About Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1868-1887 | View Entire Issue (May 5, 1886)
GEORGIA’S OLDEST CORPS, [Continued Jrom Eighth Page.] about his personal ap pearance—with a highly intellectual fa< c, though the face of a student aud scholar rather than a man of action — u„ cue would have suspected how m uch of the dash and fire of the military character there was in him. Vet he soon proved himself to be an officer of extraordinary merit. Firm, but just and kind in discipline, and always active and earnest in pro moting the interests of the company, he soon dispelled the slight clouds which had seemed to be gathering in its skv, and caused it to resume with vigor its prosperous career. He enjoyed the personal affection as well as the respect of his men—as, indeed, his numerous acts of kindness to i them deserved —for he would often give his valuable professional ser vices, when needed, to the poorer members, yet in such a way as not to offend their pride. And he was as much respected in the community at large as in the corps. QUELLING A RIOT. On one occasion there was a riot at an election, which the police could not quell. Some troops were brought out, and were about to fire on the mob. The pieces were leveled, the fingers were on the triggers, the com mand “fire” was in the very act of being uttered, when Dr. Richardson, umbrella in hand, rushed before them and struck up the muskets, at imminent risk to himself. Some times, too, he would do a very odd thing—and a queer story is related of his being called to some obstetric case at the very hour when he had ordered a parade—lie was equal to the emergency, however—he went in full uniform, with his sword at his side, to visit the patient—rendered tiie necessary professional assistance .—and drove out immediately to the drill ground, and took command of the company. During his term oc curred the incorporation of the corps, without which its subsequent history would have been materially different —without which, indeed, the corps would certainly not be what it now is. In his time, too, occurred another important event in the history of the volunteer military of Savannah. it has been already stated that the Guards, like the other volunteer mili tary companies of the city, were attached to the Ist Regiment of Geor gia Militia. Besides the volunteers, the regiment comprised the com panies of ununiformed compulsory militia, organized under the general militia law of the State. ORGANIZED A SEPARATE COMMAND. When the whole regiment was assembled, as the law required at stated times, it may be conceived what a motley appearance it pre sented, with handsomely uniformed and equipped companies interspersed among those of the ununiformed militia, in which every man was dressed according to his own fancy. Besides, the awkwardness and igno rance of the latter were a source of never ending embarrassment and an noyance, in the evolutions of the drill, to the skillful officers and well instructed soldiers of the volunteers. There were then seven companies of volunteers, including the Chatham Artillery, and an Act of the General Assembly was passed, at their in stance, to take them out of the regi ment and organize them separately under the name of the “Independent Volundeer Battalion of Savannah,” to he commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel, with the privilege of organ izing into a regiment as soon as there shall be eight companies. The or ganization was affected accordingly by the election of A. R. Lawton, then a Lieutenant in the Republican Blues, to be Lieutenant Colonel. Gen. Lawton is at present a life member of the Guards. W. B. Jackson, then a Sergeant in the Guards, was appointed Adjutant, having obtained permission of the corps to hold the Adjutancy while re taining his non-commissioned office. It was only on battalion parades that the two sets of duties interfered with each other, and the esprit of the corps was such that he was unwilling to resign his Sergeantcy in it to take the staff appointment iiad it been necessary. This was the origin of the present Ist Volunteer Regiment of Georgia. THE MEXICAN WAR. It was during Captain Richardsone’s command, too, that the war with Mexico occurred. All the infantry volunteer companies in the city of fered their services to the State to make up a regiment, then being formed, the Guards among them. And in the hope that they would be taken, they provided themselves with tents and other equipments for the field. Only one company could be taken, however, and it was decided by lot which it should be. The lot fell on the Irish Jasper Greens. But the Guards’ new tents were not use less. The possession of them induced frequent encampments as the years went by, which were of great service in the instruction of the corps, and they wore finally worn out hi the war which occurred in 1861. 11 Capt. Richardsonc died in commis sion, to the grief of every member— for, to every one of them, his death was in the nature of a personal loss. J’he Republican Blues, I lie long-time friendly rivals of the Guards, both in numbers and efficiency, kindly ten dered and rendered their services as the. military escort at his funeral, which, occurred on February Bth, Tiie Leu tenants under* 'aptuin Richardsonc wore Thomas J. Bul loch, John C. Hunter, Thomas I). Morel, A. C. Davenport, William F. Holland and George Robertson. CA I‘TAIN RICHARDSONE’S SUCCESSOR. Dr. James P. Screven, an exempt private, was then elected Captain on March lfith, 1852, the Lieutenants de clining promotion. Dr. Screven, like Tattnall, was of a family distinguish ed in the Revolution. He was edu cated for the profession of medicine, and practiced it when a young man with very marked success and with every prospect of a future eminence In it. But he gave it up after some years, and devoted himself exclusive ly to his large and extensive planting interests. He was now well advanced in life, being in the fifty-second year °f his age; yet, the Captaincy of it he Guards was the first po sition of a public character be had ever consented to take. But SAVANNAH MORNING NEWS: WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 1886. —'TWELVE RAGES. this soon led him on to others; and he became in quick succession, during his command, Mayor of tiie city, member of the State Senate, and first President of the Savannah, Albany and Gulf Railroad Company, after wards the Atlantic and Gulf, and now the Savannah, Florida and Western Railway. Notwithstanding, however, the immense demands upon his time of these important and exacting public employments, lie applied himself with wonderful fidelity and assiduity to the novel duties of his military office. Guided by his great intelligence, aud influ enced by his marked and decided character, the corps continued to prosper and increase. In his time the ancient flint-lock musket was exchanged for that with the percus sion lock. Dr. Screven’s pressing public and private engagements induced him to resign on December 22d, 1857. Lieutenants J. B. Ripley and William S. Basinger served under him. CART. JOHN SCREVEN. His. eldest son, the present dis tinguished Col. John Screven, then an active private, was elected to suc ceed him, on March 30th, 1858. The company was commanded by Ist Lieut. A. C. Davenport until the election of Cant. John Screven. Lieutenants W. L. Haupt and Gilbert C. Rice served with him. It would be difficult to speak of this gentleman, while he yet “goes in and out among us,” in such terms as would be even simply just, without the suspicion of flattery. Nor does it seem to tie neces sary to do so in this community, where he is so well-known and so much respected and admired. Let it suffice that his pure and elevated character, and his conspicuous and varied virtues, talents, and accom plishments, tit him to adorn any station, civil or military. All these he brought to the service of the Guards, informed by an ardent and unselfish devotion to the corps, and exalted by a high sense of the true relations of the volunteers to the State. Need it be said that it received a fresh and powerful impulse under his administration? Indeed, the ac cession of Capt. John Screven to the command of it marks anew era in its history—an era in which occurred its expansion into a battalion and its preparation for and entrance upon active warfare—in recounting which there will be occasion to refer less to the personal characteristics of its chief, and more to the conduct of the corps itself at large. The first event of importance during the command of Capt. John Screven was the acquisition of an armory. TIIE GUARDS’ FIRST ARMORY. The fund arising from the receipts from pay members under the law heretofore mentioned had been hus banded with tiie utmost care and diligence. Immediately after the passing of the Act a rule was adopted by which all moneys received from that source were set apart as a “re served fund,” and placed in the hands of a special standing commit tee consisting of the commanding officer for the time being, as ex officio chairman, and two other members elected by the corps, not periodically, but permanently, to serve until death or resignation. By judicious invest inents, not only of the principal, but also of the annual interest, the fund had increased to several thousand dollars. The corps had, for many years, oc cupied the northwestern room in the Exchange building, immediately over the council chamber, by the permission of the city government, which, as its members increased, be gan to be found inconveniently small. It so happened, at this junc ture, and in the year 1858, that the congregation of the (Second Baptist Churcii, which had been the result of a secession froth the main church, resolved to reunite with the parent stock. The Second Baptist Church, when the separation took place, had bought, for a place of worship, tiie Unitarian Church, at the southeast ern comer of Bull and York streets, just across from the original parade ground of the corps, and when it de cided to return to the original socie ty, it also resolved to sell that lot and building. This came to the ears of the Guards’ committee on the “re serve fund.” The opportunity was too good to be lost.. Negotiations were at once commenced which re sulted in the purchase by the corps of tiie edifice and lot on which it stood the entire reserved fund, as it stood, increased by voluntary contri butions from members, being paid in cash, and the residue properly se cured. IN A HOME OK ITS OWN. It required some time and exiiense to prepare the building for the use of the corps, but it finally took posses sion, with tiie greatest comfort, pleas ure and advantage to itself in ail ways, and Continued to occupy it un til tiie exigencies of the war called it away. During the occupation of the city by Sherman, in the winter of 1864-5, the armory was used by some of hiH t roops as a sort of guard-house. Through their carelessness it took tire and was destroyed. Partly in consequence of the aqui . sition of an armory, a very rapid and unprecedented increase in tiie mem bers of the corps began now to take place. It not unfrequently happened tli at at a mere afternoon drill 150 men or more would lie out—a num ber quite too large to be handled with convenience as a single company un der the system of taction then in use. While speculating Vine day in 1800 upon the probable duration and re sult of this stab- of affairs, ( aptain Screven and 2d Lieutenant Wrn. S. Basinger conceived the idea of tak ing advantage of tiie charter of tiie corps to ex (Mind it into an inde pendent battalion, the companies of which should not he separate inte gers aggregated to form the battalion and with no other interests in com mon, but fractions of one consoli dated whole, with all interests in common, and none apart from tiie whole, after the manner of a regi ment in the United States Army. AN INDEPENDENT BATTALION. The idea was no sooner conceived than steps were taken to carry it into effect—but it was necessary to pro ceed slowly and cautiously. The first step was to provide that it should he in the discretion of the commanding officer, on any parade when the ntun her present should seem to require it, to make a temporary formation of two companies, assigning the officers and non-commissioned officers ac cording to rank. This was done by resolution of the corns; and a suffi cient number of well drilled soldiers were appointed lance-corporals to serve as sergeants and corporals upon such occasions. This step was rendered easy by the fact that so thorough a system of in struction of non-commissioned officers had long been in use that there was not one who was not well qualified to perform the duties of a commissioned officer as well as his own. This arrangement was frequently resorted to during the interval which elapsed before tne war; and, besides the enhanced interest in drills, and the pride the members took in it, it had tiie great advantage of providing quite a number of well-instructed non-commissioned officers from whom to select officers when the time for a permanent battalion organi zation should arrive. At the same time Hardee’s Tactics came into use instead of Scott’s, and the Guards adopted them, so far as movements were concerned; but, hfhf COL. JOHN SCREVEN. after careful tests, they decided to adhere to Scott’s Manual, as not only more pleasing to the eye, but as easier aud more convenient to the soldier. And they used Scott’s Manual with Hardee’s formations all through the war. Shortly before, too, they had been supplied with 200 Minnie rifles of the Springfield pattern, such as had been introduced into the United States army. AT FORT PULASKI. Tn the meantime South Carolina seceded from the Union—Major An derson removed his garrison from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter—and Gov. Brown resolved to take posses sion of the forts and barracks upon Georgia soil. Under his order to that effect, Col. Lawton, of the Ist Volunteer Regiment, took 50 men of the Guards, commanded by Capt. Screven and fully officered as a com pany, the Oglethorpe Light Infan try, 50 men, commanded by Capt. Francis S. Bartow, and the Chatham Artillery, aud with them, on January 3d, 1861, seized Fort Pulaski. While there the Guards had their first expe rience in the management of heavy artillery, in which they afterwards became so proficient. In the other duties of a garrison they had already been well versed by their frequent encampments. From this time for several months the volunteer companies took turns of duty at Fort Pulaski. The Guards were there several times. They were there as the 22d February drew nigh. And on that occasion an incident oc curred which it may be pleasing to the survivors of the Oglethorpe Light Infantry to remember. The law of the State required of every volunteer company at least four parades annu ally, and the 22d February was the day for one of them. Though the Guards were at the fort with a large number, they fhhf COL. W. 8. BASINGER. had left in town enough more to make another full company. The Oglethorpe Light Infantry had left in town only six or eight.. Captain Screven did not think it advisable to omit tiie usual parade of those iu town, and Lieutenant Basinger was sent up to take command of them for that purpose. Captain Bartow’, hear ing of this, requested that his six or eight might parade w ith the Guards; and it was arranged that they should do so, and should take position as a color guard, carrying ilio color* of their own company, which should servo for the nonce for the colors of tlie Guards also, then at Fort Pulaski. This w'as done, and thus the Guards had the honor of parading that day* under tiie colors of that gallant and distinguished corps. ON THE EVE OF WAR. While these events werein progress, and it became more and more appa rent that a war was imminent, re cruits came pouring In, and tiie Guards hastened to effect their per manent battalion organization. The plan was, in pursuance of the origi nal idea, to term two companies, A and B, by assigning members to them u|Hin a principle of their own— to select the officers and non-commis sioned officers of each company— then to complete the organization by formal elections for officers as pr*- seribed by law. and then elect Cap tain Screven Major of the battalion. After that recruits were to join the corps as a whole, and be assigned by tiie Adjutant to tiie eonqiany In which tney were to serve, 'the men were accordingly assigned, officers selected, the existing rules changed to suit the new order of tilings, ami the formal elections were about to proceed. But at this Juncture the then Adjutant General of the State thought no had discovered that there could not be a battalion of so few companies as two, commanded by a field officer, under the laws of the State. The situation was embar rassing, but It was promptly met. It was no time for controversy over questions of lawq so the corps sub mitted for the time. As many offi cers as was necessary consented at once to go one grade lower. The elections for company officers pro ceeded as arranged, except that no Captain was elected for Company A, and Capt. Screven commanded the whole under his original commission. There was possibly some danger in the expedient, but the fine esprit of the corps carried it safely through. The only serious inconvenience in tiie arrangement was the liability of the two company's to be separated when on duty with the rest of the regiment. Ot course, if the scheme had been carried out according to the design, it would have involved the withdrawal of the corps from tiie regiment, as it was at liberty under tiie law to do, aud as it did after wards. THE BATTALION’S FIRST OFFICERS. Thus organized, the officers of the battalion, if it may be so styled just yet, were as follows: Capt. John Screven, Commanding. Cos. A.—lst Lieut. W. S. Basinger; 2d Lieut. Gilbert C. Rice; .Ensign J. C. Habersham. Cos. B.—Capt. A. C. Davenport; Ist Lieut. Geo.W. Stiles; 2d Lieut. Thos. F. Screven; Ensign M. 11. Hopkins. The battalion was musterea into service of the Confederate States in March, 1861, for two months, and assigned to duty as the garrison of a battery at Thunderbolt, about 41 miles from Savannah. During its stay there, it had an opportunity to increase its familiarity w ith the use of heavy guns, and, by constant drills, attained a very high degree of proficiency as infantry. No enemy appeared; and the only ripple of ex citement that occurred was the de tachment of Lieut. Basinger with liis company and a detail from Com pany B, under Lieut. Stiles, 100 men in all, to re-inforce the rest of the regiment, then on Tybee Island, and supposed to be threatened with an attack bv a force from the enemy’s ships at that time hovering along the coast. No attack was made, however, and the detachment returned in a few days. At the end of the two months the corps returned to the city, and was dismissed for a time— though notified that it would shortly be expected to enter service again, and for a longer period. AT GREEN ISLAND. According to that notice it was mustered for six months, and imme diately sent to Lake charge of a much larger and heavier battery on Green Island, near the mouth of the Vernon River. The officers who accompanied the corps on this occasion were the same as before, except that Ensign Edward Padelford, Jr., had taken the place of Ensign Habersham, who had ac cepted the post of Asst. Surgeon of tiie regiment, and Cos. B w ent under the command of Lieut. Stiles. Lieut. Rice was detailed to act as Adjutant. Here, with better opportunities than before, both officers and men applied themselves with great assiduity to exercise in the use of the heavy artil lery, in which they soon acquired marked skill. Infantry drill, too, was vigorous!? prosecuted. Here, too, Capt. Screven developed his tal ent for engineering, which was ex ceedingly useful to his command and to the public service. During the stay at this post some gunboats at tempted to ascend the river, but were deterred by a few well-directed shots from the battery. No other event of interest occurred. But the corps re ceived large numbers of recruits from time to time. Before this period of service ex pired, it became evident that the war would assume huge proportions and be of long duration, and the corps, almost to a man, resolved to muster again for the war. But they decided to do so with at least three compa nies, which number, it was under stood, according to the views of the Adjutant-General of the State above mentioned, would entitle them to an independent organization and a field officer to command. Information was obtained that, although the mil itary laws of Congress W'ould not ad mit of the reception of a battalion of less than four companies organized in the ordinary manner, yet if the (iuariis should offer as an existing recognized battalion under tiie law of Georgia, they would be received ns such, though the number of com panies should lie less than four. It was not considered prudent just yet to attempt a fourth company; but a third w’as formed by taking as many members from Companies A aud B as could be spared. THREE COMPANIES ORGANIZED. And officers and non-commis sioned officers were chosen. The officers were as follows: Cos. A -Capt. \V. 8. Basinger; Ist Lieut. Thos. F. Screven; 2d Lieuts. Wm. 11. King and Frederick Tupjjer. Cos. B—Capt. Geo. W. Styles; Ist Lieut. Edwd. Padelford, Jr.; 2d Lieuts. Edwin A. Castellaw and Geo. I). Smith. Cos. (J— Capt. Gilbert C. Rice; Ist Lieut. Geo. M. Turner; 2d Lieuts. Jno. It. Dillon and Eugene Blois. This organization was approved by the Adjutant General of the State, and commissions were accordingly issued to tiie officers above named a* such-Hiid-such officers in such and such companies in the Battalion of,Sa vannah Volunteer Guards. Ami the corps, being t hus an existing battal ion of volunteers under the law of the State, was received as such by the Confederate authorities, ami muster ed into tin* service for the war at Green Island on or about Marcii Ist. 1862. But it was, for the time, under the command of Capt. Basinger, as senior Captain, there liuving not iieen time enough for the election of a Major,urn) it lieingunderstood that that election should take place under the law of the Confederacy at the earliest convenient day. Of course this terminated J,he con nection of the Guards with Ist Vol unteer Regiment, and henceforth their paths lay apart. John Screven was commissioned iiy the Confeder ate Government as Major of Artillery and ordered to report to tiie com manding officer at Savannah, Gen. A. U. Lawton, who assigned him to the command of the Savannah Vol unteer Guards Battalion. A formal election was then held, and he was elected Major of the battalion, so he was doubly commissioned. BACK FROM GREEN INLAND. A few days after tbh muster, the six months for which the Guards hud been sent to Green Island, came to an end, and they were relieved from duty, returned to the city, and were dismissed for a month—partly for recreation, partly to obtain recruits. About April 1, 1862, the corps re assembled, with its numbers largely increased. The 200 Minie rifles with which it was supplied being enough for only two companies, Cos. C was armed with tiie English Enfield rifle of the same calibre. Ami it is safe to say that it would have been difficult to find an equal number of troops better qualified for the patri- j otic duty to which they had devoted themselves. All the professions and I occupations were represented in the j corps. Besides a high degree of gen- ! era! intelligence, it possessed skillful j artisans in every variety of liandi- j craft. There was scarcely any species j of work which tiie exigencies of the service could cull for that the corps could not furnish superior workmen to do. From the most delicate pre parations of the chemical laboratory to the simplest mechanical or agri cultural labor, there was nothing that it had not someone to do, and do hfh CAPT. THOMAS P. SCREVEN. well. In their previous service the men had learned much of engineer ing and ordnance work, they were tine artillerists and excellent shots with every species of gun, and in the drill and duties of the infantry sol dier they bail no superiors. Above all, they were animated by an intel ligent and ardent patriotism, and the enprit dr. corps which had its origin in Tattnall’s time was burning as brightly as ever. A few more recruits being still de sired, the battalion was encamped for a few weeks in the immediate vi cinity of the city. Thence it was re moved to Fort Boggs, a fine large work on the bluff about two miles below the city, overlooking Fort Jackson and the river, and consti tuting tile' extreme left of the Inner line of defenses. AT FORT ROGGB. Here it bail need of many of its resources in completing the fort, in mounting and dismounting heavy guns, in preparing and adjusting am munition and the implements of the ordnance branch of the service, in the innumerable variety of things necessary to the complete efficiency of a work of defense. Shortly after the establishment at Fort Boggs, Major Screven as sumed command. The staff was organized, and the duties of its various departments put in reg ular and systematic train. The corps had become, to all practical intent, regular troops, and, henceforth, all its duties and affairs were conducted as nearly as possible according to the Articles of War and the Army Regu lations. As the summer advanced, the un healthiness of the situation began to fhhf CAPT. JOHN R. DILLON, Adjt. 18th Georgia Battalion, 8. V. O. tell seriously upon the command tiie Hick list was enormous—every officer and soldier, with one solitary exception, was sick sooner or later. For the sake of health, it was re moved to different pluces in tiie neighborhood, first one, then an other, until the succeeding winter set iu—but always in charge of Fort Boggs, where it was obliged to maintain a small guard, relieved daily. Several valuable lives were lost through this sickness—among them Lieut. Padelford, of Cos. B; and others never entirely recovered their health during the whole war. Dur ing this period, too, the command suffered seriously by tiie detachment ■of Major Screven, whose services as an engineer were required in placing obstructions in the Savannah river below Fort Jackson. THE 18TH GEORGIA BATTALION. During the winter of 1862-3, the battalion received for the first time a number in the line of Georgia bat talions. The officers and clerks in the war office at Richmond seemed unable to understand how it wus that a battalion should have a name and not a number; and many em barrassing and annoying mistakes resulted. For the purpose of putting a stop to these, and for that purpose only, Capt. Basinger, then in com mand, represented the case to tiie War Department, ami asked for a number. The number 18 was given, and thenceforth, in official com munications, the corps was common ly styled the 18th Georgia Battalion. Of course, however, every one under stood that it was still the Savannah Volunteer Guards—lt had no inten tion of losing its identity as such. In the spring of 1863 Major Screven resigned the command. He was President of the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad—a line of communication aud supply very important to the Confederate Government—and his constant personal attention to the management of it was so much needed that he could not resist the pressure of the Government upon nini to resume it. It was with infi nite regret that the Guards gave him up. In 1864 the defenses of Savannah were nearly stripped of troops. In this emergency Major Screven raised, under the direction of Gen. Henry it. Jackson commanding, a local hat talion of live companies, enrolled from tlio employes of the railroads, mechanics ana others in the city, and was assigned to its command with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Under the law of Georgia an elec tion to till the vacancy was in order. But it was universally understood that when the corps, with the con sent of the State, entered tJho Con federate service, it became subject to the law of tiie Confederacy govern ing such cases, and tiie taw of the State and its own rules were sus pended. Under the law of the Con federacy applicable to the case, Capt. Basinger, ot Cos. A, as tiie next offi cer in rank, was entitled to succeed, and a commission was accordingly is sued to him as Major, bearing date May 20, 1863. Lieut. T. F. Screven, under tiie same rule, became Captain of Cos. A, and the other officers of that company went up each one grade, Sergt. I*. N. Haynal being elected to the Junior Lieutenantcy. EXPEDITIONS FROM FORT BOGGS. Tiie battalion remained in charge of Fort Boggs until July. 1863, slowly recovering from the effects of the sickness of the previous summer. The monotony of this duty was some what relieved, however, ny two ex peditions on which it was sent—one in October, 1862, to support a battery at Coffee Bluff, on the Little Ogee ehee River, reported to Ik* threatened by gunboats—tile other in June, 1863, to Sonsavilla, in Wayne county, to repel an expected ascent of the Alta raalia River by the gunboats which had just destroyed Darien. On the former occasion, Maj. Screven was in command-—on the latter, Maj. Basinger. No enemy appeared, how ever, and all tl le battalion got by these expeditions was some very se vere marching and some experience in field duty. It was during this service at Fort Boggs, and before Major Screven’s resignation, that Major John B. Gallic, a former Captain of the Chat ham Artillery, was killed in defend ing Fort McAllister against an attack by the enemy’s ships. His remains were taken to his home in the city, and the Guards were detailed by the General in command as die funeral escort. Oil July 10th, 1863, a large force landed from the enemy’s fleet off'Charleston, made ail attack on Morris Island, and commenced the celebrated siege of Battery Wagner, one of the principal defenses of tliAt city. On trie 9t.n, in expectation of such an attack, a re-inforcement was sent over from Savannah, consist ing of a part of the Ist Volunteer Regiment, under Col. Olnintend; the 12th Ga. Battalion, Lieut. Col. Capers; and the Savannah Volunteer Guards. AT BATTERY WAGNER. The re-iuforcing troops reached Battery Wagner after midnight of the 10th, and found the utmost con fusion apparently prevailing. With out undertaking, in so brief asketch as this, a minute description of the work and its surroundings; it is enough to say that the Guards were immediately jaisted in its most ad vanced salient—certain, by Its posi tion, to be the point of the expected attack. Tiie attack was made in force just before dawn on the 11th. For the details of it any interested reader is referred to the general his tory of the war. At the sound of tiie first, shots from the pickets the Guards were at tiie parapetof their bastion, arms in hand and ready. There were one or two guns in tiie bastion, but the gunners were not there. The attacking force was close u|kui the heels of the pickets as the latter came in. As soon as they were near Enough to be plainly seen in the darkness which prevailed, which was not until they were within fifty or one hundred yards from the counter scarp, the command to fire was given and the Guards delivered a volley .from both fronts of their bastion with deadly effect. This was the first disehnrge from the fort. It checked the enemy— the gunners got in to their pieces; in a moment tiie whole front of the fort was blazing with a rapid fire of infantry and artillery—and though the attack was vigorously pressed, the enemy were soon repulsed in dis order. The loss of the enemy in killed, wounded and prisoners was 330. The loss of the garrison was 10 in all—7 of whom were of theOuards —4 killed and 3 wounded. Among the wounded was Lieut. Tupper, of Cos. A. The entire loss was small, hut the distribution of it makes it apparent that the Guards bore the brunt of the attack. And it is but small commendation tosay that their conduct was worthy of their history and reputation, and elicited from the Commanding General marked com ment on what in* styled the “re markable individuality” of the corps. DURING THE SIEGE. The enemy now proceeded to be siege in form. And their batteries and sharp-shooters poured in a con tinual storm of shells and bullets, day and night. Early every day, the enemy’s ships drew near, and thus a constant cross-llrc was maintained. The Guards being often called on for artillerists to man the guns engaged with tiie ships. The picket duty was severe; and those who remained in the fort were kept at work ull night repairing tiie damages of the day. Water was scarce and brackish—it was ini|KHi ble to cook food, and meat was eaten raw. The heat of the sun was in tense, aud aggravated by the glare from the water and the white sea sand of which the island is composed —while every night brought cold rains which chilled to the very bone. The siege continued fifty-eight days, and the defense became more arduous und difficult as tiie enemy’s works advanced. It would have been impossible for any triKipa to endure it so long without relief. But, for tunately, communications at least at night, were not cut off, and Ilie garrison was frequently relieved. The Guards' first tour of duty was fpr eight days—they afterwards ru in mod several times for five or six days at a time—and thus bore theii full part in the defense—and lost some, though a few, valuable mem bers. They were not there when the place was abandoned to the enemy, ON JAMES ISLAND. Their periods of rest were spent in bivouac on James Island. They were without shelter, and the heat of the day, alternating with the cold rains of tlie nights, made the situa tions very trying. Added to this was constant picket duty, and labor on the works on James Island, and in moving and mounting heavy guns, in which they were found too expert for their comfort. Battery Wagner was abandoned late in August, and in about a fort night the Guards were ordered to Sullivan’s Island, on tiie other side of the harbor, to occupy Battery Ma rion. Tills was nothing more than a parapet of about 400 yards in length, connecting Battery Bee with Fort Moultrie, with chambers for guns, and magazines, and bomb-proofs here and there. The guns were 10-inch columbiads and mortars of the same calibre. The battalion not only man ned tiie guns, lint furnished their own infantry stip[Kirt. Here it re mained until the following May, but not by any means in idleness. A constant fire was maintained by Imth sides nearly every day and night, and sometimes all day and all night, particularly from the mortar batter ies, and the troops may Ik; said to have lived under lire during that po* riod of eight months. ORDERED TO VIRGINIA. Suddenly, in May, 1864, thera came an order for the corps to go to Virginia to join the army of Gen. Lee. It was received with rapturous cheers—the men were tired of the monotony of garrison life. Arriving in Virginia, (lie corps was stationed fora time at Mattoax, where the Richmond and Danville Railroad crosses the Appomattox river u|kiii a pretty high bridge. Another bridge, of almost equal im portance crossed a tributary of tiie Appomattox a couple of miles from Mattoax. The destruction of either of these bridges would tiave been a great disaster—some cavalry raids of the enemy had approached very near them—and the Guards were Pont to aid in guarding them. A battalion of Virginia reserves were sent to join them, and an en gineer officer to throw up earthwork for artillery, which, soon arrived. The Virginians were raw and inex perienced, and wholly undrilledi and the officers, non-commissioned officers, and even some of the pri vates, were all set hard at work in structing them in tiie rudiments of duty. In this sort of duty, hut with out by any means neglecting their own drill, tin- corps remained at Mattoax until October. JOINED LEE’S ARMY. It was then ordered to the general line of tiie army, and posted iu the trenches on the north side of tiie James river, near Chaffin’s Bluff*. Indeed there was but one liattalion lie tween the Guards and the river. It so happened that just at this part of the lino there were six battalions connecting with each other. These six battalions were put together in a small brigade by themselves—the battalions being distributed into pairs, each pair commanded by| a field officer —ami Col. Crutchfield placed in command of the whole—an arrangement altogether unique, but found very convenient. Thisorigade was commanded by Gen. G. W. O. Lee. Major Basinger commanded the pair of battalions composed of the Guards and Major Itobt. Stiles’ Chaf fin’s Bluff battalion—Capt. Rice tak ing immediate command in the dis ability of Capt. Still's, who was sick. Tiie corps had now its first experi ence of a winter campaign in a high er latitude than they hud lieen accus tomed to. Jt will Ik* remembered that that winter (1864-5) was unusually severe. The men had no shelter worth the name—the most fortunate having nothing more than the rag ged remains of old tents. Fuel, too, was scarce, and procurable only at a considerable distance from the lines. The rations then issued consisted only of n pound of corn meal and a third of a pound of bacon per diem. The picket duty was extremely se vere; bomb-proofs were ordered to lie Built, and details of tbe troops were made for this purpose; it was abso lutely necessary to keep up an interi or guard. HARD LIFE IN CAMP. With one thing and another officers and men were on hard duty forty eight hours out of every seventy-two. Added to this, the opposing forces were so very near each other that ex traordinary vigilance and alertness were Imperatively required, and the entire Confederate line was under arms, with every command at its post prepared for action at least an liour before day every morning through that trying season. And when the weather was at its worst, there was the greatest need for these precautions. The spirit of the corps, however, was so high that it could have endured even more than these tilings. But fears for the result of the war began to creep into tiie minds of even the moat sanguine— the Confederacy appeared to lie los ing ground day by day—Grant’s im mense host seemed to i>e surely clos ing in upon tiie diminishing num bers of (ten. Lee. Gen. Lee found himself obliged to abandon Richmond to its fate. On tiie night of April —, 1865, the troops begun to withdraw from the iiues. As the Guards marched sadly aud silently across the bridge which spanned tiie James near Dre wry’s bluff, one of the Confederate gun boats lying there, which had been set on fire, lilew up with a tremend ous explosion, which filled the air with (lame and smoke and bursting shells, and fragments Hying far. It seemed the signal tor the down fall of th* Confederacy. THE MARCH OUT OF RICHMOND. The march went on all night and the next day—then a rest for a few hours was taken, and the march resumed before dawn of the scoopc day. The rations the men , oa with soon gave out—ex pec ? M plies were not received— > prj- ‘ j- f a with hunger, fatigue, an' sleep, the troops could * Je. H along. But the Guarda. m a* vua of their brigade for 11
