The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1897-05-05
A BRAVE DEED IN BATTLE
The Act of a South Carolinlan at
SpottsyIvanla.
NeW York Sun.

afternoon, n their 1ell0W clu01ne
had come to call a certain cosey alcov
"Their Corner" Everybody kne7
whose corner was meant, and no on
thought of intruding unless invited t
join the trio. Two had served side b,
side in the Union army, and the tbir,
well, as he put it himself, he ha'
served as q mark for them in the Con
federate ranks. But they were til
closest Of friends for all that, AT
only very occasionally did Mr.. john.
Reb show any feeling about the lat
unpleasantness. Last Thursday b.
was late. This was out of the usual
for as a rule he is the most punctua
Of the three, strange to say, since h
is a full blooded Southerner.
"Where can he be ?" said one of hi
companions.
"Where ?" echoed the other, anc
then they discussed their respective
thi SITS for a time.
"Where can he be ?" Number on.
would suddenly break out again, ant
number two would respond each time
a little more emphatically, "Where p
Then they discussed and compared
their liquid capacities some more.
At last Mr.. johnny Reb appeared
He came shutting in unconcernedly
and took his own big armchair.
"Well, boys" he drawled, looking
from n white-haired veteran to the
other, "what's the news to-day p
"Why are you so late ?" asked
number one.
"Where have you been2 You have
never been late before since We began
to meet here" said number two, Civ.
ing the usual order, ''two manhattans,
dry, and a whiskey straight"
"Well, | reckon I am a little late,'
admitted the Southerner. "But you
see I met a fellow from home and We
got to talking about old times and l
forgot, to tell the Lords truth"
"You should have been here" said
number one. "You knew VIC wanted
to decide on our seats to see the Grant
parade"
"I dom know as I want 70 see that
Eparade, after ALL" said Mr.. Johnny
Reb, with a great show of stubborn
ness.
"Not see the parade! y calculated
number two in amazement.. 1.-THE
devil you say! The idea Of not seeing
that parade, when we refused to march
in it because you wouldn't, and we
wanted to sit with you. That's a fine
game. What made you change your
mind ?"
"Been talkin' over war times with
my old friend" answered the Confed-
crate, looking them square in the eyes.
"I'm all stirred up, boys. I cans
help it. Heaps O times when you
fellows get to talkin' about the war !
boil up inside until it seems to me as
if I would choke to death and then /
take a few extra glasses. It acts as a
sort of counter irritant, and you chaps
do me a great injustice when you
accuse me of liking the stuff too well.
I just naturally hate the taste Of
liquor. Well, as I was sayin', I met
this friend, and he says to me Say,
Jim, amt they making a great to do
over putin up a monument over Gen.
Grant, and l had to admit that that
was the truth. Then he reminded me
Of as brave a deed as a Confederate
soldier ever accomplished on the very
day when Gen. Grant massed some
10000 troops for the purpose Of pierre
ing our line near Spottsylvania Court
House, Virginia"
Here Mr.. Johnny Reb deliberately
stopped, and, blowing his nose vicious
ly, began to talk about something
"Tell us about it," insisted his two
friends. He thought a few minutes
and then went on:
'Well, I reckon I will, for it's the
story of a hero we'll worth t%ellin'. 1t
was on May IS, a lovely day. in 1864.
AS I said, Gen. Grant was after US
hot and heavy, but he struck US at a
strong point, and the stormin' columns
were engaged in a deadly cross firm.
Bullets whizzed around like s~nowAakes
do in blizzark times in these parts.
We repealed your first advances, gen.
tlemen, with fearful loss. Before we
knew it you made another gallant
charge against us, and We gave you a
still warmer reception. Your lines
melted away can see EN- now
under the storm of musketry, grape
and canister that swept the in%tervenin'
space. Oh, it was a day Of days !
Your troops fell back, gentlemen, and
you didn't stop to remove your dead
and wounded from the smokin' field.
You had businessFwhich required your
immediate prese ,ce further on. At
once our skirmisn line was thrown out
to watch your movements, and was
located at a point where the slaughter
was most fearful. Our men had
hastily dug rife pits to protect them
from the sure aim Of the Federal
sharpshooters, and dead and dying
men were heaped up even to the edge
of those pits.
"In one of the pits were found four
or FIVE members of Company H, LIST
regiment, South Carolina Volunteers.
An ungainly, angular, red-headed lad
was among them. His name was
John NJ. Nichols, and he hailed from
Spartanburg, a little Carolina town in
the beautiful Piedmont belt. The
wounded had been lyin' for hours un-
attended. The u beamed hotter
and hotter upon them, and they were
suferin' terribly from pain, loss Of
blood, and thirst. Their groans and
curses were sickenin' to hear. Not
fifteen feet from the rife pit protectin
the South Carolinians lay a mortally
wounded Federal officer.
"'Water, water! I he cried. vii
no one give me water? Just one drop,
that all. I'm dying for want Of Wa
ter
GAS the day wore on his cries, in.
stead of subsidin' grew more pitiful
and it was evident that he was sutferin
more and more. Finally Nichols
could stand it no longer. He was ont
of those efervescent boys, who wa.
always lookin' out for things to do fol-
other people. At last he cried, with
the tears streamin' down his cheeks
"'Boys, lean stand this any longer
I'm goin' to take the poor fellow my
cantenn of vator.'