BATTLE OF HONEY HILL--SHERMAN'S ADVANCE INTO SOUTH
CAROLINA--ORGANIZATION OF THE CONFEDERATE FORCES--BURNING OF
COLUMBIA--BATTLES OF AVERASBORO AND BENTONVILLE--CONCLUSION.
After thoroughly destroying Atlanta, save its mere dwelling-houses, as
is stated in his official report, Gen. W. T. Sherman began his march
through Georgia on November 15, 1864, and on December 10th drove in
the picket lines of the Confederate forces at Savannah under command
of Lieutenant-General Hardee. During Sherman's advance, his feints at
Columbia, Ga., made it uncertain for a time whether he did not intend
to enter South Carolina at that point.
On November 28th, before the arrival of Sherman at Savannah, Maj.-Gen.
John G. Foster, commanding the Federal department of the South,
left Hilton Head with all his available troops, "amounting to 5,000
infantry, cavalry and artillery, with 500 sailors and marines," and
went by boat to Boyd's Neck, on the south side of Broad river. After
landing, Brig.-Gen. J. P. Hatch was put in command, with orders to push
forward and cut the Charleston & Savannah railroad.
This formidable attempt seemed to promise success to the Federals,
as Colonel Colcock, in command of the district, and Major Jenkins,
commanding in the immediate vicinity of the Federal movement, had no
forces adequate to an effective resistance, but fortunately, Gen. G. W.
Smith's division of Georgia State troops had just arrived at Savannah,
and was promptly sent to the scene by General Hardee. The troops were
put in position about 10 a. m. on the 30th on a line near the north
bank of a small stream about three miles south of Grahamville station,
occupying some light intrenchments that had been made upon ground
called Honey hill, ten or twelve feet above the water level. On the
right there was a dense forest, on the left an open pine wood, with
an open space in front. The road on which the Federals approached was
bordered closely by dense forests. Colonel Colcock was put in command
of the line of battle, and Major Jenkins of the cavalry, while Captain
DeSaussure, adjutant-general of the district, remained with General
Smith. "Within five or ten minutes after these dispositions had been
made," said General Smith, "the battle began by an advance piece of
our artillery firing upon the enemy. Their line of battle was soon
formed, and from that time until near dark made continuous efforts to
carry our position. We had actually engaged five pieces of artillery,
and it is due to the South Carolina artillerists that I should say I
have never seen pieces more skillfully employed and gallantly served
upon a difficult field of battle." In an hour the enemy had so extended
and developed their attack that Smith was compelled to put in his last
Georgia regiment, making his force engaged about 1,400 muskets. The
valor with which they fought may be inferred from the report of General
Foster, who said:
The enemy's infantry, rather over 4,000 and nearly equal to our own
in number, was posted behind intrenchments in the woods on each side
of the road. This position was immediately attacked with vigor and
determination, but ... we were unable to drive the enemy. After an
obstinate fight of several hours, General Hatch, finding that the
enemy's line could be neither successfully assaulted nor outflanked,
retired after dark to a strong position about 2½ miles from Boyd's
Neck. Our loss was 88 killed, 623 wounded and 43 missing.
"Our loss in every arm of the service," General Smith reported, "was
8 men killed and 42 wounded. The enemy left over 200 of their dead
upon the field, and their whole loss in killed and wounded is believed
to be upward of 1,000." About 4:30 p. m., General Robertson arrived
with reinforcements from Charleston, and by the next morning General
Chestnut was up with 350 South Carolina reserves, and General Baker
with a North Carolina brigade.
Of his subsequent operations, General Foster reported:
From November 30th to December 5th, while keeping the greater part
of the force at Boyd's Neck, I made at different points, with the
assistance of the navy, several demonstrations, in one of which
the Twenty-fifth Ohio marched six miles into the interior toward
Pocotaligo and captured two pieces of artillery at Church bridge.
On the night of December 5th, I embarked a force under command of
Brigadier-General Potter ... which landed at Gregory's plantation, on
the right bank of Tulifinny creek ... pushed forward immediately, and
about a mile and a half out met the enemy, whom he forced rapidly back
to the spot where the road up the peninsula between the Coosawhatchie
and Tulifinny meets the road running across from river to river. Here
the enemy made a stand and attacked our left vigorously, but our men
repulsed them, and got possession of the crossing, which we now hold.
Our loss was 5 killed and 50 wounded.
Maj.-Gen. Samuel Jones, who had been ordered to establish his
headquarters at Pocotaligo, reached there on the evening of the
5th, and found the Confederate forces available were the Fifth and
Forty-seventh Georgia, part of the Thirty-second Georgia, artillery,
part of the Third South Carolina cavalry, Kirk's squadron, some Georgia
and South Carolina reserves and South Carolina militia. They were
posted to protect the railroad from Pocotaligo to the Savannah river
and up that river to Sister's ferry, the forces at and near Grahamville
under the command of Brigadier-General Chestnut, and those at and
near Coosawhatchie under Brigadier-General Gartrell. The latter met
the advance under General Potter, on the 6th, sending forward a small
battalion of the Fifth Georgia, which was soon pressed back. It was
reinforced by a section of artillery and the Georgia reserves, but the
entire line soon gave way and fell back across the Coosawhatchie river.
The battalion of South Carolina cadets was led forward by Maj. John
Jenkins to the Tulifinny bridge, but arrived too late to be of service.
General Jones then concentrated on the railroad near the Tulifinny
trestle all the troops he could collect, Georgia commands, a company of
the First artillery, the cadets, and Bachman's battery, and at dawn on
the 7th Colonel Edwards, of Georgia, commanding, made an attack upon
the enemy in conjunction with a demonstration by Gartrell, but without
success, losing 4 killed and 31 wounded. This attack was participated
in by Captain King's company, First regulars, the cadets under Maj. J.
B. White, and 130 militia.
[Illustration:
SKETCH
SHOWING
POSITION
OF BOYD'S NECK, HONEY HILL,
AND DEVAUX'S NECK, S.C.,]
Gen. B. H. Robertson was put in command of the troops in this region on
the 8th. On the 9th he was attacked by a Federal brigade under command
of Col. Stewart L. Woodford, of New York, and several determined
efforts were made to carry his line, but all were handsomely repulsed.
General Robertson reported:
Foiled in his undertaking, the enemy moved to his left in the
direction of Coosawhatchie. The engagement was renewed most vigorously
on our right at 3 p. m., and after an obstinate resistance by the
enemy, lasting some two hours, he was driven 800 yards from his
original line.... The German artillery, Captain Bachman, rendered
very efficient service on the left, as was proved by the number of
dead found in their front. Major Jenkins, commanding the cadets, was
particularly conspicuous during the morning fight.
General Robertson lost 8 killed and 44 wounded. Colonel Woodford
gave the loss of his regiment alone at 8 killed and 51 wounded. Some
skirmishes followed, but the Georgians and South Carolinians remained
in firm possession of the railroad.
On December 21st, Sherman, planning an assault upon Savannah, learned
that General Hardee had successfully eluded him, evacuated the Georgia
seaport, crossed the river, and moved into South Carolina.
On the 25th of December, Gov. A. G. Magrath addressed a letter to
President Davis which may be taken as presenting accurately the
situation in the State at that date. Some extracts are therefore
presented:
The fall of Savannah has, of course, very much affected the people
of this State. The question which naturally presents itself is, why
the force which penetrated Georgia cannot penetrate South Carolina.
And at this moment it is not an unwillingness to oppose the enemy,
but a chilling apprehension of the futility of doing so, that affects
the people.... As rapidly as it can be done, I am reorganizing the
militia.... If you will send us aid, although for the moment it falls
short of effectual aid, if it foreshadow other aid to come, that
spirit can be vitalized which ... supplies the place of numbers. Of
any force which you may send, I am very anxious that the brigade of
General Conner should be a part of it, and sent as soon as possible.
To this President Davis replied:
I have long realized the importance of such action as you suggest, but
necessities elsewhere have prevented action in accordance with our
wish. I have held several conferences with General Lee on the subject,
and will have another, showing him your letter and telegram.
To the governor's petition was added that of W. F. De Saussure,
Andrew Crawford, W. H. Scarborough, Daniel Ravenel and many other
citizens, declaring: "It is absolutely necessary to have at least
one well-organized corps besides Hardee's on the coast, about which
the half-trained citizens may rally. Otherwise, however brave and
determined, their efforts will amount to nothing." On the latter,
President Davis indorsed: "The question presented is one which General
Lee can best judge." The indorsement of General Lee was:
I have sent all the troops from this army that can be spared. The army
of Tennessee is ordered to South Carolina, and a part of it arrived.
If the citizens of Georgia and South Carolina will fill up its ranks,
it will be able to protect the country.
General Hardee, then at Charleston, on the 27th, was advised to make
"silently and cautiously all necessary preparations for the evacuation
of Charleston, should it become necessary." General McLaws was
instructed to assume command of all troops between the Savannah river
and Pocotaligo, including the cavalry command of General Wheeler at
Hardeeville, and the forces at Honey hill and on the Tulifinny and
Coosawhatchie and vicinity, then under General Taliaferro.
Beauregard was at his request relieved of the general command of the
department on the last day of 1864. His presence was required at
Montgomery and with the army of Tennessee. He instructed General Hardee
that while the fall of Charleston would be a terrible blow to the
Confederacy, the loss of its garrison would be still more fatal, and
that preparations should be made for evacuation as well as for defense.
On January 19th, General Butler's cavalry division was ordered to
South Carolina, and Gen. D. H. Hill was put in command at Augusta, Ga.
The greatly depleted corps of S. D. Lee, Stewart and Cheatham, army
of Tennessee, were on their way to reinforce General Hardee. These
troops were reported destitute of clothing, but their indomitable
spirit remained, and the people of the Carolinas were cheered by
their approach. On the 28th, Gen. Wade Hampton reported for duty in
defense of his State, soon after was given command of Butler's and
Young's (Iverson's) cavalry divisions, and later of all the cavalry in
the Carolinas. Conner's brigade, from the army of Northern Virginia,
arrived in this month, and on the 31st, General Hardee's army was
organized as follows:
McLaws' division, composed of Conner's brigade, Colonel Kennedy; the
Georgia brigade (reserves) of Col. John C. Fiser; the Georgia brigade
of Col. G. P. Harrison, including a detachment of the First South
Carolina cavalry; Col. W. M. Hardy's North Carolina brigade; another
brigade of Georgia reserves, and six batteries of artillery.
Taliaferro's division, composed of Brig.-Gen. Stephen Elliott's
brigade--parts of First and Second artillery, serving as infantry,
under Lieut.-Col. J. A. Yates; First cavalry, State cadets, and a
company of the siege train, under Lieut.-Col. W. A. Walker. Rhett's
brigade--First artillery, Maj. Ormsby Blanding; Third artillery, Col.
William Butler; First militia, Col. J. Griffin; Nineteenth cavalry,
Capt. M. J. Kirk; Young's cavalry; artillery, Capt. E. L. Parker,
and part of Thirty-second Georgia. Not brigaded: Lusk's company
First cavalry, six companies Second artillery, Fifteenth artillery
battalion, Maj. J. J. Lucas; South Carolina siege train, Col. Edward
B. White; Eighteenth militia, Col. John E. Carew; Gist Guards
artillery, Lieut. T. G. Boag; company Palmetto battalion; Tupper's
militia artillery, and several companies of Georgia artillery.
Maj.-Gen. Ambrose R. Wright's division, composed of Mercer's
brigade--Capt. A. P. Brown's company First cavalry; First, Second,
Sixth and Seventh reserves, Brig.-Gen. A. G. Blanchard; batteries of
Capts. M. Rickenbaker, Charles Daniell, W. L. DePass, W. K. Bachman;
Capt. J. D. Kay's reserve cavalry, and several Georgia commands.
Robertson's brigade--Second, Third and Fourth militia, Col. A. D.
Goodwyn; batteries of Capts. H. M. Stuart, F. C. Schulz, F. W.
Wagener, J. R. Mathewes, C. E. Kanapaux, G. H. Walter; Stono scouts,
Capt. J. B. L. Walpole; Wilkins' cavalry company reserves.
Wheeler's cavalry corps included the brigades of Anderson, Hagan and
Crews, in Allen's division; of Dibrell, Ashby and Harrison, in Humes'
division; and of Ferguson, Lewis and Hannon, in Iverson's division.
Brig.-Gen. J. H. Trapier's brigade, detached, was composed of Ward's
battalion reserves, Capt. L. A. Grice; Capt. J. J. Steele's cavalry
company, and the artillery companies of Capts. F. Melchers and Mayham
Ward.
Brig.-Gen. J. K. Jackson's brigade, also detached, included the First
foreign battalion, Lieut.-Col. J. G. Tucker; Fourteenth militia, Col.
D. R. Barton; Capt. A. J. Frederick's company militia; Capt. W. E.
Charles' battery.
The post at Columbia was commanded by Lieut.-Col. R. S. Means,
including a post guard under Capt. R. D. Senn, and provost guard under
Capt. D. H. Hamilton for the care of prisoners of war.
On February 2d, a conference was held at Green's Cut station, Ga., at
which Generals Beauregard, Hardee, D. H. Hill and G. W. Smith were
present. It was estimated that the forces available to meet Sherman,
Lee's corps of the army of Tennessee having arrived, and Cheatham's
and Stewart's being on the way, had the following effective strength:
Hardee's command, regular infantry, 8,000; militia and reserves,
3,000; light artillery, 2,000; Butler's cavalry division, 1,500;
total, 14,500. Militia and reserves under Generals Smith and Browne,
1,450. Wheeler's cavalry, 6,700. Army of Tennessee: Lee's corps,
4,000; Cheatham's corps, 3,000; Stewart's corps, 3,000; artillery,
800; total, 10,800. Grand total, 33,450. On account of the absence
of most of the army of Tennessee, it was deemed inadvisable to give
battle at the important point of Branchville; but it was determined to
hold the Combahee as long as possible, while Hardee should fall back
on Charleston, and Wheeler on Columbia. Lee's corps was ordered to
Branchville, where Conner's brigade was already stationed.
General Sherman, meanwhile, was preparing to march northward through
the Carolinas, with Savannah as his base. His army was organized in two
wings, the right, under Gen. O. O. Howard, composed of the corps of
John A. Logan and Frank P. Blair; the left, under Gen. H. W. Slocum,
of the corps of Jeff C. Davis and A. S. Williams. The average strength
of each corps was 13,000 men, and the cavalry, under Gen. Judson
Kilpatrick, was about 4,000 in number. This, with the artillery, made
up an aggregate effective strength, officers and men, of 60,000.
General Howard was ordered to embark his wing, transport it to
Beaufort, and by the 15th of January, to make a lodgment on the
Charleston & Savannah railroad at or near Pocotaligo, while the other
wing and cavalry were ordered to rendezvous near Robertsville and
Coosawhatchie. Howard performed his part of the program, but on account
of the loss of a pontoon bridge, Slocum was compelled to cross at
Sister's ferry, and the river, even there, was so overflowed as to be
three miles wide, and he did not get entirely across until February.
In the meantime, to make Sherman's advance easier, Grant had sent a
division to garrison Savannah, Schofield's corps to operate from New
Bern, N. C., and a tremendous fleet of warships, assisted by a land
force, was about to reduce Fort Fisher, the main defense of Wilmington.
On January 2, 1865, a Federal brigade made the first crossing of the
river near Savannah and moved toward Grahamville. On the 14th, General
McLaws, confronting the advance of Howard, from Beaufort, reported:
"I am endeavoring to evacuate my position. Enemy are immediately in
my front.... They are now checked at Old Pocotaligo." McLaws withdrew
behind the Salkehatchie, and the railroad from there southward was at
last gained by the Federals. But the Combahee was an impassable barrier
to Howard, and he was compelled to move up its southwest bank to find a
crossing place.
General Wheeler was watching the enemy from Hardeeville, gradually
falling back to Robertsville and Lawtonville, while part of his force
observed the Federal movements on the Georgia side. On the 28th he
reported the enemy crossing and advancing toward Robertsville. After a
brisk skirmish near Loper's cross roads, he fell back toward Rivers'
and Buford's bridges on the Big Salkehatchie, early in February.
Sherman declares that his "real march" began on the 1st of February.
"All the roads northward had been held for weeks by Wheeler's cavalry,
who had felled trees, burned bridges and made obstructions to impede
our progress." On the 2d, Logan's corps was at Loper's, and Blair's
at Rivers' bridge. Williams' corps was ordered to Buford's bridge,
Kilpatrick to Blackville, and Howard to cross the Salkehatchie and move
for Midway on the South Carolina railroad. "The enemy held the line of
the Salkehatchie in force, having infantry and artillery intrenched
at Rivers' and Buford's bridges." The former was carried February 3d
by two divisions of Blair's corps, who waded the swamp and turned
McLaws' position, compelling him to retire toward Branchville, behind
the Edisto. McLaws reported, "It was with difficulty that my command
could be withdrawn, as I was completely flanked on both sides. The
fighting at Rivers' bridge was quite sharp and lasted several hours."
Wheeler, following McLaws' retreat, burned the bridges over the Little
Salkehatchie. Gen. C. L. Stevenson, commanding S. D. Lee's corps, took
position to hold the South Edisto to Binnaker's bridge.
Sherman pushed his army rapidly toward Midway and Graham's Station
on the South Carolina railroad, which was destroyed, while Blair
threatened Branchville, and Kilpatrick, Augusta. The latter was met by
Wheeler's cavalry in battle at Blackville, Williston and Aiken, the
Confederate leader winning a substantial victory before the latter
place, and stopping Kilpatrick's advance.
On February 8th there was a brisk engagement at the bridge of the
Edisto west of Branchville. Stovall, stationed at Binnaker's bridge,
was reinforced by Clayton, and the position ordered to be held as long
as possible. But on the 10th, Stevenson reported from Orangeburg: "The
enemy has driven the troops from Binnaker's and they are retiring on
this point."
On the 11th, McLaws' skirmishers, on the south side of the North Fork,
before Orangeburg, made a gallant resistance, and Sherman's advance was
checked by a battery commanding the bridge, which was partially burned,
until a flanking force crossed the river below the town. Orangeburg
was then abandoned and the work of destroying the railroad there was
begun. Then, while Blair marched up the railroad toward the Congaree,
destroying the track, Sherman turned toward Columbia.
General Hampton was put in command at the State capital and
arrangements were made for the transfer of prisoners of war from that
city and Florence to Salisbury, N. C. General Hardee was ordered by
General Beauregard to evacuate Charleston, and join in a general
concentration of forces at Chesterville, whither the military stores at
Columbia were hastily forwarded. President Davis, writing to Beauregard
regarding the evacuation of Charleston, said: "Such full preparation
had been made that I had hoped for other and better results, and the
disappointment to me is extremely bitter."
The military situation on the 16th, as Beauregard described it, was:
"Our forces, about 20,000 effective infantry and artillery, more or
less demoralized, occupy a circumference of about 240 miles from
Charleston to Augusta. The enemy, well organized and disciplined,
and flushed with success, numbering nearly double our forces, is
concentrated upon one point (Columbia) of that circumference." On the
same day he resumed command of all troops in South Carolina. General
Hardee was seriously ill, and General McLaws took command at Charleston
in his stead and completed the evacuation by the morning of Saturday,
the 18th of February, when the city was surrendered at 9 a. m. by Mayor
Charles Macbeth.
Generals Cheatham and Stewart had by this time brought what remained of
their corps, pitifully few in numbers, to Augusta, in the vicinity of
which General Wheeler had his cavalry, and General Hampton urged the
most rapid movement possible of these forces to unite with the troops
at Columbia for the defense of the State capital, and the line of the
Congaree; but the rapid movements of Sherman made this impossible.
On the 15th, Logan's corps, advancing on Columbia, was checked by a
brave band of Confederates manning a tête-de-pont and fort at Little
Congaree bridge, and it was night before the head of the Federal column
reached the Congaree in front of Columbia, and went into camp, shelled
by a battery on the other side. That night the bridge was burned to
check the Federal crossing, and next morning part of De Gress' Federal
battery began firing upon the town. Slocum's corps was ordered to
move toward Winnsboro and Howard to occupy Columbia, which one of his
brigades did, by crossing the Saluda and Broad rivers. General Hampton
evacuated Columbia on the 17th, and his forces took up their march
northward intending to concentrate at Chesterville, or if not possible
there, at Charlotte, N. C., and at the same time Cheatham's corps began
its march in the same direction, from Columbia.
A pontoon was built, on which Sherman crossed into Columbia on the
17th, and was met by the mayor, who surrendered the city and asked for
its protection from pillage. The day, Sherman says, was clear, but a
"perfect tempest of wind was raging." His orders to Howard were, he
says, to burn all arsenals and public property not needed for army
use, as well as all railroads and depots, but to spare dwellings and
schools and charitable institutions; and he declares that before a
single building was fired by his order, the city was in flames spread
by cotton burning on the streets before he occupied the city; that the
whole of Woods' division was brought in to fight the fire; that he was
up nearly all night, and saw Generals Howard, Logan, Woods and others
laboring to save houses and protect families. "Our officers and men
on duty worked well to extinguish the flames; but others not on duty,
including the officers who had long been imprisoned there, may have
assisted in spreading the fire after it had once begun."
General Hampton denies that any cotton was fired by his orders, also
that any cotton was burning when the Federals entered the city.
Abundant testimony has been given by the people of Columbia, both
white and black, to the effect that the city was burned by the Federal
soldiers. This is virtually admitted by General Slocum when he says: "I
believe the immediate cause of the disaster was a free use of whisky
(which was supplied to the soldiers by citizens with great liberality).
A drunken soldier, with a musket in one hand and a match in the other,
is not a pleasant visitor to have about the house on a dark, windy
night." Sherman, in his Memoirs, says: "The army, having totally ruined
Columbia, moved on toward Winnsboro." There can be no doubt that
Federal soldiers burned Columbia and were never punished for it.
This, however, was but one instance of the general devastation
accompanying Sherman's march. The words of a Federal soldier [M] may be
quoted as suggestive of the ruin wrought by the invading army:
It was sad to see the wanton destruction of property which ... was the
work of "bummers" who were marauding through the country committing
every sort of outrage. There was no restraint except with the column
or the regular foraging parties. We had no communications and could
have no safeguards. The country was necessarily left to take care of
itself, and became a "howling waste." The "coffee-coolers" of the army
of the Potomac were archangels compared to our "bummers," who often
fell to the tender mercies of Wheeler's cavalry, and were never heard
of again, meeting a fate richly deserved.
[Footnote M: Capt. Daniel Oakey, Second Massachusetts volunteers, in
"Battles and Leaders."]
General Beauregard at this time reported to General Lee that Sherman
was advancing on Winnsboro, and would thence probably move on
Greensboro, Danville and Petersburg, and that he did not believe it
possible for the troops from Charleston or those of Cheatham to make
a junction with him short of Greensboro. On the 19th, Gen. R. E. Lee
wrote to the war department:
I do not see how Sherman can make the march anticipated by Beauregard
[to Greensboro], but he seems to have everything his own way, which
is calculated to cause apprehension.... General Beauregard has a
difficult task to perform under present circumstances, and one of his
best officers (General Hardee) is incapacitated by sickness. Should
his strength give way, there is no one on duty in the department
that could replace him, nor have I any one to send there. Gen. J.
E. Johnston is the only officer who has the confidence of the army
and people, and if he was ordered to report to me I would place him
there on duty. It is necessary to bring out all our strength, and, I
fear, to unite our armies, as separately they do not seem able to
make headway against the enemy. Everything should be destroyed that
cannot be removed out of the reach of Generals Sherman and Schofield.
Provisions must be accumulated in Virginia, and every man in all the
States must be brought out. I fear it may be necessary to abandon all
our cities, and preparation should be made for this contingency.
On February 22d, General Johnston was assigned to command of the
departments of Tennessee and Georgia, and South Carolina, Georgia and
Florida.
On the 21 st, Sherman's advance was at Winnsboro, and Rocky Mount was
occupied on the 23d. Kilpatrick's cavalry was ordered to Lancaster.
For several days after this Sherman was delayed by high water in
the rivers. Howard's wing, having crossed the Catawba before the
rains set in, advanced on Cheraw, where Hardee was stationed with a
force of about 12,000, and a cavalry command was sent to burn and
destroy at Camden. Another body of cavalry attempting to cut the
railroad from Charleston to Florence was met and routed by a part of
Butler's command, at Mount Elon. General Butler met Howard's advance
at Chesterfield, and skirmished to impede its march, but Cheraw
was entered by the enemy March 2d, and much property destroyed. An
expedition of Federals was sent toward Florence, but was defeated in
its attempt to reach that place.
Continuing his march northward, Sherman's left wing reached
Fayetteville, N. C., on the 11th of March. General Hampton, with
his cavalry, had maintained active skirmishing to cover the retreat
of Hardee's troops, and on the morning of March 10th, finding
Kilpatrick's cavalry in a scattered condition, he ordered Wheeler's and
Butler's cavalry to attack. They charged the camps, took Kilpatrick's
headquarters, artillery and wagons, destroying the latter, and captured
350 prisoners, but the enemy reforming in a marsh, finally compelled
the Confederates to withdraw.
Sherman spent three days at Fayetteville, destroying the arsenal and
machinery. He then began to fear serious trouble from the concentration
of the Confederate forces in his front under General Johnston, and
began a movement toward Goldsboro, where he ordered Schofield to join
him. His march began March 15th, his advance being steadily resisted
by Hampton, and on the 16th he encountered General Hardee near
Averasboro, in the narrow, swampy neck between Cape Fear and South
rivers, determined to check the Federal advance to gain time for the
concentration of Johnston's army.
At 7 a. m. on the 16th, Hardee's line was attacked, 5 miles south
of Averasboro, and Colonel Rhett's brigade forced back, rallying on
Elliott's. Forming a second line, supported by McLaws' division and
later by Wheeler's cavalry, the fighting was continued, although the
enemy's great superiority in numbers enabled him to flank the second
line and compel Hardee to occupy a third. He maintained his position
during the day and retreated upon Smithfield, where Johnston's
headquarters was then located. He reported his loss as 400 or 500.
Colonel Rhett was captured, in a skirmish preceding the battle, and
Colonel Butler commanded his brigade. Casualties were reported in
fourteen brigades of the Federal army, aggregating 95 killed, 533
wounded and 54 missing.[N]
[Footnote N: A Federal line officer, writing of this fight years
afterward, said: "It was a wretched place for a fight. At some points
we had to support our wounded until they could be carried off, to
prevent their falling into the swamp water, in which we stood ankle
deep. No ordinary troops were in our front. They would not give way
until a division of Davis' corps was thrown upon their right while we
pressed them closely. As we passed over their dead and wounded, I came
upon the body of a very young officer, whose handsome, refined face
attracted my attention. While the line of battle swept past me I knelt
at his side for a moment. His buttons bore the arms of South Carolina.
Evidently we were fighting the Charleston chivalry."]
General Taliaferro, in his report of the battle of Averasboro, says:
Our skirmish line, under the command of Captain Huguenin, First South
Carolina infantry, received their advance very handsomely, and only
fell back when forced by greatly superior numbers. On the right of the
line and well advanced to the front, the houses at Smith's place were
occupied by two companies of the First South Carolina artillery....
The fighting was heavy during the entire morning. Men and officers
displayed signal gallantry. Our loss on this [Elliott's] line was
considerable, including some of our best officers, among whom were
Lieutenant-Colonel De Treville, First South Carolina infantry, and
Captain Lesesne, First South Carolina artillery. Our light artillery,
which consisted of two 12-pounder howitzers of LeGardeur's (New
Orleans) battery and one 12-pounder Napoleon of Stuart's (South
Carolina) battery, was well served, and operated with good results
upon the enemy's infantry and opposing battery. The ground was so
soft with the heavy rains that the pieces could with difficulty be
maneuvered, and when this line was abandoned, it was impossible to
withdraw two of the guns, as every horse of Stuart's but one, and nine
of LeGardeur's were killed, and nearly all the cannoneers of both guns
were either killed or wounded. Spare horses had been ordered up, but
did not arrive in time. All the ammunition, however, to the last shot
of all the guns had been expended upon the enemy.[O]
[Footnote O: Among South Carolinians specially mentioned by General
Taliaferro were Brig.-Gen. Stephen Elliott and Colonel Butler,
commanding brigades; Colonel Brown, Major Warley and Captain Humbert,
Second South Carolina artillery; Captain Mathewes and Lieutenant
Boag, Manigault's battalion; Lieutenant-Colonel Yates, Major Blanding
(severely wounded) and Captain King, First South Carolina artillery;
Captain Huguenin, First South Carolina infantry, and Major Lucas.]
On being informed that the Fourteenth and Twentieth Federal corps,
which had been engaged with Hardee at Averasboro, were moving by the
Goldsboro road, at some distance from Sherman's other wing, Johnston
immediately concentrated his troops available at Bentonville, and
attacked Slocum at 3 p. m., at first meeting with brilliant success.
A mile in the rear the Federals rallied. "We were able to press all
back slowly until 6," said Johnston, "when receiving fresh troops
apparently, they attempted the offensive, which we resisted without
difficulty till dark." On the 20th, Hoke's division was attacked,
but repulsed every assault. Next day there was heavy skirmishing,
and Stewart's and Taliaferro's skirmishers were thrown forward, who
found that Sherman, having united his two wings, was intrenching.
On the evening of the 21st, General Hardee, assisted by Hampton and
Wheeler, defeated an attempt of Blair's corps to move upon Bentonville.
Then, learning that Schofield had reached Goldsboro, and Sherman was
moving toward Cox's bridge, Johnston withdrew to the neighborhood of
Smithfield, and thence through Raleigh toward Greensboro.
The first attack upon the enemy preliminary to the battle of
Bentonville was made by General Hampton, on the morning of the 18th, in
defense of the position he had selected for the battle which had been
planned. On the 19th, before the arrival of Hardee to take position
between Hoke and Stewart, Hampton held the gap in the line with two
South Carolina batteries of horse artillery, Hart's, under Capt. E. L.
Halsey, and Capt W. E. Earle's.
Maj.-Gen. D. H. Hill, commanding Lee's corps, which included the
South Carolinians of Manigault's brigade, reported the entire success
of his command in the first attack, and added: "Lieutenant-Colonel
Carter [commanding Manigault's brigade] was in actual negotiation with
a Yankee general for the surrender of his command." Unfortunately,
at this juncture the enemy pressed upon the flank and rear of his
advance, and many men were cut off. "Captain Wood, adjutant-general
of Manigault's brigade, brought out 10 men and 8 prisoners, after a
tiresome march all night around the Yankee forces."
Gen. John D. Kennedy commanded Kershaw's old brigade, and he and his
veterans did gallant service.[P]
[Footnote P: General Kennedy complimented Lieutenant-Colonel Wallace,
commanding the Second regiment, for skill and gallantry, and mentioned
particularly, "Capt. C. R. Holmes, assistant adjutant-general,
Lieutenant Harllee, acting assistant inspector-general, Lieutenant
Sill, acting on staff, and C. Kennison, acting aide-de-camp; also the
good conduct and coolness in bearing dispatches of Sergeant Blake and
Corporal Pinckney of the Second South Carolina." Lieutenant-Colonel
Roy, in the advance, was for a time on the left of the brigade,
gallantly inspiriting the men.]
During the operations just narrated, Hagood's brigade had been engaged,
under Hoke and Bragg, in the defense of Wilmington, N. C., and of
Kinston, maintaining in every combat its old-time reputation for valor.
In the operations about Kinston, Lee's corps, under D. H. Hill, also
took part, and in the actions of March 8th, 9th and 10th, the South
Carolinians of Manigault's brigade were engaged.
Having fought to the extremity for a great Right, the army under Gen.
Joseph E. Johnston was surrendered April 26, 1865, upon the terms
agreed upon between Lee and Grant at Appomattox. The South Carolina
soldiery of all arms, and its men of the navy in all waters, had
valorously sustained the honor of their State, making in long and
arduous service a reputation for fortitude, courage, humanity, and
devotion to the Confederacy, only equaled by the fame similarly earned
by their comrades from other States. Accepting honorable parole in
good faith, these chivalrous men retired from the theater of war to
act well their parts in civil life, trusting their country's future
to the honest hope that the operations in the minds and actions of
their countrymen of the essential principles of free government under
constitutional regulations, would yet accomplish in peace the great
ends for which they had so terribly suffered in war.
BIOGRAPHICAL
MAJOR-GENERALS AND BRIGADIER-GENERALS, PROVISIONAL ARMY OF THE
CONFEDERATE STATES, ACCREDITED TO SOUTH CAROLINA.
Brigadier-General Barnard E. Bee was born at Charleston, S. C., in
1823, the son of Col. Barnard E. Bee, who removed to Texas in 1835,
and grandson of Thomas Bee, the first Federal judge of the State of
South Carolina. He was appointed as a cadet-at-large to the United
States military academy, and was graduated in 1845, with promotion to
brevet second lieutenant, Third infantry. Immediately afterward he
served in the military occupation of Texas, and during the war with
Mexico participated in the battles of 1846 at Palo Alto and Resaca de
la Palma, after which he was on recruiting service with promotion to
second lieutenant. In 1847 he took part in the siege of Vera Cruz,
and while storming the enemy's intrenched heights at Cerro Gordo, was
wounded and earned the brevet of first lieutenant. His gallant record
was continued in the conflicts at Contreras, Churubusco, Chapultepec
and the City of Mexico, winning for him the rank of brevet captain
and a sword of honor from South Carolina, his native State. After
the close of this war he served as adjutant of the Third infantry at
various army posts on the frontier, until the spring of 1855, with
promotion to first lieutenant in 1851, and to captain of the Tenth
infantry in 1855. For a short time he was detached at the cavalry
school at Carlisle; then was on frontier duty in Minnesota; marched
with Albert Sidney Johnston to Utah in 1857, and in that territory
served as lieutenant-colonel of the volunteer battalion until the
close of 1858. He was on duty at Fort Laramie, Dak., when he resigned
in March, 1861, to enter the Confederate service. First commissioned
major of infantry, C. S. A., he was promoted to brigadier-general,
provisional army, in June, and given command of the Third brigade of
the army of the Shenandoah, under Brig.-Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, whose
other brigade commanders were Colonels Jackson, Bartow and Elzey. Bee's
command was composed of the Second and Eleventh Mississippi, Sixth
North Carolina and Fourth Alabama regiments, and Imboden's battery.
After participating in the maneuvers in the valley against Patterson,
his brigade was the first to reinforce Beauregard at Manassas Junction,
arriving there on July 20th. He selected the position for the artillery
on the morning of the 21st near the Henry house, almost simultaneously
with the placing of Rickett's battery on the opposite hill, and ordered
the opening of the artillery fire which checked the Federal advance and
made the subsequent victory possible. He was the ranking officer on
this part of the field during the early hours of battle, and supported
Evans with his own and Bartow's brigades, while Jackson followed and
took position on the line he had selected. Forced back by Federal
reinforcements, he rallied his troops, and during the confusion shouted
the historic words: "Look at Jackson's brigade. It stands there like
a stonewall." His gallant men soon reformed and drove the Federals
from the Henry house plateau which they had gained, and soon afterward
were in turn driven back by the enemy. In the second charge of the
Confederates which swept the Federals from the disputed position,
captured the Rickett and Griffin batteries, and won the day, General
Bee fell mortally wounded near the Henry house, close to the spot where
he gave his first orders for battle. He died the following morning,
July 22, 1861, in the little cabin on the field where he had made his
headquarters. The death of General Bee, in this first great battle of
the war, caused universal mourning in the South. He was an officer of
tried courage and capacity, and had the promise of a glorious career
in the great struggle into which he had entered with such generous
enthusiasm.
* * * * *
Brigadier-General Milledge Luke Bonham was born near Red Bank,
Edgefield district, December 22, 1813, the son of Capt. James Bonham,
who came from Virginia to South Carolina about the close of the
last century, and married Sophie, daughter of Jacob Smith, niece of
Capt. James Butler, head of an illustrious South Carolina family.
The grandfather of General Bonham was Maj. Absalom Bonham, a native
of Maryland and a soldier of the revolutionary war. General Bonham,
after graduation at the South Carolina college, had his first military
experience as a volunteer in the company of Capt. James Jones, in
the Seminole war, and was promoted to brigade major, a position
corresponding to adjutant-general of brigade. Subsequently, while
beginning his career as a lawyer and legislator, he continued his
association with the militia and attained the rank of major-general.
When war began with Mexico he went to the front as lieutenant-colonel
of the Twelfth United States infantry, and served with distinction,
earning promotion to colonel, and remained in Mexico a year after
the close of the war, as military governor of one of the provinces.
Then returning home he resumed the practice of law, was elected
solicitor of the southern circuit, and in 1856, upon the death of
Preston S. Brooks, was chosen as the successor of that gentleman in
Congress. Upon the secession of the State he promptly resigned and
was appointed commander-in-chief of the South Carolina army, with the
rank of major-general. In this capacity, and waiving all questions of
rank and precedence, at the request of Governor Pickens, he served
upon the coast in hearty co-operation with General Beauregard, sent
there by the provisional government of the Confederate States. At a
later date he was commissioned brigadier-general in the provisional
army, and he took to Richmond the first troops, not Virginian, that
arrived for the defense of the capital. His regiments were commanded
by Colonels Kershaw, Williams, Cash and Bacon, and were conspicuous in
the operations before Washington and in the first battle of Manassas.
Afterward, in consequence of a disagreement with the war department,
he resigned and was elected to the Confederate Congress. In December,
1862, he was elected governor of the State, an office which he filled
with credit. In January, 1865, he was appointed to command of a brigade
of cavalry, in the organization of which he was engaged at the close
of military operations. His subsequent career was marked by the same
ardent patriotism. As a delegate to President Grant from the taxpayers'
convention, and a supporter of the revolution of 1876, he rendered the
State valuable service. He was the first railroad commissioner of South
Carolina, in 1878, and subsequently chairman of the commission until
his death, August 27, 1890. As a soldier he is described as "one of the
finest looking officers in the entire army. His tall, graceful figure,
commanding appearance, noble bearing and soldierly mien, all excited
the admiration and confidence of his troops. He wore a broad-brimmed
hat with a waving plume, and sat his horse with the knightly grace of
Charles the Bold or Henry of Navarre. His soldiers were proud of him,
and loved to do him homage. While he was a good disciplinarian, so far
as the volunteer service required, he did not treat his officers with
any air of superiority."
* * * * *
Brigadier-General John Bratton was born at Winnsboro, S. C., March
7, 1831, the son of Dr. William Bratton by his second wife, Isabella
Means. He is a descendant of Col. William Bratton, of Virginia, who
removed to York county, S. C., and was a conspicuous figure in the war
of the revolution. John Bratton was graduated at the South Carolina
college in 1850, and a few years later embarked in the practice of
medicine at his native town, having completed a professional course at
the Charleston college. In 1861 he enlisted in the first call for ten
regiments of troops, as a private, and being promoted captain, served
in that capacity during the bombardment of Fort Sumter, and until the
State troops were called upon to enlist in the Confederate service.
His company declining to respond, he again enlisted as a private, and
with twenty-three men of his old command helped to fill up a company
for the Sixth regiment. This was soon ordered to Virginia, where he
went as second lieutenant of Company C. Except for the engagement at
Dranesville, the year for which the regiment enlisted was uneventful,
but toward the close he attracted the favorable attention of General
Johnston by advocating the enlistment of his regiment as a whole
for the war, and though this proposition failed, he was enabled to
re-enlist the first company of one year's men of Johnston's army.
It followed that a battalion of six companies of the Sixth was
re-enlisted, and he was soon elected to the command, and promoted
colonel when the regiment was filled up. He commanded his regiment with
gallantry in Jenkins' brigade, Longstreet's corps, at Williamsburg,
Seven Pines, the Seven Days' battles, and the succeeding campaigns of
the army of Northern Virginia, and in the Chickamauga and Knoxville
campaigns, where he was in command of the brigade while Jenkins had
charge of Hood's division. After the death of Jenkins at the battle of
the Wilderness, he was at once promoted brigadier-general on the urgent
request of General Lee, and he continued to lead this famous brigade
to the end. At Appomattox, so well had his gallant men held together,
he had the largest brigade in the army, a little over 1,500 men, and
in fact it was larger than some of the divisions. His brigade alone
made an orderly march to Danville and secured railroad transportation
for a part of their homeward journey. When General Bratton reached
home he gave his attention to planting, and in 1866 was elected to
the legislature. In 1876 he was the chairman of the South Carolina
delegation to the national Democratic convention, in 1880 was
chairman of the State committee of his party, and in 1881 was elected
comptroller of the State to fill an unexpired term. He was a stalwart
lieutenant of Gen. Wade Hampton in the famous campaign of 1876, was
elected to Congress in 1884, and was his party's candidate for governor
in 1890. Having been for many years identified with the agricultural
interests of the State, he was selected as the one man likely to unify
his party. With the single purpose of mitigating the evils attending
division among the whites, he sacrificed himself on the shrine of duty,
as he saw it, and though defeated, again won the admiration of all
classes. Until his death at Winnsboro, January 12, 1898, he held firmly
the unalloyed love and respect of the people.
* * * * *
Major-General Matthew Calbraith Butler was born near Greenville, S. C.,
March 6, 1836. His father was Dr. William Butler, an assistant surgeon
in the United States navy, and a congressman in 1841; his mother, Jane
T., daughter of Captain Perry, U. S. N., of Newport, R. I., and sister
of Commodore Oliver H. Perry and Matthew Calbraith Perry. Judge A.
P. Butler, United States senator, and Gov. Pierce M. Butler, colonel
of the Palmetto regiment and killed at Churubusco, were his uncles;
his grandfather, Gen. William Butler, was a gallant officer of the
revolutionary army, and his great-grandfather, Capt. James Butler, a
native of Loudoun county, Va., was the founder of the family in North
Carolina. In childhood he accompanied his father to Arkansas, but after
the latter's death returned to South Carolina in 1851, and made his
home with Senator A. P. Butler near Edgefield. He was educated at the
South Carolina college, and then reading law was admitted to practice
in 1857. In the following year he was married to Maria, daughter
of Gov. F. W. Pickens. He was elected to the legislature in 1860, but
before the conclusion of his term, entered the military service of his
State as captain of a company of cavalry in Hampton's legion. This
command took a distinguished part in the first battle of Manassas,
and Captain Butler was promoted major to date from July 21st, the
beginning of his famous career in the cavalry of the army of Northern
Virginia. He commanded the cavalry of the legion under Stuart in the
withdrawal of the troops from Yorktown, and was warmly commended for
gallantry at Williamsburg. In August, 1862, he was promoted to colonel
of the Second regiment, South Carolina cavalry, Hampton's brigade,
and in this rank he participated in the Second Manassas and Maryland
campaigns, winning favorable mention for gallant leadership in the
affair at Monocacy bridge, and in Stuart's Chambersburg raid. He
commanded the main part of his brigade in the Dumfries expedition of
December, 1862, and in June, 1863, he was one of the most conspicuous
leaders in the famous cavalry battle of Brandy Station. Here he was
severely wounded by a shell, losing his right foot, and promotion to
brigadier-general followed in September. Returning to service before
his wound healed he was sent home to recover. He succeeded General
Hampton in brigade command, and took part in the fall campaigns of
the army in 1863, and throughout the famous struggle of 1864, at
the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, and before Richmond in opposition to
Sheridan, he was one of the heroic figures of this last great campaign
of the Confederate armies. The reports of Sheridan himself attest
the splendid fighting of Butler and his brigade at Hawe's Shop and
Cold Harbor. At Trevilian Station he was in command of Hampton's
division, and repulsed seven distinct and determined assaults by the
largely superior forces under Sheridan, his command occupying the most
important point of the Confederate line and fighting as infantry. In
September he was promoted major-general, and in the spring of 1865 he
was detached with a small division for the campaign against Sherman
in the Carolinas. He commanded the rear guard of Hardee's army at the
evacuation of Columbia and Cheraw, and at the last had division command
of cavalry, his forces and Gen. Joe Wheeler's forming the command of
Lieut.-Gen. Wade Hampton. The close of the war left him in financial
ruin, but he bravely met the exigencies of the occasion, and in a short
time attained national repute for the firmness and boldness with which
he handled the political questions which concerned the essentials of
the reorganized social life. While he powerfully advocated obedience to
the reconstruction measures as the law, law being preferable to chaos,
he receded at no time from a persistent opposition to infringements on
good government, and was largely instrumental in securing the election
of Gov. Wade Hampton. In 1876 he was elected to the United States
Senate, where his admission was met by a storm of partisan protest
which is memorable in the history of the nation, but his career of
eighteen years in that exalted body vindicated the good judgment and
patriotism of the State which deputed him as its representative. In the
stormy days of sectional debate in Congress he was one of the foremost
champions of the South, but at a later period he was enabled to make a
splendid record in constructive statesmanship by his staunch advocacy
of a strong navy, of civil service reform, and other measures now
settled in national policy. After the expiration of his service in the
Senate, March, 1895, he engaged in the practice of law at Washington,
D. C. In 1898 he was appointed a major-general in the volunteer army of
the United States, for the war with Spain, and after peace was secured
he served as a member of the commission for the removal of the Spanish
forces from Cuba.
[Illustration: M. C. BUTLER]
Brigadier-General Ellison Capers, a descendant of an English family
which settled in South Carolina among the earliest colonists, was born
in Charleston, October 14, 1837. His father, grandfather and several
generations of the name, belonged to the parishes of St. Thomas and
St. Denis, in Charleston county, in the territory originally called
Berkeley county. His mother was of Irish extraction, her father,
William McGill, having settled in Kershaw county, upon coming from
Ireland. William Capers, the grandfather of Ellison, was a soldier of
the revolution, a lieutenant in the Second South Carolina regiment,
and after the fall of Charleston in 1780, one of Marion's captains in
his famous partisan brigade, in which his only brother, G. Sinclair
Capers, held the same rank. Several thrilling incidents in the career
of these two gallant partisan captains are related by Judge James,
of South Carolina, in his life of Marion. They were both planters.
William Capers, father of Ellison, was born on his father's plantation,
"Bull Head," in St. Thomas parish, about 20 miles north of Charleston,
January 25, 1790. He was graduated at the South Carolina college in
Columbia, entered the Methodist ministry in 1808, and devoted his
life and brilliant talents to his sacred calling. He was elected and
consecrated a bishop in the Methodist Episcopal church South, in 1845,
and died at his home in Anderson, S. C., January 29, 1855. Ellison
Capers, the fourth son of his marriage with Susan McGill, was graduated
at the South Carolina military academy in November, 1857. The next year
he was a resident graduate and assistant professor of mathematics and
belles lettres in his alma mater. In 1859 he married Charlotte Rebecca,
fourth daughter of John Gendron and Catherine Cotourier Palmer, of
Cherry Grove plantation, St. John's, Berkeley, S. C. In the fall of
this year he was appointed assistant professor of mathematics in the
South Carolina military academy at Charleston with the rank of second
lieutenant. The active state of affairs in Charleston during the
summer and fall of 1860 roused the military spirit of the people, and
the First regiment of Rifles was organized in Charleston, of which
Lieutenant Capers was unanimously elected major. He served with this
regiment at Castle Pinckney, and on Morris, Sullivan's, James and
John's islands. His regiment also constituted a part of the army under
Beauregard during the attack on Fort Sumter. He continued to serve in
the vicinity of Charleston until November, when he resigned the rank
of lieutenant-colonel to which he had been promoted, in order that he
might enter the Confederate service. Satisfied that a terrible struggle
was before his people, he resigned his professorship at the military
academy and united with Col. Clement H. Stevens, of Charleston, in
enlisting a regiment for the war. The regiment was mustered into the
Confederate service as the Twenty-fourth South Carolina volunteer
infantry, April 1, 1862, with Clement H. Stevens as colonel, Ellison
Capers, lieutenant-colonel, and H. J. Hammond, major; on the 4th
of April was ordered to Coles' island, and on the 25th of May was
transferred to James island. On June 3d, Companies A, B, D and E,
and the Charleston battalion, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel
Capers, opened the James Island campaign. In this engagement Colonel
Capers led the attack, and for his courageous and skillful management
of this affair he was commended in general orders. At the battle of
Secessionville, the Twenty-fourth was again engaged, and Colonel Capers
was praised in orders. He was next detailed to command a battery of
siege guns at Clark's house. Except a short service at Pocotaligo the
regiment was on James island until December 15, 1862, when it was
ordered to North Carolina to the relief of Wilmington, and stationed
at the railroad crossing of Northeast river on Island Ford road. On
February 13th it was returned to South Carolina and placed on duty
in the Third military district (W. S. Walker's). Lieutenant-Colonel
Capers, with part of his regiment and other commands, was detached to
command the district between Combahee and Ashepoo rivers. Charleston
being threatened with attack, the regiment was ordered back to
Secessionville, April 5, 1863. On May 6th it left South Carolina
for Jackson, Miss., being assigned to Gist's brigade, and eight
days later, while commanding the regiment in the battle at Jackson,
Lieutenant-Colonel Capers was wounded. About the last of August, Gist's
brigade was sent to General Bragg. It participated in the battles
of Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge, and in the former Capers was
again wounded. During the winter at Dalton in January, 1864, Colonel
Stevens was promoted to brigadier-general and placed in charge of the
brigade formerly commanded by Gen. Claudius C. Wilson. It was while
leading this brigade that General Stevens received his mortal wound
at Peachtree creek, July 20, 1864. Lieutenant-Colonel Capers was
promoted to the colonelcy of the Twenty-fourth, which he led through
the Atlanta and Tennessee campaigns until the battle of Franklin,
where he was wounded and Gist was killed. On March 1, 1865, on the
recommendations of Generals Johnston, Hardee and Cheatham, he was
commissioned brigadier-general and assigned to the command of Gist's
brigade. After the war General Capers was elected secretary of state
of South Carolina, December, 1866. In 1867 he entered the ministry of
the Protestant Episcopal church. He was for twenty years rector at
Greenville, S. C., for one year at Selma, Ala., and for six years at
Trinity, Columbia. In 1889 the degree of D. D. was conferred on him by
the university of South Carolina. On May 4, 1893, he was elected bishop
by the convention of South Carolina on the first ballot, and on July
20, 1893, was consecrated in this sacred office.
* * * * *
Brigadier-General James Chestnut, a gallant South Carolinian,
distinguished as a general officer, also served as aide-de-camp on the
staff of President Davis, in which connection his biography is given in
the first volume of this work.
* * * * *
Brigadier-General James Conner was born at Charleston, the son of Henry
W. Conner, of that city. After his graduation at the South Carolina
college in 1849, he read law under James L. Petigru, and was admitted
to practice in 1852. In 1856 his ability as a lawyer was recognized
by appointment as United States district attorney, an office which
he resigned in 1860 on account of the prospect of secession by his
State. He was associated with Judge Magrath and Hon. W. F. Colcock on
a committee which visited the legislature and urged the calling of a
convention, and after the passage of the ordinance he devoted himself
to preparation for the field. Though appointed Confederate States
attorney for the district, he refused to leave the military service
and deputed his official duties. He entered the Confederate service
as captain of the Montgomery Guards, and in May, 1861, was chosen
captain of Company A, Washington light infantry, Hampton's legion.
He was promoted major to date from the first battle of Manassas, and
in June, 1862, became colonel of the Twenty-second North Carolina
regiment. Being disabled for duty, he was detailed as one of the judges
of the military court of the Second corps, with the rank of colonel of
cavalry. On June 1, 1864, he was promoted brigadier-general, and was
assigned to command of McGowan's and Lane's brigades. Subsequently,
as acting major-general, he commanded a division consisting of the
brigades of McGowan, Lane and Bushrod Johnson. On the return of General
McGowan to duty, General Conner was assigned permanently to the command
of Kershaw's old brigade. In 1865 he was promoted to major-general,
and the commission was made out, and forwarded, but failed to reach
him in the confusion of the final days of the Confederacy. He was at
the bombardment of Fort Sumter, 1861, and participated in the battles
of First Manassas, Yorktown, New Stone Point, West Point, Seven
Pines, Mechanicsville, Chancellorsville, Riddle's Shop, Darby's Farm,
Fussell's Mill, Petersburg, Jerusalem Plank Road, Reams' Station,
Winchester, Port Republic and Cedar Creek. He was severely wounded in
the leg at Mechanicsville, and again in the same leg near Fisher's
Hill, October, 1864, compelling the amputation of the limb. At First
Manassas the command of the legion was given him as senior captain,
by Colonel Hampton, when the latter was wounded, and Captain Conner
gallantly led in the charge upon Rickett's battery. As commander of
Kershaw's South Carolinians he was greatly beloved by his men. After
his return to Charleston he resumed the practice of law, in which
he gained distinction. For many years he was assistant counsel and
then solicitor of the South Carolina railroad, and for the bank of
Charleston, and for some time was receiver of the Greenville & Columbia
railroad. In 1876 he was chairman of the Democratic executive committee
of the State, and was nominated and elected attorney-general of the
State, on the ticket headed by General Hampton. During the exciting
period of this campaign he was in command of the rifle-clubs which
were depended upon for the preservation of order, and his calmness and
self-control were of great value to the State. His performance of the
duties of attorney-general elicited the warm official commendation of
Governor Hampton, and thanks were tendered him by the legislature in
the name of the people of the State.
* * * * *
Brigadier-General Thomas Fenwick Drayton was born in South Carolina
about 1807, of an ancestral line distinguished in the history of the
State. His grandfather, William Drayton, born in South Carolina
in 1733, was educated in law at the Temple, London; was appointed
chief justice of the province of East Florida in 1768, and after the
revolution was judge of admiralty, associate justice of the supreme
court, and first United States district judge. His father, William
Drayton, born in 1776, a lawyer, entered the United States service
as lieutenant-colonel in 1812; was promoted colonel, and later
inspector-general; was associated with Generals Scott and Macomb in
the preparation of a system of infantry tactics; resigned in 1815,
afterward served in Congress 1825-33, and was a warm friend and
supporter of President Jackson. General Drayton was graduated at the
United States military academy in 1828, in the class of Jefferson
Davis, and was in the service as second lieutenant of Sixth infantry
until his resignation in 1836. Subsequently he was occupied as a civil
engineer at Charleston, Louisville and Cincinnati for two years, then
becoming a planter in St. Luke's parish. He served as captain of South
Carolina militia five years, was a member of the board of ordnance of
the State, a State senator 1853-61, and president of the Charleston
& Savannah railroad 1853-56. September 25, 1861, he was commissioned
brigadier-general, provisional army of the Confederate States, and was
assigned to the command of the Third military district of the State.
He was in command of the Confederate forces during the bombardment and
capture of Forts Walker and Beauregard, at Port Royal entrance, in
November, 1861, on which occasion his brother, Capt. Percival Drayton,
commanded the steamer Pocahontas, one of the Federal vessels under
Admiral DuPont. He was in charge of the Fifth military district, under
Gen. R. E. Lee, and the Sixth and Fourth districts under Pemberton, in
the same region, with headquarters at Hardeeville. During the Second
Manassas and Maryland campaigns he commanded a brigade composed of
the Fifteenth South Carolina, and two Georgia regiments, which, with
Toombs' Georgia brigade, constituted the division of D. R. Jones,
Longstreet's corps, and participated in the battles of Thoroughfare
Gap and Second Manassas, South Mountain and Sharpsburg. In August,
1863, he was ordered to report to Gen. T. H. Holmes, at Little Rock,
Ark., and was there assigned to command of a brigade of Sterling
Price's division, consisting of Missouri and Arkansas troops. From
the beginning of 1864 he was in command of this division in Arkansas,
until Gen. Kirby Smith relieved Holmes, when he was transferred to the
command of the West sub-district of Mexico. He was also in command of
the Texas cavalry division composed of the brigades of Slaughter and
H. E. McCullough. In the spring of 1865 he was a member of the board
of inquiry demanded by General Price after his Missouri expedition.
After the close of hostilities, General Drayton farmed in Dooly county,
Ga., until 1872, afterward was an insurance agent, and in 1878 removed
to Charlotte, N. C., as president of the South Carolina immigration
society. He died at Florence, February 18, 1891.
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Brigadier-General John Dunovant held the rank of major of infantry
in the State army during the initial operations of the war of the
Confederacy, and during the bombardment of Fort Sumter was present at
Fort Moultrie, doing all that was in his power. Subsequently he became
colonel of the First regiment of infantry, and was stationed for some
time on Sullivan's island and at Fort Moultrie. Later in 1862 he was
given command of the Fifth regiment, South Carolina cavalry, in which
capacity he served in the State, until ordered to Virginia in March,
1864. There he and his regiment were under the brigade command of Gen.
M. C. Butler, in Wade Hampton's division of Stuart's cavalry. The
regiment under his leadership did admirable service, General Ransom
reported, at the battle of Drewry's Bluff, May 16th, and subsequently
in the encounters with Sheridan's cavalry, he shared the services
of Butler's brigade at Cold Harbor, Trevilian's and other important
conflicts. On August 2, 1864, President Davis suggested to General
Lee, Dunovant's promotion to temporary rank as brigadier-general, and
it was soon afterward ordered. In this capacity he had brigade command
under General Hampton until, in the fighting north of the James river,
following the capture of Fort Harrison, he was killed October 1, 1864.
On receipt of news of the death of the gallant soldier, General Lee
replied to General Hampton: "I grieve with you at the loss of General
Dunovant and Dr. Fontaine, two officers whom it will be difficult to
replace."
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