The history of a brigade of South Carolinians, known first as "Gregg's," and subsequently as "McGowan's Brigade"

Introduction

It is true that the war of secession is past ; it is true that the question, submitted to the stern arbitrament of arms, has been declared in characters of blood and fire against us ; and, therefore, it is true that it becomes us not to encourage the ancient animosities of sections, but rather to strive to bind together and harmonize the tAvo long-discordam elements, for destiny seems to have fixed that they shall dwell under one government.

But we need not, on these grounds, banish that war from our memories, or forbid its mention to our lips. It was too prominent a phenomenon, not only on the Western Continent, but with all the first nations of the Old World ; it called forth armies too mighty, navies too crafty and persevering; it stimulated too much intellect in all private, political and military circles ; it shed too vast a deluge of blood ; it laid waste too many fields, and homesteads, and cities with flame ; it engendered too intense feelings of love, of hatred, of patriotism, of blood-thirstiness, of all, in fine, that constitutes enthusiasm, not to be of vital moment to the world. I may overrate its importance, but that war seems to me to embody more that deserves history than any one for at least a century past. From it we may derive instruction and warning in all that relates to the dis-

4 INTRODUCTION.

cipline, drill, provisioning, inarching and fighting of armies ; from it we may draw great light on the building, manning and fighting of navies, especially with regard to land-batteries ; from it we may inform ourselves largely and minutely on the principles of finance, by means of the remarkable successes on the one side, and the disastrous failures on the other ; from it we may learn such lessons of statesmanship as relate to the form and administration of government suited to our race ; and, beyond all this, we may find, throughout, teachings on the nature of the individual man, which are as useful as they are sad to know.

These matters cannot, of course, be at all fully described in the history of a brigade. I must leave them to larger minds and larger volumes than mine. I shall only endeavor to supply a thread by which one may safely traverse the great labyrinth of wonders ; to give the careful history of a small command, which shall make some picture of the operations of the greatest Confederate army ; to detail the sufferings of a part, from which the struggle of the whole nation may be inferred.

But there is a last reason for a history of those times, and, I confess, it is the principal one which has moved me to this undertaking. Valor, and fortitude, and devotion are things whose claims to admiration civilized and savage men equally admit. There need be »o discussion on the causes which called them into action ; they are intrinsically noble, and worthy of the most ardent applause and emulation. If they be our friends and co-workers who exercise them, certainly our feeling becomes more intimate and tender ; but brave and honest men never hesitate to accord

INTBODUCTIO^T. 5

the highest commendation to those very enemies to whom they have dealt and from whom they have received the heaviest blows.

These heroic qualities I feel confident clearly to exhibit in the soldiers of the old brigade.

I feel that I shall show them in our dead; for I shall show how they abandoned luxurious homes for the inhospitable field ; how they bowed their proud necks to the yoke of military discipline ; how they contented themselves with coarse and scanty fare ; how they marched, often in rags, sometimes even barefoot, over hundreds of miles of mountain, plain and morass, under the burning sun of summer, and amid winter snows; how they fought the immense hosts of the Federals in every great battle of the Army of Northern Virginia ; and how, slaughtered by those hosts, or smitten down by disease, they now slumber in cemeteries or on battle-fields, throughout the vast Aceldama of Virginia, and in two States beyond the Potomac, many of them without a handful of dust to cover their neglected bones. The Macedonian Phalanx and the Old Guard never surpassed them ; the victors of Marathon and Morgarten are but their rivals ; the Swiss Guard and the Three Hundred Spartans need not blush to call them kindred !

And I feel that I shall show that those who survived them are not less worthy of fame. For I shall show how they suffered and battled alike with those others ; how they were unmoved by the death of comrades and the wasting of our armies; how they were unappallcd by the incessantly renewed menaces and preparations of the Federal gov-

0 INTRODUCTION".

eminent; how they were uncorrupted by tlie timidity and base disaffection of multitudes at home ; how, when the capital had fallen, when three-fourths of Lees army had disappeared from the ranks, when Grant's thousands swarmed around them on every side, they, poor remnant, marched forward to battle with steady tread and flying banners, until recalled to be surrendered !

It is my object to give a connected account of the brigade from its organization to the close of the war. I shall describe the battles, marches, camp-life, discipline and whatever else relates to the military history of the command.

1 shall, before each battle, give the names of all the general and field-officers of the brigade ; I shall give the strength and relative position of each regiment in battle, and I shall follow each engagement with a list of casualties, and with sketches of the most prominent of the dead, whether in commission or in the ranks. Those who died from disease, or left us from any other cause, shall receive such mention as I consider them entitled to, in the history of the period in which we lost them.

It is impossible that the work should be exhaustive ; but I think it will be found a fair account of the Confederate soldier's life, and I know that it will be strictly true, if there be any truth in a carefully-guarded memory.

GKEGG'S SOUTH CAROLINA BRIGADE.

Chapter I. The Five Regiments Constituting Gregg's Brigade

The regiments "which composed Gregg's brigade of South Carolina infantry, as it was commonly known, and which always composed McGowan's brigade, were the following : the First South Carolina volunteers, the Twelfth South Carolina volunteers, the Thirteenth South Carolina volunteers, the Fourteenth South Carolina volunteers, and Orr's regiment of rifles, also from South Carolina. This last regiment was sometimes called the First, because it was the first regiment of rifles raised for Confederate service in South Carolina. But Col. (now Gov.) Orr has told me that it was named by him, and knoAvn in the War Office at Richmond, as Orr's regiment rifles. By that name, therefore, will it be styled in this history.

These regiments were not all united under Gen. Gregg until about the middle of June, 1862. It will, therefore, be necessary to give a separate account of each regiment up to that time, or until some union less than that of the five.

The First South Carolina Volunteers. — Soon after the secession of the State of South Carolina from the United States of America, (which it will be remembered took place on December 20th, I860,) a bill was passed by the Convention of South Carolina authorizing the raising of a regiment of infantry for the service of the State for the period of six months. The companies composing this regiment were of various origin, some of them being volunteer militia companies of long standing, some of them being raised by officers commissioned by Gov. Pickens for that purpose. Col. Maxey Gregg, at that time a lawyer of Columbia, and a member of the convention, was appointed to command this regiment; Col. A. H. Gladden, a native of South Carolina, though at that time residing in Mobile, Alabama, who had commanded the Palmetto regiment during the last few months of the Mexican war, was appointed lieutenant-colonel ; D. II. Hamilton, Lsq., late United States marshal for the District of South Carolina, was appointed major.

The companies constituting the regiment rendezvoused, at various dates, in Charleston, whence they were distributed on Sullivan's and Morris' islands. They had all assembled by or about February 1, 1861. Nothing occurred to vary the monotony of drill and picket duty until the bombardment of Fort Sumter by the Confederate forces, April 12. A portion of the regiment was under fire of artillery during that engagement, but no casualties occurred, as every one knows who has heard of that singular conflict.

Some time previous to the fall of Fort Sumter, Lieut. Col. Gladden resigned his commission, and Major Hamilton was promoted to the lieutenant-colonelcy. Capt. Augustus M. Smith, adjutant of the regiment, (adjutant ranked as captain under the State regulations,) was appointed to the majority.

In the month of May the regiment was called upon to transfer itself to the service of the Confederate States. The greater portion did so, and were accordingly ordered to Richmond, Virginia, early in June, whence, after a brief stay, they were ordered to Manassas Junction. The Federal troops now occupied Alexandria. From Manassas the First regiment was moved to Fairfax Court House.

During their stay at the latter place they were sent to the little village of Vienna to meet a force of the enemy expected to come from the direction of Alexandria. The regiment was now in the brigade of Gen. M. L. Bonham, of South Carolina, but they, with Kemper's battery of artillery, were detached for this expedition. The regiment

of Ohio troops approached the place in a train of cars, when the artillery fired upon them, inflicting a loss which is variously estimated from ten or fifteen up to two hundred. The infantry were not engaged and sustained no loss. The Federals abandoned the field at once.

On the 2d or 3d of July the regiment was carried back to Richmond and disbanded, its term of service having expired. Col. Gregg, Lieut. Col. Hamilton, and Major Smith, however, were continued in commission, and authorized to raise a new regiment, or reorganize this one, under the former name. Several of the old companies were reorganized, and some new ones raised to form the regiment. They rendezvoused partly at Lightwoodknot Springs, near Columbia, partly at Richmond. Eleven companies were received. From Richmond the regiment was ordered to Suffolk, Va. This was about the 1st of September. While at Suffolk one company (Mcintosh's) was converted into field-artillery, but it remained with the regiment. They remained in Suffolk, without active service, until February, 1862, when they were removed to Goldsborough, North Carolina. From hence they were returned to Virginia, in April. At first they were stationed at Guinea's Station, on the Richmond and Fredericksburg railroad, and then near Massaponax Church, five or six miles from Fredericksburg. They were now in the brigade of Gen. Joseph R. Anderson, of Virginia, although Col. Hamilton commanded the brigade during the greater part of their stay at Goldsborough, and the whole of their stay at this place.

In December, 1801, Col. Gregg was appointed brigadier general in the Provisional Army of the Confederate States, and ordered to South Carolina. This raised Lieut. Col. Hamilton to the colonelcy of the First regiment, Major Smith to the lieutenant-colonelcy, and Captain McCrady to the majority.

Orr's Regiment of Rifles. — In the spring of 1861, Hon. James L. Orr, of South Carolina, was authorized by the Confederate government to raise a regiment of infantry for the service of the Confederate States. The regiment, of ten companies, remained in camp of instruction at Sandy Springs, Anderson District, South Carolina, for a time, and were then sent to Sullivan's island, on the coast of South Carolina, where they continued until April, 1862. Col. Orr resigned in December, 1861, in consequence of his election to the Confederate Senate, and was succeeded by Col. J. Foster Marshall, his lieutenant-colonel being D. A. Leadbetter, and the major, J. W Livingstone.

In April, 1862, this regiment was ordered to Virginia, where it was attached to J. R. Anderson's brigade, to which it will be remembered the First regiment already belonged

TnE Twelfth South Carolina Volunteers.— In response to a call from President Davis, about the 1st oi July, 1861, a large number of infantry companies, from all quarters of South Carolina, rendezvoused at Columbia, South Carolina, Here they were placed in a camp of instruction, at Lightwoodknot Springs, about five miles from Columbia, and allowed to arrange themselves in regiments of ten companies and elect field-officers. The first regiment so formed was numbered as the Twelfth South Carolina volunteers, and elected the following officers: R. G. M. Dunnovant, Colonel; Dixon Barnes, Lieutenant- Colonel; Cadwallader Jones, Major. In the autumn this regiment was ordered to the coast, where it was present at the well-known bombardment of Hilton Head by the United States fleet. There being no engagement, except with artillery, the regiment could scarcely be said to participate. On the evacuation of the position it was successfully withdrawn, after pretty muddy wading, they tell me, to the mainland. It was next stationed near Green Pond, near the line of Colleton and Beaufort, at which time it, with the Thirteenth and Fourteenth regiments, was placed under the command of Brig. Gen. Gregg.

The Thirteenth South Carolina Volunteers. — This regiment was organized under the same circumstances as the Twelfth. It chose for field-officers, Col. 0. E. Edwards, Lieut. Col. P. L. Calhoun, Major T. Stobo Farrow. After a period of about three months' instruction at Lightwoodknot Springs, it was ordered to the southern coast of South Carolina, near Pocotaligo, where it was brigaded with the Twelfth and Fourteenth regiments, as before stated.

The Fourteenth Regiment South Carolina Volunteers.— This regiment was formed as the two last, except that a portion of the companies composing it were rendezvoused at Aiken, whither the remaining ones were carried from Lightwoodknot Springs, and the whole retained at Aiken, in camp of instruction, for a time. It .selected for field-officers Col. James Jones, Lieut. Col. Samuel McGowan Major W D. Simpson. It was ordered to the coast in autumn, where it was brigaded as related.

This regiment was under fire of gunboats, near Pocotaligo, on the 1st of Jar. ~.r>"r' " ' t^e brigade, therefore, ever actually and certainly engaged, up to the summer campaign of 1862. It was thought that the enemy were attempting to land upon and occupy that point of the coast, and this regiment was sent to prevent it. The Federals had landed, but on their approach reembarked under cover of gunboats. These latter opened upon -the Fourteenth when it arrived within range. One shell exploded in the ranks, killing nine and wounding fifteen. This was the only action in which they participated at this period. They did not themselves have an opportunity to fire.

Gregg's Brigade op Three Regiments. — Gregg's brigade, consisting, as has been shown, of the Twelfth, Thirteenth and Fourteenth regiments, remained on the coast of South Carolina until April, 1862. It was then ordered to Virginia. Its first camp in this State was around Milford Station, on the Richmond and Fredericksburg railroad. Here it remained for a short time, (ten days or a fortnight, perhaps,) when it was moved to the vicinity of Summit Station, on the same road, and some five miles from the city of Fredericksburg. A reconnoissance or two, and the capture by the enemy of Lieut. Fellers and thirteen men of the Thirteenth Regiment, constituted about the only excitement of this period, if we except rumors which we were not then old soldiers enough to despise.

On the 24th of May this brigade, with the rest of the division commanded by Brig. Gen. Joseph R. Anderson, was marched back towards Richmond, where Gen. Joseph E. Johnston was concentrating all the forces in eastern Virginia before the "Grand Army" of McClellan. The Federals, under McDowell, threatened several times to interrupt the march, and did indeed attack Branch's brigade near Hanover Court House ; but the command reached Richmond on the 29th or 30th of May without any injury, except stiff joints and the loss of some superfluous baggage.

Here the brigade was encamped until the battles around Richmond, on the banks of the Chickahominy, about seven miles from Richmond. The ground was known as Smith's farm, and lav acliacent to what is called the Nine Mile re e Rifle regiment were united with the other three regiments and formed the brigade, which continued without interruption (except for perhaps one month) during the remainder of the war.

Gregg's Brigade of Five Regiments.— Gen. Gregg had now a brigade of five South Carolina infantry regiments.

The brigade staff was as follows : Captain A. C. Haskell, Assistant Adjutant General; Lieut. L. C. Haskell, Aide-de-camp; Major L. W Spratt, Brigade Commissary ; Captain Lee, Quartermaster of Orr's regiment rifles, acting Brigade Quartermaster.

The regiments were officered as follows : First regiment, Col. D. H. Hamilton, Lieut. Col. A. M. Smith, Major Edward McCrady ; Twelfth regiment, Col. Dixon Barnes, (vice Dunnovant, resigned,) Lieut. Col. Cadwallader Jones, Major McCorkle; Thirteenth regiment, Col. 0. E. Edwards, Lieut. Col. P L. Calhoun, Major T. Stobo Farrow; Fourteenth regiment, Col. Samuel McGowan, (vice Jones, resigned,) Lieut. Col. W D. Simpson, Major W S. Carter ; Orr's regiment of rifles, Col. J. Foster Marshall, Lieut. Col. D. A. Leadbetter, Major J. W Livingstone.

The company which had been detached from the First regiment and converted into artillery was now, and continued for some time, attached to Gregg's brigade. It had four field-pieces and was known as Mcintosh's battery. It was commanded by Captain D. J. Mcintosh.

The brigade was placed, with five others — Anderson's, (J. R.,) Branch's, Field's, Archer's, and Pender's — under Maj. Gen. A. P, Hill, and formed the Light division subsequently so celebrated in the history of the war in Virginia. ^ The brigade was now large, well drilled, thoroughly disciplined, and in the highest spirits. The unwholesome atmosphere of the Chickahominy swamps, and the exposure to rain and sun, to which we were not yet accustomed, had made deep inroads into our numbers, so that, out of the five thousand and upwards who stood upon our rolls, only about three thousand were fit for duty. But these viewed with satisfaction the approach of battle in which they counted on securing for themselves the sao-e experience and the laurels of victory, which seemed to be the peculiar possessions of war-beaten Confederate soldiers.

Their desire was soon *-J

Chapter II. The Battles Around Richmond, June And July, 1862

Maj. Gen. McClellan now lay before Richmond with one of the largest, and, I have no doubt, the most thoroughly equipped, of the armies of this age. On the eastern side of the city, his force lay south of the Chickahominy river, gradually sloping back to it as you moved up stream, until about the Nine Mile road, the real body of his line was on the left or north bank of the river, and only a picket in the open meadow south of it. Thence his line continued to stretch to, and even beyond, the village of Mechanicsville, at which point it could not have been more than six miles from the Confederate capital. What McClellan's force was I cannot pretend to say, but I suppose it must have exceeded a hundred thousand men. They were powerfully intrenched on front and flank.

Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, who had commanded the Confederate army in Virginia since the battle of Manasses, was wounded in the battle of Seven Pines, on the 1st of June. The command of our army was then conferred on Gen. Robert E. Lee. Lee's forces consisted of the old Army of the Potomac, with large additions from the eastern portion of Virginia, and from perhaps every State on this side the Mississippi. I recall the divisions of Huger, Magruder, Longstreet, D. II. Hill, McLaws, and A. P. Hill, and I know that Holmes and D. R. Jones had command of divisions during the brief campaign here, but whether they had permanent commands to that extent, I cannot tell. But this is only by the way.

A. P Hill's division, as I have said, was known as the Light division, and consisted of the following brigades, which it is important to fix in our memories : J. R. Anderson's, (principally from Georgia,) Branch's, (North Carolina,) Field's, (Virginia,) Archer's, (Tennessee and Alabama,) Pender's, (North Carolina,) and Gregg's, (South

Carolina.) Seven field-batteries were attached. The whole strength of the command was not far from thirty thousand, on paper. About fourteen thousand were engaged m the battles around Richmond.

On the evening of the 25th of June, (Wednesday,) Gregg's brigade received orders to prepare for the march. Soon after dark we were put in motion, marching nearly parallel with, and up the Chickahominy, in the general direction of Meadow Bridge. The Fourteenth regiment was left on picket on the Chickahominy. After a march of several hours through almost inextricable by-roads, we were halted near the bridge just mentioned, but entirely out of view of the enemy. Here we lay during the remainder of the night, and until about three o'clock the next day. It is well known that the plan of operations was for Gen. Jackson with his command, coming from the valley, to strike the enemy in the rear, (or rather on the right flank, as it would become to us,) while A. P Hill's division should cross the Chickahominy and push down the right flank, or, as I would call it, the flank front, could I coin a term. The line of McClellan extended to Meadow, Bridge, although there were no works west of the village of Mechanicsville, and few troops. Branch's brigade was to cross the Chickahominy seven miles above the bridge.

At three p. M. on the 26th, Hill crossed Meadow Bridge, Field's brigade leading, and driving the feeble force that resisted. Gregg's brigade followed Field's, then Pender's. We filed to the right, crossing the Central railroad, and pursuing the enemy, who fell back to Mechanicsville. The battle was opened by the enemy's concentrating a heavy fire of artillery on Field's brigade, which, however, was soon thrown into line of battle and drove them from Mechanicsville.

Our brigade was here saluted with its first shell. Some stray ones, it is true, had passed into the neighborhood of our camp at Smith's farm, during the occasional artillery duels there, but these were the first that fell actually among us. We were marching by the flank, in full view of the enemy's batteries, Field's line moving up to the attack in front, when the fire opened upon us. It seemed to us that the shell ricochetted and slipped through us in a truly miraculous manner! The brigade, being intended for reserve, was moved behind the hills, and remained there during the remainder of the evening and all night. The fire was very heavy, both of artillery and small arms, but particularly of the former. There were, however, very few casualties in the brigade, not more than ten or twelve, probably.

At dawn, on Friday, 27th, our brigade was put in the advance and ordered to drive the enemy from their defences on Beaver Dam creek, at Ellyson's Mills, the attack of the evening before having failed to dislodge them. The brigade was formed thus : the First regiment on the right, the Twelfth on the left, these two constituting the first line — the Rifle regiment and the Thirteenth regiment following them, respectively, as support. The enemy abandoned the position, though one of great natural strength, and highly improved by earth-works, without even a respectable skirmish, and we passed on over the dead and wounded bodies of our comrades who had fallen in the unsuccessful assault of the previous evening. Soon after the passage of the creek we entered the deserted camps of the enemy, where we found, besides great heaps of blazing commissary and quartermaster stores, piles of knapsacks, arms and accoutrements, &c, which, however, our ardor prevented us from pillaging as freely as we learned subsequently to do.

Longstreet's division had now crossed the Chickahominy and were moving down the river, about parallel with us.

While in the midst of the camps just mentioned we were fired upon by artillery, and two of the skirmishers in our front wounded. In a few moments the fire ceased, and we learned that Jackson was crossing before us. I remember that word was passed along the line that the hero of the valley was just across the open field from us, and that immediately we sent up that shout of enthusiasm with which his presence was almost invariably greeted. It appeared that the enemy had learned his approach on their flank and retired, in consequence of which he had pressed on to our very front. There he had signalled us, but receiving no reply, and being unable to distinguish our colors or uniform, had fired upon us for the enemy.

Pursuing our march, for perhaps two miles, we came to Gaines' Mill, on Powhite creek. Jackson's army had gone to our left. Here two companies from the First regiment and one from the Twelfth were sent forward as skirmishers against the enemy opposing our advance. The First and Twelfth regiments were formed in line, and the skirmishers ordered to charge against the enemy. They did so, under a sharp fire, at a double-quick, and the two regiments moved over the crest of the hill and opened upon the Federal line which occupied the opposite elevation across the creek. The latter fled almost at once, inflicting a trifling loss upon us.

The bridge, previously destroyed by them, was repaired, and the brigade crossed, partly on it, partly on the dam above the mill. We refreshed ourselves with liquors and provisions left by the enemy in and around the mill. I have heard that an officer on Gen. Hill's staff subsequently captured twenty-five prisoners in the mill, which we were so careless as not to search !

After a brief rest, we moved forward and drove a strong skirmish from a pine-thicket just beyond the mill, at the double-quick. A brigade commander in our division afterwards said that it was the most beautiful advance he had ever seen. I remember a rather amusing incident that occurred here. We shot down several of the enemy as they retreated across the open field ; but one of them, after lying a moment, rose and attempted to follow his flying comrades. By this time the uninjured ones had passed out of- sight ; so this unfortunate was left to the fire of our whole line. The excitement became intense. A perfect shower of balls was hurled after him, striking up the dust before, behind, and all around him. But still he staggered on, striving but the more vigorously as the danger increased. Cries of "Kill him!" "Shoot him!" "Down with the fellow!" and others of rougher cast, resounded from every side : but shoot as we would, he succeeded in reaching a clump of pines, where we found him soon after, exhausted by fatigue and loss of blood.

It was now after two o'clock p. m. The brigade was in the two lines before described. Advancing some two or three hundred yards, we discovered the table-ground to descend to a deep, wet ravine, on the opposite side of which, upon an eminence, was drawn up a line of Federal infantry. We could see an officer riding up and down it, apparently giving directions or encouragement to his men. A battery soon opened upon us, whose fire we received lying down. Their practice was pretty good, but I know of only one man who was killed in the brigade. Crenshaw's battery replied to them, and with considerable effect, I judge, for their line of infantry had disappeared when we rose to resume the advance. Having reached and crossed the ravine, and driven off the slight force resisting the passage, we were ordered to lie down and rest. We were told that we were to charge a battery on the opposite hill, or rather, to capture it, for we were to succeed, of course. A growth of young pines concealed us from the enemy, who, however, kept up a slow, constant fire upon us. Here we lay for perhaps an hour, most of us sleeping soundly after the many hours of heat and fatigue. During this interval we heard Longstreet's guns, or the enemy's opposed to him, booming far back, almost behind us. Jackson was moving on our left, so as to strike the ilank of the line we confronted. The Federal batteries and ours kept up a regular interchange of shots.

At length, about four o'clock, the advance was ordered. The First and Twelfth regiments pushed forward, through the pines and brambles, up the hill. The fire from both artillery and infantry, in front, and from the right oblique, proving too severe, Gen. Gregg ordered Col. Marshall, of the Rifles, to the right, to charge a battery there. The latter, forming his regiment in three lines — a skirmish line and its reserve, and a line of battle of six companies — advanced to the perilous undertaking. For several hundred yards this gallant charge was pushed. Although moving across an open field, with a murderous fire pouring into them from front and flank, they pressed on, driving back the line confronting them, and forcing the obnoxious battery to seek safety in flight. On reaching the wood on the opposite side of the field just mentioned, the regiment opened upon the enemy, fully repaying them for the injury they had caused them. It became a hand-to-hand fight, even bayonets and clubbed guns being used, it is said. A