Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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WAR STORIES. How Captain Strothor's Men Took k2H Yan kee Cavalrymen. A (lanhi 'funnial. During thc winter of 181)4-05 there was a great scarcity of food for cavalry horses, and hence a great inany com panies of cavalry in the neighborhood of their homes in thc army of North ern Virginia were allowed io go to their respective counties throughout Virginia to rest, recruit and fatten their horses for the spring campaign. Thia was the case with my company, thc "Madison cavalry," and I assure you that wc boys were delighted to bc with our home folks, where we spent a delightful winter. Surprise parties were all thc rage. Thc ?iris would manage to get together in some way or another, coming in wagons, buggies, ox carts, horse-back, some with men's saddles and blind bridles. Then fhe dance! What a glorious time wc had! Thc intermissions were frequently en livened with southern songs, charades and refreshments, the latter consist ing ol' ginger cakes, eider, persimmon beer and so on, and not until the rising sun had kissed thc snow-clad hills along the Kapidau river did we cease to trip the light fantastic toe, and go home with the girls in the morning. It was at the conclusion of one of these gayest of parties at the old Lewis house on thc Hapidau, that one of our company quietly informed a dozen of us boys to report at once to headquarters, then at Madison courthouse. Of cu.rsc we were curi ous to know what was up, and bidding adieu to our sweethearts, wc reported promptly. On our arrival at the courthouse wc found but very few of thc company present and hence our curiosity was still greater; but very soon Captain Strother informed us that he needed but a few men-men in whom he had implicit eunfidence-and hence picked mon of the company. What was tho work to bc done? Many questions of the kind were asked, but no ono seemed to know. A hazardous undertaking awaited us. During the war but fow men were in the confi dence of their superior officers, and on this occasion but few of us know to what point of the compass we were destinod, or what tho nature of the work, but judging from thc orders fifteen of us (who had volunteered from among '25 or 30) had received, that is, "Leave your baggage behind, take nothing but your pistols, Babros and plenty of ammunition; see that your horses aro in good trim, and meet mo at the old Lutheran church on the Robertson river (a tributary of the llapidan), to-night at 12 o'clock, promptly." livery emotion of our youthful hearts bounded with joy. Thc de votion to our native county was shown in thc hearts of each of us, as we cheerfully and promptly rosponded to bia orders. The Yankees had a sig nal station on Mt. Pony, in Cuipeppcr county, overlooking much of thc terri tory in Culpepper, Orango and Mad ison counties, and therefore but lit tle could bo dono by raiding parties during thc daytime without being ob served. Thc Robertson river was our picket line, while that of thc Yankees was four or five miles away, but par allel with thc river. Scarcely a day passed that a foraging party of Yan kees did not harass and pillage our citizens between thc lines. ^!any sad reports came to us from day to day through our citizens that they could seldom get even a meal ready to bc eaten, but that some raiding party of Yankees would pounce upon it, aud often would not leave enough on thc premises to furnish another meal. Promptly at 12 o'clock Captain Strother rode into our little squad of 15 determined Confederates who were at thc river dismounted and quietly awaited his coming. Thc captain's face showed signs of thc fiercest conflict of a Confederate soldier, besides sears recoived in tho Mexican war; and although he was a hard fighter, still he was ever ready to accord to his enemy tte rights of a civilized warfare. The time had como for our departure. He said: "Boys, arc you ready?" Wc answered by promptly mounting our horses and forming in line of march. Ile said: "Wc shall have somo fun, and 1 shall expect every man to do his duty." The stars were shining brightly, thc ground frozon end thc night air chilled by a heavy frost. Wc had crossed thc river and with orders to hook up our sabres .so that no noise could bc made, we rode quietly along, except an occa sional whisper from one to another, nntil we reached James City (a littlo village near Madison courthouse), from where wc could sec tho camp fires burning in every direction. Wo i-altcd there for some time until two . ' ^ur scouts carefully examinent thc 'nick-1 posts which were some distance upai i. Thc captain's dwelling was only a half mile from v/hereVeJialted and I RC-??nipauicd him io hie home Where ht welcomed once moro to his ; bosom his wife and children who were ? no doubt surprised at his coming. ] Our two scouts soon returned and re ported all quiet along tho linc. We were then marched off through old fields and woodland until we reached a i dead ravine, beyond the picket and j through which a small stream flowed, I with dense pines on cither Bide; herc i we were ordered to dismount aud keep ! our horses quiet. The noise of the little stream and that o'' the whip poor-wills were thc only sounds that greeted our cars during thc hour of suspense. Tho main road to Jarnos I City ran along the brow of thc hill through thc pines about one hundred yards above us, a fence on both sides of thc road, and Captain Strother had j secreted himself in thc corner of the j fence and covered himself up in thc leaves after he had pulled down a gap and leaving orders with a sergeant to bring the men forward at a signal from him. After waiting for an hour or so day began to break and we heard j the tramp of horses, men laughing and talking, and in a few moments a foraging party of Yankees passed along the road going to breakfast, or at least there is where they had start ed. After they had passed the gap in the fcov ! Cnptain Strother gave the signal, mounted his horse and ordered us (who were nearly frozen) forward. Wo soon passed into the main road and were then in rear and in full view of '2S Yankee cavalrymen, a lieutenant in charge. They did not seem to notice us until we had followed them for about one hundred yards, then several of them suddenly turned in their saddles and looked at us, but taking us for another squad of Yanks, did not realize their situation, and hence were not in the least disturbed at our sudden appearance. Wo were then gaining on them a little and Captain Strother glancing backward over his shoulder smiled and said to us: "Let us get out of tho woods, boys, and then charge and givo them thc pistol." We quickened our pace and wero in a few yards of them and in tho open field, when thc order came to charge. Thc sudden dash upon them was like a clap of thunder from a clear sky; bang, bang, bang was heard in every direction; they wheeled and fired a volley into us, but being unable to withstand the sudden onslaught of our boys and our determination to win they all surrendered, but not until several of our boys had had hand to baud encounters with thc best of them. A few Yankees were wounded, none killed. Wc did not have a man injured. We gathered them together in a short time and marched them to Mad ison courthouse aud that night we were all back at our homos telling of our experiences thc night before. W. B. CONWAY, 4th Regular Virginia Cavalry. . With Hvins and Anderson at Battle of Rappahannock. In The Atlanta Journal of May 25th Mr. W. H. Andrews introduces some personal reminiscences of Thorough fare (?ap with the statement that l?]vans' and Anderson's brigades re ceived a severe drubbiug at Rappa hannock. It seems to mc that this statement is misleading. Theso troops, without firing a gun, the enemy out of musket range, wore for hours subjected to a storm of iron hail, fragments of shells and solid balls poured into their ranks from batteries in surrounding positions on the opposite side of tho river. T!ien these commands were, as 1 know Evans was, made up of unseasoned troops. But they did not run or re treat, but bravely held their posi tion from carly morning until late in the afternoon, whew thc Federals fell bask toward W-.shingtou. This severe test of thc courage of these untried soldiers was a part of Lee's program that had to be acted, for on it hinged the success of his strategio move. Pope must bc delayed on thc banks of thc Rappahannock to give Jackson time to get between him and tho national capital. This mako be lieve effort to cross the river had the desired effect, and I submit that it was a victory and not a drubbing. But thero was some dusting done there that day. I know whereof I speak, for I was one with those who did the running. The Macbeth Light Artil lery, under the command of Captain Robert Boyee, waa at that time at tached to Evans' brigade. Captain Boyeo had a fine education and was a promising lawyer. He was high strung and very sensitive. He had the ambition of a Caesar, and a braver man never lived. Ho was as oblivious to danger aj the coward is sensible to it. And ho was, as General Lee said of him that day, spoiling for a fight. With a chalice, he had ou fear of the decree of public opinion. Captain I Joyc e looked upon the enemy as a huge machine and each individual soldier a. necessary part of it. lie believed, too, that obedience was thc highest evidence of one's lituess to do his part of the work expected of thc machine; and with it all bc was rash and imperious. It is not surprising, then, when he was ordered to take a position on tho hill occupied by our infantry ano* drive off or silence thc Federal guns that were annoying them, that he should, without considering thc feasibility of its execution, go at a headlong .speed. Just before reach ing thc crest of 'irave Yard Hill (for such was its ominous name, and if prophetically christened had its ful fillment that day) wc were stopped by a linc nf earthwork. Seeing the im possibility of training his guns in the evening, the top of the hill interposing, Captain Boyce ordered the battery through an opening to the left, his splendid men leaping the breast-work up hi!l an uiuiply as a cat, though Captain Boyce weighed about two hundred pounds. Passing thc first line of breast works, we were con fronted by another in the form of a crescent extending to the first on either Hide of tho opening, and thus making a half moon battery and large enough to operate two guns success fully. Into this small enclosure wc had joined six guns and six caissons. The enemy, divining the trap into which our inexperience and rashness were leading us, gave our infantry a resting spell, reserving thc wraih of their guns for us. And now, having us packed like sardines in a box, the range and distance having been ac quired by thc morning's practice, no longer waited to let loose their dogs of war. In a moment the air was vocal with whizzing balls and shell? bursting like claps of thunder above our heads. As quick as the flush of thought wc saw the folly of our mission. And how we extricated our guns I know not. But I do know that in an un questionably short time we were be yond tho range of Federal guns. And our lucky escape from destruction waa duo to tho inaccuracy of Yankee gun ners. Two men wounded, seven horses killed or wounded were the ex tent of our disaster. This was our initial fight and it had a demoralizing effect on thc men, for it was so easy to imagine that we would "lave a like experience every time wc met the enemy. But in a remarkably short time our men re gained their marshal spirit, as was witnessed at second Manassas and Sharp, urg. At Manassas our guns were piked on thc highest hill along Lee's line of battle. During the morning Leo and Jackson had a map of that country spread out on tho ground a few feet in tho roar of our battery, and woro for some time on their knees carefully cxa&uuiug it. The points for assault being arranged, Leo took Jackson asido and whisper ed in his car tho word go that soon started tho music of war. Jackson quietly mounted his old claybank horso and rode off in a bonding-for ward position without anything in Lia appearance to thrill one with admira tion. But to bo told that it was Jackson was sufficient to set thc tongues of our soldiers in vibration. Lee and Jackson seemed to have caught a sight of G?rerai Fitz John Porter's awe-inspiring command moving in their solid columns against Jackson's battle-thinned line at thc same time, and each without the knowledge ot' thc other called on Gen eral Longstreet for help. Our battery was some four or five hundred yards in front of P rter's advancing troops, and about two hundred yards to thc right of thc turnpike. We were readj and waiting in expectancy when wc caught sight of a courier coming to wards ui with his horso urged to itt utmost speod. As soon as he was ic car shot he began to beckon us for ward with his hand and in loud word: ordered us to tho front in all haste. General Evans was standing clo3< by and said: "Captain, go over there and tea them to pieces." We went down that long hill like i tornado, our horses doing their bes to keep our guns and heavily loadei caissons under thc impelling force o accelerating motion from running ove them. General Longstreet was in th turnpike at the foot of tho hill am ordered us to tako position on a hill t the left of the turnpiko about lift yards further on. Our arrival was timely, and ou position could not have been bette selected had we ever so muoh time fo doing it. There, just on the other side of little braooh, with easy range, wa Porter's magnificent command of re{ ulars moving in thoir heavy column to crush Jackson's little corps c heroes. We were on their left flank and ha an enfilado fire. We could not mit them and we wasted no ammunitiot Wo loaded quickly. Oar guns gre hot, but from their blazing throat thc missies of death flew thiok as fast. Under our destructive fire the gradually slowed up, then halted ar broke, aid formed and reformed f< the third time before they gave up the hopeless ness of their r uderiaking. Our position was about fifty yards to the left of the turopiko and the Federals were in an open field some four hundred yards further from the turnpike. They retreated, not hast ily, in a left oblique direction towards thc turnpike, a distanee of four or five hundred yards. And during all this time they wcro in about the same range of our guns, and wo were hurl ing into their ranks death blows at every step. During this fight Lee and Long street sat on their horses just under the hill and wcro the silent witnesses of tho fight wo made. We were glad of this opportunity to get even with the Federals for our humiliation ot Graveyard Hill. We were i ,t ashamed of the place wc oecupird in the second battle of Manassas, bu', it does not compare with thc fight we made at Sharpsburg. Wc went into thal fight early in the morning and ceased to fire when the curtain of night shut out the view. We went in with six guns and brought two whole ones out. We had no re lief during thc entire day. There was none to be had. Wc brought off all of our guns, four of them disabled, and wc brought off nineteen men who had been killed or wounded. But I am sure that there was no company that killed more of the enemy that day than we did. II. F. SoAIFE. Union, ?S. C. mma ? mm A Valid Excuse. "During the Civil War," said the old army officer who was in a reminis cent mood, "I was detailed to take charge of a camp of raw recruits and lick them into shape. Now, making soldiers out of raw material is about as disagreeable a thing as au officer cares to undertake, and I had gray hair before the government listened to my frantic appeals to be allowed to go to the front. "()nc cold, rainy night it occurred ta me that it would be a good plan to make a tour of the picket lines and see if thc sentinels were attending to their duties. To my horror and as tonishment, I found post No. 1 va cant. Boiling with rage, I made for post No. 2. Here, too, I found the same state of things. Post No. 3 was in the same condition, and I was rap idly developing symptoms of apoplexy. A little further on I found the three missing sentinels grouped together under a tree. " 'What are you doing here?' I roared. " 'Why, mister,' drawled out one of them in tones of remonstrance, 'it's rainin'.' " 'Don't you know that you can be shot for this?' I roared again. " 'Wo got here just as quick as wo could,' answered the raw recruit, who evidently thought I referred tn their being wet, 'and the darned govern ment didn't furnish us with any um brellas.' "I went to the front soon after that and saw the same raw recruits face without flinching rains ?hat were com posed of leaden bullets, and they did not a: k -r umbrellas, either." No Friends of His. The Hov. Dr. Leighton Parks, rector of Kmmanuel Church, is no ^d for his Bkill in repartee. Ile is also a good story-teller, but it is as an originator of funny sayings that he has won es pecial distinction. Not long before he sailed for Europe he was a guest at a public dinner. On his left sat a young man who had con tracted the habit of profanity, and the habit was so strong that il had gotten beyond his control. Tho young mao had a particular" weakness for the ex pression, "Oh, the devil!" Ile used it thoughtlessly and without intention to give offense, but it seemed to serve as a sort of punctuation for every sen tence he uttered. Finally a friend of tho young man thought it necessary to give him a hint, and said to him: "You'd better be a little careful of your expressions. You're sitting noxt to thc Rev. Dr. Leighton Parks." "Tho devil," said the young man in surprise. And then, recovering his presence of mind, ho turned to thc clergyman and made a very polite apology. "Oh, you needn't apologize to me," said thc doctor. "Thc devil is no friend of mine." A Minister s Good Work. "I had a severe attaok of bilious colic, got a bottle of Chamberlain's Colic, Cholera and Diarrhoea Bemedy. took two doses and was entirely oared," nays Rev. A. A. Power, of Emporia, Kan. "My neighbor aoross the street was siok for over a week, had two or three bottles of medioine from the dootor. He used them for three or four days without relief, then oalled in another dootor who treated him for somo days and gave him no relief, so discharged him. I went over to see him the nest morning. Hs said his bowels were in a terrible fix, that they had been running off so long that it was almost bloody flux. I asked him if he had tried Chamberlain'a Colio, Cholera and Diarrhoea Remedy and he said 'No.' I went homo and brought him ray bottle and gave him ono doso; told him to take another dose in fif teen or twenty minutes if ho did not find relief, but he took no more and was entiroly cured." For sale by Orr-Gray & Co. This Soldier Shows Wisdom. OWENSHOBO, Ky., Aug. 10.-The devotion nf n soldier and bis sweet heart is exhibited in the case of an Oweosboro girl and one of Uncle Sam's fighting men in the far-away Philippines. He enlisted nineteen months ago and was at once sent away to the fighting line. Before leaving he made an assign ment of $10 per month of his salary to his sweetheart. Regularly once a month the War Department has sent her a check for this amount, and she has regularly deposited it in a bank, where it is drawing interest. lie has seventeen months more to serve in the army, and if the fortunes of a soldier's life bring him through safely, at thc end of three years there will be a snug sum for them to begin a life of double blessedness with. If he should die she will turn the money over to his relatives. The Act of Dyinr. The popular idea that the act of dying is a painful process often caus er, a fear of death. But death from even the most painful mortal diseases is usually preceded by a period of cessation from suffering and partial or complete insensibility, resembling falling asleep, or the pleasant, gradual unconsciousness caused by an anaes thetic. Tho common phrase "death agony," is not warranted by what oc curs in actual death, which is a com plete relief from all pain. When death is owing to heart failure or syn cope it is sudden and painless-per haps pleasant. Death by hanging, there ?3 reason to believe, is attended by a voluptuous spasm. Death by de capitation or electricity is only a mo mentary shock, hardly felt. Death by poisouing varies in painfulness ac cording to . the poison employed. Opium and other narcotics probably give a painless, perhaps a pleasant, dreamful death. Hemlock, as wo know from thc account of the death of Socrates, causes gradual insensibil ity, from below upward. On the oth er hand, arsenic, strychnine, carbolio and mineral acids, corrosive subli mate, tartar emetic, and other metal lic poisons inflict slow and torturing death. Prussic acid and cyonide of potassium cause quick and painful death. -Hu man ita ria u. - Doctor-There's nothing serious the matter with Michael, Mrs. Mul doon. I think a little soap and water will do him as much good as anything. Mrs. Muldoon-Yis, doctor; an' will Oi give it t' him befoor or afther his males? In the days following the baby's birth there is often a long up-hill struggle to recover strength, and the nurse busies herself in the preparation of jellies and broths for the invalid. When Dr. Pierce's Favorite Prescrip tion is used as a preparative for mother hood the baby's adveut is practically painless, there is abundant strength to nurse and nourish the child, and a rapid recovery from the shock and strain in separable from maternity. "I was pleased that Dr. Pierce answered'my letter," writes Mrs. C. W. Young, of 21 South R?gent Street (Lee Par'-), Witkesbarrc, Penna. "When I had those mishaps I bega;-, to think I would never have children. My hack used to almost break and I would fret sick at my stomach and have such headaches I did uot know what to do ; they used to set rae nearly crazy, and I used to dread to get up, I felt so bad; then I bc spin taking; Dr. Pierce's Favorite Prescription. When baby was expected I took it nil the time I was that way. I felt fine all the time, and I never get those dizzy spells now. I hardly ever have a nervous headache any more. * have a perfect romp of a boy: he is the light of our home. I am now twenty years old and ray baby is almost eight months old. I now feel well, and weigh 180 pounds, and the babv pounds. We feel very grateful for the good your medicine did for us. Wc arc both healthv, thanks to Dr. Pierce's medicine." Dr. Pierce's Pleasant Pellets keep thc bowels healthy. J. S. ACKER, ATTORNEY AT LAW, ANDERSON. S. C. All business will receive prompt atten tion. OFFICE OVER WEBB BUILDING. Joly 24,1901_5_gea B-~7 OO WATCHES, CLOCKS & JEWELRY. ai* AU Repair work done promptly and at low ratea. JOHN 8. CAMPBELL, AT DHAN <fc RATMI'FK'H l^^^^^^^^^ W FoyJnlMitiBand Children. A\%getablePrcparaUonforA?- ?fi AlW8yS BOU^ilt sln?la?ng?heFow?aMB^uia- [9 _ _ ff ujig?^Stomat?isaMlBowasof 9 Kon ra tho * * m??^m l^/X$ Promotes Digcst?on.Cheerfurr ffl ? ff *f IAT 3 ness awi Kest.conrains neither ? -jp ?L Jf AB S?um,Morpnine nor Mineral. Hf Ul #|V #11/ OT "NARCOTIC. A Vi tr* /i^ rf OU J*SAMUEL PiTC/OX JM %1#V^' JW- \ ? -L Ssl AJw + I mira _ RecKetU&JU- I JU _ I ? A perfect Remedy for Constipa- I ru rf* Use Hon,SourStoowh,Diarrhoea 91 l?/ Worms .Convulsions .Feverish- Sj 1 ?r^ [A" fi ss a* ness and Loss OF SLEEP. ? V/* UV SF rac Simile Signature or NEW YORK, li Thirty Years ' TM* 1KNTAUR OOHMNT. NrW YO^R CITY. CELEBRATED Acme Paint an^Cement Cure, Specially used on Tin Hoofs and Iron Work of any kind. For sale by ACME PAINT & CEMENT CO. Reference : F. B. GRAYTON & CO., Druggists, Anderson, S. C. Riding on Air ! ? li Is what you feel like when you roll along with such an easy, delightful motion in a- ? 8all Bearing Pneumatic RuriabDut. Such as we are showing in such rich and handsome designs. You don't know what a speedy drive is unless you have one of these g 3ms of speeder*. Look at our FINE STOCK OF CA21RIAGES, JOS. J. FRET WELL 33 Cat ? ?ads Corn, Ear and Shelled. 10 Car Loads Oats. 10 Car Loads Molasses. 1 Car Load Green Coffee. 300 Barrels Sugar. Come along and see for yourself. HOON & LEDBETTER, WHOLESALE DEALERS. A LONG LOOK AHEAD A man think? it is when the matter of life insurance suggests itself--hut circumstan ces of late have shown how life bangs by a thread when war. flood, hurricane and srs suddenly overtakes you, and the only way to be sure that your family is protected^ case of calamity overtaking you is to in sure in a solid Company like The Mutual Benefit Ufe In?, Ot * Drop in and see us about it ^ IMC. ML. MATT?80N, STATE AGENT, Peoples* Bank Building, ANDERSON, 8. C.