme left of Cheatham's division, and followed Lowrey's advance; but was not actively engaged and suffered only 4 casualties. Manigault had a more exciting experience. His brigade for this engagement[Pg 335] was assigned to Clayton's division, supporting Anderson and Stevenson. General Clayton describes the attack of the front line as wanting in dash and persistency. Ordered up on its first repulse, Manigault on his left, Holtzclaw next, and Gibson on his right, Clayton led his division with spirit. Encountering a rail fence, parallel to his advance, and the enemy's rifle-pits near it, a large part of the division halted at these obstructions to return the enemy's fire of musketry and canister which raked their ranks. To this circumstance the repulse of the division was due. "Never (says General Clayton) was a charge begun with such enthusiasm terminated with accomplishing so little."

Gibson led the brigade with the Confederate battle-flag in his grasp, and lost half his men. Manigault on the left was equally unsuccessful. This was the experience of each division in the assault with the one exception of Cleburne's, led by Lowrey. The whole attack was most unsatisfactory and disappointing. The troops went forward with spirit, but were soon discouraged and halted behind any and every obstruction to reply to the enemy's fire. This was fatal to the attack, though much determination and courage were shown by fighting from shelter, or even in the open. The corps of Hardee and Lee were physically unfit for the heroic exertion demanded of them on the 31st of August. To expect men who are worn out physically and wanting food, to carry intrenchments held by equal numbers, is unreasonable. The great Jackson failed to push his corps across White Oak swamp and join the battle at Frayser's farm, and his friend and biographer explains this unusual want of his characteristic energy by telling of his absolute physical exhaustion. However much we may deplore the disappointing results of the battle of the 31st of August, no true man, who knew the men who failed there, would charge their failure to a lack of spirit or courage.

The situation on the night of the 31st was critical.[Pg 336] Thomas' two corps were on the railroad in the rear of Howard and in supporting distance, and Schofield, with another corps, having eluded Hood at East Point, was in supporting distance of Thomas, on the railroad at Rough and Ready. Thus Sherman had thrown his entire army (the Twentieth corps excepted) between General Hood and the two corps at Jonesboro, and was hard at work breaking up the Macon railroad. Hood was holding on to Atlanta with Stewart's corps, and the militia of Georgia, the latter under Gen. G. W. Smith. Hearing late at night of the 31st, of Howard's success in repelling Hardee, Sherman at once ordered everything against Jonesboro, while General Hood directed Hardee to return Lee's corps to Atlanta, saying: "There are some indications that the enemy may make an attempt upon Atlanta to-morrow." The execution of this order exposed Lee to what seemed almost certain capture, and left Hardee to defend the supplies and ordnance trains of the army and the very existence of the army itself, against the whole of the force of General Sherman. Lee left Hardee before day on September 1st. That he succeeded in reaching General Hood, with Thomas and Schofield directly in his front, is a wonderful comment on the value of bypaths and a brilliant testimony to Lee's skill in finding them.

Hardee made the best possible disposition of his three divisions of infantry, and his small cavalry force, and stood behind such a defensive line as he could make. The troops worked all night of the 31st, the entire corps being in position from the railroad (a deep cut) on the right, to a position covered by cavalry on the left, and north of the hamlet of Jonesboro, Lowrey on the right, Brown in the center and Carter (Anderson) on the left. Gist's South Carolina and Georgia brigade was on the extreme left flank. The whole line was in one rank. From sunrise, Howard was threatening attack, with three corps in position, and his artillery commanding every part of[Pg 337] Hardee's line. The Confederates took the shelling patiently and worked hard upon their line of defense, well aware of the responsibility of their position.

At the railroad on the right the line was turned back, almost parallel with the deep railroad cut which passed through the ridge, north and south, on which Hardee's line was formed. This turn in the line was made to meet a fire from the opposite side of the cut, which was densely wooded, with a growth of small trees. The cut was too deep to be crossed at that point. About 1 o'clock Gist's brigade was ordered from the left, and put in position in one rank in the wood just described, by the lieutenant-general in person, and charged with the defense of the right flank. The Second battalion Georgia sharpshooters, Maj. R. H. Whiteley, and the Twenty-fourth South Carolina, Col. Ellison Capers, occupied the position at the railroad cut, and Colonel Capers was specially charged with its defense. On the right of the Twenty-fourth was the Sixteenth South Carolina and on its right the Forty-sixth Georgia. The men climbed up the smaller trees, bent them down, cut across the trunks with their pocket knives, and made a first-rate abatis of small trees, interlaced, covering the front for some distance. A barricade of rails, small trees, and timbers brought up from a settlement in rear, was quickly made, and these preparations saved the right when the attack came.

Early in the afternoon, the Fourteenth corps, of Thomas' army, came up and took position between the railroad and Howard's left. Still later, at 4 o'clock, the Fourth corps came up, and the leading division, Kimball's, deployed in front of Gist's brigade. At 5 o'clock Newton's division, of the Fourth corps, got into position in the woods on Kimball's left, the two divisions far overlapping Gist's brigade, and extending a quarter of a mile beyond the right flank of Hardee's position. General Sherman's plan of attack was to assault with the Fourteenth and Fourth corps, and send the Seventeenth[Pg 338] (Blair's) around Hardee's left flank to his rear, on the railroad, assured by these combinations of his certain capture. Davis brought his corps (Fourteenth) up in handsome style, about 4 o'clock, concentrated his assault on Lowrey, carried the position on the railroad, and captured most of Govan's brigade, with its brigadier-general and two 4-gun batteries. The brigade on Govan's left, Granbury's, threw back its right and defended itself on that flank and in the front. Lowrey and Hardee were promptly on the scene. Vaughan's brigade was brought up from Cheatham's division, and with the Fifth and Fifteenth Arkansas of Govan's brigade, charged the position of the enemy in Govan's line, recaptured most of it and confined the assaulting force to the position immediately on the railroad, from which they fired directly down Lowrey's line. Meanwhile the assaults in front were unsuccessful.

Simultaneous with the attack of Davis, Kimball's skirmishers east of the railroad engaged those of Gist's brigade, and at 5 o'clock an assault was made which fell on Whiteley's sharpshooters and Capers' regiment. Davis' troops on the west side of the cut fired into Whiteley's flank, and he withdrew his battalion from the barricade. Kimball's troops pushed up and occupied Whiteley's position, and drove back the three left companies of the Twenty-fourth South Carolina. On the left of his regiment Colonel Capers had made a barricade of logs, at right angles to the line, as a protection against a fire from the west side of the cut. Assisted by the adjutant-general of the brigade, Maj. B. B. Smith, and Lieutenant Holmes, adjutant of the Twenty-fourth, Colonel Capers rallied his companies, which, led by their commanding lieutenants, Easterling (Company B), Beckham (Company G) and Seigler (Company K), charged the barricade, drove Kimball's men out, and reoccupied their positions. Turning on the position which the sharpshooters had vacated, Major Smith and Lieutenants[Pg 339] Easterling and Beckham, with Companies B and K, immediately attacked it, and Major Whiteley bringing up his battalion in gallant style, the whole left of Gist's brigade was re-established and the enemy driven to the bottom of the ridge. In this battle the brave Maj. D. F. Hill, of the Twenty-fourth, was killed, while directing the fire of the left of the regiment. It was now growing dark, and the lieutenant-general in person rode up and congratulated Colonel Capers on the success of his regiment. The commander of the Fourth corps, General Stanley, in his report explained his delayed attack as "in part owing to the dense undergrowth in front of the enemy, and further, to the slow progress the skirmishers made in pushing back those of the enemy. Grose and Kirby both reported that they could not carry the position in their front owing to the perfect entanglement made by cutting down the thick undergrowth in front of the rail barricade the rebels had hastily thrown up." This was the entanglement made by Gist's men with their pocket-knives. General Stanley continues: "Newton's division had a much longer circuit to make and when moved forward the right brigade (Wagner's) found no enemy in front [Wagner was far to the right and on the rear of Gist's right regiment], but received a fire from the rear of their right flank." This was from the right of the Forty-sixth Georgia. That regiment and the Sixteenth South Carolina kept up a steady fire in their front and on their flanks, that of the Sixteenth materially assisting the Twenty-fourth in its contest over the left barricades.

Night came on and it was unusually dark, so that the active fighting ceased. Hardee had stood the shock and held his position, with the single exception of Govan's brigade front, and that had been in part gallantly restored under his eye. About midnight General Hardee had successfully left his lines, and by daylight of the 2d he was in line of battle at Lovejoy, 5 miles in the rear of[Pg 340] Jonesboro, with all trains packed and his weary and heroic battalions hard at work on a defensive line.

It is of this battle on the 1st and of its results, that General Hood reported to Richmond: "Hardee's corps was attacked in position at Jonesboro. The result was the loss of eight guns and some prisoners. Hardee then retired to Lovejoy's Station, where he was joined by Stewart's and Lee's corps." No dates were given by General Hood. Stewart and Lee did not reach Lovejoy's until the evening of the 3d, and Sherman's advance was deploying in Hardee's front by sunrise on the 2d. A battle was successfully fought all that day by the pickets, and again on the 3d, so that when Stewart and Lee came up from Atlanta on General Hardee's right rear, the Federal line of battle had been held at bay and the Confederate commander had only to strengthen a well-chosen position by the reinforcement of Lee's and Stewart's corps. If the attack of August 31st was disappointing, surely the splendid defense of September 1st, the successful retreat to Lovejoy's and the defiant resistance of a single corps on the 2d and 3d, with the safety of the trains, ought to have cheered the heart of the commanding general and inspired a gallant soldier's commendation.

Following these events, Sherman retreated to Atlanta, Hood concentrated his army at Palmetto, near the Chattahoochee, Hardee was supplanted by Cheatham in corps command, and General Gist took command of Cheatham's division. In Manigault's brigade, of Edward Johnson's division, the Tenth South Carolina was under command of Lieut.-Col. C. Irvine Walker, the Nineteenth of Capt. Thomas W. Getzen. Gist's brigade was commanded by Col. Ellison Capers, the Sixteenth regiment by Capt. John W. Boling, and the Twenty-fourth by Capt. W. C. Griffith.

On September 29, 1864, Cheatham's corps broke camp at Palmetto, crossed the Chattahoochee, and marched[Pg 341] northward on the west of Atlanta and Sherman's army. Gist's brigade camped on the road to Lost mountain on the 4th and 5th of October. After a dreadful night of storm, they marched through rain and mud on the Dalton road, and pushed on for the next three days through Van Wert, Cedartown and Cave Springs to Coosaville on the Coosa river, on the 9th. Thence marching through the beautiful valley of the Armuchee and through Sugar valley, they came before Dalton on the 13th at 1 p. m. General Hood summoned the fort, which surrendered after John C. Brown's division (including Gist's brigade) was ordered to carry it by assault.

Leaving Dalton on the afternoon of October 14th, Gist's brigade passed Rocky Face, through Mill Creek gap, familiar places to the soldiers of that army. After camping a night at Villanow, they resumed their march, passing Taylor's ridge through Ship's gap, and camped in the Chattooga valley. Early next morning, October 16th, Colonel Capers was ordered to march back with his regiment, and hold Ship's gap until ordered to retire. In disposing his regiment for the defense of the gap, Colonel Capers placed Companies A and F, Captains Steinmeyer and Sherard, under Captain Roddey, acting major, about a quarter of a mile in advance down the mountain, and instructed Roddey to deploy his companies, taking advantage of the woods, and to detain the enemy as long as he could, falling back on the right and left of the regiment when pressed too hard. Colonel Capers, from an open place on the ridge, seeing the enemy's columns and counting seventeen flags, reported by courier to General Gist, who sent him a dispatch to hold the gap as long as he could, but not to lose his regiment. It was then about 11 o'clock, and Roddey was skirmishing heavily. Colonel Capers sent his adjutant-general, Holmes, to Roddey. Just as that officer had returned and was talking to the colonel, the enemy was heard to raise a shout from the direction of both flanks of Roddey's force, and[Pg 342] suddenly the firing ceased. In a few minutes some men of Companies A and F, who had escaped capture, came in and reported that the enemy had passed around each flank of their line, and charging from the rear had cut off Roddey and most of his command. Soon after this the Federals came up the mountain, and charged the Twenty-fourth, which was holding the gap with the right and left companies deployed to protect the flanks. The well-directed fire of the gallant Carolinians repulsed the attack. Learning soon after that a force was moving around to get in his rear, Colonel Capers conducted his regiment to the rear by the right flank, each company firing up to the moment of marching. At the foot of the ridge they were relieved by cavalry, and the regiment was conducted to the bivouac of the brigade on the Summerville road. The Twenty-fourth lost 4 officers and about 40 men in this spirited skirmish at Ship's gap. Captains Roddey, Steinmeyer and Sherard and Lieutenant Gray were captured with about half of the force they commanded. It could not be ascertained how many of those cut off were killed or wounded. Only 8 were wounded in the gap.

On the next day the march of Cheatham's corps was continued. On October 18th they crossed the line of Georgia and Alabama, and on the 21st halted at Gadsden, where they received their mail and drew blankets, clothing and shoes, not enough to supply all necessities, but to relieve the most needy. Twenty men of the Twenty-fourth were absolutely barefooted when they reached Gadsden. That evening General Hood communicated to the army his purpose to cross the Tennessee and march into that State. The route lay through the beautiful valley of the Tennessee, desolated by the enemy, and Hood addressed a field circular to the army, calling attention of the troops to the ruined homes on every hand and exhorting officers and men to resolutely vow the redemption of Tennessee from the grasp of the foe. It was[Pg 343] noted in the report of the colonel: "The circular was received by the Twenty-fourth with a hearty cheer, though many of the gallant soldiers who cheered were absolutely suffering for clothing and shoes."

The march to the Tennessee, then across that river and on to Franklin, was through rain and mud and snow, with sometimes not more than three biscuits a day to the man. Yet the troops were cheerful and dutiful. Finally, on the afternoon of November 30th, they came upon the field at Franklin. Cheatham's corps was deployed on the left. The divisions were formed in two lines from right to left as follows: Cleburne's, Brown's and Bate's. In Brown's division, Gist's and Gordon's brigades occupied the front and Carter's and Strahl's the rear line. Stewart's corps was on the right of the pike. At 4 o'clock p. m. the two corps moved down the hills, Brown's division marching by the right flank of regiments until they had descended the slopes, then forming forward into line. As they advanced, the front line of the enemy was steadily driven back. Says Colonel Capers in his report:

Thus died Gen. S. R. Gist, a gallant son of South Carolina, who had nobly defended on many a field the cause for which he now so heroically yielded up his life. But without a halt, his noble brigade pressed on, driving the advance force of the enemy pell-mell into a locust abatis, where many were captured and sent to the rear. Colonel Capers, of the Twenty-fourth, fell wounded just before reaching the Union works. Gist's and Gordon's brigades charged on, reached the ditch of the main works and then mounted the parapet, on which the colors of the Twenty-fourth South Carolina were planted, and there remained.

Strahl's and Carter's brigades went gallantly to the assistance of Gist and Gordon. Though this line was torn to pieces by a terrible enfilade fire, by which Strahl and his entire staff were killed and Carter mortally wounded, there was no backward movement of the line. The gallant fellows pressed on to the ditch. Maj. B. Burgh Smith, of the brigade staff, who was commanding the Sixteenth South Carolina, was now the senior officer of the brigade, every superior officer being either killed or wounded. About 10:30 p. m. Lieut. James A. Tillman, of the Twenty-fourth, led his own company (I) and men from other companies of the regiment in a charge over the work, and captured the colors of the Ninety-seventh Ohio volunteer infantry and some 40 prisoners. The whole of Gist's brigade, Carolinians and Georgians, held their position against repeated attempts of the Federals to regain the works, until about midnight when the enemy retired, leaving the Confederates in possession of the bloody field of Franklin.[K] The Tenth and Nine[Pg 345]teenth South Carolina, in Manigault's brigade, Edward Johnson's division, got into the battle late in the evening, but did their duty well.

Gen. Stephen D. Lee reported: "Brigadier-General Manigault, commanding a brigade of Alabamians and South Carolinians, was severely wounded while gallantly leading his troops to the fight, and of his two successors in command, Col. T. P. Shaw [Nineteenth South Carolina] was killed and Colonel Davis wounded. I have never seen greater evidence of gallantry than was displayed by this division under command of that admirable soldier, Maj.-Gen. Ed. Johnson."

On no battlefield of the war was South Carolina more nobly illustrated by her gallant sons. But their valor was equaled by their endurance of hardships. "Once during the campaign," says Colonel Capers' report, "the men received as a ration three ears of corn to each man, and frequently we had nothing but cornmeal. But I am happy to report that no man deserted the flag of his regiment."

The records are meager as to the battle of Nashville. In the great disaster that befell the Confederate arms at that place and the terrible hardships of the retreat, the South Carolinians bore their full share of peril and suffering, and maintained the honor of the gallant Palmetto State.

[K] Colonel Capers, in his report commended Lieutenant Tillman, who in turn praised the gallantry of Privates J. P. Blackwell, Anderson Walls and J. E. O. Carpenter. "I would also mention specially the gallantry of Privates Prewett and Mock, both of whom were killed on the line of the enemy. Lieut. W. M. Beckham, acting adjutant; Captain Bowers, Lieuts. Claude F. Beaty, Adrian C. Appleby, C. D. Easterling, McDaniel, and Andrews were conspicuous in the field for their gallant conduct. Private Adam Carpenter bore the flag with courage and faithfulness, and Color-Corporals Jones and Morgan were both wounded. Lieutenants Weeks, Tatum and Millen were severely wounded. I would specially commend the gallantry and devotion of the litter corps under Private Joseph Breland. They kept up with the regiment and rendered prompt assistance to the wounded, several of them being themselves wounded on the field." At the close of the battle the ranking officer of the brigade was Captain Gillis, of the Forty-sixth Georgia. Of the general's staff Capt. H. D. Garden alone remained. When the generals and field officers of Gist's brigade were either killed or wounded, the company officers led their men in the assault upon the enemy's works.

Here may be resumed the narrative of the services of South Carolinians in the army of Northern Virginia, as recorded in the fragmentary reports and itineraries which are preserved.

The returns of August, 1864, show the following South Carolina commands on duty in Virginia:

Bratton's brigade, which was left in a previous chapter at New Market heights, north of the James river, was unmolested until the middle of August, when Grant ordered an advance in that quarter simultaneous with his attempt to gain the Weldon railroad. On the 14th Bratton's pickets were driven in, and Captain Beaty, of the Sharpshooters, one of the most efficient officers of the regiment, fell mortally wounded. Following this, the movements of the enemy up the Darbytown and Charles City roads necessitated a sliding of the whole division to the left. Next morning the situation was more serious. The enemy took a part of the line about Fussell's mill, and the Fifth regiment and Second rifles were sent down to recover that position, a work in which they most effectively assisted.[L] Meanwhile Bratton's thin line repulsed assaults near the Libby house. In the afternoon Bratton took command of the whole line from his left to Chaffin's farm, and by the second day had recovered all that had been lost. General Lee's report of August 21st reads:

General Hagood reported that he took into this Weldon railroad fight, line officers (number not given) and 681[Pg 348] men, and only 18 officers and 274 men came out unhurt. General Hagood was personally distinguished in rescuing the colors of the Twenty-seventh at the enemy's works. In his report he testified to the splendid gallantry with which his devoted men carried out the part of the attack assigned to them. On the 25th A. P. Hill attacked the Federals again at Reams' Station and won a splendid victory. McGowan's brigade was present, and Pegram's artillery took a prominent part. Dunovant's cavalry brigade was held in reserve by General Hampton, protecting the rear and flank of Hill's corps. General Butler handled his division skillfully in the fight.

On the morning of September 14th General Hampton moved upon his famous expedition to capture a herd of cattle which the Federal army was grazing near Coggins' point, on the James river. He took with him the division of W. H. F. Lee, Rosser's and Dearing's brigades, and 100 men from Young's and Dunovant's brigades, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Miller, Sixth South Carolina. Moving down Rowanty creek to Wilkinson's bridge the first day, General Hampton next found it necessary to pass to the rear of Grant's army and force his lines at some point. He selected Sycamore church, Prince George county, as his point of attack, and before night of the next day had his men on the Blackwater at Cook's bridge, where he believed the enemy would not be looking for him, the bridge having been destroyed. After constructing a new bridge, he crossed at midnight, and his force advanced in three columns, one under Lee, another under Dearing, while Hampton himself, with the commands of Rosser and Miller, moved directly on Sycamore church. Each column was successful in its attack early in the morning, though stubbornly resisted, and Rosser pushed on and secured the cattle, 2,486 in number, and everything was withdrawn before 8 o'clock. Though heavily attacked on his return, Hampton saved the captured property, repulsed all assaults, captured[Pg 349] 304 prisoners, and returned after an absence of three days, with the slight loss of 10 killed and 47 wounded. Among those complimented for their services were Sergeant Shadbourne, Jeff Davis legion, who furnished the information about the cattle, and guided General Rosser; Sergeant Hogan, in charge of Butler's scouts, and Sergeant McCalla, First South Carolina, the only scout who was killed.

Of the operations of all the South Carolina commands during this and later periods of the siege, little detail is to be found in the Official Records. The report of General Bratton is alone preserved, giving a consecutive account. His brigade, after the August fighting north of the James, was on duty on the Petersburg lines until September 29th, when it was again ordered to the New Market road. In that vicinity renewed Federal activity had resulted in the capture of Battery Harrison, and Bratton's South Carolinians, after a rest at Fort Gilmer, were ordered to support Anderson's brigade in an assault to recover the Confederate work. It was necessary for the brigade to file out at double-quick, and without moderating the step to move by the right flank in line against the enemy. "My orders were obeyed," Bratton reported, "and my dead, close under the enemy's works, attest their honest efforts to achieve the object for which they were given." The right regiment, Walker's, streaming along at a run, was halted a moment and put in on the left against a little redan, which it carried; but the main assault had failed. Another assault was made by General Hoke, but without effect. Bratton took into action that day (September 30th), 1,165 muskets and 129 officers, and his loss in killed and wounded was 377. Hagood's regiment mourned the loss of the gallant Captains Grimes and Kirk and Ensign Bellinger. Part of the Second Rifles, says Colonel Bowen, reached Fort Harrison, but could do nothing, and it was far more hazardous to leave the fort, once in it, than to enter.

On the 7th of October the brigade moved down the Darbytown road and struck the enemy's outposts, which Colonel Coward drove in to the Federal works. Then, in conjunction with Anderson's brigade, Bratton drove the enemy from the works, capturing one piece of artillery, other guns falling an easy prey to Gary's cavalry brigade (Hampton legion, Seventh South Carolina and Twenty-fourth Virginia), which, before the arrival of reinforcements, had been doing heroic duty holding back the advancing Federals. Bratton then joined the division line, and advancing found the enemy near the New Market road in heavy force and behind log breastworks. He came under a terrific fire against which he could make no headway, and was compelled to fall back with a loss of 190 killed and wounded, nearly half in Walker's regiment. General Bratton was wounded; Captain Quattlebaum, of the Sharpshooters, a most faithful officer, was killed; Lieut. W. T. Norris, Fifth, was wounded and captured; Lieutenant Lewis, Sharpshooters, lost a leg and was captured; Captain Sorrel, adjutant-general, was badly injured by the fall of his horse. General Bratton was disabled for several weeks, during which Colonel Walker was in command of the brigade. In this engagement, Haskell's battalion took a conspicuous part. Major Haskell narrowly escaped death, and Lieutenant McQueen, of Garden's battery, was severely wounded.

The last service of Bratton's brigade in 1864 was a hurried expedition by rail to Gordonsville, December 23d, to the assistance of General Lomax, confronting Sheridan, from which it returned without loss. At the beginning of 1865 General Bratton reported that he entered the campaign with a total of 2,016, had lost 176 killed, 1,094 wounded and 94 missing, total, 1,364, and had present at the date of his report, a total of 1,820. He particularly commended Colonels Hagood and Howard and their regiments, and the valuable services of Adjt.-Gen. J. B. Lyle.

Elliott's brigade remained on the Petersburg lines with[Pg 351] Johnson's division through the fall and winter, and the reports of General Johnson show that they had almost daily losses in killed and wounded. On the night of October 27th, the enemy carried a part of the picket line of the Holcombe legion, and Gen. W. H. Wallace, then in command of Elliott's brigade, immediately sent forward a force of 200 men from the legion and Eighteenth regiment, under Captain Brown, who retook the line, with 14 prisoners. On the night of November 5th, 200 men of the legion, under Captain Woodruff, attacked the Federal line in front of the Crater, and 60 men attempted to intrench the position gained, but they were all compelled to retire, with a loss to the brigade of 95 men.

In the latter part of September, General Heth and Hampton's cavalry administered a severe check to the enemy at Hatcher's run, and on the Vaughan and Squirrel Level roads. In the latter fight, General Dunovant was killed at the head of the South Carolina cavalry. The continued activity of the enemy on the Hatcher's Run line resulted in the battle of Burgess' Mill, October 27th, fought by Mahone and Hampton. In a gallant charge by Butler's division, Lieut. Thomas Preston Hampton, aide-de-camp, fell mortally wounded, and Lieut. Wade Hampton, of the general's staff, was severely wounded. Lieutenant-Colonel Jeffords was killed at the head of his regiment, the Fifth South Carolina, and Maj. T. G. Barker, division adjutant-general, was dangerously wounded. The gallant Captain Hart lost a leg while fighting his guns close up to the enemy.

Kershaw's brigade, under Gen. James Conner, and later under Colonel Kennedy, served gallantly under Early in the Shenandoah valley. At the battle of Cedar Creek, October 19th, a day of victory and disaster, the brigade suffered a loss of 205. Maj. James M. Goggin, subsequently commanding, reported the gallant service of Lieut. Y. J. Pope and Cadet E. P. Harllee, both wounded; of De Saussure Burrows, killed; of Couriers Crumley[Pg 352] and Templeton, of the brave Capt. B. M. Whitener, who fell in command of the battalion of sharpshooters; of Maj. B. R. Clyburn, who lost a leg, and of Major Todd, commanding Third regiment, severely wounded. Among the captured were Colonel Boykin and Lieutenant-Colonel McMichael, of the Twentieth.

In the latter part of December, Hoke's division was ordered to Wilmington, N. C, to meet the expedition against Fort Fisher. Hagood's brigade, then containing 720 effective men, took part in the operations which resulted in the withdrawal of the Federal forces under B. F. Butler. Besides the brigade, the Second cavalry was present.

In mid-January the attack on Fort Fisher was resumed, with a tremendous bombardment during the 13th and 14th, and an infantry assault on the 15th. Col. R. F. Graham, commanding Hagood's brigade, at Fort Anderson, was ordered to support the garrison, and on the afternoon of the 15th, the Twenty-first and Twenty-fifth regiments, under Captains DuBose and Carson, were landed, but the enemy's fire was too severe to land any more. The Twenty-first at once moved up to Fort Fisher, and the other regiment reached there later in the day, but the brave Confederate garrison was compelled to abandon the fort and surrender. The remainder of the brigade did not again join the army of Northern Virginia, but closed its record in the campaign in the Carolinas. Early in January, Conner's brigade, Kershaw's old command, was sent to General Hardee at Charleston. Butler's cavalry brigade accompanied General Hampton when he took command of cavalry in the Carolinas.

The South Carolina commands which participated in the final struggle to hold the defensive lines of Richmond and Petersburg in 1865, were as follows, as compiled from the reports and parole lists of Appomattox:

Wallace's brigade suffered severely at the battle of Five Forks, only a remnant marching thence to Appomattox Court House.

[L] Of this movement Col. R. E. Bowen writes: "The regiment marched fully one mile under a continuous fire of shell, grape, canister and minie balls, without losing a single man—one of the most remarkable events of the war."

After thoroughly destroying Atlanta, save its mere dwelling-houses, as is stated in his official report, Gen. W. T. Sherman began his march through Georgia on November 15, 1864, and on December 10th drove in the picket lines of the Confederate forces at Savannah under command of Lieutenant-General Hardee. During Sherman's advance, his feints at Columbia, Ga., made it uncertain for a time whether he did not intend to enter South Carolina at that point.

On November 28th, before the arrival of Sherman at Savannah, Maj.-Gen. John G. Foster, commanding the Federal department of the South, left Hilton Head with all his available troops, "amounting to 5,000 infantry, cavalry and artillery, with 500 sailors and marines," and went by boat to Boyd's Neck, on the south side of Broad river. After landing, Brig.-Gen. J. P. Hatch was put in command, with orders to push forward and cut the Charleston & Savannah railroad.

This formidable attempt seemed to promise success to the Federals, as Colonel Colcock, in command of the district, and Major Jenkins, commanding in the immediate vicinity of the Federal movement, had no forces adequate to an effective resistance, but fortunately, Gen. G. W. Smith's division of Georgia State troops had just arrived at Savannah, and was promptly sent to the scene by General [Pg 355]Hardee. The troops were put in position about 10 a. m. on the 30th on a line near the north bank of a small stream about three miles south of Grahamville station, occupying some light intrenchments that had been made upon ground called Honey hill, ten or twelve feet above the water level. On the right there was a dense forest, on the left an open pine wood, with an open space in front. The road on which the Federals approached was bordered closely by dense forests. Colonel Colcock was put in command of the line of battle, and Major Jenkins of the cavalry, while Captain DeSaussure, adjutant-general of the district, remained with General Smith. "Within five or ten minutes after these dispositions had been made," said General Smith, "the battle began by an advance piece of our artillery firing upon the enemy. Their line of battle was soon formed, and from that time until near dark made continuous efforts to carry our position. We had actually engaged five pieces of artillery, and it is due to the South Carolina artillerists that I should say I have never seen pieces more skillfully employed and gallantly served upon a difficult field of battle." In an hour the enemy had so extended and developed their attack that Smith was compelled to put in his last Georgia regiment, making his force engaged about 1,400 muskets. The valor with which they fought may be inferred from the report of General Foster, who said:

"Our loss in every arm of the service," General Smith reported, "was 8 men killed and 42 wounded. The enemy[Pg 356] left over 200 of their dead upon the field, and their whole loss in killed and wounded is believed to be upward of 1,000." About 4:30 p. m., General Robertson arrived with reinforcements from Charleston, and by the next morning General Chestnut was up with 350 South Carolina reserves, and General Baker with a North Carolina brigade.

Maj.-Gen. Samuel Jones, who had been ordered to establish his headquarters at Pocotaligo, reached there on the evening of the 5th, and found the Confederate forces available were the Fifth and Forty-seventh Georgia, part of the Thirty-second Georgia, artillery, part of the Third South Carolina cavalry, Kirk's squadron, some Georgia and South Carolina reserves and South Carolina militia. They were posted to protect the railroad from Pocotaligo to the Savannah river and up that river to Sister's ferry, the forces at and near Grahamville under the command of Brigadier-General Chestnut, and those at and near Coosawhatchie under Brigadier-General Gartrell. The latter met the advance under General Potter, on the 6th, sending forward a small battalion of the Fifth [Pg 357]Georgia, which was soon pressed back. It was reinforced by a section of artillery and the Georgia reserves, but the entire line soon gave way and fell back across the Coosawhatchie river. The battalion of South Carolina cadets was led forward by Maj. John Jenkins to the Tulifinny bridge, but arrived too late to be of service. General Jones then concentrated on the railroad near the Tulifinny trestle all the troops he could collect, Georgia commands, a company of the First artillery, the cadets, and Bachman's battery, and at dawn on the 7th Colonel Edwards, of Georgia, commanding, made an attack upon the enemy in conjunction with a demonstration by Gartrell, but without success, losing 4 killed and 31 wounded. This attack was participated in by Captain King's company, First regulars, the cadets under Maj. J. B. White, and 130 militia.

Gen. B. H. Robertson was put in command of the troops in this region on the 8th. On the 9th he was attacked by a Federal brigade under command of Col. Stewart L. Woodford, of New York, and several determined efforts were made to carry his line, but all were handsomely repulsed. General Robertson reported:

General Robertson lost 8 killed and 44 wounded. Colonel Woodford gave the loss of his regiment alone at 8 killed and 51 wounded. Some skirmishes followed, but the Georgians and South Carolinians remained in firm possession of the railroad.

On December 21st, Sherman, planning an assault[Pg 358] upon Savannah, learned that General Hardee had successfully eluded him, evacuated the Georgia seaport, crossed the river, and moved into South Carolina.

On the 25th of December, Gov. A. G. Magrath addressed a letter to President Davis which may be taken as presenting accurately the situation in the State at that date. Some extracts are therefore presented:

To the governor's petition was added that of W. F. De Saussure, Andrew Crawford, W. H. Scarborough, Daniel Ravenel and many other citizens, declaring: "It is absolutely necessary to have at least one well-organized corps besides Hardee's on the coast, about which the half-trained citizens may rally. Otherwise, however brave and determined, their efforts will amount to nothing." On the latter, President Davis indorsed: "The question presented is one which General Lee can best judge." The indorsement of General Lee was:

General Hardee, then at Charleston, on the 27th, was advised to make "silently and cautiously all necessary preparations for the evacuation of Charleston, should it become necessary." General McLaws was instructed to assume command of all troops between the Savannah river and Pocotaligo, including the cavalry command of General Wheeler at Hardeeville, and the forces at Honey hill and on the Tulifinny and Coosawhatchie and vicinity, then under General Taliaferro.

Beauregard was at his request relieved of the general command of the department on the last day of 1864. His presence was required at Montgomery and with the army of Tennessee. He instructed General Hardee that while the fall of Charleston would be a terrible blow to the Confederacy, the loss of its garrison would be still more fatal, and that preparations should be made for evacuation as well as for defense.

On January 19th, General Butler's cavalry division was ordered to South Carolina, and Gen. D. H. Hill was put in command at Augusta, Ga. The greatly depleted corps of S. D. Lee, Stewart and Cheatham, army of Tennessee, were on their way to reinforce General Hardee. These troops were reported destitute of clothing, but their indomitable spirit remained, and the people of the Carolinas were cheered by their approach. On the 28th, Gen. Wade Hampton reported for duty in defense of his State, soon after was given command of Butler's and Young's (Iverson's) cavalry divisions, and later of all the cavalry in the Carolinas. Conner's brigade, from the army of Northern Virginia, arrived in this month, and on the 31st, General Hardee's army was organized as follows:

On February 2d, a conference was held at Green's Cut station, Ga., at which Generals Beauregard, Hardee, D. H. Hill and G. W. Smith were present. It was estimated that the forces available to meet Sherman, Lee's corps of the army of Tennessee having arrived, and Cheatham's and Stewart's being on the way, had the following effective strength: Hardee's command, regular infantry, 8,000; militia and reserves, 3,000; light artillery, 2,000; Butler's cavalry division, 1,500; total, 14,500. Militia and reserves under Generals Smith and Browne,[Pg 361] 1,450. Wheeler's cavalry, 6,700. Army of Tennessee: Lee's corps, 4,000; Cheatham's corps, 3,000; Stewart's corps, 3,000; artillery, 800; total, 10,800. Grand total, 33,450. On account of the absence of most of the army of Tennessee, it was deemed inadvisable to give battle at the important point of Branchville; but it was determined to hold the Combahee as long as possible, while Hardee should fall back on Charleston, and Wheeler on Columbia. Lee's corps was ordered to Branchville, where Conner's brigade was already stationed.

General Sherman, meanwhile, was preparing to march northward through the Carolinas, with Savannah as his base. His army was organized in two wings, the right, under Gen. O. O. Howard, composed of the corps of John A. Logan and Frank P. Blair; the left, under Gen. H. W. Slocum, of the corps of Jeff C. Davis and A. S. Williams. The average strength of each corps was 13,000 men, and the cavalry, under Gen. Judson Kilpatrick, was about 4,000 in number. This, with the artillery, made up an aggregate effective strength, officers and men, of 60,000.

General Howard was ordered to embark his wing, transport it to Beaufort, and by the 15th of January, to make a lodgment on the Charleston & Savannah railroad at or near Pocotaligo, while the other wing and cavalry were ordered to rendezvous near Robertsville and Coosawhatchie. Howard performed his part of the program, but on account of the loss of a pontoon bridge, Slocum was compelled to cross at Sister's ferry, and the river, even there, was so overflowed as to be three miles wide, and he did not get entirely across until February. In the meantime, to make Sherman's advance easier, Grant had sent a division to garrison Savannah, Schofield's corps to operate from New Bern, N. C., and a tremendous fleet of warships, assisted by a land force, was about to reduce Fort Fisher, the main defense of Wilmington.

On January 2, 1865, a Federal brigade made the first crossing of the river near Savannah and moved toward Grahamville. On the 14th, General McLaws, confronting the advance of Howard, from Beaufort, reported: "I am endeavoring to evacuate my position. Enemy are immediately in my front.... They are now checked at Old Pocotaligo." McLaws withdrew behind the Salkehatchie, and the railroad from there southward was at last gained by the Federals. But the Combahee was an impassable barrier to Howard, and he was compelled to move up its southwest bank to find a crossing place.

General Wheeler was watching the enemy from Hardeeville, gradually falling back to Robertsville and Lawtonville, while part of his force observed the Federal movements on the Georgia side. On the 28th he reported the enemy crossing and advancing toward Robertsville. After a brisk skirmish near Loper's cross roads, he fell back toward Rivers' and Buford's bridges on the Big Salkehatchie, early in February.

Sherman declares that his "real march" began on the 1st of February. "All the roads northward had been held for weeks by Wheeler's cavalry, who had felled trees, burned bridges and made obstructions to impede our progress." On the 2d, Logan's corps was at Loper's, and Blair's at Rivers' bridge. Williams' corps was ordered to Buford's bridge, Kilpatrick to Blackville, and Howard to cross the Salkehatchie and move for Midway on the South Carolina railroad. "The enemy held the line of the Salkehatchie in force, having infantry and artillery intrenched at Rivers' and Buford's bridges." The former was carried February 3d by two divisions of Blair's corps, who waded the swamp and turned McLaws' position, compelling him to retire toward Branchville, behind the Edisto. McLaws reported, "It was with difficulty that my command could be withdrawn, as I was completely flanked on both sides. The fighting at Rivers' bridge was quite sharp and lasted several hours."[Pg 363] Wheeler, following McLaws' retreat, burned the bridges over the Little Salkehatchie. Gen. C. L. Stevenson, commanding S. D. Lee's corps, took position to hold the South Edisto to Binnaker's bridge.

Sherman pushed his army rapidly toward Midway and Graham's Station on the South Carolina railroad, which was destroyed, while Blair threatened Branchville, and Kilpatrick, Augusta. The latter was met by Wheeler's cavalry in battle at Blackville, Williston and Aiken, the Confederate leader winning a substantial victory before the latter place, and stopping Kilpatrick's advance.

On February 8th there was a brisk engagement at the bridge of the Edisto west of Branchville. Stovall, stationed at Binnaker's bridge, was reinforced by Clayton, and the position ordered to be held as long as possible. But on the 10th, Stevenson reported from Orangeburg: "The enemy has driven the troops from Binnaker's and they are retiring on this point."

On the 11th, McLaws' skirmishers, on the south side of the North Fork, before Orangeburg, made a gallant resistance, and Sherman's advance was checked by a battery commanding the bridge, which was partially burned, until a flanking force crossed the river below the town. Orangeburg was then abandoned and the work of destroying the railroad there was begun. Then, while Blair marched up the railroad toward the Congaree, destroying the track, Sherman turned toward Columbia.

General Hampton was put in command at the State capital and arrangements were made for the transfer of prisoners of war from that city and Florence to Salisbury, N. C. General Hardee was ordered by General Beauregard to evacuate Charleston, and join in a general concentration of forces at Chesterville, whither the military stores at Columbia were hastily forwarded. President Davis, writing to Beauregard regarding the evacuation of Charleston, said: "Such full preparation had[Pg 364] been made that I had hoped for other and better results, and the disappointment to me is extremely bitter."

The military situation on the 16th, as Beauregard described it, was: "Our forces, about 20,000 effective infantry and artillery, more or less demoralized, occupy a circumference of about 240 miles from Charleston to Augusta. The enemy, well organized and disciplined, and flushed with success, numbering nearly double our forces, is concentrated upon one point (Columbia) of that circumference." On the same day he resumed command of all troops in South Carolina. General Hardee was seriously ill, and General McLaws took command at Charleston in his stead and completed the evacuation by the morning of Saturday, the 18th of February, when the city was surrendered at 9 a. m. by Mayor Charles Macbeth.

Generals Cheatham and Stewart had by this time brought what remained of their corps, pitifully few in numbers, to Augusta, in the vicinity of which General Wheeler had his cavalry, and General Hampton urged the most rapid movement possible of these forces to unite with the troops at Columbia for the defense of the State capital, and the line of the Congaree; but the rapid movements of Sherman made this impossible.

On the 15th, Logan's corps, advancing on Columbia, was checked by a brave band of Confederates manning a tête-de-pont and fort at Little Congaree bridge, and it was night before the head of the Federal column reached the Congaree in front of Columbia, and went into camp, shelled by a battery on the other side. That night the bridge was burned to check the Federal crossing, and next morning part of De Gress' Federal battery began firing upon the town. Slocum's corps was ordered to move toward Winnsboro and Howard to occupy Columbia, which one of his brigades did, by crossing the Saluda and Broad rivers. General Hampton evacuated Columbia on the 17th, and his forces took up their march northward intending to concentrate at Chesterville, or if not[Pg 365] possible there, at Charlotte, N. C., and at the same time Cheatham's corps began its march in the same direction, from Columbia.

A pontoon was built, on which Sherman crossed into Columbia on the 17th, and was met by the mayor, who surrendered the city and asked for its protection from pillage. The day, Sherman says, was clear, but a "perfect tempest of wind was raging." His orders to Howard were, he says, to burn all arsenals and public property not needed for army use, as well as all railroads and depots, but to spare dwellings and schools and charitable institutions; and he declares that before a single building was fired by his order, the city was in flames spread by cotton burning on the streets before he occupied the city; that the whole of Woods' division was brought in to fight the fire; that he was up nearly all night, and saw Generals Howard, Logan, Woods and others laboring to save houses and protect families. "Our officers and men on duty worked well to extinguish the flames; but others not on duty, including the officers who had long been imprisoned there, may have assisted in spreading the fire after it had once begun."

General Hampton denies that any cotton was fired by his orders, also that any cotton was burning when the Federals entered the city. Abundant testimony has been given by the people of Columbia, both white and black, to the effect that the city was burned by the Federal soldiers. This is virtually admitted by General Slocum when he says: "I believe the immediate cause of the disaster was a free use of whisky (which was supplied to the soldiers by citizens with great liberality). A drunken soldier, with a musket in one hand and a match in the other, is not a pleasant visitor to have about the house on a dark, windy night." Sherman, in his Memoirs, says: "The army, having totally ruined Columbia, moved on toward Winnsboro." There can be no doubt[Pg 366] that Federal soldiers burned Columbia and were never punished for it.

This, however, was but one instance of the general devastation accompanying Sherman's march. The words of a Federal soldier [M] may be quoted as suggestive of the ruin wrought by the invading army:

General Beauregard at this time reported to General Lee that Sherman was advancing on Winnsboro, and would thence probably move on Greensboro, Danville and Petersburg, and that he did not believe it possible for the troops from Charleston or those of Cheatham to make a junction with him short of Greensboro. On the 19th, Gen. R. E. Lee wrote to the war department:

On February 22d, General Johnston was assigned to command of the departments of Tennessee and Georgia, and South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.

On the 21 st, Sherman's advance was at Winnsboro, and Rocky Mount was occupied on the 23d. Kilpatrick's cavalry was ordered to Lancaster. For several days after this Sherman was delayed by high water in the rivers. Howard's wing, having crossed the Catawba before the rains set in, advanced on Cheraw, where Hardee was stationed with a force of about 12,000, and a cavalry command was sent to burn and destroy at Camden. Another body of cavalry attempting to cut the railroad from Charleston to Florence was met and routed by a part of Butler's command, at Mount Elon. General Butler met Howard's advance at Chesterfield, and skirmished to impede its march, but Cheraw was entered by the enemy March 2d, and much property destroyed. An expedition of Federals was sent toward Florence, but was defeated in its attempt to reach that place.

Continuing his march northward, Sherman's left wing reached Fayetteville, N. C., on the 11th of March. General Hampton, with his cavalry, had maintained active skirmishing to cover the retreat of Hardee's troops, and on the morning of March 10th, finding Kilpatrick's cavalry in a scattered condition, he ordered Wheeler's and Butler's cavalry to attack. They charged the camps, took Kilpatrick's headquarters, artillery and wagons, destroying the latter, and captured 350 prisoners, but the enemy reforming in a marsh, finally compelled the Confederates to withdraw.

Sherman spent three days at Fayetteville, destroying[Pg 368] the arsenal and machinery. He then began to fear serious trouble from the concentration of the Confederate forces in his front under General Johnston, and began a movement toward Goldsboro, where he ordered Schofield to join him. His march began March 15th, his advance being steadily resisted by Hampton, and on the 16th he encountered General Hardee near Averasboro, in the narrow, swampy neck between Cape Fear and South rivers, determined to check the Federal advance to gain time for the concentration of Johnston's army.

At 7 a. m. on the 16th, Hardee's line was attacked, 5 miles south of Averasboro, and Colonel Rhett's brigade forced back, rallying on Elliott's. Forming a second line, supported by McLaws' division and later by Wheeler's cavalry, the fighting was continued, although the enemy's great superiority in numbers enabled him to flank the second line and compel Hardee to occupy a third. He maintained his position during the day and retreated upon Smithfield, where Johnston's headquarters was then located. He reported his loss as 400 or 500. Colonel Rhett was captured, in a skirmish preceding the battle, and Colonel Butler commanded his brigade. Casualties were reported in fourteen brigades of the Federal army, aggregating 95 killed, 533 wounded and 54 missing.[N]

On being informed that the Fourteenth and Twentieth Federal corps, which had been engaged with Hardee at Averasboro, were moving by the Goldsboro road, at some distance from Sherman's other wing, Johnston immediately concentrated his troops available at Bentonville, and attacked Slocum at 3 p. m., at first meeting with brilliant success. A mile in the rear the Federals rallied. "We were able to press all back slowly until 6," said Johnston, "when receiving fresh troops apparently, they attempted the offensive, which we resisted without difficulty [Pg 370]till dark." On the 20th, Hoke's division was attacked, but repulsed every assault. Next day there was heavy skirmishing, and Stewart's and Taliaferro's skirmishers were thrown forward, who found that Sherman, having united his two wings, was intrenching. On the evening of the 21st, General Hardee, assisted by Hampton and Wheeler, defeated an attempt of Blair's corps to move upon Bentonville. Then, learning that Schofield had reached Goldsboro, and Sherman was moving toward Cox's bridge, Johnston withdrew to the neighborhood of Smithfield, and thence through Raleigh toward Greensboro.

The first attack upon the enemy preliminary to the battle of Bentonville was made by General Hampton, on the morning of the 18th, in defense of the position he had selected for the battle which had been planned. On the 19th, before the arrival of Hardee to take position between Hoke and Stewart, Hampton held the gap in the line with two South Carolina batteries of horse artillery, Hart's, under Capt. E. L. Halsey, and Capt W. E. Earle's.

Maj.-Gen. D. H. Hill, commanding Lee's corps, which included the South Carolinians of Manigault's brigade, reported the entire success of his command in the first attack, and added: "Lieutenant-Colonel Carter [commanding Manigault's brigade] was in actual negotiation with a Yankee general for the surrender of his command." Unfortunately, at this juncture the enemy pressed upon the flank and rear of his advance, and many men were cut off. "Captain Wood, adjutant-general of Manigault's brigade, brought out 10 men and 8 prisoners, after a tiresome march all night around the Yankee forces."

Gen. John D. Kennedy commanded Kershaw's old brigade, and he and his veterans did gallant service.[P]

During the operations just narrated, Hagood's brigade[Pg 371] had been engaged, under Hoke and Bragg, in the defense of Wilmington, N. C., and of Kinston, maintaining in every combat its old-time reputation for valor. In the operations about Kinston, Lee's corps, under D. H. Hill, also took part, and in the actions of March 8th, 9th and 10th, the South Carolinians of Manigault's brigade were engaged.

Having fought to the extremity for a great Right, the army under Gen. Joseph E. Johnston was surrendered April 26, 1865, upon the terms agreed upon between Lee and Grant at Appomattox. The South Carolina soldiery of all arms, and its men of the navy in all waters, had valorously sustained the honor of their State, making in long and arduous service a reputation for fortitude, courage, humanity, and devotion to the Confederacy, only equaled by the fame similarly earned by their comrades from other States. Accepting honorable parole in good faith, these chivalrous men retired from the theater of war to act well their parts in civil life, trusting their country's future to the honest hope that the operations in the minds and actions of their countrymen of the essential principles of free government under constitutional regulations, would yet accomplish in peace the great ends for which they had so terribly suffered in war.

[M] Capt. Daniel Oakey, Second Massachusetts volunteers, in "Battles and Leaders."

[N] A Federal line officer, writing of this fight years afterward, said: "It was a wretched place for a fight. At some points we had to support our wounded until they could be carried off, to prevent their falling into the swamp water, in which we stood ankle deep. No ordinary troops were in our front. They would not give way until a division of Davis' corps was thrown upon their right while we pressed them closely. As we passed over their dead and wounded, I came upon the body of a very young officer, whose handsome, refined face attracted my attention. While the line of battle swept past me I knelt at his side for a moment. His buttons bore the arms of South Carolina. Evidently we were fighting the Charleston chivalry."

[O] Among South Carolinians specially mentioned by General Taliaferro were Brig.-Gen. Stephen Elliott and Colonel Butler, commanding brigades; Colonel Brown, Major Warley and Captain Humbert, Second South Carolina artillery; Captain Mathewes and Lieutenant Boag, Manigault's battalion; Lieutenant-Colonel Yates, Major Blanding (severely wounded) and Captain King, First South Carolina artillery; Captain Huguenin, First South Carolina infantry, and Major Lucas.

[P] General Kennedy complimented Lieutenant-Colonel Wallace, commanding the Second regiment, for skill and gallantry, and mentioned particularly, "Capt. C. R. Holmes, assistant adjutant-general, Lieutenant Harllee, acting assistant inspector-general, Lieutenant Sill, acting on staff, and C. Kennison, acting aide-de-camp; also the good conduct and coolness in bearing dispatches of Sergeant Blake and Corporal Pinckney of the Second South Carolina." Lieutenant-Colonel Roy, in the advance, was for a time on the left of the brigade, gallantly inspiriting the men.

Brigadier-General Barnard E. Bee was born at Charleston, S. C., in 1823, the son of Col. Barnard E. Bee, who removed to Texas in 1835, and grandson of Thomas Bee, the first Federal judge of the State of South Carolina. He was appointed as a cadet-at-large to the United States military academy, and was graduated in 1845, with promotion to brevet second lieutenant, Third infantry. Immediately afterward he served in the military occupation of Texas, and during the war with Mexico participated in the battles of 1846 at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, after which he was on recruiting service with promotion to second lieutenant. In 1847 he took part in the siege of Vera Cruz, and while storming the enemy's intrenched heights at Cerro Gordo, was wounded and earned the brevet of first lieutenant. His gallant record was continued in the conflicts at Contreras, Churubusco, Chapultepec and the City of Mexico, winning for him the rank of brevet captain and a sword of honor from South Carolina, his native State. After the close of this war he served as adjutant of the Third infantry at various army posts on the frontier, until the spring of 1855, with promotion to first lieutenant in 1851, and to captain of the Tenth infantry in 1855. For a short time he was detached at the cavalry school at Carlisle; then was on frontier duty in Minnesota; marched with Albert Sidney Johnston to Utah in 1857, and in that territory served as lieutenant-colonel of the volunteer battalion until the close of 1858. He was on duty at Fort Laramie, Dak., when he resigned in March, 1861, to enter the Confederate [Pg 376]service. First commissioned major of infantry, C. S. A., he was promoted to brigadier-general, provisional army, in June, and given command of the Third brigade of the army of the Shenandoah, under Brig.-Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, whose other brigade commanders were Colonels Jackson, Bartow and Elzey. Bee's command was composed of the Second and Eleventh Mississippi, Sixth North Carolina and Fourth Alabama regiments, and Imboden's battery. After participating in the maneuvers in the valley against Patterson, his brigade was the first to reinforce Beauregard at Manassas Junction, arriving there on July 20th. He selected the position for the artillery on the morning of the 21st near the Henry house, almost simultaneously with the placing of Rickett's battery on the opposite hill, and ordered the opening of the artillery fire which checked the Federal advance and made the subsequent victory possible. He was the ranking officer on this part of the field during the early hours of battle, and supported Evans with his own and Bartow's brigades, while Jackson followed and took position on the line he had selected. Forced back by Federal reinforcements, he rallied his troops, and during the confusion shouted the historic words: "Look at Jackson's brigade. It stands there like a stonewall." His gallant men soon reformed and drove the Federals from the Henry house plateau which they had gained, and soon afterward were in turn driven back by the enemy. In the second charge of the Confederates which swept the Federals from the disputed position, captured the Rickett and Griffin batteries, and won the day, General Bee fell mortally wounded near the Henry house, close to the spot where he gave his first orders for battle. He died the following morning, July 22, 1861, in the little cabin on the field where he had made his headquarters. The death of General Bee, in this first great battle of the war, caused universal mourning in the South. He was[Pg 377] an officer of tried courage and capacity, and had the promise of a glorious career in the great struggle into which he had entered with such generous enthusiasm.

Brigadier-General Milledge Luke Bonham was born near Red Bank, Edgefield district, December 22, 1813, the son of Capt. James Bonham, who came from Virginia to South Carolina about the close of the last century, and married Sophie, daughter of Jacob Smith, niece of Capt. James Butler, head of an illustrious South Carolina family. The grandfather of General Bonham was Maj. Absalom Bonham, a native of Maryland and a soldier of the revolutionary war. General Bonham, after graduation at the South Carolina college, had his first military experience as a volunteer in the company of Capt. James Jones, in the Seminole war, and was promoted to brigade major, a position corresponding to adjutant-general of brigade. Subsequently, while beginning his career as a lawyer and legislator, he continued his association with the militia and attained the rank of major-general. When war began with Mexico he went to the front as lieutenant-colonel of the Twelfth United States infantry, and served with distinction, earning promotion to colonel, and remained in Mexico a year after the close of the war, as military governor of one of the provinces. Then returning home he resumed the practice of law, was elected solicitor of the southern circuit, and in 1856, upon the death of Preston S. Brooks, was chosen as the successor of that gentleman in Congress. Upon the secession of the State he promptly resigned and was appointed commander-in-chief of the South Carolina army, with the rank of major-general. In this capacity, and waiving all questions of rank and precedence, at the request of Governor Pickens, he served upon the coast in hearty co-operation with General Beauregard, sent there by the provisional government of the Confederate States. At a later date he was commissioned brigadier-general in the[Pg 378] provisional army, and he took to Richmond the first troops, not Virginian, that arrived for the defense of the capital. His regiments were commanded by Colonels Kershaw, Williams, Cash and Bacon, and were conspicuous in the operations before Washington and in the first battle of Manassas. Afterward, in consequence of a disagreement with the war department, he resigned and was elected to the Confederate Congress. In December, 1862, he was elected governor of the State, an office which he filled with credit. In January, 1865, he was appointed to command of a brigade of cavalry, in the organization of which he was engaged at the close of military operations. His subsequent career was marked by the same ardent patriotism. As a delegate to President Grant from the taxpayers' convention, and a supporter of the revolution of 1876, he rendered the State valuable service. He was the first railroad commissioner of South Carolina, in 1878, and subsequently chairman of the commission until his death, August 27, 1890. As a soldier he is described as "one of the finest looking officers in the entire army. His tall, graceful figure, commanding appearance, noble bearing and soldierly mien, all excited the admiration and confidence of his troops. He wore a broad-brimmed hat with a waving plume, and sat his horse with the knightly grace of Charles the Bold or Henry of Navarre. His soldiers were proud of him, and loved to do him homage. While he was a good disciplinarian, so far as the volunteer service required, he did not treat his officers with any air of superiority."

Brigadier-General John Bratton was born at Winnsboro, S. C., March 7, 1831, the son of Dr. William Bratton by his second wife, Isabella Means. He is a descendant of Col. William Bratton, of Virginia, who removed to York county, S. C., and was a conspicuous figure in the war of the revolution. John Bratton was graduated at the South Carolina college in 1850, and a few years later embarked[Pg 379] in the practice of medicine at his native town, having completed a professional course at the Charleston college. In 1861 he enlisted in the first call for ten regiments of troops, as a private, and being promoted captain, served in that capacity during the bombardment of Fort Sumter, and until the State troops were called upon to enlist in the Confederate service. His company declining to respond, he again enlisted as a private, and with twenty-three men of his old command helped to fill up a company for the Sixth regiment. This was soon ordered to Virginia, where he went as second lieutenant of Company C. Except for the engagement at Dranesville, the year for which the regiment enlisted was uneventful, but toward the close he attracted the favorable attention of General Johnston by advocating the enlistment of his regiment as a whole for the war, and though this proposition failed, he was enabled to re-enlist the first company of one year's men of Johnston's army. It followed that a battalion of six companies of the Sixth was re-enlisted, and he was soon elected to the command, and promoted colonel when the regiment was filled up. He commanded his regiment with gallantry in Jenkins' brigade, Longstreet's corps, at Williamsburg, Seven Pines, the Seven Days' battles, and the succeeding campaigns of the army of Northern Virginia, and in the Chickamauga and Knoxville campaigns, where he was in command of the brigade while Jenkins had charge of Hood's division. After the death of Jenkins at the battle of the Wilderness, he was at once promoted brigadier-general on the urgent request of General Lee, and he continued to lead this famous brigade to the end. At Appomattox, so well had his gallant men held together, he had the largest brigade in the army, a little over 1,500 men, and in fact it was larger than some of the divisions. His brigade alone made an orderly march to Danville and secured railroad transportation for a part of their homeward journey. When General Bratton reached home he gave his[Pg 380] attention to planting, and in 1866 was elected to the legislature. In 1876 he was the chairman of the South Carolina delegation to the national Democratic convention, in 1880 was chairman of the State committee of his party, and in 1881 was elected comptroller of the State to fill an unexpired term. He was a stalwart lieutenant of Gen. Wade Hampton in the famous campaign of 1876, was elected to Congress in 1884, and was his party's candidate for governor in 1890. Having been for many years identified with the agricultural interests of the State, he was selected as the one man likely to unify his party. With the single purpose of mitigating the evils attending division among the whites, he sacrificed himself on the shrine of duty, as he saw it, and though defeated, again won the admiration of all classes. Until his death at Winnsboro, January 12, 1898, he held firmly the unalloyed love and respect of the people.

Major-General Matthew Calbraith Butler was born near Greenville, S. C., March 6, 1836. His father was Dr. William Butler, an assistant surgeon in the United States navy, and a congressman in 1841; his mother, Jane T., daughter of Captain Perry, U. S. N., of Newport, R. I., and sister of Commodore Oliver H. Perry and Matthew Calbraith Perry. Judge A. P. Butler, United States senator, and Gov. Pierce M. Butler, colonel of the Palmetto regiment and killed at Churubusco, were his uncles; his grandfather, Gen. William Butler, was a gallant officer of the revolutionary army, and his great-grandfather, Capt. James Butler, a native of Loudoun county, Va., was the founder of the family in North Carolina. In childhood he accompanied his father to Arkansas, but after the latter's death returned to South Carolina in 1851, and made his home with Senator A. P. Butler near Edgefield. He was educated at the South Carolina college, and then reading law was admitted to practice in 1857. In the following year he was married[Pg 381] to Maria, daughter of Gov. F. W. Pickens. He was elected to the legislature in 1860, but before the conclusion of his term, entered the military service of his State as captain of a company of cavalry in Hampton's legion. This command took a distinguished part in the first battle of Manassas, and Captain Butler was promoted major to date from July 21st, the beginning of his famous career in the cavalry of the army of Northern Virginia. He commanded the cavalry of the legion under Stuart in the withdrawal of the troops from Yorktown, and was warmly commended for gallantry at Williamsburg. In August, 1862, he was promoted to colonel of the Second regiment, South Carolina cavalry, Hampton's brigade, and in this rank he participated in the Second Manassas and Maryland campaigns, winning favorable mention for gallant leadership in the affair at Monocacy bridge, and in Stuart's Chambersburg raid. He commanded the main part of his brigade in the Dumfries expedition of December, 1862, and in June, 1863, he was one of the most conspicuous leaders in the famous cavalry battle of Brandy Station. Here he was severely wounded by a shell, losing his right foot, and promotion to brigadier-general followed in September. Returning to service before his wound healed he was sent home to recover. He succeeded General Hampton in brigade command, and took part in the fall campaigns of the army in 1863, and throughout the famous struggle of 1864, at the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, and before Richmond in opposition to Sheridan, he was one of the heroic figures of this last great campaign of the Confederate armies. The reports of Sheridan himself attest the splendid fighting of Butler and his brigade at Hawe's Shop and Cold Harbor. At Trevilian Station he was in command of Hampton's division, and repulsed seven distinct and determined assaults by the largely superior forces under Sheridan, his command occupying the most important point of the Confederate line and fighting as infantry. In September[Pg 382] he was promoted major-general, and in the spring of 1865 he was detached with a small division for the campaign against Sherman in the Carolinas. He commanded the rear guard of Hardee's army at the evacuation of Columbia and Cheraw, and at the last had division command of cavalry, his forces and Gen. Joe Wheeler's forming the command of Lieut.-Gen. Wade Hampton. The close of the war left him in financial ruin, but he bravely met the exigencies of the occasion, and in a short time attained national repute for the firmness and boldness with which he handled the political questions which concerned the essentials of the reorganized social life. While he powerfully advocated obedience to the reconstruction measures as the law, law being preferable to chaos, he receded at no time from a persistent opposition to infringements on good government, and was largely instrumental in securing the election of Gov. Wade Hampton. In 1876 he was elected to the United States Senate, where his admission was met by a storm of partisan protest which is memorable in the history of the nation, but his career of eighteen years in that exalted body vindicated the good judgment and patriotism of the State which deputed him as its representative. In the stormy days of sectional debate in Congress he was one of the foremost champions of the South, but at a later period he was enabled to make a splendid record in constructive statesmanship by his staunch advocacy of a strong navy, of civil service reform, and other measures now settled in national policy. After the expiration of his service in the Senate, March, 1895, he engaged in the practice of law at Washington, D. C. In 1898 he was appointed a major-general in the volunteer army of the United States, for the war with Spain, and after peace was secured he served as a member of the commission for the removal of the Spanish forces from Cuba.

Brigadier-General Ellison Capers, a descendant of an English family which settled in South Carolina among the earliest colonists, was born in Charleston, October 14, 1837. His father, grandfather and several generations of the name, belonged to the parishes of St. Thomas and St. Denis, in Charleston county, in the territory originally called Berkeley county. His mother was of Irish extraction, her father, William McGill, having settled in Kershaw county, upon coming from Ireland. William Capers, the grandfather of Ellison, was a soldier of the revolution, a lieutenant in the Second South Carolina regiment, and after the fall of Charleston in 1780, one of Marion's captains in his famous partisan brigade, in which his only brother, G. Sinclair Capers, held the same rank. Several thrilling incidents in the career of these two gallant partisan captains are related by Judge James, of South Carolina, in his life of Marion. They were both planters. William Capers, father of Ellison, was born on his father's plantation, "Bull Head," in St. Thomas parish, about 20 miles north of Charleston, January 25, 1790. He was graduated at the South Carolina college in Columbia, entered the Methodist ministry in 1808, and devoted his life and brilliant talents to his sacred calling. He was elected and consecrated a bishop in the Methodist Episcopal church South, in 1845, and died at his home in Anderson, S. C., January 29, 1855. Ellison Capers, the fourth son of his marriage with Susan McGill, was graduated at the South Carolina military academy in November, 1857. The next year he was a resident graduate and assistant professor of mathematics and belles lettres in his alma mater. In 1859 he married Charlotte Rebecca, fourth daughter of John Gendron and Catherine Cotourier Palmer, of Cherry Grove plantation, St. John's, Berkeley, S. C. In the fall of this year he was appointed assistant professor of mathematics in the South Carolina military academy at Charleston with the rank of second lieutenant. The active state of affairs in[Pg 384] Charleston during the summer and fall of 1860 roused the military spirit of the people, and the First regiment of Rifles was organized in Charleston, of which Lieutenant Capers was unanimously elected major. He served with this regiment at Castle Pinckney, and on Morris, Sullivan's, James and John's islands. His regiment also constituted a part of the army under Beauregard during the attack on Fort Sumter. He continued to serve in the vicinity of Charleston until November, when he resigned the rank of lieutenant-colonel to which he had been promoted, in order that he might enter the Confederate service. Satisfied that a terrible struggle was before his people, he resigned his professorship at the military academy and united with Col. Clement H. Stevens, of Charleston, in enlisting a regiment for the war. The regiment was mustered into the Confederate service as the Twenty-fourth South Carolina volunteer infantry, April 1, 1862, with Clement H. Stevens as colonel, Ellison Capers, lieutenant-colonel, and H. J. Hammond, major; on the 4th of April was ordered to Coles' island, and on the 25th of May was transferred to James island. On June 3d, Companies A, B, D and E, and the Charleston battalion, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Capers, opened the James Island campaign. In this engagement Colonel Capers led the attack, and for his courageous and skillful management of this affair he was commended in general orders. At the battle of Secessionville, the Twenty-fourth was again engaged, and Colonel Capers was praised in orders. He was next detailed to command a battery of siege guns at Clark's house. Except a short service at Pocotaligo the regiment was on James island until December 15, 1862, when it was ordered to North Carolina to the relief of Wilmington, and stationed at the railroad crossing of Northeast river on Island Ford road. On February 13th it was returned[Pg 385] to South Carolina and placed on duty in the Third military district (W. S. Walker's). Lieutenant-Colonel Capers, with part of his regiment and other commands, was detached to command the district between Combahee and Ashepoo rivers. Charleston being threatened with attack, the regiment was ordered back to Secessionville, April 5, 1863. On May 6th it left South Carolina for Jackson, Miss., being assigned to Gist's brigade, and eight days later, while commanding the regiment in the battle at Jackson, Lieutenant-Colonel Capers was wounded. About the last of August, Gist's brigade was sent to General Bragg. It participated in the battles of Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge, and in the former Capers was again wounded. During the winter at Dalton in January, 1864, Colonel Stevens was promoted to brigadier-general and placed in charge of the brigade formerly commanded by Gen. Claudius C. Wilson. It was while leading this brigade that General Stevens received his mortal wound at Peachtree creek, July 20, 1864. Lieutenant-Colonel Capers was promoted to the colonelcy of the Twenty-fourth, which he led through the Atlanta and Tennessee campaigns until the battle of Franklin, where he was wounded and Gist was killed. On March 1, 1865, on the recommendations of Generals Johnston, Hardee and Cheatham, he was commissioned brigadier-general and assigned to the command of Gist's brigade. After the war General Capers was elected secretary of state of South Carolina, December, 1866. In 1867 he entered the ministry of the Protestant Episcopal church. He was for twenty years rector at Greenville, S. C., for one year at Selma, Ala., and for six years at Trinity, Columbia. In 1889 the degree of D. D. was conferred on him by the university of South Carolina. On May 4, 1893, he was elected bishop by the convention of South Carolina on the first ballot, and on July 20, 1893, was consecrated in this sacred office.

Brigadier-General James Chestnut, a gallant South Carolinian, distinguished as a general officer, also served as aide-de-camp on the staff of President Davis, in which connection his biography is given in the first volume of this work.

Brigadier-General James Conner was born at Charleston, the son of Henry W. Conner, of that city. After his graduation at the South Carolina college in 1849, he read law under James L. Petigru, and was admitted to practice in 1852. In 1856 his ability as a lawyer was recognized by appointment as United States district attorney, an office which he resigned in 1860 on account of the prospect of secession by his State. He was associated with Judge Magrath and Hon. W. F. Colcock on a committee which visited the legislature and urged the calling of a convention, and after the passage of the ordinance he devoted himself to preparation for the field. Though appointed Confederate States attorney for the district, he refused to leave the military service and deputed his official duties. He entered the Confederate service as captain of the Montgomery Guards, and in May, 1861, was chosen captain of Company A, Washington light infantry, Hampton's legion. He was promoted major to date from the first battle of Manassas, and in June, 1862, became colonel of the Twenty-second North Carolina regiment. Being disabled for duty, he was detailed as one of the judges of the military court of the Second corps, with the rank of colonel of cavalry. On June 1, 1864, he was promoted brigadier-general, and was assigned to command of McGowan's and Lane's brigades. Subsequently, as acting major-general, he commanded a division consisting of the brigades of McGowan, Lane and Bushrod Johnson. On the return of General McGowan to duty, General Conner was assigned permanently to the command of Kershaw's old brigade. In 1865 he was promoted to major-general, and the commis[Pg 387]sion was made out, and forwarded, but failed to reach him in the confusion of the final days of the Confederacy. He was at the bombardment of Fort Sumter, 1861, and participated in the battles of First Manassas, Yorktown, New Stone Point, West Point, Seven Pines, Mechanicsville, Chancellorsville, Riddle's Shop, Darby's Farm, Fussell's Mill, Petersburg, Jerusalem Plank Road, Reams' Station, Winchester, Port Republic and Cedar Creek. He was severely wounded in the leg at Mechanicsville, and again in the same leg near Fisher's Hill, October, 1864, compelling the amputation of the limb. At First Manassas the command of the legion was given him as senior captain, by Colonel Hampton, when the latter was wounded, and Captain Conner gallantly led in the charge upon Rickett's battery. As commander of Kershaw's South Carolinians he was greatly beloved by his men. After his return to Charleston he resumed the practice of law, in which he gained distinction. For many years he was assistant counsel and then solicitor of the South Carolina railroad, and for the bank of Charleston, and for some time was receiver of the Greenville & Columbia railroad. In 1876 he was chairman of the Democratic executive committee of the State, and was nominated and elected attorney-general of the State, on the ticket headed by General Hampton. During the exciting period of this campaign he was in command of the rifle-clubs which were depended upon for the preservation of order, and his calmness and self-control were of great value to the State. His performance of the duties of attorney-general elicited the warm official commendation of Governor Hampton, and thanks were tendered him by the legislature in the name of the people of the State.

Brigadier-General Thomas Fenwick Drayton was born in South Carolina about 1807, of an ancestral line distinguished in the history of the State. His grandfather,[Pg 388] William Drayton, born in South Carolina in 1733, was educated in law at the Temple, London; was appointed chief justice of the province of East Florida in 1768, and after the revolution was judge of admiralty, associate justice of the supreme court, and first United States district judge. His father, William Drayton, born in 1776, a lawyer, entered the United States service as lieutenant-colonel in 1812; was promoted colonel, and later inspector-general; was associated with Generals Scott and Macomb in the preparation of a system of infantry tactics; resigned in 1815, afterward served in Congress 1825-33, and was a warm friend and supporter of President Jackson. General Drayton was graduated at the United States military academy in 1828, in the class of Jefferson Davis, and was in the service as second lieutenant of Sixth infantry until his resignation in 1836. Subsequently he was occupied as a civil engineer at Charleston, Louisville and Cincinnati for two years, then becoming a planter in St. Luke's parish. He served as captain of South Carolina militia five years, was a member of the board of ordnance of the State, a State senator 1853-61, and president of the Charleston & Savannah railroad 1853-56. September 25, 1861, he was commissioned brigadier-general, provisional army of the Confederate States, and was assigned to the command of the Third military district of the State. He was in command of the Confederate forces during the bombardment and capture of Forts Walker and Beauregard, at Port Royal entrance, in November, 1861, on which occasion his brother, Capt. Percival Drayton, commanded the steamer Pocahontas, one of the Federal vessels under Admiral DuPont. He was in charge of the Fifth military district, under Gen. R. E. Lee, and the Sixth and Fourth districts under Pemberton, in the same region, with headquarters at Hardeeville. During the Second Manassas and Maryland campaigns he commanded a brigade composed of the Fifteenth South Carolina, and two Georgia regi[Pg 389]ments, which, with Toombs' Georgia brigade, constituted the division of D. R. Jones, Longstreet's corps, and participated in the battles of Thoroughfare Gap and Second Manassas, South Mountain and Sharpsburg. In August, 1863, he was ordered to report to Gen. T. H. Holmes, at Little Rock, Ark., and was there assigned to command of a brigade of Sterling Price's division, consisting of Missouri and Arkansas troops. From the beginning of 1864 he was in command of this division in Arkansas, until Gen. Kirby Smith relieved Holmes, when he was transferred to the command of the West sub-district of Mexico. He was also in command of the Texas cavalry division composed of the brigades of Slaughter and H. E. McCullough. In the spring of 1865 he was a member of the board of inquiry demanded by General Price after his Missouri expedition. After the close of hostilities, General Drayton farmed in Dooly county, Ga., until 1872, afterward was an insurance agent, and in 1878 removed to Charlotte, N. C., as president of the South Carolina immigration society. He died at Florence, February 18, 1891.

Brigadier-General John Dunovant held the rank of major of infantry in the State army during the initial operations of the war of the Confederacy, and during the bombardment of Fort Sumter was present at Fort Moultrie, doing all that was in his power. Subsequently he became colonel of the First regiment of infantry, and was stationed for some time on Sullivan's island and at Fort Moultrie. Later in 1862 he was given command of the Fifth regiment, South Carolina cavalry, in which capacity he served in the State, until ordered to Virginia in March, 1864. There he and his regiment were under the brigade command of Gen. M. C. Butler, in Wade Hampton's division of Stuart's cavalry. The regiment under his leadership did admirable service, General Ransom reported, at the battle of Drewry's Bluff, May 16th, and subsequently in the encounters with Sheridan's[Pg 390] cavalry, he shared the services of Butler's brigade at Cold Harbor, Trevilian's and other important conflicts. On August 2, 1864, President Davis suggested to General Lee, Dunovant's promotion to temporary rank as brigadier-general, and it was soon afterward ordered. In this capacity he had brigade command under General Hampton until, in the fighting north of the James river, following the capture of Fort Harrison, he was killed October 1, 1864. On receipt of news of the death of the gallant soldier, General Lee replied to General Hampton: "I grieve with you at the loss of General Dunovant and Dr. Fontaine, two officers whom it will be difficult to replace."

Brigadier-General Stephen Elliott, Jr., was born at Beaufort, S. C., in 1832, son of Stephen Elliott, first bishop of the Protestant Episcopal diocese of Georgia and provisional bishop of Florida; and grandson of Stephen Elliott, a distinguished naturalist. He passed his youth on the plantation, devoted to manly sports. At the beginning of the formation of the Confederate States, he organized and equipped a light battery, known as the Beaufort artillery, of which he was commissioned captain. He was present at the bombardment of Fort Sumter, aiming several shots from the siege guns, and during his subsequent service in the State he became famous for daring and skillful fighting. On guard in 1861 in the vicinity of Port Royal harbor, he put twenty of his boys on the tug Lady Davis, and ran out to sea to find a prize. With indomitable pluck, accompanied by good fortune, he captured a sailing vessel, of 1,200 tons, and brought her in to Beaufort. Subsequently he was ordered to Bay Point, the other side of Port Royal entrance being held by the German volunteers under Captain Wagener. There he fought a Federal fleet for two hours, until his guns were dismounted. After the Federals occupied the coast islands, he engaged in numerous daring raids. During one night he burned fourteen plantation settlements;[Pg 391] again he surprised a picket post successfully, and in August, 1862, he commanded an expedition against a Federal force on Pinckney island, which was very successful and gained for him the unstinted commendation of his superiors. His activity also turned to the direction of inventing floating torpedoes, with which he blew up a tender in St. Helena bay. He was promoted to chief of artillery of the Third military district, including Beaufort, near where, in April, 1863, he captured the Federal steamer George Washington. Promotion followed to major and then to lieutenant-colonel. Twice he met the enemy in open field at Pocotaligo, where his guns put the invaders to flight. In command of the Charleston battalion he occupied Fort Sumter, September 5, 1863, and held the ruins of the famous citadel against the enemy until May, 1864. Then as colonel of Holcombe's legion he was ordered to Petersburg, Va., and was soon promoted to brigadier-general and assigned to the command of N. G. Evans' old brigade, which included the legion. He served actively in the defense of Petersburg, his brigade, a part of Bushrod Johnson's division, holding that important part of the line selected by the Federals as the point to be mined, and carried by an assaulting party. Two of his regiments, the Eighteenth and Twenty-second, occupied the works blown up on the morning of July 30th, and the immense displacement of earth which formed the crater maimed and buried many of the command. But, undismayed, General Elliott and his brigade received the onslaught made through the breach of the Confederate intrenchments. In the words of the division commander, "Brigadier-General Elliott, the gallant commander of the brigade which occupied the salient, was making prompt disposition of his forces to assault the enemy and reoccupy the remaining portion of the trenches when he was dangerously wounded." Entirely disabled for further service he returned to his home at Beaufort, and died from the effects of his wound, March 21, 1866.

Brigadier-General Nathan George Evans was born in Marion county, S. C., February 6, 1824, the third son of Thomas Evans, who married Jane Beverly Daniel, of Virginia. He was graduated at Randolph-Macon college before he was eighteen, and at the United States military academy, which he entered by appointment of John C. Calhoun, in 1848. With a lieutenancy in the Second Dragoons, he was first on duty at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., whence he marched to the Rocky mountains in 1849. In 1850 to 1853 he served in New Mexico, and began a famous career as an Indian fighter, which was continued in Texas and Indian Territory after his promotion to captain in 1856, in various combats with the hostile Comanches. At the battle of Wachita Village, October 1, 1858, his command defeated a large body of the Comanches, and he killed two of their noted chieftains in a hand-to-hand fight. For this he was voted a handsome sword by the legislature of South Carolina. In 1860 he was married to a sister of Gen. M. W. Gary, of Abbeville county. He resigned from the old army in February, 1861, being then stationed in Texas, and taking farewell of his colonel, Robert E. Lee, proceeded to Montgomery, and was commissioned major of cavalry, C. S. A. Being assigned to duty as adjutant-general of the South Carolina army, he was present at the bombardment of Fort Sumter and was soon afterward promoted colonel. Joining the army under General Beauregard at Manassas Junction, Va., he had a command on the field during the first encounter at Blackburn's ford, and again in the great battle of July 21, 1861. At the opening of the latter engagement, his forces, consisting of the Fourth South Carolina regiment, a battalion of Louisiana volunteers, Terry's squadron of cavalry, and a section of Latham's battery, were stationed at the stone bridge, where he held the enemy in check in front, until he perceived in operation the flank movement which was the Federal plan of battle. Instantly without waiting for orders he[Pg 393] threw his little command in a new line, facing the enemy, and alone held him in check until reinforced by General Bee. With great intrepidity he and his men held their ground against great odds until the Confederate army could adapt itself to this unexpected attack. As remarked by a Northern historian: "Evans' action was probably one of the best pieces of soldiership on either side during the campaign, but it seems to have received no special commendation from his superiors." General Beauregard commended his "dauntless conduct and imperturbable coolness," but it was not until after the fight at Leesburg that he was promoted. This latter engagement, known also as Ball's Bluff, was fought in October, near the Potomac river, by his brigade, mainly Mississippians, and a splendid victory was gained over largely superior numbers, with great loss to the enemy. His promotion to brigadier-general was made to date from this memorable affair, and South Carolina again, through her general assembly, gave him a vote of thanks and presented him with a gold medal. In 1862 he commanded a brigade consisting of the Seventeenth, Eighteenth, Twenty-second and Twenty-third regiments, and Holcombe's legion, South Carolina troops, and was mentioned by General Longstreet among the officers most prominently distinguished in the battles of Second Manassas and Sharpsburg. In the latter fight he commanded his division. Thereafter his service was mainly rendered in South Carolina. In 1863 he moved to the support of Johnston against Grant. After the fall of Richmond he accompanied President Davis as far as Cokesbury, S. C. A year later he engaged in business at Charleston, but was mainly occupied as a teacher at Midway, Ala., until his death at that place, November 30, 1868. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee has written of him: "'Shanks' Evans, as he was called, was a graduate of the military academy, a native South Carolinian, served in the celebrated old Second Dragoons, and was a good type of the rip-roaring, scorn-[Pg 394]all-care element, which so largely abounded in that regiment. Evans had the honor of opening the fight (First Manassas), we might say fired the first gun of the war."

Brig.-Gen. John Dunovant. Brig.-Gen. James Chestnut.

Brig.-Gen. Barnard E. Bee. Maj.-Gen. M. C. Butler. Brig.-Gen. John Bratton.

Brig.-Gen. M. L. Bonham. Brig.-Gen. N. G. Evans. Brig.-Gen. Stephen Elliott, Jr.

Maj.-Gen. M. W. Gary. Brig.-Gen. Thos. F. Drayton.

Brigadier-General Samuel W. Ferguson was born and reared at Charleston, and was graduated at the United States military academy in 1857. As a lieutenant of dragoons he participated in the Utah expedition under Albert Sidney Johnston, and in 1859-60 was on duty at Fort Walla Walla, Washington. When informed of the result of the presidential election of 1860, he resigned his commission and returned to Charleston, and on March 1, 1861, entered the service of his native State with the rank of captain. Being appointed aide-de-camp to General Beauregard, he received the formal surrender of Major Anderson, raised the first Confederate flag and posted the first guards at Fort Sumter. He was then sent to deliver to the Congress at Montgomery the flag used at Fort Moultrie, the first standard of the Confederacy struck by a hostile shot. He remained on Beauregard's staff and took an active part in the battle of Shiloh, on the second day being assigned to command a brigade of the Second corps. At the battle of Farmington he was also on duty with General Beauregard. At the same time he held the rank of lieutenant-colonel of the Twenty-eighth Mississippi regiment cavalry, and subsequently, stationed at Vicksburg, he had command of cavalry and outlying pickets until detailed for special duty along the Yazoo delta, opposing with cavalry and artillery the advance of the Federal transports. During Grant's preliminary movements against Vicksburg he thwarted the attempt of Sherman and Porter to reach the city in the rear by way of Deer creek. In 1863 he was promoted to brigadier-general. He was active in command of cavalry in harassing Sherman's movement to Chattanooga, and during the Georgia campaign of 1864 his brigade of Alabamians and Mississippians, with[Pg 395] Armstrong's and Ross' brigades, formed the cavalry of the army of Mississippi, under command of Gen. W. H. Jackson, operating on the left wing of Johnston's army. He defeated Wilder's "lightning brigade," and displayed gallantry on every field. When Sherman began his march to Savannah, he harassed the Federal flank until within a few miles of Savannah, when he left his horses on the South Carolina side of the river, after swimming it, and entering Savannah with his men as infantry, covered the rear of Hardee's army at the evacuation. He subsequently operated in southern Georgia until ordered to Danville, Va., but on reaching Greensboro was ordered back, escorting President Davis from Charlotte to Abbeville, and as far as Washington, Ga., where his command was disbanded. He then made his home in Mississippi, and practiced law at Greenville. In 1876 he was made president of the board of Mississippi levee commission for several counties, and in 1883 became a member of the United States river commission. In 1894 he returned to his native city of Charleston, and devoted himself to the profession of civil engineering. In 1898 he offered his services for the war with Spain.

Brigadier-General Martin Witherspoon Gary was born in 1831 at Cokesbury, Abbeville county, the third son of Dr. Thomas Reeder Gary. He was educated at the South Carolina college and Harvard college, graduating at the latter institution in 1854. Then studying law he was admitted to the bar in 1855, and soon acquired distinction in both law and politics. As a member of the South Carolina legislature in 1860 and 1861, he advocated secession, and when the ordinance was enacted, at once went into the military service as captain of the Watson Guards, which became Company B of the Hampton legion. At First Manassas the command of the legion devolved upon him after Colonel Hampton was wounded, Lieutenant-Colonel Johnson killed and Captain Conner[Pg 396] disabled. At the reorganization in 1862 he was elected lieutenant-colonel of the infantry of the legion, a battalion of eight companies, and after it was filled to a regiment, he was promoted colonel. He participated in the battles around Richmond, at Second Manassas, Boonsboro and Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, and with Longstreet at Suffolk, Chickamauga, Bean's Station, Campbell's Station and Knoxville. His command was subsequently mounted as cavalry, and served on the north side of the James before Richmond. After the fight at Riddle's Shop, in June, 1864, he was promoted brigadier-general, his cavalry brigade including the Hampton legion, Seventh South Carolina, Seventh Georgia and Twenty-fourth Virginia regiments, and Harkerson's artillery. He led the brigade in all the heavy fighting north of the James during the siege, and was the last to leave Richmond. Capt. Clement Sulivane, left behind to destroy the bridge after Gary had crossed, relates that at daylight April 3d, when the Union troops were in sight advancing, and a mob was ravaging the storehouses, "a long line of cavalry in gray turned into Fourteenth street, and sword in hand galloped straight down to the river; Gary had come. The mob scattered right and left before the armed horsemen, who reined up at the canal. Presently a single company of cavalry appeared in sight, and rode at headlong speed to the bridge. 'My rear guard!' exclaimed Gary. Touching his hat to me, he called out, 'All over, good-bye!' and trotted over the bridge." Joining Lee's rear guard he was one of the heroes of Fitzhugh Lee's command, engaged in incessant fighting until Appomattox Court House was reached. There he did not surrender, but cut his way through the Federal lines, and rode to Greensboro, where he took command of about 200 men of his brigade on their way to Virginia, and escorted the President and his cabinet to Cokesbury, S. C. The cabinet held one of their last meetings in his mother's house at[Pg 397] that place. Then resuming the practice of law, he continued in that profession until his death at Edgefield, April 9, 1881. He was a noted figure in the exciting political campaign of 1876, and for four years thereafter held a seat in the State senate.

Brigadier-General States R. Gist was a descendant of that gallant Marylander, Gen. Mordecai Gist, who distinguished himself at the battle of Camden in 1780, and at the Combahee in 1782, and subsequently resided at Charleston, at his death leaving two sons who bore the names of Independent and States. At the organization of the army of South Carolina early in 1861, States R. Gist was assigned to the position of adjutant and inspector general, in which capacity he rendered valuable service in the preparation for the occupation of Charleston harbor and the reduction of Fort Sumter. He went to Virginia as a volunteer aide to General Bee, and at the critical moment in the first battle of Manassas, when Gen. J. E. Johnston rode to the front with the colors of the Fourth Alabama at his side, Beauregard relates that "noticing Col. S. R. Gist, an aide to General Bee, a young man whom I had known as adjutant-general of South Carolina, and whom I greatly esteemed, I presented him as an able and brave commander to the stricken regiment, who cheered their new leader, and maintained under him to the end of the day, their previous gallant behavior." Subsequently he resumed his duties as adjutant-general, organizing South Carolina troops for the war, until in March, 1862, he was commissioned brigadier-general in the Confederate service, and ordered to report to General Pemberton, then in command of the department. He was after this on duty on the South Carolina coast, in command east of James island in June, on that island from July; temporarily in command of the first district, and in December, 1862, in command of the troops ordered to the relief of Wilming[Pg 398]ton, until May, 1863, when he was ordered to take command of a brigade and go to the assistance of General Pemberton in Mississippi. Reaching Jackson his command formed part of the troops under J. E. Johnston, took part in the engagement of May 14th at Jackson, marched to the Big Black river just before the surrender of Vicksburg, and then returning to Jackson was besieged by Sherman. His brigade comprised the Forty-sixth Georgia, Fourteenth Mississippi and Twenty-fourth South Carolina, the Sixteenth South Carolina soon afterward being substituted for the Mississippi regiment, and was assigned to the division of Gen. W. H. T. Walker. He fought gallantly at Chickamauga, commanding during part of the battle Ector's and Wilson's brigades, his own brigade being led by Colonel Colquitt, and on Sunday commanding Walker's division. At an important stage of the fight Gen. D. H. Hill called for Gist's brigade for dangerous duty, in the performance of which it suffered severely. He continued in conspicuous and valuable service; during the battle of Missionary Ridge commanded Walker's division, and throughout the Atlanta campaign of 1864 was identified with that division. After the fall of General Walker he was transferred to Cheatham's division, which he commanded for some time during the fall campaign of that year. At the terribly destructive battle of Franklin, Tenn., he was one of the noblest of the brave men whose lives were sacrificed. Attended by Capt. H. D. Garden and Lieut. Frank Trenholm, of his staff, he rode down the front, and after ordering the charge and waving his hat to the Twenty-fourth, rode away in the smoke of battle, never more to be seen by the men he had commanded on so many fields. His horse was shot, and he was leading the right of the brigade on foot when he fell, pierced through the heart.

Brigadier-General Maxcy Gregg was born in Columbia, S. C, the son of Col. James Gregg, a distinguished lawyer of that city, and was educated at the South Carolina college, where he graduated with the first honors of his class. He then entered upon the practice of law as a partner of his father. In 1846 he had his first military experience as major of a regiment of the second levy of volunteers sent to Mexico, but did not arrive at the scene of conflict in time to share in any of the famous battles. He was a member of the convention of 1860 which determined upon the secession of the State, and then became colonel of the First North Carolina regiment, enlisted for six months' service, with which he was on duty on Sullivan's and Morris islands during the reduction of Fort Sumter, and afterward in Virginia. Previous to the battle of Manassas he was stationed at Centreville, and then near Fairfax Court House, and commanded the infantry in the action at Vienna. At the expiration of the term of enlistment he reorganized his regiment in South Carolina, and returning to Virginia was stationed at Suffolk. In December, 1861, he was promoted to brigadier-general and ordered to South Carolina, where he took command of a brigade composed of the First, Twelfth, Thirteenth and Fourteenth regiments. With this brigade he was attached to the famous light division of A. P. Hill for the Seven Days' campaign before Richmond. He led the advance of the division at Cold Harbor, crossing the creek under fire made what Hill pronounced "the handsomest charge in line I have seen during the war," and during the remainder of the battle displayed undaunted bravery. At Frayser's Farm he charged and captured a Federal battery. At the battle of August 29th, on the plains of Manassas, he with his comrades of the division, fought "with a heroic courage and obstinacy almost beyond parallel," repelling six determined assaults of the enemy, who sought to overwhelm Jackson's corps before Longstreet could arrive. Hill reported: "The reply of[Pg 400] the gallant Gregg to a message of mine is worthy of note: 'Tell General Hill that my ammunition is exhausted, but that I will hold my position with the bayonet.'" In the battle of the 30th and at Ox Hill on September 1st, he was again distinguished. He participated in the capture of Harper's Ferry, at Sharpsburg shared with distinguished gallantry in the heroic work of the Light division, which reached the field in time to save the Confederate right, and was wounded in the fight; and at Shepherdstown, after the crossing of the Potomac by the army, commanded the line of three brigades which drove back and terribly punished the enemy's forces, which had the temerity to pursue the lion-hearted veterans of Lee's army. His part in the battle of Fredericksburg we may best describe in the words of the immortal Lee. After describing the momentary success of the Federals on the right, he wrote: "In the meantime a large force had penetrated the wood so far as Hill's reserve, and encountered Gregg's brigade. The attack was so sudden and unexpected that Orr's Rifles, mistaking the enemy for our own troops retiring, were thrown into confusion. While in the act of rallying them, that brave soldier and true patriot, Brig.-Gen. Maxcy Gregg, fell mortally wounded." Again, "In Brigadier-Generals Gregg and Cobb the Confederacy has lost two of its noblest citizens and the army two of its bravest and most distinguished officers. The country consents to the loss of such as these, and the gallant soldiers who fell with them, only to secure the inestimable blessing they died to obtain."

Brigadier-General Johnson Hagood was born in Barnwell county, February 21, 1829. His ancestors were of English extraction, and the family in America was first established in Virginia, removing thence to South Carolina before the revolution. He was graduated at the Citadel military academy in 1847, and then studying law was admitted to the bar in 1850. Throughout his subsequent[Pg 401] career he maintained an association with the State military forces, holding the rank of brigadier-general when South Carolina seceded. He was then elected colonel of the First regiment, and after participating in the reduction of Fort Sumter was ordered to Virginia, where he was present at the first battle of Manassas. Returning to South Carolina with his regiment he was engaged in the operations about Charleston and the battle of Secessionville, June, 1862, after which he was promoted brigadier-general. Until May, 1864, he served on the coast of the State, in defense of Charleston during Gillmore's siege, and was distinguished for gallantry in the defense of Fort Wagner and the operations on James island. On May 6, 1864, part of his brigade arrived at Petersburg and immediately went into battle at Walthall Junction with the advancing forces of Butler, and a few hours later General Hagood arrived with reinforcements. With three regiments, the Twenty-first, Twenty-fifth and Twenty-seventh South Carolina, he repulsed Butler's advance, "at least two brigades," on the 7th; and on the 9th, the remainder of his brigade having come up, the Eleventh regiment and Seventh battalion, he was again engaged. As General Beauregard has written: "General Hagood and his command became the heroes of the day, and were justly looked upon as the saviors of Petersburg on that occasion." At the battle of Drewry's Bluff, May 16th, Hagood, with great vigor and dash, drove the enemy from the outer lines in his front, capturing a number of prisoners and three 20-pound Parrotts and two fine Napoleons. These Parrott guns were afterward used in shelling Butler's transports, causing him to set about the famous Dutch Gap canal. In June Hagood and his gallant men fought at Cold Harbor, and soon afterward were sent to meet Grant before Petersburg, the brigade being the first of Hoke's division to reach the field, June 16th, at the critical moment and save Petersburg for the second time. During the siege which followed his bri[Pg 402]gade served in the trenches at one period sixty-seven days without relief, and was reduced in numbers from 2,300 to 700 present for duty. In August, 1864, during the fighting on the Weldon railroad, 200 of his men, he accompanying them, charged into the enemy's works at a re-entering angle, and found themselves under a severe cross-fire, and about to be surrounded. A Federal officer rode up, seized the colors of the Eleventh and called upon them to surrender, when General Hagood, on foot, his horse having been killed, demanded the return of the colors, and ordered the officer back to his lines. This being refused, he shot the Federal officer from his horse, the colors were regained by Orderly Stoney, and the intrepid general mounted his antagonist's horse and brought off his men. General Beauregard warmly commended this act of gallantry of a "brave and meritorious officer," and recommended him for promotion. When Wilmington was threatened in December, Hagood was sent to the relief of Fort Fisher. Subsequently he participated in the North Carolina campaign, including the battles of Kinston and Bentonville, and was surrendered with Johnston's army, the brigade then containing less than 500 officers and men. During the exciting period of reconstruction he took a conspicuous part in the movement which finally brought about the election of General Hampton in 1876, and he was elected on the same ticket as comptroller-general, having previously rendered services of great value in investigating the financial condition of the State and the State bank. He and Gen. James Conner were the advisers and executive officers of General Hampton during the perilous period preceding the recognition by President Hayes of the Hampton government. In 1878 he was re-elected comptroller, and in 1880 he was honored with the highest office in the gift of the commonwealth. His admirable reorganization of the finances of the State was fitly complemented by his honest, business-like and common-sense administration as[Pg 403] governor. By his marriage to Eloise, daughter of Senator A. P. Butler, he had one son, Butler Hagood. The death of General Hagood occurred at Barnwell, January 4, 1898.

Major-General Benjamin Huger was born at Charleston in 1806, son of Francis Kinlock Huger, whose wife was a daughter of Gen. Thomas Pinckney. His father, who was aide-de-camp to General Wilkinson in 1800, and adjutant-general in the war of 1812, suffered imprisonment in Austria for assisting in the liberation of Lafayette from the fortress of Olmutz; his grandfather, Benjamin Huger, was a famous revolutionary patriot, killed before Charleston during the British occupation; and his great-great-grandfather was Daniel Huger, who fled from France before the revocation of the edict of Nantes and died in South Carolina in 1711. General Huger was graduated at West Point in 1825, with a lieutenancy in the Third artillery. He served on topographical duty until 1828, then visited Europe on leave of absence; after being on ordnance duty a year was promoted captain of ordnance in 1832, a department of the service in which he had a distinguished career. He was in command of Fortress Monroe arsenal twelve years, was member of the ordnance board seven years, and one year was on official duty in Europe. He went into the war with Mexico as chief of ordnance on the staff of General Scott, and received in quick succession the brevets of major, lieutenant-colonel and colonel, for gallant and meritorious conduct at Vera Cruz, Molino del Rey and Chapultepec. In 1852 he was presented a sword by South Carolina in recognition of the honor his career had cast upon his native State. After this war he was a member of the board which prepared a system of artillery instruction for the army, and was in command of the armories at Harper's Ferry, Charleston and Pikesville, Md., with promotion to major of ordnance, until his resig[Pg 404]nation from the old army to follow his State in her effort for independence. He was commissioned colonel of artillery in the regular army of the Confederate States, in June, brigadier-general in the provisional service, and in October, 1861, major-general. In May, 1861, he was assigned to command of the department of Southern Virginia and North Carolina, with headquarters at Norfolk, and after the evacuation of Norfolk and Portsmouth in the spring of 1862, he commanded a division of the army under General Johnston and General Lee, during the campaigns which included the battles of Seven Pines and the series of important actions ending at Malvern hill. Subsequently he was assigned as inspector of artillery and ordnance in the armies of the Confederate States, and in 1863 was appointed chief of ordnance of the Trans-Mississippi department. After the conclusion of hostilities he was engaged for several years in farming in Fauquier county, Va. His death occurred at his native city of Charleston, December 7, 1877. His son, Frank Huger, a graduate of the United States military academy, 1860, entered the Confederate service as captain of the Norfolk light artillery and had a conspicuous career with the army of Northern Virginia, rising to the rank of lieutenant-colonel and the command of a battalion of artillery of the First corps.

Brigadier-General Micah Jenkins was born on Edisto island in 1839. After his graduation at the South Carolina military academy, at the head of his class, he with the co-operation of his classmate, Asbury Coward, founded the King's Mountain military school in 1855. His military genius was valuable in the first organization of troops in 1861, and he was elected colonel of the Fifth regiment, with which he went to Virginia, in the brigade of Gen. D. R. Jones. In the latter part of 1861 he was in command of that brigade, and had grown greatly in favor with his division commander, General[Pg 405] Longstreet. Longstreet proposed to begin the reorganization, a matter approached with much misgiving, in this brigade, and he declared that he hoped to hold every man in it if Jenkins could be promoted brigadier-general. "Besides being much liked by his men, Colonel Jenkins is one of the finest officers of this army," Longstreet wrote. Beauregard also added his approval to this recommendation. Still in the rank of colonel, Palmetto sharpshooters, he commanded R. H. Anderson's brigade in the battles of Williamsburg and Seven Pines, and was warmly commended by Longstreet and D. H. Hill and by J. E. B. Stuart, whom he supported at Fort Magruder. He was again distinguished at Gaines' Mill, and at Frayser's Farm, having been ordered to silence a battery, Longstreet supposing he would use his sharpshooters alone, he threw forward his brigade and captured the guns, bringing on the battle. July 22, 1862, he was promoted brigadier-general, and continuing in command of the same brigade, participated in the battles of August 29th and 30th, Second Manassas, and was severely wounded. He was on duty again at the battle of Fredericksburg and during the Suffolk campaign, his division now being commanded by General Pickett, and was on the Blackwater under Gen. D. H. Hill, during the Gettysburg campaign. When Longstreet was sent to the assistance of Bragg at Chattanooga, Jenkins' brigade was transferred to Hood's division, and reached the field of Chickamauga after the battle. During the investment of Chattanooga he commanded the attack upon the Federal reinforcements arriving under Hooker, and then accompanied Longstreet in the Knoxville campaign, commanding Hood's division. He took a conspicuous part in the operations in east Tennessee, and then, early in 1864, returned to Northern Virginia. Field was now in charge of the division, and Jenkins led his famous old brigade to battle on May 6th, the second day of the Wilderness fighting, when the splendid veterans of the First corps arrived[Pg 406] in time to check the current of threatened disaster. As he rode by the side of Longstreet, he said to his chief, "I am happy. I have felt despair for the cause for some months, but now I am relieved, and feel assured that we will put the enemy across the Rapidan before night." Immediately afterward, by the mistaken fire of another body of Confederates, he and Longstreet were both wounded, Jenkins mortally. General Longstreet has written of him: "He was one of the most estimable characters of the army. His taste and talent were for military service. He was intelligent, quick, untiring, attentive, zealous in discharge of duty, truly faithful to official obligations, abreast with the foremost in battle, and withal a humble, noble Christian. In a moment of highest earthly hope, he was transported to serenest heavenly joy; to that life beyond that knows no bugle call, beat of drum or clash of steel. May his beautiful spirit, through the mercy of God, rest in peace! Amen!"

Major-General David Rump Jones was born in Orangeburg county, S. C., in 1825. His family removed to Georgia in his childhood, and from that State he was appointed to the United States military academy, where he was graduated in 1846 in the class with Stonewall Jackson, McClellan and other famous commanders. As a lieutenant of the Second infantry he served in the war with Mexico, participating in the siege of Vera Cruz, the battles of Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Churubusco, Molino del Rey, and the capture of the city of Mexico, particularly being distinguished and earning promotion on the fields of Contreras and Churubusco. He subsequently served as adjutant of his regiment, made the voyage to California in 1848-49, and with promotion to first lieutenant was on duty there until the fall of 1851, after which he acted as instructor in infantry tactics at West Point. With the brevet rank of captain of staff he served from the spring of 1853, successively as adjutant-general of the Western[Pg 407] department and the Pacific department, as acting judge-advocate of the Pacific department, and as assistant adjutant-general of the department of the West, until his resignation, February 15, 1861. He was commissioned major in the Confederate States army, and assigned to duty as chief-of-staff of General Beauregard, in which capacity he visited Fort Sumter on April 13th and offered the terms of surrender, which were accepted. On June 17, 1861, he was promoted brigadier-general. With the army under Beauregard at Manassas, Va., he had command of a brigade composed of Jenkins' Fifth South Carolina and Burt's Eighteenth and Featherston's Seventeenth Mississippi. In the original Confederate plan of battle, July 21st, he was to have taken a prominent part in the fight, but the actual events of the day confined him to demonstrations against the Federal flank. Soon afterward his brigade was composed of the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Ninth South Carolina regiments, until February, 1862, when he was assigned to command of Gen. Sam Jones' Georgia brigade. He was in charge of General Magruder's first division, including the Georgia brigade of Robert Toombs and his own under George T. Anderson, during the retreat from Yorktown, and the battles of Gaines' Mill, Savage Station and Malvern Hill, and other engagements of the Seven Days before Richmond. In the Second Manassas campaign he commanded a division of Longstreet's corps, Drayton's brigade having been added to the two previously mentioned. He drove the enemy through Thoroughfare Gap, held the extreme right next day, confronting Fitz John Porter, and in the battle of the 30th actively engaged the Federal left. In the Maryland campaign his division, increased by the addition of Kemper's and Garnett's Virginia brigades and Jenkins' South Carolina brigade, had a conspicuous part, winning renown first by the heroic defense of the passes of South mountain, and at Sharpsburg fighting desperately against the advance of Burnside across the[Pg 408] Antietam on the Confederate right. After this battle he was promoted major-general. His coolness and excellent judgment as a commanding officer would have doubtless brought still higher honors, but at this time an affection of the heart to which he had long been subject was greatly aggravated, and after a lingering illness he died at Richmond, January 19, 1863.

Brigadier-General John D. Kennedy was born at Camden, January 5, 1840, son of a native of Scotland, who settled in Kershaw county about 1830, and married a granddaughter of Abraham Belton, a pioneer of Camden and a soldier of the revolution. He was a student at the South Carolina college, read law, and was admitted to practice in January, 1861, but at once gave himself to the military service of his State. In April, 1861, he became captain of Company E, Second South Carolina infantry, under Col. J. B. Kershaw. With this command he was in the first battle of Manassas, and was struck by a Federal ball. Upon the promotion of Kershaw to brigadier-general he became colonel of the Second regiment, and in that rank participated in the skirmish on the Nine-mile road near Richmond, in June, 1862, and the battle of Savage Station, after which he was disabled for some time by fever. During the investment of Harper's Ferry he was with Kershaw's brigade in the capture of Maryland heights, and at Sharpsburg his regiment was the first of the brigade to come to the relief of Jackson. He drove the enemy from his front, but fell painfully wounded in the first charge. At Fredericksburg he was sent with his own and the Eighth regiment to the support of General Cobb at Marye's hill, the focus of the hottest fighting of that memorable battle, and aided materially in the defeat of the Federal attacks; and at Chancellorsville he was identified with the gallant action of his brigade. During 1864 when not disabled he was either in command of his regiment or of Kershaw's old brigade,[Pg 409] in the Richmond and Shenandoah Valley campaigns, and in December he was promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier-general. With his brigade in McLaws' division of Hardee's corps he took part in the final campaign in North Carolina against Sherman, including the battle of Bentonville, and surrendered with the army at Greensboro. He was six times wounded during his service, and was hit fifteen times by spent balls. After the close of hostilities he was mainly engaged in planting until 1877, when he resumed the profession of law. He was elected to Congress in 1865, but declined to take the "ironclad" oath demanded and did not take his seat. In 1878-79 he represented his county in the legislature, was elected in 1880 and served as lieutenant-governor of the State to 1882, and in the latter year was a prominent candidate for the nomination of governor. In 1884 he was presidential elector-at-large on the Democratic ticket, and in 1886 was appointed consul-general at Shanghai, China, by President Cleveland. Returning from that post in 1889, he continued the practice of law at Camden until his death in April, 1896.

Maj.-Gen. J. B. Kershaw. Brig.-Gen. Roswell S. Ripley.

Maj.-Gen. Benjamin Huger. Brig.-Gen. A. M. Manigault. Brig.-Gen. Abner Perrin.

Brig.-Gen. Ellison Capers. Brig.-Gen. C. H. Stevens. Brig.-Gen. J. B. Villepigue.

Brig.-Gen. W. H. Wallace. Brig.-Gen. Samuel McGowan.

Major-General Joseph Brevard Kershaw was born at Camden, S. C., January 5, 1822, son of John Kershaw, member of Congress in 1812-14, whose wife was Harriet, daughter of Isaac Du Bose, an aide-de-camp of General Marion. His line of the Kershaw family in South Carolina was founded by Joseph Kershaw, a native of Yorkshire, who immigrated in 1750, and served as a colonel in the war of the revolution. General Kershaw was educated for the legal profession and began practice in 1844 at Camden. He was a member of the governor's staff in 1843, and served one year in the Mexican war as first lieutenant of Company C, Palmetto regiment. From 1852 to 1856 he was a representative in the legislature, and in 1860 participated in the convention which enacted [Pg 410]the ordinance of secession. In February, 1861, he was commissioned colonel of the Second South Carolina regiment, with which he served at Sullivan's island, and in April went to Virginia. He commanded his regiment, in the brigade of General Bonham, at the Blackburn's Ford engagement and the battle of First Manassas, and in February, 1862, was promoted brigadier-general, to succeed General Bonham. In this rank he participated in the Yorktown campaign, and in McLaws' division fought through the Seven Days' campaign before Richmond, commanded the troops which captured Maryland heights, and had a gallant part in the fighting at Sharpsburg. At Fredericksburg his brigade was sent into the fight at Marye's hill, where Kershaw was in command after General Cobb was wounded; at Chancellorsville he was an active participant, and at Gettysburg he and his brigade were conspicuous in the defeat of Sickles at the peach orchard. Reaching the field of Chickamauga in time for the fighting of September 20th, he was in the grand line of veterans with which Longstreet overwhelmed the Federals, commanding McLaws' division, and in the last grand assault on George H. Thomas also commanding McNair's, Grade's, Kelly's and Anderson's brigades. He drove the enemy into their lines at Chattanooga, and subsequently participated in the Knoxville campaign, at Bean's Station and other engagements commanding the division. In the same command he went into the Wilderness campaign of May, 1864, checked the Federal success on May 6th with his veterans, sweeping the enemy from his front and capturing his works. He was riding with Longstreet and Jenkins when these two generals were wounded, and fortunately escaped injury. It was his division which reached Spottsylvania Court House in time to support Stuart's cavalry and thwart the flank movement of Grant, and by an attack on Sheridan opened the bloody struggle at Cold Harbor, where the heaviest Federal loss was before Kershaw's position. He was promoted major-general, and after participating in the[Pg 411] Petersburg battles was ordered to the support of Early in the Shenandoah valley. In September he was ordered back to Richmond, and while on the way Early was defeated at Winchester. Then returning to the valley he opened the attack at Cedar Creek, with great success. After this, until the fall of Richmond, he served before that city, north of the James. His last battle was Sailor's Creek, where he was captured with General Ewell and the greater part of the remnant of his command. As a prisoner of war he was held at Fort Warren, Boston, until August 12, 1865. On his return to South Carolina he again took up the practice of law, and in the same year was elected to the State senate and made president of that body. In 1874 he was the Democratic candidate for Congress in his district, and three years later was elected to the position of judge of the Fifth circuit. He served upon the bench until 1893, when he resigned on account of failing health and resumed practice as an attorney at Camden. In February, 1894, he was commissioned postmaster at that city, but he died on the 12th of April following. His wife, Lucretia Douglas, to whom he was married in 1844, four daughters and a son survive him. The latter is rector of St. Michael's church, Charleston.

Brigadier-General Thomas M. Logan was born at Charleston, November 3, 1840, the son of Judge George William and Eliza Staun (Yonge) Logan. His family is of ancient Scottish descent. He was graduated at the head of his class at the North Carolina college in 1860, and was among the early volunteers in 1861 as a private in the Washington light infantry, with which he served during the investment of Fort Sumter. Then aiding in the organization of Company A, Hampton legion, he was elected first lieutenant and accompanied the legion to Virginia, where he participated in the first battle of Manassas, and was soon afterward elected captain. Though wounded at Gaines' Mill he continued on duty[Pg 412] at Second Manassas, and for conspicuous gallantry at Sharpsburg was promoted major. His command was subsequently transferred to Jenkins' brigade, and he was promoted lieutenant-colonel. During the Suffolk and Blackwater campaigns under Gen. D. H. Hill he was distinguished for the successful management of a reconnoissance in force fifteen miles in advance of the Confederate lines; and in command of the sharpshooters of Longstreet's corps in the Chattanooga and Knoxville campaigns, he gained new laurels as a daring and active leader. He commanded the advance guard which Longstreet organized to push Burnside back toward Knoxville in an attempt to prevent his intrenching, and kept up a running skirmish with the Federals for several days. On May 19, 1864, he was promoted colonel of Hampton's legion, served temporarily on the staff of General Beauregard during the battle of Drewry's Bluff, and was severely wounded in the fight at Riddle's shop. Promoted brigadier-general at the age of twenty-four years, he was assigned to the command of the old cavalry brigade of Gen. M. C. Butler, with which he served in the North Carolina campaign and at the battle of Bentonville, and made the last charge of this last campaign at the head of Keitt's battalion. After the close of hostilities General Logan began the study of law at Richmond, Va., in which State he has since resided and practiced that profession for several years. He then became interested in railroad management, and soon became prominent in the organization of the Richmond & Danville system, of which he was elected vice-president.

Brigadier-General Samuel McGowan was born of Scotch-Irish parentage in Laurens county, October 19, 1819, and was graduated at the South Carolina college in 1841. He embarked in the practice of law at Abbeville, but answered the call of his country in 1846 and started for the Mexican war as a private in the Palmetto regi[Pg 413]ment. He was soon appointed to the general quartermaster's staff, with the rank of captain, in which capacity he served during the war, first on the staff of General Quitman and afterward with Generals Worth and Twiggs. As volunteer aide to General Quitman at the storming of Chapultepec and the capture of Garita de Belen he was distinguished for gallantry. On his return to South Carolina he continued with much success the practice of his profession, and sat twelve years in the lower house of the State legislature; but also retained his connection with military matters, becoming major-general in the State militia. Upon the secession of South Carolina he was commissioned brigadier-general in the State army and assigned to command of one of the four brigades first formed, and in that capacity assisted General Beauregard during the reduction of Fort Sumter. Upon the transfer of the troops to the Confederate service he joined General Bonham in Virginia, and served as a volunteer aide at the battles of Blackburn Ford and First Manassas. Then returning to South Carolina he was elected lieutenant-colonel of the Fourteenth regiment, and in the spring of 1862, while in service on the coast, was promoted colonel. Soon afterward, with Gregg's brigade, he began a distinguished career in the army of Northern Virginia. He was wounded at Cold Harbor, where he led his regiment in several daring charges; retrieved the ground lost by another brigade at Frayser's Farm, and continued on duty in spite of his injury until after Malvern Hill. For his gallantry in these battles he was recommended by General Gregg for promotion. After fighting at Cedar Run he was wounded at Second Manassas, and for some time disabled, but he rejoined his regiment after the battle of Sharpsburg and commanded it at Fredericksburg. There General Gregg was killed, and in January, 1863, Colonel McGowan was promoted brigadier-general and became Gregg's successor in command of the gallant brigade. In this capacity he served until the end of the[Pg 414] war, receiving several wounds, the most severe of which befell him at Chancellorsville and during the fight at the bloody angle at Spottsylvania Court House. After the surrender at Appomattox he returned to his home and resumed the profession from which he had been twice diverted by war. He was elected to Congress in 1865, but was not permitted to take his seat; made a thorough canvass of the State as an elector-at-large on the Democratic presidential ticket in 1876; in 1878 was elected to the legislature, and in 1879 was elected associate justice of the supreme court. In the latter office he won lasting honor and distinction as he had upon the field of battle. His death occurred in December, 1893.

Brigadier-General Arthur Middleton Manigault was born at Charleston in 1824. He was a great-grandson of Gabriel Manigault, a native of Charleston, and a famous merchant who was treasurer of the province in 1738; after the declaration of independence advanced $220,000 from his private fortune for war purposes, and in 1779, with his grandson Joseph, served as a private soldier in the defense of Charleston. General Manigault entered business life at Charleston in youth. In 1846 he went to the Mexican war as first lieutenant of a company of the Palmetto regiment, and served in the army of General Scott from Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico. Returning to Charleston he was in the commission business until 1856, and then was engaged in rice planting until the beginning of the Confederate war, when he raised a company of volunteers. He served as inspector-general on the staff of General Beauregard during the period including the reduction of Fort Sumter, after which he was elected colonel of the Tenth South Carolina regiment. Under Gen. R. E. Lee he commanded the First military district of South Carolina, with headquarters at Georgetown. After the battle of Shiloh he and his regiment were transferred to the army in Mississippi under General[Pg 415] Bragg, forming part of the brigade composed of the Tenth and Nineteenth South Carolina and three Alabama regiments, commanded by General Withers until the latter was given division command, afterward by Patton Anderson and later by Colonel Manigault. He was in brigade command from the summer of 1862, and participated in the occupation of Corinth during the siege, and the operations of the army in Tennessee and Kentucky. In April, 1863, he was promoted to brigadier-general. At the battle of Stone's River his brigade under his gallant leadership was distinguished in the assaults upon the Federal line, and at Chickamauga again was conspicuous in the attacks upon the position held by George H. Thomas. In both these battles the brigade suffered severely in the loss of officers and men, but the remnant fought through the Atlanta campaign of 1864 among the bravest of the heroes of that memorable struggle, from Dalton to Ezra church. He subsequently participated in the operations under General Hood, until he fell severely wounded in the disastrous battle of Franklin, Tenn. After the conclusion of hostilities he engaged in rice planting in South Carolina. In 1880 he was elected adjutant-general of the State, was continued in this office, and was about to be re-elected when he died from the effects of his wound received at Franklin, August 16, 1886.

Brigadier-General Abner M. Perrin was born in Edgefield district, in 1827. He entered the Confederate States service as captain of a company of the Fourteenth regiment, South Carolina infantry, Col. James Jones, and was present at the engagement at Port Royal Ferry, January 1, 1862. His regiment was ordered to Virginia in the spring of 1862, and attached to the South Carolina brigade of Gen. Maxcy Gregg, the regiment then being commanded by Col. Samuel McGowan. Captain Perrin shared the services of the[Pg 416] Fourteenth in the battles before Richmond, at Cedar run, Second Manassas, Harper's Ferry, Sharpsburg and Fredericksburg, and then being promoted colonel, commanded the regiment at Chancellorsville, where, after the wounding of General McGowan and Colonel Edwards, he had command of the remnant of the brigade in the Sunday battle. He continued in charge of this brigade, consisting of the First, Twelfth, Thirteenth, Fourteenth South Carolina regiments and First Rifles, Pender's division, A. P. Hill's corps, during the Gettysburg campaign. On the afternoon of July 1, 1863, said A. P. Hill, Perrin's brigade took position after position of the enemy, driving him through the town of Gettysburg. He maintained an advanced position throughout the next two days, keeping up a continual heavy skirmish and repelling several assaults on the third. On the retreat he repulsed an attack of cavalry near Falling Waters. He was promoted to brigadier-general in September, 1863. Previous to the campaign of May, 1864, in Virginia, General McGowan returned to the command of the South Carolina brigade, and General Perrin was transferred to the Alabama brigade lately commanded by General Wilcox, Anderson's division. He passed through the fiery ordeal in the Wilderness, but at Spottsylvania, in the words of the telegram of General Lee to President Davis, "the brave General Perrin was killed." It was just after Hancock had swept over the "bloody angle," early on May 12th, capturing the larger part of Johnson's division, and A. P. Hill was called on for reinforcements, that Perrin came up leading his brigade through a terribly destructive fire, and fell dead from his horse just as he reached the works.

Brigadier-General John Smith Preston was born at Salt Works, near Abingdon, Va., on April 20, 1809, of Irish descent, his ancestors having emigrated from Donegal, Ireland, in the early part of the seventeenth century.[Pg 417] He was educated at Hampden-Sidney college and graduated at that institution in 1824. He then studied law at the university of Virginia and Harvard college. In 1830 he married Caroline, daughter of Gen. Wade Hampton, and settled at Abingdon, Va., where he began the practice of his profession, but later removed to Columbia, S. C. He was engaged for several years in sugar planting in Louisiana, also devoted a great deal of his time to literary pursuits, and the collection of paintings and statuary. His interest in art led him to assist many struggling young men of genius, notably Hiram Powers, who in appreciation, gave him the replica of the "Greek Slave." General Preston was a distinguished orator, and made many brilliant addresses, among them the speech of welcome to the Palmetto regiment on its return from the Mexican war in 1848. He was an ardent secessionist, and in May, 1860, was chairman of the South Carolina delegation to the Democratic convention that met at Charleston. After the election of President Lincoln, he was a commissioner to Virginia, and in February, 1861, made an eloquent plea in favor of the withdrawal of that State from the Union. He entered the Confederate army, and served on the staff of General Beauregard during 1861 and 1862, receiving special commendation for efficiency in the first battle of Bull Run. He was promoted, June 10, 1864, brigadier-general in the provisional army of the Confederate States, and placed in charge of the bureau of conscription, in which office he rendered valuable service. He went to England shortly after the war, and remained several years. After his return he delivered an address at a commencement of the university of Virginia, which, as a fervent assertion of the right of secession, incurred the severe criticism of the Northern press. His last appearance as an orator was on the occasion of unveiling the Confederate monument at Columbia.

Brig.-Gen. John S. Preston. Brig.-Gen. Maxcy Gregg.

Brig.-Gen. T. M. Logan. Maj.-Gen. David R. Jones. Brig.-Gen. Micah Jenkins.

Brig.-Gen. Johnson Hagood. Brig.-Gen. S. W. Ferguson. Brig.-Gen. James Conner.

Brig.-Gen. John D. Kennedy. Brig.-Gen. S. R. Gist.

Brigadier-General Roswell Sabine Ripley was born at Worthington, Ohio, March 14, 1823. He was graduated at the United States military academy, number seven in the class of 1843, of which Gen. U. S. Grant was twenty-first. With promotion to brevet second lieutenant, Third artillery, he served until 1846 on garrison duty, and for a few months as assistant professor of mathematics at West Point. In 1846, being commissioned second lieutenant, he was on the coast survey until ordered to Mexico, where he fought at Monterey in September. Then being promoted first lieutenant, Second artillery, he took part in the siege of Vera Cruz, and at the battle of Cerro Gordo won the brevet of captain. At Contreras, Churubusco Molino del Rey, Chapultepec and the capture of the Mexican capital he won new honors and came out of the war with the brevet rank of major. After service as aide-de-camp to General Pillow to July, 1848, he prepared and published a history of the war in 1849, and subsequently was engaged in the Indian hostilities in Florida and in garrison duty until March, 1853, when he resigned and engaged in business at Charleston, the home of his wife. At the organization of the South Carolina army he received the rank of lieutenant-colonel, commanding the First artillery battalion, and at the bombardment of Fort Sumter was highly commended by the generals commanding for his services in charge of the batteries on Sullivan's island. In August following he was commissioned brigadier-general in the provisional army of the Confederate States, and was put in command of the department of South Carolina, and when that was merged in a larger department under Gen. R. E. Lee, he was given charge of the Second military district of the State. Joining the army of Northern Virginia in June, 1862, he commanded a brigade of D. H. Hill's division, composed of Georgia and North Carolina regiments, in the battles of Mechanicsville, Gaines' Mill, Malvern Hill, South Mountain and Sharpsburg. In the latter engage[Pg 419]ment he was shot in the throat, but returned to the fight after his wound was dressed. About a month later he took command of the First military district of South Carolina, including Charleston and its defenses, and was in immediate command during the memorable attacks of the Federal fleets and army in 1863 and 1864. In January, 1865, he was ordered to report to General Hood, and at the last was assigned to command of a division of Cheatham's corps of the army in North Carolina. Then going abroad he resided in Paris several years, and upon his return resumed his business operations at Charleston. He died at New York, March 26, 1887.

Brigadier-General Clement Hoffman Stevens was born in Norwich, Conn., August 14, 1821, the son of Lieut. Clement W. Stevens, United States navy, and Sarah J. Fayssoux, daughter of Dr. Peter Fayssoux, surgeon-general of the army in South Carolina during the war of the revolution. Not long after his birth the father left the navy and the family settled in Florida, but removed to Pendleton, S. C., at the outbreak of Indian troubles in 1836. In youth he served for several years as private secretary to his kinsmen, Commodore William B. Shubrick and Capt. Edward Shubrick. In 1842 he abandoned this service at sea, and became an official of the Planters and Mechanics bank at Charleston, of which he was cashier at the period of secession. In January, 1861, he presented to Gen. David F. Jamison, secretary of war for the State, a design he had prepared for an ironclad battery, and it being approved, he immediately began the erection of an armored battery of two guns on Cummings point, known as the Stevens' iron battery. It was built of heavy yellow pine timber with great solidity, and the face, inclined at an angle of forty degrees, was covered with bars of railroad iron. In this protected battery, which was of service in the bombardment of Fort Sumter, was the germ of the armored ship Virginia,[Pg 420] and her class. The floating battery designed by Lieut. J. R. Hamilton, in use at the same time, approached still more closely the plan of the famous ironclad of Hampton Roads. General Stevens' mechanical ingenuity was later shown in the invention of portable ovens, by the use of which his regiment was supplied with excellent bread. Stevens next served as volunteer aide to his cousin, Gen. Barnard E. Bee, at the battle of First Manassas, and was severely wounded. Returning home, as soon as he had recovered from his wound he took charge of a militia regiment at Charleston, but soon joined in the organization of the Twenty-fourth regiment, of which he was elected colonel. In the winter of 1861-62 he was for some time on duty as aide to General Ripley. In the fight at Secessionville he commanded the Confederate forces on the field. In December, 1862, he was assigned to command one of the brigades to be sent under General Gist for the support of Wilmington, and in May, 1863, he and his regiment were ordered to Mississippi under the brigade command of Gist. With the forces collected under Gen. J. E. Johnston he participated in the summer campaign of that year for the relief of Vicksburg, and the defense of Jackson against Sherman, and subsequently joined the army at Chattanooga. At the battle of Chickamauga he was actively engaged until two horses were killed under him and he was wounded. Gist alluded to him as the "iron-nerved," and General Walker reported "that the gallant Stevens, who was severely wounded, from what I know of his capacity as an officer, from his gallantry on the field, and from his devotion to the cause, would grace any position that might be conferred." January 20, 1864, he was promoted to brigadier-general, and was assigned to the command of a Georgia brigade, formerly known as Wilson's, of Walker's division, which he led with distinction throughout the Atlanta campaign, until he was killed in the battle of July 20, 1864, near the city of Atlanta.

Brigadier-General James H. Trapier, a native of South Carolina, was graduated in the United States military academy, third in the class of 1838, of which General Beauregard was second and William J. Hardee, Edward Johnson and Carter L. Stevenson were other famous members. As a lieutenant of engineers in the United States service he assisted in the construction of defenses at Charleston harbor and Fort Pulaski, and was promoted first lieutenant in 1839. Subsequently he was constructing engineer of repairs at Forts Macon and Caswell, and Forts Ontario, Niagara and Porter, New York; served in the war with Mexico in 1847, and was assistant engineer connected with the fortification of New York harbor until his resignation in 1848. Returning to South Carolina he was engaged as a planter at Georgetown until the organization of the Confederacy, serving also as chief of ordnance of the State in 1851-52, and as aide-de-camp, with the rank of colonel, on the staff of Governor Means. With the rank of captain of engineers he rendered valuable service in the construction of the Confederate batteries for the attack on Fort Sumter, and was engineer-in-chief on Morris island. Soon afterward he was promoted major of engineers, and in October was promoted brigadier-general and assigned to command of the department of Eastern and Middle Florida, with especial care of Cumberland sound. Asking to be relieved in March, 1862, he was ordered to report to General Johnston in Alabama. He commanded the First division of General Polk's corps at Corinth and in the battle of Farmington, May 9, 1862, and in November following was assigned to command of the Fourth district of South Carolina, with headquarters at Georgetown. In the spring of 1863 he was in command on Sullivan's island during the attack by the Federal fleet, April 7th, and not long afterward resumed his duties at Georgetown. Surviving the war he died at Mansfield, S. C, January 2, 1866, at the age of fifty-one years.

Brigadier-General John Bordenave Villepigue was born at Camden, S. C, July 2, 1830, of French descent. He was graduated at the United States military academy in 1854, with a brevet lieutenancy in the dragoons; a year later was promoted to second lieutenant, and in 1857 to first lieutenant. His military service of about seven years in the old army was rendered in the Second dragoons, mainly on the frontier in Kansas and Nebraska, participating in the Sioux expedition of 1855 and the march to Fort Lookout, Dakota, in 1856. He took part in the Utah campaign of 1857-58, and then after a period spent at the Carlisle cavalry school, was on duty in Utah until he resigned, March 31, 1861, to enter the service of the Southern Confederacy. He received the commission of captain of artillery from the government at Montgomery, and soon afterward was promoted colonel in the provisional army, and assigned to the Thirty-sixth Georgia regiment. In command of Georgia and Mississippi soldiers he first attracted attention by his heroic defense of Fort McRee, Pensacola harbor, during the bombardment of November 22, 1861. General Bragg reported at that time that for the number and caliber of guns brought into action it would rank with the heaviest bombardment of the world. The buildings of the fort were several times on fire, and Villepigue was seriously wounded, but his coolness inspired his volunteers to fight with the tenacity of veterans. Said Bragg: "An educated soldier, possessing in an eminent degree the love and confidence of his officers and men, he had been specially selected for this important and perilous post. The result fully vindicates the fortunate choice, and presents for our admiration, blended in perfect harmony, the modest but heroic soldier with the humble but confiding Christian." Villepigue was appointed chief of engineers and artillery on the staff of General Bragg, was for a time in command at Pensacola, then was at Mobile, and joining Bragg was promoted brigadier-general early in 1862. He[Pg 423] was assigned to command at Fort Pillow on the Mississippi, General Beauregard sending him there as "the most energetic young officer" at his command. Week after week he held the open batteries, and kept back the enemy's superior land and naval forces until ordered to retire, when he blew up his fortifications and brought off his command in safety, June 4th. He was given command of a brigade of the army in Mississippi, under General Van Dorn, and at the battle of Corinth in October was distinguished both in the attack and in the protection of the rear during the retreat. Soon after this arduous and dispiriting campaign the young soldier was prostrated by a severe illness, which resulted in his death at Port Hudson, November 9, 1862.

Brigadier-General William Henry Wallace was born in Laurens county, March 24, 1827, son of Daniel Wallace, for several terms a member of the legislature, a major-general of militia, and from 1849 to 1853 representative in Congress. His grandfather was Jonathan Wallace, a native of Virginia who removed to South Carolina before the war of the revolution, in which he was a patriot soldier. General Wallace was graduated at the South Carolina college in December, 1849, and in the following spring was married to Sarah, daughter of Robert Dunlap, of Newberry. She was the niece of James Dunlap, appointed governor of Florida by Andrew Jackson, and granddaughter of William Dunlap, a revolutionary soldier who was the grandson of John Hunter, a native of Ireland who was United States senator from South Carolina in 1801. General Wallace was occupied as planter in Union county until 1857, when he became the proprietor of the Union Times newspaper, and in 1859 began the practice of law at Union. In 1860 as a member of the legislature he supported the call for a convention, and at the expiration of his term he enlisted as a private in Com[Pg 424]pany A, Eighteenth South Carolina volunteers. A few days later he was appointed adjutant of the regiment by Col. James M. Gadberry, who was killed at Second Manassas. Before going into the field the regiment was reorganized, and Wallace was elected lieutenant-colonel in May, 1861. The regiment was ordered into Virginia in time to engage the enemy near Malvern Hill in August, after which it fought at the battle of Second Manassas, losing about half its number in battle, including the gallant Colonel Gadberry. Wallace was at once promoted colonel, and he led his regiment, in the brigade of Gen. N. G. Evans, through the battles of South Mountain and Sharpsburg with the army of Northern Virginia. Subsequently he was on duty in defense of Charleston. In the spring of 1864 the brigade under Gen. Stephen Elliott was ordered to Petersburg, where Colonel Wallace participated in the defense of the lines and all the operations of Bushrod Johnson's division. His brigade suffered most heavily at the battle of the Crater, four companies of his regiment being blown up or destroyed by falling earth at the explosion of the mine, July 30, 1864. In September he was promoted brigadier-general, and up to the eve of the surrender he commanded the brigade, fighting gallantly at Gravelly run and Namozine church on the retreat. At Appomattox Court House, on the night of April 8th, he was assigned by General Gordon to the command of Johnson's division, in which capacity he reported to Gen. Clement A. Evans and participated in the last action of the army on the morning of April 9th. After his parole he devoted himself to the practice of the law, the care of his plantation and the restoration of good government in the State. He was one of the few Democrats elected to the legislature in 1872, and was re-elected in 1874 and 1876. In 1877 he was chosen judge of the Seventh circuit, a position in which he continued to serve with honor and ability until 1893, when he retired from public life.

	PAGE
CHAPTER I. Spirit of Secession—The State Militia—Charleston and the Forts—The Violated Agreement—Major Anderson Occupies Fort Sumter—South Carolina Occupies Pinckney and Moultrie—The Star of the West—Fort Sumter Surrendered—Carolinians in Virginia—Battle of Manassas	4
CHAPTER II. Affairs on the Coast—Loss of Port Royal Harbor—Gen. R. E. Lee in Command of the Department—Landing of Federals at Port Royal Ferry—Gallant Fight on Edisto Island—General Pemberton Succeeds Lee in Command—Defensive Line, April, 1862	29
CHAPTER III. South Carolinians in Virginia—Battle of Williamsburg—Eltham's Landing—Seven Pines and Fair Oaks—Nine-Mile Road—Gaines' Mill—Savage Station—Frayser's Farm—Malvern Hill	43
CHAPTER IV. The Coast of South Carolina, Summer of 1862—Operations under General Pemberton—Engagement at Old Pocotaligo—Campaign on James Island—Battle of Secessionville	76
CHAPTER V. General Beauregard in Command—The Defenses of Charleston—Disposition of Troops—Battle of Pocotaligo—Repulse of Enemy at Coosawhatchie Bridge—Operations in North Carolina—Battle of Kinston—Defense of Goldsboro	94
CHAPTER VI. South Carolinians in the West—Manigault's and Lythgoe's Regiments at Corinth—The Kentucky Campaign—Battle of Murfreesboro	111
CHAPTER VII. With Lee in Northern Virginia, 1862—The Maneuvers on the Rappahannock—Second Manassas Campaign—Battle of Ox Hill	120
CHAPTER VIII. The Maryland Campaign—The South Mountain Battles—Capture of Harper's Ferry—Battles of Sharpsburg and Shepherdstown	140
CHAPTER IX. Hampton's Cavalry in the Maryland Raid—The Battle of Fredericksburg—Death of Gregg—South Carolinians at Marye's Hill—Cavalry Operations	165
CHAPTER X. Operations in South Carolina, Spring of 1863—Capture of the Isaac Smith—Ingraham's Defeat of the Blockading Squadron—Naval Attack on Fort Sumter—Hunter's Raids	188
CHAPTER XI. South Carolina Troops in Mississippi—Engagement near Jackson—The Vicksburg Campaign—Siege of Jackson	203
CHAPTER XII. South Carolinians in the Chancellorsville Campaign—Service of Kershaw's and McGowan's Brigades—A Great Confederate Victory	213
CHAPTER XIII. Operations in South Carolina—Opening of Gillmore's Campaign against Fort Sumter—The Surprise of Morris Island—First Assault on Battery Wagner—Demonstrations on James Island and Against the Railroad—Action near Grimball's Landing	223
CHAPTER XIV. Second Assault on Battery Wagner—Siege of Wagner and Bombardment of Fort Sumter—Evacuation of Morris Island	235
CHAPTER XV. The Gettysburg Campaign—Gallant Service of Perrin's and Kershaw's Brigades—Hampton's Cavalry at Brandy Station	257
CHAPTER XVI. South Carolinians at Chickamauga—Organization of the Armies—South Carolinians Engaged—Their Heroic Service and Sacrifices	277
CHAPTER XVII. The Siege of Charleston—Continued Bombardment of Fort Sumter—Defense Maintained by the Other Works—The Torpedo Boats—Bombardment of the City—Transfer of Troops to Virginia—Prisoners under Fire—Campaign on the Stono	291
CHAPTER XVIII. South Carolinians with Longstreet and Lee—Wauhatchie—Missionary Ridge—Knoxville—The Virginia Campaign of 1864—From the Wilderness to the Battle of the Crater	310
CHAPTER XIX. The Atlanta Campaign—Battles around Atlanta—Jonesboro—Hood's Campaign in North Georgia—The Defense of Ship's Gap—Last Campaign in Tennessee—Battle of Franklin	328
CHAPTER XX. The Closing Scenes in Virginia—Siege of Richmond and Petersburg—Fall of Fort Fisher—South Carolina Commands at Appomattox	346
CHAPTER XXI. Battle of Honey Hill—Sherman's Advance into South Carolina—Organization of the Confederate Forces—Burning of Columbia—Battles of Averasboro and Bentonville—Conclusion	354
BIOGRAPHICAL	373

	FACING PAGE.
Bee, Barnard E.	394
Bonham, M. L.	394
Bratton, John	394
Butler, M. C.	383, 394
Capers, Ellison	1, 409
Charleston, Defenses (Map)	Between pages 296 and 297
Chestnut, James	394
Connor, James	417
Drayton, Thos. F.	394
Dunovant, John	394
Elliott, Stephen, Jr.	394
Evans, N. G.	394
Ferguson, S. W.	417
Gary, M. W.	394
Gist, S. R.	417
Gregg, Maxcy	417
Hagood, Johnson	417
Honey Hill, Battle (Map)	357
Huger, Benjamin	409
Jenkins, Micah	417
Jones, David R.	417
Kennedy, John D.	417
Kershaw, J. B.	409
Logan, J. M.	417
McGowan, Samuel	409
Manigault, A. M.	409
Perrin, Abner	409
Preston, John S.	417
Ripley, Roswell S.	409
South Carolina (Map)	Between pages 371 and 372
Stevens, C. H.	409
Villepigue, J. B.	409
Wallace, W. H.	409

Confederate
Military History

INTRODUCTORY.

CHAPTER I.

CHAPTER II.

CHAPTER III.

CHAPTER IV.

CHAPTER V.

CHAPTER VI.

CHAPTER VII.

CHAPTER VIII.

CHAPTER IX.

CHAPTER X.

CHAPTER XI.

CHAPTER XII.

CHAPTER XIII.

CHAPTER XIV.

CHAPTER XV.

CHAPTER XVI.

CHAPTER XVII.

CHAPTER XVIII.

CHAPTER XIX.

CHAPTER XX.

CHAPTER XXI.

BIOGRAPHICAL.