The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1891-07-28
On tie BLACK water.

In January and February o,
,63 FOR weeks the ground was GOV,
cred With snow from twelve tt
eighteen inches in depth. 1T was
then not uncommon 70 see division
and brigade with as many as five
thousand men on the field arrayed
against each other in friendly bat
tie with improvised balls of snow,
the columns led in marshali style
by staff officers of the different
corps. In the midst OF these jousts
of merry-making, Gen. Micah Jen-
kins' brigade of infantry received
orders to march>and take up a line
directly for Richmond. There the
brigade rested for a few days;
thence directly to Petersburg, and
from that point to the banks of the
Black Water near the North Caro-
lima line, where they relieved
troops which were sent north to
Gen. Lees army. The Hampton,
Legion biyouacked very near tp~a
N. @. regiment OF the night before
they wereto m~archrnorth, andsthe
next morning at dawn q great
bowl was raised as the tar heelers
could not parade a skillet, a haver-
sack, X or canteen to the COM
pany. Jenkins placed his regiments
for six or eight miles along the
Blackwatcr, and at some points
throwing his troops across the
river, which was navigable and
passable by pontoon bridges. The
enemy had their headquarters Mt
Suffolk. and between the river and
this point was a large neutral ter
ritory of some twenty miles, This
territory the enemy traversed
every few days with a body Of bold
cavalry and artillery, commanded.
by a Col. Speers, a gallant officer
reputed TO have been q sergeant In
the old regular army. Early in.
March or April of that year scouts,
reported to Gen. jenkins at an
early hour in the evening, that
Speers had gone into camp on the
road leading by Carsville to Suf-
folk. Jenkins moved his troops at
once across the river by different
roads converging to Carsyille,
marching all night through swamp
and snow. At daylight his five
regiments were snugly in ambush,
the Hampton Legion on the right
and the first to be passed by the
enemy. On the right of the Legion
a Virginia captain of cavalry was
placed in ambush with orders that
when tho rear of Speers' regiment,
consisting Of some twelve hundred.
men had passed the Legion, and
when the head Of Speers column
would be a mile towards Carsville
and the whole column in the bag
and exposed to our ambuscade, he,
the captain, should spring into the
road in their rear and discharge
his pistol as a signal tor our whole
line to fire. The road was flanked
on either side by q dense pine
forest, and the ambuscade COM
plete.
After a while, about sunrise, a
half dozen splendidly mounted
Federals rode gaily along, one APP
parently an officer, fondly petting
a fine dog that sported around his
horse. These five or six passed
completely into the net. Presently
tho head Of the Yankee column
passed the right of the LEGION,
when off went the captains pistol
in quick succession. MThe column
Of Yankees caught the situation in
a second, wheeled and in lightning
time got out Of the difficulty, and
the whole thing miscarried. The
captain, from ineXperienco, took
a company for q squadron, a mere
advance guard, for the whole force,
had not waited for the regiment
and had G.eit too soon, ~
But the si& men ram the GAUNTLET
-ortle entire huga6e. living flat
upon theifs.brscs and ]|,'takino tLe
fire Of a thousand men, two Of tRerSq
passing through successfully and
one Of them a he passed Col.
the last regiment, eA-
claiming "d-n them, here they
are again"
1t may be imagined how cha
grined was that splendid young
Drigadier, Gen. jenkins, at this
failure. Speers kept close for the
future and the neutral ground be-
came Il splendid foraging territory
for our boys, while we bivouacked
on the cypress clad banks of the
Black Water. Thus "the Wisest
plans of mice and men gang aft
aglee.n The captain was after
wards promoted for gallantry and
became a. field officer Of his regi-
mcnt,
With the exception of the two
weeks siege Of Suffolk by Gen.
Longstreet, in which the brigade
joined, and a hot skirmish near
C~arsville, the two months spent on
the B'ackwater was a gala time for
those days. The brigade was en-.
tirely South Carolinian and the
wives of many of the young officers
visited their gallant lords, enter
tanned at the mansions Of the
ncighboring hospitablo Virginians.
A tournament was gotten up for
their entertainment, the horses of
those infantry colonies and majors
cutting such fantastic capers as
Rosinante Of Don Quixote could
vainly emulate. - dance with the
the fair Virginia maids as partners
ended the day. The pockets. too,
were doubled that day. This was
in tho May of 1868. Where are
those lovely queens of beauty;
where those gallant knights?
Beaverton Brcvities.
Miss Ludie Smith Of this place,
is spending this week at Honea