Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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4—THE CHRONTCLE, Clinton, S Nov. 12, 1970 CLINTON COUNTY ? The rivalry between Laurens and Clinton has been displayed on the athletic field, in the pol itical arena, and in many other places. Early in this century, the competition reached a fe vered pitch when the people of Clinton decided to secede from Laurens County and form their own political unit. The new county was to be called Musgrove County, and the idea had the support of many of the leading citizens of Clin ton. The most important aspect of the movement occurred in November of 1912 with a meet ing at Copeland Hall in Clinton. According to the November 14, 1912 edition of the CHRONICLE, some 400 concerned citizens attended the meeting and heard an address by Thomas B. Butler of Gaffney, a man who was in fluential in the establishment of Cherokee County. The speaker made a very convincing case for the es tablishment of a seperate county. He outlined the steps ne eded to establish Musgrove County and 'brieflyenumerated the untold advantages to be de rived from such a movement.* Butler discredited all argu ments to the contrary and point ed out that taxes would be low ered, real estate would be en hanced in value, the economy of the town would be greatly im proved, and schools and churches would be strengthed. Butler “was given the best of attention for more than an hour.* and his speech was well received. At the conclusion of his address, the chairman of the meeting, J. F. Jacobs, pas sed cards out to the audience in order to raise the $40,000 needed to construct a court house. The city of Clinton was willing to build the structure with no financial support from people in the rural areas of the new county. They were able to raise about $20,000 in only a few minutes and, according to the writer of the article,'some of the wealthiest citizens in the town were absent.* The Direc tors decided to make a thorough canvass of the town the following week in order to raise the rest of the money. The town was di vided into seven wards, and a chairman was appointed for each one. The last paragraph of the ar ticle in the Chronicle might help relay some of the strong feel ing that the citizens of Clinton felt about this move to separate from Laurens County. It says, 'As a unit the people of the town are united in the under standing and it is the general be lief that the movement wiU suc ceed and it will not be far dis tant until the people of this sec tion will set up a house for them selves and begin “housekeep ing* so to speak, much to the satisfaction and pleasure of practically all in the proposed area. It is a great undertaking and one in which the people have joined unanimously with a “shoulder to shoulder* touch and a determination that will know no defeat.* Despite their determiniation, Clinton is still a part of Laurens County and is experiencing un precedented growth. The proposed Musgrove Co unty never did materialize be cause of the failure to raise the remaining $20,000 for the court house and because of the lack of support among the citizens of Clinton and the proposed are that the county would en compass. Also the citizens in the rest of Laurens County and particularly the residents of the town of Laurens were opposed to the movement They pointed outthat the county was small already, and that a further re duction in its size would do more harm than good. “Girl” Hurricanes The practice of calling At lantic hurricanes by girls’ names first started with no velist George R. Stewart in his book, “Storm,” written in 1941. In this book, the hero, a young meteorologist, christens the storms after girls he had known. CONFEDERATE VETERANS—Shown above are local veterans of the War Between the States at one of their reunions. 'Hie man seated at left is unidentified. The others are, seated, left to right: James P. Sloan, Pinckney (Pink) Blakely, Frank Cope land, Dr. John Young, Thomas Bailey, Wren Auiderson, James Pearson, James Dillard, Joe Pinson, Edward Nash, Thomas Dil lard. William (Billy) Bell, Rev. Harrison Fowler, John Smith Cunningham, William D. (Billy) Watts, J. Wilson Blakely, J. Oliver Templeton, Frank Bailey, Johnny Bell. Martin L. Bullock, Samuel Philson, Munson Buford; standing, left to right, are: Quincy Adams, Dr. James (Jim) Williams, Adolphus (Doc) Copeland, Robert O. Hairston, John Davis, Bluford M. Henry, James Simpson. David Copeland, Robert Z. Wright, James W. (Ginger) Adair, Lowndes Ferguson, Thomas Duckett, Blakely, R. Pres. Adair, Dr. William A. Shands, Prof. McCaslin, Tandy Milam, Joseph T. Todd, William Copeland, Robin J. Copeland, Mr. Peavey, Isaac Adair, James Simpson, Frank Copeland, Capt. William McKelvey. Nat Snead Moore. Warren William Local Men Fought For The Confederacy BY ERNIE SEGARS The War between the States was a tradgic time for the Unit ed States, and for the South especially. Outmanned and out gunned by superior Northern forces for the entire four years of the war, the South clung tenaciously to the beliefs and ideals that had caused their secession in the first place. South Carolina was a lead ing advocate of the Southern cause, as is indicated by her being the first to seceed. Years before the Civil War actually broke out, South Carolina had violently opposed legislation and executive action that dis criminated against theagricul- PROUD! To Have Served Clinton - - iU Since 1883 Standing By For FAST Service You Can Depend On We've seen more progress than anyone because we've been around longer! YOUNG’S PHARMACY "The Old Reliable" % m CLINTON, S. C. '.W. PHONE 833-1220 S tural South and benefited the industrial North. Our state had attempted secession in 1830 when the great political thinker, John C. Calhoun, proposed mul- lification as a means to alter legislation that was believed to be unfair to a particular sec tion of the country. Robert Barnwell Rhett, the famed “Fireeater* from Beaufort, urged secession for thirty years before the state final ly seceeded. South Carolina furnished over forty regiments to the Confederate cause. Units com posed almost entirely of Lau rens County residents included Companies A, F, G and I, Third Regiment, S. C. Volunteers; Company C, Fourth Regiment; Company A, Fourteenth Regi ment; Companies A, B, C, and D, Third James’ Batallion, In fantry; Company A, Sixth Regi ment, Cavalry; and Company E Seventh Regiment Cavalry. Laurens County soldiers were involved in all major engage ments from the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter that started the war until Lee’s surrender at Appomatox. The casualty lists from the war in clude members of practically every family living in the county at that time. In order to get some idea of the gruelling struggle that these brave men in Gray had to go through from day to day, the Joanna Way of August, 1963, traces the activities through the war of one of these units, Company F of the Fourteenth Regiment. The Company, first mustered at Langston Church, several miles north of Clinton on Aug ust 19, 1861. From Langston church, the Company reported to Lightwood Knot Springs, five miles from Columbia, for more training. After a week of in tensive training at Columbia, the Company was ordered to move to Camp Butler, near Aiken, where it was joined with nine other companies to form the 14th regiment under the command of Col. James Jones. Other field officers in the regi- : ment were Lieutenant Colonel : Samuel McGowan and Maj.W.D. j Simpson, both natives of Lau- ; rens. Brig. General Maxcy i Gregg of Columbia was the : commander of the 13th, 14th : and 15th regiments, and to- : gether they formed Gregg’s : Brigade from South Carolina. The Brigade experienced : their first action near Poco- : taligo, S. C., on January 1, •: 1862, under fire from Federal : gunboats. Nine men in the re giment were killed. Progress means Motion and When you need to Move, you need a FORD-MERCURY PRODUCT! See Full Line Baldwin Motor Clinton, S. In April of 1862, the entire brigade was moved north to Virginia. Its first camp was near Milford Station, on the Richmond and Fredricksburg Railroad on May 24, the Bri gade moved about five miles from Fredricksburg and marched into Richmond short ly thereafter. They reached the Confederate capitol on May 30, camping on the banks of the Chickahominy about seven miles from Richmond at Smith’s farm. Here the First Regiment and Orr’s Regiment Rifles united with the Twelfth, Thirteenth and Fourteenth to form Gregg’s Brigade that re mained in tact as a fighting unit for the rest of the war. Gregg's Brigade was placed with five others, Anderson’s, Branch’s, Archer’s, and Pen der’s, under Maj. General A. P. Hill and formed the Light Division. This division was part of the Confederate defense of the Shenandoah Valley, a think strip of flat terrain that is bound on two sides by mountains and on the other by the Chesapeake Bay. Washington the capitol of the United States, lay at one end of this narrow valley, and Rich mond, the capitol of the Con federacy, lay at the other. The Army of the Patomic (Union) and the Army ofNorth- ern Virginia (Confederate) con stantly jockeyed for a more favorable posistion in the Shen andoah at the cost of many lives and a great amont of ma terial. Gen. Robert E. Lee was made commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, and the Fourteenth was under his com mand. Hill’s Army arrived just in time to take part in the Seven Days Battle around Richmond. On June 25, 1862, Company F was on picket duty while the other elements of Gregg’s Bri gade marched and engaged Mc Clellan on Beaver Dam Creek. On the next day came the Bat tle »of Gaines Mill, in which the Fourteenth Regiment played a decisve role in the Confeder ate victory. Their losses were heavy, 18 killed and 190 wound ed. Next was the Battle of Savage Station that pressed upon the retreating Yankees. The Fourteenth was not involv ed in this action but was head ing toward Richmond. On June 30, the regiment reached Fray- ser’s Farm, where the forces of Gen. James Lonstreet had en gaged the enemy. Gregg's Div ision reinforced Longstreet’s and the Fourteenth led the at tack. In Gregg’s unit, there were 11 killed and 65 wounded. They had been so badly mauled that they did not take part in the battle of Malvern Hill, the last of the battles around Rich mond. In August of 1862, the Four teenth came under the com mand of Stonewall Jackson, one of the most brilliant of a group of outstanding Southern com manders. The object in this shifting around of troops was to defeat General Pope’s army, located near Jackson’s posis tion in the vicinity of Culpepper Court House, before McClel lan and the Army of the Pa- tom ic could arrive. The Fourteenth stood guard duty on a baggage train for several days before engaging in any offensive action. Finally, on August 25, Gregg’s Brigade performed one of the most dar ing moves of the war when they marched up Salem Valley to Cobler’s Mountain and got be hind Pope’s forces. Jackson’s men surprised the Union troups and seized their stores. What they couldn’t eat or carry with them, they destroyed. They were also engaged in the great Southern victory at Second Manassas, and Lee pre pared to invade Maryland. They engaged the once defeated Gen eral Pope atOx Hill, near Fair fax Court House, and dealth him a crushing blow. Under Jackson, they also were involv ed with Confederate victories at Harpers Ferry, without a casualty in Gregg’s Brigade. During the winter of 1862, Gregg’s Brigade was involved in one of the great Confederate victories of the War at Fred ricksburg. A huge, well-rested Union force 142,551 men was defeated by a Confederate force of only 91,760. Gen. Gregg was killed in the battle. He was re placed by Col. McGowan, who was promoted to Brigader Gen eral. The next battle that involved the Fourteenth was one of the great victories of the war for the South, but it also was to spell disaster for the South be cause Stonewall Jackson, Lee’s most daring and successful field commanders and one of the great military stategists of all time, was killed by his own men after his victory at Chancellorsville. The Con federate battle plans was to march around the right of the forces of Gen. “Fighting Joe* Hooker’s battle line, fall upon his rear and to sever Union communications. Jackson him self lear the rear movement with 30,000 men. The movement was a great success, and the fu ture seemed bright for the Southerrforces. However, their rejoicing was turned to sorrow when it was discovered that “Old Jack", as his men called him, had been mortally wounded by his own men. The War was rapidly ap proaching a climax. The South had won impressive but costly victories, and opinion in the North was pointing toward with- drawel from the South. Lee and other Confederate leaders be lieved that one more move was needed to knockouts the real- ing Union forces and to con vince President Lincoln and his advisors that further fight ing would be useless. Lee decided that an invasion of the North would provide the victory that he needed. They de cided to move into Pennsylvania and to engage the enemy at Gettysburg, a smaU farm vil lage. Company F, the Laurens County Unit under the com mand of Captain James M. McCarley, was heavily engaged in the battle for Seminary Ridge. They were successful in their attack. In the first few hours of the battle, the South was in command at the field. The Fourteenth Regiment was one of two to enter and occupy the town of Gettysburg. On July 3, however, the South litterally lost the war. This was the day ofGen. George Pickett’s famous charge across open ground to attempt to knock out gun emplacements on Seminary Ridge (which the worth had re captured on July 2). The Union forces had dug in and slaught ered thousands of brave con federates as they stomed the position, 16,000 men were in volved in the attack, and over 2/3 of them were either kill ed or wounded. The Southern forces were forced to retreat back into Virginia. The Battle was the turning point in the war. On July 1, 2 and 3 in 1863, more than 51,000 men lost their lives in the hope of preserving the things that their countries (there were two at the time) held dearer than Ufe itself. After this momu- mental battle, there was little doubt as to the outcome of the war. However, the South strug gled on for two more years before ending the fight. before the South’s surrender at Appomatox. Of the 143 men who served in Company F of the Regiment, 53 of them died, IS in battle and 34 from di sease. In addition, 51 were wounded one nr more times, and six were discharged be cause of wounds or illness. The War between the States is still one of the most con troversial subjects in Ameri can history. Experts have argu ed that the war was inne- vitable, that the South made one of the most colossal blunders in the history of mankind by attempting to split one of the best forms of government ever conceived, and that even if the Confederacy had been success ful in their attempt at founding a new nation, it would never had have been successful lie- cause the Confederates pro posed a Constitution that was so complicated and ambiguous that it would never have worked. Despite all of the suffering, destruction and death that the war caused, the 11 Confeder ate states nevertheless made a valiant if futile effort. They earnestly believed that they were right and were prepared to fight the death to prove it. It is by studying the daily op erations of units like Company F of the Fourteenth Regiment that the historian can see what a gallant and bloody fight it was and burn their opinions of the war accordingly. Davis Passed Through Area In 1865 The 14th Regiment was en gaged in many more battles Near the end of the Civil War, in April of 1865, the South was in a desolate condition. Four years of war, the killing of thousands of her finest young men and Sherman’s march to the sea through Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee had ruined the economy and jusi about broken the spirit of the eleven states that had broken away to form the Confedera tion of American states. Amid this death and descon- struction, a small group of Southern forces were ten aciously holding onto the Sout hern capitol of Richmond, Vir ginia. This was the scene of some of the bloodiest fighting, of the entire war. Union forces under the command of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant were trying to take the city from the bat tered Confederate forces under the command of the beloved and consumate Southern gentlemen, General Robert E. Lee. South ern leaders realized that the fall of this beautiful city, marred almost beyond recog nition by the ravages of war, was innefltable. Before this happened, it was decided that President Jefferson Davis and his cabinet should flee the doomed capitol and head for the safety of deep South. Davis passed through South Carolina on this trip, and a great deal of legend surrounds the route and places that this former Congressman, Senator, Secre tary of War and the only Presi dent that the Confederacy ever had, took on his way South. Davis passed through the Clinton-Joanna area on his trip. Before he arrived in Laurens County, he and part of his cab inet and staff spent the night of April 26-27, 1865 at the home of Colonel A. B. Springs, three and a half miles north of Fort Mill in York County. George A. Trenholm, Secretary of the Treasury for the Confederacy, and the rest of the Confeder ate states, spent the night at the home of Col. William E. White in Fort Mill. It was at Col. White’s home that the last Cabinet meeting of the Confederacy was held. Davis, accompanied by Sec-| retary of War John C. Breck- enbridge of Tennessee, (who, by the way, was the Demo cratic candidate who lost to Lincoln in the election of 1860 and caused the South’s seces sion from the Union), Secre tary of State Judah P. Benja min, a Mr. Melton and other staff members then went from Fort Mill toward York and Union. While in Union, they stayed at the home of Briga dier General William H. Wal lace, an officer in the Confed erate Army and a man pro minent in South Carolina poli tics after Appomatox and before the rise of Radical rule in this state. Davis and his party also stopped for a meal at the fam ous Cross Keys House inCross Keys. Leaving Cross Keys, the President and his staff watered their horses at the Riser House on the present Joanna-Whit mire Highway. Continuing on their Southern journey, the party reached Joanna (then cal led Martin’s Depot) sometime during the late afternoon of April 30, 1865. From Martin’s Depot, they headed southwest to the home of Lafayette Young on the Milton Road, near Mil- ton, where he spent the night of April 30-May 1. At this home, he was overtaken by a Colonel Levoy, who was carry ing a letter from the Confed erate President’s wife inform ing him of her plans. On May 1, Davis began the long trek south again. He ar rived at the home of Capt. Griffin WUliams, between Jo anna and Cross HiU. A large crowd had gathered to hear the Confederate statesman speak. Davis said a few words and hurried on his way. Davis then passed through Cross Hill and stopped to wat er their horses at John Carter’s well, about a mile west of the town. At his well, General Mar tin Gary, an avid supporter of the Southern cause, founder of the Red Shirts that intimidated Negro voters in the election of 1876 and the formulator of the famous “Edgefield Plan* to keep Negro and other Repub lican supporters away from the polls on election day in 1876, caught up with Davis and in vited him to stop for the night at the home of his mother, Mrs. Thomas Gary, in Cokes- bury. Gary was a resident of Edgefield and was very prom inent in South Carolina poli tics after the war. Davis ac cepted the invitation, and he crossed the Saluda River at Puckett's Ferry at noon on May L They proceeded to Cor- onaco in Greenwood County’and continued their journey to Mrs. Gary's home in Cokesbury where they spent the night It was at this home that Davis field his last council of war to determine the future action of his battered Confed erate armies. After concluding this Coun cil of War, Davis and his fol lowers left AbbeviUe on May 3 and crossed the Savannah into Georgia. He was captured near Irwinville, Georgia, on May 10, 1865, and was immediately placed into prison. He was later tried for treason and supporting an insurrection and served about three years in federal prisons.