The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1903-11-12

caa all the notice that the general
ave to nim.
go to your place with Major ndc-
,uiH." Mr.. Vernon ordered, ;.ul i.:n-
,eur wen!.
We had Eacn planning" SAID
Jackson. and your suggestion isln>"
what We Were agreeing upon when
you arrived. Your mea are just to
The left Of IT, here. When you hear
the guns OF the Carolina ont there III
the river, march straight to the Brit
ish lines. General Coffee tx on our
extreme left. He will turn the en-
emy's flank and drive them toward
the river. You know your men. You
know what to do when you find the
relcoats. Blow 'em sky-high, sir
sky-high!'
Just before going to the place as
signed to him, Mr.. Vernon stopped
from his saddle and, speaking low iu
General Jackson's ear, said:
81 am glad that you refused to have
anything to do with Colonel Loring.
was wrong in urging his claim. You
were right in your estimate.
eyes, SIR" replied Jackson. with
vigorous promptness, "he's au in
fernal villain, a sconndrel and a
traitor-cut.throat! I'm amazed that
you But let's talk no more. Go
at the enemy and give them fits. Re-
member the signal-the guns OF the
Carolina. Good luck, sir.
1t was a ghostl- night. The moon
had risen, but i could not shine
through the fog that momentarily
thickened after fhe sun went down.
Some trouble was had in forming the
line, owing to the awkwardness and
nervousness of the undisciplined
troops; and this battle turned out to
be, as every one knows, wild con.
fusion OF hand.to-haud combats be-
tween struggling hands of both armies.
A signal-shot aud then a whole
broadside from the Carolina set the
little, Informed Line into motion Just
as q flight of flaming rockets lit up
the whole British front.
Mr.. Vernon had reported the ground
az quite uufavoraole to cavalry opera.
tions, and 80 all the riders were dis.
mounted. Even the oticers set out
upon that strange nighs.attack on foot,
plashipg through the n1ire and tnmb-
ling waist-deep into ditcaes, leading
their men amid the darkness and fog,
often utterly ignorant OF the points OF
direction aud unable to distinguish
friend from foe. IT was AL euthusias.
tic. harum -scarum rush from the out
set, each little division anxious to be
the first to fire a. the enemy.
General Coffee took Fairfax Tear
him, and soon saw that he had made
no mistaken doing it. If ever
man is a good soldier, It is when there
is an object for him behind the
euemy's lines. We are all selfish to
this degree: the personal appeal is the
strongest appeal. 1t was as lover
bcreft Of his sweetheart more than as
patriot risking all for his country that
Fairfax rode on through the fog along
the skirt Of that awful swamp and
into the first strong outpost Of the
British line.
General Coffee was almost a giant
in stature and rs brave and daring as
a lion. He and Fairfax were side by
side when they approached the enemy
near the house OF General Viilere.
Here were some orchards OF orange
trees aud some clusters OF huts in
closed by board fences. The firing
began in q scattering line that zig
Jagged from the edge Of tho swamp
across to the levee at the river, and
was traeeable only by the spurts OF
fame from musket and rifle and by
the broad flashes from some field-gnns
that had been trundled along apace
with the infantry.
So soon as Coffee felt that he had
passed the British right flank, he
wheeled to the right and charged to-
ward the river, carrying everything
before him, until lie reached piece
OI l0Nee DGuluu WuiCu tho CuCIAy hou
formed in strong force. Hero he
called halt and fell back space, as
he found the position too we'll taken
for him to risk attempting to storm it.
Hurry to General Jackson and
bring me his orders" he said to Fair
fax: and he gave the same order to
two other temporary aids, each of
which was told to take different
direction from. that pointed out to
Fairfax; for, in the darkness aud log,
no one was sure of the compass.
Thinking of Pauline, the lover
stumbled away on his mission, trying
his best t, keep the course indicated
by the general. Deprived for the
time of the lish. of his companions
guns, as he ran everything seemed to
come into his way. He bumped
against trees, fell over fragments OF
fences. stepped into oozy bitches,
struggled through prickly clumps of
D-ushss aud lore his clothes on the
brush of isllen tree-tops.
4 sword, and it u clumsy affair, was
now his only weapon. This he carried
naked in his hand, having thrown
away the belt aud scabbard because