The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1895-07-04

Il Col. WithcrS, who had become re-
II concllcd I" the situation. We wcr
/, directed to report to Can't. Earin
II ho't, ana he was advised of ou
y coming. Between eight and nin
,, O'Clock the train halted near the bvidr,
e over Stauntnn River, forty-ciyht mule
G from )anvil'c. The men were marched
at once to Il place for bivouac, ant
wllil the starry heavens for Il canon,
they were soon asleep.
: hcld brict conference with Can't
farlnholt, and he informed me that The
fcdcra:s were not expected until tn,
next day. when il was his purpose tt
defend the bridge from the sou:hsidc
where he had two pieces of artillery
mounted in il fort overlooking the
river, with which he confidently OK.
pcctcd to rcpulsc the enemy across tho
stream. lie also ,old me that there
was an Officer on the other sidc of tho
bridge, who had part of his own
command, and with whom he differed
as to the proper defence of the bridge.
This information was gladly received
lor my impressions already were
against the plans of the cnmmantlant,
and | decided to investigate the matter
without delay the next morning. Soon
after daylight started across tn >
bridge, and as il was covered the way
was dark. | had gone only few steps
when an officer met me, and inquired
after my purpose in cross ny The
bridge. Upon stating that my object
was % meet with Col. Coleman. he
gave me cordial grasp OF the hand
and said that he was Henry +. Cole
man. Of the l2thI n. G. soon
learned that his mother lived in the
ncighborhOod, and that he was on Il
wounded furlough. His head was
bandagcd from Il wound received at
Spoilsylvania, and he had t"r;.ered his
services fn" This occa, on TO Cant.
Farinhot. lie was satisfied that The
Fcdelas could reach there during the
day and would expect to burn the
bridge, which could easily be- done If
there were no troops On the north side
to prevent it, lie had taken about 100
militia, old men and boys, and had
been cntrcnching his position during
The night, but il was very slow work
The result Of our conversation vas
that ! agreed to take my command
across the river,l ,lunlrss Capt. Farinholt
seriously objected to their going. and
join with Col. Coleman in what was
the only practicable defence Of the
bridge. | found no difficulty III n,aking
the transfer, and when Il scant break
fast was finished the two companies
were marched across. The militia
under Col Coleman were evidently
much rejoiced to have rcinforccmcnts
come to their assistance, especially
when they recognized that the new
comers were old soldiers. 1t was de-
cided that my tive companies should
take position on the right of the
bridge, while The militia should occupy
the left of our entertainments. Let
ne describe the contiyuralion OF the
ground on the moth side OF the river,
so rs to "ivr Il better idea OF the
strength OF our position rs well rs lis
peril.
Roanoke station was within half
mile of the bridge, and the railroad
track was without Il curve between
them. From steep cmhankmem at
the bridge, Using eight or ten feet
above the level grouua, the track grad
ually came nearer to the level unlll at
The station there was no grading at all.
On the right or east side Of the rail
road, looking northwards, there was Il
piece Of meadow land, a Hundred yards
WIDE running TO the creek which emp
tied here into the river. This creek
ran parallel to the railroad, and kept
the same distance from it, so that the
meadow was one hupdrcd yards wide
and eight hundred yards long. a ditch
ran across the meadow from the rail.
road culvcrt TO the creek, not more
than sevcnty-Iivc yalds in front of my
line. On the opposite side of thc rail
road the ground Was uneven and irrcg-
ular, and the river made bend above
The bridge. so that there wa. very little
chance to manoclivcr troops ON that
side, as they would be i" Il narrow de-
file, with every advantage in favor of
the COnfcdclatcs. Just in the roar of
tho station there was IL succession of
hills, upon which we posted pickcts
early IN the morning, and it was from
these hills in the afternoon that the
Federal artillery poured shot and shell
in and around the bridge until it was
anything besides comfortable to be
within range. Our slender and hastily
constructed carthwOrks formed il semi
circle, with the bridge as ,hc centre,
and each end resting upon the river
bank. There was no possible chance
Of being tlankcd in this position. but
there was also 20 avenue Of RET rcat
Failure meant the capture of every
man. ami this was impressed upon all.
Soon after The line was established
and the men had been put to work
in throwing up dirt with their bayo-
nets, Col. Coleman and myself with a
few picked men went on a rccOnn0is-
sance three or four miles up the rail
road, using an engine and a passenger
coach which came that morning from
Danvillc. This was a valuable incident
of the day, for we learned that the
enemy was lcisurciy advancing, de-
stroying the railroad track, burning
trcs;lcs and depots, and looking for
ward to an easy victory when they
reached the bridge over Staun,on
River, and an unmolrslcd march on to