The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1894-01-18


voluntoo,s in tho Fort During tho Last
week of tho lombard mont.
To the Editor ofThe News and Cou-
rirer: In tho account Of tho unwilling Of
tho monument to the Confederate dead,
erected by the ladies OF Orangeburg
County, published in The News and
Courier of October 10, 1893, your Co
lumbia correspondent used the following
language in reference to the Edsto Ri.
des and the st. Matth sw's Rifles, two
companies of the 25th Sonth Carolina
volunteers, which had the honor to
lead in more than one bloody engage
mont In the civil war, in which these
companies covered themselves with
glory and were conspicuous in winning
undying fame for the whole regiment.
You say: "They were in the battle of
Secessionville IN June, 1862, and in 1868
served in garrisoning Battery Wagner
tho Edisto Rifles being one of the COM
panios In tho evacuation Of Morris Island
In September, 1863"
This language ls somewhat obscure,
and from 1t 1t is fairly inferable that the
st. Matthew's Rifles were not in Fort
Wagner during the last days of that
greatest OF modern military works and
during the most terrifid bombardment
known to modern history. 10 set the
matter beyone question in tho future and
to make record Of which the children
of those brave men will be proud as hero
Ism stirs tho human heart, propose to
send you few extracts from my diary,
written very soon after the events to
rAfQrQnPA in
giment had but one tour of duty in Wag-
nor, and that was from the 1st to the
7th of September, 1868:
FIRST OF SEPTEMBER, 1858.
Orders received this morniog directing
mo to proceed with the regiment to Fort
johnson, there to take the steamer to-
night for the purpose of being transferred
to Morris Island to constitute part of
tho garrison of Fort Wagner, relieving
ono OF tho regiments in that fort. These
orders were not this time countermanded,
aid tho regiment in fine
spirits, marched to Fort Johnson
this afternoon. There We found row
boat largo enough to carry one company.
This boat was turned ever to Company
A, washington Light Infantry,) under
tho command of Lieut.. H. B. Olney,
which embarked upon 1t and started late
In the afternoon for Cummings Point.
Tho rest of tho regiment was embarked
upon steamer about dusk. The changes
Of the garrison were always made at
night to prevent the enemy from sinking
our boats, as nearly the whole of the
harbor was under fire of their feet and
land batteries. 1t was the custom to
make detail Of boats from our naval
vessels in the harbor to transfer the
troops from tho transport steamers to
Cummings Point. The steamer on
which tho 25th was embarked stopped
near Fort Sumter. The usual detail
from tho navy failed to report, and the
steamer was deficient IN sailors to man
tho few boats which she had on board.
Ono boat with few men pushed of, and
tho captain of the steamer offered me O
;scow large enough to carry about fifty
men if could find irsmen. There was
no diRlculty in this. A number of meu,
mostly from the Beauregard Light In
fantry aud the Wee Me- Volunteers,
declared their ability to row and ex.
pressed their desire to go. 1 soon had
the scow full, and with DIR. w. L. Ra
Venel, our surgeon, Lieut.. +. j. Lesesne,
men and officers started to
Cummings Point. When about half
way tho monitors came up and COM
menced to lombard Fort Sumter. The
steamer with the balance ot The regiment
on board, being in great danger, returned
to Fort Johnson. The harhnr waa
smooth, the moon sIUL>. b mh'l,, aud
spurred on by the expectation of shot
from tho monitors, my oarsmen made
rapid progress. We were soon waongout
of the water under the guns of B attel v
Gregg. Our boat drew 80 much water
that she could not get near enou IN to
enable us to land on "terra firma.u
Company A, had reached Cummings
Point, and with the men brought with
me my command consisted Of eighty or
ninety, rank and file. There was no
prospect of getting the remainder of the
regiment before the next night. This
detachment was marched to Fort Wag-
ner, where I reported TO Gen. Colquit,
whom tonnd in command. AS l had
not men enough to relieve any of the
batalions or regiments he ordered me to
return to the sand hills between Wau.
nor and Gregg aud protect nv command
as well as could. All that part of tt G
island was under the enemy's fire. and
their shells were continually dropnino
We retired to what the soldiers called
''prlvate bomb proofs" These wore
holes IN the sand about large enouobt IN
hold two men. Here man was safe ex.
cept from shells bursting lmmediateIv
overhead or falling vertically. did not
fnd q ''hole In tho grouud" very com
Portable, and so Lieut.. Lesesne and
spread our blankets between two sand
bills, aod under the shelter of q small
bush passed the balance of very dis.
agreeable night. 1t became quite cold to-
wards morning. The monitors bombarded
Sumter all night. Battery Gregg, on
Morris leland, Fort Moultrle and the
batteries on Sullivan's Island took part
In tho affray and did some excellent fir
Ing. The monitors would belch out
columns of 0ame from their Is inch guns
IN their turrets. When the shot from our
batteries struck them they would seem
70 be covered bv sheet lightning. Fort
wagner and tho enemy's batteries in
front exchanged shots all night.
SECOND OF sEPTEMBER.
This morning the enemie "a 10 a ,oso,,a,