University of South Carolina Libraries
BATTLE OF FR Jit.Pen Picture of Or ties of t From the Charles I do.not propose to write an account of the general battle, but simply those incidents that came directly under my personal observation; not all of them, but only a few, especially in reference to Gen. Lee. I will premise what I have to say with a brief reminder of the chief points of that brilliant campaign that preceeded the battle, and I think the military critic will agree with me in saying that this campaign alone would entitle Gen. Lee to rank as a first class General. I speak now of what is known as the first Maryland cam paign. It is true that we came out of Maryland discomfited, hut the most perfectly conceived and brilliant plans (as Waterloo) may fall from minor causes. Lee had marched from the the environs of Hichmond northward to meet Pope: had struck him at Man sssas, and shattered his army, sending it skurrying to Washington. Then was conceived the brilliant plan of the j invasion of Maryland. Lee with the main army was to cross the Potomac at Leesburg, sending Jackson in the meantime to take Harper's Ferry by a coup de main, and then to join him as he leisurely jouroeyed towards the upper Potomac. I will state }ust here that my company (E., 7th S. C. cav alry) was detailed as scouts 3nd cou riers for Gen. Longstreet. We had seen a considerable amount of staff I duty of the kind^with Gen. Johnston aud Gen. Lee. At present ;Gen. Lee and Gen. Longstreet, being always together, we acted as well for Gen. Lee as for Longstreet, and being at tached to the staff, we frequently had personal intercourse with not only these two Generals, but with all of the subordinate commanders, and became personally acquainted with them. Our position as couriers of the com wander-irt-chief gave ns a. better knowledge of the movements of the j army: of its personnel and strategy than was possessed hy any Major General. A large number of* the pri vates of my company were graduates of the South Carolina College, and fully capable of appreciating and util izing the splendid military training under Gen. Lee. Our old professor, Charles S. Venable, was a member of the staff, with the rank of Colonel. I always thought, from what I observ^ ed, that Col. Venable was Lee's most intimate and trusted aid. But to return. We lost no time after the battle of Manassas, (second,) but marched direct to Leesburg, where we divested ourselves of all superflu ous baggage and "impedimenta," and entered Maryland with grand eclat, amid flying banners, the playing of the bands, and the huzzas of -an army. We marched immediately to the beau tiful Frederick City; where we sup plied ourselves with many good things -by purchase-camped a day, and then took-a leisurely march westward over magnificent roads, through Mid dletown, Boonsboro and the South Mountain, and entered H?gers town, where we camped to await Jackson. During the next day we received news of a heavy attack on D. H. Hill at South Mountain , Pass, (Boonsboro.) Now ijt had not been the intention of Gen. Lee to defend South Mountain Pass no Tonger than to allow Jackson to join us, but Jackson bad been de layed in the capture of .Harper's Ferry, and moreover McClellan seems to have recovered from his confusion as to our movements, and, abandoning the de fensive, had marched directly on us, so it became necessary to hold this pass at least a little longer. Gen. Lee hurried his immediate command back to the pass by a forced march, and reached it some hours before sun down. And now occurred the apparently slight error that decided the first cam paign into Maryland and sent our troops back across the Potomac dis comfited. Instead of putting thc troops immediately into line of battle on the mountain, which, by the way, is a most impregnable position for de fence, Gen. Lee, on reaching the foot of the pass, had halted his troops on the road for several hours, within half a mile of where D. H. Hill was holding the pass against the whole of McClellan's army. At last, towards sunset, Longstreet was hurried up the pass, but it was too late to get into line of battle ; the whole Federal army was upon us, and as darkness came on we withdrew, leaving the pass in the hands of the enemy. Why this de lay of Gen. Lee I could never divine, for if wc had gone into line of battle on the mountain as soon as we arrived the whole Federal army could not have dislodged us from such a position. As we rode down the mountain in the diirknes.? I happened to fall in with Col. Venable, (roy old professor in the South Carolina College.) 1 said to him: ';Colonel, this is bad.1' He replied : "No, it is of no conse quence; Jackson has taken Harper's Ferry, and will join us to-morrow." We halted at th? foot of the mountain and Gen. Lee had a tent pitched. In ? EDERICKSBURG. ie of the Famous !Bat he War. ton Sunday News. a few moments a detail of ?ix men was called for to report to Gen. Lee's tent. I was one of the six, and when we re ported Gen. Lee called us into thc tent. He then asked us how we were mounted and what we had in our haversacks. He then said to us : "Gentlemen, I am sending you to night to Gen. Jackson, who is on his way from Harper's Ferry to join us. He is coming on the Virginia side of the Potomac, and you will find him on the road. You will go from here to Sharpsburg and cross the river at that point, thence down the river towards Harper's Ferry. It is more than probable that you will fall in with the enemy to-night, but you must make your way, through by some means. If the bearer of the dispatch is captured he must immediately de stroy the dispatch ; by no means let it fall into the hands of the enemy. It is of great importance that it be deliv ered to Gen. Jackson with all speed." Gen. Lee was evidently much depress ed, the first and only tiffie I ever saw anything of the kind in him. We immediately set out, and in half an hour had run into the enemy in the streets of Sharpsburg. This body of the enemy turned out to be the four hundred cavalry that had escaped from Harper's Ferry, and were making their way up the north side of the river. They were resting in Sharpsburg when we ran into them, and evidently thought that the whole of Stuart's cavalry was upon them. In fact, Stuart's cavalry was only a mile away, and they had good reason to think so; at least they scampered off at a head long gait and loftus masters of Sharps- ; burg. Suffice it to say that Jackson marched on the field of Sharpsburg early the next morning. The body of cavalry was the same that struck Lee's unguarded ammunition train on the Williamsport road after they had left Sharpsburg, and it has always been a historical query why they did not cap ture the train instead of riding through it, and leaving the whole train to es cape over the river. The explanation has always been simple to me. They were fleeing from Harper's Ferry and expecting every moment to encounter Stuart's cavalry, and when, the little adventure I have related occurred they were sure the whole of Stuart's cav alry was upon them. The battle of Sharpsburg, which occurred the next day, is a matter of history. After that battle we were concentrated at Culpepper Court House. Gen. Burn side was now in eommand of the Fed eral army, and Lee, nnccrtain as to what move he would make, had as sumed a masterly strategy, ready to meet any possible contingency. As is ? well known Gen. Burnside determined to march upon Richmond by way of Fredericksburg. Scarcely had he com menced movement when Lee broke camp and, marching three miles to his one, whipped around over the Bappa- j hancock and faced him at Fredericks burg with his concentrated army. Gen. Burnside spent three weeks re-*j j covering from the surprise of finding j Lee in his front, when he thought he j had left him at Culpepper Court | ! House, and then commenced crossing, having bombarded and burnt a large portion of the. city preparatory there to. The line of battle of the Confed erates was on a range of hills about a mile and-a half from the river, and parallel to it. Between this range of hills and the river is a level plateau about four miles long. - Upon this the Federal army formed, near the river and below the city; the city be ing to their extreme right. Opposite, j and forming the Confederate extreme left, was Marye's Hill. Around the front of Marye's Hill ran a road and a stone fence or wall, some three or four feet thick, and about four and one half feet high. Behind this stone wall were massed two brigades in tri ple lines. On the top of Marye's Hill, just above the stone wall, was the battalion of the Washington Ar tillery, of New Orleans, under Lieut. Col. Walton. Marye's Hill rises im mediately from the road and stone wall and is <juite steep. The enemy had about one hundred pieces of ar tillery on Stafford Heights, just across the river, which easily played on Marye's Hill. But the position, de fended as it was, was almost impreg nable. The three assaults made on it were the most gallant, heroic and des perate in the whole history of the war. The charge of Pickett at Get tysburg does not surpass it, or proba bly equal it. This 1 "sombre, fatal, terrible stone wall" was to thc battle of Fredericksburg what Cemetery Kidge was to Gettysburg, or llugo raont to Waterloo. One historian characterizes it as ' 'the most frightful charge in the annals of war," and John listen Cooke, a Southern his torian, says : "It is doubtful if in any battle ever fought by any troops men displayed greater gallantry" than the Federal troops who made these charges. On December 12 the enemy crossed over, under thc smoke of the burning city. Gen. Lee stood < Lee's Hill, and occasionally a sh< would be. sent among them to she that we were not inviting them ove but the general attitude of Gen. L seemed to be : "Walk into my park said the spider to thc fly," and thi walked in. It was manifest next da for Burnside could not occupy h present position except to fight; 1 was under the guns of Gen. Lee, wii a river at his back. So at dayligl the next morning (13th) Lee ar Longstreet, with their respective sta officers and couriers, rode togeth along Longstreet's line of battl They stopped at a residence just at tl foot of Lee's Hill, and to right, cal cd, I think, the "Bandolph mansion, took breakfast, and then rode up c Lee's Hill. A dense fog and smol covered the plateau and the enem; Nothing could be seen and nothir heard, except that indescribable buz: like the distant and uncertain noise < bees, that so plainly tells the traine soldier that an army is going into lin of battle. On the hill was Lee an staff. Longstreet and staff, Col. Fre< mantle, of the British army, as a observer, and about one hundred otl ers, officers and couriers. Gen. Jacl son rode up and said a few words t Gen. Lee, and then went off and lear ed against a pine, looking on th ground ; he seemed to be a littl ashamed of a splendid new uniform h wore, and pretty soon he rode off t the right. Gen. Stuart, who had bee making a reconnoissance into the fog trotted up the hill whistling-h would whistle, it was the only seriou crime he was guilty of. Wilcox rod up a while, and McLaws *and Col Walton came over from Marye's Hill just to our left. Lee looked at hi watch several times. Gen. Kershaw whose brigade was at the time in re serv?, between Lee's and Maryc' Hills, came up and talked with Long street, and so the hours wore om I was near 10 o'clock when suddenl; three heavy guns on our line, imme diately to our right, boomed out ii quick sufcession. "There she goes boys !" said Stuart, and leaping on hil horse, cantered off to the right. an( the other brigadiers and Major Gener als followed suit to their respective commands. It was Lee's signal "ol battle. Gen. Lee seemed to know that th< fog would clear up in a few minutes and that the enemy would immediate ly attack, and so it turned out. IE less than ten minutes thc fog begat to whirl upwards, and in less time than it takes to tell it the white cloud curtain rolled away, revealing thc grandest panorama I have ever seen an army of near 100,000 in hattie ar ray. A dozen field glasses swept the plateau from right to left, although the whole field was visible to the nak ed eye. . The enemy did. not delay their move ; their left wing (of Frank lin's grand division) marched out against our right wing. The word ran around, "They are going to attack Jackson !" On they went. And there lay Jackson with twenty thousand of the finest infantry soldiers the world has ever seen, as silent and as terrible as the tiger cat on the crouch. And on they go. Suddenly a li ne of smoke about a mile long ran along Jackson's front, then another, and another, (we could not hear a sound, the wind was blowing in that direction,) while the artillery on both sides opened with fearful vigor, ours playing on the in fantry with canister. The Federal line of battle was hurled back. They rally and charge again, and again are hurled back. Again they rally and charge, and again are hurled back. This time Jackson's men charge, and thc Federal linc, raked by Stuart with twenty pieces of field artillery at half flank, are doubled up and forced back to the river under the protection of their heavy guns. Simultaneously with the defeat on their left they commenced an attack on their right-on Marye's Hill. A tremendous cannonade was opened on the hill from the Stafford Heights and other points, and a division charged gallantly, but was repulsed with tre mendous slaughter. A second assault, more formidable than the first, was about to be made by another division in columns of brigades. The rain of shells on Marye's Hill was redoubled. Gen. Lee sent Gen. Kershaw with his brigade to reinforce the stone wall, and a few more pieces of artillery to the hill. The enemy, which we after wards heard was Hancock's division, supported by French's division, which had made thc first charge, came on. with splendid gallantry over thc dead, bodies of their aomrades of the first charge. They came within sixty yards of the stone wall, when thc artillery on the hill opened on them with dou ble charges of canister, sweeping away platoons at a time, arid the infantry behind the stone wall rose up in triple lines and poured a terrible fire into them; the first line was annihilated, but the others kept coming on to share thc same fate. Nearly half of them were killed, or lay disabled on the field before these gallant men would consent to retreat, but. cut to pieces as they were, it was impossible to-do otherwise, and when they at last retired we thought the battle of Kred ericksburg was over. Thc sun was about two hours high, and the i'.entrs of thc armies had not been serioi engaged, still we thought that the pulse of thc right and left wings so bloody ajid terrible that they wc not venture to renew the cont But not so, as we soon discovei Another assault on Maryc, even IE formidable than the first two, making ready. Five lines of ba were to throw themselves head! upon it. Twenty pieces of field ai ?cry were brought to bear upon stone wall in the open plateau at pc blank range, to tear it to pieces w solid shot. A hundred guns w raining shell on the hill pr?par?t 1:0 the charge. Lee had sent anot brigade to reinforce thc stone w and now they could present quintu lines. Another battery was sent che hill. Just at this time Gen. Lee desi \)0 send a dispatch through Longstr to Gen. Kershaw, behind the st< wall, at the foot of Marye's Hill, was a desperate mission, for the a rier would have to ride over Mary Hill, through the tornado of sh< down to the stone wall that was bei pounded by twenty pieces of artille and about to be charged by five Iii of battle, but it seems it was of pre ing importance. What the dispat was, of course, I never knew, bu was quickly tolled off by the orde as the courier to take it. I was spl< didly mounted on a horse I had cently purchased. Thc dispatch v> quickly prepared and handed to n with instructions that I would fi Gen. Kershaw behind the stone wa I was ready to start when Gen. L himself turned to us and said : "I another courier mount and follow t first. Let the first courier hold t dispatch in his right hand, in pla 7iew, and if one falls, let the ott l;ake it." Henry Smith, of- Kershi County, was named as the secoi courier and immediately mounted, had touched my spirited horse for t go, .when I saw by a glance that Ge Lee was in the act of saluting fl The compliment was sb absolutely u usual, and in fact unheard of befoi that I was taken aback. I realized a moment, however, that it was prob bly in recognition of the important and peril of my mission, and, reignii my horse back on his haunches, I r turned with thrilled emphasis the pe aonal salute of my commander-in-chi -as did my comrade-and thc ne: moment we were flying down the hi towards Marye. There was a militai road between Lee's and Marye's- hill connecting the telegraph road with ti Orange plank road, in the rear < Marye's Hill and crossing Hazel Eui I think it was originally made for railroad track, with embankments ov( the run. This was the route we tool Just at therua was a large, old mi house, and as we passed this a she went through it, scattering boards in mediately behind us. In a few leap we overtook an ammunition wago making its way over under whip an spur. A shell took off the two lea mules, sweeping them off the embank ment. In a few moments we were 0 Marye. I saw just ahead of me Col Walton on his black horse with hi battalion. 1 knew the Colonel well and he knew me, for I had often car ried him dispatches. I shouted t him as I approached : "Colonel, wher can I find Gen. Kershaw ?" He point cd, and as I flew past him. I heard hi voice as from a long distance say "At the foot of the hill, but you wil never reach him." Under ordinary circumstances '. might have checked up at this warning but the words of Gen. Lee came t( me, "If one falls the other must tak< it," and without drawing rein we shoi down tho deep declivity, found Gen Kershaw behind thc stone wall, dc livered the dispatch, took thc usua receipt-the envelope-and up w? went again and through the batteries The brave Louisiana boys (thirty-nine of them dead or wounded on the field; found time to give us a wild huzza, and the noble old Walton, now dis mounted, took off his hat to us as wc flew past and back to Gen. Lee Neither of us received a skin scratch. The top of my kepi was missing, and one of my ears so deaf I could not hear on that side for a week, but when and how it happened I never remem bered. My comrade had his scabbard so dented that he could not re-entci his sabre. When, we left thc wall thc gallant Federals, in five lines of battle, were on thc charge. I have since learned that this was Humph roys's division, of Hooker's reserves. They were al lowed to come within about fifty yards of our linc. Then our quintuple line rose from behind the stone wall and delivered their withering fire, and the batteries ou thc hill vomited double charges of canister. The first line melted, but the second came steadily ou, over the dead and dying of thc former charges, to share the same fate, but still no halt ; the other lines came on. Ve Gods ! it is no longer a bat tle ; it is a butchery. Confederates might haye made a more impetuous charge, but for cool, persistent cour age there is no instance in thc whole history of the war that surpasses this charge of Humphreys. At last their formation is broken ; they arc torn to pieces : there is nothing left to rally on, and the wreck of the magnificent division falls back. The guns cease at the stone wall, and then the artil lery on both sides becomes silent, and the battle of Fredericksburg is ended -victory. It was now just dark. Gen. Lee and his staff and couriers mount and ride back to camp, enjoy ing that exquisite feeling that comes over the soldier after the battle. .'Our bugles sang truce.'for ilia night cloud had lower'd. Aad the sontinel *tnr* set th(;ir watch in the sky, And thousands had sunk on the ground overpower'd, The weary to sleep and the wounded to die " As I threw myself on my pallet of straw I began to think, as I always did under the circumstances, of a lov ing and anxious and idolized mother away down in South Carolina, who was probably at that moment praying for me, and how hardly it would have fallen on her happiness and life if she had lost her boy that day, and I fell to sleep with tears rolling down my face. The day after the night on which the Federal army recrossed the river I was sent by Gen. Lee with a flag of truce to Gen. Burnside con cerning the parole of some four thou sand prisoners we had taken. I rode into Fredericsburg by the road that ran between Marye and the stone wall, and just at th^t fatal point I halted to look up on the left at Marye. There was not a twig as big as the lit tle finger that was not scratched by a missile; in one thin telegraph pole I counted thirteen minie balls. And then I looked to the right, over the wall. The Federal dead lay there, untouched, as they had fallen. I was amazed. I had been in and over all the great battlefields up to this time -Seven Pines* Mechanicsville. Fra ser's Farm, Gaines' Mill, Cold Harbor, Malvern Hill, Manassas, South Moun tain, Sharpsburg-but I stood before "that sombre, fatal, terrible, stone wall," utterly amazed at the extent of the slaughter. The line of dead be gan about fifty yards from the wall, piled upon each other, and thence ex tended back for acres, and the mutila tion of the bodies was of the most ter rible description, showing the havoc of grape and canister. The thought that came most pronounced to my mind was this : Let it be no longer said that the Federal soldier is not our equal in courage and fighting quali ties.-R. K. Charlea, one of den. R. E. Lees Couriers. finial Is a blood disease and only a blood reme dy can cure it. So many people make the mistake of taking remedies which at best are only tonics and cannot possi bly reach their trouble. Mr. Asa Smith, Greencastle, Indiana, says: "For years I have suffered with Sciatic Rheuma tism, which the best physicians were un able to relieve. I took many patent medicines but they did not seem to reach my trouble. I gradually grew worse until I was un able to take my food or handle myself in any way; I was abso lutely helpless. Three bottles of S.S.S. re lieved me so that I was soon able to move my right arm; before long I could walk across the room, and when I bad finished one dozen bottles was cured, completely and am as well as ever. I now weigh 170." A Real Blood Remedy* S.S.S. ernes Scrofula, Caucer, Eczema, and auv form of blood troubles. If you hay?: a "blood disease, lake ? blood medi ci ut-S.S.S. (guatanicedpurdy vegeta iable) exclusively for thc blood and is recommended for nothing else. It foi'ces out thc poison matter permanent ly. We will send to auyouc ? ..ur valuable ffifi book>. Address Swift Specific CD.. Atlanta, Gt. NOTICE. A?JL persons indebted to the late A. S. Stephens, or to the Finn of Reed & Ste phens, either by Note or open Account, we hereby notified that they must be set tled at once, or they will be placed in the bends of an officer for collection. PAUL E. STEPHENS, Administrator. Oct 27, 1807 IS_ NOTICE. w ILL be let to the lowest responsible bidder On Wednesday, Sth day of December next, at ll o'clock a. m., ?lie rebuilding of a Bridge over Hurricane Creek, on Pied mont Road, in Williamston Township, near W. F. Lee's. Also at same time and place tho rebuild ing or repairing of a Bridge overa Branch, near samo place. Plans and specifications made known at time of lettintx. Reserving right to reject any or all bids. W. P. SNELiJUOVL, Co. Supervisor, A. C. Nov 24, isrr 22 OTATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, ?J) ANDERSON COUNTY. By Ii. M. Burrum, Judge of Probate. WHEREAS, J. R. Tilley has applied to me to grant, him Letters of Ad ministration on the Estate and effects of L. M. Tilley, deceased. These aretherefore to cite and admon ish all kindred and creditors of tho said L. M. Tilley, deceased, to be and appear before mein Court ol' Probate, to be held at Anderson C. H. on the 8th day of December, 1S97, after publication hereof, to show cause, if any they have, why the said Administration should not be granted. Given under my hand, this u:id dav of November. 1897. R. M. BURRISS, Judge Probate. Nov 24, 1897 32 2 Latest designs, Tremendous Stock ! Breec?i and Ho Loii SM Gu ii Hiles, ' ? superb line-bought right-will be sold right. Wow is the time to make your choice. AMMUNITION, SPORTMENS' GOODS, &c, Betailed at wholesale prices. On these and other classes of Goods in our line we are simply in it to sell. Sullivan Hardware Co. SCALES' ?NTI-COHSTIPATIOH MD liff! PIUS! , 100 for 25c. Why pay 25c. for 25'Pills when you can get 100 just as good or bet ter for the same price. SM A TX.SAFE.EFFICIENT Any time-day or night. HILL-ORR DRUG CO-, ANDERSON, S. O. TREED AT LAST ! ALL successful Poesum-honters have been fooled ; so are we this time. Oar jpiae, in its desperation, pats ap tbe customary nauseating defense, bops from J i mb to limb, winks oue eye to itself, and in tones Ghat bespeak th? anguish of its stricken heart, wails to the sighing winds-at Cost! at Cost 1 !: at Coat ! ! ? Now, ain't that a pretty month to pat ap. People of Anderson Cour ty, believe it or not, as you will, tbe fact remains that never in our experience have we ever had such a large trade its now. We are not <wm plainiDg about hard times We are bay ta? oar share of the Cotton, and ef coarse We are going to have oar sb&ie of the trade We hardly ever do sell oat at Cost, and sometimes we don't; therefore, we don't have to do it now, because we havent the slightest idea of ?oing out of business-besides oar Goods are going oat fast enough at a reasonable profit. .When Christmas stops coming once a year, when we can't sell more Dean'? Patent Flour than any otber grade sold in Anderson County and prove it ; when we can't beat the town on Shoes, and when the good people of old Anderdon County say to ms that we have imposed upon them ard doped theos,, then, and not till then, will yoor humble servants throw up the ?pongo and close '?ut at Cost Until then you can jpt what you want-Dry G?ods, Boots, Shoes, Hats, Jeans, Floor and other Groceries, and Canped Meats aa cheap at our Store as anv where the, but you'll not get them at Cost. DEAN & RATLIFFE, Cotton Buyers, Guano Daalera and Bargain Vendors to the Trade. i Footwear ! A good opportunity to fit up the Family with desirable, well-fitting and gocd wearing Shoes. IT is our pleasure to announce that we-have spared neither neither paios or money to make our line of FALL GOODS the most desi rable and serviceable in the State, and we feel confident that our patrons will appreciate the fact that our Goods are manufactured expressly to suit the taste and fancies of this community. Every detail is carefully carried out with the intention of furnishing'the public with a superb line of SHOES. We also carry a good line of TRUNKS, And our prices are right. Give us a call wher, in need of anything in our Une, and be con vinced of what we snv. < The Yates Shoe Co. Under Masonic Temple, Anderson, S. C.