Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1908-11-04
New Series No. S4o--volun,e Lrx.--No. 4s.
REUNION OF THE SURVIVORS.
Orr's Regiment Of Rifles, Grand In
War, Equally Grand i'm Peace.

(Orrs Rifles) will hold its annual re-
union In Abbeville this year, and our
citizens are looking forward to the
occasion with pleasant expectations,
for the regiment has always had a
warm place in the hearts Of our peo-
pie.
The regiment was organized and
mustered in at Sandy Springs, Ander-
son county, July 21st, 1861, the very
day on which the battle of First Ma
nassas was fought in Virginia and
Iwon.
| 1t was Sunday There were ten
companies In the regiment. Abbeville
furnished two; Anderson three; Mar
ion and Horny one between them;
Pici1ens, which includes the territory
now in Oconee and Pickens, four.
The officers were: Colonel, James l..
}Orr; Lieutenant Colonel j. Foster
Marshall; Major, ID. A. Ledbetter
| After about a months drilling the
regiment went to Sullivan's Island,
and remained near Charleston until
April, 1862, when 1T went to Virginia.
Col. j. l.. Orr resigned having been
elected to the Confederate States Sen
ate. The other field officers were adj
lvanced in rank, and Capt ]. w. Liv-
| ingston became major.
The command was first under fire
at Mechanicsville, June 26, 1861, and
from that time until Appomattox it
flashing of the guns
At Gaines Mill, June 27th, 1862,
the First South Carolina Rifles car
| ried 537 men into action. or these
81 We're killed and 23i wounded-a
total loss of 315.
During the war 334 officers and
men were killed or died Of wounds,
and 201 of disease, total of 635.
Total number of casualties, 1,125.
At Appomattox there were only &C
In line with guns in their hands.
| During their service the regiment
was actively engaged, or in line Of
battle, at the following places: Me-
chanicsville, Gaines Mill, Frasier's
Farm, Malvern Hill, Cedar Mountain,
Second Manassas, Ok Hill, Harpers
Ferry, Sharpsburg, Boteler's Ford,
Fredericksburg, Charlottesville, Get
tysburg, Hagerstown, Funkstown.
Mine Run. Falling Waters, Brstoe
Station. Wilderness, Spottsylvania
Court House, MAY 12th), Spottsyl-
vania, MAY 1Sth), Jericho Ford,
burg, Deep Bottom, Gravelly Run,
Dutch Gap, Fussell's Mill, Reams'
Station, Jones' Farm, Bellefield,
White Oak Road, SutherIand's Sta
ton. Petersburg, Amelia Court House
and AIponattox.
The association was organized in
1878 at Anderson, where a number
Oh survivors attended the funeral of
Judge Orr, whose body had been
brought home from st. Petersburg,
Russia, where he was United States
Minister.
Since that time the association has
met annually. At Sandy Springs
| there were many cabins used by
those who attended the famous camp
meetings that made the place known
| far and wide. The Survivors had an
attachment for their first camping
ground and had their annual reun-
ions there until the cabins became so
dilapidated +"at they afforded no
shelter in rally days. They then ask
ed to be allowed to meet in Clemson
College in the vacation when moth
ing was going on at the institution,
but permission was refused, and that
year they met in the open air at the
old spring. A storm came up and
the old soldiers went into church
nearby and rested on the hard
benches during the night.
| The reunions afterwards have been
held in the several towns of the ter
ritory from which the regiment was
enlisted, to wit: Anderson, Honea
Path, Seneca, Walhalla and Due
West.
Some of the most talented men OF
the day belonged to the commands:
James l.. Orr never had a superior
in mental endowments; there never
was a brighter mind in South Caro-
| lima than that of w. G.. Keith, the
Tadjutant; James s. Cothran and Jo-
seph j. Norton afterwards adorned
the Bench Of the State; Rev. H. r.
Sloan and Rev. f.. p. Mullaly, chap
lains, stood among the most distin-
guished clergymen of the time.
Among the surgeons Of the regiment
were Dr. Thomas A. Evans, Of An
derson; DR.. John M. Richmond, and
DR.. VIM. M. Whistler, equal In sur
gerry to his brother, James McNeill
Whistler, in painting.
l have been elected president OF
the association nine times. The re-
unions are generally held earlier in
the year, but the time was postponed
on account Of my long sickness and
because our new public buildings had
not been completed
The Survivors will meet November
18th and the main part of the reun-
ion will be on November 18th. The
program will be appropriate and in
| teresting.
The reunion will be strictly OF the
Survivors Association OF Orr's Rifles,
but all old soldiers will be cordially
] welcomed and entertained by the
people of Abbeville.
Very truly,
Robert r. Hemphtll.