Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1866-02-13
SKETCH OF CEN. WADE HAMPTON.
The south.Side History of the Great War.
pY Join EsTEN COOKE.


There was gentleman of South Carolina,
of high social position aud ample estate,
who in 1861 came to take part in the war in
Virginia, at the head of ':Leg'on" of six
hundred meu- iufuntry. This body of men,
! it was said, he had equipped from s
own purse; as he had sent to England and
purchased the artillery which he was going
to fight.
The Legion" was composed of brave stuff,
and oficercd by hard fighting scntlemen-
the flower indeed Of the great South Carolina
race; good stock. l believe it first ..touk
! the field i'll earnest at the first buttle Ct
ManasSas as an independent organization be-
longing neither to Beauregard's Army of
the Potomac" nor to Juhnston's Army of
the Shenandoah" But there it was, as
| though dropped from the clouds, ON the
morning of that fiery twcnty-tirst of JuIy
1861, amid the corn Fields of Manassas. it
made its mark without loss Of time-strctch.
ing out to Virginia that firm, brave hand of
South Carolina. At tcu o'clock in the morn
ing, on this eventful day, the battle seemed
lost to the SOutheruers. Evans was cut to
pieces; Bee shattered and driven back in
utter defeat, to the Henry house Hill: be-
tween the victorious enemy and Beaure1ard's
unprotected flank were interpOsed only the
six hundred men OF the Legion" aiready
up, and the two thousand six hundred and
eleven muskets of Jackson brigade. not vet in
position. The Legion occupied the Warren>
ton road near the Stone House, where it met
and sustained with Stubborn front the torrent
dashed against it. General kcyes, with Il
| whole division, attacked these six hundred
men from the direction OF Red House ford.
and his advance line was forced back, aud
compelled to take refuge beneath the tluffs
I.Sl
Hunter, meanwhile, closed in on the left Of
the little band, enveoped their flank, and
poured destructive artillery fire along the
line. To hold their ground further was i'm
possible, aud they slowly fell back but those
precious moments had been secured. Jack
son was in position; the Legion retrcated,
and formed upon his right; the enemy's ad-
vance Was checked; and when the Southern
line advanced in its turn, with wild cheers
piercing the federal centre, the South Carroll
mans fought shoulder to shoulder beside the
StOmcwal Brigade and saw the federal forces
break i'll disorder. When the sun set on
this bloody and victorious field, the Legion"
had made Il record among the most hunOra>
bic i'll history They had done more than
their part in the gigantic struggle, and now
saw the enemy i'll full retreat; but their lead
cr did not witness that spectacle. Wade
charge near the Henry House, and borne
from the field cheering bn his men to the
last, with tla' stubborn hurdihood which he
derived from his ancestral blood
Such was the first appearance upon the
great arena of u who was destined to
act ! prominent part in the tragic drama of
the war, aud win for himself celebrated
name. At Manassas, there in the beginning
of the strugg e, us always afterwards, he was
the cool aud fearless soldier. 1t was easily
seen by those who watched Hampton ut
WORK" that lie fought from Il sense OF duty,
and not from passion, or to win renUwn.
The war was gala day full of attraction and
excitement to some; with him it was hard
wo:k-not sought, but accepted. l am certain
that he not actuated by a thirst for mil
itary rank or rcnown. FROM those carly
days when all was so gay aud brilliant, to the
latter years when the conflict had become SO
desperate and bloody, expressing every heart.
Hampton remained the same cool, unexcited
soldier. lie was foremost in every fight, and
everywhere did more than his duty, but evil
IDENTIFY martial ambition did not move him.
Driven to take up arms by his principles. he
fought for those principles. not for fame.
1t followed him-hc did not follow it; and to
contemplate the character aud career of such
Il man is wholesome.
His long and arduous career cannot here
be narrated. \ bare refe: euce to some prom
i"emt points is all that can be given Colonel
Hampton, of the champion Legion" soon
bccame Bri.adicrG General Hampton. of the
cIvalry The hOsemen Of the Gulf States
serving IN Virginia were placed under him,
and the brigade became portion OF Stuarts
Command. 1t soon made its mark Hare
some of the landmarks in the stirring
record:
The hard and stubborn stand made at the
Catoctin mountain when General Lee first in
vaded Maryland, and where Hampton charged
and captured tn. federal artillery posted in
the suburbs Of Frederick City; the rear, suard
work as the Southern column hustcued on.
pursued by Mcclellan, to Sharpsburg; the
stout fighting on the Confederate LETT there
the raid around McClcllans army in Octo.
Der the obstinate fighting in front of the
gaps of the Blue Ridge as Lee fell buck i'm
November to the line of the Rappahamnock
the expedition in dead of winter to the o.
coqua' the critical and desperate combat ON
the 9Th of June, lSG3. at Fleetwood Hil or
Brandy, where Hampton held the right, and
| \ 4oumg of Georgia, that brave of braves, went
at the fiunking column of the enemy with tie
| saber, never fir ng 4 shot. and swept them
from the field; the speedy advance, there
after, with the fighting, fighting, fighting, on
the road to Gettysburg the close and bitter
struggle when the enemy with an overpow-
erIng force of infantry. cavalry, an, artillery,
about the 10Th Of June. attacked the South
ern cavalry near Mddleburg. and forced them
back step by step beyond uppervilIe where
in the last wild charge. when the confeder-
ates were nearly broken, Hampton went in
with the saber at the head Of his men and
saved the command from destruction by his
''do or die fighting the advance thereafter
into Pennsylvania, when the long. hard
march was strewed all over with battles like
the verses of Arinsto; the stubborn stand at
Hanover town, where Hampton stood like
rock upon the hills above the place. nnd the