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LKTTKK FROM COL. DAVID j HOPKINS. t c Road by Mrs. Ora Wilkes Fant. ( Co!. David Hopkins is the Revolu- j tionary ancestor of Mrs. Fant. j This letter is particularly interesting and instructive as it shows the hardships endured at that time, and j also pives a personal account of he ( battle at Blackstock, Union County. Repent. South Carolina, Fort Larey, t Turkey Creek, Dec. 20, 1780. t My dear Sons: ^ I find time much worse than when you left South Carolina last. The enemy has had possession of all I possessed and am told had come to a conclusion of the division of the negroes and plantations and under cover of the British which made them think all quite safe. They had taken off only five negroes and they on For- I guson's defeat, were left to themselves and chose to come home an 1 j on Tuesday evening, the 7th of last r month. (Jeneral Sumpter arrived at j the Fish Dam ford on Broad river . and the next morning about 1 o'clock N were attacked by the British, a part ^ of Tarleton's corps. Their number ( from the best information were about j 2(5(1, our number consisted of about '500 and upwards. They attacked us j with their cavalry in front, however, . ..rt?,. .. ..I... < iU..> * Clival t* vviucnt ui till until till- j s enemy saw cause to quit the ground , with the loss of 27 killed, wounded j and taken. Thoi commanding officer, j Major Winns wounded and taken , among the rest. They had seven killed A on the ground and four died of their , wounds that evening. We lost five j men killed and six wounded. My boy , Moses, whom I so esteem, I believe, is ] mortally wounded, as he is shot be- ] tween the body and shoulder and bay- j onetted in three different places in j the body. The next day we advanced j as far as Tyger river and after cross- j ing it encamped on the south aid-; j then we had our neighborhood under , cover, which occasioned a small open- . ing for those who had recovered or j had property that they wished out of , the way of the enemy to make a { venture. Capt. Charles Sims con- , eluded to run negroes for Virginia. I ( prevailed on mm to agree to try to take mine with his and told him to take them to you if possible hut in case it should happen other ways to place them as safe as he possibly could 'til he could see you?which he said he would be sure to do if he got his negroes in safe as he would go by your Uncle Glenn's where you board. I also told him to be sure to tell you that if you could possibly save the negroes from the enemy that all and every one of them should be your absolute right and property. I am informed that Capt. Sims has left the negroes on the Adkin opposite the Moravian town. If it should be the case perhaps he may leave his negroes on the way or stay with them so long that you may lose yours; therefore as 1 have this opportunity by Major Stogden who tells me he is going into Virginia immediately with all the speed he possibly can and through the neighborhood where you are, he has promised me either to call at Mr. Glenn's and deliver this letter to you with his own hand or to be sure and send it to you by a safe hand?and if it should be the first account you have had of the negroes I would recommend to you both to push immediately to where the negroes are and run them with all speed into Virginia and the safest you can be informed of us. I would wish you to save them if possible as they have been taken and retaken and will certainly be so much saved to yourselves and unexpectedly, and if it should so I..... ...... ?W..t ...... ..U 1.1 n(i|'}M ii mat juu niiuuui nufure mt* nv- t jrroes and we pain our independence ? t would wish you two to make an equa? f division with your brothers and sis- '] ters, and, if it should he the will of f providence that I do survive the war ^ and it shall terminate in our favor, \ which I ever have and do yet believe t it will, I shall and do relinquish all 1 my ritfht claims and pretentions to all j and every one of the negroes I did \ formerly or do now own to you as aforesaid, all the other part of my es- J tate except my land h is fallen into <j the hands of the enemy. They drove j off at one time between ninety and c a hundred head of cattle to Winnshorouph. They have also j?ot all my r sheep and the greater part of my 1 hogs, plantation tools, household fur- \ niture and every other article that i was of any value, so I am properly a situated for a soldier and am deter- s mined to see the event of our cause or fall in the attempt. J There is one piece of news I have t omitted, which was the Battle of r Blackstocks on Tyger river, which f happened a few days after I saw 1 ('apt. Sims. Col. Tarleton attacked us v about an hour* and a half by sun in t the evening. The action continued 'til r almost sundown when we beat them 1 off the ground; we had four killed t and Gen. Sumpter badly wounded. \ ('apt. Gabriel Brown was killed dead c to my left hand and Gen. Sumpter to f my right. Both happened from one f t< r< ai ilateau from the enemy on their re- el Teat. It is supposed they had sixty h: >r seventy men kiiled and wounded, w Jen. Sumpter is on the recovery. si I have nothing more particular at w ^resent hut am with sincere respect, P our loving father 'til death. pi (Signed) David Hopkins. w Mr. Ferdinand Hopkins and Newton S lopkins in the State of Virginia. tl ?umberland County >r Guinery Creek. hi N. B.?We were so scarce of paper t) n camp at the time Capt. Sims start- le id for Virginia I could scarcely get le inough to send you a list of the ne- t) ;roes, which were only seventeen. I am as above. t) (Signed) David Hopkins. 11 ? M THE BATTLE OF BLACKSTOCK. () tl Mrs. Josephine McCall Fant. ti Tiie Rattle of Blackstock fought it \Tov. 20, 1780. Blackstock is situated one and one- ?' mlf miles on the south side of Tyjrer iver, across what used to he Bront 'actorv Bridjre, later Floyd's Bridjre, ^ tnd still later McCrady's Bridjre. It vas here on Dutchman's Creek that. ( he first cotton or yarn factory in this P1 ounty stood?thus the bridjre jrot its s* irst name. Blackstock was a larjre tobacco cs louse built of lojrs, lonjr and narrow r< ind of two apartments of 18 feet n iquare with 18 feet space between " itid a roof or wall. In the rear of 11 he house, a few hundred yards, was w he crossinjr place of the Tyjrer river; " n id way from the house to the river ^ vas a hill slopinjr down from the rijrht c< learly parallel with the house, and erniinatinjr at the road. The house P vas on a second elevation below the ,s lill with open woodland forminjr a P lalf moon with its concave to the "rout. The road led from the river jy the rijrht of the house, and, passnjr its front, descended throujrh the Inlit n limit 10(1 vjiriD tn n small rim et. On the right of the road, oppo- c' ?ite the end of the house was a small s1 sole building. On the second eleva- 1 Jon, in the rear of the house and parillel thereto, General Sumter en- L :amped his troops, expecting that he would be attacked. He assigned to jach corps its position. Colonel Hen*y Hampton was directed to occupy .he house with his troops. Colonel rwiggs of George, the senior officer inder General Sumter, assisted by Colonel Clarke and Majors Candler uid Jackson with the Georgia troops, ,vas to occupy the fence and woodland ;o the left of the house. Colonels Jratton, Taylor, Hill and McCall were ,o occupy the right of the house with heir right formed on the curve of the pj ising ground. Their corps was to be :ommanded by their general in person. Colonel Itocey was directed to over the right, and Colonel Winn to >ccupy the hill as a corps of reserve. Colonel Candler had been detached >n the march to collect provisions. General Sumter's force consisted of ^ I11UI1. Tarleton had information before 10 /clock on the morning of the 20th of ^ Sumter's retreat. On reaching a ford ^ >n the Enoree, he found that Sumter iad passed the river nearly two hours j* )efore. He states that a detachment j o cover the rear was waiting there ,: he return of a patrol, and that the . idvance guard of the British dragoon J charged this body and defeated them vith considerable slaughter. The .j 'acts, as given by McCall, were that Captain Patrick Carr with a few men iad been ordered to reconnoiter, and ^ iad taken prisoners three unarmed ,oyal militia and two boys who had >een to the mill. Carr was conductng these men to camp when Tarleon's advance guard came upon them, 'arr gave them a shot and fell back j* o the main body, leaving the prison- ^ rs and mill boys behind. These poor ^ ellows were killed by Tarleton's men. rarleton pressed on with his whole '' orce until -1 o'clock in the afternoon, vhen apprehending that Sumter j vould pass the Tyger river unpro- j "stcd before dark, he left his Legion ivht infantry to march at their own J. rice, while he made a rapid pursuit ^ vith 170 cavalrymen of the Legion md f?'0 mounted infantry men of the Sixty-third regiment. Colonel Chan Iler with hi* forage wagon, had just uissed Sumter's picket when the pick- n it tired on Tarleton's van. y Taylor, with his party and wagons, an in with the pickets and were close- ^ y pursued hy the British dragoons v vhen they entered camp. Tarlcton rj mmediately advanced to the attack, is he came up with Sumter at Blacktock before 5 o'clock in the evening. w Upon receiving the tire of the j American picket he ordered his infanry to dismount, and with the cavalry j nade a rapid charge through the ields on the Georgians under Colonel rwiggs. The British infantry ad ranced, and Sumter, leading on Braton, Taylor, Hill and McCall to the ittack, gained their flank. Colonel ki iacey's mounted infantry advanced to si lie west side through a thick wood, s] vit.hin 75 paces of the enemy, undis- tl :overe<l, when with a well?directed ire 20 men and nearly as many horses g ell. Tarleton's cavalry were afraid B j enter the thick woods to ge\Jy acey's troops, but pressed foriwfel Trough the lane, where they felfi" lickly that their numbers, dyingjV|\j\ ead, blocked up the road. Mela rhile the Sixty-third was rougha andled. The part of the hill to whiJ leir attack was directed was nefrl erpendicular and their left was e?r osed to the log house into^whicj [ampton's men had been thrown an, roni which, as the apertures betwee. le logs served them for loop holes icy fired with security. Tarletoi) jpulsed, fell back with his cavalry ut re-formed, returned to the chargj nd thus continued, directing his chie! Torts to turn the American left. H< ad nearly succeeded in doing thf hen Colonel Winn advanced to tn jpport of the Georgians. Tarletol as again compelled to retire witl recipitation, and was pursued by i arty under Major James Jackson hich took upwards of 30 horses umter, while engaged in leading oj >e attack from the right, was skjl i the right shoulder. He request! 1 is aide-de-camp to put his sword inl' le scabbard and to direct a man ti ad off his horse. The action closed aving the Americans in possession o; ic field. | Of the British, the American au lorities claim that 92 were killed a~| 30 wounded; among the former, Maj [oneys and Lieuts. Gibson and Cope f the Americans one was killed an( nee wounded, including Sumter. Blackstock today is grown up ii ees and bushes and some parts o; are in cultivation. Taken from McCrady's South Car ina in The Revolution. Battle at Blackstock was fouglr ov. 20, 1780. (icn. Sumter was attacked by Lieut ol. Tarleton at the head of a larg* arty. The action was severe and ob inate. Maj. S. Hammond had thre< arses sho tunder him. The Ameri ins lost very few but Gen. Sumtei iceived a wound which, for severa lonths, interrupted his gallant enter uprises. Col. Twiggs took the com land here after Gen. Sumter wai ounded and concluded the battle us zeal and activity in animating th< merican militia when they were dis juraged by repeated defeats, and th< ravery and good conduct he dis layed in sundry attacks on the Brit ;h detachments procured him the ap lause of his countrymen and thi Tanks of congress. Blackstocks was an American vie >ry. The killed and wounded of th British was considerable. On the 20th of November, 1780, oc arred the noted battle of the Blacl^ Locks at the crossing of the Tygr iver, near the west line of the dfy rict, where Gen. Sumter defeate. lieut. Col. Tarleton at the head of . onsiderable body of horse and in intry' '?lT Blackstock is the only battel/' uring the Revolution in Union c<r. /. While there are many places t istoric interest in the county thi attlefield is one of importance an* hould be suitably marked. The Fai 'orest chapter is making an effor ) mark this spot. Mrs. L. J. Homes, Regent. HUMLK-I'KI(JE1) LABOR AND ITS RESULT! The result is going to be that wi re going to have to materially in rease the wages of Southern farm la or. And if crop prices have so ad smced as to justify it, we ought t< o it. We even question the moralit; nd Christianity of trying to keep th< oor man who has only the muscl od gave him for support from get ng the most the world's market wil ive him for it. We ought to fac< le competition of other sections no y taxing and mobbing "labor agents' ut by treating our own labor so fair j that it will be willing to stay witl s. We ought also to recognize the fac lat the scarcity of labor is going ti >rce us into using much improve! lachinery heretofore neglected loreover, if the labor to make th< itton crop leaves or secures highe ay, this will mean higher prices fo: le cotton .thus repaying in greate r less degree the man who hires high ri/.rwl InU.. a. ?I- - ' - . .^u iumi'i , wniie me man wno nai ihor in his own family will get al ic advantages of higher-priced labo; ithout any of the disadvantages o: aying out money for it. In fact, i e had not had a cheap labor race ii le South?in other words, if we ha< ad to pay the wages paid in North rn and Western states?cotton woul< robably have sold for at least ? nirth more every year we have mad< crop. So if labor now advances ii ricev the man who hires labor wil robably find compensation in in reused cotton prices, while the farm r who works with his own hands wil aturally fare better than ever before ance wages arbitrarily withou This does not mean of course tha pays any class of emplgyers to ad ance wages arbitrarily withou lyme or reason. It does mean tha the law of supply and demant rings about increased wages ther< ill be compensation in the form o: jcreased crop prices. It is also in 'resting to find that the profit-shar lg idea is beginning to win approva mong farm employers as well a; mong city employers.?The Progres ve Farmer. A western trapper has arrange! n electric system which lights I mall electric bulb when a trap ii irung, enabling him to locate it p) ie darkness and shoot the animal. Both the fruit, which resemble rapes, and the flowers o fa tree ii rax.il grow directly from the bark ] NEVI I ARR s j Our Buyer is i hearty demanding 1 i. . ^ months j Pr t' We are in a posil 3 much lower pric concerns at the thorough knowL I Clothing, Shoes for the present si j call upon us befo money will go fa: 1 j? J . j i i t aia not iook anea with our custom* people of Union; chandise at Low intend to deviate for yourself. J. F. NIcLI fiOVERNMENT TO COMMANDEER t VESSEL BEING CONSTRUCTED ; Tany Ships Now Under Construction. j Future Negotiations as to Foreign V/Ittl u i ^ B Washington.?Immediate command^ tering of most of the vessels under * :onstruction in American ship build" ng plants was decided on today by ' he shipping board. The step is preB it:.inary to the requisitioning of " | erican tonnage already on the seas |M ? will be taken to speed construcj ti , so that the yards may be cleared . '(building ships for which the gov/ lent has let contracts. There are Tildiflg in the yards of the country jhout 700 ships totalling more than s Jj >00,000 in tonnage, most of it for ^ 1 reign accounts. Hulls and contracts 5'ith will be taken over, the final disposition of the foreign craft to be left i I TE. has I wmm il tire? with treac lt actually muddy rc ISIp/ is fair an< in ix, T <gT .T,res if^\ THE?1S? ^wOjjj Ocner^ Off I Pisfc Dranc / GC IV1NG D, low in the Not the filling of coi ago at Prices Fs esent Day Pric ion to sell you ne :es than prevail present time. F< edge of Dry Goo ind flats enabled tuation. You ow re you spend yoi rther with us than d. We purpose d: 3rs. For years we and Union County Prices. War, or r from our custom. URE DRY I .o negotiations between the Unite States and the governments concernei The completed American ships wil re retained by the board for opera lion. Commandeering of tonnage buildin; vas one of the features of the pre ?ram for ship building announced b Vlajor Gen. Goethals just before h resigned as manager of the Fleet Cor loration. Chairman Denmark's block ng of this program was one of th /nings that led to Mr. Denman's re noval by the president. Gen. Goethal's plan for constructinj ;wo great government-owned shi >rards for building fabricated stee ihips will be taken up by board latei [t is understood Rear Admiral Cappj low manager of the Fleet Corpora don, is opposed to the form of con :ract8 proposed by the general fo diis work and that the whole schem nay be abandoned. In that event th pay more than Fi?k prices, jfl omeihing that does not exist" g io Wonder I Man Smiles! 1 found a real Non-Skid I -one of the few tires ? I so constructed that g protects against dan- E wet pavements and ja >ads. And the price I J right. I . IRES I , ndard of Tire Value S For Sale Fy All Dealers jj || : Rubber Company j | ices: Chicopee Falls, Mass. I I hes in More Than 125 Cities j j. >ODS \II,Y thern Markets ntracts made ir Under AO ca. ;w goods at very in the wholesale orethought and a ds, Dress Goods, us to get ready e it to yourself to lr money. Your with dealers who ividing our profits ; have given the High Class Mer10 war, we do not Come, and see snnns nn MVVVV UUI | (1 fabricated ships would be built in pri1. vate yards for government account. 11 BOSCH EE'S GERMAN SYRUP. g Why use ordinary cough remriies, i- when Hoachee's German Syrup has v been used so successfully for fifty-one e years in all parts of the United States - for coughs, bronchitis, colds settled in the throat, especially lung troubles. It e gives the patient a good night's rest, i- free from coughing, with easy expectoration in the morning, gives nature ? a chance to soothe the inflamed parts, n throw off the disease, helping the pall tient to regain his health. 25 and 75 cent bottles. Sold by Glymph's Phar,* macv. '? i- Kind deeds make good shortening r for even the upper crust of life, e The husband of a nagging woman e usually believes in absent treatment.