THE BATTLE OF SECESSION VILLE,
(In sending a clipping referring to the battle of Secessionville, S. C., which took place on June 16, 1862, and giving a list of the Charleston survivors of that battle at present, R. DeT. Lawrence, of Marietta, Ga., writes that he had a part in that battle, that as he was a private he could tell only of his immediate surroundings, but that the victory was so complete the Federals never afterwards attempted the capture of Charleston by land. Reference to the "' Confederate Military History,'' Vol. V, pages 85-92, was made for the account here given.)
Secessionville is situated on a peninsula cut from the east side of the island by an arm of Lighthouse Creek, a bold tidewater stream which empties into the harbor of Charleston, east of Fort Johnson, At the point of the peninsula of Secessionville where the battery was erected, the peninsula is narrowest, probably not more than half regimental front, and on either side of it run the tide waters of Lighthouse Creek and Big Folly Creek, bordered by impracticable marshes. The banks of the peninsula in front and in rear of the battery were fringed by a thick growth of myrtle bushes. Col. T. G. Lamar was in command of the fort at Secessionville (afterwards called Fort Lamar, in his honor) and its infantry supports. The garrison consisted of Companies I and B of Lamar's regiment of South Carolina Artillery, Capts. G. D. Keitt and Samuel J. Reid; and the infantry support was composed of two battalions of infantry, the Charleston Battalion, Lieut. Col. P. C. Gaillard, and the Pee Dee Battalion, Lieut. Col. A.D. Smith. The battery mounted an 8-inch Columbiad, two 24-pounder rifles, several 18-pounders, anda mortar. A gunboat battery on the east bank, anchored in Big Folly Creek, and commanded by Capt. F. N. Bonneau, would have been an effective ally had not its guns just been moved on shore to be added to those of the fort.
In the early morning of June 16 the Secessionville picket was on duty at Rivers's place, a mile in front of the fort, and the 24th, with six companies of the 1st South Carolina and one of the 47th Georgia, was covering the front of the east lines, under command of Col. C. H. Stevens. In the fort a gun detachment was awake and on the watch, but the remainder of the garrison was fast asleep.
At 1a.m., Gen. H. G. Evans had started one hundred picked men from Colonel Goodlett's 22nd regiment, under Capt. Joshua Jamison, as a fatigue party, to go over the bridge to Fort Lamar and assist in mounting Captain Bonneau's guns in the fort. These men reached the fort about daylight. Just
at dawn the Secessionville picket was surprised and several of them captured. The main picket force ran in and gave the first notice to Lamar of the enemy's rapid advance on his position. The garrison was aroused and at the guns and on the flanks just in time to meet the gallant assault of the 8th Michigan, 7th Connecticut, 79th New York, 28th Massachusetts, 100th Pennsylvania, and 46th New York, with Rockwell's and Strahan's light batteries and a company of engineers. The six regiments were moved forward in two lines, both under the immediate direction of Gen. I. I. Stevens, and each commanded by its senior colonel. As they advanced the peninsula narrowed, and when within short range of the works, the left regiment of the front line, the 7th Connecticut, was crowded into the marsh. Just at this juncture Lamar fired the 8-inch Columbiad charged with canister, and in rapid succession the 24's and 18's, and the mortar opened. The whole line wavered and was broken in some confusion. Urged on by their officers, the Connecticut, Michigan, and New York regiments pressed forward, the latter two in large numbers gaining ground. Groups of men and officers of these two regiments gained the ditch and both flanks of the 'works, and some of them mounted the works. They were met by the galling fire of the infantry of Gaillard and Smith, and were either killed or captured. Meanwhile the hundred men under Jamison, sent to mount Bonneau's guns, arrived and promptly took their places on the parapet, adding their rifles to the fire of the Charleston and Pee Dee battalions.
A number of the assaulting force, moving along the marsh under cover of the myrtle bushes, gained a lodgment on the right flank and in rear of the works, and were doing serious execution by their fire, hid as they were, and shielded by the bank of the peninsula. But they were soon dislodged by the rifles of the 4th Louisiana battalion, sent by Colonel Hagood to reénforce the garrison as soon as he learned that the fort was being attacked. The Louisianians, coming up at a run, were promptly put into position by their gallant commander, Colonel McEnery, and drove the Federals from the myrtles into the marsh or out into the field. Two 24-pounders, in battery on the west flank of the fort and west of the creek and marsh, had been silent up to this moment. Colonel Hagood, who had moved promptly down the Battery Island road to check any advance by that way and protect the right front of the fort, noting the silence of the flank battery, dispatched Lieutenant Colonel Capers to open the fire of these guns. Finding a small detachment of Lamar's artillery at the guns, under Lietuenant Kitching, a prompt and gallant response to the order to open fire was made, and under the direction of Colonel Capers solid shot and shell were delivered along the line of the myrtles and into the regiments vainly endeavoring to form on the field in front of the work. The sun was now fully up and Lamar's victory was achieved, though both sides continued to fire until the Federal regiments had withdrawn from range.
During the assault upon the fort, a column of forty companies of infantry, two batteries of artillery, and a squadron of cavalry, about 2,500 strong, under Brigadier General Wright, advanced along the Battery Island road and up the west side of Lighthouse Creek, as a covering force for the protection of the left and rear of the troops assaulting Secessionville. This force was made up of the 3rd New Hampshire and companies of the 3rd Rhode Island, 97th Pennsylvania, 6th Connecticut, 47th New York, 45th Pennsylvania, and ist New York Engineers. The advance of Hagood down the Battery Island road, with a portion of the 1st and 24th South Carolina and the Eutaw battalion, brought him in contact with General Wright's advance, which he checked and re-
ly
pelled. The Eutaw battalion was placed behind an obstruction of felled timber on the east of the road, and four companies of the 24th still farther to the left and immediately in front of the enemy's advance. One piece of Boyce's battery, under Lieutenant Jeter, was put in position immediately on the right of the 24th, and the four companies of the Ist south of the road. Jeter opened fire on the enemy, in full view at Hill's place, and immediately Wright's artillery replied, shelling the whole front of Hagood's force and throwing solid shot at Jeter's gun. The 3rd Rhode Island advanced to charge the position, but was handsomely repulsed by Colonels Stevens and Simonton and the effective fire of Jeter. By this time the contest in front of Secessionville having been determined, General Wright retired his troops to their intrenched positions and the battle of Secessionville was ended.
After the first repulse, the fort was again in danger from the fire of infantry and artillery in its rear and right flank by a portion of Wright's column, which had marched up the west bank of Lighthouse Creek and was in position south and east of Hill's negro houses. It was this force that McEnery attacked as he came up, firing at short range across the creek. They were ultimately driven off by the fire of the 24-pounders in front of Clark's house, above alluded to, and by Hagood's troops. The latter were well posted, and when assaulted easily repulsed the attack. Lieutenant Jeter with his guns did good service in this affair; indeed, the position of General Wright's column at Hill's houses, though for a short time it took the work at Secessionville in flank and rear, was between the infantry fire of McEnery at the fort and Hagood's force and the 24-pounder battery at Clark's house. If Colonel Hagood had had his whole advance guard under his command with Boyce's entire battery, he could have moved immediately against General Wright's column, striking him in flank and rear. On the contrary, if Wright had known that Hagood had with him only the total strength of a good regiment, with one piece of artillery, he would doubtless have attacked with his entire force instead of with a portion of the Rhode Island regiment only.
The force assaulting the fort numbered, of all arms, 3,562. It was defended by two companies of artillery, three battalions of infantry, and a hundred picked men under Captain Jamison, a total of less than 1,000 men. Wright's column could not have been less than 2,400 to 3,000 of all arms. Hagood's force did not exceed 700 men, with one piece of artillery. The Confederate troops actually engaged did not exceed 1,800.
General Stevens reported a loss of 529 men and officers in his assaulting column; General Wright, 129; making an aggregate of 658. Colonel Hagood took twelve prisoners and counted twelve dead in front of Colonel Stevens's four companies, and eight in front of the Eutaw battalion. More than the number reported by General Stevens were buried on the field, and while that general reports one officer and thirty men made prisoners, by actual count the Confederates took sixtyfive wounded and forty-two unwounded prisoners. The total Federal loss could not have been less than 750 to 800.
The Confederates lost in killed, wounded, and missing, 204 officers and men, as follows: 47th Georgia, 1 killed; 4th Louisiana, 6 killed, 22 wounded; Lamar's artillery, 15 killed, 39 wounded, 1 missing; Charleston battalion, 10 killed, 40 wounded, 2 missing; Pee Dee battalion, 3 killed, 23 wounded, 3 missing; First Volunteers, 1 wounded; Twenty-Second Volunteers, 10 killed, 8 wounded; Twenty-Fourth Volunteers, 3 killed, 7 wounded, 2 missing; Eutaw battalion, 4 killed, 14 wounded; total, 5 officers and 47 men killed, 12 officers and 132 men wounded, 8 missing; aggregate, 204.
Among the gallant dead were Capt. Hanry C.
King and
Lieut. John J. Edwards, of the Charleston battalion; Capt. Samuel J. Reed, of Lamar's artillery; Lieut. Richard W. Greer, of the Eutaw battalion; and Lieut. B. A. Graham, of the 47th Georgia. Colonel Lamar and Lieutenant Colonel Gaillard were both wounded severely. Also among the wounded were Captain Walker, of the 4th Louisiana; Capts. J. A. Blake, F. T. Miles, and R. P. Smith, and Lieuts. J. W. Axson, George Brown, John Burke, and F. R. Lynch, of the Charleston battalion; Lieut. J. G. Beatty of the Pee Dee battalion; Lieut. F. W. Andrews of the Twenty-Fourth; and Lieut. Samuel J. Berger of the Eutaw battalion.
It was a gallant assault on the part of the Federals and came near being a complete surprise. But for the heroic conduct of the garrison in standing to their guns, and the persistent and gallant support of the Charleston and Pee Dee battalions and Jamison's men, who fought on the parapet and on the flanks, the Michigan and New York regiments and the 7th Connecticut would have swarmed over the work at the first assault, closely followed by their supports.
The news of the victory at Secessionville was heralded to every quarter of the State and the Confederacy, and filled the hearts of soldiers and people with joy and. thanksgiving. General Pemberton congratulated the troops engaged in orders, and especially acknowledged the heroism and ability of Lamar and his garrison. In published orders, the following officers and soldiers were specially mentioned for good conduct: Col. T.. G. Lamar, Lieut. 'Cols. P. 'C. Gaillard, A. D. Smith, John McEnery, and Ellison Capers; Majs. David Ramsay and J. H. Hudson; Capts. Samuel J. Reed, Henry C. King, F. T. Miles, G. D. Keitt, W. W. McCreery, F. N. Bonneau, R. E. Elliott, S. J. Corrie, H. W. Carr, Joshua Jamison, Samuel S. Tompkins, and W. H. Ryan; Asst. Surg. James Evans; Lieutenants Hall and Matthews, C. S. N.; Adjt. E. J. Frederick; Lieuts. W. H. Rodgers, J. B. Kitching, J. B. Humbert, W. S. Barton, J. W. Moseley, T. P. Oliver, John A. Bellinger, W. M. Johnson, J. W. Lancaster, L. S. Hill, H. H. Sally, J. V. Cobb, William Bechham, George Brown, A. A. Allemand, James Campbell, and R. A. Blum; Sergt. W. H. Hendricks, and Privates Joseph Tennett, J. Campbell Martin, and T. Grange Simon, Jr.
Maj. David Ramsay, who succeeded to the command of the Charleston battalion on the wounding of Lieutenant Colonel Gaillard, closes his brief report with this appropriate and just tribute, applicable to each of the commands engaged in the battle of Secessionville: ''I have mentioned those especially noticeable, but can only repeat that I refrain from enumerating others because it would be to furnish a roll of those engaged."
Signally repulsed at Secessionville, and convinced of the strength of the line of defense across the island, the Federal commander in chief abandoned the campaign, evacuated James Island the last of June, and aggregated the main portion of his troops at Hilton Head, Beaufort, and North Edisto. There were left only the gunboats in the lower Stono and the blockading fleet off the bar to menace Charleston. The troops which had reénforced the command of General Gist on James Island were returned to their former stations on the coast and at Savannah, and the heroes of Secessionville were toasted on every hand.
During the remainder of the summer, several curred along the coast which illustrated the watchfulness and gallantry of the South Carolina soldiers, An expedition to
affairs oc-
Fenwick's Island was organized and successfully conducted by Maj. R. J. Jeffords, commanding the 6th battalion, South Carolina cavalry, and the enemy's positions in the surrounding waters and on the adjacent islands fully reported to Col
W. S. Walker, commanding the Third District. On August 14, the Federal gunboats, having entered Winyaw Bay, steamed up Black River as far as Mrs. Sparkman's plantation, twenty miles above Georgetown. Maj. W. P. Emanuel, commanding in that quarter, with a section of Woods's battery and all his troops south of the river, marched at once to Mrs. Sparkman's and boldly attacked the boats with rifles and battery. The enemy's force that had landed was compelled to reémbark, and the boats soon steamed down the river, shelling the banks on their way. Major Emanuel threw his mounted infantry forward at every available bluff and gave the boats a spirited fight on their return to Georgetown. A picket force on Pinckney Island was surprised and captured at dawn of August 21, by Captains Elliott and Mickler. This was an incursion far into the enemy's lines, and at the risk of being cut off by his gunboats, which were in the immediate vicinity. The lieutenant commanding the Federal picket was killed, with fourteen of his men, and thirty-six were captured, four of whom were wounded. The expedition left Bear Island in nine boats, one hundred and twenty strong, detachments from the 11th Volunteers, Captains Mickler, Leadbetter, and Wescoat commanding, and from the Beaufort artillery, Lieutenant Stuart commanding, the whole directed by Capts. Stephen Elliott and John H. Mickler. The affair was well planned and gallantly executed, with the loss of only eight men wounded on the part of the Confederates.
(Following are the names of the survivors of the Charleston companies engaged in that battle as reported by Comrade R. DeT. Lawrence: Sergt. John L. Sheppard and Edward S. Burnham, Company A, Washington Light Infantry, Eutaw Battalion; Sergt. T. Grange Simons, Jr., Sergt. Alexander Force, Corporal R. deTreville Lawrence, J. P. Millard, Robert W. Greer, and R. G. McCutchion, Company B, Washington Light Infantry, Eutaw Battalion; First Sergts. James F. Riley and Dennie Cassiday, Union Light Infantry; Bernard P. Maull, Charleston Light Infantry; Henry T. Surau, Sumter Guards; Corporal Adolph Jager, Irish Volunteers; Sergt. Joseph T. Sanders, Beauregard Light Infantry; Edmund H. Browne, and Charles A. Speissegger, Charleston Riflemen. The six companies mentioned belonged to the Charleston battalion.)