Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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GLANCES O An Account of -the Yankee head S (Writen for The 2 My father was an ardent State Rights advocate, -and,from him I in herit my reverence' for my Revolp-o tionary ancestors and glory in the name of Rebel, whether4attached to the patriots of 1776 or 1860 against King George III or Northern Aboli timist,. who brought the "Nation's ward" from Africa to them for their own profit, but find that .they did not -4 thrive in the rigorous -climate-of New, England, forced them upon -the Sofiti and then begun to be shocked at the sin of slavery. "Year after year set up wailing lamentations about South ern, wrc.ng-doing, bringing. all the ,power of prayer, of press and pulpit to arous.e a fierce fanatiism, until fi nally t1eir efforts culminated in one of the bloodiest wars of all time. Followed by insults and irjuries heaped upon t e v-aiiquis_ed that are without a parallel in modern times." In resistance to many constitutional violatio-as, South Carolina led the kan. and a history of all that befell hex" people in the succeeding years would f1l many volumes. * Tie enthusiasm that greeted the se cession of the State beggars dzscr1 * tion. A sister had reared a Lone Star flag in front of the house. and it. was interesting, indeed, to watch the peo ple passing by saluting it, and as an -index cf the spirit that animated our - youthful hearts, copy a little poem that its erection inspired. composed -by my father, William S. Lyles, Es quire. "The LDne Star is up, now come, bro thers, come. And rally around this bright emblem of home; It floats on the breeze, base tyrants defying. Then, brothers. stand by, and keep it sti..1 flying. Long. long, have w. ->orne with insult and wrongs, The hate of .4he traitor, the threat of the strong; But. the star of redemption has risen at last; Then, brothers, this banner come nail to the mast. ind, then; let it float, :aye, wave in defiance Of Liicolnu and Douglas, the hated .alfliance, Who bha'e threatened in wrath thei SSouth to subdue; Look, look to the flag tha;t o1e. , ons you on. - fields here freedom is again t Then rally and perish, if even y ou must, re one of its folds be trailed in the * dust. - ~ Then look to the flag. so proud and so __ - free, That waves o'er our homes andl moun-: -. tains to see; And swear in your hearts o mieet * - Death's embrace Ere tyrants shall ever that Lne Star efface." Alas: We did not know through what suffering that emblem was to Lead, did not realize that many of our .relat-es and friends 'W ere to shed their life's blood in its defense. Animis, opibusque parati was not a* vain boast with the sons of Caro lina. When the tocsin of war sound ed and a call was made for defenders of her sacred soil, they came fiocking *. to her standard, as though moved by one impulse. Lawyers, physicians, merchants, farmers. artisans all re spo:aded to that call, and soon werc * n I heir way to CharlestOn. H-ow that, task was fulfilled is well known. How Fort Sumter was begiged1 an:d captured urid 3r ?!* peerlen Beaure *gard will live in "song and story." *Then "our boys" were sent to as rsit in driving the invader from the soil of old Virigina--the Mother of so many of the Presidents of the United States, who w-as now seeking her destruction from that of her sis ter States of the South. up cobntry had been comparatively peaceful, save :for the absence of lov ed ones at the front, and the depri vation of .the luxuries of life, we did * not realize the horrors of grim visag ed war. But Shefinan's :invasion of the State tore the veil from our eyes. Oh, that I possessed a ready pen, that I might portray the scenes of horror that are indellibly impressed upon .my brain, as I recall those dark days. Fc.r days before the advent of Gen er3.l Kirkpatrich and his bummers in - our neighborhood, we were being * warned by the lurid light of burning * houses, and by the fleeing of refugees be-fore the vandais, of the terrible or deial in store for us; we, the Daugh ters of the Revolutionary Sires. had enued the Southern cause with all with hats and cloaks on, (they were but recently from the famous Bee Store and were duly prized) as il about starting on a journey. "Where are you going, and why have you bon nets and cloaks on?" and our replies: "Nowhere," and to "Preserve the= from Yankess" seemed quit4E amus I ing to them. If we appealed to officers for pro tection, the inevitable reply was: "These men do not belong to my com pany, and would not obey an ordei from us." I suppose they separatee -purposely, that they might rob ani destroy without -restraint. In all th hundreds who visited the house, onl3 one man, a Lieutenant, from Troy N. Y. (I am sorry I cannot recall hI name) seemed to possess the instifnct of a gentleman. He came to the sit d ting roonf door and said: "Ladi.es, ] see your trunks have been opened. I there is anything you wish to secure I come now. and I will protect you," a1 the same time draw.ing his sword s5ifrom the scabbard, and ordering thA plunderers to desist. - At my cousin'E request, he remained with us as E e protector several hours, and seemed s really to deprecate the manner it which the soldiers were behaving; said he was fighting' for the Union d and not fpr plunder, etc. d The negroes traveled about a gooc deal, and - took pleasure in circulat ing the wildest .rumors about the Yankee's doings at .the neighboring places. A little sister, whose devo tion to her mother was marvelous, was made almost frantic by the re port that she haT been shut up in the house and a torch applied. because she would not reveal the hiding place of her valuables, and hey nervous system never recovered from the shock, and five weeks later her pure spirit sought a more peaceful clime. A you friend also was never well 1after' at terrible -radd., and a few months later 'd.ed of typhoid fever, i nduced 5 the -excitement, as surely victims of the War:as if slain in bat tle. The night before the Yankees came, a gallant foot-sore Confederate sought Mother's hospitality, which she glad ly extended, provided he was not afraid of capture. He was willing to 3 risk it, as he"had walked -twenty-five miles that day, and was almost broken .I down. He was on his AWay to rejoin 'his, command in North Carolina,' and oWing to railroads being torn up, had to travel .much of ;the way on. foot Though a stranger, -he won our kind; " liest sympatiy by his gentle bearing, and we did all in our, power to render him comfortable, and7 gave .him the . needed 'rest Daddy Jack, an old ser -vant, volunteered to staid guard, and give warn;ing if he .hea'rd the Yankees iomg.: Qu yongfiend .esdened apture oilyV bedope a.habrie' upon our gountries -tltar, for he was slain in one of the engagements near Smithdeai, S. C. "Sleep sweetly in your humble grave, ' Sleep martyr of the fallen cause." -Gen. Kilpatrick and staff rode up to my .mother's door and demanded a map;,of. South Carolina. Upon a ser vant's p)roductg it, one of his aid's dismounted, and coofy'~ cut out the counties of Fa;irfield-. Chester and Lan caster, saying that was all he wanted. In a short'while thereafter, fire was et to the dwelling, barns, stables dnd 3.gin house. and all consumed with their contents. except the dwelling, which was extinguished by a little sister. My aunt and daughters were enter taning at dinner four Confederate sol diers, who were trying to reach their commands in North Carolina and Vir '~ginia, when the cry arose,, "The Yan kees are coming''. Of course, there was a rush made by the Confederates 1to the woods to escape capture. They were spied 'by the Yankees and<chased 1throug,h the yard and fired upon and oe wo-unded slightly and captured, the rest making good their escape. .One had trushed off minus his knal> sack, which was besieged by one of -the young girls, Rebecca Lyles, and without thinking of the danger she would be exposed to, from the flying shot, picked it up and ran after them, athrowing it close enough to the owner t'for him to catch it as he fled. After f.plundering here, they resorted to the etorch to still further distress the help a'less ladies and children, a fire being placed in one of the'-daughter's trunks I.that had been packed preparatory to sendng her away to a boarding school. One of the raiders must ha,v:e possess e ed a spark of humanity, as he re esponded to my aunt's request: 'Pt dout the fire," before ifT had done a ejgreat deal of damage. Another aunt, awho possessed a lovely voice, saved her piano from destruction by singing at their request, thus proving "music hath charms to sooth the savage dbreast." A handsome piano stood in the par t r of a cousin's house that had beetl abandoned, and as the soldiers were 0about to chop it to pieces, a negrt Ltman begged for it. They gave it tc ;im on condition of his taking it uni aaided, which feat he accomplished only to have it .chopped to pieces by tthe next crowd. An aunt told me o1 -her mother, a native of New Haven i- an one of the s intelligent unc PTAROSUP TIUN. s Pillaging in the Buck ection. - kews and Hera&t.,) our hearts and now, we would pa the penalty of our loyalty. The morning of . February 21s '65, dawned gl&omily: The sunbeai vainly strove to pierce, the -mrrky ai mosphere. A feartul dread was' o each heart and confusion reigned M preme.' The Yankees .had visited m grandfather's the night before, talkin off his saddle horse, and said the wotild 'return in the. mrning. I, wit ;two sisters, were at.a cousin's hom vainly thindng it whs in more retire place ,than our own, and might not I visited by so many of the enemy. W went to breakfast with heavy hearts had scarcely taken our seats when th dread cry was- heard, "The Yankee are coming, the Yankees are coming, With a whispered prayer for God protection, we hurried back to th sitting room, and in a few minute more the house resounded. with th shouts of 'the rude. soldiers as the galloped 'tp the avenue, surrounde the house, dismounted, rushe through every door, their guns stril ing on the floor with discordan soun<p, cursing and jeering as the came. Seating themselves at the 'a ble, 'and devouring .the nicely prepat ed breakfast; -pocketing the silvet ware as each. man arose, are, picture indellibly stamped upon memory tablet. Whilq at the table one of th intruders calleA out: "Some of yo Southern girls come and pour coff for us." To which the lady of. th house replied: "There are servanta let them wait on yovg The scene that followed from "early, morn unti dewy eve," I am unable to port7a justly. can compare them to naugh but some of those described in Dante Inferno, so unlike civilized thingc seeing these creatures turned loose t, prey upon the women and childre and old men of the South. Every drawer, trunk and cupboar, was ransacked. One room in whic] refugee friends had trunks sto[ed wa .knee dee'p in clothing, dragged fror these receptacles. After taking what ever struck their fancy -blankets an4 pillow cas.es were' stripped Zrom th bed, the first for- saddle cloths, th latter to be filled with supplies fro1 the pantry thiTwas -repeated by eac successive crowd i'untilbut little wa left to appropriate. - A friend*rrote mie: "It would hard yeAkliefVd't,tivRzedi men com teedd.bme of fe outrages -done m1ij sade ~ s fd, astor ol ,ani 171l not be used;' ouring barrels o srghum strup 4us Lwells, shootinl down stock that could not be conven ntly driven off, stealing ladies' cloth ing. creie shawls, silk dresses -ant other articlei for which they had ni use. taking off silver plates, watcee and jewelry, and in one instance tak ing a gold dollar from a lithle sici They seemed to think our stock o vvaluables inexhaustible, for the er. rm ,each successive crowd was "Where is your silver and gold?" evel attempting to take the lings an brooches from the person. A dea friend from Florida wore a ring. gift of a dear mother, which caugh he eye of one of the soldiers, an< e demanded it. Upon her refusal. he advanced to take it forcibly, whe: she threw it off her hand and dashe< itto the other side of the room. Hi icked it 'up, exultantly saying: "Thi is my trophy of a Southern girl! ":here are your husbands and bro there?" are frequent inquiry wit' them, and the reply. "In Lee's Army wwhere all true gouthernl men shoult be,' seemed to create no surprisc One impudent fellow retorted. "Yet i it were not for you women. the Wa would have ended long ago." M cousin's husband, Capt. William Boy kin Lyles, had fallen at Seven Pine! while gallantly .leading his Compan: in a charge, and friends had sent hi sord and uniform home to her. Thes herished relic's had been hidden, bu a servant betrayed them, and one c the raiders took them down and cam into the house to taunt the stricke: hearts with the sight, and vain wa he request to have them return1et My grandfather, Major Thorna yles, 7S years of age, was lying -i bed with a broken hip, and one of th brutal soldiers, perhaps thinking h was feigning disability, approache with a torch, which he put under th bed, demanding silver and gold as .ansom. or they would burn hi alive-to which the old hero replied "I haven't many years to live any way. so burn and be damn4d." An be surprised at his fearlessness, e: caimed: "You are the bravest ma 1 have ever seen in South Carolina and ordered one of the negrOe 1 reeove the torch. Fearing we migi be burned down, each one had put C several suits of clothing, so, in ca! Iof so dire an event, we might be bettg protected from the cold, and we mu! have presented a ridiculous appeal .ncme toorfoes, seated in the rooi 1910, by - . A R BROS'.& OO. VETERAN We have been in the hkov just what you rnee( lease the most exacting pus persons I eWr knew, wh().~ke- . cae so indignda. at' their ruthless bavior that she caught. a boy, who~ s pillaging in her room, 'by the arm* U a called- an officer to take charge U U ofthe little. sdamp, and he, awed by* -e manner, complied with her re qst. Sugar was a rarity in those days, Sc an my cousin, knowing the Yankees* SC uld appropriate it, had hidden a0 $ l( ca of it in a anass of shrubbery in * us th yard, but it 'was found and car d off, -except a few pounds, which tw little boys were discovered feast- a gupon after'ihey left. As. a general 0cs hng, the negroes behaved well,h thgh very much excited and seemed .mn obe afraid also. Only a few seem- F edto be hail fellow with them. They ha not then been corrupted by con- * E at with the radical herde that prey-' dlike harples upon the State. L fte.e war they naturally looked G pn us as'rends and protectors. A pa da and night Kirkpatrick and his' bmers stayed in our neighborhood, n from being one of the best of L onty neighborhoods, filled with neat oes, presenting an appearance of reinement and comfort, they reducpdW itto a scene of desolation,. marked by U P oking ruins, the chimneys of which ood for years like grim sentinels to 1 1 eind us of that awful time. In my ........-.. imediate neighborhood, several large cherish reidences, a score of cotton, and one of more sacd des of 'bales of cotton, and one of dren, the ebest flour mills in the up country noble kin< wre burned. Hundreds of horses rounds th wre carried off. In some instances incense ri brken down stock left in their stead, tar, on wI nerly -all of the provisions destroyed sac1i.fices. I rcarried off. What a condition for "O fan eenceless women and children- to be Their ,many of them homeless and desti- And glo tue of the necessaries of life. How1 The b emanaged to live on the scraps left iamstery, but "He who feedeth the rven" helped us. I scarcely think h Goths and Vandals could have ated more barbarously. and thought narly forty-five years have elapsed since Kilpatrick's raid, I cannot re- Sch cal it without a shudder. The sur- The Uii reder of General Lee's Army was a oflers sch< sd blow, for then we realized "a na- oEcal I un's h%pes were dead." We had en-wot$0 hrined the Cause in our hearts, an~ with free hd the fafith tliat right must win, and sa uy loked forward to the day when vic- generally sity will Itry would crown our banner to make Write fi amends for all, but God ordered it -S. C. thrwise 'To His will we bow, and GLOTHIER om toti hadae tr ndgti.-ehv een ire chcke wie, enc wie,sovWie :ure ire an al sorts' of wieueslsfrvr ou wilfn'hmal ftesm hg hrce y be. clohingcre buos............---$ I:no Widw kceens exactly............35 talFrmeWin ow Sceen ......... .-.. 40e _ vn M w r . . . . . . . . .. . . - ..--;---$ .5 ne 79, ths791 atr and ge166.ehae U ur glorou an allmortso r eslsyetfoC.evy * d1y wi ll dtheo ofur m hg charct isory otheir r are and as O m od Yt hel r ite re am amb a to selly an hot or aaittlehis yor neeRdsea n ch y ine crednbeowad$1.0hen Doorst.stands....andO ' teal Famindo crouns.oy,an..sfrm.t.. est.srai0 o sretent Sars ed Habtnin to Ameic;.s0in drc &L Wancntean aIndycanhn,ehm y uadstholmbn42S2 A.D.HOD edlons pnddtenl to ohe country_are_re histooftheirbqavrand G ODB tak e Regaiesere wihathe Ird sp ariation. su- lerkoia coutl hi roiion,wl ofk the . ~m s wtha seetan h l aw aapis ti yallprsn who R deve n igromt ouSouthntry'hnalgoodnnsborhe eerntry, including0se$2itig Larship he were ofeprenbl donhn ants.0 whenture sdeaes, etc. on teonal campng grndByndi from Temgsrtar bresto setrato sle. tEnts Scoarespsthi prmeoisin of tera is stindl rnmy g a d so em roun aomplie d ath.nhade im uto- tC.dadH . DGLASS, st. xamniMonR tuns 51 or1 ~ adiso tol Univesr-eb ivn ht l p JIL hesosdpedtintietheaometytimere r Exaomataion. iirdto Take yout riense wioth the dICsHELL Prsdnt l ier of Thert.News prndisioald te columbia,s. aw De.1frolyFFYCNa