Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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An array of complete than even though y find elsewhere Tell your SPEC!AL s7 "If it's silk, and it's Tapp's Silk Dopartmn to be comulete in thb full ready. Not just a few stylish color. Some of the grandes you during our special sa The Tail Newest styles in greatest asso Kimonas.' Extra Skirts and Sbirt Best values you can get anywhere true style. Special line of tailored suits. Fair Week extra value-Blacl Magnificent line at special pri Special line of Water-proof C ORDER BY MAI We prepay mail, expres on all purChases of $5-0 within 6oo miles of Colun ONE CAPTURES SIX HUNDRED. The Story of the Daring Feat of Capt. J. B. L~yles, Which General Brattoni Describes as "the Most Conspicuous Feat of Valor and Skii Personally that Came Witn'in fly Knowledge During the War ci Secession." (D. HU. Means~ in Sunda.y Neu-s and corier.) I have just come into posses sion of a copy of an account writ ten by Brig. Gen. John Bratton, of what -he characterizes as the most conspicuous feat of personal valor and skill that came witnm his knowledge. Gen. Bratton's conspicuously active andl gallant mitl itarv service to the Confederacy, fro'm Sumter to Appomatto x, and fromn private to brigadier general. and his high reputation throughout South Car ohina for patriotism and accuracy in statement, give peculiar interest and value to the paper. The hero of the incidlent related is Capt. Joseph Banks Lyle, now residing ~in Caddo. Indian Terri tory. H-e was born in 1820,. near \\'innsboro. S. C., gradluated A. B. from South Carolina College in 1S56, and ha.; devoted his whole life to edr ation. except during his four y::r' service to the Confederacy: having been pinxcipal andl propriet(r of the Limestone. S. C.. Male Academy prior to. and subsequent to. the war of secession: in 1 S00 he r~e movedl to the \\'est and cowlducted large schools successively al. Paris. Texas. and Caddo. Indian 'Terri torv. He served on the staff of Gen. Mlicah Jenkins and of Gen. Bratton, was captain of Comanyv C. 5th South Carolina volunteer infantry. H-e was nine times wvoundedl with halls. shell and sab~re. once having his skull broken. The ride with which he effected the capture of the s;ix hundred Yankees I y .e seen-a seven-shot repeating Spencer car bine, with which the Federal cay airy was armedl. I thought the publication of this enclosed ac cotnt by Gen. Ilratton wouild he interesting to the general public andI preserve a valuable historical document. Respect fully. D). II. MEANS. '. rreT Onx. S. C.. M\arch 2", 1S8.-The most conspicuo us feat of valor and skill (personal). that came within my knowliedge Grea stylish dress i you have evei ou don't buy a in the South. friends to mee TAPP'S SALES EVEF 'YLISIi SILKS. stlish, Tapp has it." ent is known far and wide. It i sense of the word. Newest stylh pieces but complete collections < b values ever offered in Silks are r les for Fair Week. red Suit Depc rtment. Tailored Suits, Cloaks, V waists. All made by tailors who I n.the South. Come see the qual Long Coats.................. , Gray or Green-Long Coats.... es........ ................. 20. ravenette Rain Coats (ladies').... L. or freight T a. or over .E chieved by an officer of my brig ade on the 2th of October. 18(4. In the severe andl constant fight ing of that campaign my staff, as wvell as~ line, suffered,. and it was nec.;sary to till the places of the woundedl ofhcers of the line. To meet such dlemandl Capt. J. Banks Lyle, of the 5th South Carolina Regiment. was then, and had b~een for some time. render ing efficient service on the brigade staff. On the morning of the above (late the enemy were in heavy force on the north side of the lames, and assailed our works withi more or less vigor at various points, extending their attack.s to and beyond the Charles City wood. In the afternoon his cay ary assaulted our works on the Williamsburg road, held by our cavalry, andl were driven off. Fields's division of infantry was promptly moved to the W\illianms burg road in anticipation of the assault by infantry., which fol lowed. pushing our cavalry still Ifurther to the left. my brigade, under its senior. Col. WValker, oc cuping the line across the road and were in positionl to mect and re)use it. In their retreat quint a number of them took refuge ir a wahi or g.uily. which rai thruh a d1epression in the fe some :;o00 or *400 y ards5 in front 0 oir line. ner'vly !-alf way to th re'de iflet n t ' 1 so reparted, and a~kedip r;iv Lo h adace the ski;rm'ih lie aa take them in. IIs requtest wvas refused. but. cenvinced. as he was. that they wouli escape, simply because 'they were not invitedl to surrender beftore night came to cover their retreat. he determinedl to attempt. t'.air capture. Ile wvent to the si:irmiis litne and tried to get them i > '2 lumeer. andl tail ing in that. <ali v:cre wiln to go i orered. ) he sitrted a.one, ht had not adenced many pace- be tore twvo men. * am sor I can nut gi'e the(irV 'nmes. cale t: "Ibohl :'. (p al' yo* u s:ma t go him The *'i i go~'1 n elh a shr (isance whent he .ccal not *to sujct his bra 1' ltl frCe t) the daner of pos'ihi erro of hit juAget. but to use their aid without ri-Ik to them. I Ie had obsrvd an oiticer trving to .-aros h collae spirit ot hi; test S naterials, silk! "seen before ir nything. You t you at RY DAY DUR New line of s known. 3 always weights, newest >f every blacks. The blai eady for Don't fail to Henriettas. Irtneflt. raps. Eveiing Wraps and Silk Know how to make them properly. ty. Try them on and note the ..................... $ 9.50. ......... .....$12.50. 00, $25.00, and up to $40.00. ................... $10.00 up.i IJAMES men in the gully. and, halting his' vohmiteers on the crest overlook-| ing the position, ordleredl them to; open fire on the officer and put a stop to his harangue. while he ad vanced alone over the open field, in full view of Fields's division on our sidle, and the wvhole force of' the enemy on the other side. He was recognized by his own brig ade. but those' of the other brig-i adles, misapprehending his con duct. fired on him at long range~ so heavily that the dust stirred by the bullets falling around him al most concealed him from viewv. This continued until word could lbe passed along the line stopping it. This, of course. servedl to at tract the attention of all to him as he approached the gully in which the enemy were, and in full view of friend and foe, accomplishedI the capture and made them file out without arms and more on to our lines. There was great en thusiasm and excitement on our sideC. Men all along the line of the division mounted the works with exclamations of admiration ar.d inquiry: "Who is he?" etc. The enemx' did not seem to under stand it at first, and took no part until they saw the prisonlers filing* into our works, when they op)ened a battery on the scene, which con tbutedi to the general excitement, but was especially effective in hur ring the movement of the prison er.; in::o our works. The number of of~cers and men captured wvas a:out t;00, with three stands of :xlors and swvordls by the armful. This is the substance ot a report made to me on my return to the brigade a few. (lays after the inci dnt occurred. And on wvhich I based and forwarded a recoin mnd~~ation for his promotion. Major General Fields. who wit nssed the close of this stirring scene, not only en.dorsed but warmly urged it oti the ground of entto the service," in his en tre dlivision, adding what he himsef saw of the remarkable feat. But our army was beiing worn away and reduced in numn bers daily. There were no vacan cies, all of our positicns wvere held by oflncers of courage and experi ence. and our condition wvas not favorJ~ble to giving rank for any feat of valor, not even for one so conspicuous and extraordinary as this. The recommendation for nromtionl was for this reason:, LE A T' how s, tailored gat i this State. .will buy be ING THE F-A DRESS MATERIALS. the best and most popular dres designs and best colors. The ~ks that stay black for always. see the special line of Mohairs, ILTAPI perhaps, shelved. This, though the most wvonder ful, was lby no means the first of Capt. LyIss feats of danger. Thley, together with his personal disregard for dlanger. had madle him in the brigadle a rep~utation for general recklessness, b~ut his recklessness was entirely personlal -no officer was more careful for his men, in looking to their com fort or shielding them from uin necessary risk. So far as they' were concerned he exercised real prudence, but it wvas the prudence of wvhich only a brave man is capable. He was highly endowed with what are called "battle in stincts, andl relying implicitly on his intuitions of the conditions of the enemy, acted on them wvhen ever he had authority to (do so. Hence his successes in apparently rash and reckless enterp~rises. His intelligent courage and pe culiar adaptability tc fighting at tracted my attention and influ encedi my selection of him for service on the staff. I will only add that in that service he more than filled the measure of my ex pectations. I have intentionally made this plain and simple statement, avoid ing effort at embellishment, or even expression of my Opinion and admiration, but it is neces sary to a just appreciation of this crowning feat of a career of heroism to call attention to the time and place and circumstances if its achievement. Our army had been forced behind its works around Richmond and Petersburg, and its operations for months con fned to their defense. which taxed to the utmost its courage and for titude. WVith co:;s:ant dliminish ing resource.; we were redlucedl to a steady. diagged defense. To the common eve there was literally no ield for enterprise of valor and skill for our a-mv. or any~ portion of it, or any indl~ividual in it, and hadl not been for months when this startling e~nd astonising feat was performed. in the open light of day, in the openf fid and in full view of opposing lines. I ptt this statement in writing, though as an act of justice it is too tardyv to be of benefit to my old. worthy andl estimable comradle. but I shall give mysel f the satisfaction of sending it to his dlaughter, that she and all who come after may f A PP'S of Fa ments and m A show of fasi ause the pric( Make this IR. YOU'LL TII i materials. All On Millinei latest effects in signer,i creatior Broadcloths and A speci Also aE Tho Carpets and R Complete line of Carpets, Rut and we prepay charges to any poi Art Squares, $12.50, $25.( SPECIAL SA COMPI And it may be that it may furnish material for a skilful hand to gild with true metal of heroism a page -of our history. JoHN BRATTON. (Letter from Brig. Gen. John Bratton to daughter of Capt. J. B. Lyle.) \Vurre O.\K S. C.. March 29. 1806. DEAR MIss FANxv: You must not measure my ap~preciation of your interesting letter b~y my want of prompltness in acknowledging it. The declay arose from my de sire for leisure to enjoy the writ ing~ of such a letter. My time has been occuiedC~ with matters of a distressing and worrvi ng nature. Youi will perceiv'e that the state ment ecflosed is dlaad 19th inst. It was barely starteL when I was interrupted andl dlid not resume it until toJ-day. Fearing indefinite procrastination and trusting that it would lbe pleasing in the sight of God, I have made a Sunday job of it. I cannot tell how gratifying' is such a letter from the (laughter of my valued old1 comradle. who has een away so far and so long that I did not know that he had a daught cr. It not only gave me great pleasure of itself by its spirit and to:;e, but a pleasant task to perform. which has been delayed solely by my wvish for the leisure to (1o it as well as I can and to fully enjoy the do;ing of it. Your dear father is a little mixed in the facts. I was wvounded( almost a week after the Battery Harrison affair an:d got back a few (lays after the WVilliamsburg road inci (ent. while it was fresh. an(d my' statement is the summary of re ports from various sources, from Gen. Fields down to the priv'ates whom witnessed it. He was on the ev e of leaving~ for home. hav ing secured a leave of absence to get manriedl. The only trophy thait wxas dleliveredl to me was a little cavalrv carbine. This he brought to m'e the evening before he left andl informed me that he had not turned it over to the Gov einent. as wvas our rule wvith cap tured pro~&perty. told me why he had not (lone so. WVhen about half way through with the capture a Feder al officer. some dlistance up the line, was indignantly rating his men for surrendlering to one man ani ureino them to kill or ir W illinery grand Iron you shoul< .s are lower t ; your headqv Columbia. SAVE MONE E GREATEST MILLINERN D of the interesting features of thE ,y Department at Tapp's. Madam .s leading the styles of the Car( ts. !L line of handsome Hats, dreis ai special line of Street Hats, very si 3se two lines are specials for Fair 'ugs Special f Ys and Curtains. Pays you to bu it within OO miles of Columbia o )0, and $35.00. Velvet Rugs LES BLANKETS AND LNY. capture him. It was the crisis of the undertaking (for he was in their power if they could only be brought to realize it) and must b~e met promptly. Throwing down his trophies and picking up the carbine which had been lost in the retreat of cavalry, he advanced promptly andl directly on the of ficer, presenting the carbine and threatening to blow his brains out if he did not surrender. He yielded: the capture was com p)leted without further trouble. Fortunately the carbine was not loaded. b)ut neither your father nor the Yankee knew it. He slung the carbine on his shoulder and held it till I came. His duties precluded the idea of his using it in the public ser vice. IHe had no excuse for ap propriating it, and brought it to me with the above statement. T received it and having no wved ding present for his bride, told him that I wvould relieve him of all responsibility for it. but concluded to rob the Government myself and begged him to present it to his bride for me as my wvedding pres ent. He was so bashful and blushing at the mention of his bride that I dioubted if he comprehended fully the nature of the transaction and carried my message straight. But he retained the carbine. and ny appropriation of it for him is th'e only recognition of his conduct that he ever received except gene ral increase of admiration for his daring by his comrades. The colors and other trophies I never saw. b~ut on inquiry learned that they have been turned in by a Georgia brigade (Anderson's), -.ho got credit for them tempo rarily, but if my reconmmendlation for promotion. endorsed by Gen. Fields. is among the war papers. three stands of colors are on re cord as captured by him. I can not recall what troops were cap tured further than that they were a portion of those who had han (lIed us so roughly about a month before at Battery Harrison. And now, Miss Fannie. allow mec to thank you for knowing mne along with that brave father of vours. who is dloubtless. like th~e rest of us. now a gray-hearded 01(1 man. but still in my vision of him in the full vigor of younig manhood. readyv to blush at my allusion to eeli. er and more I come to see han you can tarters in Y HERE. DEPARTMENT. greater Columbia is the e Stedman, our artist de linas with her beautiful id street wear......$5.00 ylish..............$2.50 Week. >r Fair Week. y here because prices are lower t purchases of $5.00 or over. (special) $1.49. COMFORTS. 1643, 1644, 1646 Main St., COLUMBIA, S. C. interesting letter, which put in mo tion a lono- train of reminiscences, so full 0r noble aspirations and glorious deeds, that the darkness which has followed cannot tarnish their ,brightness. Give my love to your father and tell him I shall not be satisfied un less he gives you a hearty smack ing kiss for me. With love and good wishes for you all, I am, wvhether we ever meet or not, Your sincere friend, JOrN BRATTON. Sick headache is caused by a disor'd ered condition of the stomaxch and l4 quickly cured by Chamberlain's Stom ach and Liver Tablets. For sale by Oboar Drug Co. $5,000 a Day In 1889 P. T. Bar num, the showman, journeyed to the Pacifie coast to visit a relative. On his way back east he stopped at Kansas City to see the great Barnum & Bailey show. To the editors of the local dailies who called upon him Mr. Barnum said: "Gen ticemen, Mr. Bailey tells me that my presence at the performances of the Barnum & Bailey circus is worth $5,000 a day to the show. If this is true it is my name that IS so valuable. It Is known in every town, city and hamlet; it has become a house word throughout the country. "Now, centlemeR, an of this was done by newspapers, and if advertising can make a name worth $5,000 a day what is it that advertising can't doV" You lose muchi of the value of your business reputation if you do not keep your name constantly before tlh