News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1892-01-07


At SDottsylvania McGowan's brigade of
South CarOlnians outstripped all previous
records in Lees army. 1t was ordered into
the breach in the Bloody Angle, where
.Johnson's Confederate division was cap
tured by Hancock in desperate charge at
daylight on the morning of May II The
South Carolnians marched to the extreme
front about the middle of the forenoon
after Hancock's troops and their supports
had become we'll settled in the possession
of the original Confederate outer line.
The struggle that followed battles descrip-
Jion and imagination MS well. The an
tagonists at certain points were only sep
arated by the breastworls of logs and
earth
1t was pouring rain The trenches were
filled with water that soon took on the hue
of blood. The dead were trampled upon;
the dying and wounded uncared for. OPP
ponents fired at one another at arms
length across the parapet. This went on
for hours, all day the 18th, through the
t-aight and into the next day. The situa7
tion wassQ awful that mems brains were
turned: they became battle crazed. During
the whole afternoonof the 18th one of the
Rifles was seen by his comrades to rise de-
liberately, so that the supper half of his
person was above the parapet-an easy tar
get for the enemy--and from this position
take deliberate aim, fire and crouch down
to reload. He repeated this scores and
scores of times. Bullets from the Union
muskets whizzed around him from all di-
rectiOnS, but he seemed to hold charmed
life. He often remained on5 his feet for
many minutes, occasionally drawing bead
and then recovering his ,musket to wait
| for a better aim.
III l.,4,. - I.
draw upon an object some distance back
from the Union trench. The chance didn't
suit and he recovered and stood bolt up
right watching for Il hs'-'r target. When
at length one appeared rew bead again,
and as he was about u pull, Il Union bull
let, point blank through his heart, stretch
| ed him dead i'll his tracks His GOODNESS
| came from battle frenzy. There were
scores of incidents equally dramatic
| throughout the brigade The famous oak
tree, twenty-five inches in diameter, that
was cut down by bullets, fell among the
| Carolinians. McGOwan's men suffered a
loss of Sc killed and 241 wounded, with ~
missing, many of them killed or wounded
! The Rifles lost Is killed and 80 wounded
| with A fate unknown.
The regiment went forward to Cold Har
Dor, to the defense of Petersburg in June
| the battles On the banks of the James
against Hancock at Deep Bottom in Au
gust, and the Weldon Road battles of Au
| gust and October, sometimes not muster
ing above 100 ablebodied men. Finally, il
the wind up around Petersburg, it was
wiped out in disastrous affair at Suther
land Station on April 2, 1865, when thC
| brigade was overwhelmed and lis of the
Rifles were captured. A beggarly remnant
| or "frazzle" chung to the undaunte1 column
that paraded at AppomattOX ready to fight
but obedient to their leaders they accepted
the arbtrament of the sword and marched
off to their homes with woeful gaps in theil
ranks. Their casualty list all told was q
officers and 305 men killed and mortallJ
wounded, officers and 1913 men dead o.
disease and 791 officers and meu wounded
and recovered; grand total, 1926, of which
LIPS occurred in battle. If sears indicate
soldierly daring, then Orr's South Carolin;
Rifles bore off the palm before all the regi
ments in the civil war.
GEORGE l.. KILMER.