The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1883-03-08

covered some infantry coming to us from
Tue rigDt. AS we we're now nearly a
hundred yards in front of the breast.
mhorks, was at a loss to imagine who
tnese were, and the prospect of yollev
rom me newcomers was anything but
agreeable. But we halted. and I rode
alone to them. They proved to he a
pieket OF the First Regiment-under ,ha
command of Capt. W. /. DELPHI. / tbink~
VINO mad been posted on the right of
even Johnson's picket, (postcd On ,ha
night before, presume) and who. unon
the removal of Johnson's pickets. were
line. ''' p'chet
we now found that We were very near
THE ESEMy's plCKETs.
| had heard some talking inst !, rror,
out LOOK 1t for granted they were our
own people who were there. AS pro.
posed 10 the officer in command of the
:i oa.a'ty TO ride up to these troops, he
said ne thought they were the enemy.
nna II would be very dangerous. called
MS at,entlon TO the fires that were burn.
ing along their line-small ones, Ger.
tainly, but still enough to show us where
they were: He persisting in his former
opinion, Capt; DELPHI if it was he who
commanded the Infantry pickett and |
approached our neighbors carefully.
From my elevation on horseback soon
saw that these careless fellows were Fed.
efAis. Ihey were making themselves
perlectiy warming their hands at
the little fires, talking, laughing, eating,
and evidently dreaming of no enemy
near Wnile =! sat in twenty yards Of them,
anu while nifty Confederate soldiers were
not twenty yards behind me. The temp
tation to charge them was very great.
Ana 1t would not have been dangerous
10 us, 1or we should have stampeded them
at the first shot or yell. But fight at
this point was not what we desired, for
charge OF the line of battle which
undoubtedly lay behind these men would
soon disclose the absence of troops on
our right, and no doubt lead to the cap
| ture OF the unoccupied works there. So
had the infantry deployed where they
stood Ro as to make the connection on the
left, and was comforting with the cavalry
as TO the best disposition Of them when
the enemy discovered lis. They at once
| opened fire, and the cavalry and I clat.
tered ingoriously into the breastworks
calling to our people there not to return
get in. For few seconds it was no
matter to laugh about, but / was soon
able to join in the merriment our retreat
excited in the regiment stationed here.
This fire, or some other cause, appear.
ed to stir the enemy to increased effort
and soon
a RAPID FCsILADE
sprang up along our whole front New
ertheless our men stretched gradually to
the right, thinning our ranks very much,
but preparing force to meet the FEEDER.
ais ut every point. They charged at
some places. Sometimes they effected Il
lodgment in our rifle-pits on the skirmish
line; sometimes they were beaten back :;
sometimes a charge on our part drove
them out of such small space az we had
temporarily lost This was most ago.
nzing TO the line in the breastworks.
They could not fire a gun for fear of
shooting our pickets in front. They had,
therefore, to stand and listen to the
struggle of their comrades in front with
out being able to assist them. They
could only close to right or left as the
occasion seemed to demand and be
always ready to meet whatever force
might succeed in reaching the main line.
1t was
| SAD NIGHT FOR US.
There was no rest for any man; no man
dared sleep. We closed to the right, we
closed 10 the left, we waited, we watched,
we prepared ourselves n hundred times
for the last deadly struggle, we wearied
and nched with waking and anxiety, and
all the while
| TIE TIDE OF RATTLE
surged for miles increasingly. Once, to
make some change from this fearful mo-
notony and to be sure Of supply of am.
few hundred yards in our rear. There
land, our accomplished aud efficient ord
nance officer, at his post, with boxes of
cartridges piled about him aud his ser.
geants ready for duty whenever u detail
should come for fresh supplies. Even
this epot appeared to me enchanting.
could not resist the temptation to dis.
mount and warm my feet at the fire.
But almost as soon as sat down upon a
cartridge.box l fell asleep. Nearly
forty.eight hours had passed since had
closed my eyes, and was Frustrated the
moment l was clear of excitement. |
was walked by falling from my seat, and
then saw that l could not venture to
rest. I mounted my horse and returned
to the line.
I think our lines, some three or four
miles to the east of our position, must
have been broken before daylight, for |
heard terrific volleys at that portion not
long before drawn, and after that it
seemed to me that there was almost a
lull there.
At length day dawned-a bright, calm
day. The firing was not 80 constant
now. It looked as if there might be
some rest for us at last. 1t was said, at
one time, that the brush.heaps in front
of the line-where by some accident
there was break in our picket-were
occupied by the enc my, and we prepared
to search them with canister from the
few cannon placed among US. But they
proved to be empty, and We were not als'
turbed. Finally, being 30
OVERCOME WITH FATIGUE AND WATCH
ING,
and seeing nothing for me to do, lay
down with my bride tied TO my wrist,
and ssndeayored TO snatch little sleep:
I was conscious in few minutes OF
troops moving to the right, but this was
so common an occurrance that 1t did not
fairly wake me. At length wss reused
!. Inv "a officer Of McRaes Brigade, whom
knew. who told me that MCGOWAN .
= -.,,aJ IN hefnra them and