The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1896-07-29
A HERO OF THE CRATER.
Thlrty-sIx Men Buried Alive and 0nly
Five Rescued.
Ne,rs and Courier.

EDGEFIELD, S. c., July 1l.-On
| Friday of last week, the day after the
grand reunion of the Confederate
Veterans at Richmond, the writer of
this article boarded the early morning
train for Petersburg. After an hour 8
run we reached the historic old town.
My friend, Capt. J. G. Guignard, and
myself succeeded in convincing the
conductor of two-horse team that we
were too poor to be for free silver
coinage at 16 to l, and procured, at a
price we thought we could stand, a
ride to the Crater.
After ride of less than two miles
from the Imperial Hotel we stopped
at the place we left thirty-two years
ago, lacking only twenty-seven days.
It was bright, hot day-everything
quiet except the singing of the birds
and the cheerful voices of the few old
soldiers who, like ourselves, were Wis
iting the Crater for the first time in
the life of generation.
Among those we found there were
Col. F. W. McMaster, who so gallant
ly handled Steve Elliott's brigade af-
ter he (Elliott) was wounded in the
terrible Crater fight; DR.. j. 7. La
Motto and Capt. D. H. Sally. The
two first named were in the same bri-
gade with myself in the fight of the
3Gth July, 1864. There were others
present who were also in the fight,
but belonged to other commands.
All were quiet for some minutes at
ter halting. It was melancholy
pleasure to be here again. The Cra-
ter proper looked about as we expect
ed to see it. The breastworks to the
right and left have been ploughed
over quarter of a century, but you
can trace the line by the old musket
ca ps still left where an almost contin-
uous battle had been fought for eight
months. Yes, the Crater is as natu-
raj as possible after the storms OF
thirty years.
The two lines of the enemy's works
can still be seen in the front, but,
alas, they are Ikea spectre-the glory
has departed forever. The double
lines of elegantly equipped Federal
soldiers to our front, the decimated
ranks of half-clad and half-starved
Confederates, the Enfed rifles, the
hundreds of cannon, the mortars, like
the soldiers ii the cemetery hard by,
are to be heard on those hills never
more. For only a second there was 6.
yearning to see all we had seen and
hear all we heard on those hills, not
| withstandins hell itself can scarce be
worse.
Col. McMaster, DR.. LaMotte, my
self and others present related our re-
collections cf the Crater fight, and in
the main we agreed. AS to some of
the details there was difference enough
to show we had been there, each one
giving the story as he had seen it, I
| will give here some recollections of
the battle of the Crater-one' Of the
hardest fought of the war, and where
men on both sides were killed with
bayonets and the butts of muskets;
where blood stood in pools, and where
at one time the air was literally filled
with flying missiles of death, shreds
of clothing and fragments of human
bodies.
Major Gen. B. R. Johnson's divis-
ion were the troops in and around the
battery when the terrible battle begun.
I quote from his official report, written
three weeks after the battle:
Headquarters johnson s Division,
"August 20, 1864.
"For proper understanding of the
condition of my command On the occa-
sion of the action of Saturday, the
Both of July, 1864, it is necessary to
state that on the night of the 18th Of
July every man in reserve in this di
vision was placed in the trenches.
Colquitt's brigade of Hoke's division
was temporarily transferred to my
command, in exchange for Oracle s
brigade, and placed on my right. For
the purpose Of relieving Fields divis-
ion from the trenches my line was ex-
tended to an attenuation that was
deemed barely secure against an ordi-
nary assault From the left to the
right the brigades were stationed in
the trenches in the following order,
viz: Ransom Elliott's, Wise's and
Colquitt's brigade.
"About .55 clock on the morning
of the Both of July the enemy sprung
large mine under that portion of my
line about 200 yards north of the
Baxter Road. known as Pegram's sa-
lient. In this salient there were four
guns Of Capt. Pegram's battery, and
the 18th and 22d South Carolina regi-
ments of Elliott's brigade occupied
the parapets in the battery and adja-
cent to it. The 22d South Carolina
regiment extended from a point some
seventy yards to the right of the right
gun to a point beyond, but near to the
left gun of the battery. The 18th was
posted on the left Of the 22d South
Carolina Regiment.
"The regiments of Elliott's brigade
were distributed along the parapet
from left to right as follows, viz: The
26th, 17th, 18th 22d and 23d, South
Carolina regiments. To strengthen
Pegram's salient second line or
trench cavalier had been thrown up in
it's rear, commanding our front line
and the enemy's works at distance
of from one hundred and fifty to two
hundred yards. Owing to the exten-
sion of our line, already explained,
our troops occupied only the frontline
of works
In the last sentence Gen. johnson
makes an error. The evening before
the mine was sprung, or possibly two
evenings before, Col. Dave Fleming,
in command of the 22d South Carroll
ma regiment do not know whether
by command Of Gen. Stephen Elliott
or not-ordered me to move my COM
pany, "Co. B." 22d South Carolina,
into the rear line, Immediately in rear
Of Pegram's four guns. had in my
company one officer, Lieut.. ": j.
Lake, of Newberry, S. c., and thirty
60, 1;,tod mon Tbic roor linn uaa