The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1905-05-10
To the Editor of The State:

straight toward that tree. Then |
briefly described the terrific assault on
Snodgrass Hill
A short time after Memorial Day,
1908, learned that some members of
the Third battalion, who had, L sup
of the episode between Gen. Kershaw
and Lamb were disposed to discredit
my statement and to confound it with
a similar incident on the same day at
the same hour, with Gen. Kershaw and
Colorbearer Evins of the battalion. -
This led to some correspondence be-
tween myself and State Treasurer
Jennings, who was a gallant soldier of
the battalion and commanded Il COM
pany on that field From this cor
respondence found that he, Mr.. Jen-
nings, had never known of the Ker-
shaw-Lamb incident, as | had never
heard of the incident with the gallant
Evins, or had forgotten it, if | had
known of it. We both found also that
there was no conflict between us.
The story of how Lamb had refused
to give up the flag on that famous
field had been known by our boys as a
part of the unwritten history of old
Company G., Uaurens Briars) of the
Third regiment for these 40 years. Ser
geant Lamb was one of our company.
Although i had written wholly from
memory, / knew | was correct in essen
tial particulars, but hearing of the dis
position of some persons to mix 1T up
with the Kershaw- Evins incident, /
asked Squire Lamb the first time | met
him (he was present when my article
was read in the court house Memorial
Day. to give me the particulars Of ker-
shaw's coming to him at Chickmauga.
He says: "He didn't ride, he walked
UP to me, and said, Sergeant, let me
have the flag, | said No, you can't
get the flag; tell me where you want it
to go; I'll take it there. | pointed to
the battalion and said There, general
is the trouble, meaning that the bat
taliGn was losing its direction, or caus-
ing the brigade to lose It's direction,
wooded heights of Snodgrass Hill, now
to be made famous for thousand
years by this heroic assault and the
perhaps no less heroic defense by
Thomas, said: Sergeant, select tree
or an object straight to the front and
march directly to it, and hurrying to
Colorbearer Evins think that he got
hold of his flag"
This is borne out by Mr.. jennings
who says that Kershaw did get hold of
the battalion flag. 1t must not be for
gotten that all this was the work of a
very few minutes, in q long sight less
time than it takes to writeit, and while
every man in the brigade was pushing
toward the front and under fire, and
was all done by Gen. Kershaw torectify
his alignment to change somewhat the
direction of his march, and while cross
ing that large opening at the farther
side of which we received the first
deadly volley of musketry, and in
crossing which we ever afterwards
said that we had executed Kershaw's
order changing the direction of the
march as if we had been on an ordinary
parade.
Nine survivors of Company G,
(Briars), were together here on last
Wednesday, 9th, when | brought up
recollection of the occurrences at
Chckamauga. Several of the number
who were there, remember the Ker-
shaw-Lamb incident, among the num-
ber A. Y. Thompson, a man of splendid
memory; Judge Barksdalc of Louisiana,
first sergeant of the company, a gal
liant soldier who lost an arm there,
was present. He recalls Kershaw
waving either flag or sword, but not
right in front of our regiment, which
seems to bear out the idea of Kershaw
having waved the battalion flag after
leaving Lamb.
In a contribution to The News and
Herald of Winnsboro of March, 1903,
copy of which procured some months
after my write-up of the Third regiment
flag in April of that year, Hon. r.. H.
Jennings says of this episode: "Ker-
shaw walked up to Evins and taking
the flag from him walked out in front
of the line, So that the flag could be
seen from all parts of it. Evins think
ing perhaps that the general had an
idea that he was going to waver, walked
along with Kershaw and pleaded with
him to please give him the flag, and
just point out to him where to go, and
assuring him that he would go there or
die. Gen. Kershaw kindly gave it back
to him and pointing to, large green
pine at the top of the hill said: "Do
Go directly to it, and he went
At the time of the correspondence
between comradc Jennings and myself
referred to, we agreed that something
explanatory should be published about
this apparent, but in no sense real,
conflict. But as most of us have done
with regard to the priceless treasure of
our glorious history / went along and
neglectedit Again last May while at
the State Democratic Convention in
talking the matter over, myself and Mr..
jennings, we agreed that something
ought to be published and j again re-
solved to write, and may never have
been sufficiently impressed with the
necessity for it had it not been that
last autumn, by accident, | learned
that at the last annual session of the
u. ID. G.. some lady unwittingly, of
course disputed or challenged the
Chickamauga flag story, so far as it
connected Sergeant Lamb with it. |
then once more resolved that would
publish something that would, or at
least should set the matter at rest.
Another thing that made me hesitate
was natural aversion to rushing into
print. But am satisfied that it should
be explained for fear that after all liv-
ing witnesses are gone, and that will
not be long, some of the younger gen
GRAFTON might be misled to believe that
some survivor might have been vain
enomph To fall into the enreninns nn.ror