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

proved our adversaries rather too san.
suine and precipitste. Our poodle were
| not accustomed to panic or to demorali.
zatlon in any form. The column fronted
10 them on the instant, and without com :.
mand returned the fire. 1t was a with.
ering volley, and it smote the lately con.
ident federals with such effect that lbev
sooh concealed themselves behind any
cover that offered itself and allowed us
TO pass on.
Aho on we went, soon leaving the
oreastworks and bearing northward to.
wards the Southside Railroad.
swINTONs STORY OF THIS AFFAIR
swinton, in his history of the Army
OF the Potomac, disposes of our affairs
on this part of the Confederate line in
very few words. He speaks of the line
99eins broken about Hatcher's Run after
uayiight OF this day, and proceeds to say
that Humphreys took two of the divisions
OF ms corps up the Boydton Plankroad.
that Is. towards Petersburg, and left the
other divisions Of his corps with Miles.
to follow us. "The other of Humphrey q
DIVISION says he, "uDder Miles, pur.
sued whatever debris of the enemy re-.
manned west of Hatcher's Run. This
force retreated northward to Sutherland
station on the Southside Railroad,
where 1t was overtaken by Miles, who
IN spirited charge dislodged and de-.
ieated it, taking two guns and six hun.
dred prisoners" Swinsou is, ] believe.
never Intentionally untruthful, but there
Is large amount of falsehood in this
account, as shall proceed to show.
A TRUTHFUL ACCOUNT OF THE MOVE.
MENTS.
Our lines had been irlcparably broken.
y passage clear through them had been
made about daylight in two places at
least-one about the place of our winter
quarters, one just west of Hatcher's
Run. Our right flank had been beaten
and doubled back at Five Forks, the
day before Lee was compelled to evacu-
ale the whole line and retleat westward.
We were sent back to the Sou,bside
| Railroad, to protect the line of march
for the troops and trains that were to be
moved out from Petersburg and all the
country east Of Hatcher's Run. Our
first possible halt, to effect anything,
must be in the vicinity Of the railroad.
| We crossed Hatchers Run-which
| bends very much westward after you
pursue its course upward from our forti-
hcations-and moved, I presume, by the
Clalbourn Road, almost due north. The
enemy did not "ovcrtake" US ut the rail-
road. When We reached wagon road,
which, at the distance of perhaps mile
from Sutherland Station, crosses the road
we marched, and extends nearly parallel
with the railroad at this point, we halted
and
! WAITED FOR THE PURSuERs.
We could have made good our retreat,
but we we're designed to guard the coun.
try between this point and the Appomat-
toS AS long as possible, and we stopped
and made our preparations accordingly.
Gen. Heth WAS with us, and one OF his
staff told me exactly what We were in
tended TO do, which was, to fight all
odds as long as possible, go az to enable
the trains to pass in our rear. Gen.
Heth was recalled to the old liues nearer
Petersburg. This left us under the COM
mand of the senior brigadier general on
the field. This was Gen. Cook, whose
commission was little older than Gen.
McGowan's. We had four brigades
Cooks, Scales's, McRaes and McGow-
ans. We took the rails from the fences
on each side of the road aud piled them
befo.e us. AS the road was little lower
than the ground between it and the ap-
preaching enemy, this gave us pretty
Our brigade was the left of the line.
We had scarcely more than five hundred
men in it, and the other brigades were
little if any larger. We deployed the
sharpshooters in front as skirmishers,
nd ~ 1f nrs1, D.noe
the left on like duty: I remained on
horseback, and was assigned to the duty
of looking peculiarly after this skirmish
ON the left. l threw these pretty far
out, the line being farther from a par
allel with
| THE LINE OF BATTLE
as it receded from us, 30 as to guard
against any near approach of the enemy
on The left flank. also placed videttes
| at right angles with our line and several
hundred yards to the left. I also placed
inner videttes on gate posts or any other
elevation, whose duty it would be to
signal me of any movement of tho outer
lines. Thus prepared, we sat down and
awaited Gen. Miles's Division. From
what have since heard, should say he
| brought at least ten thousand men,
probably as many as fifteen thousand.
This was heavy odds for two thousand or
twenty FIVE hundred men to fight.
THE ENEMY ADVANCE.
After while tho Federals made their
appearance, marching through open
woods about half mile from US. am
not sure that they formed line of battle
at that distance, but it was certainly not
merely their marching column that !
saw. Possibly it was column preceded
by skirmish line. They came rapidly
evidently expecting an easy victory
They thought "a spirited charge was all
that was needed. took position 1T 9
little church that stood just at the left
of our line of battle, whence I com
manded q good view of the whole front
and at the same time was enabled tr
communicate with the ontposts to my
left.
In half an hour after we had the frs
view of our opponents they began tc
move their line of battle against us
This hurried forward with very foolish
enthusiasm. thought then, and shal
always think, until have good evidence
to the contrary, that there was
A GOOD DEAL OF wHIsKEY
in this charge. 1t reminded me very
much of the drunken assaults agains
us at Spottsylvania Courthouse, on the
18th of May, 1864, when Grant poured
his inebriate legions against us only L
he slaughtered. But they came in grea
haste, Thoeping and roaring as if they
eynected to beat us with mere sound