The Anderson intelligencer. (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, January 22, 1902, Page 2, Image 2
WAR SI
In the Kille [Pits in I
Detroit t
Name the licrcest battle of the war
and yet the loss of human life in the
riflepits in front of Petersburg ex
ceeded it by comparison. Lec hung
to Petersburg as u last hope. Driven
to bay there every Confederate soldier
fought, with desperation. Up to that
time picket-firing was looked upon by
both sides as little short of murder,
and Ly tacit agreement was suspended
except at long intervals, when it was
ordered to cover some movement by
one Pide or the other. Along the
front of what is known as "The Ca
ter" the main defenses were only a
musket shot apart. In advance of
these were trenches and covered ways,
and still further in advance the rifle
pits. The distance between Federal
and Confederate pits was not above
300 feet in uny case, and here and
there, owing to the lay of the ground,
there were only thirty or forty. Cer
tain of the pit? were reached by cov
ered ways from the rear?others by
natural ditches. Some were connected
?others isolated. In all cases two
men were detailed to a pit, and when
the siege had fairly begun they might
be relieved at the end of two hours or
held prisoners, as it were, for eight or
ten. On a moonlight night, as well
as during all the hours of daylight,
the firing was continuous and venge
ful. If the night was a dark one,
it slackened off after 10 o'clock,
though a person exposing himself any
where within range wait liablo to bo
t truck.
From daybreak to darkness the men
in the rifle-pits had no other thought
except to kill. No mercy was shown
on either side, while every trick and
artifice was resorted to that a man
might be lured to his death. The
rifle-pit wasjouly hip deep, and neither
wide nor long. Two men not only oc
cupied every inch of room, but were
obliged to assume such positions that
to bo penned up there for two long
hours was enough to uso ono up for
the rest of the day, to say nothing of
the danger. Each man must "squat"
instead of sit or kneel, and ten min
utes in that position puts a dozen
kinks in the spinal column. From
the day those pits were oocupied to the
hour the soldiers left them it was
kill, kill, kill. Many of the mon de
tailed were armed with fine rifles or
shotguns. If tho lattor arm was used
it was loaded with coarse buckshot,
and its contents were almost certain
to wound or kill. To fire with any ac
curacy one had to raise his head until
the eye could glance along tho sights.
If ho had his head up and ready to
pull the trigger when ono of the men
in the opposite pit started to do the
samo thing, the latter got a bullet in
the forehead, or had tho top of his
head blown off. Tho advantage was
of course with tho one who was in the
position first. When -i.^ occupants of
a pit suspected that it was "held up"
by the other Bide, one of tho pair got
his riflo all ready for a quick shot and
the other resorted to trickery to draw
the fire of tho enemy. There wore a
dozen artifices practiced. A hat or a
cap might be slowly and cautiously
elevated on a stick, a hand thrown into
the air or a "dummy" head exposed.
This dummy was made uf wood and
shaped and painted to closely resem
ble a human head. In some cases
glass eyes and false hair were used to
make the deception more complete.
Some would last a week, but most of
them not over two days. Ono of
them used in front of Fort Hell had
aixty-two bullets sent into it in one
day.
If a man was killed in one of the
exposed pits at sunrise there was no
way of removing the body before night,
and sometimes not then. I knew
three or four cases where tho survivor
had to remain with a body for from
twenty to thirty hours. If one of the
pair was wounded little or nothing
could be done, and within two hours
he would have emptied both canteens
of their contents. I was in a pit one
day when my comrade received a bul
let in the left shoulder. Wo wert
both crouched down and supposed our
selves perfectly safe. The bullet
struck a small stono in the loose dirt
heaped around the edge of our pit and
was deflected downwards. It was a
severe wound, and within sixty min
utes we hadn't a drop of water left.
To stand up meant death as sure as
tfeath can be, and yet after suffering
for another half hour my oomrade de
termined to leave the pit and make a
break for the rear, several hundred
feet away. He realized the danger,
but all my entreaties were uboIcdu. He
simply replied that he would rather be
killed than suffer any Jongor. He bad
to Ht<?nd up, thus exposing bead and
Sire as.. before he could soramble out of
the pi?., it did not scorn to mo that be
had been on his feet five seconds, whon
yjxe sank down again. To show yon
; ' ?iow vigilant the enemy were, and bow
ORIHS.
iTront of IPetersbfirg.
'ree Press.
rapidly the hands of death move, I
will state that the poor fellow was
struck by five bullets in the head and
nock. Fie was not only fired on from
the pit opposite, but from those to
right and left. Had he got out of the
pit he would have been struck by
twenty halls before he could make a
step.
<)m; could never tell whether a cap
was on a soldier's head or a stick.
Pour times out of five it was hoi>tcd
on a stick, but we were ready to take
the one chance in five of hitting a
head. Old caps were gathered up by
the bushel for use in the pits. After
being "plunked about five times
there was only a handful of rags and
battiug left. The stick on which it
was hoisted would be hit about once
out of five shots. I once held a sil
ver three-cent piece aloft on a cleft
stick when in a pit sixty feet from the
nearest of the enemy. At the second
shot, which was doubtless from a
hunter's rifle, tho top of the stick and
coin were cariicd away. On another
occasion I tied a blouse button to h
string and held it up. It was a now
button and the sun was shining
brightly, and itdrew the fire of a dozen
men. Some twenty shots were fired
before the button was hit. Then the
bullet whioh struck it cut it in two,
and one of the halves was deflected into
the pit and gave my comrade a severe
wound on the chin.
Beforo Lee's lines were broken no
man wont into tho rifle-pits without
bidding his friends good bye. It was
considered that the chances of Lia being
killed were fivo to thr o. Hundreds
and hundreds of men were killed in
going to and rcturuing from the pits,
\ and out of eight men who might occupy
a pitin rotation for twenty-four hours
the loss would sometimes bo as high
as six and seldom less than two. I do
not mean that all were killed, but a
wounded man was little better than a
dead one for thirty days after boing
hit. I am sure the Confederates suf
fered as severely as wo did on tho av
orage, though they did the fin e
shooting. Some of them had fine
hunting rifles, and the end of a finger
held above oovor was a target they
oould not miss. I believe that from
8,000 to 10,000 men were killed in the
rifle-pits on our side alone while
Grant was hammering away, and
these figures were equalled ou the
other side. In no single instanoe
oould I make out tho slightest benefit
from this loss of life, and I do
not beliovc it prolonged or shortened
the war by an hour. It was useless
and cold-blooded slaughter, and to
most soldiers was tho darkest pic
ture of the whole war.
Seuoeant H.
The 10th Georgia at Knoxville.
After tho battle of Ghiokamauga
tho Tenth Georgia regiment oooupied
the trenohos in Chattanooga for a few
weeks, exposed alternately to cold
rains from tho clouds and hot shelling
from tho Yankee batteries, which ren
dered our stay very uncomfortable,
and some of us, who had lost our
blankets on the way from Virginia,
suffered sevoroly for want of bedding.
From there we took passage on freight
cars to east Tennessee, and after short
stops at Loudon, Sweet water and some
other places, we finally confronted
Burnsido'b army at Knoxville. Wo
remained there two or throe weeks and
had somo exciting encounters with the
Yankees.
Wo had ono little tilt with them in
whioh both parties of combatants were
routed and all fled frantically from
each other in opposite directions. One
afternoon a detachmant from our reg
ment crossed the river below town on
a ferry-boat to reoonnoitre the hills
opposite the town. Tho expedition
was commanded by Captain A. J. Mc
Bride, of our company, who was af
terwards promoted to colonel. Our
company, in command of Lieutenant
Fuller, started up a very tall, steep
hill or mountain that overlooked the
town, and, on account of tho unoven
nes8 of tho ground and tho density of
the woods through which we had to
pass, we marched up in single file, i.
e., we were strung out in a single line
one behind another and all following
in the trail of the file leader, who was
in front. When we got within 200
yards of tho top we were sainted by
somo unseen parties on the hill above
us with a volley of minie balls that
whistled so fearfully olose to our cars
as tbey passed down the bill parallel
with the lino of our beads as to leave
no doubt of tho sincerity of the im
plied threat. Wo all darted instantly
bebind tho most convenient trees,
without waiting for orders to do go,
and the move was made with snob
t suddenness and baste tbat several bats
{were left bebind.
[ For some reason our commander
(li?nt sec fil to accept tin: challenge by
returning the fire, but. after a few mo
ment.-' deliberation, ordered u.i to re
treat, and we obeyed promptly und
vigorously, dashing down the hill in
the wildest confusion, some of ua
stumbling and falling headlong down
the steep descent as we went. Next
day the entire party, in command of
Captain McBride, ascended that hill
again, and on this occasion our ad
vance was not opposed. We learned
from some of the inhabitants that
during our fight ou the preceding day
the Yankees were fleeing similarly in
the other direction.
On the night before the battle of
Knoxville the Tenth Georgia regiment
was selected to make the preliminary
advance to drive in the pickets during
the night. It was considerably after
our usual bed time when we formed in
line preparatory to starting. We were
kept standing for a considerable time
while the details of the movement
were being perfected, and during the
long, weary moments, some of us were
haunted by the most dreadful fore
bodings. I had hitherto made some
slight pretensions tc bravery but ou
this occasion my courage failed me en
tirely. The air was cold, and the
chilliness brought upen us great de
pression. The night was dark and
the darkness seemed to very greatly
iucrcase the frightfulness of the terri
ble outlook. I had always been in
clined to a superstitious fear of ven
turing into strange places in the dark.
We had never been over tho ground
over which we were to pass, and as it
had been held by the enemy, our way
was probably beset with pitfalls and
infernal machines that threatened our
destruction. And it seomed that we
would be at a disadvantage on account
of the faot the Yankees could hear our
approach while we, by reason of the
darkness, would be ignorant of their
wfccembouts and they could strike us
dowubdfore we could prepare to offer
any insistance.
When wo got ready to move we de
ployed as skirmishers, at intervals of
about five steps apart, and marched
slowly and continuously to the front.
We had beco cautioned to prooeed as
noiselessly as possible, but the cough
ing, sneezing, stumbling and the
I breaking of small wooden sticks under
I our feet made a considerable racket in
spite of our efforts to avoid being
overheard. When wo got within
about forty yards of the pickets they
discovered us, fired and fled, but most
of their shots were aimed entirely too
high to be dangerous to us, as was
shown by the direction of the flashes
from their guns and so our casualties
were few in number and slight ia de
gree. After v aking some of their men
whom they had left asleep, and send
ing them back as prisoners, we ad
vanced one or two hundred yards,
transformed ourselves from skir
mishers into a picket line and spent
the remainder of the night shivering
on the frozen ground and suffering ag
onies beyond the power of language to
express.
We had carried but little of any
thing ko wrap ourselves in, the bullets
from the enemy's lines whistled over
us too thiokly to admit of our stand
ing on our feet, and to have kindled a :
fire would have drawn ?he concentra-? 1
ted firing of the whole line, so wo had ;
no other alternative but to wait and
suffer. Soon after daybreak our line
of battle started forward to storm the
fort, and after a desperate onslaught
upon it, the gallant little army, which
was commanded by Goneral Long
street, was driven back, leaving many
of their number among the killed and
wounded.
The Yankees had their position so
well fortified and the approaches to it
so completely blockaded with obstruc
tions, that our little band of assail
ants found it absolutely impregnable.
Sl.Viluss
Dance, or chorea, is one of the most
pitiable afflictions humanity is called on
to endure. That this disease can be '
cured, however, is proven by the fact \
that it Aas beert aired by the use of ,
Dr. Merce's Favorite Prescription. The
^mm^ji tranquilizing effect ]
?&FKgbr upon the nerves ei
JBf^ ercised by this re>
yB&? -H? markable medicine
JjKi tJs is witnessed to by
J^?Mte^jTtv thousands who have
j^B^BspgraKfK found healing nud
iig^gtfSS^^a strength in its use.
^S^gfL^^SJ^M It not only cures
EflffiSS '1111 mri?\ womanly diseases,
l?jK&w J lllWw Du* promotes the
I I ijuJwr health of the whole
^SF I i Mil body" Itisanervc
/ ! I l\\ fe^?-bag? strength
/ / I \ \ ?^ving, sleep-inuuc
/ ] 1 8 \ I \ ing medicine. It
/ /ill V \ makes weak women
\ ldjjA strong and sick
A^_jMaa*Bf^WP women well.
^SqKj_?rrf? " Favorite Prc
^S^p1^ scription" 'contains
\A\/f j no alcohol and is
entirely free from
\ -Y^^h? opium, cocaine, and
f\'\ all other narcotica
f y It cannot disagree
" with the weakest
or most delicate constitution.
When oar daughter Uni* had 84. VU u?'s
daM, X .happened to act one of yoorsmaU
books and rwd It." write* Heosy X? Miller. Esq-.
atsorS North ithSt..Burltarton.Bow*. "Amonjr,
<?fc* things I fcmod that X>r. Pierce** Vtvorit?
Prescription cured patients sufifcrins ftota that
trouble, so X went ont end grot a bottle. 8h*w*a
very tad sit that time and eouid hardly talk.
When X read about your medicine ia that small
book. I nld to myself, with the http of Ood and
that medicine we can cox* oar daughter. We
did ? >- F~?r boittes of ' Favorite Inscription \
cured her, and I did not bar* to take her to the
doctor anv taore. She is well^ thank Ood and
* Dr. Pierce'* Pleasant Pellets cure bil
iousness.
After the battle some Yankee officers |
appeared ir. our front with a Hag of j
truce. They were met by Captain 1
Mcliride and one or two other officers,
to whom they presented a request
from General Burnsides to be allowed
to care fcr some wounded men who
had fallen between the lines. The re
quest was granted and the wants of
the wounded were attended to. We
returned to camp and busied our
selves during th' remainder of the
day in an attempt to thaw ont from
our bodies some of tho chilliness that
frozen beds had inflicted. On the fol
lowing morning wo left Knoxville and |
went still further up the valley in the
direction of the Virginia line. We
were subjected to another severe
chilling that morning. When we got
to the Clinch river we were required
to plunge in and wade across where
the water for a considerable distance
was up to our waists and the weather
was still freezing cold. It looked to
us like the authorities were deter
mined that we should keep cool in one
sense at least. We had skirmishing
almost constantly with Yankee cavalry
on the way, but it was generally at
long range and little damage was done,
We finally stopped at Russell ville and
went into temporary winter quarters.
Some of our experiences at that place
will probably be the subject of another
chapter.
Good Pies.
Here is one of the many good sto
ries Governor Candler tells when he is
with eongenial company:
Away baok in the sixties, and just
before the heavy fighting about Vioks
burg, the Confederate troops in that
vioinity owere hard pushed for food.
The winter had been a severe one, and
provisions had run so low that the
soldiers were glad to get anything that
looked as if it could be digested.
So hungry were the men getting,
and ro desperate, that many of them
were learning to cat horse flesh with
somo degree of relish. Of course,
there was a large number of soldiers
whose tastes were such as to prevent
them from going in for delicacies of
that kind, but the times were such
that it appeared only a question of
a very short while before all would
be living high on the flesh of their
steeds. %
One day a boy came into camp with
a number of meat pies, and his advent
was hailed with salvos of delight. The
pies oame high, but the men were
willing to pay almost fabulous prices,
so eager were they for a ohacgo of
diet. Ad a result, the yonng fellow
disposed of his wares in a few min
utes, and his oustomdra enjoyed them
selves hugely. The pies were pro
nounced the best that had been eaton
19(
START
If you haven't beendeali
to make a start. Any time?al
inducements to offer. Others ]
yon. They find it profitable, so
start yon coming our way ?
Tacks, six boxes for 5c.
Shoe Nails, two boxes (largest size]
Heel Irons, any size, three pairs fo
Shoe Hammers only 8c.
Peg Awls only 8c
Shoe Thread only 5c.
Gate Latches, 10c kind, 5c
Strap Hinges, 10c kind, 5c pair.
Butt Hinges, 15c kind, 10c and 12
Bridle Bitts, 10c and 15c kind, 5c
Three Hook brown and white Colli
Trace Chains, the 50c kind, 36c pa
Cotton Rope, 15c per lb. Curry C
1392 Wire Finishing Nails, only 5
Mill Saw Files, 8 inches, 10c each.
A good Brace and Bitt, 15c for boi
Lever Harness Mender, 50c kind, <
Keyhole SawB, 10c each. Biggest
Dime Shoe Polish, 5c bottle.
Iron Block Plane, sold everywhere
Iron Block Plane, smaller pize, 35c
Harness Mender Rivets and Harne
A visit to our Store will convince -
want to deal with. We can make 1902
wish that the whole year will be a joyou
all for your patronage, and hope to see
for your wants ; we will surprise you by
JOHN A. AD
Next to Post Office. High I
9WT No. 4 got the Big Doll. Mis:
held the lucky number.
WANTED !"Y?
COST. I bave in stock the very b
Dumber of Standard Vibrator Sewing
from $140.00 to 8260 00. Remember,
it is COST. No such opportunity bas c
You can save fifty per cent by tak
Come to see me it you are looking
M. K..-WI
Some desirable Building Lots fo
in years, and those who had dined were
wishing tho boy would return shortly
with more of the in.
As a crowd of the men were walking
; through the ci inp a few minutes later
their attention was attracted by sounds
I of a heated discussion whioh came
i from one of the iarge buildings near
by. Cautiously they advanced and
looked around one oorner of the house.
They beheld the pie boy and an
other boy engaged in a wordy wran
gle.
"I tell you,I've got to have half that
money you made on tho pies," said
the big boy.
i "Well, you can't get it " replied
the little fellow.
I "I'm entitled to it," insisted the
other, "because half of them pup
pies we killed to make the pies was
mine."
The listening soldiers waited to hear
no more, but fled to their own tents.
Their feelings can better be imagined
than described.?Atlanta Constitu
tion. _
? Wigwag?"Oldbaek says there
is no reason why every man shouldn't
have a little spending money." Hen
peckke?"What does Oldbaek know
I about it? He's never been married."
? THE ?
SEffll-WEBKLY JOURNAL,
OF ATLANTA, OA.,
Is a twioe-a-week NEWS paper, pub
lished on Monday and Thursday of
eaoh week, with all the latest news of
the world, whioh comes over their
leased wires direct to their office. Is
an eight-page seven-column paper.
By arrangements we have secured a
special rate with them in conneotion
with OUR PAPER and?
For
we will send
The Anderson Intelligencer
? AND ?
The Semi-Weekly Journal
? AND ?
The Home and Tana,
All Three One Year.
. This is the best offer we have ever
made to our friends and subscribers.
You had bettor take advantage of this
offer at once, for The Journal may
withdraw their special rate to us at
any time.
The Semi-Weekly has many promi
nent men and women contributors to
their columns, among them being Rev.
Sam Jones, Rev. Walker Lewis, Hon.
Harvie Jordan, Hon. John Temple
Graves and Mrs. W. H. Felton, besides
their corps of efficient editors, who
take care of the news matter. Their
departments are well covered. Its
columns of farm news is worth the
price of the paper.
Send direct to this office $2.25 and
secure the three above-mentioned pa
pers one year. Address
ANDERSON INTELLIGENCER,
_Anderson, S. C.
NOW!
ng with us now is a good time
1 the time?we have special
like to come here, so would
> would you. Will these offers
) for 5c.
r5c.
cpair.
pair.
ar Pad 21c.
ir.
crabs, 5c, 7 c and 10c each.
c. Handsaw Files, 5c and 7c each. 1
Same, 12 inches, 15c each,
th. A good Hatchet only 15c.
only 25c. Hack Saws, 10c each.
Bottle Vasaline, 5c.
for 40c, our price 25c.
j kind, our price 23c.
ea Menders, 7c box.
rou that we are the people that you
! a very prosperous year for you. We
lb one to yon, and thank you one and
you offener during 1902. Come here
' our good values and low piices.
rSTIN AND THE MAGNET,
l le* Breakers and Lot? "rice Makers,
s Eunice. Erwin, of Antre vil Je, 8. C,
?w that I am offering PIANOS, OR
and SEWING MACHINES AT
eat that money can buy. A/ limited
Machines for $21.00 each. Pianos
this is Cash, and remember, also, that
een offered the people of Anderson,
ing advantage of this sale.
fo?tk* BE8T
ILLI8, Next door Peoples Bank.
stale.
i??SSSSKSfflGB&DHHlH
_ ibflts ? UNiA
?Vetfelahfe P? para?onfof As
slmila?ng theFocd aniRcgu?a
Ung the Stomachs anclBowals cf
Promoles DigestionJCheerful
nessandRestContains neither
Opium,Morphiite nor Minerai.
Noi E?rc otic .
tfounrSAKUELimmn
yilx.Smnti *
Aperfecl Remedy forConstipa
Tlon, Sour Stomach,Diarrhoea
Worms ?Convulsions .Feverish
ness end Loss of Sleep.
Facsimile Signature of
NEW YORK.
- V I l> I , I j> IV.I !>_ . . I.?1 ( I
EXACT CDW-??^-EABSER
For Infants and Children.
the Kind You Have
Always Bought
Bears
Signature
of
\j For uver
Thirty Years
m
_?
The
Christmas
Carriages
We are showing this season are the finest things on wheels.
They are the latest in style, the best in material and work
manship, the lowest in pri?e, all things considered.
We sell all styles Low Down.
See the big stock on my floors.
JOS. J> FOTWELL.
" When the Leaves
Begin to Turn!
IS the time to sow OATS, BYE and BARLEY. Now, in order that you
may not come up lacking in harvest time, we have bought GOOD SEED
for you. JUST RECEIVED
3000 bushels Texas Red Rust Proof Oats,
2000 bushels Ninety Six Bed Bust Proof Oats,
1000 bushels Winter Grazing Oats.
Car Load Bye and Barley*
Could have sold the above without moving sum* for a handsome profit,
but preferred to give them to you at a loss, as we want to supply those that
have always patronized us.
Recollect the above is only about one-quarter our usual supply, and is all
we can get ; so come and secure your Seed at once. Can buy plenty of Kau?
sas Red Oats for less money, but they will not do in this climate.
LXGON & LEDBETTES,
WHOLESALE DEALERS.
la)
i m
A, Cs STMGKLAND,
DENTIST.
OPFIGE?Front Booms over Farm
ers and Merchants Bank.
The opposite out illustrates Con
tinuous Gum Teeth. The Ideal
Plate? mow cleanly than the natn
2* to3fll No bad taste or breath
from Plar->a of this kind*
tea*
3
A LONG LOOK AHEAD
A man thinks it is when the matter of li?e
insuranoe enggeata iteelf-but draumsSsn.
g? of late, hava sbown haw life bang? by a
tbmd when war, flood, hurricane sndjfies
eoddenly overtakes you, and tho cmiy ?y
to be sure that your family is praiecteJai
osae^ oalsimi^over^^ to in
sure in a solid CompanyHSe?
The Mutual Benefit Life Ins. (Jo*
I>rop in and see us about it.
?ff. MATTiaON,
Peonlsa* PanV b n?dis?
S??Tii agent,