Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1861-08-03
Battle of Stone Bridge.

1Sf
SsS 2lst July, 1861. That our readers may tho
,bottcr understand tho topography ofthe country
/ the various positions and operations of tho
\ Southern army, wopropose to give in this shape
that which would otherwise appear rs "Edito-
i.s rial Correspondence"
ToEbegin: After loaving Fairfax G. X. on
Che 12tlrof July, wo returned directto Manas-
E. sas. Eaquiring ut Headquarters, wo learned
TINT tho 4th Regiment had loft Lccsburg, and,
by short marches, was falling down on Bull
lsan--tle base line Of tho whole Confederate
s2arlny. oathe l3th, by tho kindness of friend,
& EwoS reached the 18th Regiment, in n hard rain,
s. which was cncampcd five milos west of Centre,
yillo, llino miles from Stone Bridge, and fifteen
from Manassas. Wc woro Kindly received by
friends, both officers and mon, in thisnoblo Reg.
3 4iment, and shared thoir hospitality d6ring our
5& stay. THO mon, with tho exception Of good
many cases of measles and mumps, were goncia-
ls oily enjoying very good health. Tho boys Ind
thoro enjoyed themselves finely. "ILtrd tiwcs,"
however, wore now apparent; but tho Yankees
;; wero coming up, and this kept all in good hu.
5s NOR, fine spirits, and a gun in hand. Early on
tho 10th, q despatch from Con. BEAuREoARD
q atlmonshcd the officers to bo on tho "alcrt,"
md, after breakfast, tho fonts wcro struck, and
tho whole column marched under orders. At
about o'clock, p. NJ, after dusty and tiro-
some tramp Of nine miles, tho Regiment cn-
81 campcd near tho Stone Bridge. AS soon rs
orders %ero giyon to stack arms" tho men
hurricdly prepared o frugal mcal md then,
without stretching their tont cloths, took their
guns by thoir side, tumblod down on thcir blan-
kcts, and wcrc soon ut rest. We shared tho
blankets of aeknd friend, but it was long before
sleep closed our oycs. Tho scene before us
moved our hcart. IIoro was gallant banl of
brave and devoted mon, hundreds of miles away
from friends md homo=all that good men prize
that is earthly without many Of tho subsan-
tials of lfe-none Of its comforts-and upon tho
eve of a great battle But the reality of their
situation changed them, not, and we wero proud
to share oven the scanty faro and fate of our
friends and noighbors in strange land!
AS q motor of history, it is proper hcrc to
state that the; Confederate army, which had
,bccn occupyiSeefdtt ecfson nc. II. and other adj,
H. ilss # 9satea rea"- pso,",-,b bnII isas
buraa1.l ,nfal md lam,asa'is lrGra'ists ocouD;o,, - N
og g eitiseqs Tp'sy Of noeenn,o showed its, ;tses e.
Gils, yacxsos npey %;e home. ,pI T sigh, went "
1,,.s s.s house vas saekea inss aa, J4cssos' &C. O
ssssy indisni,xi' dia,i'asa as. Iss ssssE'
q ,. Go sslds
females oSilaesh ael@ Tho brutal con-
duct ofGtR accursod AaaAlcrs has. however,
Il nearly dcpopulatod tho country, With tho cxccp.
tionI the Ibrics, of whom there firc not a fow.
inEhis section. isst
yA5bricf description of this section Of country
lay not ut this time, bo unntcrosting: The
face Of the country is not unlike our own, thorc
being sheroabouta succession of hills, gentle
slopes and valleys. The soil isclay entirely,
with limestone appearances. Wetcr is scarce
and bad; timber dwarfsh, aud much of it has
been cut down, Agriculture is tho principal
!: employment Of tho popuiation Wheat is the
a,staplc crop, grasses noxt, corn, oats, etc.. ETC.
Bull Run is n small strean and would b(
called Il ore1a - iii South Carolina. II rises
in tho northwest and runs nearly cast 1t is
4 $ thrco miles north of Manassas, at the nearcs
BY crossing. Centreyilc is four miles north of thu
Run, and Fairfax c. II. is seyon miles north o
S Centrcvic--both places being on the turnpike
@sS leading from Gainesville to Alexandria. Gen
s8 BEAuREoARD's army occupied the west bank q
to Run, in full force, on tho l7th This lin
extending from Union Mills on the right tt
Stonc Bridge on his left, a distance of twcly
miles. Fortifcetons, of formidable charac
ter, ut various points on this line, had bcc'
" thrown up. and we're occupied by Southern
troops. Reliable information satisfied us tina
thsYankees wero advancing in largo numbers
= 49, 40 -