Leave the Valley for the Last Time--October 20th to December 31st,
1864.
The retreat from Fisher's Hill to New Market will never be
forgotten by those who participated therein as long as they live. To
recapitulate the movements of the last thirty-six hours and reflect
upon what had been accomplished, it seems beyond human endurance.
No retreat in history, even the famous retreat of Xenophon, while of
greater duration and under different circumstances, still it did not
equal that of Early during the same length of time. From midnight of
the 18th the troops were in line, crossing the river some miles in the
distance before daylight, storms and takes the enemy's lines by nine
o'clock, incessant fighting for five or six miles (either fighting or
on the run), then a stampede of the same distance, then back
across the river and to camp, a two hours' halt, a forced march of
thirty-five miles--making over fifty miles in all--without eating or
drinking, only as could be "caught up" on the march or run. Up the
valley this routed, disorganized rabble (it could not be called an
army) marched, every man as he saw fit, here a General at the head of
a few squads called regiments, or a Colonel or Captain with a few
men at his heels, some with colors and some without; here a Colonel
without a man, there a score or two of men without a commissioned
officer. A great number had abandoned their arms and accoutrements,
others their scanty baggage. Some regiments had lost their whole
supply trains that hauled their cooking utensils and provisions. Then
we could see artillerymen with nothing but a few jaded horses, their
cannons and caissons left in the general upheaval and wreck at the
Stone Bridge, or on the field of battle; Quartermasters, with their
teamsters riding or leading their horses, their wagons abandoned or
over run by others in the mad rush to escape across the bridge before
it was blocked. Along the road loose horses roamed at will, while the
sides of the pike were strewn with discarded blankets, tent flies,
oilcloths and clothing, the men being forced to free themselves of all
surplus incumbrances in order to keep up with the moving mass. At one
place we passed General Early, sitting on his horse by the roadside,
viewing the motley crowd as it passed by. He looked sour and haggard.
You could see by the expression of his face the great weight upon his
mind, his deep disappointment, his unspoken disappointment. What was
yesterday a proud, well-disciplined army that had accomplished during
the first part of the day all, or more, that even the most sanguine
General could have expected--crossed rivers, pulled themselves over
the mountains, assaulted and surprised an enemy who lay in feeling
security behind almost impregnable fortifications, routed and driven
them from the field, capturing almost the whole camp equipage with
twenty field pieces--now before him poured, the same victorious army,
beaten, stampeded, without order or discipline, all the fruits of
victory and his own camp equipage gone, his wagon trains abandoned,
the men without arms, his cannoneers without cannonry and every color
trailing in the dust. And what caused it? The sudden change from
victory to defeat. It was not the want of Generalship, for General
Early had wisely planned. It was not for lack of courage of the
troops, for that morning they had displayed valor and over come
obstacles which would have baffled and dismayed less bold spirits. Was
it for the superior gallantry of the enemy's troops or the superior
Generalship of their adversary? The latter was awry, and the former
had been routed from their entrenchments by the bayonet of the
Confederates. Sheridan did not even hope to stop our victorious march,
only to check it sufficiently to enable him to save the remnant of
his army. A feeble advance, a panic strikes our army, and all is
lost, while no individual, officer, brigade, or regiment could be held
responsible. It shows that once a panic strikes an army all discipline
is lost and nothing but time will restore it. For nearly one hundred
years historians have been framing reasons and causes of Napoleon's
Waterloo, but they are as far from the real cause to-day as they were
the night of the rout. It will ever remain the same sad mystery of
Early at Cedar Creek. Men are, in some respects, like the animal, and
especially in large bodies. A man, when left alone to reason and think
for himself, and be forced to depend upon his own resources, will
often act differently than when one of a great number. The "loss of
a head" is contageous. One will commit a foolish act, and others will
follow, but cannot tell why. Otherwise quiet and unobtrusive men, when
influenced by the frenzy of an excited mob, will commit violence
which in their better moments their hearts would revolt and their
consciences rebel against. A soldier in battle will leave his ranks
and fly to the rear with no other reason than that he saw others doing
the same, and followed.
The stampede of Early was uncalled for, unnecessary, and disgraceful,
and I willingly assume my share of the blame and shame. My only title
to fame rests upon my leading the Third South Carolina Regiment in the
grandest stampede of the Southern Army, the greatest since Waterloo,
and I hope to be forgiven for saying with pardonable pride that I
led them remarkably well to the rear for a boy of eighteen. A General
could not have done better.
We passed the little towns and villages of the Valley, the ladies
coming to their doors and looking on the retreat in silence. Were
we ashamed? Don't ask the pointed question, gentle reader, for the
soldiers felt as if they could turn and brain every Federal soldier in
the army with the butt of his rifle. But not a reproach, not a murmur
from those self-sacrificing, patriotic women of the Valley. They were
silent, but sad--their experience during the time the enemy occupied
the Valley before told them they had nothing to expect but insult and
injury, for their bold, proud Virginia blood would not suffer them to
bend the knee in silent submission. Their sons and husbands had all
given themselves to the service of their country, while rapine and the
torch had already done its work too thoroughly to fear it much now
or dread its consequences. But the presence alone of a foreign foe on
their threshold was the bitterness of gall.
On reaching New Market, men were gathered together in regiments and
assigned to camping grounds, as well as the disorganized state of the
army would allow. All night long the stragglers kept coming in, and
did so for several days. We were suffering for something to eat more
than anything else. Rations of corn were issued, and this was parched
and eaten, or beaten up, when parched, and a decoction which the
soldiers called "coffee" was made and drunk.
The troops remained in camp until the last of October, then began
their march to rejoin Lee. The campaign of Early in the Valley had
been a failure, if measured by the fruits of victory. If, however, to
keep the enemy from occupying the Valley, or from coming down on the
north or rear of Richmond was the object, then it had accomplished
its purpose, but at a heavy loss and a fearful sacrifice of life.
We arrived at Richmond early in November, and began building winter
quarters about seven miles from the city, on the extreme left of the
army. Everything north of the James continued quiet along our lines
for a month or more, but we could hear the deep baying of cannon
continually, away to our right, in the direction of Petersburg.
When we had about finished our huts we were moved out of them and
further to the right, in quarters that Hoke's Division had built.
These were the most comfortable quarters we occupied during the war.
They consisted of log huts twelve by fourteen, thoroughly chinked with
mud and straw, some covered with dirt, others with split boards. We
had splendid breastworks in front of us, built up with logs on the
inside and a bank of earth from six to eight feet in depth on the
outside, a ditch of three or four feet beyond and an escarpment
inside. At salients along the line forts for the artillery were built,
but not now manned, and in front of our lines and around our forts
mines or torpedoes were sunk, which would explode by tramping on the
earth above them.
At these mines were little sticks about three feet long stuck in the
ground with a piece of blue flannel tied to the end to attract the
attention of our pickets going out. But hundreds of white sticks,
exactly like those above the mines, were stuck into the earth every
three feet for a distance of forty feet all around, but these were
marked red instead of blue. This was so that the enemy, in case of a
charge, or spies coming in at night, could not distinguish harmless
stakes from those of the torpedo. We picketed in front and had to pass
through where these stakes were posted single file, along little paths
winding in and out among them. The men were led out and in by guides
and cautioned against touching any, for fear of mistake and being
blown up. It is needless to say these instructions were carried out to
the letter and no mistake ever made. On several occasions, even before
we had our first quarters completed, a report would come occasionally
that the enemy was approaching or quartered near our front, and out we
would go to meet them, but invariably it proved to be a false alarm or
the enemy had retired. Once in December the enemy made a demonstration
to our right, and we were called out at night to support the line
where the attack was made. After a few rounds of shelling and a few
bullets flying over our heads (no harm being done), at daylight we
returned to our camp. Our lines had been so extended that to man our
works along our front we had not more than one man to every six feet.
Still with our breastworks so complete and the protection beyond the
line, it is doubtful whether the enemy could have made much headway
against us. All the timber and debris in our front for more than one
thousand yards had been felled or cleared away.
The ladies of Richmond had promised the soldiers a great Christmas
dinner on Christmas day, but from some cause or other our dinner did
not materialize. But the soldiers fared very well. Boxes from home
were now in order, and almost every day a box or two from kind and
loving friends would come in to cheer and comfort them. Then, too, the
blockaders at Wilmington and Charleston would escape the Argus eyes
of the fleet and bring in a cargo of shoes, cloth, sugar, coffee, etc.
Even with all our watchfulness and the vigilance of the enemy on the
James, that indefatigable and tireless Jew, with an eye to business,
would get into Richmond with loads of delicacies, and this the soldier
managed to buy with his "Confederate gray-backs." They were drawing
now at the rate of seventeen dollars per month, worth at that
time about one dollar in gold or one dollar and seventy cents in
greenbacks. The Jews in all countries and in all times seemed to fill
a peculiar sphere of usefulness. They were not much of fighters, but
they were great "getters." They would undergo any hardships or risks
for gain, and while our government may not have openly countenanced
their traffic, still it was thought they "winked" at it. I do know
there were a lot of Jews in Richmond who could go in and out of our
lines at will. Sometimes they were caught, first by one army and then
by another, and their goods or money confiscated, still they kept up
their blockade running. I was informed by one of General Gary's staff
officers since the war, that while they were doing outpost duty on the
lower James, Jews came in daily with passports from the authorities at
Richmond, authorizing them to pass the lines. On many occasions they
claimed they were robbed by our pickets. Once this officer allowed two
Jews to pass out of the lines, with orders to pass the pickets, but
soon they returned, saying they were robbed. General Gary, who could
not tolerate such treachery, had the men called up and the Jews
pointed out the men who had plundered them. But the men stoutly denied
the charge, and each supported the other in his denials, until a
search was ordered, but nothing was found. They cursed the "lieing
Jew" and threatened that the next time they attempted to pass they
would leave them in the woods with "key holes through them." "While
at the same time," continued the officer, "I and so was General Gary
satisfied these same men had robbed them."
We were now again under our old commander, Lieutenant General
Longstreet. He had recently returned to the army, convalescent from
his severe wound at the Wilderness, and was placed in command of the
north side. Scarcely had he assumed command, and prior to our arrival,
before he was attacked by General Butler, with twenty thousand men.
He defeated him, sustaining little loss, with Fields' and Hokes'
Divisions, and Gary's Cavalry. Butler lost between one thousand two
hundred and one thousand five hundred men. The year was slowly drawing
to a close, with little perceptible advantage to the South. It is true
that Grant, the idol and ideal of the North, had thrown his legions
against the veterans of Lee with a recklessness never before
experienced, and with a loss almost irreparable, still the prospects
of the Confederacy were anything but encouraging. Yet the childlike
faith and confidence of the Confederate privates in their cause and
in their superiors, that disaster and defeat never troubled them nor
caused them worry or uneasiness. General Hood had gone on his wild
goose chase through Middle Tennessee, had met with defeat and ruin at
Franklin and Nashville; Sherman was on his unresisted march through
Georgia, laying waste fields, devastating homes with a vandalism
unknown in civilized warfare, and was now nearing the sea; while the
remnant of Hood's Army was seeking shelter and safety through the
mountains of North Georgia. Still Lee, with his torn and tattered
veterans, stood like a wall of granite before Richmond and Petersburg.
What a halo of glory should surround the heads of all who constituted
the Army of Lee or followed the fortunes of Longstreet, Hill, Ewell,
and Early. At Chickamauga, Chattanooga, East Tennessee, Wilderness, or
wherever the plumes of their chieftains waved or their swords flashed
amid the din of battle, victory had ever perched upon their banners.
It was only when away from the inspiration and prestige of Longstreet
did the troops of Kershaw fail or falter, and only then to follow in
the wake of others who had yielded.
Owing to the casualties in battle during the last few months and the
disasters of the two Valley campaigns, many changes in the personnel
of the companies and regiments necessarily took place, once we got
fairly settled in camp.
Brigadier General Kershaw had been made Major General in place
of General McLaws soon after the battle of the Wilderness. His
Aid-de-Camp, Lieutenant Doby, having been killed on that day, I.M.
Davis, Adjutant of the Fifteenth, was placed upon the personnel staff
of the Major General.
Colonel John D. Kennedy, of the Second, having recovered from the
wounds received on the 6th of May, was promoted in place of General
Connor to the position of Brigadier General.
The Colonel and Lieutenant Colonel of the Twentieth both being
captured on the 19th of October, Lieutenant Colonel F.S. Lewie, of the
Fifteenth, was assigned temporarily to the command of the Twentieth.
Captain G. Leaphart, senior Captain, was afterwards promoted to Major,
and commanded the "Twentieth Army Corps" until the close of the war.
Lieutenant Colonel Stackhouse was made Colonel of the Eighth after the
death of Henagan, and either Captain McLucas or Captain T.F. Malloy
was promoted to Major (I am not positive on this point). Captain
Rogers was also one of the senior Captains, and I think he, too, acted
for a part of the time as one of the field officers.
The Third Battalion was commanded by one of the Captains for the
remainder of the war, Colonel Rice and Major Miller both being
permanently disabled for field service, but still retained their rank
and office.
There being no Colonel or Lieutenant Colonel of the Seventh, and Major
Goggans having resigned soon after the Wilderness battle, Captain
Thomas Huggins was raised to the rank of Colonel. I do not remember
whether any other field officers of this regiment were ever appointed,
but I think not. Lieutenant John R. Carwile, who had been acting
Adjutant of the Seventh for a long time, was now assigned to duty on
the brigade staff.
Captain William Wallace was promoted to Colonel of the Second, with
Captain T.D. Graham and B F. Clyburn, Lieutenant Colonel and Major
respectively.
Colonel Rutherford, of the Third, having been killed on the 13th
of October, and Lieutenant Colonel Maffett, captured a short while
before, Captain R.P. Todd was made Major, then raised to the rank of
Lieutenant Colonel, and Captain J.K.G. Nance, Major.
Many new Captains and Lieutenants were made, to fill the vacancies
occasioned by the above changes and deaths in battle, but I have not
the space to mention them.
Our last Brigadier General, J.D. Kennedy, was a very good officer,
however, his kindness of heart, his sympathetic nature, his indulgent
disposition caused him to be rather lax in discipline. There was quite
a contrast in the rigidity of General Connor's discipline and the
good, easy "go as you please" of General Kennedy. But the latter had
the entire confidence of the troops, and was dearly loved by both
officers and men. He was quite sociable, courteous, and kind to all.
The men had been in service so long, understood their duties so
well, that it was not considered a necessity to have a martinet for
a commander. General Kennedy's greatest claim to distinction was his
good looks. He certainly was one of the finest looking officers in the
army. I fear little contradiction when I say General Kennedy and Major
W.D. Peck, of the Quartermaster Department, were two of the finest
looking men that South Carolina gave to the war. I give a short sketch
of General Kennedy.
* * * * *
GENERAL JOHN D. KENNEDY.
General John D. Kennedy was born in Camden, South Carolina, January
5th, 1840, the son of Anthony M. and Sarah Doby Kennedy. His mother
was the grand-daughter of Abraham Belton, a pioneer settler of Camden
and a patriot soldier in the Revolution. His father was born in
Scotland, having emigrated to the United States about the year 1830,
at which time he settled in Kershaw County, S.C., where he married.
(He has been engaged in planting and merchandising for many years.
Two sons and two daughters were the issue of this marriage.) General
Kennedy obtained his early scholastic training in the Camden schools,
and in 1855, at the age of fifteen, entered the South Carolina College
at Columbia. He entered the law office of Major W.Z. Leitner soon
after, and was admitted to practice in January, 1861, and in April of
that year joined the Confederate Army as Captain of Company E, Second
South Carolina Regiment, under the command of Colonel J.B. Kershaw. In
1862 he was made Colonel of the Second South Carolina Regiment, and
in 1864 was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General, and held that
position to the close of the war, having surrendered with General
Johnston at Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1865. General Kennedy was
six times wounded, and fifteen times was hit by spent balls. At
the close of the war he resumed his practice of law at Camden, but
abandoned it soon after and turned his attention to farming. In 1877
he once more returned to the bar, and has since been actively and
prominently engaged in his practice. In 1876 he was a member of the
State Democratic Executive Committee, and was its chairman in 1878.
In December, 1865, he was elected to Congress, defeating Colonel C.W.
Dudley, but did not take his seat, as he refused to take the ironclad
oath. In 1878-9 he represented his county in the Legislature, and was
Chairman of the Committee on Privileges and Elections. He was elected
Lieutenant Governor of the State in 1880, and in 1882 was a prominent
candidate for Governor, but Colonel Hugh Thompson received the
nomination over General Bratton and himself. He was elected Grand
Master of the Grand Lodge A.F.M. of South Carolina in 1881, and served
two years. As a member of the National Democratic Convention in
1876, he cast his vote for Tilden and Hendricks, and in 1884 was
Presidential Elector at large on the Democratic ticket. President
Cleveland sent him as Consul General to Shanghai, China, in 1886.
In 1890 he was Chairman of the State Advisory Committee, of the
straightout Democratic party. In early life he was married to Miss
Elizabeth Cunningham, who died in 1876. In 1882 Miss Harriet Boykin
became his wife.
The above is taken from Cyclopaedia of Eminent and Representative Men
of the Carolinas of the Nineteenth Century.
Notes on General Kennedy's life, furnished by one of his soldiers:
He was born at Camden, S.C., January 5th, 1840. While in his 'teens
he became a member of the Camden Light Infantry, of which J.B. Kershaw
was Captain; elected First Lieutenant in 1860. Upon the secession
of South Carolina, December 20th, 1860, Captain Kershaw was elected
Colonel of the Second South Carolina Volunteers, and Lieutenant
Kennedy was chosen Captain of the Camden Volunteers, a company
composed of members of the Camden Light Infantry and those who united
with them for service in the field. This company became Company E,
Second South Carolina Volunteers, was ordered to Charleston April 8th,
1861, and witnessed from their position on Morris Island the siege of
Fort Sumter, April 12th, 1861. The Second Regiment formed part of the
First Brigade, commanded by General M.L. Bonham, of the Army of the
Potomac, as the Confederate Army in Northern Virginia was then called.
In the spring of 1862 the troops who had volunteered for twelve months
reorganized for the war, the Second South Carolina Volunteers being, I
believe, the first body of men in the army to do so. At reorganization
Captain Kennedy was elected Colonel, in which capacity he served until
1864, when he was promoted to the command of the brigade, which he
held until the close of the war. In 1862 the name of the army was
changed to the Army of Northern Virginia, the Federals having called
theirs the Army of the Potomac. The Second was engaged in every battle
fought by the army in Virginia, from the first Manassas to Petersburg,
except Second Manassas, and was also in battle of Chickamauga, battles
around Knoxville, Averysboro, and Bentonville, and surrendered at
Greensboro April 27th, 1865. General Kennedy was in every battle in
which his command was engaged, and was wounded six times and struck
fifteen times. He died in Camden, S.C., April 14th, 1896.
* * * * *
COLONEL R.P. TODD.
Colonel R.P. Todd was born in Laurens County, about the year 1838.
Graduated at a literary college (I think the South Carolina), read
law, and entered upon the practice of his profession a year or two
before the beginning of hostilities. At the first call by the State
for twelve months' volunteers, Colonel Todd enlisted in the "Laurens
Briars," afterwards Company G, Third South Carolina Regiment, and was
elected Captain. He took his company with him into the Confederate
service, and at the reorganization in 1862, was again elected Captain.
Was made Major in 1864 and Lieutenant Colonel in the early part of
1865. He was in most of the great battles in which the regiment was
engaged, and was several times severely wounded. He surrendered at
Greensboro, N.C.
After the war he again took up the practice of law and continued it
until his death, which took place several years ago. He represented
his county in the Senate of the State for one term.
Soon after the close of the war he married Miss Mary Farley, sister
of General Hugh L. Farley, formerly Adjutant and Inspector General of
South Carolina, and of Captain William Farley, one of the riders of
General Stuart, and a famous character in John Estin Cook's historical
romances.
Colonel Todd was a good officer, gallant soldier, and loyal and kind
to his men. He was a man of brilliant attainments and one of the most
gifted and fluent speakers in the brigade.
The writer regrets his inability to get a more enlarged sketch of this
dashing officer, talented lawyer, and perfect gentleman.
* * * * *
CAPTAIN JOHN K. NANCE.
Captain John K. Nance was one of the most jovial, fun-loving,
light-hearted souls in the Third Regiment. He was all sunshine, and
this genial, buoyant disposition seemed to be always caught up and
reflected by all who came about him. He was truly a "lover of his
fellow-men," and was never so happy as when surrounded by jolly
companions and spirits like his own. He was a great lover of out-door
sports, and no game or camp amusement was ever complete without this
rollicksome, good-natured knight of the playground.
He was born in Laurens County, in 1839. Graduated from Due West
College and soon afterwards joined the "Quitman Rifles," Company E, of
the Third Regiment, then being organized by his kinsman, Colonel James
D. Nance. He was first Orderly Sergeant of the company, but was soon
elected Lieutenant. At the reorganization of his company, in 1862, he
was elected First Lieutenant, and on James D. Nance being made Colonel
of the Third, he was promoted to Captain. Many times during the
service he was called upon to command the regiment, and in the latter
part of 1864 or the first of 1865 he was promoted to Major.
Captain John K. Nance was one of the best officers upon the
drillground in the regiment, and had few equals as such in the
brigade. He was a splendid disciplinarian and tactician, and could
boast of one of the finest companies in the service. His company, as
well as himself, was all that could be desired upon the battlefield.
In 1864 he married Miss Dolly, daughter of Dr. Thomas B. Rutherford,
and sister of the lamented Colonel W.D. Rutherford. After the war he
was engaged in planting in Newberry County. He was three times elected
Auditor of the county. He was a leading spirit among the Democrats
during the days of reconstruction, and lent all energies and talents
to the great upheaval in politics in 1876 that brought about the
overflow of the negro party and gave the government to the whites of
the State. He died about 1884, leaving a widow and several children.
* * * * *
COLONEL WILLIAM WALLACE.
Colonel William Wallace, of the Second South Carolina Regiment,
was undoubtedly the Murat of the Old First Brigade. His soldierly
qualities, his dashing courage, and the prestige that surrounds his
name as a commander, especially upon the skirmish line, forcibly
recalls that impetuous prince, the Roland of Napoleon's Army. Upon the
battle line he was brave almost to rashness, and never seemed to be
more in his element or at ease than amidst the booming cannon, the
roar of musketry, or the whirl of combat. Colonel Wallace was a
soldier born and a leader of men. He depended not so much upon tactics
or discipline, but more upon the cool, stern courage that was in
himself and his men.
His life as a soldier and civilian has been fortunate and brilliant,
in which glory and promotion followed hand in hand. A comrade gives a
few facts in his life.
Colonel William Wallace was born in Columbia, S.C., November 16th,
1824, and was graduated at the South Carolina College in 1844. He then
studied law under Chancellor James J. Caldwell. Was admitted to the
bar in 1846, and began the practice of law at Columbia, in which
he continued, with the exception of his military service, giving
attention also to his planting interests.
At the beginning of the Confederate War he held the rank of General
in the State Militia. At the call for troops, ordered out the
Twenty-third Regiment, State Troops, and was the first man of the
Regiment to volunteer. He was elected Captain of the "Columbia Grays,"
afterwards Company C of the Second South Carolina Volunteer Infantry,
Colonel Kershaw commanding. After the reduction of Fort Sumter, with
his company and three others of the Second, he volunteered for service
in Virginia, and about a month after their arrival in Virginia the
regiment was filled up with South Carolinians. He was promoted
to Major in 1863, to Lieutenant Colonel after the battle of the
Wilderness, and to Colonel after the battle of Bentonville.
He had the honor of participating in the capture of Fort Sumter and
the battles of Blackburn's Ford, First Manassas, Williamsburg, Savage
Station, Malvern Hill, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville,
Gettysburg, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court
House, Second Cold Harbor, the defense of Petersburg until the winter
of 1864-1865, and the campaign in the Carolinas, including the battles
of Averysboro and Bentonville.
During the desperate struggle at Second Cold Harbor, in June, 1864,
with the Second Regiment alone, he recaptured our breastworks on
Kershaw's right and Hoke's left, from which two of our brigades had
been driven. The enemy driven out consisted of the Forty-eighth and
One hundred and Twelfth New York, each numbering one thousand men,
while the Second numbered only one hundred and twenty-six men
all told. So rapid was the assault that the color bearer of the
Forty-eighth New York, with his colors, was captured and sent to
General Kershaw, who was at his proper position some distance in rear
of his division.
During his service Colonel Wallace was twice wounded--in the foot,
at Charlestown, W. Va., and in the arm, at Gettysburg. After the
conclusion of hostilities he returned to his home and the care of
his plantation. Previous to the war he had an honorable career in
the Legislature, and immediately afterwards he was a member of the
Convention of 1865 and of the Legislature next following, and was
elected to the State Senate for four years, in 1881. From 1891 to 1894
he was engaged in the correction of the indexes of the records of the
Secretary of State's office, and in 1894 was appointed postmaster of
Columbia by President Cleveland.
By his marriage, in 1848, to Victoria C., daughter of Dr. John
McLemore, of Florida, Colonel Wallace has five children living,
Andrew, William, Bruce, Edward Barton, and Margaret. After the death
of his first wife he married, in 1876, Mrs. Fannie C. Mobley, nee
Means.
* * * * *
CAPTAIN JOHN HAMPDEN BROOKS.
John Hampden Brooks was Captain of Company G, Seventh South Carolina
Regiment, from its entry into State service to the end of its twelve
months' enlistment. At the reorganization of the regiment he declined
re-election, and served for a short time as Aid-de-Camp on General
Kershaw's staff. At this time, upon recommendation of Generals Kershaw
and Jos. E. Johnston, he raised another company of Partisan Rangers,
and was independent for awhile. Upon invitation, he joined Nelson's
Seventh South Carolina Battalion, Hagood's Brigade, and served with
this command (save a brief interval) to the end of the war. He was in
the first battle of Manassas and in Bentonville, the last great battle
of the war. At Battery Wagner his company was on picket duty the night
of the first assault, and it was by his order that the first gun
was fired in that memorable siege, and one of his men was the first
Confederate killed. At the battle of Drewry's Bluff, Va., Captain
Brooks was three times wounded, and lost sixty-eight out of the
seventy-five men carried into action, twenty-five being left dead upon
the field. Upon recovery from his wounds he returned to his command,
but was soon detached by request of General Beauregard and order
of General Lee, to organize a foreign battalion from the Federal
prisoners at Florence, S.C., with distinct promise of promotion.
This battalion was organized and mustered into Confederate service
at Summerville, S.C., as Brooks' Battalion, and in December, 1864,
Captain Brooks took a part of the command to Savannah (then being
invested by General Sherman) and they served a short time on the line
of defense. In consequence of bad behavior and mutiny, however, they
were soon returned to prison. Captain Brooks was now placed in command
of all unattached troops in the city of Charleston, but he became
tired of inactivity, at his own request was relieved, and upon
invitation of his old company, ignoring his promotion, he returned to
its command.
Captain Brooks was born at Edgefield Court House and was educated
at Mt. Zion, Winnsboro, and the South Carolina College. His father,
Colonel Whitfield Brooks, was an ardent nullifier, and named his
son, John Hampden, in honor of that illustrious English patriot.
That Captain Brooks should have displayed soldierly qualities was but
natural, as these were his by inheritance. His grandfather,
Colonel Z.S. Brooks, was a Lieutenant in the patriotic army of the
Revolutionary War, and his grandmother a daughter of Captain Jas.
Butler, killed in the "Cloud's Creek massacre." His brothers, Captain
Preston S. and Whitfield B. Brooks, were members of the Palmetto
Regiment in the Mexican War; the latter mortally wounded at Cherubusco
and promoted to a Lieutenant in the Twelfth Regulars for gallantry in
action.
Captain Brooks is the sole survivor of the first Captains of the
Seventh Regiment, and resides at Roselands, the old family homestead,
formerly in Edgefield, but now Greenwood County.
* * * * *
CAPTAIN ANDREW HARLLEE.
Captain Andrew Harllee, of Company I, Eighth South Carolina Regiment,
when a boy went with a number of the best young men of the State
to Kansas Territory, in 1856, and saw his first service with the
Missourians in the border troubles in that Territory, and took part in
several severe engagements at Lawrence, Topeka, and Ossawattonic Creek
with the Abolition and Free State forces, under old John Brown and
Colonel Jim Law; the Southern or pro-slavery forces being under
General David R. Atchison and Colonels Stingfellow and Marshall. After
remaining in Kansas a year, he returned to his home and commenced
the study of law at Marion Court House, but after a short time was
appointed to a position in the Interior Department at Washington by
the Hon. Thos. A. Hendrix, under whom he served as a clerk in a land
office while in Kansas. This position in the Interior Department he
held at the time of the secession of the State, and was the recipient
of the first dispatch in Washington announcing the withdrawal of South
Carolina from the Union, which was sent him by his uncle, General
W.W. Harllee, then Lieutenant Governor and a member of the Secession
Convention. He at once began preparations for his departure from
Washington for Charleston, but was notified from Charleston to remain
until the Commissioners appointed by the Convention to proceed to
Washington and endeavor to treat with the authorities should arrive,
which he did, and was appointed their Secretary. The Commission
consisted of Senator Robert W. Barnwell, General James H. Adams, and
Honorable James L. Orr. After many fruitless efforts, they finally got
an audience with President Buchanan, who refused to treat with them in
any manner whatever, and Mr. Harllee was directed to proceed at once
to Charleston, the bearer of dispatches from the Commissioners to the
Convention still in session, and after delivering the same he reported
to Governor Pickens for duty. The Governor appointed him Assistant
Quartermaster, with the rank of Captain, and he discharged the duties
of that office around Charleston until the fall of Fort Sumter.
Anxious for service at the front, he resigned from the Quartermaster
Department and enlisted as a private in Company I, Eighth South
Carolina Regiment, and fought through the battles of Bull Run and
Manassas with a musket. General Bonham, in command of the brigade,
detailed him for scouting duty in and near Alexandria and Washington,
and he had many thrilling adventures and narrow escapes in the
discharge of those duties. In October, 1861, Lieutenant R.H. Rogers,
of his company, resigned, and Private Harllee was elected Second
Lieutenant in his stead. At the reorganization of the regiment and
companies, in April, 1862, he was elected Captain of his company,
which he commanded to the surrender. He was several times severely
wounded, and bears upon his person visible evidences of the
battle-scarred veteran. He was regarded by all his comrades as a
daring and intrepid officer.
He lives upon his plantation, near Little Rock, where he was born and
reared, is a bachelor, a professional farmer, and one of the leading
citizens of his section of the State.
* * * * *
CAPTAIN WILLIAM D. CARMICHAEL.
Captain William D. Carmichael volunteered in 1861, and assisted in
raising Company I, Eighth South Carolina Regiment, and was elected
Second Lieutenant at reorganization. In April, 1862, he assisted
Captain Stackhouse in raising Company L for the same regiment, and was
elected First Lieutenant of that company, and upon the promotion of
Captain Stackhouse to Major, he was promoted Captain of Company L and
commanded it to the surrender.
He was three times wounded, twice severely, and was one of the most
gallant and trusted officers of that gallant regiment. After the war
he settled on his plantation, near Little Rock, married, and has lived
there ever since, raising a large family of children, and is one of
the most successful farmers of that progressive section. He is one of
the foremost citizens of Marion County.
* * * * *
CAPTAIN DUNCAN MCINTYRE.
Captain Duncan McIntyre, of Company H, Eighth South Carolina Regiment,
Kershaw's Brigade, was born at Marion S.C., on August 30th, 1836.
Was prepared for college at Mount Zion Institute, at Winnsboro, S.C.
Entered Freshman Class of South Carolina College, December, 1853.
Married Julia R., daughter of General William Evans, December, 1858.
Commenced life as a planter on the west side of Pee Dee River, in
Marion County, January 1st, 1860.
On secession of the State, he volunteered for service in the Jeffries'
Creek Company. Was elected First Lieutenant of the company, Captain
R.G. Singletary having been elected as commander. On Governor Pickens'
first call for troops the company offered its services and was
assigned to the Eighth South Carolina Regiment, Colonel E.B.C. Cash
commanding. The company was ordered to Charleston on fall of Fort
Sumter, where it remained until the last of May, when it was ordered
to Florence, S.C., where, about the 1st of June, it was mustered into
Confederate service by General Geo. Evans, and immediately ordered to
Virginia to form a part of Bonham's Brigade.
Captain McIntyre was with the regiment at the first battle of Manassas
or Bull Run, and with the exception of two short leaves of absence
from sickness and from wounds, was with the regiment in nearly all
of its campaigns and important skirmishes and battles, Williamsburg,
battles around Richmond, Va., Maryland Heights, Sharpsburg,
Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court
House, and all of the battles against Grant up to the investment of
Petersburg, Va. He was with the regiment and Longstreet's Corps in the
campaign in Tennessee.
In the Tennessee campaign he commanded the Eighth Regiment at the
battle of Ream's Station, and when the Second, Eighth, and Third
Battalion, under the command of the gallant Colonel Gaillard, of the
Second, made a daring and successful attack (at night) on the picket
line of the enemy, the Eighth was on the right and first to dislodge
the enemy and occupy the pits.
Captain McIntyre was twice wounded--first, in the chest at the battle
of Fredericksburg, Va., and second time, severely in the thigh at Deep
Bottom, Va.
* * * * *
COLONEL WILLIAM DRAYTON RUTHERFORD.
When Colonel William Drayton Rutherford fell in battle at Strasburg,
Virginia, on the 13th of October, 1864, he was but a little more than
twenty-seven years of age, having been born in Newberry, S.C., on the
23rd day of September, 1837.
The life thus destroyed was brimful of hope, for he was gifted with
a rare intelligence, and possessed of an affectionate nature, with
a deep sympathy for his fellow men and a patriotism which could only
terminate with his own life. His father, Dr. Thomas B. Rutherford, was
a grandson of Colonel Robert Rutherford, of Revolutionary fame, and
his mother, Mrs. Laura Adams Rutherford, was a direct descendant of
the Adams family of patriots who fought for their country in the State
of Massachusetts.
The boyhood of Colonel Rutherford was spent on the plantation of
his father, in Newberry County. Here was laid the foundation of his
splendid physical nature, and his mind as well. While not beyond the
height of five feet and ten inches, and with not an ounce of spare
flesh, physically he was all bone and muscle, and was the embodiment
of manly beauty. His early training was secured in the Male Academies
of Greenville and Newberry. At the age of sixteen years he entered
the Citadel Academy in Charleston, S.C. It was at this school he first
exhibited the remarkable power arising from his ability to concentrate
every faculty of his mind to the accomplishment of a single purpose,
for, by reason of his fondness for out door sports and reading, he
had fallen in stand amongst the lowest members of a large class,
but, conceiving that some persons thought he could do no better, by a
determined effort to master all the branches of study in an incredible
space of time he was placed among the first ten members of his class.
Military discipline was too restrictive for him, hence he left the
Citadel Academy and entered the Sophomore Class of the South Carolina
College at Columbia, S.C. In a few months after entering this college
he was advanced from the Sophomore Class to that of the Junior.
However, he never took his degree, for owing to a so-called college
rebellion, he left college. Afterwards he regretted his step. Not
content with the advantages be had already enjoyed, he went to Germany
to complete his education, but the war between the States caused him
to return to America. He espoused with heart and soul the cause of
his native State. Before going to Germany he had been admitted to
the practice of the law. Chief Justice John Belton O'Neall expressed
himself as delighted with young Rutherford's examination for the bar,
and predicted for him a brilliant career as a lawyer.
He was made Adjutant of the Third South Carolina Regiment of Infantry,
and so thoroughly did he perform his duties as a soldier, and so
delighted were his comrades in arms with his courage and generous
nature, that he was elected, without opposition, on 16th of May,
1862, Major of his regiment, and on the 29th of June, 1862, he became
Lieutenant Colonel, and on the 6th of May, 1864, he was promoted
to the Colonelcy of his regiment. General James Connor was so much
delighted with him as an officer that he recommended him for promotion
to Brigadier General. When this gallant officer fell in the front of
his regiment, there was naught but sorrow for his untimely end.
In March, 1862, he married the beautiful and accomplished Miss Sallie
Fair, only daughter of Colonel Simeon Fair, of Newberry. The only
child of this union was Kate Stewart Rutherford, who was known as
the "daughter of the regiment." Kate is now the wife of the Honorable
George Johnstone.
* * * * *