Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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t -+J. C. JEFFERIES,•>- GAFFNKY, S. C. tcrnty md Counsellor at Law. Pract'cea in All the Courts. Coliectians a Specialty Ledger. To Reach Consurrlers in this Section Adver tise in The Ledger. / A Newspaper in all that the Word Implies and Devoted to the Best Interests of the People of Cherokee County. YOL. IV, NO. TJtr 1 GAFFNEY CITY, S. C., THURSDAY, JULY 1, 1897. SI.00 A YEAR. £ jilOvikilu iJv/l/I lUltO u: RATTLE °F LORSVILLE. In;; ii}' !ho rnad hail como t)io day bi'lora ami i loaking our tvay «t the crossing. It was probably <N o'clock l>. forj our hriga.lo w..; again ii, mo tion, mil rolling back to the crosf r ads and taking the prong leading During the next few hours, it seemed to me that we were marching in a direction nearly opposite to that mrsued in the im/rning; hut I was i si) eonfi l hat i (I id .1 in my u not attach eas or much Cr.pt. i.-i S. Gri'Tith cf C. V., v. T*, O l . J 0. i A I Sou! Company ‘ - tes ol the i ' r in a Gordons vi 11 • juiet was an 1 r line , crallel wit a !>out one ! outh western direction* towards | unco to appearances. courses import- Tiio order to keep cml along the ranks, of skinrinkers marehad m through the woods ..nirvd and fifty yards to our rig th i About half a reads we pas i clearing and usually t»r. ter part of . we ro i dle from the .e i through a mir line of muri ! hi (TO.-S suui 1 ! ■h be came visil le to tho onomy occupying | i :u v. enn itG c m \ i -i. line ring troin tieacl to toot l ■ti they sn v-te, their teeth : d and ’att! d as if some in- ^ lelegrajiliic in-trument had! been started by their words. A no-j vice, just out of a, soft, warm, bed] might have taken these manifesta- i t'.ons as indications of fear. Rut ho | would iiave been very much i mistaken in ids diagnosis. There was excitement, anxiety, eager ex pectation, but nothing like craven fear. I have known men who could j maintain a steady nerve under strong excitement; and I some elevated ground probably about one mile to our right. They at once began to train a field piece upon portion of the road. 1 noticed what t key were doing,Mm! what their ob- i ct was, sometime before reaching the exposed portion of the road, and it was not a very comfortable re flection Unit they might get the gun trained ! * that >im: about tho time Uoiwl of my company should duj we passed it in safety r know range, the !u reach it. and so far us get the (v.ict who could do 1 blood was chilic have never could keep nve known others ikewise when their d with cold; bull yet seen the man who his body from shivering and his teeth fr >m chattering, when under the intlueoce of both col 1 and excitement. When broad daylight came, we could here and there, through open- About an hour by sun a cavalry man came dashing past ms from the front, and the men in tluir v ual spirit of fun at the expense of the cavalry, began to call out, “We are going to have alight boys, for the cavalry is going to the rear!” The cavalry man replied r.s he urg d on his horse, You are right this lima. men are advancing on them now I” He had scarcely uttered the wor Is, n rapid volleys of musketry, fol lowed by a vigorous rebel veil, rang out not three hundred yards ahead of us. Our officers shouted “double (prick !“ and we started on a run for the scene of action. The events that followed beggar all description. It was Howard’s 11th army corps that we had struck, stationed on the plank road three miles in Hooker’s rear. not get gun until nearly I McGowan’s brigards did fairly into t he fight that day, though i straining every nerve to reach it. Neither dwi remember that our ar tillery fired u sin; night. Oh! where was our cavalry? One squadron under Stuart or Hampton would have settled the business in idiort order. iiy sundown or perhaps before, re inforcements were reaching Howard’s Hying corps, from t he main army. Then the st mds mu u* were more fre- f one of my company, sent oil on a litter. wLit the soldiers of ridicule “stung otent .riffc. ing in the shrubbery forest, catch glimpses of the - enemy's works. We could see gorgeous banners at regular intervals hanging idly by the staffs tipped with shining metal, or flap ping hziiy in the sluggish morning breeze that now and then struggled through the forest. Over the works and behind them we caught glimpses of a wilderness of gun barrels point ing upwards—all no doubt loaded yand held by hands ready to begin the J work of slaughter. -q Our regimental officers were Col. Abner Perrin, Lieut. Col. Joseph N. Brown and Muj. Edward Croft. Col. Perrin passed along the line and told us that we were about to make a charge on the enemy’s works, and the man that did his full duty that day should be remembered and re warded. There was no use to he un easy about support, he said, for the whole army was at our backs and would follow us closely as we charged I iiave already spoken of the in stincts of the veteran soldier. Thty are quick and wonderfully correct. There was hardly a man in our ranks that morning who was not capable, for that occasion at least, of Com manding a regiment or of directing a brigade, and I am pretty sure that every one of my old comrades who stood in line that morning and who may chance to read these pages, will endorse me in saying that every sol dier there felt that “some one had blundered,” and that to charge a hundred thousand men on suchground and behind such works, with a tan gled thicket in front, would be the climax of rashness and folly, and could have but one result! Still it was not the soldier’s business “to make reply” nor ‘To reason why,” and every man stood ready to move forward the moment the order should come. Tho circumstances surround ing us now \\\re the most trying that a soldier is ever called upon to en dure. The stillness that often comes just before two armies grapple with each other, is oppressive. It is like that deep and awful stillness that precedes the biflrsting of the tornado. The suspense is overwhelming, and i self during these moments the soldier has nothing to sustain him but his own inherent courage. If that is not of the true mould he will fail. We stood waiting for the orders which did not come. The sun rose in un clouded splendor and the long lines of burnished weapons glittered in his dancing beams; and ids genial warmth penetrated the soldiers’ chilled bodies and steadied their nerves for battle; but still the orders did not come. By and by when they did come tfiey wore not orders to charge but to move by the left flank bacK towards the Cross roads. We moved about two hundred yards when there was a halt and another long period of suspense. In the meantime the batteries widch had taken position in our rear during the night, opened tire, and the enemy's guns replied with vigor. k A shot or shell struck one of our cais- |ons and exploded it, and “Look at it caisson ! Look at that caisson !” in along our line. This artillery luel, however, was mere play, gotten Flap for Gen. Hooker’s entertainment. The soldier’s instincts again warned him that plans hud been changed, and something was afoot, though lie knew not what. they never did At any rate I did not bear of any damage done to our line, though they kept the gun going for probably an hour, or during the whole time that our troops were passing the exposed point. It will be admitted that the cir cumstances were not very favorable to scientific ;sPudy, but I had hero some ocular demonstrations of the principles of light and sound which ! made a deeper impression on my mind than any experiments I have ever Witnessed in the laboratory or the quiet class room. I noticed several shells that had passed over us, crash ing through the timber to our left long before I heard the reports of the gun that had sent them on their mis sion ; and 1 saw one explode high up in the air, and afterwards listened to the howling sound it made from the time it left the gun on to the point of the explosion, where, of course the sound ceased; and then came the re port of the gun. The practical deductions drawn from these observations were that tho deadly projectile is ahead of the sound it makes in its passage through the air and far in advance of the re port of the gun from which it is thrown. The instinct of self preser vation prompts one to dodge when he hears the report of a cannon on the shrieking of a shell which lie knows has himself for an objective point. But it is entirely too late to dodge. The man *vho is instantly killed never hears the report of the gun nor the whistling of the ball that killed him. The passage of light is practically, Instantaneous, heneQ, when a soldier is so situated that he can see the Hash of the gun or at night when he can see the burning of the fuse at tached to a shell, then he may some times save himself by dodging. After we had passed the old iron works, a courier catrc.dashing by us from the rear at break-neck speed in quiring for Gen. Jackson. A strong reconnoitering force of the enemy had struck our line at the iron works, captured a few of our stragglers, and then *took to their heels and made good time till beyond the reach of the one or two regiments that saluted them with a few volleys. It was about this time that Gen. Hooker sent off Ids famous dispatch that the rebels were in full retreat towards Gerdonsville and making desperate efforts to save their wagon trains. The march continued without inter ruption and with little or no noise. Tin* country was comparatively level and covered with thick scrubby for ests, so the enemy had no opportu- uity to watch our movement. Gen. Hooker, influenced no doubt, more by his wish than his judgment, hu<i hastily jumped to the conclusion that our army was retreating, and he seems to have abandoned himself for several hours to the enjoyment of atisfuction and to the pleasing task of writing congratulatory dis patches. For hours our silent columns swept along the roads at the quick step, now turning to the right, and now to the left, while the skirmish line still steadily and silently filed through the woods on the right keeping.even pace with the marching columns. \Ve lost the points of the compass and became about as much bewil dered in regard to courses or direc tion. as we already were in regard to the object of the expedition. About 1 o’clock a halt was ordered for a fifteen minutes’ rest. Arms were stacked in the road, knapsacks un slung. and the men lay down on the ground and ate their scanty rations from their haversacks, while the skir mish line stood and kept watch in the woods. We might say, as they beeves, cooking t toe lighting became more But nothing couid with stand the impetuosity oi our tr )ops. There was the same roll of musketry followed by the terrible yell ns our men charged like demons, and the heavy masses of the enemy sent out to tho rescue, rolled back before them in the wildest dismay. sion paralyzed who had to be This effect was called in a spirt with a bung,” and the p< or fellow so unfortunate as to be thus. ‘stung” did rot always get the sympathy to which he was ent itled. it was about this time that Gen. Jackson was wounded, and G -n. Hill soon afterwards; and in tho darkness there were know not maud in the etner determined to push brigade was formed FIENDS PUT POISON IN MILK. Alt* UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT AT WHOLESALE MURDER. delays and confusion. I novv’ who assumed com- ncy, but it was tho ii; on a lores the road in pines, and ward on the eno ny’s an injudicious order. \s our brig:; rushed along the road striving in vain They were killin and eating and having a gi o 1 time generally, never dreaming that an enemy was near; and about Du; first intimation that they had of such an unfriendly presence was a volley of musketry. Of course there were brave men in that corps. But hardly any ttfoops in the world would Iiave stood under such circumstances They, however, did stand long enough to deliver several volleys, but as uur men rushed upon them, they broke and fled down the plank road in the wildest confusion. Just at this juncture, as our bri gade was coining into the plunk road at tho “double quick,” one of those incidents occurred, so frequent in war, which strangely mixes the ridic ulous and the pathetic with the sub lime and the terrible. A Southern boy—a mere stripling—passed us on ids way to the rear. He was of slen der build, ragged, dirty, and bloody. He had a knapsack strapped to his back big enough for a pack'saddle. He carried an array rifle in ids hands of greater length than his body. He also had a large blanket hanging in a roll from one shoulder ami a plump looking haversack from the other. Add a cartridge box and a bayonet scabbard buckled to his waist, and you have him in his complete equip ment. He had been in the charge just made and had been shot in the face or about the head and he was as bloody as a butchered hog. As he passed us, he called out, “Oh ! boys, tlmy are running, they are running! They’ve got the shoes, too, and I got a pair!” as he said this ho flourished a brand new pair of shoes over ids head in an ecstasy of enthusiasm. Our men gave him a rousing cheer as they rushed by him, and I could hear the cheer prolonged by the troops behind us. Flueky, gritty, unconquerable scrap of a hero! It was only a glimpse that I had of him but that glimpse was as vivid as tiie light ning’s flash in the darkness of the storm, and his child-liko face cov ered with dirt and blood was pictured on my memory in colors that the shadows of thirty-four years have not dimmed. I can only fondly trust that he passed on into life and health and happiness—on to the front in the battle of life—and that fortune has lavished upon him her choicest favors and her sweetest smiles. The scene that followed defies ade quate description. It was the wild est, grandest, most overpowering scene ever enacted on this continent. The salvation of Howard’s corps de pended on reaching the main army at Chancellorsville. The determina tion of Jackson’s corps was to anni hilate it before it could get there or could obtain help from the main body. The Federuls abandoned ev erything that was of the least incum brance. The artillerymen cut loose their horses and mounted them, leav ing their guns and their caissons; ambulances and baggage wagons were turned over and abandoned; and knapsacks and guns were scattered everywhere. And yet, as I have said, there were brave man in Howard’s corps. Their officers frequently ral lied large bodies and made a stand which appeared formidable. But our charging columns swept them from their path like a tornado. About every four hundred yards perhaps, for two and a half miles, there was a roll of musketry, followed by the wild “rebel yell,” then thoro was a confused roar, as the rumbling of an earthquake or the moaning of a mighty tempest, and the earth really did seem to shake and tho heavens to be in commotion, as at least thirty thousand men with all the imple ments of war, rushed along the road and over the fields in wild surging say on the railroad, it was fifteen 1 masses like mighty billows of the sea minutes for dinner; except in our 1 lashed and upheaved by a furious case the time was shorter by live i tempest. minutes than that usually allowed by the fastest train. But making allow ance for tho difference in tho abun dance of rations the difference in time was perhaps more than justified. Then, too, an obliging conductor will sometimes protract the time for n few minutes in order to accommodate a i^lie fact is, Jim* son had begun his very hungry passenger, but Stone- famous march to Hooker’s rear and ! wall Jackson was conductor of a train our 'delay was caused t\y troops com- [ that day which must not be delayed. Southern blood was up; Stonewall was on the warpath; and his “foot cavalry” were wild with the fierce joy of buttle. At that time they would have charged a world in arms and out a swath of death through it as wide us their terrible front. As an evidence of the rapidity of the flight and of the pursuit and of the little delays caused by the fre quent stands made by the Federuls, to overtake the rolling tide of battle not more than t hree hundred yards ahead of us, we passed Gen. Jackson sitting on his horse by the road side. The shades of evening were gathering over the scene, and 1 could not clearly distin guish the expression of his face, but his attitude impressed me deeply. He was sitting perfectly still on Ids horse, with his hands clasped before him and Ids face turned towards the sky above. It was the attitude of prayer and I have no doubt that from the midst of this wild scene of carnage, lie was sending up a silent petition to God; for as the whole world knows, that was “Stonewall Jackson’s way.” There aro others living who saw him in that remark able attitude, and ii their memories iiave not proved treacherous they will .bear testimony to the truth of this statement. A few moments afterwards I got a glimpse of another scene which the imagination could easily till out in all its sorrowful details, and which caused a thrill of sympathy and pity in the bosoms of all who witnessed it. Two men of our ambulance corps were bearing on a litter a Federal officer. Just as they reached a point opposite my company at a hurried request from him they set him down on the roadside. He was a magnifi cent specimen of physical manhood, superbly dressed in blue uniform trimmed with bright shoulder straps and glittering buttons. I saw him as we passed hastily searching his own pockets and handing ont to the two men who stood silently and sor rowfully by him, his watch, and what I took to be a photograph, and other things which 1 did not recognize. At the same time lie was talking hur riedly and excitedly to the two men as if in n fearful race with the ebbing tide of life and doubtful of his ability to make known the full mission he was trying to communicate to those who were silent witnesses of his last struggles. How death subdues the fierce passions of men and brings offi cers and privates, friends and foes, down to one common level, even on the field of battle! Darkness was now coming on, and the tide of battle was still rising; the mighty drama was verging to a cli max. “Tho finest army on the planet” was compelled to face about and grapple with a strange and terri ble foe from an unexpected quarter, and fight, not for victory but for life itself. Its formidable breastworks, erected with so much labor and skill behind which it expected to lie in comparative safety and shoot down impetuous rebels,wore of no use now. It must fight on open ground, fight quickly, and fight to the death. We were now near to Chancellors- ville on the western side—as near as we had been in the morning on the eastern side, and Hooker’s whole army was before -us. They opened with every cannon that could be got into position on the country west of them at largo, knowing Ihut rtfuie of their own troops were now in that direction. There was one battery that seemed to get the range of the plunk road which for a mile or more was crowded with our troops, «md it put in rapid work. I have spoken of tho futility of dodging from shells under ordinary circumstances; but I shall always believe that I and throe or four others saved our lives that night by dodg ing, and the reader must excuse me if I manifest a little sympathetic partiality for dodging. We had come to a halt in the road, caused by its being blocked up with masses of men in front and the necessity of re forming lines and putting the whole corps into position before making the supreme effort against Hooker’s whole army. We were watching with some interest the shells that rose in quick succession over a patch of woods on the right of the road, and probably a quarter of a mile away. They seemed to have the plank roud <ot an objective point, but for a time none of them came uncomfortably near. At length I saw one rise like a blazing star quiv ering over the tree tops, and the in stant I saw it I felt rather than thought it was “on mischief bent.” I called to the boys. “Look out!” We dropped flat on our faces, while it struck tho ground and exploded within six feet of our rear rank. Three or four of us felt its hot breath us it passed over us, and the explo it Un.teJ States Deputies Make Raids Through the Dark Corner Are Euchered—- Nev.’s from Wi'ile. ^ ht. Our ! he right of . n.-!! old field to move fer ine*. it was The darkness was so intense tiiat you couldn’t tell a man from a pine tree. Officers lost their commands, and companies and regiments doubled on each other in unutt. ruble confusion. Some Federal prisoners taken next day said they thought every man in our army that night, shouted “Give away to the right!” To have urged the brigade forward in such a condition and under such circumstances against an enemy standing in solid triple and quad ruple lines waiting for the onset, would have been madness. Mo one but Jackson could Iiave pushed for ward the fight under such circum stances, and ho had been carried faint and bleeding to the rear. I know not how the troops on our loft fared, but there was no further light ing that night. Darkness was a power that even the “foot cavalry” could not run down and cot.quor. After much uproar and confusion our brigade was got back into the road and reformed. There was a field officer attached to dur brigade, who, though a dash ing, gallant fellow, sometimes in the excitement of battle seemed slightly to loose his mental balance. At these times lie would fall to slap ping and cuffing such of our o.vn men as appeared not quite enthusi astic enough to suit him. This pro pensity at one time afterwards came very near to costing him his life. He tackled a wounded soldier leaving the ranks in time of battle, who lev eled his gun at him and but for timely interference, would iiave sent a minnie ball through ins body. As we stood in the road, this officer passed down' the lino and said, “I gave one of the 13th down in the pines tonight.” One of the men of the 14th replied, “No, it wasn’t one of the 13th, it was me!” The poor fellow didn't hear the last of this re ply till at the Wilderness, a year afterwards his hearing was stopped forever. After, perhaps, an hour, someone undertook the task of forming a line of battle again. Our brigade was led into position on the right again, just in advance of the pine thicket and very near to the enemy’s line. The best that now could he done was to get the whole corps into lino ready for work at daybreak. We lay down in line and again slept on our arms. The enemy worked like heavers. All night long there was the sound of axes and of falling trees in our im mediate front, and it was evident tiiat there was to be bloody work on the morrow. But after a march of fifteen miles and a running fight of three miles, our men were exhausted, and they slept as soundly as if they hud been at home on beds of down. (To HE CoN'TINl'FD.) -— ■ — - A Letter from Texas. (Correspomlence of The Ledger.) Bkookston Texas. June 38.—We are having some dry hot weather just now, some people predict that it will continue dry for a while, the wind blows so much on the prairie here, that everything will soon suffer for rain, although crops look fine. Corn is all layed by, and now they ore finishing up the cotton; oats are ex traordinary line. The hay men are progressing nicely with the hay, they keep quite busy all the time. It is very interesting to see so many at work on the fields, they use so many different kind of machinery. Some one had the audacity to go into Mr. Xotley’a lot this week and steal his buggy horse. They telephon ed all about and got in pursuit of and caught the fellow in Honey Grove, and now he is in Bonham jail. Mrs. E. B. Hames has been right sick, but is convalescent; also her mother Mrs. Duncan is not very well at this writing. Wo were very much disappointed indeed in not seeing Sambo’s letter in your last issue, also W. B. G.,of Paris, Texas. We enjoy reading all of their letters. • How strange it seems to me that we hear and read of earthquarkes in the old states, and never hear .of them occuring in this state. G. B. E. L din r.) .—Perhaps note with •ret. that (CO! Wiu.ik S. C., June '2' some of our leaders will pleasure, and some with J aims is yet Live and still in the laud of tho correspondent^ but such is the case. But we ask our to xcu.-e us for having been absent from the columns Lew:hi:, that paper which highly prize, and we beg to Bucklen’s Arnica Salve. Tho Best Salve in the world for Cuts. Bruises, Sores, Ulcer, Salt Rheum, Fever Sores, Tetter, Chapped Hands, Chilblains, Corns, and all Skin Eruption, and postively cures Piles or no pay required. It is guar anteed to give perfect satisfaction or money refunded. Price 3.> cents per box. For sale by Tho DuPre Drug friends so long of The , we so assure them that we will make our appear ance as often as possible. Our farmers report wheat to be tho best, in this section this year, that it has been ’or several years, the greater part of which has been gar nered. Cotton and corn are about two weeks later than usually, but are ;iow growing nicely and are gen erally in good condition. Some of our farmers have began to lay by their early corn. A very large per cent of the popu lation of our section went to Spar tanburg last week to attend court, the most of whom were interested in the trial of May and Buice, charged with the killing T. L. Sims. The de fendants were found guilty of man slaughter. Tho solicitor was very ably assisted, in the prosecution by W. Smith Thomason, of the Spartan burg bar. while the defence was very ably represented by Wilson and Hy- clrick. Under the circumstances you know it was hardly possible for Jai- rus to refrain from being present and hearing the trial. The United States Deputies made a raid through here last Saturday but they were “euchered” again. The news of their approach went about ten minutes in advance of them, therefore the shiners had jerked their copper and left the field. They destroyed one mash, but kind reader if you know what a mash consist of, you know more about tho business than we do, and about two gallons of whiskey, at one place, and at an other several stands of beer. Some fiend attempted to take the lives of George Sloan’s family last Monday by putting poison in the milk. Mr. Sloan's family consists of himself and twelve children. They kept their milk at the spring in two vessels, one of which contained sweet and the other butter milk. As it hap- denod only four of them partook of the sweet, in which the poison had been put. Sloan and two of the small children vomited up the milk immediately after having drank it, and therefore suffered but little in- conveniency from the effects of the poison, but Miss Mamie, tho oldest daughter suffered extremly for sever al days before the doctors were able to overcome the effects of the poison »n her system. There is no clue as to the perpetra tor of the fiendish act. Mrs. Nancy Lofftis died tho 22nd and was buried the 23rd inst. at Tiger Cemetery. Mrs. Lofftis was one of the oldest women of this section. 8he was in her eighty-second year. The young may die. the old must die. hence the importance of hav ing prepared for death. .Mr. Thomas Lofftis met with the misfortune last week of loosing his baby. It was buried at Lebanon, the 2.>th inst. It was about ten months old. Mrs. M. C. Sims, of Tryon, ’X. C. f slopped over at her father’s. S. P. Clayton, on tier way to Spartanburg to attend court. Jaikts. Reasons Way Chamberlain’s Colic, Cholera and Diarrhoea Rem edy is the Best. 1. Beca'use it affords almost in stant relief in case of Pain in the stomach, code and cholera morbus. 2. Because it is tho only remedy that never fails in the most severe cases of dysentery and diarrhoea. 3. Because it is the only remedy that will cure chronic diarrhoea. 4. Because it is tho only remedy that will prevent bilious colic. 5. Because it is the - only remedy that will cure epidemical dysentery. (5. Because it is the only remedy that can always be depended upon in cases of cholera infantum. 7. Because it is the most prompt and most reliable medicine in use for bowel complaints. 8. Because it produces no bad re sults. 1). Because it is pleasant and safe to take. 10. Because it has saved the live* of more people than any other medi cine in the world. The 2o ana iiOc sizes fdr* sale by DuPre Drug Company.