The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1886-04-30

were not therefore dashed when, one aftern oon
Gen. Kepley, commander of the post, and sew
eral other officers, put in their appearance to
witness our drill. Our proficiency drew from
them words Of conimendation, which was to US,
in measure, some justification of the good
opinion We had of the Macbeth Light Artillery.
When mention is made Of the race course,
my mind bridges over the chasm Of twenty five
years Of tiue that intervenes between tho peri
ods of 1861 and 1886. and Rev. James Depass
stands before tho imagination as o dashing
young minister who did The duties OF sergeant
and locked after the spiritual interest of our
company. His WAS character that you had to
study to understand. Aud the more you read
him and the better you knew him, the more of
q man you found him. To nll appearance, he
was rs we'll pleased with himse as peacock is
with its feathers. 1 have seen him on drill,
seemingly forgetful Of oil else but solf, put
| spurs to his horse, aud fly far out of his prop
| or place in the drill, and return laughing as if
| it were joke, and receive the rebuke of the
| commanding officers in the best of humor. He
was lacking in stability of character, and a
vein Of levity ran through his conversations.
These made him n target for misjudgme ents,
unkind remarks and severe criticisms But
with all Of his short comings, which were
largely overcome by his many good qualities of
heart aud mind. l regarded him rs ay.chris-
tinn gentleman, and missed him whom he left
the Company.
IL was also ut the race course that W. A.
Nicholson received his hurt that united him for
active service in the field. Our horses had been
well cared for and were very spirited. Nicholson
was more of youth then than he is now, and
full of fun. In the indiscreton of his young
manhood. he mounted, without saddle or bride,
one of these pampered horses, tha. was easy to
start and hard to stop. In some way, rs Mich
olson was sailing along over fences. brush, and
bitches, he received a conclusion of the spinal
column, that SO disabled him that he had to
give up the severe duties Of the artillery SER
vice for lighter work. The efficient service
that the Macbeth Light Artillery thus lost was
given to the country in faithful and kind nurs-
ing of her sick and wounded. The end of the
war found him at his post in Columbia, where
he was when Hampton vacated it, and Sherman
entered it. He saw the first blaze from tho
torch that burned Columbia, and is q living
witness of the fact, that it was Sherman's com
mand not Hampton's, that did the fendish
work.
While We were at the race course, target
shooting and snake hantng were some of the
amusements the men resorted to for relieving
the tedium Of camp life. They formed squads
and marched down the bitches on either side of
the race track, dig into the holes along the
banks, and kill sometimes rs many as rs or q
100 snakes at q hunting. These were some
times suspended in the air as targets for pistol
practice. In tho company were some good
shots, and the Macbeth was divided as to who
excelled. 1t was conceded, believe, that Ser
geant c. 7. Scaife and James Bunch were the
best. Alarge and magnificent water oak spread
its pendent limbs over the camp, and its top
most bows were favorite resorts for small birds
Sergeant Bunch shot into bunch of them, and
one came down minus its head Sergeant
Scaife was then called for, and ut the report Of
his pistol, another bird came down without o
head. Had both shots been fired by one man,
it might have been some evidence of q good
marksman. Both of them might have fred q
hundred times more without touching as big a
thing barn door. They had good sense
withered. So the two accidental shots served
the purpose of keeping up their reputation as
brag shots.
1t was q traditional belief among Charleston
ians, handed down from time immc mo-
rial, that to be caught out of the city limits
after nghtfall, during summer, was sure pre-
scription for case Of country fever. do not
know that it was out Of any Difference for an
opinion so hoary with age, that we changed
our quarters to the Accommodation wharf, as
soon as the heat Of approaching summer was
felt.
When recall to mind the many places of
| encampment we had during the war, in South
Carolina, North Carolina, ..Virginis, Mississippi,
and Alabama. 1 look upon our c,mp at the
! Accommodation wharf as the eden of them all.
| 1t was here that the mild SEQ breeze cooled the
warm summer air, and banished the pestiferous
mosquito. Here VIC spent days of martial in
| activity, free from annoying care and oppres-
sive heat. And these delightful days were fol-
lowed by nights Of balmy calmness and sweet
repose. We wcro sometimes, however, haunted
with IN increased conviction that such delecta-
bic quarters could not be Of long duration.
About the first of July, 1862, to conceal Gen.
McClelaus real design, and prevent Gen. Lee
from being reinforced from he South, the en-.
emy became unusually active all along the line
from the Potomac to the Mississippi. The Mac
beth, with other troops in and around Charles
ton, were sent to James Island to meet threat
ened attack in that direction. Our duties at
the Accommodation wharf was almost passive.
Drilling with horses had been suspended, and
going through the detail Of loading and firing
! were reduced to short meter time. But more