Sharp County record., 1878-11-28
A TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE.

& Were Buried AliYe-Ihe Halr OF One OF
Them Turned from jet Black to White
in Single Day.
DR.. Hugh Toland writes the follow
ing to the JacbsonrHIe( Ala } Republican;
In your issue of the 18th inst. | no.
tice an article, the first sentence OF
which asks the question; Can per
sons hair turn white in short time?'
Having seen such an instance and one
that can be authenticated beyond all
cavil, by persons now living, | will give
YOU and your readers the circumstances
as they occurred, when, where, and
who they are.
When Grant sprang the "mine," or
"blow-up," as many call it, in front Of
Petersburg, Va, at twilight on the
morning Of the S0th of July, 1854, the
point Immediately over it was occupied
by Virginia battery. The bitches on
the right imme Aiately next to the bat
terry were occupied by the Twenty-sec-
ond South Carolina Volunteers, Colonel
Fleming. On the left of the battery,
the bitches were occupied by the Eight
eenth South Carolina, Col. W. H. Wal
lace (now Judge Wallace, Of South
Carolina), of which regiment l was
Surgeon. All along our lines our soldiers
had dug out small bomb proofs, as they
called them. These bomb-proofS were
generally about 4 feet broad, 3 feet
high and I feet long-large enough for 2
or men to crawl into and sleep with
comparative comfort and safety, which
they did when off duty, during that
neyer-to be forgotten siege by every
man who participated therein.
/ In one of the bomb proofs on the eX-
treme right of the Eighteenth South
Carolina Volunteers, and just to the left
of the mine, Lieutenant Willard Hill,
Company D, and Sergeant Greer, Com
pany A, Eighteenth South Carolina Vol
unteers, having been relieved from duty
an hour before, were sleeping. The first
they realized of it was the shock, then
a deep darkness, and then conscious
ness that the mine had been sprung, ,and
they had been buried, how deep they
could not imagine. Their first impulse
was deep, ,indescribable despair-heart-
sickeMing, heart-rending hopelessness,
that Left them almost powerless for o
time. But what could they do? They
had nothing to dig out with but Il bayo-
net that Sergeant Greer had in his belt,
and there was but canteen of water in
the cell. But what was going On above
them? Grant had conSummated that
most diabolical of all the deeds Of a ter
rible war. was within 1S0 yards of it
on my morning visit to my regiment,
and it was just at that time of day-tWi-
light-that even trees can look like
] ghosts, and that added to the weird
scene of death. simultaneously with
the deep, dead sound, and culver of the
earth, there arose in the air q cloud of
dust and smoke, and timbers, men and
4. muskets, and all manner of shapes and
fragments were flying in every direction
and then for moment a stiffness
and it seemed as if every cannon on the
whole Federal line was turned loose
upon our lines. Shells Shrieked through
the air-musket-balls and fragments OF
shell fell in every direction, plowing up
the earth and cutting off limbs from the
few trees that the relentless hand of
war had spared Then came the charge.
Negro troops in front with splendidly
caparisoned troops Of the Federal army
behind, driving them, as it were, to the
front, like sheep to slaughter, with the
battle cry of "Remember Fort Pillow"
and the few-the very few-that sur
vived no doubt remember the crater of
Grant full as well.
High above all the confusion and
smoke and dust and groans of the
wounded, could be heard the battle cry
of the Federal, and the words of en-
couragement of gallant oflicers-the few
that are left of the Eighteenth and
Twenty second South Carolina Volun-
teers, and of those brave Virginians
whose battery was buried in a common
grave with nearly every soldier who
manned it. But the Confederate lines
were broken in twain. Federals and
negroes had made breastworks of the
powders that were blown up by the ex-
plosion. But they were not to stay
there. Soon came General Malone
with reinforcements; and, after one of
the most gallant fights of all the war,
he carried the works, and the crater
turned to a grave for its captorS. I had
heard of pools of blood-it was there
that saw them. Then silence reigned,
that painful silence which always follows
4 ~
high carnival.
Then came the sad duty of counting
up the cost. My brigade had suffered
severely-the Twenty-second South Ca
rolina had lost its gallant Colonel
Fleming and many brave soldier. My
regiment had lost l66 men. Two whole
companies, A and c, Eighteenth South
Carolina, had not man left, who was
on duty, to tell the tale. One hundred
/ Df,