Battle of Dingle ' s Mill The Battle of Dingle ' s Mill was an American Civil War battle that took place near Sumterville , Sumter County , South Carolina . Background . Major General Quincy A . Gillmore ordered a provisional division assembled under the command of Brigadier General Edward E . Potter . Potter was ordered to destroy the railroads in the area between Florence , Sumter , and Camden . The importance of the mission was pointedly made by Sherman ' s statement that " Those cars and locomotives should be destroyed if to do it costs you 500 men . " Potter took command of the provisional division on April 1 , 1865 , at Georgetown . The division numbered 2 , 700 men composed of two infantry brigades and auxiliary troops . The First Brigade commanded by Col . Philip P . Brown commander of the 157th N . Y consisted of : The Second Brigade , commanded by Col . Edward Needles Hallowell , commander of the 54th Massachusetts consisted of : In addition small detachments of the 1st New York Engineers , 4th Massachusetts Cavalry and two guns of Battery B 3rd New York Artillery accompanied the two infantry brigades . Battle . On Easter Day , April 9 , 1865 , the Battle of Dingle ' s Mill was fought south of Sumterville . At approximately three in the morning , General Edward E . Potter ' s army , called Potter ' s Raiders , came from the direction of Kingstree . They were joined by Col . Hallowell ' s troops , who had crossed the Pocotaligo River , throwing Colonel Presley ' s men across Turkey Creek . This put them north of the pond at Dingle ' s Mill . Confederate militiamen , under the command of Col . James Fowler Pressley , dug in their heels behind meager breastworks and awaited the arrival of the Union forces . The two working pieces of artillery were commanded by Lt . William Alexander McQueen and a patient of Sumter hospital , Lt Pamerya , an artilleryman from New Orleans . A third piece of artillery was too rusted to work . General Potter ordered Col . Hallowell to attack from the left and rear . The 54th was a part of this flanking column . Unable to reach the Rebels ' position , the United States Colored Troops countermarched to where Colonel Brown ' s First Brigade was stationed on the main road . A Confederate volunteer remembered hearing " the church bells in town ringing for afternoon service " as the battle got underway . Hallowell ' s brigade reached their comrades a little after two in the afternoon . Lt . McQueen was struck in the shoulder , incapacitating him , while Lt . Pamerya was killed by a minie ball in the forehead . The Confederate forces fell back toward Sumterville in the face of overwhelming odds . They made one more stand , but left the field of battle about six in the evening , ending the battle . Aftermath . At about this same time , General Robert E . Lee was meeting with General Ulysses S . Grant at Appomattox Courthouse , away . The Confederate force disbanded and returned to their homes after fighting the battle . One witness , W . H . Garland of Fernandina , Florida , claimed at least fifteen additional Northern forces were dead where they had crossed the swamp , and were buried in shallow graves which were dug up and robbed by camp followers of General Potter . After the battle , the camp followers also hanged Mr . Bee , an elderly Charleston gentleman who had fled to Sumter County from Charleston during the war . His home was located near what is presently called Bee Street , probably east of Manning Avenue .