The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-05-28
GIANTS OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
BEAUFORT is AHEAD or OTHER
PLACES ON TALL MEN.


Eldred $. Tickling of the Confederate
Army Said TO Have Been the Tall
est soldier of Modern Times-He Is
Now Living in CoIumbia-stands
Six Feet Nine Inches in His stock
Life.
Columbia, s. c.. May 27.-The little town
of Beaufort, S. c., few miles from Port
Royal, and one of the earliest settlements
in this country, has produced more men of
exceptionally great hight than any other
place of double the Inhabitants in the
world.
Her tallest representative was in the
Confederate army. He is living in Column
bia now, and according to authentic re-
der in the modern armies of the world,
having an advantage of one inch over
Capt. Oswald Ames Of the Second Life
Guards of England, who, with his feet S
inches, headed the Queens Jubilee process
sion.
Tie tallest man in The United States
army, regular or volunteers, an the war
with Snain was feet inches. Jacob
Eberhardt of Columbia. 6 feet G inches.
volunteered but the surgeons said he was
out of proportion and would not accept
him. Under army regulations, he would
have been required to weigh 2l0 pounds,
Eldred S. Fielding, formerly of Beau
fort, and for many years after the war
chief Of police of Columbia, and sian on the
force, is 6 feet inches, in his stockings. A
man of medium hight can walk under his
arms extended horizontally. Mr.. Fick1ng' $
father, an eminent lawyer, was feet 8
inches, while other members of the fam
lily were exceptionally tail
When he was Is years old. MIR. Fickllng
says he went with his father to Charles
ton. They were in the lobby Of the Old
Mills House, when several other Beaufort
mon came in Someone remarked that that
was the largest gathering of Beauforton-
ians he had seen that day, and suggested
that they see how far they could walk up
King street. Six of them started out, but
before going half q dozen blocks OF the
street, had 10 so into stores and separate.
The following crowd blocked the street.
Mr.. FicKling. land only measured 6 feet
6, but the fullest man was feet Z. Two
were feet 5, and the shortest feet g.
T.. S, Tickling entered the Confederate
army in 81 in the famous Hampton Lee
gion, going with it TO Virginia. II may
be remarked here that the Hampton Lee
gion of 100 men furnished the Confeder-
acy, before the close of the war, with sew
en- generals, as follows: Wade Hampton,
colonel; Stephen d. Lee, captain; NJ. c.
Butler. captain; James Connor, captain:
Mart w. Gary, captain; G. NJ. Logan, sec
ond lieutenant; johnson Pettigrew, pri-
vate.
On returning from Virginia, Lieut.. Flick
ling entered the Beaufort Artillery and
thereafter was at Fort Sumter, participant
ing in many of the eventful incidents Of
that time On a beautiful drinking foun-
tain erected on the Battery in Charles
ton by the women Of Charleston. to the
men, living and dead, who first used the
torpedo boat in Charleston harbor, and
so in the world, appears the name of FL
dred S. Fickiing-of all those named there
on he is the only one living.
When the Nameless Confederate ram
attempted to sink the union Ironsides, in
Charleston. Lieut. Tickling was in com
mand of the fighting men on the boat
The anchor chains of the Ironsldes en-
tangled the torpedo of the Confederate
vessel and the Ironsides was struck a
slanting and harmless blow.
Speaking of Beaufort men, Mr. Fickling
says that when he was a boy, Mr.. Cuth-
bert of Beaufort told him that he was the
center file of the Old Beaufort Artillery
when that organization turned out i'm 1926
TO receive Lafayette. Mr.. Cuthbert was
feet inch, and there were seVenty-four
men of greater hight in the artillery, the
membership of which was $50.
Some big men lack courage bur that
has never been charged in this case on
the Fourth OF July, 1881, Chief of Police
Tickling, armed with a baseball bat, went
to the rescue of one of his men being
beaten to death by a drunken negro mob
OF several thousand. He did rescue him.
Then the negroes came at him with
knives drawn. The leaders were two
country giants; they were laid low when
they entered a six-foot circle. The others
halted and a bloody riot was averted
Columbians still talk of "A wagon yard
riot of sixteen years ago. when white
desperadoes swore they would not be ar
rested and had punished half dozen
policemen before the arrival of the chief.
lie walked In with a long club, broke
heads right and left collared the two ne
wanted and brought them out. There are
many similar cases Of courage and gigan-
tic strength.