The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1911-06-29
REMn nNESCENCES OF JOHN @
SELLERS.
Mr.. Sellers Writes Interestingly of IA
Period When History Was Be
ing Made.

MIR. Sellers Writes interestingly of n
Period When History Was Be
ing Made.
November 1864 at the age of IT
years, l was a student at the Cit
del. l had just comleted the course
OF the first year at the Arsenal in
Columbia, (on the lot where the
governors mansion now stands) and
had begun the studies of the third
class at the Citadel when the whole
battalion was ordered to Talafinny
Greek on the Charleston and Sa-
vannah Railroad, where a large
force of the enemy from Beaufort
were trying to get possession of
the railroad. Fighting began ear
ly in the morning and was going on
about two miles south of the rail-
road when we arrived in the af-
ternoon. The train was stopped
where the firing could be heard
we hastily disembarked. The batal-
lion fell in and we were double
quicked towards where the fight
ing was going on. Soon the whist
ling of the minnie balls could be
heard, and when they became more
frequent, some of the boys, all of
us going at double quick, threw
their deck of cards away. The road
was lined with cards and when the
fighting was all over, several days
afterwards. there were only two
decks of cards in Company "B" and
L was the proud posseSsor of one of
these decks. Until others could be
procured at the Buffers tent, / was
the most popular boy in company
B." for the boys would come in
droVes to my camp fire to play
my cards.
The firing on both sides ceased
before we arrived at the scene of
the hight and we fell back to the
railroad where we spent the night
The next day our battalion with the
47th and 32nd Georgia and a bat
terry of artillery moved towards the
coast and about three miles from
the railroad we struck the Yankees,
and hot fight ensued which con-
tlnued until late in the afternoon.
one OF our boys was killed and a
number were wounded. While we
were off fighting the Yankees
breastworkS were thrown I'D near
the parallel with the railroad. and
that night we fell back and slept in
the breastworks. In a few days
large force of the enemy appeared
and charged the breastworks, be-
mind which we were lying. Mai. ].
oled in Marion, was in command He
acted with great GOODNESS and bray-
cry that day He would canter up
and down the line on his horse,
commanding us TO hold our fire un-
III the word of command was given.
The Yankees came on a run, yelling
and shooting, while We lay perfect
ly still behind the breastworks, and
when the Yankees got through a
swamp in our front and out into an
open field, Maj. White rose into
his surrups and gave the command,
attention Battalion, ready, aim,
IRE; continue firing" We had
been well drilled for a year or more
and when the command, fire, was
given, II sounded as only one gun
was fired. Such was the effect of
the fire that the Yankee troops
(negroes) fell pack in great confus-
ion and with great loss. All the
wounded, and there were a great
many, fell into our hands. TnS Yam
KEGS never tried to cut the railroad
any more during the war, but con-
tented themselves with running up
battery of artillery about a mile
from the railroad which point they
shelled every passing train. The
only casualty from this Smelling was
on w. IL. Palmer, member of
Company B and now a prominent
FARMER near st. Stephens, who was
struck Oh the hand by a solid shell
and to-day is a one arm Confederate
soldier. i was within a few feet of
him when he was hit In fact. he
was in the act of bringing my fry
Ing pan lack to my fire when he
was struck by the shell which did
not happen to explode. Our camp
was in the woods north of the rail-
road We had no tents, our cover
ing was 10 more than the clouded
canopy and the starry decked hea-
ven, and it was very cold that win
ter, but there was plenty of wood
TO burn, and so we cot along fairly
welt
Near Christmas the Yankees with
drew thei. forces and we were or
dered 10 James Island. where we
did picket duty, twenty-four hours
on aad twenty-four hours off, till
the night of February 18th, 1865,
when Charleston was evacuated and
all the troops on the coast were
hastened to Cheraw where we got in
front OF Sherman's army. From Che
raw, we marched to Fayetteville.
N. Z. When we got to Fayetteville
l was so completely tagged out that
l was sent to the hospital while my
command passed on across Cape
fear river. The next morning just
before day, / was put on a flat car
with hundredth of others and car
r1ed to place then called Egypt
and now Cuninod and then the term.
nus of the railroad in Chatham
county, N. c. There were about
zoo of the sick ones and we were
quartered in a large open barn
where there was plenty of hay to
make comfortable beds. In a few
Gays 1T was reported that the Yam
kees were in few miles of the
place, and TO avoid capture, 400 of
us who were able to travel, were
transferred IN !,