Reorganization or the Troops--Volunteers for Confederate Service--Call
from Virginia. Troops Leave the State.
INCIDENTS ON THE WAY.
There was much discussion at the time as to who really fired the first
gun at Sumter. Great importance was attached to the episode, and
as there were different opinions, and it was never satisfactorily
settled, it is not expected that any new light can be thrown on it at
this late day. It was first said to have been General Edmond Ruffin,
a venerable octogenarian from Virginia, who at the secession of South
Carolina came to this State and offered his services as a volunteer.
He had at one time been a citizen of South Carolina, connected with a
geological survey, and had written several works on the resources and
possibilities of the State, which created quite an interest at that
day and time. He was one of the noblest types of elderly men it has
ever been my fortune to look upon. He could not be called venerable,
but picturesque. His hair hung in long silvery locks, tied in a queue
in the fashions of the past centuries. His height was very near six
feet, slender and straight as an Indian brave, and his piercing black
eyes seemed to flash fire and impressed one as being able to look into
your very soul. He joined the "Palmetto Guards," donned the uniform
of that company, and his pictures were sold all over the entire South,
taken, as they were, in the habiliments of a soldier. These showed
him in an easy pose, his rifle between his knees, coat adorned with
palmetto buttons closely buttoned up to his chin, his hair combed
straight from his brow and tied up with a bow of ribbon that streamed
down his back, his cap placed upon his knee bearing the monogram
"P.G.," the emblem of his company, worked in with palmetto.
The other aspirant for the honor of firing the first gun was Captain
George S. James, afterwards the Colonel of James' Battalion, or "Third
Battalion," as it was known in Kershaw's Brigade. It has been said
that this honor was granted him, at his special request, by Captain
Stephen D. Lee, on General Beauregard's staff (afterwards a Lieutenant
General of the Confederate Army). Captain James' claim appears to
be more valid than that of General Ruffin from the fact that it is
positively known that James' company was on duty at Fort Johnston, on
James' Island, while the Palmetto Guards, of which General Ruffin was
a member, was at the railroad battery on Morris Island. However, this
should not be taken as conclusive, as at that time discipline was,
to a certain extent, not strictly enforced, and many independent
volunteers belonged to the army over whom there was very little, if
any control. So General Ruffin may have been at Fort Johnston while
his company was at Cummings Point. However, little interest is
attached to this incident after the lapse of so many years.
Perhaps never in the history of a State was there such a frenzy of
excitement--not even in the days of Indian insurrections or the raids
of the bloody Tarleton--as when the news flashed over the country that
Sumter was being bombarded, and a call was made for all the volunteers
to assemble in Charleston. There were not the facilities in those days
as now for the spreading of news, there being but few telegraph lines
in the State. Notwithstanding this, every method possible was put into
practice for gathering in the troops. There were no assemblages
of troops outside of Charleston. Men were following their daily
vocations. Extra trains were put in motion; couriers dashed with
rapid speed across the country. Private means, as well as public, were
resorted to to arouse the men and bring them to the front. Officers
warned the private, and he in turn rode with all the speed his horse,
loosed from the plow, could command, to arouse his comrades. It was
on Saturday when word was first sent out, but it was late the next
day (Sunday) before men in the remote rural districts received the
stirring notice. Men left their plows standing in the field, not to
return under four years, and many of them never. Carpenters came down
from the unfinished roof, or left their bench with work half finished.
The student who had left his school on the Friday before never recited
his Monday's lesson. The country doctor left his patients to the care
of the good housewife. Many people had gone to church and in places
the bells were still tolling, calling the worshippers together to
listen to the good and faithful teachings of the Bible, but the sermon
was never delivered or listened to. Hasty preparations were made
everywhere. The loyal wives soon had the husband's clothes in the
homemade knapsack; the mother buckled on the girdle of her son, while
the gray haired father was burning with impatience, only sorrowing
that he, too, could not go. Never before in the history of the world,
not even in Carthage or Sparta, was there ever such a spontaneous
outburst of patriotic feeling; never such a cheerful and willing
answer to the call of a mother country. Not a regret, not a tear;
no murmuring or reproaches--not one single complaint. Never did the
faithful Scott give with better grace his sons for the defense of
his beloved chief, "Eric," than did the fathers and mothers of South
Carolina give their sons for the defense of the beloved Southland.
The soldiers gathered at the railroad stations, and as the trains
that had been sent to the farthest limits of the State came along, the
troops boarded them and hurried along to Charleston, then the seat
of war. General M.L. Bonham had been appointed Major General of State
troops and called his brigades together. Colonel Gregg was already in
Charleston with the First Regiment. Col. Joseph B. Kershaw with the
Second, Colonel James H. Williams with the Third, Colonel Thomas Bacon
with the Seventh, and Colonel E.B.C. Cash with the Eighth, formed
their regiments by gathering the different companies along at the
various railroad stations. The Second, Seventh, and Eighth came on
to Charleston, reaching there while the bombardment was still in
progress, but not early enough to take active part in the battle.
Colonel Williams with the Third, for want of transportation, was
stopped in Columbia, and took up quarters in the Fair Grounds. The
other regiments went into camp in the suburbs of Charleston and on the
islands. After the surrender of Sumter the troops on the islands and
mainland returned to their old quarters to talk upon the incidents
of the battle, write home of the memorable events and to rejoice
generally. Almost as many rumors were now afloat as there were men in
the army. It was the generally conceded opinion of all that the
war was at an end. A great many of the Southern leaders boasted of
"drinking all the blood that would be shed in the war." The whole
truth of the entire matter was, both sections underrated each other.
The South, proud and haughty, looked with disdain upon the courage of
the North; considered the people cowardly, and not being familiar with
firearms would be poor soldiers; that the rank and file of the North,
being of a foreign, or a mixture of foreign blood, would not remain
loyal to the Union, as the leaders thought, and would not fight. While
the North looked upon the South as a set of aristocratic blusterers,
their affluence and wealth having made them effeminate; a nation
of weaklings, who could not stand the fatigues and hardships of a
campaign. Neither understood the other, overrating themselves and
underrating the strength of their antagonists. When Lincoln first
called for 50,000 troops and several millions of dollars for equipment
and conduct of the war, the South would ask in derision, "Where would
he get them?" When the South would talk of resistance, the North would
ask, "Where are her soldiers?" "The rich planters' sons cannot fight."
"The poor man will not do battle for the negroes of the rich." "The
South has no arms, no money, no credit." So each mistook the strength,
motives, spirits, and sentiments that actuated the other. A great
change came over the feelings of the North after the fall of Sumter.
They considered that their flag had been insulted, their country
dishonored. Where there had been differences before at the North,
there was harmony now. The conservative press of that section was
now defiant and called for war; party differences were healed and the
Democratic party of the North that had always affiliated in national
affairs with the South, was now bitter against their erring sisters,
and cried loudly for "Union or coercion." The common people of the
North were taught to believe that the Nation had been irretrievably
dishonored and disgraced, that the disruption of the Union was a
death knell to Republican institutions and personal liberty. That the
liberty and independence that their ancestors had won by their blood
in the Revolution was now to be scattered to the four winds of heaven
by a few fanatical slave holders at the South. But up to this time the
question of slavery had not been brought into controversy on either
side. It was not discussed and was only an after thought, a military
necessity.
Virginia, three days after the fall of Sumter, joined her sister
State. This act of the old commonwealth was hailed in the Gulf States
with great rejoicing. Bells tolled and cannon boomed and men hurrahed.
Until now it was not certain what stand would be taken by the Border
States. They did not wish to leave the Union; neither would they be
a party to a war upon their seceding sisters. They promised to
be neutral. But President Lincoln soon dispelled all doubt and
uncertainty by his proclamation, calling upon all States then
remaining in the Union to furnish their quota of troops. They were
then forced to take sides for or against and were not long in reaching
a conclusion. As soon as conventions could be assembled, the States
joined the Confederacy and began levying troops to resist invasion.
Tennessee followed Virginia, then Arkansas, the Old North State being
the last of the Atlantic and Gulf States to cross the Rubicon into the
"plains of Southern independence." The troops that had been called for
six months were now disbanded, and those who had enlisted for
twelve months for State service were called upon to volunteer in
the Confederate Army for the unexpired time. They volunteered almost
without a dissenting voice. Having left their homes so hurriedly,
they were granted a furlough of a week or ten days to return to their
families and put their houses in order. They then returned and went
into a camp of instruction.
General Bonham had not gotten all of his regiments together up to this
time. The Second, Seventh, and Eighth were around Charleston, while
the Third was at Lightwood Knot Spring, four miles from Columbia. This
camp was called "Camp Williams," in honor of their Colonel. That in
Columbia was called "Camp Ruffin," in honor of General Ruffin. It
was customary to give all the different camps a name during the
first year's service, generally in honor of some favorite officer or
statesman. Colonel Gregg's regiment remained on Morris Island until
early in May, when it was sent to Norfolk, Va., to take charge of the
large amount of government property there, now very valuable to the
South.
At the reorganization of the First Regiment I came to Columbia and
joined the company I had before enlisted in. I had two older brothers
there, and I was given a place as Second Sergeant in the company.
At the secession of South Carolina, Colonel Williams was in Arkansas,
where he had large estates, but on being notified of his election, he
joined his regiment while at Lightwood Knot Springs. He was met at
the railroad by his troops with great demonstrations of joy and pride.
Stalwart men hoisted him upon their shoulders and carried him through
the camp, followed by a throng of shouting and delighted soldiers.
The regiment had been commanded up to that time by Lieutenant Colonel
Foster, of Spartanburg, with James M. Baxter as Major, D.R. Rutherford
as Adjutant, Dr. D.E. Ewart Surgeon, John McGowan Quartermaster.
Cadets were sent from the Citadel as drill masters to all the
regiments, and for six hours daily the ears were greeted with
"hep-hep" to designate the "left" foot "down" while on the drill. It
took great patience, determination, and toil to bring the men under
military discipline. Fresh from the fields, shops, and schools they
had been accustomed to the freedom of home life, and with all their
patriotism, it took time to break into the harness of military
restraint and discipline these lovers of personal freedom. Many
amusing incidents occurred while breaking these "wild colts," but
all took it good humoredly, and the best of feelings existed between
officers and men. Some few, however, were nettled by the restraint and
forced obedience to those whom they had heretofore been accustomed
to look upon as equals, but now suddenly made superiors. The great
majority entered upon the duties of camp life with rare good will. All
were waiting patiently the call to Virginia. Here I will give a short
description of the regiments and their officers up to the time that
all were brought together as a brigade. After that time we will treat
them as a whole.
The regiments were uniformed by private donations, each neighborhood
uniforming the company raised in its bounds. The tents were large
and old fashioned--about 8 x 10 feet square, with a separate fly on
top--one of these being allowed to every six or seven men. They were
pitched in rows, about fifty feet apart, the front of one company
facing the rear of the other. About the first of June all the
regiments, except the Second, were ordered to Manassas, Va. The
regiments were formed by companies from battalions of the militia from
various counties, one company usually being formed from a battalion.
These companies were organized into regiments, very much as at
present, and like the old anti-bellum militia. At times some
ambitious citizen would undertake to raise a volunteer company outside
of those raised from battalions, and generally these were called
"crack companies." Afterwards a few undertook to raise companies in
this manner, i.e., selecting the officers first, and then proceeding
to select the men, refusing such as would not make acceptable
soldiers, thus forming exclusive organizations. These were mostly
formed in towns and cities. At other times old volunteer companies,
as they were called, of the militia would enlist in a body, with such
recruits as were wanted to fill up the number. In the old militia
service almost all the towns and cities had these companies as a kind
of city organization, and they would be handsomely uniformed, well
equipped, and in many cases were almost equal to regular soldiers.
Columbia had at least three of these companies in our brigade--the
Governor's Guards, Richland Rifles, and one more, I think, but on this
point am not positive. Charleston had two or more, the Palmetto Guards
and others; Greenville, the Butler Guards; Newberry, the Quitman
Rifles; while the other counties, Abbeville, Anderson, Edgefield,
Williamsburg, Darlington, Sumter, and almost all the counties
represented in our brigade had one of these city volunteer companies.
When all the companies called for had been organized, they were
notified to what regiment they had been assigned, or what companies
were to constitute a regiment, and were ordered to hold an election
for field officers. Each company would hold its election, candidates
in the meantime having offered their services to fill the respective
places of Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, and Major. After the elections
thus held, the returns would be sent up to the Adjutant and Inspector
General's office and there tabulated, and the result declared. The
candidates for field officers were generally Mexican War Veterans, or
some popular citizen, whom the old men thought "would take care of
the boys." At first the qualification of a commander, be it Colonel
or Captain, mostly required was clemency. His rules of discipline,
bravery, or military ability were not so much taken into
consideration.
* * * * *
SECOND SOUTH CAROLINA REGIMENT.
Early in May or the last of April four companies of the Second
Regiment, under Colonel Kershaw, volunteered for Confederate service,
and were sent at once to Virginia. These companies were commanded by--
Captain John D. Kennedy, Kershaw County. Captain W.H. Casson,
Richland County. Captain William Wallace, Richland County.
Captain John Richardson, Sumter County.
They were afterwards joined by companies under--
Captain Ferryman, of Abbeville County, (formerly of the
Seventh Regiment). Captain Cuthbert, Charleston. Captain
Rhett, Charleston. Captain Haile, Kershaw. Captain McManus,
Lancaster. Captain Hoke, Greenville.
These were among the first soldiers from the "Palmetto State" to go to
Virginia, and the regiment when fully organized stood as follows:
J.B. Kershaw, Colonel, of Camden. E.P. Jones, Lieutenant
Colonel. Fred Gaillard, Major. A.D. Goodwin, Adjutant.
Company A--W.H. Casson, Richland. Company B--A.D. Hoke,
Greenville. Company C--William Wallace, Richland. Company
D--T.S. Richardson. Company E--John D. Kennedy, Kershaw.
Company F--W.W.Perryman, Anderson. Company G--I. Haile,
Kershaw. Company H--H. McManus, Lancaster. Company I--G.B.
Cuthbert, Charleston. Company K--R. Rhett, Charleston.
Surgeon--Dr. F. Salmond, Kershaw. Quartermaster--W.S.
Wood, Columbia. Commissary--J.J. Villipigue. Chaplain--A.J.
McGruder.
* * * * *
THIRD SOUTH CAROLINA REGIMENT.
The Third Regiment had originally twelve companies enlisted for State
service, but in transferring to Confederate Army only ten were allowed
by the army regulations. Two companies were left out, viz.: Captain
J.C.S. Brown's, from Newberry, and Captain Mat. Jones', from Laurens.
The privates, however, enlisted in the other companies as a general
rule, for the companies were allowed a maximum number of 100. The
Eighth and Third made no changes in their companies or officers
from their first enlistment in the State service until their second
enlistment in 1862, only as occasioned by resignations or the
casualties of war. The two regiments remained as first organized, with
few exceptions.
The Third stood, when ready for transportation to Virginia, the 7th of
June, as follows:
James H. Williams, Colonel, Newberry. B.B. Foster, Lieutenant
Colonel, Spartanburg. James M. Baxter, Major, Newberry. W.D.
Rutherford, Adjutant, Newberry.
Company A--B. Conway Garlington, Laurens. Company B--S. Newton
Davidson, Newberry. Company C--R.C. Maffett, Newberry. Company
D--T.B. Furgerson, Spartanburg and Union. Company E--James D.
Nance, Newberry. Company F--T. Walker, Newberry and Laurens.
Company G--R.P. Todd, Laurens. Company H--D. Nunnamaker,
Lexington. Company I--Smith L. Jones, Laurens. Company
K--Benj. Kennedy, Spartanburg. Surgeon--Dr. D.E.
Ewart, Newberry. Quartermaster--John McGowan, Laurens.
Commissary--Sergeant J.N. Martin, Newberry. Chaplain--Rev.
Mayfield.
* * * * *
SEVENTH SOUTH CAROLINA REGIMENT. Colonel, Thomas G. Bacon.
The following companies were from Abbeville:
Company A, Captain W.W. Perryman. Company B, Captain G.M.
Mattison. Company C, Captain P.H. Bradley. Company D, Captain
S.J. Hester.
The following companies were from Edgefield:
Company E, Captain D. Dendy. Company F, Captain John S. Hard.
Company G, Captain J. Hampden Brooks. Company H, Captain
Elbert Bland. Company I, Captain W.E. Prescott. Company K,
Captain Bart Talbert.
Captain Perryman with his company, the "Secession Guards," volunteered
for the Confederate service before the other companies, and left for
Virginia on April 28th and joined the Second South Carolina Regiment.
Captain Bland took his place with his company in the regiment as
Company A.
The companies of the Seventh came together as a regiment at the
Schutzenplatz, near Charleston, on the 16th of April. In about
two weeks it was ordered to Edgefield District at a place called
Montmorenci, in Aiken County. While here a company came from Edgefield
County near Trenton, under Captain Coleman, and joined the regiment.
But this company failed to enlist.
The Seventh Regiment elected as officers: Colonel, Thomas G. Bacon, of
Edgefield District; lieutenant Colonel, Robert A. Fair, of Abbeville;
Major, Emmet Seibles, of Edgefield; Adjutant, D. Wyatt Aiken, of
Abbeville. All the staff officers were appointed by the Colonels until
the transfer to the Confederate service; then the medical department
was made a separate branch, and the Surgeons and Assistant Surgeons
were appointed by the Department. Colonel Bacon appointed on
his staff: B.F. Lovelass, Quartermaster; Fred Smith, Commissary;
afterwards A.F. Townsend.
Surgeon Joseph W. Hearst resigned, and A.R. Drogie was made Surgeon
in his stead, with Dr. G.H. Waddell as Assistant Surgeon. A.C.
Stallworth, Sergeant Major, left for Virginia about the first of June
and joined the Second a few days afterwards.
* * * * *
EIGHTH SOUTH CAROLINA REGIMENT.
The Eighth Regiment was organized early in the year 1861, but the
companies were not called together until the 14th day of April,
arriving in Charleston in the afternoon of that day, just after the
fall of Fort Sumter. It was composed of ten companies, as follows:
Three from Chesterfield, two from Marion, two from Marlborough, and
three from Darlington, with Colonel, E.B.C. Cash; Lieutenant Colonel,
John W. Henagan; Major, Thomas E. Lucas; Adjutant, C.B. Weatherly.
Companies first taken to Virginia:
Company A--A.I. Hoole, Darlington.
Company B--M.I. Hough, Chesterfield.
Company C--Wm. H. Coit, Chesterfield.
Company D--John S. Miller, Chesterfield.
Company E--W.E. Jay, Darlington.
Company F--W.H. Evans, Darlington.
Company G--John W. Harrington, Marlboro.
Company H--R.L. Singletary, Marion.
Company I--T.E. Stackhouse, Marion.
Company K--D. McD. McLeod, Marlboro.
After remaining in Charleston until the 4th of May it was moved to
Florence. On the 1st of June the regiment re-enlisted for Confederate
service. They were ordered to Richmond and arrived there on June 4th,
and left on the 15th to join the Second then at Bull Run. On the 22nd
of June they went into camp at Germantown, near Fairfax Court House,
where all the regiments were soon joined together as Bonhams' Brigade.
The first real exciting incident connected with the Third South
Carolina Regiment--the first panic and stampede--happened as the
troops were returning from their ten days' furlough to their camp
of instruction, near Columbia, just after their enlistment in the
Confederate service. I record this occurrence to show what little
incidents, and those of such little moment, are calculated to stampede
an army, and to what foolish lengths men will go when excited. The
train was rattling along at a good speed, something like ten or
fifteen miles an hour, just above Columbia; a long string of box
cars loaded with soldiers; the baggage of the troops scattered
promiscuously around in the cars; trunks, valises, carpet bags, and
boxes of all conceivable dimensions, holding the belongings of several
neighborhoods of boys; spirits flowed without and within; congenial
friends in a congenial cause; congenial topics made a congenial whole.
When just below Littleton, with long stretches of lowlands on one side
and the river on the other, the curling streaks of a little grey smoke
made its appearance from under one of the forward cars. At first the
merry good humor and enlivening effects of some amusing jest, the
occasional round of a friendly bottle, prevented the men from noticing
this danger signal of fire. However, a little later on this continuing
and increasing volume of smoke caused an alarm to be given. Men ran to
the doors on either side, shouted and called, waved hats, hands, and
handkerchiefs, at the same time pointing at the smoke below. There
being no communication between the cars, those in front and rear had
to be guided by the wild gesticulations of those in the smoking car.
The engineer did not notice anything amiss, and sat placidly upon his
high seat, watching the fast receding rails as they flashed under and
out of sight beneath the ponderous driving-wheels of the engine. At
last someone in the forward car, not accustomed to, but familiar with
the dangers of a railroad car by the wild rumors given currency in his
rural district of railroad wrecks, made a desperate leap from the car.
This was followed by another, now equally excited. Those in the front
cars, clutching to the sides of the doors, craned their necks as
far as possible outward, but could see nothing but leaping men. They
fearing a catastrophe of some kind, leaped also, while those in the
rear cars, as they saw along the sides of the railroad track men
leaping, rolling, and tumbling on the ground, took it for granted
that a desperate calamity had happened to a forward car. No time for
questions, no time for meditation. The soldier's only care was to
watch for a soft place to make his desperate leap, and in many cases
there was little choice. Men leaped wildly in the air, some with their
heels up, others falling on their heads and backs, some rolling over
in a mad scramble to clear themselves from the threatening danger.
The engineer not being aware of anything wrong with the train, glided
serenely along, unconscious of the pandemonium, in the rear. But when
all had about left the train, and the great driving-wheels began to
spin around like mad, from the lightening of the load, the master of
the throttle looked to the rear. There lay stretched prone upon the
ground, or limping on one foot, or rolling over in the dirt, some
bareheaded and coatless, boxes and trunks scattered as in an awful
collision, upwards of one thousand men along the railroad track. Many
of the men thinking, no doubt, the train hopelessly lost, or serious
danger imminent, threw their baggage out before making the dangerous
leap. At last the train was stopped and brought back to the scene of
desolation. It terminated like the bombardment of Fort Sumter--"no one
hurt," and all occasioned by a hot-box that could have been cooled in
a very few minutes. Much swearing and good-humored jesting were now
engaged in. Such is the result of the want of presence of mind. A wave
of the hat at the proper moment as a signal to the engineer to
stop, and all would have been well. It was told once of a young lady
crossing a railroad track in front of a fast approaching train, that
her shoe got fastened in the frog where the two rails join. She began
to struggle, then to scream, and then fainted. A crowd rushed up, some
grasping the lady's body attempted to pull her loose by force; others
shouted to the train to stop; some called for crow-bars to take up
the iron. At last one man pushed through the crowd, untied the lady's
shoe, and she was loose. Presence of mind, and not force, did it.
Remaining in camp a few days, orders came to move, and cars were
gotten in readiness and baggage packed preparatory to the trip to
Virginia. To many, especially those reared in the back districts, and
who, before their brief army life, had never been farther from
their homes than their county seat, the trip to the old "Mother of
Presidents," the grand old commonwealth, was quite a journey indeed.
The old negroes, who had been brought South during the early days of
the century, called the old State "Virginy" and mixing it with local
dialect, in some parts had got the name so changed that it was called
"Ferginey." The circus troops and negro comedians, in their annual
trips through the Southern States, had songs already so catchy to our
people, on account of their pathos and melody, of Old Virginia,
that now it almost appeared as though we were going to our old home.
Virginia had been endeared to us and closely connected with the
people of South Carolina by many links, not the least being its many
sentimental songs of that romantic land, and the stories of her great
men.
The baggage of the common soldier at this stage of the war would
have thrown an ordinary quartermaster of latter day service into
an epileptic fit, it was so ponderous in size and enormous in
quantities--a perfect household outfit. A few days before this the
soldier had received his first two months' pay, all in new crisp
bank notes, fresh from the State banks or banks of deposit. It can
be easily imagined that there were lively times for the butcher, the
baker and candlestick maker, with all this money afloat. The Third
South Carolina was transported by way of Wilmington and Weldon, N.C.
Had there ever existed any doubts in the country as to the feelings
of the people of the South before this in regard to Secession, it was
entirely dispelled by the enthusiastic cheers and good will of the
people along the road. The conduct of the men and women through South
Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, showed one long and continued
ovation along the line of travel, looking like a general holiday. As
the cars sped along through the fields, the little hamlets and towns,
people of every kind, size, and complexion rushed to the railroad and
gave us welcome and Godspeed. Hats went into the air as we passed,
handkerchiefs fluttered, flags waved in the gentle summer breeze from
almost every housetop. The ladies and old men pressed to the side of
the cars when we halted, to shake the hands of the brave soldier boys,
and gave them blessings, hope and encouragement. The ladies vied
with the men in doing homage to the soldiers of the Palmetto State.
Telegrams had been sent on asking of our coming, the hour of our
passage through the little towns, and inviting us to stop and enjoy
their hospitality and partake of refreshments. In those places where a
stop was permitted, long tables were spread in some neighboring grove
or park, bending under the weight of their bounties, laden down with
everything tempting to the soldier's appetite. The purest and best of
the women mingled freely with the troops, and by every device known to
the fair sex showed their sympathy and encouragement in the cause we
had espoused. At Wilmington, N.C., we crossed the Cape Fear River on a
little river steamer, the roads not being connected with a bridge.
At Petersburg and Richmond we had to march through portions of those
cities in going from one depot to another, union sheds, not being in
vogue at that time, and on our entry into these cities the population
turned out en masse to welcome and extend to us their greeting. Every
private house stood open to the soldiers and the greatest good will
was everywhere manifested.
Much has been said in after years, since misfortune and ruin overtook
the South, since the sad reverses of the army and the overthrow of
our principles, about leaders plunging the nation into a bloody
and uncalled for war. This, is all the height of folly. No man
or combination of men could have stayed or avoided war. No human
persuasion or earthly power could have stayed the great wave of
revolution that had struck the land; and while, like a storm widening
and gathering strength and fury as it goes, to have attempted it would
have been but to court ruin and destruction. Few men living in
that period of our country's history would have had the boldness or
hardihood to counsel submission or inactivity. Differences there may
have been and were as to methods, but to Secession, none. The voices
of the women of the land were alone enough to have forced the measures
upon the men in some shape or other. Then, as to the leaders being
"shirkers" when the actual contest came, the history of the times
gives contradictions sufficient without examples. Where the duties
of the service called, they willingly obeyed. All could not fill
departments or sit in the councils of the nation, but none shirked
the responsibility the conditions called them to. Where fathers filled
easy places their sons were in the ranks, and many of our leaders of
Secession headed troops in the field. General Bonham, our Brigadier,
had just resigned his seat in the United States Congress; so had
L.M. Keitt, who fell at Cold Harbor at the head of our brigade, while
Colonel of the Twentieth Regiment. James L. Orr, one of the original
Secessionists and a member of Congress, raised the first regiment of
rifles. The son of Governor Gist, the last Executive of South Carolina
just previous to Secession, fell while leading his regiment,
the Fifteenth, of our brigade, in the assault at Fort Loudon, at
Knoxville. Scarcely was there a member of the convention that passed
the Ordinance of Secession who had not a son or near kinsman in the
ranks of the army. They showed by their deeds the truth and honesty
of their convictions. They had trusted the North until trusting had
ceased to be a virtue. They wished peace, but feared not war. All this
idle talk, so common since the war, of a "rich man's war and a poor
man's fight" is the merest twaddle and vilely untrue.
The men of the South had risked their all upon the cast, and were
willing to abide by the hazard of the die. All the great men of South
Carolina were for Secession, and they nobly entered the field. The
Hamptons, Butlers, Haskells, Draytons, Bonhams, all readily grasped
the sword or musket. The fire-eaters, like Bob Toombs, of Georgia,
and Wigfall, of Texas, led brigades, and were as fiery upon the
battlefield as they had been upon the floor of the United States
Senate. So with all the leaders of Secession, without exception; they
contributed their lives, their services, and their wealth to the cause
they had advocated and loved so well. I make this departure here to
correct an opinion or belief, originated and propagated by the envious
few who did not rise to distinction in the war, or who were too young
to participate in its glories--those glories that were mutual and will
ever surround the Confederate soldier, regardless of rank.
After stopping a few days in Richmond, we were carried on to Manassas
and Bull Run, then to Fairfax, where we joined the other regiments.
The Third Regiment camped first at Mitchell's Ford, remained at that
point for a week or ten days, and from thence moved to the outpost
just beyond Fairfax Court House. The Eighth and Second camped for a
while at Germantown, and soon the whole brigade was between Fairfax
and Bull Run.
* * * * *