Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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WAR SI First Soldier K Augusta ( During the Confederate reunion in thia city there have beeu ?nany war souvenirs displayed in show windows and other places, but none has caused BO much iuterest as that of a dead snake, preserved in alcohol io a bottle in a glass case in the window of tho J. Willie Levy store. The bottle containing the reptile waa the cynosuro of all eyes and those who tarried long enough to read found an aocount of tho how and why of that dead snake-which wau responai blc for the kiliing of tho first Georgia soldier in the great Htrugglo of tho sixties. Tho snake and tho record of the reptile's doings arc tho property of Mr. W. Edward Platt, of thi? city, who ie at present in New York. Ho obtained tho snake from bis father, who secured it while serving in tho War between tho States. The snake shows tho marks of time and alcohol, but that has not kept tho publio from being 'interested in this war time reptile. The following is tho otory of tho first soldier killed in the Georgia Con federacy and of the snake: "Albany, Ga., July 21, 1882. "Editor News and Advertiser: The reasons givon by you this morn ing why Col. Fisher, who was killed at Bu',; Run, could not have boen tho first rebel killod was correct. The first moldier who diod whilo in thc ser vice i-f tho Confederate States was a fcq?Vr from Augusta, Ga., who died in April, 1SG1, and thc first soldier killed in battle was a beardless boy not 20 years old, from North Carolina, in May, 1861. This was tho first blood shed in the Southern causo. There were two First Georgia Regiments which went to tho war in April, 1861, the First Rogulars, who were sent to Savannah, and tho First Volunteers, who were ordored to Pensacola under Col. Ramsey, from Augusta. "There were two companies from Augusta, Ga., in this Regiment, one of boys just from school, and one of older citizens of Augusta. In tho lat ter oompany was a tailor, who, in a frolic, caught and put in his bosom a garter, or as sometimes oalled, a thun der and lightning . anekf?, Th^rn if? ? variety of this species of serpent, some whose bite is deadly and others who are not at all poisonous. The. soldier made a mistake, HP thore is but very little difference io their looks. While going around with the snak" in hrs bosom a crowd of his fellow sol diers gathered around, and in a spirit of bravado he took it ont and provoked the reptile until it bit him on the baok of his hand, from whioL wound he , diod very soon. The snake was kill ed, tak?n to Augusta and preserved in aloohol. Being in that oity a few months afterward I saw the reptile, whioh was about twD feet long and the sise of a child's finger. All the mem bers of the First Georgia Regiment will recollect this oiroumstanoe. "The first soldier killed in battle on th? flnntb-firn o?rlo was at Big Beth el Church, about fifty miles from Gut Town, Virginia. Benjamin Butler had landed the first Yankee troops in Virginia in May, 1861, and was met by a Virginia Regimental the Churoh named. General Wadsworth, of Con necticut, was in immediate oommand, and upon seeing the Southern troops advanoing on him, jumped upon a log, waved his sword over his head and ordered his men to fire. They did so, and the North Csrolina boy, who was a volunteer in the Virginia Regiment, fell dead, the only one killed on our side. "Immediately our moa returned the fire, shooting the general from the log, and his soldiers left that battle field. These two men, one on oaoh side, was the first blood shed in the war, except the men in the Massachu setts Regiment who were killed.by a mob in Baltimore, Md. I was with my Regiment in July, 1861, and visi ted the cemetery in Riohmond, Va., ?nd stood over the grave at the head of whiou was a board bearing this in -soription (the name I have forgotten): "From North Carolina, the first sol dier killed in tho War between the North end the South." Any of the -old soldiers of the 16th "Georgie Regi ment will reoolleot the circumstance Of this, the first battle of the war. S. B. Wight, One of tho staff ia tho 16th .Georgia Regiment." Besides the above the following af i Sdavit es to the death of the soldier from a snake bite is on record: -"State of Georgia-Riohmond Coun ty: *" Personally appeared before ne, fae ?Ht?orsigned, who being first duly .worn, depose and say: "That they were members of Corn ey "A" of the Fifth Georgia Regi en^ or. "Clinch Rifles," of the city TORIES. illed in the AVar. Chronicle. J of Augusta, Ga., which was stationed at Pensacola, Fla., during the early days of the war of Secession. "Thatthey were well acquainted with tho circumstances attendaut upon the incideut of the death of Bugler Parkyn, in May, 1801, at Pensacola, Pla., rosulting from tho bite of a snake. "That the death of Bugler Parkyn was the first casuality as far as they aro reliably informed, after Secession during thc war between tho State-j. "That the suako enclosed in the accompanying bottle, now in tho pos session of W. Edward Platt, of Au gusta, Ga., son of the lato Captain Charles A. Platt, who was in charge of the Company at that timo, and sent by Captain Platt to Augusta, is tho snake inflicting tho bite upon Bugler Paikyn whioh proved fatal." Swore to and subscribed before mo tim; Pith day of November, PJ03. "Wm. H. Crane, "John J. Miller, "Peter G. Burum, W. J. Freeman." Goo. C. Jones, Notary Public, Richmond County, Ga/' Tho above records are most highly prized by Mr. W. Ed Platt, and no souvenirs of the Confederate war aro moro interesting or moro highly prized. A Little Dinner ot the Colonel's. (Catharine Black in AugustaCbroniole^ Do you know the Colonel? If you don't, you miss ooo of tho good things of this life. If you do, you know what an invitation to his house means. Strictly speaking, ho does not caro for society, but ho is tho soul of hospital ity, and his houso, perhaps more than any other in Augusta, is the eoono of informal gatherings. Ho gave a party last night, but it wasn't in the least like any at which you may have been a gueBt. The people were not the ones that were in tho habit of gather ing around the Colonel's table. Some of them had never met before; two of them the Colonel did not know. He had passed them on his way home, an d h i s otu i ok av eja? tsd-sh^- **v irtail'' thoy wore strangers, at a loss to know what to do with themselves. The little iron orono they wore pin ned to their rusty coats waB sufficient introduction for the Colonel. And so he took them home and gave them a seat at his bosrd b reen a General, who was their i . hor-in-armo, and his daughter, who devoted herself to them in a way well oaloulated to make their old hearts flutter. ^he Colonel's wife is a woman who believes in the eternal fitness of things so she had the table laden with crim son and white roses and tiny flags, showing tho stars and bars. And the conversation! It was suoh as one hears in a life time. There waB history and tragedy and mirth. And tho stories that were told! The chap lain it was who put the bali in motion. "When I was in Rich mc jd last sum mer," he said, "I heard a good story on General Grant." "While Grant was in Charles City oounty an old lady sent one of her grandchildren to him to ask where he was going. "Tell your grandmother,' said Gen eral Grant, "that I am going to Rich mond or Petersburg, or heaven or h-1." In a little while the boy returned and said: "Grandmother says you oannot go to Richmond, forGeneral Lee is there; you oannot go to Petersburg, for Beau regard is there; and you oannot go to heaven, for General Jackson is there." G?n?ral Grant very readily saw that only one place was left to him in oase he wanted to go somewhere. "And what did he do? Did he go there?" asked the Colonel's daughter. "Did he go there?" echoed the chaplain, when the laughter had sub sided. "Really, my dear young lady, that is a question I am not at liberty to anhwor. Maybe the general oan give you an opinion. He, I believe, saw something of him." The general smiled. "What I saw of him," he said, "re mi aded me of a story of private John Allen. "On one oocasion he stood watching a great parade of the Grand Army of the Republic." "That's a fine lot of men." he re marked. "There is something strangely familiar about them. It seems that ? have seen many of them before**' "Po yon mean to say," asked Sena tor'Mason, of Illinois, who stood near, "that yon recognise any of thoss ! faces nearly forty years after the dose I of the war?" "Not faces," said Allen, "backs." - ; ' i|i g - i A ripple of applause went rouud the table. "Good!" said thc major, "give UH unothcr!" "No," said the general, "I'll retire while my laurels are fresh; besides, I can see tlmt tho senator is bubbling over with stories." '"Don't, I beg of you," said tho sen ator, raising a deprecatory hand. "Oh, but you must!" insisted the Colonel's daughter, "I am sure that you know just, lots of them, for they say if a mau spends half an hour in thc cloak room each day, at thcondof the session he has sufficient anecdotes to carry him through tho next cam paign." "That," smiled tho senator, "sav ors something of a campaign itself. But thc cloak room is a great place for stories. ''Judge Holman, of Indiana, who was for years famous as tho 'watch dog of tho treasury,' is very fond of a cloak room chat. I heard him tell on one occasion of how he was a pick nicker at the battle cf Bull Run." "He drove down with mauy other members of mngress, firm in the idea that the Union soldiers would make short work of the Confederates, and, with the rest, was panio-stricken when the Coufederatas chased tho Union soldiers back in confusion. "I was there," he said, ''and protty soon tho soldiers and citizens who had gono to sec tho battle began to oomc by, running fit to kill. I watched them for a spell, and then I thoughl I'd better be gotting along' home." "Did you run?" asked Judge Cul berson. "I hastened a bit," confessed Hoi man. "Which way?'' "To tell the truth," said Holman "I voered a tri flo to the North." "Yes, sir," said the major, wbosi arm boro a souvenir of that battle "I bet be did. Likely as not he wai tho very Yank I was after. "Speaking of fright in battle re minds me of a story of General Wheel er's." "He says that on one of the hatti fields of the Civil War he met a pri vate who was loaring toward the rea like a race horse. "Here," shouted General Wheeler "What are you running for?" "Running!" gasped the soldier "Why, I'm running beoauso I can' fly." "Yes," sighed ihe major, "I kno\ just how that fellow felt. Many time I would gladly have swapped rn; legs, boots and all, for a pair o wings." "Lon" Livingston tells a story of -men-hc--c&w-whsn 8her??-w--t?s marching through Georgia. He wa whooping it up in great style. 1 rabbit ran out in front of him. He kicked the rabbit aside an said: "Get out of my way, you, and giv somebody a ohanoe to run who os run." "Livingston's a great old fellow,' said the senator, "and he's as full o anoestors as he is of good-no* : was in Atlanta the other nigh:, an among other things he told me a chai aoteristio story illustrating Genen Gorden's endoranoe." The general was on a lecturing tot in Iowa, in the depths of winter. "The train he was to take to reao tho town where he was to looture tha night was tied up by snowdrifts. B learned of another line of railroa some twelve miles distant that als reao bcd tho desired point. Con net tion with a train was quite unoertaii but it Beemed the only ohanoe. B called for a team, sleigh, and drive and was soon off through the almoi impassable snow. When less thc half way on his journey '.ho sleigh wi upset. General G ordou was throw out, with the two-hundred-poun driver on top of him, and the sleig on top of both. The result was a ba< ly dislooated shoulder for the genera The sleigh'was righted,but thesbou derblades required the immediate a tention of a surgeon. It was a fiv* mile drivo to the nearest dootor, an this was endured with muoh and 001 tinually increasing pain. The doct< was found, the patient stripped an the dislocation replaced. "Now," said General Gordon, "bel me on with my olothing and tie up na arm." "What for?" asked the surgeon. "O, I must go on," sail Gen. Go don. "O, no; yon must not do that, said the dootor. But the general ii sisted, called for the team and drive and, in spite of medical protest, e: oruoiatiog pain, intense cold, ai snow-drifted roads, wss off agai He reach&d the sought-f or railroa osoght a train to his destination th nicht with bia broken and sobing ai strapped to his side, lectured to a d lighted audience which little kne what the eloquent speaker had goi through with and was enduring th he might keep his appointment wi them." "Well," said the Colonel, "that General Gordon's way-ho will w or die. Ho's a fighter on tba field, in tho forum. Georgia did herself 1 injustice when she let him leave t Senate." "Yes," agreed the senator, "it wi Speaking of euch things, do you know that, although the Civil War has been over thirty-eight year?, there will bo sevcnty-Bcven men in the Fifty-eighth congress who served either in the Fed eral or Confederate armies? As most of tho men wore io their majority when they fought, their presence to day in activo service in tho national legislativo body of thu United States speaks volumes for tho sturdiness of the American raoe. '.Of tho Civil War votcrauB who will occupy scats in tho senate and houso during tho coming session for ty-seven fought on the Union sido and thirty cast ihoir lot with the Confed eracy. In tho senate tho division is equal, there being thirteen ex-union soldiers and thirteen ez-Coufcderaies; in the bous*? there arc forty-four whe fought for the North and only seven teen who fought for the South." ..Seventeen for the South!" said tho colonel; "that will mean-". "My dear," interrupted tho colonel's wife, rising and pushing back hei chair, "this is all very delightful, but if we expect to get to the reception 'tis about time wo were leaving." den. tirant In New Light. Col. George Inman, a civil engineer who was an engineer in the Unioi army with Grant in front of Peters burg in 1864-65, as colonel of engi neers, now engaged on some publi work near Richmond, told thia stor; of U. S. Grant to a group of Confed orate veterans, ex-officers, there rc cently. In the winter of 1864 a Captai Hamilton, of the Confederate armj was captured within tho Federal linei and there were found on his perso papers which clearly indicated that h had penetrated the lines for the pui pose of gaining information for Gei Lee. He was oourtmartialed and wi at once oondemned to be hauged < sunrise the next day. Colonel Has ilton, who was in command of a oav& ry regiment, under General Gran was charged with the duty of furnisl ing the detail which was to exeou the sentence of the oourt. The night of the day on which tl court pronounced the sentence ( Captain Hamilton, Colonel Inmi went to General Grant'? tent to s* him on a matter oonneoted with tl operations against the Confederate He had been in the tent for soc time when the orderly announce "Colonel Hamilton." A soldier appearing officer entered and salute Before General Grant had time speak the Colonel said in hard tone "General, I cannot obey the order szs?ul? iii ul ts y y tomorrow morning General Grant started as if shot. "Why not," he said in sharp tone The Colonel waB silent. He sto with hared head, drooped on his b< om. General Grsnt again asked w he refused to obey his order, and tl time there was a sharpness ia his to which was not there before. * Ooloi Hamilton raieed his hood and look tho eommander-in-ohief fall ia I faso. "General, thal maa is my 01 soo. General Graot looked his offioer the fsoo for a moment. Theo tamed his book. The Colonel mai ned standing and silent, anoovei and his head bowed. Then Gone Grant wheeled around and said ii harsh voice: "Colonel Hamilton, yon will ol your orders." The Colonel saluted and left- 1 tent. Colonel Inman remembered that next morning the dotail charged w the duty of hanging the spy went the teat, sad wheo the sentry eat ed it was found that there was nobe inside. About tea years afterward Colo Intnao was io San Francisco on busi ness connected with his profession. While there ho chanced to meet a Mr. Hamilton, with whom ho became ac quainted. Hamilton ono day men tioned that ho was in the Confederate army, and the relation of war expe rience bogan. It came out that the Mr. Hamilton was the Captain Hamil ton whom Colonel Hamilton had been ordered to hang. There were ques tions from Colonel Inman, of course, and the story of tho escape of tho young soldier was brought out. On the night before the day on which he was to bo executed, he said, after midnight, he was lyir.? on the blanket in his tent, half asleep, for the circumstances did not warrant j heavy sleep. He was aroused by the entrance- of some one into the tent. A candi? was burning dimly, and he j saw before him a heavily built man with short, stubby whiskers, wearing a blue uniform without any insignia of rank on his shoulders, a black slouch hat pulled down ovor his eye. HG recognized General Grant. The story does not go iuto details as to tho conversation whioh ensued. The result was that the condemned spy, after there had been exacted a promise that be would never agtin as f ume the part whioh had so i early coot him his life, was given the coun tersign whioh would enable him to pass the sentries. Then the man in tho slouch hat went away. And the man who was to have hanged him ats sunrise did the same thing, and before the sun was set was within the Confederate lines.-N. Y. Journal._ _ _ A Boral Financier. "I suppose you'd like to make about a thousand per cent on a little invest ment while you're in the city," re marked the oon?denoe man. "You bet I would," replied the financier from the farm. "Well, how much can you put into the deal?" The farmer gave the matter thought ful consideration. "Well," he said at last, "if it's a sure thing there's no use goin' too strong at the start. "FU invest a dime now, an' then I'll invest the profit on that when I get it, an' sc on up as long as it works." ./ sleep well enough at nighty And the blamedcst appetite \ Ever mortal man possessed.n Riley's fanner ia the very picture of a tnan advanced in years, yet in the enjoy ment of perfect health. A good appe tite, good digestion and nouna sleep, are ry the chief factors in s .?guiinu o?d age. Lite is sustained by food, when it ia properly digested and assimilated. When digestion fails, there ia a loss j of nutrition which soon shows itself in physical weak ness, nervousness, sleeplessness, etc. Doctor Pierce's Golden Medical Discovery eurea ?Useras of the stomach and other organs et* digestion and nutrition. It ? strengthens the body In the ody way ?Mesdble,-by enabling the , aa? aimilation of the nutrition extracted U?D fuUll. ?I used ten bottles ot Dr. Pierce's Golden Medical Discovery and several vials ox his 'Pleasant Pellets* a year ago this opriug, and have had no trouble with indigestion since.1* write? Mr. W. T. Thompson, of Townsend, Broadwater Co., Montana. ?Words fail to tell how thankful I sa for the relief, as I had auf. sered so much and lt seemed that the doctors on thc farm. X have recommended your m edi cine to a?rerai, and ?hall always have a good word to say for Dr. Pierce and his nTfdicines." The Common Sense Medical Adviser, X008 pages, in paper covers, is sent free on receipt of ai one-cent stamps to pay expense of mailing only.' Address Dr. E.V. Pierce, Buffalo, N. Y. ?Vfcgetabie Prepocalionfor As similating ?ieFoodandRegu?a ?ng the Stomachs andBoweis ol" Promotes DigestlmCteerful ness andRest.Contatns neillor Opium.Morphine nor Mineral. T?OT T? ARC OTIC . Pimplan Seed'" \ Mx.St.-vis. * \ RxktlUSJm AoiaeS*td> * \anicNttkSo?a+ A perfect Remedy for Constipa Tlon, Sour Stomach.Diarrhoea Worms .Convulsions .Feverish ness and Loss OF SLEEP. Facsimile Signature of % NEW YORK._ \ f VJ i i ?<> ?I ! h % '? ? J tl l>fT5T} S - ~T% C I M S EXACTCOPYIQKLWRAPPER^ IMO I Tor Infants and Children The Kind You Have Always Bought Use Over Thirty Years THC CCNTAUfl COMPANY. HO? YORK OfTT. FRETWELL-HANKS GO. Want the Public to know that they are prepared to sell anything in the line, of Carriages, Phaetons, Surreys, Buggies, Farm Wagons, And all Kinds of Vehicles, Harness, Saddles, and a General Assortment of Bobesf Blankets, &c. Quality-The Best. Prices and terms always right.' Call and examine our Stock. Mules and Horses always on hand. D. S. VANDTVBR. * J. J. MAJOR. E. P. VAN DIVER VAN Di VER BROS. & MAJOR, - DEALERS IN -J. Carriages, Buggies, Wagons and Harness. WE have tried to give you as liberal treatment as it was possible for us to extend, and now we ask you, Que and all, to be PROMPT in your * SETTLEMENT with us. Please bear this in mind, and settle the very earliest day possible, and greatly oblige. . If yon Need a BUGGY we hare fltem Cheap. Yours truly, VANDIVER BROS. & MAJOR. THE Is None Too Good fer fe the Sick! WE cany in stock MEDICINES Uiat have been tested, and stand right behind anything wo sell. If not perfeotly satisfactory you get your money back. " * OUR FAMILY MEDICINE ASSORTMENT Will interest you, and cave you considerable money in the run of a year? Talk to us when next you are in the city. EVANS PHARMACY. We have about Twenty Excellent SECOND-HAND ORGANS, In perfect condition, better goods than many of the Cheap new ones, st 125.00 up. New ones, such as- .. ' *0\ MASON & HAMLIN, ESTEY, ' ? ' CROWN and ... FARRAND. All the very highest quality, at prices we have never been able to give. Come and see our Stock ; we may haye just what you have boon hunting* I MU i ? ?UJWU?.?. .^???-..?. ?. .,.nimm LONG IQOti A nwn think* it is ces of thread when war. flood, borr?carie sosa in * solid Company nice--? \ Drop in and seo us about iL Sei IE I - . STATE AGEBt? iiP^ea'JBaja^^Bulldlng, ANDERSON SO, TO BE GIVEN AWAY CHRISTMAS EYE, Without Money and ?without Price, ONE iature Range To the little girl tinder twelve yean who sende ns before 8 o'clock p. m. December 24 the greatest number of BUCKHEAB TRADEMARKS. - - - 4 - These TradeMarks can be out from aay mago tico ot paper where the great BUCK STOVES an advert?s^. There k nu money attached to this prise ofTericg. You simply cut these Back? h?&? Trade Marka from Buck's advertisement ind ?sal in an envelope and tend by vml or bring them io, with number of Trade Marko ea ol osad on back of envelope, with nama and address of ? sender. These Trade Marks will bo recounted, und the BUOC?SSM competitor will reeeive ?ree the Miniature Range now in oar Show Window?