The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1910-02-02

Graphic Description by Peter J. Ma
IOne Of the Terrific Conflict, In
which He Received The Wound
That Finally Ended His Life.

among those VINO onered their
lives for the South during the War
between the States. there was no fg-
ure more heroic than Peter j. Ma
lone. the soidier-poet. A mere lad Of
10 years. ne bore himself with daunt-
loss spirit In the famous last charge
st the battle Of Gettysburg and re-
csived on that bloody field the wound
which after ten years OF suffering re-
suited In his untimely death. A ma
tive Of Charleston and at one time
worker on the stan Of the Charleston
Courier. Peter Malone crowded into
the brief period of his mortal life.
work Of % notable quality az to In
sure him . place among South Caro-
lins's mon Of genius and ach'evmsnt.
He was . poet Of ability from whose
pan flowed some really beautiful
things; and. although he was not al
lowed time to fulnil the promise of
HE early years, the volume containing
his poems pubiished only recently and
rsviswsd In The Sunday News Of jan
nary >. - an important contribution
70 The literature Of the South.
Pstsr ,. Malone died young. before
HE mental development was nearly
complstsd. Cut on at the age Of 30,
biz artistry was not allowed time to
riDsn. II has bsen said Of his work
zone OF the chief points in which It
inpresess me II Its indication--so
rare anywhsre---of far greater
ttrength behind Had he lived long
Or, he might have risen to heights far
beyond those to which he actually at
aimed. His early death was directly
lus to the wound that he received at
fstUsburs; and the following des-
rlption from his pen of that great
charge " piece of writing strong
and simple In its truth. and yer ex-
hibitins. even thus In prose. the fer
vor and grace Of expression of the
born post"
The account Of the charge an will
b seen, b In the form of Letter to
Col. John Logan Black. The letter
follows;
Col John Logan Black. Ridgsway.
q c. Dsar Colonel: have taken the
eerlisst opportunity to attend to your
request and trust that the sketch
herewith given. though hastily drawn
nom material preserved only In mem-
orr. may fully comprehend the object
you contemplate. You may md that
J am occasionally led into the recital
|bf facts Irrelevant to the matter OF
Inquiry, but they are concomitant
facta. and serve 70 illustrate the state-
msnt I desire to make more fully
than could be accomplished did I
avoid all disrsssion. II II the story
at . single charge that propose TO
write. but no leaf in the history of
any revolution bears record Of q
proudsr hsroism. more, invincible
courage. than was that day exhibited
along our depleted ranks. nnd II
impossible TO speak with certainty Of
cur arrival on the nsld Of oettysburg.
or Of our position at the fatal hour
Of encounter. The more prominent
incidents Of the terrific scene are still
pictured ON my memory: but Il 10
rather - evidences Of strange. Wild
dream. In which much has faded
nom the waking memory, than 40
any past event Of real life. that I
now contemplate them.
About . o'clock on the afternoon Of
July .. 1sss. our brigade moved to its
position on the left Of the army.
There was one incessant roar Of artil-
lery. and the ground was shaken.
while to the northwest clouds Of
smoke arose above the unbroken
thunder OF SIX hundred guns. For a
time the tremendous reverberations
rendered It dinicult for one at q dis
tance to determine the direction of
the battle: but knowing the position,
II was easy to divine that. as the din
became less distinct. we were steadi.
~ FORCING the enemy from every
point AZ the time our brigade was
thrown from the serried form of the
phaianx across the fields which was
20 soon to become our battle ground.
u seemed the resistance Of the enemy
grew more stubborn: the smoke be-
came denser and darker. and curling
upward filled the immense sky. We
were In ignorance of the juxtaposi-
ton Of the enemy's cavalry; but any
one without risking his dexterity.
might have ventured to predict that
the auietude of this part of the field
was soon tn be broken by the crash