The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1889-11-21
Death of Col. Alfred Rhett.

i
this morning and was buried this after
noon. Deceased was born in this city il
1888 and was son of The great Barnwel
Rhett, whose connection with the Char
lesion Mercury is part of the history o
the State. He graduated at Harvard il
1860 and.reached Charleston just after tn,
passage of the ordinance of secession
He was commissioned lieutenant in th'
First Battalion of Regular Artillery o
the South Carolina Army, and was OF
duty at Fort Moultrie during the bonn
bardment of Fort Sumter in 1861. From
a lieutenant he rose rapidly to the rank o
Colonel of Regulars and served through
the war with distinguished gallantry
having been captured at the battle o.
Averysboro, the last battle of the war
After Anderson's evacuation of Fort
Sumter Rhett was assigned to its com.
,nand, and was in charge when the moni
tors made their attack on the fort ant
were repulsed with the loss of the Keokuh
and several others Of the fleet. He
retained command of the fort until the
operations of the Federal Army on Morris
Island with General Gilmore's batteries
! rendered the fortress untenable for artill
cry operations: Then Rhett's Regulars
we're ordered 10 eyacuate, and the fortress
was put in charge of an infantry garrison
Gilmore's guns had 90 battered the walls
that the casemate guns could no longer
be worked: Rhett was afterwards placed
in command of artillery dpfenses around
Charleston, and remained in that position
till the evacuation of the city, in Febru.
ary, 1865.
The incident Of Col. Rbett's life was
his duel with Calhoun, an event that ere.
ated much feeling in the South. Ransom
Calhoun, a kinsman of the great John @.
Calhoun, was captain in the battalion
of Regulars in which Rhett was lieu
tenant. The battery was ON duty at Fort
Mou'trie when Anderson was being bonn
barded. TWAS firing the red hot shells
which set Ere TO the barracks in Sumter
aud fnally hurried Andetson's surrender.
The Shells were heated in furnace near
the guns aud had 10 be handled very
giDgerly. Capt Calhoun, it is said, made
some remarks to Lieut.. Rbett rejecting
upon his manner of handling the shells.
This led to an unpleasant feeling on
Rhet,'s part, and it was aggravated later
by reprimaud which Calhoun is said to
have administered on his lieutenant in
the presence ofthe battery. Rhett chal-
lenged Calhoun The latter declined the
challenge, giving as his reason that the
war was going on aud his services we're
the States, but Offering to hold himself
ready TO meet Rhtet when the war ended.
Rhett, who was freeater, like all his
family, was very much exasperated, and
took occasion at all eocial gatherings to
denounce and berate Calhoun.
Things went on for about year in this
way, but foally, at the Charleston Club,
Rhett began to bera,e Calhoun as usual,
when Arnoldus Yanderhorst, one of CAL
houn's friends, resented the insult that
had been offered his friend, and challeng-
ed Rhett to duel. The two men met
and exchanged shots, but neither were
injured, and The affair WAS settled. 1t is
then said that Calhoun changed his mind
about fighting duel. He said be could
not afford to have bis friends involved in
aquarrel on his account, and as he had
announced that he could not fight a duel
while engaged in the Service of his State,
he sent in his resignation and challenged
Rhett. The challenge was promptly &C.
cepted and the duel was fought. The
battle ground was in the city limits.
Calhoun appeared on the field in dress
suit of black Rhett in his Confederate
uniform. Calhoun fell mortally wounded
at the first shot and died within az hour.
The duel Created intense excitement here
at the time. Some of Calhoun's friends
denounced Rhett in uhmeasured terms,
and it is said that one Of them, a clergy.
man, was so enraged that meeting Rhett
on the street he threw off his clerical
garb and dared him to challenge him.
After the war Col. Rhelt devoted his
attention to rice planting. In 1876 be
was elected Chief of Police of this city
and served through two administrations.
Ge was admitted 10 be the best Chief OF
Police the city ever had. BE lost his
place, however, after six years. term,
and at the time of his death vas a Trial
Justice.
During the earthquake, when the entire
city was demoralized and living out in
the streets and parks, the negroes in their
religious frenzy made things so unpleas-
ant to the whites that in many cases The
latter were driven out Of the squares
The police declined to interfere, or al
least did nothing to preserve order. Al
that time Col. Rhett was out of political
life. He was iu the city, however, and
at the request of the citizens he was
clothed with police powers, mounted or
q horse, and in day or two had perfect
peace and quiet restored in all the earth
quake camps. He WAS man of unques.
tionsble courage.
In an election held here in 1878 ht
quelled mob of over 500 iufuriated ne
groes.
He was his own enemy. Death resulted
from conges'ive chill, resulting from
malaria, acquired last summer while
planting rice in the country.-Dipatch t
Columbia Register
An Admission of its Good Qualities.
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