The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1901-05-29

which heroic deeds were performed
and in which heavier losses were sus
tanned than in some Of the affairs de
oi.natcd as battles in previous wars o
the United States \nd yet there i.
no record Of them in histories Of tlns.
stirring times, when people waited il
brcathlcss expectancy to hear tldings
Of loved ones at the front. knowing
that whether fields were won or lost
death and wounds were the sure at
tcndants Of grinv visagcd war.
On last Monday received a note
which began as follows:
My Dear Con,radcI read with
much interest the article in Saturday s
Journal written by you referring &c
Early's campaign in the Valley OF
Virginia. AS read memories Of those
days almost forgotten came trooping
through my mind. I wish to give you
the particulars Of the engagement OF
the 18th of October, to which you re-
fer. h shaw's brigade, General Jas.
B. Con.er commanding, was the only
Confederate force actually engaged on
that day. The reference by you t.
this brilliant little fight is the only
one have ever seen in print.
And here permit me to say that 1
had never seen any account of it until
[ read it in that volume of series
entitled Confederate Military His
tory" which relates to events in Vir-
ginia, and which was written by Maj.
Jed Totchkiss, gallant participant
in many of the marches and battles
which he describes.
1t gives me pleasure to relate here
the details of the affair Of October Is,
1864, which preceded by six days the
great battle Of Cedar Greek. | give
them as they were given to me in the
notc Of my friend, Mr.. William NJ.
Crumley, adding some things of a
personal nature which his modesty
kept him from telling.
General Kershaw having been COM
missioned major general aud placed
in command of McLaw's division,
Brigadicr General James B. Conner
was taken from the North Carolina
troops whom he had been command
ing. and assigned to the brigade Of
General Kcrshaw.
On October 18th, about opposite
Belle Grove, an elevated. ridge in
Sheridan Cedar Greek camp, a Con-
federate battery was shelling the
woods in which the Federal troops
were concealed. In the rear of the
battery stood Conner's brigade in line
of battle. About half way between
the battery and the woods stone wall
crossed the field. The Federal's not
seeing Conner's troops, made a rush
from the woods with the evident in
tention of capturing the battery.
General Conner, seeing their move
ment and realizing how their purpose
would be aided by the stone wall if
they reached it, ordered his brigade
forward at charge, and the unusual
and animating spectacle was witness
ed of two moving lines, one of blue,
the other of gray, advancing toward
each other, with very little firing,
each intent on winning the race to the
wall. The Federals reached it first,
and from that vantage ground poured
a whitening FIRE upon the line of gray
with fearful effect. But, without
wavoring, the gallant Confedcratcs
charged on and drove their enemy be-
fore them in complete rout.
The close range at which the Fed
erals had poured in their deadly vol
ley is shown by the following inoi-
dent: Colonel Ru, herford, command
ing the Thirty-sncond South Carolina,
was gallantly leading his regiment in
the charge, when he was shot through
the bowels by Yankee, who, as he
surncd to leave the wall, was killed by
q pistol ball fired at him by Captain
John Watts. The captain had seen
him fire the fatal shot at Colonel
Rutherford, and ran forward in time
to bring him down before he could
make his escape.
The Twentieth South Carolina regi-
mcnt, which had been serving on the
Carolina coast, had lately joined Con-
ner's brigade. Their full ranks-90O
men in all, three times the size of
regiments that had fought battle after
battle made them the admiration of
their commander, who styled them
the Twentieth army corps. General
Conner, not knowing how they would
okaod n 6rh< IN <ho onor GolJ ...1