The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1907-10-24

on the fight at Rivers brldge near
the close of the war. We are in
debted to Mr.. H. J. Brabham for
the copy of the paper containing the
story. AS it was no doubt written
by a Northerner, we feel sure our
readers will read it with interest:
am getting old now, and am
neither so light nor so active as |
was in the spring of '65, when | led
a squadron of Sherman's Illinois cav
airy northward from Fort McAllls-
ter. The rebel cause-do you know
am coming to avoid that word
rebel; my neighbors here in the south
are GOOD men, and the use of it hurts
them so!-the southern cause l
should have said, was already lost.
Sherman had pierced the Confeder-
:acy through, while to the north Lee
faced the Inevitable at the hands OF
Grant. A whole civilization was dy-
ing then-dying gloriously, but dy-
ing just the same. :,
So with us there were no battles
worthy the name only some hot
skirmishing on the outposts. But
your southerner dies hard, and we
of the cavalry had no lack OF work
nor of experiences.
One little brush l remember par
ticularly. A body of the enemy's
horse had been annoying us for
DAYS, and we - three regiments
strong-were ordered to cut them
off at the crossing of the Sake
hatchie swamp. It was long race
and a hard one, but they beat us,
for we struck their rear guard just
as their main body made passage
I over the river.
You know these southern swamps,
cut by sloughs and stagnant ponds.
barred in the center by 200 yards OF
! sluggish current, their gloomy
avenues hemmed in by bramble and
shadowed by the feathery plumes of
the giant cypress. Aswe approached
the Salkehatchie swamp the open
ground narrowed abruptly and in its
Stead there appeared broad stretches
Of shallow, motionless water, whose
shiny surface, choked with green
ooze and tendrils of noisome plants,
harbored frogs innumerable and
creeping, bioated watersnakes.
Ahead of us we could hear the
rattle of hurrying wagons and a
trampling as of many hoofs. Clearly,
the enemy had beaten us thus far,
but it was equally clear that we
were hard upon them, so we tight
ened girths and rode the faster.
Then carbine shot rang spitefully
incur front, followed by scatter
ing volley. We hadn't expected it
quite so soon, but we dropped from
our horses, answering shot with shot,
wading through the murky thickets
and forcing them back; for we
wanted the bridge. which we knew
was but a short half mile beyond.
About sunset we sighted the
bridge, a long, rude structure lead
ing out across the glittering river.
There was only squadron holding
it, a sort of forlorn hope left to be
sacrificed that others might escape.
We knew their program-mew that
the bridge was mined, knew that
they were to hold us long enough for
the column to cross, then fall back
and fire the mine-and we were on
them before they could accomplish
it all.
A man sprang forward with a
torch, but riheman shot him down;
and then we charged, driving them
back by steady rushes to the cover
on the further side. There, how
ever, they halted and would go no
farther; and concentrating their fire
with marvellous art, they kept the
bridgeway clear. Twice Townley,
our brigadier, threw hundred men
in headlong charge against them,
and twice that close-driven fire
pressed US down and back. But it
: could not last, they knew that as
we'll as we.
linen Wn0n LIlS Gal UllOS "SA
splitting and the shrapnel shells were
flying, the rebels mounted and-fell
back?
No! They charged!
Ye gods! What horsemen they
were! For the moment we were
dumb with amazement. Our front
files shrank back, not in fear but in
wonder.
'sSteady!' called old Towrley,
STEADY and forward"
Then the gun spoke-they had nc
sense of the dramatic, those artillery
men-and shell striking fair on the
careening column tore their front
into fragments.
It was too much. The column!
what was left of them, half circled
and wheeled-all but one, and he
young man like myself. saw him
leap to the ground, saw his big white
horse follow the, others back across
the bridge, saw his quick stoop anc
the flash of his pistol, then-a thund