The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1902-07-09

late in January, an ensign of the
United States navy had led boat
party up the river far beyond Fort
Pembcrton, examined the shores for
Notifications, and returned to report
that the Wappoo River Bar had only
three feet of water over it, and that
there was no danger to be feared from
the bringing out, by that route, of
powerful war vessels supposed to have
been constructed at Charleston.
One Confederate officer, Lieut.. Col.
Joseph A. Yates, South Carolinian,
was greatly exasperated by the audaci-
ty of the Union gunboats and their
daily matinee performances, and the
regular humping Of the Smith en-
glnes, as she churned her way up
Stono River, paused at the turn and
then churned back, inspired in his
soldier brain an ingenious and unusual
revenge. He communicated it to his
superior officer, and it got to Gen. r.
5. Ripley and eventually to Gen.
Beauregard, chief in command. Yates
asded to be assigned artillery forces
sufficient to enable him to make the
Isaac Smith or the McDonough come
ashore" Ripley and Beaurcgard both
laughed at the young man. If the
men of the Smith could be cnticed on
shore. by any prctext, it would be
worth while to try to capture them;
but as long as they were ahoat and
kept under way neither Bcauregard
nor Ripley was disposed to waste en-
terprise in wild scheme Of capture.
But Yates persisted, overcame Rip.
ley's opposition through Beauregard,
who considered Yates young man
entitled at least to be occupied, and at
last found himself intrussed to the
command Of force instructed to obey
his directions implicitly.
The shores OF Stono River, which
were from quarter to half a mile
apart pretty we'll up to Fort Pcmber-
ton, we're in places wide reaches Of
sand, dotted here and there with
abandoned huts and clumps of trees
and grass. Upon these advanced sand
spits the bcndings of the river could
be commanded for u mile each way, if
guns could be placed there, and Yates
was determined to place them. He
had seen the Smith sail by, with her
Stars and Stripes huttering dc6antly,
and had been obliged to hide and do
nothing. Now he was about to pro-
test. On January p the forces de-
tailed moved from Secessionville aud
other points. There was siege train,
manned by two companies; company
of the Palmetto Battery, light artil-
lery; light battery of South Carolina
regulars, and two companies of the
Goth South Carolina volunteers to act
as sharpshooters. There was one
thirty-two.p FOUNDER Parrott, at least
two twenty yfour-pounder rifed guns.
and many smaller effective cannon as
signed to the Yates experiment.
Although most of the Confederate
forces were on the banks of Stono
River on the morning of the 2Sth,
they were under such strict orders as
to secrecy of operations that they
waited until night to drag the guns
out to the positions indicated for
them. Platforms were constructed
under cover of ruined huts or grog
of trees. All tracks were obliterated
from the sand, and guards left in
charge of guns lived on cold rations
and without camp fires, 60 that none
Of the preparations should be gus
pected. The whole party was about
as miserable us possible on Wednesday
and on Thursday, on neither Of which
days did gunboat appear. The fear
began to work in the mind of Col.
Yates that the enterprise had become
known to The Federal officers. But
he held on until Friday, still denying
fires to his men hidden behind the
guns on James and Johns islands.
The Isaac Smith had been occupied
on Friday morning taking on board
supplies at Stono Bar from the "beef
boat that was making it's rounds.
Under orders from Lieut.. Commander
Bacon. of the Commodore cDonough,
she started up the river on a recon
noisance. This gunboat of 453 tons
usually carried complement Of 56
men, but on this occasion there we're
II? officers and men on board. She
was piloted by negro, man we'll
acquainted with the river. Lieut..
Conover scanned the shores closely as
the Smith steamed onward Thay