The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1902-05-14


In the fierce sectional discussions
which were precipitated for some
years before the civil war Hampton
took no part. While he loved the
South and had all the pride of It's
nobiest blood, he was not an agitator.
and earnestly and sincerely dcplorcd
secessions and civil war. lie was
reared in the school that knew only
obedience to the sovereignty Of the
State. The pride Of the South Caro-
linian had taught him that his was the
noblest and grandcst Of all the Com
monwealths-an empire by courtesy
called State The sovereignty Of
the State had been taught in his
mothers lap, in every school he en-
tered, from every pulpit from which
he heard minister of the Gospel,
and the great statesmen, such as Cal
houn, McDuffie and Haync, had ad-
vocatcd it sincerely and ably. lie
saw the imposing walls and pillars Of
the Columbia Capitol slowly growing
up year after year to be completed in
the greatest splcndor as the future
Capitol Of the Southern Republic, if
the sectional issue should ever lead to
the dismembcrmcnt Of the Union, and
he little dreamed that this magnificent
structure would within his lifetime
be hastily and rudely completed for a
,ner'ing in which his own slaves would
~ - lawmakers: but even when this
4,rr humiliation came to him he had
the courage to bow to the inevitable,
and only one year after the war had
ended he pleaded the cause of the
negro, saying: "As slave he was
faithful to us; as a free man let us
treat him as friend; deal with him
frankly, justly and kindly" Had tho
Southern men generally shared the
bI~ad and sensible views of Hampton
the problem of reconstruction would
have been an easy one, and the South
would have been spared unspeakable
suffering and sorrow.
When war came it is needless to say
that Hampton was one of the first to
offer his services, and he volunteered
as private, but before the company
he had joined had been organized he
was appealed to by many hundreds to
accept the command Of special bri-
gade, composed of infantry, cavalry
and artillery, and to be known as the
Hampton Legion" He commanded
tho Legion at Bull Run. the first bat
tie of the war, and there, as in all the
subsequent battles in which it was en-
gagged, it bore distinguished part. In
the battle of Seven Pines, on the PEN
insula, Hampton's command lost near
ly half its members in killed, wounded
and missing. and Hampton WAS severe
ly wounded. After the Peninsular
campaign Hampton was promoted
and assigned to brigade Of cavalry
under Stuart, and in nearly every i'm
portant raid made by the Confederate
cavalry with Lees army during the
var Hampton had an important part.
He was regarded as one of the best
cavalry ofiuers for detached service,
and was second in command with
Stuart when the most audacious raid
of the war was made through MERGERS
burg and Chambersburg and around
McClol1on'o ormv eoon ocAo- ~ u.
tie uf Antietam. 1T the battle of
Gettysburg Hampton received three
wounds, and the majority of the Off
GERS of his command were either killed
or wounded. Perhaps the most i'm
portant special service be rendered
as cavalry commander was when he
checked Sheridan at Trevillian's Sta
tion, in 1861, and broke up Hunter
campaign in the valley by preventing
the junction Of Sheridan and Hunter
at Lynchburg. He was made l;euten-
ant general and commander of Lee
cavalry in August, and he made
number Of successful raids, capturing
many prisoners and at one time some
twenty four hundred beef cattle from
the Union army. In one of these
raids his son, gallant officer under
him, was killed in action.
When johnson organized his army
in North Carolina to oppose the ad-
vance Of Sherman northward from
South Carolina Hampton was assigned
,to that army tc command the cavalry.
He was in possession of his home city
of Columbia, the Capital of the State.
when Sherman advanced upon it, and
retreated northward as Sherman army
entered. Before retiring he had fred