The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1894-11-07
A STORY OF SAND BAR FERRY.
the Duel Between Hampden Wsefan and
Young Cogsdaie-A Mothers Fateful
Journey from the Tragic Field
OF Honor.

Young Coesdaie-A Mothers Fateful
Journey from the Tragic Field
| OF Honor.
EDGEFIELD, October 27.-Mr. Jane.
T. Bacon's lecture on 'Anecodotes anC
Renaissance of Early Edge6eld," de
livered IN the Opera House here q few
Gays ago, was masterpiece of pathos
and humor, wit and merriment, Incl
dent and accident, romance and his.
tory. Among many others he told the
following pathetic story Of a once
famous duel, 50 illustrative Of old-time
Southern chivalry, and the consequent
death blow to a mothers heart. 1t is
reproduced in his own simple and
eloquent words:
In the year 1928 there was in the
South Carolina College a beautiful,
brave, noble, gentle youth from Edge.
field, of barely Is years. His name was
| Hampden Wigfall. The Wigfsll fam.
lily had then lived in Edgefeid ocly
four years. They were rich Huguenot
people of the Parish of ST. Thomas and
St. Dennis, in Charleston District,
where they built an Episcopal church
of brick, which is still standing, and
around which they are buried. In
1929 old Durand Wigfall bought sun.
mer home in Edgefeld, where he died
in 1926. His widow, a gentle shrinking
and deVotedly pious woman, was lett
with three sons and one daughter,
Hampden being the eldest. This lady
was the paternal grandmother Of my
sister. .....
At college a misunderstanding arose
between Hampden Wigfall and his
intimate friend, young Codsdale, OF
Charleston, another very noble young
man, only l9 years of age. The mis-
understanding turned out to be abso-
lutely trivial, but the lie had been
passed and in those days of extremely
strained chivalry and honor no recon-
ciliation could be effected. The Code
Duello then reigned in its most absolute
and pitiless power. The man who was
challenged 70 fight u duel and even
wavered one second in accepting it was
forever socially damned, branded,
ostracized forever and ever. Young
Wigfall challenged young Cogsdale to
meet him in mortal combat. The boy
of Is challenged the boy of l9, whom
be loved and who loved him.
They met with all the formalities-
the seconds, the doctors, and the newt
able negro attendant-at San Bar
Ferry, near Augusta, before that and
since the most noted duelling ground
in America. Mrs. Wigfall the widowed
mother, and my old grandmother, who
had also been a widow for two years,
went to Augusta in Mrs. Wigfalps
carriage to be near the scene and await
the result. The mother was more dead
than alive and bordered on actual
lunacy.
The duel was to take place at s;::2-
down of summer day. Ats o'clock
in the afternoon, having sent their
carriage on before to prevent suspicion.
my grandmother and Mrs. Wigfall crept
out of Gen Glascock's house in Angus
Ia, travelled down the South Carolina
shore of the river on foot, and hid
themselves in a thick wood not two
hundred yards from the scene OF the
duel. They could hear the sounds, but
could see nothing. The carriage had
been driven by my grandmother's old
coachman, "Uncle Watt" and by his
side, on the lofty oldfashioned dickey
seat, sat Matilda, the negro waiting
maid. The carriage could not enter
the wood, so it waited on the outskirts,
one hundreds yards off.
Hampden Wigfall fell at the first fire.
killed instantly. The mother rushed
frantically to the scene. The seconds
and the doctors were terribly surprised.
Such thing was unheard of ss q
woman near duel. And when the
mother threw herself upon the body of
child she threw herself also upon the
body of his unhappy slayer, for young
Cogsdale, breaking away from his
seconds, had rushed to the body,
thrown himself PROSTATE upon the
earth by it, wound his arms around it
and was sobbing out like little child,
and in tones of u1utterable anguish,
"Oh, Hammie, Hanmie, Hammiev'
as if trying to awake the dead boy.
My grandmother has often told me
that the cly of the slayer was ten thou
and times more heartending than even
the cry Of the mother. And then fol-
lowed q scene of Christian fortitude
and Christian spirit perhaps unex-
ampled IN all history. The hitherto
wild mother calmly unwound the
arms Of young Cogsdale, and lifting
him up, kissed him tenderly On the
forehead and said, with cornmingled
pity and fervor: "God be with you, me
child; God be with You: You will need
Him more than I will, for will soon
be with Him, I will soon be with my
God and with my child" And as the
seconds led the weeping boy away she
cried out to him, wringing her hands,
God be with you, my child. In
Heaven Hammie and I will pray for
YOU" 1t was now quite nightfall and
the twilight fingered upon the saddest
picture that was ever seen on sea or
shore.
In the meantime the wretched
mother had overheard the words, 1--WE
must wait for the coroner" Creeping
up to my grandmother she whisperedin
tones of terrible agony, mo coroner
must touch the body of my child" and
then, with what was seen afterwards
to be woman's and a mothers cum
ming, she went twenty PAGES away,
whittier the seconds, the doctors, Gen.
Glascock and the negroes had all with
drawn, to leave her somewhat alone
with her dead, and begged them all to
retire for one hour to the ferry, half
mile away, that she might pray beside
the body of her child. Knowing her
to be a woman Of deepest and purest
piety they quickly departed, every one
of them, to the ferry.
AS soon as they were fairly out Of
sight, although a frail and slender
woman, she lifted the body of her dead
boy in her arms and bore it without
shaking or staggering or resting 8
moment to the carriage st the skirt of
of the wood. The carriage was an inn
mense old-fashioned round-bodied
coach. My grandmother and Matilda
followed her closely, pressing up in fact
to ber very shoulders to catch her if
she should fall. But she did not waver
a moment, and as the carriage came in
view, she ran vigorously towards it.
This was a mother bearing her dead
ha$ Oh norosloroI