The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, July 19, 1901, Image 1
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TWIf IflWIfBltl TIM IPC iS?iK*!
I :-hhi~s i HflT I \ IU \ 1 IMJjjO.
| jggjer and I * -i-A U 1 11 V 11 ^ 1111 ^ I _ _? w^4S?.5ss: |
VOL LI NO UNION, SOUTH CAROLINA, FflbAY, JULY 19. 1901. 6N, #1.00 A YKAR
T F. M. FARk President.
T GEO. MUNRO, Cashier, J
| Merchants' and Pli
I I of urxi
? Capital Stock
Surplus
f Stockholders' Liabilities....
| Total
i JDikeotoks?J. A. Kant,
4 T. O. Duncan, J. T. Douglass
T Wm. Coleman.
I We Solicit
1901 JULY 1901
Jik Mo. Jik We. Th. frL Sal.
1 2 3 4 5 T
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
^4 15 16 17 18 19 20
9.1 99 93 9A 9K 9fi 97
WA. N# c-w J. M U WU Ml
28 29 30 31
REMINISCPNCKS OF THE WAR.
V; ?t
Interesting Incidents Connected
With the Late War, Bringing Out
a Great Deal of Unwritten His*,
tory, in Which the Private and
Subordinate Officers arc Given
Credit Justly Due Them. Some
of the Truest, Noblest and Bravest
Men That Ever Paced an
Enem y Were to be
FOUND AMONG THE PRIVATES.
HY .1. L. STRAIN.
(Continued from issue J^ine 7.)
As I have already intimated oui
men touud oufe.vihat they could dispense
with picket duty on the island
and we were withdrawn. We made
one raid even then a short time before
we went to Virginia, of which I will
tell your readers after a while.
Col. Stevens liked for his soldier*
to attend church. lie was truly a
good man. Of course we could get
permission from our company officers
to go to church or anywhere else wt
wanted; but when we hud to pas*
through several lines of troops it wa*
necessary to get permission from reg
imental headquaitsrs at least, or gc
in company with some commissioned
officers; so several of us, including
Joe Leech, got permission to go tc
Willtown to hear an Episcopal minister
preaeh. Col. Stevens, I think
belonged to that denomination. Tin
chu-ch building showed the wenltl]
and refinement of the congregation
that had heen accusn med to worship
there. With all the politeness foi
which that deiu ruination are prover
bial, we were invited to seats. W<
felt ourselves at home. Ah the mm
inter stepped into the pulpit theorgat
announced 4,iSweet llour of Prayer.'
The music was supurb. Tlie organ
ist a as mistress of the situation. Sh<
was certainly an embodiment of a)
refinement, grace and beauty o
I which South Carolina boasted in bet
ter days. The minister was none th<
less so. Ilis text was Eecl. X
chapter and 9th verse?4kliej%icc, t
young man in thy youth, and wall
in the ways of thine heart, and in tin
sight of thine eyes, but know, thou
that for all these things God wd
bring thee into judgment." Bcfor<
the minister got half way througl
rtading his text, the case of tin
young soldier under Cromwell pre
aohted itrclf to my mind which
shall relate.
It was a special order of thnt office
that every soldier under his commat <
should always have a bible in hi
pocket. Agreeably to this requisi
tion a licentious young soldier carrier
a copy of the scriptures which, durinj
an action, was penetrated by a bal
from tlm ciiciiiv AfiAr tliA
hail retired Iroui the Held thin pro
Higate youth had the curiosity to ex
amine how far the ball had penetrate)
his bible, and while he was turninj
over one It of after another the paesag
which our uiimater had chosen as hi
text arrested the young soldier's at
tente n. It proved the happy in
strument of enlightening his undei
standing, of alamiing his conscicnct
4
A. H. FOSTER, Vice President. J
I. D. ARTHUR, Assistant Cashier, f
inters' National Bank j
toiv, h. c. !
$60,000 J
50,000 T
60,000 *
$170,000 I
W. H. Wallace, Wm. Jeffries, X
, E. P. McKissiok, A. H. Foster, 7
Your Business. I
of changing his heart, and finally
saved his soul. That this same passage,
under' similar circumstances,
should present itself to me, was a
coincidence impressed upon my mind
that will last as long as life. In this
connection I will further say it is to
be lamented that men of the sword
are more frequently distinguished
for their prolbgacy than their piety;
they are more in the habit of imprecating
curses on themselves and
others than importuning for bles-ings.
The nature of the soldier's occupation
tends to inspire him with a degree of
hardihood, with a d< fiaice of danger
that often degenerates into a forgetfulutss,
and eveu defiance of his (fod.
' Ilis unsettled situation in life, his
want of the regular ordinances of
, grace, ' his exposure to ensnaring
, company and various other considera
i tions have a natural tendency to
divert his attention from things divine
and eternal.
I am satisfied I did not hear such
a sermon preached during my stay
in the army as I heard that day. I
think it was the last sermon preached
in that house during our stay in that
section. It was expected every day
that a battle would take place there.
The few citizens remaining up to
I that time moved off. and the doors of
> the church were closed,
i While waiting that day for the
I congregation to assemble, the service
to begin, we took a stroll down
i by the battery. Here we found
Pete Moaeley, who had killed Jim
, Leech, (Joe's brother.) and who, by
i some law or finding of the jury, or
; some other means, was to serve a
i term in the army. I never saw him
i after that.
That ''man's inhumanity to man,
i makes countless thousands mourn,"
[ was abundantly verified in the civil
; war. During our stay at Camp
) Spearman we had news daily from all
parts of the Confederacy. The ar,
rival of almost every train brought
; the intelligence of a murderous bati
tie being fought?other wives made
i widows and other children fatherless.
. mi.. : i.. _r .l. ?.
> iiiu tiuniuu); niiuftc ui uic cxbraurr
dinary campaign of the winter and
spring of 18t>2, was the fall of New
3 Orleans, in which by the improvi
dence of the Southern authorities and
i a false military policy, our armies
had been weakened and divided.
Coming in the long train of disasters
i that were sweeping over the country
1 for which the Conscript law was
f more or less responsible, we find the
Confederacy with scarcely more than
i' three entire States?Texas, Alabama
I and Georgia Large portions of the
) territory of Virginia, North Carolina,
i Florida, ami all the islands on the
e South Carolina coast were under
, control of the Federals. They had
1 broken our line of defenses in Ten2
nesaee and held important positions
l on the Upper Mississippi; and now,
e by the capture of New Orleans they
- had secured the great Southern depot
1 of the trade of the immense central
valley of the continent.
r These conquests of the Federal
1 arms, made in the winter and spring
s of 'H2, were not without their effect
in Europe, and presented to the
[1 Nations of that part of the world a
i? sombre picture of the Confederacy.
1 The despatches of our ministers at
y the courts of England and France
declared that the prospect of recog*
nit ion, of which they had given such
1 sanguine assurance, had been over5
clouded by this succession of disase
ters.
s Mr. Slidell wrote from Paris that
f the French Government declared
i- that "if New Orleans had not fallen,
- our recognition could not have been
t, much longer delayed," adding, "even
after that disaster, if we obtained i
decided successes in Virginia and i
Tennessee, or could hold the enemy ]
at bay a month or two, the same i
result would follow." Mr. Mason <
also wrote from London, and sapl i
that, "at the time of the enemy's I
capture of New Orleans, our recog- <
nition was on the ere of accomplish- i
incnt." Couple these assurances on i
the one hand with the infamous mili- i
tary rule of "Beast" Butler in New <
Orleans?his execution of William t
B. Mumford, for pullirg down the 1
U. S. Hag, and the promulgation of e
that notorious "order 28," on the ?
other, and you can nave a correct s
idea of the fever heat to which this t
succession of events had worked up t
our army. Indignation knew no t
bounds. Cool men discussed these a
matters excitedly. Speculation ran a
high. Tne\black flag was proposed t
as the best colors under which to i
carry on the" war. If our women r
were to be insulted and their rights c
(f not persons) outraged, our citi- c
.1 ...IJ LI 1 .
/*uuo suut uunu iu u?iiu uiuuu, ur i
hung for being merely ''rebels,"
then we were ready for a game of t
"tit f?r tat." But thut high sense t
of honor and humanity that rnarktd t
the line of our leading officers and i
more intelligent soldiery, soon placed r
this indignation on the list of itnpro- t
prieties, in which all seemed to i
actjuisce. But never throughout the a
war were these outrages forgotten or v
forgiven. Yet I am proud to say t
mat only those who were personalty i
responsible for such ba?e injuatice
and unprecedented warfare, were a
the objects of the righteous indigua- ?
tions of our troops. That this same r
feeling was carried in the heart and ^
become a powerful incentive in the <j
bosom of every intelligent soldien r
who met McClellan at "Seven Pines" v
and in the "seven days before Rich- j
mond," none will dare to dispute. j
Elated with their success, or smart- >
inrr nr. dor ihnir <1ofi<nf nn .Innn 1 at r
"*& VU..V *
1862, the Federals on the 3rd of e
June made a demonstration against 1
Kings' Point, with their navy, and c
met with the same success as hereto- a
fore. Our cavalry were prom fitly 1
on the ground and under their fire p
for a considerable time. This was t
the first time in which the whole com a
uiand was mounted and under fire at t
the same time. The infantry pickets v
were driven in and everything indi- r
fnr a timn t.hnt. ? thrhf. wnulil r
come off. The boats threw shells
high up in the air and when they
would hurst the fragments would lall
all around in the marsh, zip, zip.
Major James was on the ground with
his battalion of infantry Salvo's
battery of light artillery was at Toogado
bridge, with the llolcomb Legion
Infantry, under command of Col.
Stevens.
Our commanders seems to have
conceived the idea that ihe Federals
would make a feint at Kings' Point,
and while we were engaged there
throw their main force across the
Edisto river and secure a position on
the mainland at some other place,
and thus be enabled to operate against
the Charleston and Savannah railroad
at the moBt accessible point.
Subsequent, as well as prior events,
went a long way to prove the correctness
of this theory. Troops had
been moved to Virginia since April,
and by this time our ranks were
thinned and it would have been doubtful
whether the railroad would have
been protected had 5,000 well drilled
federal troops taken it m nana to
capture it The nature of the country ,
and the p'wition of the road would
make such an undertaking with
a smaller force impracticable on the
the part of the Federals. We stayed
there a month and seventeen days
after that and were not disturbed by
any more demonstrations on their
part, except a little picket skirmish*
ing, which amounted to nothing but
a break in the monotony of camp life.
- The wafer was hot, the roads dry
and dusty, the water covered with a
green scum, the frog ponds drying up
and filling the atmosphere with a
aiolrAninrr mslario PPAt/ar v ia ramnd
... ..... - .o
and our hospitals were full of sick
men. Not more than one-half the
men were able for duty. Details for
duty came frequent and. for the first
time, became arduous. Rations were
ia*ued for all the men in camp, notwithstanding
a good number of them
were unable to do duty at the table
or on the field. Consequently we
were abundantly supplied with ed.
iblea. Whiskoy> with enough quinine
_JSl ?
in it muke it nauseous, was if-sue I
to the (pen on?dutj. ^ J*, gili or half
pint of thi8j?iioU8 tnirttnre was issued
18 an antiffjnle to each man sent
mt to staniHuard on the rice darns
ill nig^JHm&inos^iiitoes anda*nd.
.lies at ujjw were bey?nd endurance,
jspeciilljpoints near the brckah
wa}er. Notwithstanding it* was
iear taidsuminer and we were ift the
-ichest portion of ihe State, jet we
:ould get no'vegetables to eat* except
<uch as grew wild jo the uncultivated
and. I JSow and then JoeThOmas or
looie .110 else, wuuld go out foraging
md b ing in 9 fewxabbage or onions,
md for a 8m4U pittance we oould fix ,
lp a good square* "meal,'/ Those ,
vho had energetic cooks ctittld send
hcin out at almost any time and keep ,
uppliedfin that direction. " Our cook ,
it that time (Ned) waeno forager, but ,
Then we wot big Sam at the bellows ,
re had a kind of % company restau- ]
ant. ' JUMVlf'eeen Sam come into
:amp ef ith as many as five half grown ,
>|| wkpni in hill nhirt Kn?nm uf nno
itne, and- them all alive at that.
Near Legare's mill our men found
he body of a Confederate soldier
hat the porpoises had rolled out to
he edge of the water. We supposed
t must have been the remains of a
nan by the name of Reynolds, who
lelonged to a company from Fairfield,
n the 12th S. C. Regt. lie was a
omnambulist and walked off the boat
vhile on its way to Bar Point the fall
>efore. I think the captain of this
mfortunate man was named Davis.
With the next chapter we close
?ur Reminiscences on the coast of
South Carolina and prepare for the
nore active and stirring events on
Virginia soil. A good many incilente
intended for this work must
teeessarily be omitted here, as they
vould carry the work beyond a news
>aper correspondence. They may
ret appear in a more elaborate work.
V private soldier, of all men conlectod
with an army, is the most in
iffieient personage to write out the
listory of his command. On the field
>f battle, on the march or on detached
ervice his means of observation is
imited. While he is on some out>nst
his command may be undergoing
he ord'-al of the battlefield, of the
tirring events of which he may
?e in blissful ignoranee. This conviction
I have carried into these
eeollection, and I hope they will be
ead with that spirit.
(To be continued.)
* ?
Tantalizing the Enemy,
BY DR. A. K. FANT.
A.t Olive Branch church, some ten
miles north of Williamsburg, we kept
tp a picket po*t for sometime. Here
:hc enemy annoyed us frequently by
Iriving us in with a large force of
cavalry. Two squadrons of our com
mand under Capt. Frost and a small
auinber of infantry were sent to this
post. The cavalry were secreted
behind the church mounted, every
man eager to meet the enemy and
punish them as best they could. The
little body of infantry was straining
sveiy muscle to arrive at the church,
but before they could be placed in an
idvantageous pasition the enemy
charged our videts, consisting of two
men, but checked up before reaching
the church (headquarters of the
post). They seemed to have smelt a
rat. To urge them on Bill Vaughan
and John Faucett were sent out to
taunt and anuoy them, in other
words, urge them forward. It was
courageous and gallant to see the
two, ha's off, riding to and from in
the enemy's front undor heavy fire,
waving their hats and daring them to
charge. Vaughan and Faucett were
perfect soldirrs and expert riders,
could wield the sword to perfection.
The Yanks could stand it no longer
doubtless thinking there were none
in their front savo a weak picket
(eight men) They formed in columns
of fours and on they came with a
dash accompanied with, to me, their
disgusting cheer. Just as they got
opposite us we emptied our double
barrel shot guns, charged with buck
and bail, into their flank, at the same
time the infantry poured their rain
nics in their front. Our infantry
fired under) difficulty, they did not
have time to form in line, only those
in front fired, with bad aim, balls
going over the heads of enemy. This
broke the enemy's front. Our
cavalry dashed into their tangled and
demoralized line with pistols and
sabers and pursued them for miles.
1 _
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The road near the church was deep, I <
causing the enemy to quit the road j <
... i - 1 -/V lift -1
iuu iuiu uut tu tuu ion. >y iun tncy t
were forced to come in the road again i
where a small branch crossed the \
same there was a considerable colli- \
sion, made worse by our troops. In \
the road was a pile of men at d 1
horses, the writer one of the party, e
It was with great difficulty that he a
succeeded in extricating himself frotu 1
the struggling mass of men and hcrges. a
He observed a "Yank" get out. jump 1
the fence and lay down in a corn J
rnw etrar fumm/* Kia
iw??j Vf va VUlUiUg U1C3 UCUV1 LW UU8CI VC
his surroundings. Jim Askew saw c
him, rested his pistol through a crack 1
cf the fence bursting several caps, i
his pistol was wet and would not fire. (
[ told the Yank to come to me and a
md give up which he did. I did not c
approve of Askew's conduct under (
ihc circumstances. For this act c
Askew gave me ''hail Columbia," f
iceused me of protecting the enemy e
instead of letting bim kill him. c
Askew was ijuite an old man, conse- 3
piently I did not contend nor take t
jffense at his cursing me. He was a *
hrave man and an independant vol- c
untecr. In this engagement the t
enemy lost several killed and wounded d
besides several prisoners. We were j
jatisfied and greatly pleased at the \
result. We did not lose a man. This t
nffair caused them, at least for a ,
while, to let us alone. We gathered t
up their wounded, placed them in the ^
church and did all in our power to
relieve their suffering. One ot them. ?
mortally wounded, writhing with {
pain, requested Sergt. W. K. Thomas .
to write a note to his wife stating his \
condition, etc., "that he would soon a
be dead." lie dictated the letter ,
h?tw?l>n hlQ nsniviom r\( nnin H? ,
~ ? f K"' "*
requested Thomas to try and convey
or send it into their lines, which he
faithfully promised to do. After
heartily thai.king Thuinaa and all of
us for our kindness, he expired.
Amongst the killed was a lieutenant.
On the next day the enemy came
with a truce to get their dead and
Lieut. Jeter, in command, recognized
the same and granted their reguest,
and Sergt. Thomas at the same time
delivered the note. During the truce,
while the euemy were gathering up
their dead, Lieut. Jeter and the Federal
officer engaged iu an interesting
conversation concerning the war ami
other topics. I will here state that
the enemy's cavalry were armed with
breach loading rifles, navy pistols and
sancrs. While we were armed with (
double barrel shot guns, sabers and a ]
few of us had pistols, the latter we *
borrowed from the enemy and returned
some of them at Appomattox. (
Our guns were loaded with fifteen
buck shot and a one ounce ball and ,
their action in rear wa3 almost equal |
to that in front. Our shoulders were (
biplly bruised after every fight. The
Yanks called our guns "pepper
boxes." Some of the prisoners told
us that as many as twenty-seven buck
shot were taken from the back of
Capt. Iloggermaster, of the 5th
Pennin a fight proceeding this
t . i _ ? .1 . f.
wncn me na"ie cry was "rtomemner
Corporal Lemon tine Peak," as lie
was ?he commander of the party who
killed Corporal Peak and private
Tillman Millwood near sun down one
cold bleak day in February not far
from the Burnt Ordinary. While the
enemy were driving in our picket a
covy of quail flew across the road in
our front. One of them tame in contact
with a telegraph wire which com
pletely decapitated it. Corporal Gid
Keasler dismounted and put it in his
haversack. This was done regardless
of bulls and will illustrate what
hunger will prompt a man to do.
Keasler was dubed Corporal Gisseldinar
Itasco. lie was an excellent
soldier.
We suffered intensely from hunger
and for the want of clothing. Sometimes
wheat bran was issued to our
horses, 12 pounds per day. We
would sift it and cat the finer parti
" * w'mm
ILSON & SON,
4* * v ER5;
king Business in all ita
.gainst Fire, Tornado,
idents, and Issue Bonds
Is of Corporations, and
ators, Etc., Etc.
IPECTFULLY SOLICITED
?? j<iuicuicu our uorees irom
he cold to some extent bj means
)f rude stalls. George appealed to
he writer for a hammer and some
mils. In the regiment was an old
>ubstitute who repaired spurs, bridles,
itc. lie was greatly anno> ed by the
>oys for the loan of his tools. I
lirected George to the old fellow,
jut telling him that the old fellow
was cross and contrary but to pay no
ittention, just to tuke what he wanted
ind come away, George, 4*I want
tome nails and a hammer." lie began
uussing George. George seized a
hammer, the old fellow seized him.
The result was a rough and tumble
light. I was near by, separated
them and StODDcd the matter from
reaching the officer of the day.
George was an irritable and game
boy. It was not long before he bad
the wire edge rubbed off. He made
an excellent soldier. Ilis father,
Bill (Good) Fowler, was one of our
original company. He was a brave
and faithful soldier, a most excellent
man. Ho recently answered his
last ''roll call." I've known him to
voluntarily perform some daring
deeds in be'naif of his comrades.
?? ?
Now a minister has announced that
the illness in Shaffer's army before
Santiago was due to unlimited floods
of beer. Good heavens! dosen't the
man know that beer was a bottle
and none to be had at that, at Santi>
ago.
Whv did the Pennsylvania legis
-L l
linuie announce uie snirt waist, men.'
Was it because that garment has no
pockets in which to carry plums?
Senator Jones says that, the decision
of the Supreme Court, far from settling
the colonel quostion, has just
opened it. It was a decision on the
other side, that would have marked
an end; this deeison marks only %
beginning.
;les ourselves. Our rations consisted
)f one pint of corn meal and oaehird
of a pound of meat per day.
Sometimes we failed to get even that.
To help this small amount out wa
*ould oook wild berries, green ap)les,
tender twigs or sprouts of the
dackberry bueh, elover, wild onions,
!tc. Those who never experienced^
ufferings may not give credit to this
jut I am , proud to be able to subitantuatc
it by most any old veteran,
to further illustrate our want of food
will relate a circumstance.
We had in our brigade the remnant
if "Wheat's old battalion," made up
rom the dross and cinders of Balunore,
Md., known by us as "Plugs."
ieo. Fowler and I were detailed with
l number of these Plugs to guard the
rossmg at White Oak Swamp,
leorge had not been long in camp,
onsequcntly was green. lie had a
ine sweet p tato which he kept his
;yes upon, besides occasionally running
his hand into his haversack to
ee if it was there. I secretly told
nm what a dangerous set we were
vith, told him we were in danger of
iur lives and that they might kill or
uake prisoners of us and cross the
nuujp and join the enemy who was
ust opposite and near by. I told
Jeorge to cat his potato, if he did not
he "Plugs would get it. lie placed
t under his head, swore they could
tot get it, but when he got up his
lotato was gone. He began cussing
uid raving. I begged him to cease.
*o doubt they would have killed us
>oth had not the enemy advanced
md broke up the affair. Nothing
jut hunger would have prompted
iuch an altercation about so trilling a
nattei. Readers, were you e<er
lungrv? If not you cannot syinpa.hi/.e
with George.
Just after George enlisted we were
n winter quarters just below Itichnond
within the outer fortification.
We had access to a few plank and
VlfVi thorn r 1