The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1881-01-26
THE BYINGTON BROTHERS.

Oss LIZ ~
/. THE BYINGTON BROTHERS.
A Tragic Romance Of tho Wnr-A. Tru
f Story.
Major W. M. Robbins, formerly o
= the F>:ur:h Alabama regiment: con
+ tributes the following to the Philadel
, phia Times, beginning with a sketch o
: the siege OF Chattanooga:
Several times the Federal flags were
seen within five PAGES of Jul line by tlt
flashes OF our gun Once the two line!
came into actual hand to. hand collision
;, with the bayonet at a place
few steps to the right of where
I stood. I never can forget the horriG
commingling OF yells, shouts, shrieks
and im%precations which burst
GU. for a few moments from that spot
where cold steel was doing it's work.
while balls came tipping down the line
by handfuls us we'll as from the front,
In this crossing of bayonets several men
on each side were slain, and among
these was Orderly Sergeant Byington,
belonging to a company in the Forty
fourth Alabama, who fell with a bay
onet in bis breast, having transfxcd
his assailant in like hammer. In this, as
well as every other attack so CALAMITY
made upon it that night, the Alabama
brigade succeeded, by strenuous exer-
tions, in holding its ground n d1epelling
it's adversaries. We should have been
overwhelmed, [ suppose, after awhile,
and perhaps surrounded and captured
by the superior forces opposed to US.
But after an hour or more OF the kind
Of work / have notwithstanding 4 lull
in the fiehting-word came to US that
Jenkins attack; had failed OF any useful
result and that he had retired. Our
action being merely subsidiary to his,
we also were ordered to withdraw to
our camps, which was done without
further conflict or danger. Our assail-
ants must have suffered severely, but l
never learned how much. This night
fight of infantry, fierce and persi stem IS
it was, and at such close quarters, was
one of the most thrilling experiences of
the war.
Early in November Longstreet's corps
of which we formed a part, left Chat
tanooga with orders to advance on Knox
vile and drive Burnside from hat town
and out of East Tennessee. mention
this siege of Knoxville now merely for
the purpose OF giving q single incident
which occurred at it
Upon the hill on the western or south
western outskirts of the town stood
Fort Sanders. hanked by strong earth
works. forming part of the continuous
line OF defenses around the place. Our
besieging lines of piekets and riHe-pits
we're pushed forward closer to the defen.
sivG works, from time to time, as
we" found practicable. It so hap
pened that about the goth of
November, the writer, commanding the
Fourth Alabama regiment, was in charge
of the picket line fronting the western
face of Fort Sanders and the adjoining
earthworks. During the night we were
ordered to move our line up and dig
rife-pits much in advance of our former
D ,sition and within about three hundred
yards of the fort and its fanking works.
BY daylight we mad d large number OF
rude, SQUAT holes dug waist deep in
the ground (the best we could do with
the time and tools we had) in a line
running parallel in the main TO the
face of the Federal works, but, never.
theless, curved considerably forward at
the left and concealed in that part oy
shrubbery. These pits were occupied
by the men Of one battalion Of the Fourth
Alabama, while the other battalion was
placed in reserve in a piece of woods a
little distance to the rear. The ground
in front of our new pits, especially on
the right of the line. was an open,
smooth lawn, sloping upward Ito the
Federal works) at a considerable angle
of inclination.
AS soon as daylight revealed to the
Federa's our new line of riAe-pits, sud-
denly We beheld springing over their
earthworks and dashing impetuously
down the slope toward US, a body OF
men about two hundred strong, whic'I
we soon afterward found was the
Secord Michigan regiment, led by
Major Byington, and sent to dislodge us
from our new position. I hurried up in
a moment the reserve battalion OF the
Fourth Alabama to reinforce the men
in the pits. And then ensued for
O few minutes one Of the iercest
and deadliest combats of the war.
These two veteran regiments, both
having come to the field Mt the first
sound of the tocsin, as their names show
Second Michigan and Fourth Ala
bs.ma), thinned nov by hard service
ard many battles to about two hundred
men each, but every man Of chem
utterly fearless, sp.endioly daring and
knowing all about war, grappled with
esch other as in q deatE-grip. If cour-
age, such as makes an old soldiers hair
stand on end to think of, could have
won against equal courage and supe-
rior position, the gallant Michigan
men would have %triumphed. But the
Alabamians had the advantage of shell
ter in their pits, which, shallow as they
were, afforded much protection. Il so
fell out, TOO, that tue curve in this line
Of pits on the left proved of great SER
vice TO US, for as our assailants charged
in line parallel to, and square against,
our right, they were enfladed with terri
bic effect by the fire from our pits on the
left, which, hidden by bushes, had not
been noticed. This circumstance quickly
decided the contest in our favor. Many
having fallen or been captured a rem
nant only got back to their works,
some bearing on their shoulders
wounded comrades. AS it looked too
cruel tC fire on these, the Alabamaians
were ordered not to fire or any one who
was carrying q wounded man, and the
Michigan men, hearing this order,
shrewdly awaited themselves of its pro-
lection by shouldering wounded COM
rades, so that several made GOOD their
escape by this means. But the grassy
slope remained thickly strewn with The
dead and wounded. Alas! for the high
hearts that were stilled there forever.
Major Byington displayed a heroism
worthy OF the leader of such men or of
any men. He came on, sword in hand,
in front Of his line, exhorting them to
follow him to victory, and rushed to the
very brink of our rifle pits. where he
fell desperately wounded within a few
feet of me. The fight being quickly
over, l had him carried back to the little
piece of woods in our rear and made as
comfortable rs possible till he could be
sent to the hospital. His leg was broken
and he was shot also in the side, but bad
az these wounds were he seemed to
suffer but little pain. While lying there
he inquired the name OF my regiment,
and on being informed, said quickly: II
have, or had lately, a brother in your
brigade-Orderly Sergeant Byington,
of the Torty-fou1th Alabama" Howhe
knew so we'll the brigade of his brother
and the regiments composing it l did
not think to ask, and do not know.
Said he: my brother is a Northern
mon nv birth hnt went Sorth some