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Cornell University Library 
 E577.S 26th .H88 
 
 Sketches and reminiscences / 
 
 olin 
 
 1924 032 778 676 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
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 the Cornell University Library. 
 
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 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924032778676 
 
JOSHUA HILARY HUDSON, LL. D. 
 
Sketches 
 
 AND 
 
 Reminiscences 
 
 By Joshua Hilary Hudson, LL.D. 
 
 COLUMBIA, S. C. 
 
 THE STATE COMPANY 
 
 ,1903 
 
I^S^f 
 
 Copyright, 1903* by 
 JOSHUA HILARY HUDSON 
 
 All Rights Reserved 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 Preface 5 
 
 Chapter I — Genealogy and Autobiography of Joshua Hilary 
 
 Hudson 7 
 
 Chapter II — Sketch of the Twenty-Sixth Regiment Infantry, 
 
 S. C. V., C. S. A 32 
 
 Chapter III — Battle of the Crater 46 
 
 Chapter IV — Personal Experience of Lieutenant-Colonel Hud- 
 son Near the Close of the War 62 
 
 Chapter V — Address of Judge Hudson before the Literary So- 
 cieties of the South Carolina College, June, 1899 74 
 
 Chapter VI — Commencement Exercises of the South Carolina 
 
 College, December, 1852 ■ 88 
 
 Chapter VII — Dedication of the New Marlboro Courthouse. . 91 
 
 Chapter VIII — Recollections of Chester as It Was Sixty-five 
 Years Ago 121 
 
 Chapter IX — Bennettsville as It Was Fifty Years Ago 144 
 
 Chapter X — Remarks of Judge Hudson on the Occasion of the 
 Centennial Celebration of the South Carolina College at the 
 Banquet in Charleston, December 19, 1901 154 
 
 Chapter XI — Remarks of Judge Hudson on the Occasion of 
 the Memorial Exercises in Honor of the late Chief Justice 
 Mclver, January 22, 1903 161 
 
 Appendix — The Semi-Centennial Celebration of the Opening of 
 
 the South Carolina College 167 
 
PREFACE, 
 
 This book is published neither for profit nor for fame, but from 
 a sense of duty, to my family and kindred I have resolved to leave 
 behind me in a shape easy of preservation some record of my ancestry 
 and myself, feeling sensibly the lack of duty in this regard on the 
 part of those who have gone before me. The right-thinking men 
 and women of the State are at this day troubled with sore regret that 
 so little of record has been left of their ancestors, and great efforts 
 are being made to gather information concerning them. Some will 
 call these sketches the work of foolishness and vanity. To such I 
 will say that it is a sad thing for the State and her citizens that for 
 two hundred years there have lived and died so few of her sons 
 obnoxious to a like charge. Besides what is said of myself in these 
 sketches, much is narrated which concerns others, and which is, or 
 ought to be, of interest. Be this as it may, it is a satisfaction and 
 comfort to me to know that I have placed in their reach these facts. 
 
 I have inserted here the description of the Battle of the Crater, 
 by Capt. B. L. Beaty, of Company K, Twenty-Sixth Regiment, 
 S. C. V. Infantry, because I regard it as good as any I have read, if 
 •not the very best. Considering the number engaged, the space on 
 which the battle was fought, its appalling opening, and the number 
 slain and captured, it was the bloodiest battle of the war, and from 
 first to last, Captain Beatty, of Horry, was a gallant participant, and 
 the men of Horry were among the bravest of the brave on that mem- 
 orable day. J. H. Hudson. 
 (August, 1903. 
 
Chapter I. 
 
 GENEALOGY OF THE HUDSON FAMILY 
 
 I. 
 
 i. About A. D. 1750 there came to Amherst County, Va., Joshua 
 Hudson, emigrating probably from Culpepper, who took up a grant 
 or patent of land on Turkey Mountain, a spur of the Blue Ridge, 
 lying perpendicular to the main chain, and inferior in altitude. 
 
 His sons were Joshua, Rush, Reuben and John. 
 
 His daughters were Dicey, who married Moses Wright ; Susan 
 (called Sukey), who married Mr. Boiling; Polly, who married Mr. 
 Arbuckle, and moved to Tennessee. 
 
 2. Joshua, son of Joshua, had the following children, viz.: 
 Bennett, Edmund and Parnelia. Mr. Sidney M. Dawson of Am- 
 herst, now 90 years old, married a daughter of Bennett Hudson, and 
 from him I have learned the genealogy here given. 
 
 3. Rush had the following children, viz. : John, Rush, George, 
 Lucy and Francis. 
 
 5. John's children not known. 
 
 The mother of Moses Wright, who married Dicey Hudson, was 
 a Whitehead. Most of these families lived near Turkey Mountain 
 and Pine}- River, in Amherst, Va. 
 
 II. 
 
 John Hudson, one of the sons of Rush, and grandson of the first 
 Joshua, got into a duel in Amherst, and supposing he had killed his 
 antagonist, fled the county and went to Orange or Louisa County, 
 and there married Mary Dedman, of Prussian- parents, a short, 
 round-faced, pretty girl. After this he returned to Amherst, and set- 
 tled on the Blue Ridge mountains, and was hence called "Mountain" 
 John, for distinction from other relatives by the name of John Hud- 
 son, the names of Joshua, Rush, John, George and William being 
 common in all branches of the family in Amherst and Culpepper. 
 
 "Mountain" John Hudson had the following children, viz. : 
 Joshua, Rush, Dabney, John, George, William, Samuel, Nancy, who 
 
8 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 married Reuben Cash and settled in Rockbridge ; Lucy, who married 
 George Campbell; Francis, who married Lawson Campbell, and 
 Mary, who married Henry Campbell, the three last settling in Am- 
 herst, where many of their descendants still live. Joshua Cash and 
 sister, Elizabeth McCrory, children of Nancy, are very old (eighty- 
 five years), live in Nelson County, Montebello being the postofnce of 
 Joshua. Of Lucy's children I know of two living — one, the Rev. 
 Thomas Jefferson Campbell, lives near Gaffney City, S. G ; another, 
 Joshua Campbell, lives in Amherst, postofnce Lowesville, Va. The 
 Cash family is numerous in Amherst, Rockbridge and Nelson, and 
 the Campbells still more so. It is worthy of mention that McCor- 
 mick, the inventor of the reaper of that name, married a daughter of 
 Nancy Cash, so says Cousin T. J. Campbell. McCormick was a 
 blacksmith in Rockbridge, Va., where he married Aunt Nancy's 
 daughter. 
 
 Of the sons of "Mountain'' John Hudson, four came to South 
 Carolina, viz. : Joshua, Dabney, Rush and John, and settled in the 
 districts (counties) of York and Chester. Joshua married Polly 
 Hopkins, and had by her the following children: John, William, 
 George, James, Rufus, Jane, Mary Ellen, Henrietta and Emma. 
 William died of yellow fever in Charleston, S. C, 1854. 
 
 John, George and James Rufus moved to Arkansas, as did Hen- 
 rietta, who married Mr. Matthews. 
 
 Jane married Frank Walker. Mary Ellen married Dr. William 
 Walker. Emma married, first, Mr. Nichols; second, Falkner, and 
 third, Captain Currie, and lives in Florida. 
 
 John Hudson, son of "Mountain" John, died in York, unmarried. 
 
 Rush, another son, married Mrs. Polly Wylie, of Chester, a widow 
 with one child, Sarah. By this. widow he had the following children : 
 George, John Rush, Samuel, Mary Ellen, Francis, Parnelia and 
 Catharine. The family moved to Arkansas prior to 1849, an d settled 
 on Red River, and' I have lost sight of them. 
 
 Dabney, son of "Mountain" John, learned the tailor's trade in 
 Yorkville under his uncle, William Dedman, who had preceded him 
 to South Carolina. Before he was twenty-one years old he married 
 Narcissa, daughter of Benjamin and Sarah Cook. Of this family of 
 Benjamin Cook, there were four children, Hilary, Ripley, Narcissa 
 and Eliza, Hilary I never knew, but remember Uncle Ripley and 
 Aunt Eliza. Hilary and Ripley removed to Georgia, settling near 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 9 
 
 Columbus, Ripley subsequently going to the northwest. Hilary reared 
 a family near Columbus, but I have no knowledge of them. Eliza 
 lived and died in York, having married, first, Mr. Tomlinson, and 
 second, Mr. Steadman. Her children by Tomlinson, Thaddeus and 
 Sally, went to Texas. One daughter by Steadman married Mr. 
 Palmer, a locomotive engineer, who lives in Charlotte, N. C. 
 
 The children of my father, Dabney Hudson, and mother, Nar- 
 cissa, were eight in number, viz. : John, Joshua, Rush, Mary, who 
 married George Latimer ; Sarah, who married Andrew J. Allbright ; 
 Eliza, who died in infancy ; Maria, who married, first, Jerry Black- 
 man, second, Mr. Sealy; and Cornelia, who married Elijah Black- 
 man. Mary died in Chester, leaving two sons, William and James, 
 surviving her. Sarah died in Texas, leaving three sons surviving 
 her, Graham, Walter and George. Maria died in Georgia, leaving 
 surviving her, two sons, Richard and Taylor, and two daughters, 
 Fany and Mary. 
 
 Cornelia has quite a large family in Georgia. John lives in Mis- 
 souri, having two sons, John and Francis. Brother Rush married 
 Miss Sue Letson. He entered the Confederate army as a private in 
 the company of Capt. J. W. Carlisle, of Spartanburg, who tells me 
 that he was a good soldier. His wife and six children survive him 
 and are all doing well. 
 
 The writer, Joshua, the only one of the name living in South 
 Carolina, is now sixty-five years old, and has four daughters living 
 out of a family of fourteen children, having buried six sons and four 
 daughters. 
 
 The sons of Joshua Hudson, of Turkey Mountain, were soldiers 
 of the Revolutionary War, Rush, great-grandfather of the writer, 
 being of the command of Gen. Daniel Morgan, hero of the Cowpens. 
 
 At Amherst Courthouse Reuben is recorded as a pensioner. 
 
 DEDMAN FAMILY. 
 Nancy M. Dedman, first daughter of William and Elizabeth Ded- 
 man, was born August 6, 181 5. 
 
 Sylvanus Dedman, first son of the same was born April 14, 1817. 
 William, second son, was born October 18, 181 9. 
 Robert, third son, was born November 19, 1821. 
 
 Bagby, fourth son, was born . 
 
 Elizabeth, third daughter, was born . 
 
io Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 DEATHS. 
 
 Elizabeth died August 21, 1824. 
 
 Nancy M. died November 9, 1824. 
 
 Eliza M. died August 4, 1826. 
 
 Mrs. Elizabeth Dedman died March 27, 1828. 
 
 Bagby Dedman died July 5, 1829. 
 
 Dr. William Dedman died February 14, 1831. 
 
 This family record was accidentally discovered at the residence 
 of Cousin Jane Walker very recently by a member of the family, 
 and kindly sent to me, but somewhat mutilated in the column of 
 births. 
 
 I spoke of it to the Rev. T. J. Campbell last week, who informed 
 me that my father learned the tailor's trade under his uncle, William 
 Dedman, in Yorkville, S. C, and that William Dedman got the title 
 of doctor because he was a Thomsonian. When a boy in Chester, I 
 knew Sylvanus Dedman quite well. He was also a tailor and worked 
 for Uncle Rush Hudson, as did also T. J. Campbell. 
 
 William Dedman and family moved from York to the State of 
 North Carolina, and I have no trace of them, nor do I know what 
 became of Sylvanus. My father died when I was four years old, and 
 at the age of seventeen the fortunes of life called me away from my 
 mother. She knew little of my father's ancestry and, like too many 
 men, I have reached old age without an effort to gather up the record, 
 most of which rests in tradition. Less than two years ago I began 
 inquiry, and but for the longevity of the people of Amherst County, 
 Va., my research would have been fruitless. To find men and women 
 ninety years old, and of sound mind and memory in that region, is 
 quite an easy matter, for they are numerous. 
 
 In boyhood and youth I personally knew my uncles, Joshua and 
 Rush, and all their families, and also my cousins, T. J. Campbell, 
 William Campbell and Samuel Campbell, and Sylvanus Dedman; 
 but no others of my father's relatives until my recent visits to Am- 
 herst, October, 1896, and August, 1897, where I met Mr. Sidney M. 
 Dawson, his daughter, Mrs. John Williams and family,- and Cousin 
 Thomas J. Hudson, son of Uncle William Hudson. Of my mother's 
 ancestry I know nothing beyond Grandfather Ben Cook and wife, 
 Sarah. 
 
« 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JOSHUA H. HUDSON. 
 
 I was born in the present town (then village) of Chester, in the 
 State of South Carolina, on the 29th day of January, A. D. 1832. 
 
 My father, Dabney Hudson, was born in Amherst County, Va., 
 December 17, 1801. and came to South Carolina when a youth. He 
 first settled in Yorkville, where he learned the tailor's trade with his 
 uncle, William Dedman, who was also from Virginia, and after- 
 wards removed to North Carolina, my father remaining in South 
 Carolina. On the 9th day of July, 1822, Dabney Hudson married 
 Narcissa Cook, the eldest daughter of Benjamin Cook and Sarah, 
 his wife, both natives of York. Mother was born October 26, 1800. 
 After his marriage, Dabney Hudson removed to Lancaster and there 
 opened a tailor shop. Here he and wife lived several years, and then 
 removed to Chester. In Lancaster, their first child, Mary, was born. 
 In Chester, Dabney opened shop in copartnership with his brother, 
 Rush, who had come from Virginia to join him. Another brother, 
 Joshua, also came from Virginia and began life as a house carpenter 
 in Yorkville. He married a Miss Mary Hopkins, and became also a 
 farmer as well as a house carpenter. 
 
 During his life in Chester, Dabney had seven children born to 
 him, to wit : Sarah, John, Eliza, Maria, Joshua, Rush and Cornelia. 
 Of these, Eliza died in early childhood, but Mary and the others 
 lived to reach years of maturity and reared families, the members 
 of which are now very much scattered, some living in Georgia, 
 Missouri, Arkansas, Texas and South Carolina. 
 
 During the last few years of his life, Dabney Hudson was the 
 keeper of the jail in Chester, and continued industriously to follow 
 his trade. 
 
 He was small of stature, but handsome and manly. He was of a 
 kind, genial and social disposition and, unfortunately, as is too often 
 the case with men of such temperament, became addicted to drink, 
 which shortened his life and kept him poor. He died greatly lamented 
 by his family, relatives and many friends, on the 7th day of May, 
 1836, leaving a widow and seven children surviving, the eldest being 
 twelve years of age, and the youngest but eight months. It is rarely 
 that the mother with her seven orphans is left in more destitute cir- 
 cumstances. She was permitted by the kind-hearted Sheriff Cabeen 
 
12 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 to reside in and keep the jail until the end of that year, and alj^the 
 duties of a jailor she discharged faithfully and well. 
 
 But the duties of the office could not continue to be performed by 
 a woman, and she was forced to seek shelter elsewhere, and how 
 would this' be found? She was without money or means, and with 
 seven helpless children clinging to her skirts. Fortunately my father 
 had many friends, though poor, and my mother was a devout mem- 
 ber of the Baptist church, a sincere Christian, and a woman of char- 
 acter and intelligence. Such a woman will never be without sympa- 
 thizing friends. Fortunately for her and her little ones, they lived 
 in a community noted then and now for charity to the poor, the 
 needy and worthy. She was urged to scatter her children among 
 relatives, or to bind them out to various trades and callings, or to 
 send them to the poor house. Such suggestions she declined and re- 
 solved to keep the little ones with her so long as a shelter and a 
 morsel of bread could be had. 
 
 John Rosborough, Esq., called by everybody "Uncle Johnny," 
 was then clerk of the courts of General Sessions and Common Pleas 
 for the District of Chester, under the life tenure system, so that he 
 held the office until his death, many years after this time. He had on 
 his premises a small two-room house standing on or near the present 
 courthouse lot on the east of it. He generously gave my mother 
 this small house free of rent for the year 1837, and longer if neces- 
 sary. 
 
 Into it she gladly moved with a heart of gratitude to Mr. Ros- 
 borough, but how now to clothe and feed herself and helpless family 
 was a serious problem. No one but a courageous; Christian woman 
 could or would have undertaken this apparently hopeless task. But 
 she went to work like a brave woman and noble mother. As the 
 wife of a tailor, she had learned to pad a coat collar and to make a 
 pair of coarse pants. To the calling of her husband she resolved to 
 betake herself, and began by padding coat collars at 25 cents each. 
 The present generation must understand that the collars of coats 
 were then much larger than now, and were padded and stitched thor- 
 oughly, and with care and neatness. 
 
 The tailors of the village were kind enough to send her all their 
 spare work of this kind, for they were friends of my father and 
 deeply sympathized with my widowed mother. From the padding of 
 collars she advanced to the making of pantaloons, coats and vests, 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 13 
 
 the^arments being first cut out by a tailor. During this, her first year 
 in the small house so kindly furnished her by Mr. Rosborough, she 
 allowed her two eldest children to be taken by a relative to Yorkville 
 and sent to school. My eldest brother, John, my third sister, Maria, 
 and I were, as poor scholars, sent to school to the village teacher, 
 Miss Ann Foster, who taught school nearby my mother's in a house 
 subsequently and for many years owned and occupied as a dwelling 
 by Dr. A. P. Wylie. It still stands in the town, but has been re- 
 modeled. My mother appreciated the value to her children of edu- 
 cation, and availed herself of every opportunity to send her children 
 to school, but they were from necessity entered as poor scholars 
 under the laws of the State providing for the education of such. 
 Blessed be her memory for her wise forecast in this respect, and for 
 her toils and sacrifices to confer this blessing upon her children. 
 
 Her devotion to her children, her great industry and marked 
 piety made for her friends, and they united in a move to secure for 
 her a home. Maj. John Kennedy donated to her during life a half 
 acre of land, the same now owned by Mr. Coogler, on Depot street, 
 and upon which he has his store and dwelling. 
 
 Upon this vacant lot a few charitable citizens erected a log cabin 
 and covered it with three-foot oak boards, but failed to build a 
 chimney. 
 
 Into this, in the spring of 1839, my mother was compelled to 
 move, and for a place for cooking, her boys, then mere children, 
 erected in the back yard a small bush arbor, and gathering a few 
 rocks and stones, luckily abundant, constructed a fireplace, perhaps 
 two feet high. 
 
 The logs of the house were not closely fitted, and some of the 
 cracks were large enough for chickens, cats and small dogs to enter. 
 
 During the first summer our suffering was not great, but upon 
 the coming of winter it began and became acute as the severity of 
 the winter came upon us. How to live in such a house without chim- 
 ney and so open was a severe problem. The resources of a brave 
 Christian woman are endless and wonderful. We had one good 
 kitchen or baking oven, and this was brought into the house and set 
 in the middle of the floor. Around it were hung on a rude frame of 
 poles the few bed quilts of the scanty household, thus forming a hol- 
 low square, the oven in the center. In this oven was built a fire of 
 oak chips, and the smoke allowed to escape as best it could through 
 
14 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 the board roof, there being no loft or ceiling overhead. Within this 
 hollow square sat the family, my mother and two eldest sisters busily 
 plying the needle, and the little ones chatting, studying books and 
 keeping but partially warm. How my mother's heart kept warm and 
 her spirits nerved, and how we managed to live through such trials, 
 poverty and want, I cannot now conceive. But God tempers the wind 
 to the shorn lamb. He is husband to the widow and father to the 
 fatherless, and He preserved us and brought us through. 
 
 For several summers and winters the family continued thus to 
 live and, by the blessing of God, to enjoy health. 
 
 My two eldest sisters became in girlhood tailoresses with my 
 mother. My eldest brother, John, was bound by articles as an ap- 
 prentice to Daniel Carrol, Esq., to learn the tailor's trade, and the 
 younger children, Maria, Joshua, Rush and Cornelia, were steadily 
 kept at school, first, as I remarked, to Miss Ann Foster, and after 
 her marriage to Mr. Kirven Gilmore, we went to her successor, Mr. 
 Wylie Jones, who taught in a small building which afterwards be- 
 came a part of the carriage shop of Mr. C. Hoist. Mr. Jones was 
 succeeded by Mr. Sealy as schoolmaster in the same building, as- 
 sisted by Mr. McDaniel. So far the schools had been mixed, male 
 and female attending together, until a male academy was built on the 
 hill in West Chester, to the rear of the. residence of Mr. Thomas Mc- 
 Lure as it then was, and a female school was opened on York street 
 in the home afterwards owned by Richard Kennedy, Esq., and now 
 owned by Mr. Harvey Smith, I believe. By dint of hard work and 
 severe economy, my mother was able to get a chimney to her log 
 cabin, and to get the cracks closed in the usual way by daubing with 
 clay, and we all felt comfortable and rich. After the lapse of a. few 
 years, her eldest son, John, had the cabin weatherboarded, and a 
 small log kitchen built in the back yard. As a next great improve- 
 ment, he also had a board shed built to the rear side of the house. 
 It took many years to effect all this, years of poverty, privation and 
 suffering; but my mother's heart and resolution never failed her, 
 although her health became seriously impaired- under the heavy strain 
 of constant toil with the needle and deep anxiety for her children. 
 
 MY EDUCATION. 
 
 Mother never relaxed her efforts to keep her children at school, 
 especially the younger ones, sister Maria, I, brother Rush and sister 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 15 
 
 Cornelia. Necessity forced her to keep the two eldest girls, Mary 
 and Sarah, at the needle, and to bind the eldest son, John, as ap- 
 prentice to the tailor's trade. 
 
 These were all steady, willing workers, and to these the younger 
 children owe a debt of lasting gratitude. 
 
 The four younger children were kept in school as poor scholars, 
 i. e., on the greatly inadequate free school fund, and my mother and 
 sisters made up the deficiency by sewing for the teachers. Under the 
 law she could have avoided this tax upon her labor and strength ; 
 but of law she and her children knew nothing, and besides she pre- 
 ferred to do the work and feel partially independent. 
 
 I was very fond of my books and learned rapidly, as much so as 
 any of my fellow pupils. After the erection of the male academy on 
 the hill, a nice single-story brick building, the teachers to whom I 
 went were : Mr. Sherrill, Mr. Shelton, Mr. Davies, Mr. Sealy again, 
 and Mr. Bansimer, a German, each teaching one or more years, ac- 
 cording to acceptability or choice. Under the latter teacher I began 
 and made progress in the study of Latin and Greek, algebra and 
 geometry. He was a fine scholar and most thorough instructor, but 
 very cross and irritable, which rendered him unpopular with pupils 
 and parents. For the benefit of his instruction, however, I cheerfully 
 bore patiently with his ill temper and made rapid progress in all my 
 studies. As his career as a teacher in Chester drew to a close I had 
 reached my sixteenth year, and my mother and sisters having to 
 work so hard to clothe me and keep me in books, I felt that the time 
 had arrived for me to try to support myself. 
 
 Up to this time, Chester had no newspaper, and a Mr. Bridwell 
 came to establish one. Following the advice of that talented lawyer, 
 C. D. Melton, Esq.. I obtained employment as an office boy with Mr. 
 Bridwell, with a view to become a printer. I labored very hard in 
 helping him to clean up and place the machinery and type of his 
 office in position. For a short time I was a printer "devil," but I 
 soon discovered that my employer was intellectually a very weak 
 man, and one from whom I would probably learn little, and leaving 
 him, I returned to my mother as an unemployed boy. Disdaining to 
 be idle, I sought and obtained work with Mr. James Parish, the cabi- 
 netmaker. I gave "signs of promise at this trade, and after working 
 with him several months, he called upon my mother to bind me to' him 
 as an apprentice, saying that he would teach me the trade upon no 
 
16 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 other terms. Her experience with the apprenticeship of her first son 
 not being entirely pleasant, she had resolved not to bind out another 
 child, and so informed Mr. Parish. He insisted upon his terms, but 
 she firmly declined, and thus ended my career as a cabinetmaker. I 
 was thus once more an idle boy, but very impatient to get to work. 
 My brother John had by this time opened a tailor shop in copartner- 
 ship with Mr. Farley, and into this I went to work, though with 
 reluctance, because I had an aversion to the life of ar tailor, sitting 
 cross-legged on a hard bench in a stooping position, steadily stitching 
 with a needle. But to me it seemed this or nothing, and at it I went, 
 and was learning well when Mr. Samuel McAlilley, coming in this 
 office in the late fall of' 1848, saw me on the bench. He had at more 
 than one school examination tested my knowledge of mathematics, 
 and of Latin and Greek. So seeing me on the tailor's bench, he, in 
 his usual abrupt style, asked me why I was not at school. I informed 
 him that my mother was no longer able to send me to school, and 
 that I was compelled to work for a living. He told me that he desired 
 to send his two boys to school, but the distance was a little too far 
 for them to walk alone, and that if I would come out and live with 
 him and take his little boys with me daily to school and take good 
 care of them he would board me and send me to school for one 
 year at his expense. 
 
 I thanked him and gladly accepted his proposition on condition 
 that my mother would approve it. This she gladly did. 
 
 Accordingly, when January, 1849, came, I went out to Mr. Mc- 
 Alilley's, a distance of a mile from town, to take up my abode with 
 him. I found him engaged in killing hogs, and their number was 
 great. He was sitting near the fire, reading a newspaper, whilst the 
 hands were busy around him with the work of killing and dressing 
 hogs. I approached timidly, but he did not seem to notice me. I 
 walked around the fire and passed very near him. Still he read on. 
 At last I spoke to him. In a very brusque tone he desired to know my 
 business. I reminded him of his proposition, and informed him that 
 I had come to take charge of his boys and go to school. He replied 
 that he had concluded to defer for a year sending his boys to school. 
 My heart sank as he ceased further to notice me and resumed his 
 reading.- However, as I turned sadly to walk away, he said to me: 
 "Go home and go to school for a year, and I will pay the bill." I 
 thanked him and, returning home, told' my mother what had hap- 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 17 
 
 pened. She gladly consented for me to enter the academy again. 
 The school was in charge of Mr. Giles J. Patterson, a recent gradu- 
 ate of the South Carolina College. 
 
 I found that my old classmate, Thomas McLure Jr., was prepar- 
 ing to go to the same college at the end of that year. I was placed 
 in a class with him in all his studies, and resolved to keep apace with 
 him and prepare myself to enter college, but without the faintest hope 
 of ever having the opportunity to do so. We studied very diligently 
 and gave our excellent teacher great satisfaction. Often did Tom 
 and I talk of what a great place college must be, and often did we 
 express our mutual regrets that I could not go with him. 
 
 Robert Jordan, a Chester boy and school fellow of ours, was 
 already there. During the summer vacation he came home, and 
 talked much with us of college and college life. This increased my 
 'desire to go, but there was not a shadow of' hope for one so poor as I. 
 
 The second session came and was drawing to a close. The time 
 was approaching when Tom McLure, glorious fellow and boon 
 companion, was to leave me — he to go to college, and I, poor fellow, 
 was to remain at home, and do, I knew not what. 
 
 On a Sabbath day, while sitting in the Baptist Church, my mind 
 wandered from the sermon and brooded over my sad lot in not being 
 able to go to college. The thought flashed over my mind that per- 
 haps some friend might help me. In casting about, I fixed my mind 
 on Richard Kennedy, Esq., as a kind man, and one able to help, if 
 willing. I instantly resolved to go to his home immediately after 
 service, lay my desires before him and petition for help. I kept the 
 resolve to myself, and, on leaving the church, went directly to his 
 residence, the one now occupied and owned by Mr. Harvey Smith. 
 Luckily I found him alone, and in five minutes had his promise to 
 lend me money. Never in my life was I more surprised and de- 
 lighted. On informing my mother and sisters, they wept for joy, 
 and when on Monday morning I told friend Tom of my strangely 
 good luck, he fairly shouted with gladness. 
 
 Henceforth we redoubled our efforts to be well prepared, and in 
 due season were informed by our instructor that we were ready. He 
 had been promptly informed of my strange fortune and shared our 
 delight. 
 
 My dear mothers and sisters worked hard but joyfully to get 
 me a trunk and some clothes fit to wear to college. That trunk, 
 
 2 — H. 
 
18 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 purchased of Mr. Leonard Harris, chief clerk of Thomas McLure Sr. 
 1 still have in a good state of preservation after the lapse of forty- 
 five years. 
 
 At that time the merchants of Chester and of all other towns of 
 the State north of Columbia sent their cotton in wagons to Columbia, 
 and going along with them, sold the cotton and brought back mer- 
 chandise in the wagons, the merchants often preceding the wagons 
 in buggies or gigs. It so happened that Mr. James Graham, a mer- 
 chant of Chester, was going down in a buggy at the same time that 
 Thomas McLure Sr., was to carry his son Tom to college. Mr. 
 Graham kindly consented to carry myself and trunk with him. This 
 saved me the expense of a ride in the stage coach, and made it doubly 
 pleasant, as I and friend Tom rode in one buggy, and the two mer- 
 chants in the other. 
 
 I had with me one hundred dollars in bank bills, this being half • 
 of what I had borrowed from Mr. Kennedy, he and I deeming it 
 prudent that he had better retain the other half until I should need 
 ' it. Two hundred dollars was all I asked him to lend me, I, through 
 ignorance, deeming this a very large amount of money, and amply 
 sufficient to carry me through. Had I asked for more I am sure he 
 would have loaned it. But, 
 
 i "There is a divinity that shapes our ends, 
 
 '< Rough hew them how we will," 
 
 and I believe it was Providential that I then knew so little of the 
 expenses of a collegiate education, as the sequel will show. 
 
 The journey was to me more than pleasant, and full of wonders, 
 for I had never before been beyond the borders of Chester District, 
 and not often over three or four miles from the village. The outer 
 world was to me wonderful, and the city of Columbia seemed then 
 greater in my eyes than Chicago and the Columbian Exposition 
 seemed in 1893. 
 
 Soon after arriving and stopping at Hunt's Hotel, I met the Rev. 
 John Douglas, then recently of Chester. He and his noble wife had 
 been special friends of my mother and family. He was amazed when, 
 in answer to his inquiry, I told him that I was there to enter college. 
 He inquired about my pecuniary means ; I informed him of my great 
 financial arrangements. He frightened me by informing me that so 
 small a sum was totally inadequate. He then kindly offered to de- 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 19 
 
 fray my necessary college expenses from beginning to end, and ask 
 no repayment, provided I should win the first honor, but he made 
 it a condition precedent that I should join the Clariosophic Society. 
 When he was a student of the college, many years before, Chester was 
 Clariosophic, i. e., all college boys from Chester District joined that 
 society. But for some years previous to 1849 Chester had become 
 Euphradian, and all my fellow students from Chester and York were 
 going to join the Euphradian Society. They told me that I must do 
 the same, or I would be called a renegade and be despised. I so told 
 Mr. Douglas, but he tried to open my eyes to my real situation and 
 to refute such silly arguments. Douglas Harrison, a former school- 
 mate of mine in Chester, but then a student of mature years in col- 
 lege, exerted a powerful influence over me. He insisted that Mr. 
 Douglas was unreasonable in his conditions, and that I could get 
 through college by the help of the Euphradian Society. 
 
 I was thus prevailed on to reject Mr. Douglas' generous proposi- 
 tion, and to imperil my chances of an education, but a kind Provi- 
 dence watched over me and decreed it otherwise. 
 
 Strange it was that I had not the slightest misgiving as to my 
 ability to pass a successful examination, although I was in fact not 
 so thoroughly prepared as to be beyond danger. My self-confidence 
 was of service to me, and I passed easily on all branches, and entered 
 the Sophomore class with many others, making a class of over sixty. 
 
 Friend Tom was equally successful, as were J. Lucius Gaston and 
 J. Brown Gaston, all of Chester, and Samuel W. Melton, of York. 
 
 We all secured rooms above the old chapel, I and Melton in one 
 room, the two Gastons in another, and David H. Porter, of Alabama, 
 with John Neely (then of Columbia, but a native of Chester), the 
 third room, all on the same floor, and the place was called by the 
 boys "Egypt." 
 
 My friend Douglas Harrison, a student of small means, had per- 
 mission from the faculty to board himself in his room, which was 
 much cheaper than to board at the commons, called Steward's Hall. 
 Knowing now the inadequacy of my own means, I, at his sugges- 
 tion, applied to the president for the like privilege. This great man, 
 the Hon. William C. Preston, as well as his worthy wife, was kind- 
 hearted and sympathized with needy students striving for an educa- 
 tion. I found him and wife alone in his library after tea, and laid my 
 situation and circumstances before them. With great regret he was 
 
20 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 constrained by the late orders of the trustees to refuse the application, 
 but cheered me by many kind expressions and good advice. 
 
 I went away sorrowing, but undaunted in my resolution to study. 
 So successful was I in my labors that at the end of the first session I 
 ranked first in my class. And now came the unexpected, as illustrat- 
 ing the old saying that "It is a bad wind that blows nobody good." 
 Before the close of the first session, owing to some misunderstanding 
 between Professor Brumby, instructor in chemistry, and the junior, 
 then the largest class in college, numbering over seventy, the whole 
 class rebelled against their professor. Of course they were in the 
 wrong, but all efforts of the faculty and trustees to convince them 
 failing, the entire class was expelled.' The night following this 
 order witnessed a riotous scene in the campus. The expelled stu- 
 dents got on a spree, and, assembling near the monument, saturated 
 over seventy copies of Draper's Chemistry with camphine, and piling 
 them up, made a huge bonfire, around which they indulged in dance 
 and song. All the college gathered to witness the scene, until the 
 venerable Preston arrived and dispersed the boisterous assembly. 
 
 Among those expelled was Thomas Bauskett, a son of an emi- 
 nent lawyer of Edgefield, a warm personal friend of Mr. Preston. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Preston were childless, and usually had as inmates 
 of their home two college boys, sons of special friends. The two 
 thus favored at that time were John Wharton, of Texas, and Thomas 
 Bauskett, of South Carolina, the first then iq his senior year, and 
 the last in his junior, and he being expelled, Wharton was left alone 
 as company for the president and wife. On the next day I was sum- 
 moned to the president's house and went with trepidation, fearing 
 that I was to be disciplined for witnessing the riot and hallooing just 
 a little, but participating no further. As I entered his library, where 
 sat the venerable president with his wife and a few friends, to my 
 dismay the venerable man lowered his heavy brows and gave me a 
 piercing look from beneath with his deep blue eyes. Abruptly he 
 said: "Well, sir, I suppose you know why you are sent for?" I 
 answered in the negative. He then said: "Have you a clear con- 
 science as to the disgraceful proceedings of last night?" Although 
 greatly alarmed, I answered with emphasis : "I have, sir." 
 
 He then relaxed his stern brow, and in the most pleasant manner 
 conceivable reminded me of the application I had at the beginning 
 made for permission to board myself in my room, as Harrison was 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 21 
 
 doing, and how often he and Mrs. Preston had regretted the neces- 
 sity of refusing me. He then told me of their custom of keeping two 
 students in their house, and having lost Bauskett, they desired me to 
 come and take his place. Mrs. Preston joined her husband most 
 cheerfully in this generous offer, which I with thankfulness and 
 gratitude accepted. Providentially I was thus given a most delight- 
 ful home, in which I enjoyed advantages too great to be estimated. 
 This gave me relief from the expenses of the Commons or Steward's 
 Hall, and thus my two hundred dollars carried me to the beginning 
 of the next year, when another most fortunate event insured my col- 
 legiate education, without which, so far as I could then, or can now 
 see, my career as a student would have been cut short. The Man- 
 ning scholarship became vacant. 
 
 Governor John L. Manning, of Clarendon, had established a 
 scholarship by depositing in the banks of the State of South Caro- 
 lina five thousand dollars, the annual interest of which, at 7 per cent., 
 should be devoted to defraying the educational expenses of a worthy 
 poor student, with the condition that, proficiency in learning being 
 equal, an applicant from Sumter (of which Clarendon was a parish) 
 should have the preference. 
 
 Luckily for me, there was no applicant from Sumter, and only 
 one other from my class. The faculty, controlled by the standard 
 of proficiency, awarded the place to me, as I had maintained the 
 highest stand in the class from the beginning. 
 
 Having thus the annual sum of three hundred and fifty dollars 
 to draw on through the president of the college for my support, I 
 was enabled to prosecute my studies free from further anxiety. 
 
 It is needless to say that I worked cheerfully and with a will. 
 In spite of earnest competition by other classmates, I graduated in 
 December, A. D. 1852, with the first honor in a class of nearly fifty 
 laborious students, most of whom were older than I, and possessed 
 of superior early advantages. In the class were such talented young 
 men as David H. Porter, J. Lucius Gaston, S. W. Melton, LeRoy 
 F. Youmans, Waddy T. Means, J. Brown Gaston, Peter L. Griffin 
 and others of like talent too numerous to mention. To win the first 
 place in such a class was an honor to be proud of. 
 
 How happy was I on my return home to receive the blessing of 
 my dear mother ! But I could not remain with her long, as the bat- 
 tle of life was before me, and required to be stubbornly fought. 
 
2,2 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 Before, however, I speak of my subsequent career in life I must 
 recur to my pecuniary resources in college, and supply important 
 omissions. 
 
 During my first vacation, I got a singing class of fifteen or 
 twenty of the young people of Chester, and gave lessons in vocal 
 music, and realized forty or fifty dollars from the labor. This was 
 in the summer of 1850. During the vacation of 185 1 I assisted my 
 preceptor, Giles J. Patterson, in teaching his large school in the 
 Chester Male Academy, and realized fifty dollars from this source. 
 During the vacation of 1852 I was called to Spartanburg by the Rev. 
 John McCullough to take charge of his private school of twenty-five 
 boys. Here I worked laboriously for three months, and received 
 one hundred dollars and my board for my labor. It will thus ap- 
 pear that my vacations were not periods of rest and recreation, as 
 they should have been, and that I did not break down in mind and 
 body under this incessant strain is surprising, and proves that I was 
 blessed with a strong constitution. 
 
 MY SUBSEQUENT* CAREER. 
 
 Having graduated, I found myself penniless, and under the 
 necessity of seeking without delay some occupation which would 
 bring me immediate remuneration. I could not begin the study of 
 law or medicine for want of means. I therefore resolved to teach 
 school. A classmate and fast friend, W. W. Irby, of Marlboro, 
 hearing of my purpose, and knowing my circumstances, one evening 
 prior to the delivery of the graduating speeches, as we walked up 
 to the American Hotel, called my attention to the academy in Ben- 
 nettsville and an advertisement for a teacher. I at once resolved to 
 apply, and he cheerfully offered to aid me in securing the place. At 
 once I fortified myself with strong testimonials from the entire fac- 
 ulty, and forwarded these with my application. I was also intro- 
 duced by Dr. Thornwell, who was then president of the college, 
 to Charles A. Thornwell, Esq., his brother, who was a member of the 
 Legislature from Marlboro, a prominent lawyer of the Bennetts- 
 ville bar, and one of the board of trustees of the Bennettsville 
 Academy. Having sent forward my application, as soon as I de- 
 livered my commencement oration and received my diploma, I 
 hastened home, which we could then reach by the Charlotte and Co- 
 lumbia railroad. In the course of two weeks I received notice of my 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 23 
 
 election as principal of the academy at Bennettsville, the term to 
 begin early in January. To reach that town, so distant from Chester, 
 J had to borrow money. My old friend, Mr. James Graham, of 
 Chester, who first carried me to Columbia to enter college, kindly 
 loaned me twenty-five dollars with which to reach Bennettsville. I 
 went by rail to Columbia, spent a night there, after supper at the 
 hotel strolled down to the campus alone, and as I gazed around at 
 the campus and buildings, tears involuntarily ran down my cheeks 
 as the associations of the place and the thoughts of the broken ties 
 of love and friendship came upon me. I almost wished I was a 
 student once more. On the morrow I traveled by rail to Kingville, 
 and thence to Florence, then existing only in name, as the only 
 structure was a pine board shed, and all else a pine forest, this being 
 January 7. 1853. I there took stage and on the evening of the 8th 
 reached Society Hill, having passed through Darlington village. On 
 the morning of the 9th January, 1853, my landlady, Mrs. Douglas, 
 put me in charge of her son, John, a youth, who carried me in a 
 buggy to Bennettsville, which we reached a little after midday. 
 There was an immense crowd of people in the public square, and 
 upon a gallows sat a white man to be hanged for murdering his slave. 
 I was lodged at Mr. Phillip Miller's hotel. I met my friend, W. W. 
 Irby, who introduced me to some of the trustees and citizens, among 
 them an acquaintance of my boyhood, Dr. J. Beatty Jennings, whom 
 I was rejoiced to meet again. 
 
 In a few days I took charge of the academy with a large number 
 of pupils, and began at once to labor with great zeal as an instructor. 
 Life in the schoolroom and village I found pleasant, and omitting 
 details, I merely remark that at the end of the year I found the 
 trustees and patrons satisfied, and I was reelected for another year. 
 During the vacation of December, 1853, I visited my mother and 
 friends of Chester, and with great pride and satisfaction repaid Mr. 
 Richard Kennedy the two hundred dollars he had loaned me, and to 
 Mr. Graham I paid the twenty-five dollars borrowed of him, neither 
 one being willing to accept interest, and bought of Mr. Jordan Ben- 
 net a double-case silver watch for forty-five dollars cash, which 
 watch, after the lapse of more than forty years, I am still wearing, 
 a good timepiece yet, and the only one I have ever owned. 
 
 On the 4th day of May, 1854, I married Mary, the eldest daugh- 
 ter of my landlord, Mr. Phillip Miller, a beautiful girl of sixteen 
 years, I being twenty-two years old. 
 
24 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 On the ist day of January, A. D. 1855, we began housekeeping. 
 Like an imprudent young man, I purchased a more expensive house 
 than I was able to pay for, and furnished it too liberally. For four 
 years I labored to pay for the premises, but failing to do so, I got 
 rid of it, and purchased and moved into a smajler house, a wiser but 
 poorer man, with a rapidly increasing family. 
 
 Having taught school four years, I was solicited to • continue 
 another year, and the school tendered me again, but the labor was 
 very irksome and I was becoming very tired of the arduous duties 
 of the pedagogue. So I declined the offer, and resolved to study 
 law. I visited my mother in December, 1856, and brought her to 
 Bennettsville to live with me. On the 1st of January, 1857, I opened 
 for the first time in my life a law book and began the study in ear- 
 nest, reading in my own private study day and night. It is to me a 
 wonder that my health was not destroyed by the strain, for in four 
 months I had read and reviewed the entire prescribed course of 
 study, and also the series of "Cramming," consisting of a manuscript 
 book of questions and answers. In May, 1857, 1 started to Columbia 
 to stand my examination. A great freshet was in the Pee Dee at the 
 time, and John B. Irby, Esq., sent one of his stout slaves in a canoe 
 with myself and trunk. By dint of paddling and wading and pulling, 
 this negro conveyed me over four miles of water through woods, 
 fields and swamps, until we reached the Cheraw bridge. He then 
 shouldered my trunk and we ran over half a mile to the depot, and 1 
 got on the rear platform of the car as the train moved off, the negro 
 throwing my trunk on at the same time. 
 
 Providentially I reached Columbia .in time for the examinatio'n, 
 and was so fortunate as to be admitted to practice in the courts of 
 law of the State. 
 
 On my return home I began the study of the equity course, and 
 was admitted to that branch of practice in the following December, 
 thus having read and reviewed both courses successfully in one year, 
 a task which I would not advise anyone to undertake. Necessity 
 alone drove me thus to over-exert myself. From January, 1848, to 
 January, 1858, I had been compelled, without rest or recreation, to 
 over-exert myself in mental labor, and during the last four years of 
 that period I had on my hands the care and anxiety of supporting a 
 wife and children. In 1858, I ran for the Legislature, and had, per- 
 haps, the misfortune to be elected. However, in serving a term I 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 25 
 
 profited from my experience, gaining knowledge much needed, and 
 which could not have been acquired otherwise. I declined to seek 
 another term and devoted myself assiduously to my profession, being 
 convinced that seeking and holding an office merely of honor and 
 trust is injurious to a young lawyer dependent entirely upon his prac- 
 tice for a livelihood. 
 
 In 1857 m y income was one hundred dollars, half of this being in 
 corn. By securing the appointment of magistrate, I made with that 
 and my practice three hundred dollars in 1858, and in 1859 about 
 four hundred and fifty dollars. In i860 my income increased to six 
 hundred dollars, and then came the Confederate war, finding me 
 largely in debt. I entered the army as a private soldier in the com- 
 pany commanded by Capt. J. A. \V. Thomas, of the Twenty-first 
 Regiment, S. C. V., commanded by Col. Robert F. Graham, and sta- 
 tioned at Georgetown. After exercising much in drilling, I received 
 from Adjt.-Gen. States Rights Gist, of Gen. Ripley's staff, the ap- 
 pointment of drillmaster, with the monthly pay of thirty dollars, I 
 being the only one not a graduate or student of the Citadel 
 Academy to whom such an appointment was given. The pay of a 
 private soldier was eleven dollars a month, so that the office of drill- 
 master, with the monthly pay of thirty dollars, was a blessing to me, 
 who had at home a wife and four small children to support, our eld- 
 est, a fine boy, having died in January, 1857. 
 
 Having shown myself to be an efficient drillmaster, I next receiv- 
 ed the appointment of adjutant of the Ninth Battalion, commanded 
 by Lieut.-Col. A. D. Smith, and stationed on Waccamaw Neck, near 
 Murray's Inlet. Here we remained until April, 1862, when we were 
 transferred to Charleston and went into camp at Magnolia. A 
 general reorganization of the Confederate army was ordered in May, 
 1862, and enlistments for the war required. At this reorganization 
 of the Ninth Battalion I was elected major. From here we were trans- 
 ferred to Secessionville, and on the 16th day of June were in the 
 heat of that desperate battle, and did our full share in achieving the 
 victory. This was our first experience in battle, and the officers and 
 soldiers behaved in a praiseworthy manner. After this we remained 
 at Secessionville, on James Island, watching the superior force of the 
 enemy, and occasionally skirmishing, but encountering no general 
 engagement. In September we were ordered to Church Flats, where 
 we formed a part of the brigade of Gen. Johnson Hagood. Our 
 
26 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 duty here was to guard the coast against the invasions of the Fed- 
 erals, who, however, gave us very little trouble. During the winter 
 of 1862, our battalion of seven companies had consolidated with it 
 the battalion of three companies under command of Maj. S. D. M. 
 Byrd, stationed at McClellandsville, on the Santee. These reported 
 to us at Church Flats, and by virtue of this consolidation the regi- 
 ment thus formed was called the Twenty-sixth S. C. V., and I was 
 promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and Lieut.-Col. A. D. 
 Smith was made colonel. 
 
 Under the army regulations, if a smaller battalion is consolidated 
 with a larger, so as to make a regiment, the major of the larger bat- 
 talion will outrank the major of the smaller, regardless of dates of 
 commission, and will be entitled to the lieutenant-colonelcy of the 
 regiment, and hence my promotion over Major Byrd, we having 
 seven companies and he only three. 
 
 We remained at Church Flats in comparative idleness and com- 
 fort until April, 1863, when we were ordered to Mississippi, and in- 
 corporated into the brigade of Gen. N. G. Evans. We were in 
 the Jackson campaign, including the nine days' siege of that city. 
 After retreating from there, the brigade was ordered back to South 
 Carolina, arriving in August, and participated in the defense of 
 Charleston until March, 1864. We were then sent to North Carolina 
 and joined Hoke's Division in the march to Newbern, from which 
 place we were sent by forced marches to protect Petersburg, and on 
 the 20th May fought Gen. B. F. Butler between the Appomattox 
 and James River at Clay's Farm or Warebottom Church. We con- 
 tinued to hold the Federal forces in check on this line of defense 
 until the 16th June, when, to meet Grant's flank movement, Gen. 
 Bushrod Johnson's division, of which our brigade formed part, was 
 hastily thrown across the Appomattox and in front of Petersburg. 
 We had severe fighting with Grant's forces on the 17th and 18th 
 June, and from that day to the end we were defending Petersburg, 
 and were under constant fire until March 1, 1865. We suffered se- 
 verely at the battle of the "Crater," many of our brigade being 
 killed and overwhelmed by the springing of the mine beneath us, and 
 many perishing in the desperate hand-to-hand struggle to recover our 
 lines. On March 1, 1865, our division was moved out of the trenches, 
 and sent into camp at Burgess Mill, near the Boydtown Plank road. 
 On the 25th we were ordered back to Petersburg, and on the morn- 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 27 
 
 ing of the 26th March fought the battle of Fort Steadman in con- 
 junction with Gordon's Corps. 
 
 Returning to Burgess Mill on the night of the 26th, we, on the 
 28th, had at that point a severe engagement with Sheridan's flanking 
 column, under General Chamberlain, of Maine. On the next day 
 we moved up to Five Forks, and thence on the 31st to the vicinity 
 of Dinwiddie Courthouse, all the while checking Sheridan's efforts 
 to reach the South Side Railroad, our only source of supplies. On 
 April 1, 1865, we fell back to Five Forks, where in the afternoon our 
 force of eight thousand worn-out, half-clad troops under General 
 Pickett were attacked by the whole of Sheridan's well equipped army 
 of twenty-five thousand fresh troops, outflanked, cut to pieces and 
 routed. 
 
 Here it was, April 1, 1865, that I received my only serious wound, 
 being shot through the body just below the left lung at close quarters 
 by a minie ball. I was carried from the battlefield to Ford's Station, 
 on the South Side Railroad, and there left as if to die. I fell, a 
 wounded prisoner, into the hands of the enemy on April 2, and lay 
 upon my mattress on the floor of the house of Mr. Pegram, the sta- 
 tion agent, without medical attention for six weeks, by which time, 
 by the blessing of Providence, I was sufficiently recovered to be 
 paroled and begin my journey homeward. 
 
 To narrate the circumstances of my being wounded, how I was 
 carried from the battlefield, how I lay for six weeks dressing my 
 wound only with a wet rag, my recovery, my parole by General 
 Chamberlain, of Maine, my difficult journey home over railroads torn 
 up and rebuilt — first to Burkesville, thence to Danville, thence to 
 Greensboro, where I lay for three days in hospital, thence by inter- 
 rupted railroad rides to Charlotte, N. C. ; how I providentially met 
 my colonel, A. D. Smith, with a conveyance and was brought by him 
 to Marlboro, and from his father's home was brought by Mr. 
 Robert Hamer to Bennettsville, and was thus presented to my family 
 and friends, who received me as one risen from the dead, for all 
 reports concurred in stating that I was killed on the battlefield ; I 
 say, to give the details of all this would consume much space, and 
 read like a romance. 
 
 Suffice it to say that I reached home about the middle of May 
 very much enfeebled, but practically out of danger from my severe 
 wound. 
 
28 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 My wife, believing me to be dead, had left our humble home, and 
 taken shelter with her widowed mother. All seemed ruin, desolation 
 and despair. 
 
 Bennettsville had been the camping ground of Sherman's army, 
 and the county of Marlboro had been devastated by that ruth- 
 less band of marauders. This simple statement is sufficient to give 
 an idea of the desolation left behind. We returned to our little two- 
 room cottage without food, raiment or bedding. My profession 
 seemed to be of no value to me, as the laws were silent and the courts 
 closed. 
 
 I at once opened a private school for boys, and by laboring in this 
 half the day, and giving advice in my office in the afternoon, began 
 to get a little money and bread. The first meat I got was by taking 
 it most gladly as a fee for writing contracts between farmers and 
 their laborers, under the prescribed regulations of the Freedman's 
 Bureau. 
 
 Such' was my employment during the summer and fall of 1865, 
 and in this way we got food and clothing. Under the provisional 
 government the courts were opened in the fall and winter of that 
 year. 
 
 On the 1st of January, 1866, I formed a copartnership with 
 Samuel J. Townsend, Esq, and the courts being now open, business 
 began to flow in steadily, and good fees to be paid. This copartner- 
 ship continued until his untimely death on the 20th day of May, 
 1870, during which time I had paid off an ante-bellum debt of two 
 thousand dollars, and otherwise improved my circumstances pecuni- 
 arily. It taxed the energies of both of us to keep us with our in- 
 creasing business, and after his death I had to call in to my help, as 
 copartners, two young attorneys, H. H. Newton, Esq., and J. Knox 
 "Livingston, Esq. After a year or two Mr. Livingston formed a co- 
 partnership with Messrs. Townsend and Covington, and Mr. Newton 
 continued with me several years longer. On the 14th February, 1878, 
 I was elected to the office of judge of the Fourth Judicial Circuit, as 
 successor to the Hon. C. P. Townsend, who had held the office since 
 
 1873- 
 
 To the duties of this office I devoted my time most laboriously, 
 until after sixteen years service I was succeeded by the Hon. Rich- 
 ard Watts, of Laurens, owing to the tide in politics by which Gov- 
 ernor Tillman and his faction came irito power. ' My career as a 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 29 
 
 circuit judge of South Carolina began February 14, 1878, and ended 
 February 14, 1894. The manner in which I discharged my duties in 
 this exalted and responsible office is known to all the people, especi- 
 ally to the bar of the State. It does not become me to speak of it. I 
 will say, however, that during this long period I never missed a court, 
 nor was I ever behind the hour appointed for its opening, and during 
 the entire time I was never prevented by illness or other causes from 
 holding court for the full day's work but once, at Mount Pleasant, 
 when I fell ill. I will further state that I began my official career with 
 the firm conviction that it is the duty of a judge to decide cases and 
 render judgment promptly. Justice delayed is justice denied. Hence 
 I never carried a case home with me to labor on during vacation, 
 but invariably decided them in term time and in open court. A fully 
 argued case I never pocketed, but decided all such during term time. 
 The observance of this rule forced me to labor hard and late at night 
 writing decrees, and endangered my health, but I adhered to it. Of 
 course many of my decrees were perfunctory, and did myself injus- 
 tice. But I was willing to sacrifice myself to promote the ends of 
 justice, and to dispatch business. 
 
 My aim was ever to know no master but the law, and to be 
 scrupulously loyal to this my only master. 
 
 The high and the low, the rich and the poor, the black and the 
 white, were weighed in the same scales, and measured by the same 
 rule. 
 
 In my domestic relations, I have earnestly endeavored to dis- 
 charge the duties of husband and father. Our afflictions have been 
 great, in having lost ten of our fourteen children — six sons and four 
 daughters — so that we have no surviving son, but four living daugh- 
 ters, three married and one single. My wife has borne her heavy 
 affliction with Christian patience and fortitude, and I have tried to 
 follow her example. 
 
 Our worldly possessions are small, consisting of a comfortable 
 home and a small piece of land near the town with some insignifi- 
 cant improvements on it, but yielding almost no income. Of sur- 
 plus money we have none, and I am forced to resume my practice 
 of law, with what success the future alone can determine. 
 
 I wish to remark that my memory of my childhood and early life 
 is very distinct, and all the foregoing has been hastily written entirely 
 from memory, and from no records or memoranda. I was but a little 
 
30 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 over four years old when my father died, but I have a distinct recol- 
 lection of him from the time I was two years old, and can relate 
 many occurrences from then until his death with which he was 
 connected, and have a most vivid recollection of his last illness, his 
 death and funeral. 
 
 For the encouragement of poor boys desirous of acquiring an 
 education, I wish to say that for a year or two before going to col- 
 lege I had to study much at night, but my mother could not furnish 
 me with a light. She and her daughters' had to sew late at night by 
 the light of a single tallow candle ; but they could not supply me with 
 this luxury, so I was forced to improvise a light for myself and it 
 was done in this wise : I saved all the bacon gravy each day to be 
 had from the scrapings of the dinner plates, and this I put into an 
 old tin plate. I placed in this a twisted cotton fag or string, leaving 
 one end to project over the edge of the plate. When night came I 
 took this plate and my books into the rude log kitchen. Placing it 
 on the edge of the pine board dining table, I lighted the end of this 
 crude wick, and drawing up my chair studied by this dim light until 
 a late hour at night. If it was cold weather I drew around me a 
 quilt to keep me partially warm, for entire physical comfort was im- 
 possible, and not expected. Under these difficulties I prepared 
 myself for college, using mostly borrowed books, my mother being 
 unable to buy books for me. 
 
 To study ancient history, I used the copies of Goldsmith's Greece 
 and Rome, borrowed from the Sunday school library, and these I 
 studied at home without a teacher to guide me. How true it is that 
 "Where there is a will, there is a way." 
 
 Joshua Hilary Hudson. 
 
 Bennettsville, S. C., Sept. 9, 1897. 
 
 The foregoing sketch was written early in January, A. D. 1894, 
 and in 1897 was printed in papphlet form for gratuitous distribution 
 to my family, kindred, and a few friends. 
 
 Since that time I have been engaged in the practice of my pro- 
 fession, by which, through the special kindness of a few friends, I 
 have managed to support myself and family. 
 
 I have been occasionally called upon to hold, in different parts 
 of the State, special terms of the Circuit Court. This labor to me 
 has been pleasant and agreeable, owing to the uniform kindness and 
 
^Sketches and Reminiscences. 31 
 
 courtesy of the members of the bar in the several counties to which 
 I have been called. 
 
 By the blessing of God, my health has been good all my life, and 
 so continues in my old age, now past three score and ten years. 
 
 I was brought up in the faith of the Baptist Church by a good 
 mother, who for fifty years was a devout worshipper in the Baptist 
 Church in Chester. I should have joined the church in the days of 
 my youth, but procrastinated, hesitated and delayed until A. D. 1890. 
 The Church has honored me more than I have deserved, for twice I 
 was chosen to preside over the Convention of the Baptist Churches 
 of the State, an office which should be filled only by men of unques- 
 tioned piety and purity of character. Believing this, I declined to be 
 again chosen. 
 
 Financially my life has been a failure, as it has been in many 
 respects, owing to a thriftless disposition and a want of firmness, 
 promptness and decision. I lack the capacity to perceive, appreciate, 
 seize and rise to the level of the occasion. No one can succeed in 
 life who does not readily perceive, and have the nerve to seize, the 
 occasion. 
 
 In June, A. D. 1903, the trustees and faculty of my alma mater, 
 the South Carolina College, conferred upon me the degree of LL. D., 
 an honor beyond my deserts, but for which I feel grateful. 
 
 I will soon pass off the stage of life, to join in the other world 
 my faithful wife, who died on the 2d day of December, A. D. 1902, 
 after a companionship of nearly forty-nine years, and our departed 
 children. I greatly regret that I have not been more active and 
 zealous in striving to do good to my fellowmen, and in laboring to 
 uplift the young of my acquaintance, but the demands of my pro- 
 fession have been so heavy, and the battle of life so hard, that it has 
 seemed to me to leave no time to look after the young men of the 
 land and lend them a helping hand, at least by advice and encourage- 
 ment. Looking back now, I see clearly how I might have done much 
 in this good work and sacred duty which was left undone. 
 
 Fellowmen of knowledge and means, permit me to exhort you, 
 one and all, to strive to aid and to lead aright the young men of the 
 land, for by so doing you will enjoy an approving conscience and in 
 after days these young men will bless your memory. 
 
 August, 1903. J. H. Hudson. 
 
Chapter II. 
 
 THE TWENTY-SIXTH S. C. INFANTRY. 
 
 Sketch of the Regiment by Lieut.-CoLJ. H. Hudson, A. D. 1885. 
 
 In the fall of 1861 Gen. W. W. Harlee, of Marion, brigadier 
 of the State militia, at the request of prominent citizens and with the 
 sanction of Governor Pickens, undertook to raise a force for the 
 defense of that part of the State watered by the Great Pee Dee river 
 and its tributaries. Volunteers were called for, and an encampment 
 located at Centenary Campground, in the present county of Marion. 
 A considerable force of infantry, with a fair complement of cavalry 
 and artillery, was here collected and organized into companies, bat- 
 talions and regiments ; and the whole styled the Pee Dee Legion. 
 
 In the winter of 1861-62 these troops were moved from Centenary 
 and concentrated at and near Georgetown, S. C. A battalion of 
 seven companies, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Nesbitt, 
 was stationed at Camp Lookout, on the Waccamaw Neck. On his 
 staff were Dr. L. C. Hasell, surgeon, Captain Wright, commissary, 
 and Maj. Thomas Holmes, quartermaster. 
 
 Having organized his legion, General Harlee promptly tendered 
 his services and legion to President Davis. But being Lieutenant- 
 Governor of the State, a member of the executive council and also 
 of the State Convention, he was urged by President Davis and by 
 the civil authorities of the State to continue in civil service, where 
 he had already proved himself indispensable. To this advice he 
 yielded, although his taste and inclination were in the military line. 
 Early in 1862 the troops composing the Pee Dee Legion were, under 
 Act of Congress and at the call of the President, mustered into Con- 
 federate service as volunteers for one year, not as a legion under 
 their favorite brigadier-general, W. W. Harlee, but as distinct com- 
 mands destined to wide separation and varied experience. Under 
 the reorganization thus rendered necessary Capt. Alexander D. 
 Smith, of Marlboro, was chosen lieutenant-colonel of the battalion of 
 seven companies commanded as State troops by Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Nesbitt; Capt. R. D. F. Rollins, of Darlington, was chosen major; 
 Joshua H. Hudson, a private in the company of J. A. W. Thomas, 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 33 
 
 Twenty-first South Carolina Volunteers, was appointed adjutant ; 
 Dr. Louis C. Hasell, surgeon, and Samuel J. Townsend, of Marl- 
 boro, quartermaster. Thus reorganized, the battalion was mustered 
 into Confederate service for one year at Camp Lookout, Waccamaw 
 Neck, in March, 1862. We were then ordered to Charleston, S. G, 
 and there placed in camp at Magnolia Cemetery. 
 
 The Act of Congress called the Conscript Act was enacted in 
 April or early in May. 1862. By this act all soldiers between the 
 ages of eighteen and forty-five years already in service for a shorter 
 period were required to be mustered in for the whole period of the 
 war, and all within the prescribed age not in service were called in. 
 
 Under this Act our battalion, stationed at Magnolia, was re- 
 organized and a reelection of officers resulted in the choice of 
 A. D. Smith, lieutenant-colonel, and J. H. Hudson, major ; Dr. Louis 
 C. Hasell was appointed surgeon : John A. McRae, quartermaster ; 
 Benjamin F. Miller, a lieutenant of a Chesterfield company, adju- 
 tant, and F. W. Emanuel, of Marlboro, sergeant-major. 
 
 Late in May, 1862, the Federals began landing troops on James 
 Island with a view of approaching the city of Charleston from that 
 direction. 
 
 Smith's Battalion was ordered to Secessionville, an important 
 point on James Island, defended by a battery and short line of earth- 
 works across the narrow tongue of land by which it was approached 
 from the coast side. This battery was small and crude, and mounted 
 with one long rifled cannon, one Columbian and one mortar, and 
 manned by two companies of Lamar's Artillery, supported by Smith's 
 Battalion and the Seventh Battalion of infantry, under command of 
 Lieut.-Col. P. G Gaillard, of Charleston, the two being in camp at 
 Secessionville, two hundred to three hundred yards to the rear. 
 
 One company of Smith's Battalion was absent at Mount Pleasant 
 on detached duty, but two companies of the Twenty-second S. C. V., 
 shortly before June 16, 1862, were sent over and stationed with 
 Colonel Lamar's Artillery in the earthworks. 
 
 For several weeks these infantry commands of Gaillard and 
 Smith did vigilant picket duty by clay and night in the direction of 
 Legare's and GrimbaH's residences, where the Federals were posted 
 in force, whilst other troops watched and skirmished with the enemy 
 on other parts of the island. 
 
 3— h. 
 
34 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 On the ioth of June there occurred in sight of us on the margin 
 of the woods next to Grimball's a spirited engagement between a 
 Georgia regiment and the Federals, but with no decisive result except 
 to ascertain that a strong force lay on the banks of the Stono, at 
 Grimball's. 
 
 Having established a strong land battery about a mile in our front 
 and to the left, the enemy unmasked about the 14th of June and com- 
 menced shelling Secessionville. On Sunday, the 15th, all the guns 
 of this battery opened upon the works at Secessionville, and through- 
 out the day the battery and the exposed camp of infantry were sub- 
 jected to an incessant cannonade, but with nominal loss. At night 
 the firing ceased and the harassed Confederates sank to rest, little 
 dreaming of the bloody conflict of the coming morn. 
 
 At early dawn on Monday, June 16th, the Federal General Ben- 
 ham surprised our garrison by a sudden and furious assault with 
 an overwhelming force. The surprised pickets had barely time to 
 reach the fort in advance of the assailants. But the gallant Lamar, 
 with his artillerists, the two companies of the Twenty-second S. 
 C. V., and the picket guard of the Seventh and Ninth Battalions, 
 heroically met the first onset of the enemy with a withering fire of 
 grape, canister and small arms, and held them in check until the bat- 
 talions of Smith and Gaillard could rush to their assistance, which 
 was done in a surprisingly short time. 
 
 The enemy were then repatedly repulsed with great slaughter, 
 many being slain on the parapet and at the cannon's mouth. 
 
 Baffled in this direct assault, General Benham attempted to 
 capture our works by a flank movement, and to accomplish this, 
 dispatched General Williams with a strong force to strike our lines 
 on the right. Fortunately a marsh on this flank covered us, so that 
 he could not approach nearer than one hundred yards of us, but, 
 nevertheless', a destructive fire was. poured into us from a position 
 at short range, completely enfilading our battery and lines. The 
 infantry at once moved from and out of the lines, and facing the foe, 
 returned the fire across the marsh. At this juncture the Louisiana 
 Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel McHenry, crossed the 
 long bridge leading to Secessionville at the double-quick, and speed- 
 ily aligning themselves along the marsh confronting Williams, 
 opened upon his forces a fire so deadly as soon to put him to flight, 
 which event was also .hastened by the appearance of other troops 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 35 
 
 under the command of Generals Hagood and Evans, which in turn 
 threatened him in the flank and rear. Williams' command suffered 
 severely, and with difficulty escaped capture. 
 
 This battle of Secessionville was a fierce and bloody struggle, 
 and the conduct of all the Confederate troops in this (to most of 
 them) their first encounter with the enemy, was highly creditable. 
 
 The gallant Lamar was severely wounded in the neck, but kept 
 his post until the victory was won. He died shortly afterwards in 
 the city of Charleston from the effects of the wound, aggravated by 
 fever. 
 
 The Federals soon thereafter evacuated the island, and during 
 our stay nothing noteworthy occurred, our time being occupied in 
 training the soldiers and picketing the island. Here John A. Mc- 
 Rae, quartermaster, becoming ill, resigned, and Capt. W. L. J. Reid, 
 of Cheraw, was appointed in his stead, and Commissary W. B. 
 Hancock, desiring to attach himself to a cavalry company, resigned 
 and was transferred. The duties of this office were for a season 
 discharged by Captain Reid. 
 
 About the last of August we were ordered to report to Brigadier- 
 General Hagood at Adams Run, and were by him stationed at 
 Church Flats, about three miles from Rantowles Station, on the 
 Charleston and Savannah Railroad. Here we remained in camp, 
 doing picket duty and keeping watch over the movements of the 
 enemy's vessels on the coast, until the spring of 1863. 
 
 Whilst in camp at Church Flats, in the fall of 1862, the bat- 
 talion of Maj. S. D. M. Byrd, composed of three companies and 
 stationed at McClellanville, was consolidated with Smith's Battalion 
 of seven companies, and thus was formed the Twenty-sixth Regi- 
 ment, S. C. V., C. S. A. infantry. 
 
 Lieut.-Col. A. D. Smith was promoted to the office of colonel, 
 and Maj. J. H. Hudson to the office of lieutenant -colonel, it being 
 a regulation of the army that upon the consolidation of two com- 
 mands the officer of the larger will be promoted over one of equal 
 rank in the smaller. 
 
 Capt. C. D. Rowell, of Marion, being the senior captain, was 
 promoted to the office of major upon the resignation of Major Byrd. 
 
 Capt. T. E. Dudley was appointed commissary, being at that 
 time on duty as a private in Virginia in the Eighth S. C. V. 
 
36 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 Dr. Girardeau at Church Flats acted as assistant surgeon to Dr. 
 Hasell, but upon the consolidation, he was assigned to duty in Fort 
 Moultrie, and Dr. John Y. DuPre, assistant surgeon, serving with 
 Byrd's Battalion, became assistant surgeon of the Twenty-sixth 
 S. C. V. 
 
 In May, 1863, this regiment was assigned to duty under Brig.- 
 Gen. N. G. Evans and ordered to join the army of Gen. Joseph E. 
 Johnston at Jackson, Miss. 
 
 We arrived there about the last of May and went into camp. 
 About the 2d or 3d day of July General Johnston began his march to 
 relieve Vicksburg, where for about two months General Pemberton 
 had been closely, by land and by water, besieged by General Grant 
 with a vastly superior force. 
 
 On the 5th July we arrived in two miles of the Big Black River 
 and encamped at 'a place called Birdsong's farm, knowing nothing 
 of the fall of Vicksburg on the day before. On the evening of the 
 6th we received orders to be ready at dawn next morning to move in 
 fighting trim, the object being, as we were informed, to cross the 
 Big Black River and descend upon Grant's rear. No news as yet -had 
 been received of Pemberton's surrender. Accordingly before day 
 rations were cooked and all things put in readiness for the march 
 before day on the morning of the 7th, when news reached the troops 
 of the surrender of Vicksburg on the 4th of July. 
 
 Great was our grief and surprise, and as we turned to retire to 
 Jackson we were astonished to hear, down in the valley of the Big 
 Black, our skirmishers engaged with the pickets of General Sher- 
 man, who had been dispatched by General Grant, after the fall of 
 Vicksburg, to intercept General Johnston's army. 
 
 The latter promptly fell back on Jackson, and so skilfully eluded 
 Sherman as to arrive by a forced march in Jackson an entire day and 
 night in advance of Sherman. This was fortunate, as the weather 
 was excessively hot and a great many of our men fell by the wayside 
 from sheer exhaustion. By eluding and gaining a day's march on 
 the enemy, General Johnston's fallen stragglers had time to recover 
 and to come in ahead of Sherman's army. 
 
 The army of General Johnston consisted of the divisions of 
 Breckenridge, Walker, Loring and French, the latter being our di- 
 vision commander. 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 37 
 
 On the morning of the 9th General Sherman arrived, drove in 
 our pickets, established his lines at short range and at once laid siege 
 to the capital of Mississippi. Our lines ran in a semi-circle, resting 
 at each extremity on the Pearl river which ran through the out- 
 skirts of the city. 
 
 During the nine days of the siege repeated assaults were made on 
 our lines at various points, but all were repulsed with much loss to 
 the enemy and little to the besieged. The position of General John- 
 ston was easy to be flanked by crossing the Pearl River above or be- 
 low, and this Sherman was preparing to do, when on the morning 
 of the tenth day he awoke to find that during the previous night 
 General Johnston had quietly withdrawn his entire force, with bag- 
 gage complete, across Pearl River. Sherman followed as far as 
 Brandon, twenty miles from Jackson, when, finding his wily oppon- 
 ent preparing to give him battle he prudently retired to Jackson and 
 thence to Vicksburg, and the campaign being virtually over the main 
 body of Johnston's army was recalled eastward. 
 
 The brigade of Gen. X. G. Evans was ordered back to South 
 Carolina. Tarrying a few days at Savannah, Ga., it arrived at 
 Charleston about the last of July, and took post at Mount Pleasant. 
 Here we remained doing picket duty on Sullivans Island and on the 
 land back of Mount Pleasant until November A. D. 1863, when we 
 were placed in winter quarters in the city of Charleston, and whilst 
 there were engaged chiefly in garrison duty. It should have been 
 stated that whilst in Mississippi we lost the services of our efficient 
 commissary, Captain Dudley, the office of regimental commissary 
 having by act of Congress been blended with that of quartermaster. 
 
 About the last of March, 1864, we were ordered to Virginia, 
 under the command of Brigadier-General Walker, bearing the 
 sobriquet of "Liveoak" from the gallant fight he gave the Federals 
 at a point of oaks near Pacotaligo. He was assigned to the com- 
 mand of our brigade instead of General Evans, who, while hastening 
 the departure of his brigade, was thrown from a buggy to the cobble- 
 stones of the streets of Charleston and severely injured. 
 
 Reaching Wilmington,. N. C, we were halted and placed in camp 
 for a few days. Thence we proceeded to Wtldon, N. C, and were 
 again placed in camp for several days, whence we were ordered back 
 by way of Goldsboro to Kinston, on the N'cuse River. Here we were 
 placed in camp to form a part of the ^command of Major-General 
 
38 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 Hoke, who, after capturing Plymouth, N. C, was organizing an ex- 
 pedition against Newbern. On the second or third day we reached 
 the enemy's lines, drove in his outposts and were preparing to storm 
 his works, When an urgent dispatch from General Beauregard re- 
 called General Hoke and command from Newbern, and ordered 
 him to Petrsburg, Va. Gen. B. F. Butler with a heavy force 
 had cut the railroad between that city and Richmond and was sorely 
 pressing the inadequate force under Beauregard. A part of Hoke's 
 division reached Petersburg as early as May 10, 1864, but for the 
 want of transportation the brigade of "Liveoak" Walker did not ar- 
 rive until the evening of the 17th, the day after the battle of Drury's 
 Bluff, in which General Butler was badly beaten and driven back 
 toward Bermuda Hundreds. This victory, though signal, was not 
 so complete as the plan of General Beauregard promised, owing to 
 the fact that Major-General Whitting failed to come up from the 
 side of Petersburg and Swift Creek in time to strike the enemy in 
 the flank and rear. Had this movement been promptly executed as 
 General Beauregard had ordered and expected it to be, in all' proba- 
 bility the greater part of Butler's force would have been killed or 
 captured. 
 
 Remaining in Petersburg until the night of the 19th of May, we 
 were moved across the Appomattox River and on to Clay's farm or 
 Warebottom Church. Shortly after daylight we were thrown against 
 the enemy on the morning of May 20th, and throughout the day 
 were actively engaged in skirmishing and fighting, at times with 
 great severity and loss. 
 
 Among the slain of our regiment was Capt. W. W. Davis, of 
 Marlboro, a brave and efficient officer. 
 
 The result of the day's work was that General Beauregard pushed 
 Butler back on Bermuda Hundreds, where he was effectually "bot- 
 tled up," in the language of General Grant ; nor was that redoubta- 
 ble chief enabled to uncork the bottle so long as the siege of Rich- 
 mond and Petersburg lasted. In this action our gallant and much- 
 loved Brigadier-General Walker, in the denseness of the woods, 
 while striving to rearrange his line of battle, unawares rode upon 
 a group of Federals in ambush, and fell into their hands, riddled with 
 bullets. He recovered with the loss of a leg and still survives. 
 
 He was succeeded in command by Gen. Stephen Elliott, the 
 hero of Fort Sumter, who for distinguished gallantry was promoted 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 39 
 
 from the rank of major of artillery to the rank of brigadier-general, 
 and was assigned to the command of Walker's Brigade. 
 
 In the trenches at Bermuda Hundreds we remained sharpshoot- 
 ing and skirmishing with the foe until the night of June 15, 1864, 
 when we were marched as part of Bushrod Johnson's division to the 
 advance posts around Petersburg to aid in checking the flank move- 
 ment of General Grant. Our arrival was not a moment too soon, as 
 the vanguard of his army had ahead)' arrived and was with difficulty 
 held in check by a small force of regular troops aided by the home- 
 guard of Petersburg. 
 
 On the afternoon of the 16th of June this meager force repelled 
 repeated assaults of Grant's army and captured many prisoners. 
 During that night the enemy quietly massed his troops, and by dawn 
 on the morning of the 17th made a sudden and vigorous dash against 
 a part of the Confederate lines, which were weak at every point from 
 scarcity of men, and made a breach in a part of Bushrod Johnson's 
 trenches. 
 
 At this juncture General Elliott's Brigade, which had been em- 
 ployed during the night in erecting a rear line of breastworks, was 
 ordered up and thrown into line along a wheat field and hedgerow 
 in rear of that part of our works just captured. 
 
 During the whole of the day we were subjected to a severe ar- 
 tillery fire and to the fire of sharpshooters, but held our ground and 
 erected a second line of low earthworks. Late in the evening the 
 Twenty-third Regiment, S. C. V., Colonel Benbow, was dispatched 
 to the left to aid Wise's Brigade in retaking a lost angle of the 
 works, and suffered severely in the struggle. 
 
 After night the Confederates quietly withdrew to an inner line of 
 entrenchments only partially erected, but which were designed to be 
 the permanent breastworks around Petersburg, the advance lines 
 being clearly too long to be successfully manned by Lee's army, so 
 greatly inferior to Grant's in numbers. 
 
 On the morning of June 18, 1864, Grant moved boldly up with 
 a powerful force, and began assaulting this inner line of works with 
 heavy columns and with audacious assurance. Hut the army of Gen- 
 eral Lee was fairly up, and the enemy was signally repulsed at every 
 point, as well where our troops had shelter as where no dirt had yet 
 been thrown up. Among the losses of the Twenty-sixth S. C\ V. on 
 the evening of the 17th was Lieut. \V. S. Newton, of Horry. 
 
40 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 With the 18th of June began the investment and siege of Peters- 
 burg, which is memorable in its character and did not terminate 
 until the evacuation on the 2d of April, 1865. During this period of 
 nearly ten months the besieged were by day and night unremittingly 
 subjected to the enemy's rifles and the destructive effect of shot and 
 shell. Ceaseless vigilance, constant fighting, arduous toil and wast- 
 ing exposure to the vicissitudes of climate, Lee's greatly wasted army 
 encountered from beginning to end of this protracted siege, and 
 nobly did the old chieftain's veterans endure these trials and prove 
 themselves equal to every emergency. 
 
 A noted event in the history of the siege was the springing of a 
 mine by the enemy on the morning of July 30, 1864, and the sangui- 
 nary conflict which ensued, called the Battle of the Crater. It fell 
 to the lot of Elliott's Brigade to occupy that part of our lines for sev- 
 eral weeks before the explosion, and for several months after. We 
 lay to the right and left of the battery under which the Federals ran 
 the mine, the Twenty-third Regiment, S. C. V., being on the right and 
 the other regiments on the left, the Eighteenth and Twenty-second 
 being nearest — the Twenty-second, I believe, lay. partly to the left. 
 By reason of position that regiment and the Eighteenth were partly 
 overwhelmed in the upheavel and had many officers and 
 men thus sadly to perish. The Seventeenth and Twenty-sixfh 
 Regiments escaped this horrid species of death, but lost 
 heavily in the bloody battle that ensued, the bloodiest, perhaps, 
 of the war. Did propriety in this sketch permit a detailed account of 
 the struggle and scenes of carnage there enacted, it would be difficult 
 to describe the Battle of the Crater. Speaking of my own regiment,- 
 it is sufficient 'to say that it bore a conspicuous part in this fight, and 
 very justly is entitled to a full share of the glory of the victory. 
 
 While gallantly leading his regiment in a charge to recover our 
 lines at and adjacent to the Crater, Col. A. D. Smith was wounded 
 in the shoulder and Maj. C. S. Land in the face, but they courage- 
 ously kept the field until the enemy was driven out. Among the 
 killed was Captain Wheeler, of Clarendon. The casualties among 
 officers and men appear fully on the company's rolls, and in mention- 
 ing only those that occur to me now I am conscious of the very par- 
 tial nature of the list. On the 18th of June previous Captain 
 Wheeler had lost the services of one of his lieutenants, W. J. Stur- 
 geon, severely wounded whilst establishing a picket line after dark 
 in close proximity to the enemy. 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 41 
 
 On the day before the Battle of the Crater Lieut. W. J. Taylor, 
 of Horry, was killed whilst laboring after dark on an earthwork 
 in the rear of the Crater. 
 
 On the memorable morning of July 30th our gallant brigadier, 
 Stephen Elliott, was seriously wounded near Colonel Smith and 
 Major Land in the charge spoken of, and was disabled thereafter 
 from active duty. Col. \Y. H. Wallace, of the Eighteenth South 
 Carolina Volunteers, was assigned to the command of the brigade, 
 and in the fall of 1864 was commissioned brigadier-general. 
 
 It would be foreign to the purposes of this sketch to attempt to 
 recount in detail the services of our regiment and the brigade during 
 this famous siege. It was an unbroken fight from June 17, 1864, 
 to the 2d day of April, A. D. 1865, and with the history thereof from 
 the beginning to the end the exploits of the brigade are identified up 
 to the first week in March, 1865, when we were relieved from duty in 
 the trenches by the wasted corps of General Early, and placed in 
 camp in the woods on our right on Hatcher's Run near Burgess' 
 Mill. 
 
 On the 25th of March we were ordered back to Petersburg, 
 making the march at night. At dawn of day on the morning of the 
 26th, we were, in conjunction with Gordon's Corps, thrown against 
 the Federal lines at Fort Steadman not far from the Iron Bridge. 
 The fort, with a considerable length of the lines on either side, and 
 many prisoners, was captured, the surprise being complete. This 
 ground was held until 10 o'clock a. m., against every effort to re- 
 cover it, amidst a concentric fire of the enemy from his numerous 
 batteries and volleys of small arms from projecting angles in the 
 works to the right and left of the captured trenches. Unable from 
 want of men to push the aggressive movement further towards City 
 Point and our position becoming critical from the heavy massing of 
 Federals in our front and on each flank, we were, about 10 o'clock 
 a. m. withdrawn, but not in time to prevent the capture of many 
 Confederates. The Twenty-sixth lost in killed and captured a good 
 many soldiers and several officers ; among the latter Capt. H. L. 
 Buck was captured while gallantly bearing the regimental flap in 
 advance of Fort Steadman and beyond the captured lines. The 
 color-bearer, Samuel J. Reid, had been knocked down by the explo- 
 sion of a shell and the colors were taken by Captain Muck. This 
 was not the flag we usually carried into battle, it being preserved 
 
42 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 with great care, because of the esteem in which we held it as a pres- 
 ent from the ladies of Charleston. After its capture, the old tat- 
 tered and blood-stained battle T flag was resumed and carried till the 
 surrender at Appomattox. Lieutenant Hall of Company D was also 
 captured at Fort Steadman. Colonel McMaster of the 'Seventeenth 
 was here captured, and perhaps others of the Twenty-sixth and 
 other regiments, but I can't undertake to'name them. 
 
 We were at once ordered back to Burgess' Mill, where the brig- 
 ade arrived before day on the morning of the 27th March. On the 
 28th we were moved out upon the Boydton plank road to meet the 
 flank movement of Sheridan which had now taken definite shape to- 
 wards the South Side Railroad. Here at the "Sawdust Pile," so well 
 known to our army as the scene of several severe cavalry encounters, 
 the division of Bushrod Johnson, consisting of the brigades of 
 Wise, Gracie and Wallace, met the infantry of General Sheridan, 
 and a fierce battle ensued with no decisive result, the troops encamp- 
 ing in sight of each other on the battlefield. The night was dark 
 and the rain poured in torrents. 
 
 By dawn next morning it was discovered that the enemy had re- 
 tired from our front and was moving in the direction of Dinwiddie 
 Courthouse. We followed moving on the inner parallel line toward 
 Five Forks, skirmishing as we marched in the drenching rain. At 
 Five Forks we encamped for the night and moved next day in the 
 direction of Dinwiddie. 
 
 On the 30th and 31st March our cavalry had heavy skirmishes 
 with the cavalry of Sheridan, and on the afternoon of the 31st Gen- 
 eral Pickett, who was in command of all the forces sent out to check 
 Sheridan, moved his infantry up to within two miles of Dinwiddie, 
 where the enemy lay encamped, twenty-five thousand strong. 
 Pickett's available force of all arms was less than eight thousand 
 men. 
 
 During the night of the 31st it was discovered that our camp 
 was in dangerous proximity to the enemy, and, in fact, partly within 
 the circuit of his camp fires which glowed in many directions around 
 us. From so critical position we were silently withdrawn before 
 day on the morning of April 1, 1865, and retired on Five Forks, 
 closely pressed for a while by the Federals, whom, however, we 
 eluded after the first few miles of the march. At noon we reached 
 the Five Forks and proceeded to prepare a hasty dinner ; but before 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 43 
 
 this was accomplished we were called to arms and hurriedly formed 
 line of battle along the road perpendicular to that on which Sheridan 
 was approaching. In great haste a rude breastwork of earth and 
 bushes was thrown up, but presently the enemy arrived, and forth- 
 with began a bold and furious attack along our entire front, and 
 simultaneously began a flank movement on Pickett's left, which re- 
 ceived no check, perhaps for want of a sufficient force. The fight 
 was stubborn, but an hour before sunset, Pickett's left was com- 
 pletely turned, and in great disorder doubled up on the center, whilst 
 the entire front was pressed back by superior numbers of the enemy. 
 The result was a complete rout, with great loss in killed, wounded 
 and captured. The remnant of his command which escaped by the 
 right flank retreated in great confusion in direction of the South Side 
 Railroad. In this unfortunate engagement the loss of the.<Twenty- 
 sixth South Carolina Volunteers in killed, wounded and captured was 
 very heavy, and such was the fate of every portion of Pickett's com- 
 mand on that day. Lieutenant-Colonel Hudson was severely 
 wounded, being shot through the left side by a minie ball. After 
 being carried as far as Fords Station, on the South Side Railroad, he 
 fell into the hands of the enemy on the morning of April 2, 1865. 
 Having recovered sufficiently to travel, he was, about the middle of 
 May, paroled by General Chamberlain, of Maine. 
 
 Captain Bostick, commanding an Horry company, was shot 
 through the head whilst gallantly fighting at close quarters and in- 
 stantly killed. I doubtless should mention other casualties, but I 
 write entirely from memory, and none others among the officers are 
 now remembered by me. 
 
 After the fall of Lieutenant-Colonel Hudson the command of the 
 regiment devolved on Maj. C. S. Land, Col. A. D. Smith being 
 at this time at home on leave of absence and prevented from reach- 
 ing his command by the movements of Sherman in South Carolina 
 and North Carolina. 
 
 The effect of this battle, so disastrous to Pickett, caused on the 
 following day of April 2, 1865, the evacuation of both Richmond and 
 Petersburg, and General Lee began his retreat. The disorganized 
 remnant of Pickett's forces joined him as best they could at inter- 
 vals on the march. Throughout that arduous retreat by day and by 
 night, his depleted army was subjected to incessant fighting and 
 skirmishing with a foe overwhelmingly superior in numbers and 
 
44 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 intoxicated with victory. At last on the 9th of April, at Appomattox 
 Courthouse, yielding only to overwhelming numbers, the grand old 
 hero, Robert E. Lee, upon honorable terms surrendered his little 
 band of battle-scarred veterans to General Grant. 
 
 During this retreat of seven days the Twenty-sixth S. C. V., 
 under the command of Maj. C. S. Land, bore faithfully and well 
 their share in fighting and in the arduous duties of the soldier, under 
 the trying circumstances of that week. We went into the fight at 
 Fort Steadman, on the 26th of March, at least five hundred strong. 
 On the 9th of April only about sixty, rank and file, were surrendered 
 and parolled. 
 
 The regiment was composed of two companies from Chesterfield, 
 one from Marlboro, one from Darlington, one from Marion, one 
 from Williamsburg, one from Clarendon and three from Horry. In 
 all the active duties of the soldier, in camp, on the march and in 
 battle, the officers and soldiers of the Twenty-sixth S. C. V. dis- 
 played great courage, patient endurance of toil and unswerving 
 fidelity to duty. 
 
 This sketch is written entirely from memory, and without a mem- 
 orandum or document to refer to. I may be in error as to dates in 
 some instances, but am certainly in the main correct. I have made 
 no mention of the names of soldiers killed and wounded, and fear 
 that I have failed to name many casualties among the officers, de- 
 pending as I have upon memory alone after the lapse of more than 
 twenty years from .the beginning of our military career. I find, 
 however, that I have omitted several well-remembered circumstances 
 which I had intended to mention in their proper connection. 
 
 At the Battle of the Crater, Capt. John A. Evans, of Chester- 
 field, was captured. He was the senior captain of the regiment. 
 After this event, Maj. C. D. Rowell resigning, Capt. C. S. Land, 
 of Williamsburg, and now of Clarendon, was for distinguished serv- 
 ices and gallantry on the field promoted to the office of major. In 
 the fall of 1864 Capt. D. W. Carter was killed by a shell from the 
 enemy's lines. In the heat of the battle on the Boydton plank road, 
 March 28, 1865, Lieut. J. C. Tomlinson, of Captain Wheeler's 
 company, was killed by a grapeshot. Lieutenant King, of Chester- 
 field, was wounded in the arm and shoulder at the Battle of Fort 
 Steadman. In front of the lines at Newbern in May, 1864, the first 
 shell from the enemy's gunboats killed and wounded twenty soldiers 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 45 
 
 of the Twenty-sixth S. C. V. — five killed, seven severely and eight 
 slightly wounded. But, as this sketch is intended to accompany the 
 rolls of the companies, and of the field and staff on file in the arch- 
 ives of the State, all omissions and inaccuracies will be supplied and 
 corrected by the accuracies of those rolls. 
 
Chapter III. 
 
 THE BATTLE OF THE CRATER. 
 
 By B. L. Beaty, Captain Company ■ K, Twenty-Sixth Regiment, 
 
 S. C. V., at Meeting of Horry County Confederate Soldiers' 
 
 Association at Conway, July 3, 1903. 
 
 Comrades, it has been assigned me to give you some account of 
 the "Battle of the Crater," which I will endeavor to do, supplement- 
 ing information from personal knowledge by that drawn from other 
 sources, which I deem necessary to a proper and intelligent under- 
 standing of the whole matter. 
 
 The uniform failure of the assaults of our enemies upon our 
 lines around Petersburg had caused them to come to the conclusion 
 that they could only succeed after a breach had been made in our 
 works. For this purpose a subterranean gallery for a mine was 
 run under one of our earthworks or forts, situated at the angle of 
 the Confederate works around Petersburg, Va., known as the 
 Elliott's Salient. The site of the "Crater" is east of the Jerusalem 
 plank road, about one-half mile southeast of Cemetery Hill, where 
 Blandford Cemetery was located — a short distance beyond the city 
 limits of Petersburg. 
 
 The Federal General Burnsides, who conducted this operation 
 against us, thus described the work : "The main gallery, extending 
 to a point under the Confederate line, was 522 feet long. From the 
 inner end of this main gallery extended side galleries for forty feet 
 in each direction. At the outer end and middle of .these side gal- 
 leries, short galleries were run and chambers or magazines were 
 made to contain the explosives. This was first intended to consist 
 of 1,200 or 1,400 pounds of powder in each of the eight magazines, 
 to be connected by a trough half filled with powder. It was after- 
 wards decided to put' only 320 kegs of powder, containing 1,000 
 pounds, in each of the eight magazines, making a charge of 8,000 
 pounds." 
 
 We knew the enemy was undermining our line at this point and 
 had endeavored to countermine and blow up the workmen, but failed 
 foi want of proper tools to do the work. Our brigade had been 
 stationed on this part of our line, or near to it, almost if not ever 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 47 
 
 since it was established, when we fell back on the 18th of June after 
 so stubbornly resisting Grant's army when he moved to the south 
 side of the James River, christening also with the blood of our men 
 this new line in resisting several heavy assaults of the enemy before 
 we had completed our breastworks, and holding them in check until 
 General Lee could come to our relief. Our regiment, the Twenty- 
 sixth S. C, was then fighting to the right of the hill where Pegram's 
 Battery was stationed. The earthworks in which this battery was 
 located was afterward blown up, forming the Crater. On the morn- 
 ing of the 30th of July, 1864, Saturday, the brigade of Gen. Stephen 
 Elliott, composed of the Twenty-sixth, Seventeenth, Eighteenth, 
 Twenty-second and Twenty-third S. C. Regiments of infantry, 
 occupied the line about the Elliott Salient, the regiments being lo- 
 cated from left to right, as here named, with Ransom's North Caro- 
 lina Brigade joined to the Twenty-sixth S. C. Regiment on the left 
 and Wise's Virginia Brigade joined to the Twenty-third S. C. Regi- 
 ment on the right. Our line at this point was very close to those of 
 the enemy — only 130 yards by actual measurement afterward made. 
 To drown any noise made by their miners, they kept up a constant 
 firing day and night, our men being equally vigilant, not allowing one 
 of them to expose himself without receiving our fire. Many deaths 
 and narrow escapes occurred here. So accurate became the aim from 
 practice, that to hold up one's hat on a ramrod was to have several 
 holes through it very quickly. This constant watching and exertion 
 day and night was very exhausting, so much so that the infantry and 
 artillery stationed here had to do duty by reliefs in the battery and 
 breastworks immediately adjoining. Our regiment, the Twenty- 
 sixth S. C, had not long been relieved from duty in the fort by the 
 Eighteenth S. C. Regiment. We were occupying the line on the left 
 of the brigade. 
 
 The enemy's plan of attack was for the colored division of the 
 Ninth, Burnside's Corps, to make the advance. The location of our 
 fort was pointed out to them and the part they were to perform was 
 given to their officers in detail, as was the work of the other troops. 
 The Thirtieth U. S. Regiment, colored troops, was to advance im- 
 mediately after the explosion as rapidly as possible to the Crater, 
 turn to the left, sweep down our line of breastworks and hold the 
 farthest point gained. Another regiment was selected lo do the 
 same on the right. This would make a fair opening for their troops 
 
48 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 following to make a bee line for our battery on Cemetery Hill, which 
 was understood to be the key to this part of our line and to command 
 the city. For several days their troops were drilled in just the move- 
 ments they were 'expected to go through with when the explosion 
 should occur. Time after time did they go through the imaginary 
 advance, turn to the left and advance along the line of our breast- 
 works. Every officer and private knew his place and what he was 
 expected to do. Without a single command, the part assigned to 
 each could have been carried out. But the night before, the plan 
 was changed and white troops sent in without knowing apparently 
 what to do, while the colored division was not ordered forward until 
 full two hours had elapsed and then had no definite idea what was 
 expected of them. The intention was to spring the mine at 2 o'clock 
 Saturday morning, but the fuse twice failed to ignite the powder. 
 For the grand assault on our lines the enemy had massed 65,000 
 men. It was well planned, and if carried out without the confusion 
 resulting from their change of plans at the last moment must have 
 proven very disastrous to us, indeed. The explosion, which occurred 
 at 4 45 a. m., by the records, overwhelmed Pegram's Battery of four 
 guns and all the men on duty with them, the whole of the Eighteenth 
 S. C. Regiment, with very few exceptions. Companies A and — were 
 entirely destroyed — not a man left of them; three companies of the 
 Twenty-second and part of Company A of the Seventeenth Regi- 
 ment. These all were in that part of the line that was blown up or 
 immediately adjoining it. For a short time immediately following the 
 explosion, great consternation prevailed among our men close to the 
 "Crater." Some being awakened from sleep, others taken completely 
 by surprise, were filled with consternation at the terrible calamity 
 and awful destruction caused by this, to them, new and powerful 
 mode of warfare. Some, partly stunned, others who had been partly 
 buried or tossed about by the explosion, came rushing down the line 
 covered with earth and wild with fright. But this condition did not 
 last long. Within then or fifteen minutes our men recovered from 
 their panic, the few left on the Eighteenth Regiment falling in line 
 with the Seventeenth, and these with the Twenty-sixth, were ready 
 and began the fight almost as soon as the enemy made their 
 appearance in the Crater, for so demoralizing was the effect 
 of the explosion upon them that it was fully ten minutes 
 before they came over their breastworks and made a rush for 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 49 
 
 our lines. At the same time two guns of Wright's Battery to our 
 left and rear began its work of death, sweeping with grape and 
 canister the open space on the hill between our lines and those of the 
 enemy, over which they had to pass, also enfilading the Crater. This 
 battery, being on an eminence above the elevation of the Crater, could 
 fire over our line, which it did with remarkable accuracy and effect 
 in the destruction of the enemy all through the fight to its close, 
 throwing during this time between 500 and 600 shell and canister. 
 Immediately following the explosion, the enemy opened fire upon our 
 lines as well as upon the city of Petersburg, with all of their cannon 
 in range of these points, hurling shot and shell heavily and furiously 
 upon us, burning several houses in the city, tearing up the earth- 
 works and ground all around us and our artillery, and with the heavy 
 infantry fire killing and wounding many of our men. The roar of 
 the guns, the bursting of shell and rattle of musketry was deafening, 
 yet the men of Elliott's Brigade bravely manned the works up to the 
 borders of the Crater, leaving no front for the entrance of the enemy 
 except such as had been made vacant by the upheavel of the earth. 
 The fire of Wright's Battery with the musketry from our brigade 
 and other troops along the line within reach, checked the advance 
 cf the enemy from their lines. So great, however, had been the 
 number thrown by the enemy into this breach that the Crater could 
 not contain the masses that rushed into it, without apparent or- 
 ganization in one immense crowd. The advance of the enemy being 
 checked as stated, the fire of Wright's Battery and that of our men 
 wac directed principally upon the masses of the enemy in our lines. 
 General Elliott now, about 6 o'clock, with Colonel Smith, followed 
 by his regiment, the Twenty-sixth S. C, marched up the line of 
 breastworks under a very severe enfilading fire from the enemy, to 
 within fifty or seventy-five yards of the Crater, filed the regiment out 
 of the entrenchments to the rear into the open field in full and com- 
 plete exposure to the masses of the enemy in the portion of our lines, 
 captured by them, as well as those in their own lines, who redoubled 
 their fire on us, until it was a terrific hailstorm of death. So severe 
 and destructive was this fire that we did not wait for the entire regi- 
 ment followed by the Seventeenth, which was ordered to form with 
 us for the purpose of driving the enemy from our lines, but so fast 
 were our men being killed that as soon as five or nine companies were 
 formed we charged upon them. It was indeed a forlorn hope. Our 
 
 4 — H. 
 
50 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 men were literally mowed down, loosing largely in officers and men, 
 General Elliott being among the first to fall within thirty yards of the 
 Crater, and was carried from the field badly wounded. In this charge 
 the few of us making it, pushed clear up to the Crater and one or two 
 going inside were made prisoners. Company K being on the left 
 of the line in this charge, struck a little to the left of the Crater where 
 it joined on to the trenches, and after our line had been repulsed with 
 teirible slaughter, found ourselves in the traverses, close up to the 
 Crater, between our men and the enemy. Though but few of us left, 
 we held our position, loading and firing into the masses of the enemy 
 in our immdiate front, by elevating our guns over our heads, as 
 there was a constant stream of death-dealing missiles passing over 
 our heads from front and rear of us, from friend and foe. 
 
 The command of the brigade now devolved upon Colonel Mc- 
 Master, of the Seventeenth Regiment, who states that, seeing the 
 rashness and hopelessness of the efforts to dislodge such a large num- 
 ber of the enemy, counting fourteen to sixteen of their regimental 
 flags in our front, in our lines, and they so well protected from our 
 fire by the position which they occupied in our breastwork in rear of 
 the Crater and the Crater itself, while our men were so few and ex- 
 posed from head to heels, countermanded the order. Fearing that 
 the enemy massed so heavily in our works would rush down the hill 
 and get in the rear of our lines and push on across the fields to the 
 city of Petersburg; only about a mile away, ordered Colonel Smith 
 to take all of his regiment he could gather, immediately go down the 
 ditch to where General Elliott's headquarters were, go up the ravine 
 extending somewhat parallel with and in rear of our lines, and form 
 in line, lie down and resist every effort of the enemy to advance, be- 
 lieving that the fate of Petersburg, as well perhaps as our entire line 
 of defense, depended upon filling up the gap in rear of the Crater, 
 and holding the enemy in check in this direction. 
 
 The Twenty-sixth Regiment being very much reduced by the 
 heavy loss sustained in the charge just made with the other fighting 
 of the morning, three companies of the Seventeenth Regiment were 
 detached to go with it, altogether numbering not over three to four 
 hundred men. The remainder of the Seventeenth, with the remain- 
 ing few of the Eighteenth, were spread out along the line of our 
 breastworks until they struck Ransom's North Carolina Brigade on 
 the left, and fought the enemy from behind the traverses. 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 51 
 
 So heavy and close was the .fighting here that about all of 
 the two companies on the right were killed, wounded or 
 captured. Though so few, they held their lines until driven by the 
 charge of a negro brigade, about 8 o'clock, who thus captured about 
 100 yards of our lines. From the time the firing began ten or fifteen 
 minutes after the explosion, until the final recapture of our line, the 
 infantry fire north or left of the Crater was unceasing, and did great 
 execution. The fighting on the right or south of the Crater, I can 
 give only a small account of, as we were cut off therefrom. 
 
 The enemy threw into our lines three white divisions, "Ledlies," 
 "Potters" and "Wilcox," of the Ninth Corps, excepting about 
 four regiments, making 6,000 men. To this add 4,400 colored troops 
 and we have 10400 men, and this without counting a brigade of 
 Turner's divison of the Eighteenth Corps, which took possession of 
 about 100 yards of our line north of the Crater. One report of the 
 enemy puts the number at 10,000 to 12,000 men that crossed over into 
 our lines. The Ninth and Eighteenth Corps made the charge, the 
 Fifth in reserve. They filled our line to overflowing for about 100 
 yards on each side of the Crater. They became so packed therein 
 that it was difficult to move about, and made repeated efforts to move 
 out, form line of battle in rear of our lines they had captured, and 
 charge through to Cemetery Hill and the city. The first effort was 
 broken up by our men firing into their backs from our line of 
 breastworks immediately adjoining the Crater, before the Twenty- 
 sixth and part of the Seventeenth were ordered to close and hold 
 the vacant gap in rear of the Crater. While we occupied the 
 latter position in the ravine to the rear, we were continu- 
 ally firing into the enemy crowded into our line and receiving their 
 fire in addition to that of many of their batteries of artillery being 
 drawn upon us by the fire of our mortars and cannon near and in line 
 with us, which was killing and wounding our men continually. Their 
 officers repeatedly and continuously endeavored to have their men 
 leave the Crater, where they were so packed and being slaughtered 
 so terribly, and move out in acordance with original plan of attack, 
 but whenever they began to do so the men of the Twenty-sixth and 
 Seventeenth Regiments rising up from the depression or ravine 
 where they lay would pour in their fire so rapidly with that of our 
 artillery that they would waver, break and rush back to cover in 
 the line of captured breastworks and Crater. There was a line of 
 
52 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 breastworks running immediately in rear of the salient occupied by 
 Pegram's Battery. This rear line was not completely destroyed by 
 the explosion and it was back to this rear line, in the open field, they 
 would attempt to form their lines of battle. Every effort made by the 
 enemy thus to advance was foiled and broken up. The balance of the 
 South Carolina Brigade, aided by Ransom's on the left and Wise on 
 the right, hemmed them in to within about ioo yards on each side of 
 the Crater, while our cannon and mortar hurled and rained shot, 
 shell and canister upon this seething mass of humanity. Their 
 commanding officers continuing to rush their men into the 
 Crater, with the intention to form and charge to the 
 right and left and double up our line, hold as far as captured 
 and then with the balance of the 65,000 men massed for the occasion, 
 push on through, take and hold Cemetery Hill, break up our line of 
 defense, capture the city. For four hours, from about 5 a. m. or be- 
 fore, until about 9 o'clock, we fought them foot by foot, from the 
 line of our breastworks and the ravine in rear of the Crater, succeed- 
 ing in confining them to and adjoining the breach in our line made 
 by the springing of the mine, when Mahone came to our assistance. 
 It must have been only a question of time how long the artillery and 
 the few men we had, and they becoming more and more reduced by 
 death and wounds, could keep up the unequal contest. It must have 
 have eventually resulted in the enemy finally rushing over us. 
 
 Let us now see what the enemy says about the foregoing part of 
 this battle. One of them says : "I arrived in rear of the First Division 
 just as the mine was sprung. It was a magnificent spectacle as the 
 mass of earth went up into the air, carrying with it men, guns, car- 
 riage and timbers, and spreading out like an immense cloud as it 
 reached' its attitude. So close was the Union line that it appeared 
 the mass would descend immediately upon the troops waiting to 
 make the charge. This caused them to break and scatter to the rear, 
 and about ten minutes were consumed in reforming for the attack. 
 Though not much was lost by this, as it took nearly that time for the 
 cloud of dust to pass off." 
 
 Another gives the following as an eye witness : "I felt a trembling 
 of the earth, and a dull roar was heard. I looked to the front and 
 saw a huge column of dirt, dust, smoke and flame of fire, apparently 
 200 feet high, which on reaching its highest point curled over like 
 a plume and then came down with a dull thud to the earth. While 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 53 
 
 in the air I could see in the column of fire and smoke the bodies of 
 men, arms, legs, pieces of timber, and a gun carriage. I felt very 
 weak and pale, the faces of my comrades never looked more blanched, 
 while the troops in front of us broke back and became intermingled 
 with those in their rear. They were sOon rallied, but it seemed to 
 me fully ten minutes before I saw the advance go over our earth- 
 works toward the enemy. In meantime our forts all along the line 
 opened out with every gun ; they were almost immediately answered 
 by the Confederate. The solid shot and shell howled and shrieked 
 over our heads, and balls could be seen ricochetting along the front 
 line of our works from an enfilade fire on our right front. Men were 
 dropping here and there, .the wounded began to come back, soon the 
 order came for us to go forward. I think it must have been a half 
 hour after the explosion before we got over our work. The musketry- 
 was crashing in our front and the air seemed to be full of missiles." 
 The first of the enemy charging up to the Crater found an enormous 
 hole in the ground about thirty feet deep, sixty feet wide and 170 
 feet long, filled with dust, great blocks of clay, guns, broken carriages, 
 projecting timbers, and men buried in various ways — some up to 
 their neck, others to their waist, and some with only their feet, legs 
 or hands protruding from the earth. The scene struck every one 
 dumb with astonishment as they arrived at the crest of the Crater 
 and looked into this black hole of death and destruction. In the 
 meantime the second line came charging up and upon the first and 
 the second became inextricably mixed in their desire to look into the 
 hole. Their officers, however, yelled to them to move forward and 
 the men did so, jumping, sliding and trembling into the hole, over 
 the debris of material and dead and dying men and huge blocks of 
 solid clay, up to the other side of the Crater they climbed, and while 
 a detachment stopped to place two of the dismounted guns in posi- 
 tion to fire on the Confederates, a portion of the leading brigade 
 passed over the crest and attempted to form. It was at this period 
 they found they were being killed by musket shots from the rear 
 fired by the Confederates who still occupied the traverses and en- 
 trenchments to the right and left of the Crater. This coming so un- 
 expectedly caused the forming line to fall back into the Crater. The 
 earth thrown up by the explosion formed a crest on the front of the 
 Crater perhaps twelve feet high, and they had to pass over this 
 to get into or out of the Crater from or to their lines. The enemy 
 continued to throw forward their troops into our lines." 
 
54 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 Their account continued states: "The Crater was full of men. 
 They were lying all around and every point that could give shelter 
 to a man was occupied. The fire of the Confederates had been ex- 
 ceedingly warm. The men literally came falling over into the Crater 
 on their hands and knees; they were so thick in there that a man 
 could not walk. The intention was for the Ninth Corps to penetrate 
 the Confederate lines, double them up to the right and left, when 
 my corps, the Eighth (Ord's) was to pass out and cover the right 
 flank of the assaulting column, but the Confederates still held posses- 
 sion of their line up to within ioo yards of the Crater when I arrived, 
 which surprised me. I asked one or two officers if an attempt had 
 been made to move on Cemetery Hill. They said the attempt had 
 been made and failed. They were exposed to the trrific fire of the 
 Confederates which was then growing warm and warmer and was a 
 very severe fire." 
 
 This was between 7 and 8 o'clock. In describing the charge 
 made by our brigade led by General Elliott, they state : "There was 
 a charge made by a small body of troops, probably about 400." 
 
 Some of them reached the outer rim of the Crater and were taken 
 in by us. How far did the enemy advance towards Cemetery Hill 
 during the four hours of their occupation of our lines before the 
 charge of General Malone? was asked several witnesses in the 
 official investigation made into this matter by the Federal govern- 
 ment. General Griffin in his testimony in answer to the question, 
 Did your command go beyond the Crater? answered it did. How 
 far? I should judge about 200 yards, more or less. Colonel Thomas 
 in answer to these questions, said I did. I should say between 300 
 and 400 yards. The question was then asked, Did you get beyond 
 the enemy's lines ? I did, sir ; I lead a charge which was not success- 
 ful ; the moment I reached the First Brigade I started out the Thirty- 
 first colored regiment which was in front, but it lost its three ranking 
 officers in getting into position and did not go out well. The next 
 witness, Lieutenant-Colonel Russell, in answer to the question, How 
 far did you get towards Cemetery Hill? answered, "Not exceeding 
 fifty yards; we were driven back." "By what?" "I should judge by 
 200 to 400 men — infantry — which rose up from a little ravine and 
 i harged us." Colonel Bates says, "The surroundings were such that 
 a line of battle could not be formed. All I could do was to order our 
 advance to the front, which order was obeyed by my regiment and 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 55 
 
 such other portions of other regiments as were near us. We reached 
 the open plain beyond the line of breastworks. How far we went 
 I do not know, for a volley from our front and right (just the posi- 
 tion the men of the Twenty-sixth and Seventeenth occupied) disabled 
 about one-half of the officers and one-third of the privates." 
 
 A little before 9 o'clock, while we were holding the enemy in 
 check, confining him to as small portion of our lines as possible and 
 doing all in our power to make it as hot for him as we could, General 
 Mahone came to our assistance with his men. "Arriving on the 
 ground," General Mahone says, "I saw the Confederate works filled 
 to overflowing with Federal troops, and counting eleven regimental 
 flags, estimated the Federal force in possession as at least 3,000 
 men. The situation was an extremely grave one." 
 
 One of his men says, "As we approached the ravine from which 
 the charge was made I saw the works north of the Crater filled with 
 thousands of the enemy. I counted twenty-one flags flying from the 
 Crater and these works." 
 
 The first that arrived were Mahone's old brigade of Virginians. 
 These came up out of the covered way, cautiously approaching the 
 ravine where we lay, forming on the right of the Twenty-sixth, and 
 three companies of the Seventeenth South Carolina Regiment. At 
 the openings where the enemy could see them, they were ordered to 
 run quickly, by one at a time, to conceal their approach and lessen 
 the danger of being shot. Soon the iine of battle was formed. 
 
 General Mahone ordered the men to fix bayonets and lay down, 
 and when we charged to oblique sharply to the right, so as to strike 
 well up the line and into the Crater, and to reserve our fire until we 
 reached the ditch, then give them one volley and use the bayonets. 
 At this point, while waiting for the Georgia Brigade to get in posi- 
 tion on the right, one of Mahone's men says, "The battle flags seemed 
 as thick as corn stalks in a row and the whole face of the earth, in- 
 cluding the ditch which our men formerly occupied, fairly teemed 
 with the enemy." Wright's Georgia Brigade had not got into posi- 
 tion when many of the enemy began jumping in line. Suddenly we 
 heard a shout, as if the enemy was about to charge us. We could 
 delay no longer. It was life or death with us. "Charge 1" rang out 
 along the line, which we did with a yell, with bayonets fixed, arms at 
 a trail, reserving our fire. It was a glorious sight to see that line of 
 veterans with their tattered uniforms, as it swept across the open field, 
 
56 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 in the face of a tremendous fire, that was thinning its ranks at every 
 step and every man appreciating the vital importance of getting to 
 the works and closing with the enemy as quickly as possible. The 
 charge was possibly as splendid as any of which history had made 
 record. The line of battle beginning on the left consisted of the 
 Sixty-first, Forty-ninth and Twenty-fifth N. C. Regiments ; Twenty- 
 sixth and part of the Seventeenth S. C. Regiments, all under Colonel 
 Smith; of the Twenty-sixth, Mahone's old brigade, of Virginia; 
 the Twelfth, Sixth, Forty-second, Sixty-first and one and a half regi- 
 ments of the Georgia Brigade. We captured the line equal to our 
 front, viz. : Three- fourths of the line around the rear of Crater and 
 all that part of entrenchments on the left of it, occupied by the enemy. 
 Many of them, white and black, abandoning the breach, fled to their 
 lines under a terrific flank fire from our infantry and artillery. But 
 the works were not ours ; the Crater itself was held by a large number 
 of the enemy, not yet ready to surrender ; also some fifty yards of our 
 works south or right of it was in their possession. We were also 
 suffering very severely from an enfilading fire poured from the 
 Ctater that projected far to the rear of our line, as well as from 
 their main line of battle in their works. To drive out these in our 
 lines, at 10 o'clock, about an hour after the first charge, Wright's 
 Brigade, of Georgia, was ordered forward from the ravine from 
 which the previous charge was made. 
 
 But such was the severity of the fire from the enemy they were 
 forced to oblique to the left and take shelter, partly in the works 
 previously captured by us. When this charge was about to be made, 
 our men were all ordered to fire qn the enemy as rapidly as possible ; 
 to keep their heads down, which was obeyed with a will, as there 
 were many captured guns lying around which were used in addition 
 to our own. About n o'clock the Georgia brigade was called to 
 make another attempt to carry the works about the Crater and south 
 of it, but this, like the first, was unsuccessful. It was agreed between 
 Gen. Bushrod Johnson and General Mahone that a combined 
 assault should be made at i o'clock, Johnson from the south or left 
 and Mahone from the north or right, from the rear in the Crater. 
 In meantime the fight was continued with terrible effect on both 
 sides, and fears were entertained that the enemy might from a re- 
 enforced effort regain the breach in our line. 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 57 
 
 Col. J. C. Haskell, always hunting a place where he could 
 strike the enemy with telling effect, brought up two morters to a 
 ditch within a few yards of the Crater, and was quickly pitching 
 shell after shell over among the crowded masses of the enemy in 
 this terrible pit. While this deadly work of the mortars was going 
 on our sharpshooters sent back to the pit dead or wounded every 
 man who exposed himself or attempted to get away back to their 
 lines.. Bayonetted muskets of the dead were also hurled like javelins 
 into the pit upon the enemy, who would send them back upon us. 
 The hour of 1 o'clock having arrived, the combined movement be- 
 fore mentioned was made and our line restored. The enemy in the 
 pit, finding they could not escape, surrendered. 
 
 Saturday night 55 negroes and 178 whites of the enemy were 
 buried in the Crater. Sunday a flag of truce was sent in with a re- 
 quest to bury the dead. On Monday morning from 5 to 9 o'clock 
 they buried 700 of their men who had been killed on the hill between 
 their line and ours. Only twelve of our men were found here, prob- 
 ably thrown there by the explosion. 
 
 In the charge at 9 o'clock Sergt. Eli Mincy, of my company — 
 K, of the Twenty-sixth S. C. Regiment — was struck on the arm by a 
 ball, which deadened it so that he had to drop his gun. He had not 
 gone far before the same accident occurred to the other arm. He, 
 however, kept up with the line, seized a gun from the ground on ar- 
 riving at the Crater, and did manful work with it. Another, Steve 
 Lewis, was knocked down in the charge by a shell striking the ground 
 just in front of our line and exploding, covering Lewis up with the 
 earth thrown up by it. However, he recovered himself so far as to get 
 on his feet and hands, and on his "all fours" kept up with the line for 
 some distance, when he righted himself and went into the fight with 
 good execution. Another, Lewis Gerrald, was attacked by a power- 
 ful negro soldier with his bayonet, and in his lunge the bayonet 
 passed through Gerrald's hat. Gerrald, however, killed his antago- 
 nist and came out of the fight unhurt. A captain of a Virginia com- 
 pany fell, pierced with eleven bayonet wounds. A tall, athletic, strong 
 Confederate, after discharging his gun, killed five of the enemy with 
 bayonet and the butt of gun. Another had a fierce hand-to-hand 
 conflict with a Federal officer, he with his bayonet, and the officer 
 with his sword. The Confederate finally plunged his bayonet 
 through the body of the officer, who made a cut at him afterward 
 
58 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 with his sword. At the close of the fight one battle flag, by actual 
 count, was found to have had seventy-five shots pass through it, 
 while nine had struck the staff. A Virginia soldier saw a mere 
 youth, a soldier of Elliott's South Carolina Brigade, leaning with his 
 back against the breastworks with a large negro soldier standing over 
 him, endeavoring to send his bayonet through his body. ___ The youth 
 had hold of the bayonet and was resisting with all his might. The 
 Virginian made for them, lunged at the negro, but from some cause 
 missed and struck the negro on the hip bone with his bayonet. He 
 immediately turned and seized the gun of his antagonist and tried 
 to disarm him. While they were scuffling over the gun a Federal 
 lieutenant, a white man, placed a cocked pistol to the face of the 
 Virginian and ordered him to surrender; other Confederates com- 
 ing up, the Virginian refused, when the lieutenant pulled trigger, 
 but the pistol snapped. As quick as thought he again cocked it and 
 putting it to the face of the Virginian pulled trigger and it fired, 
 but they were so close that it was knocked up by his arm and missed 
 him. Before the lieutenant could get ready for another shot, a Con- 
 federate had pierced him through with his bayonet. Just at this 
 time the youth picked up a heavy army pistol and with the butt end 
 gave the negro a blow on the forehead which knocked him down 
 and killed him. Let us see a little of what was going on on the 
 enemy's side. A Federal lieutenant who was driven from our lines 
 into the Crater by our charge says : "With a dozen of my company 
 I went down the traverse to the Crater. We were the last to reach 
 it, and the rifles of the Union soldiers were flashing in our faces, 
 when we jumped down in there and the Johnnies were not twenty 
 yards behind us. A full line around the crest of the Crater was 
 loading and firing as fast as they could and the men were dropping 
 thick and fast, most of them shot through the head. Every man 
 shot rolled down the steep sides to the bottom, and in places they 
 were piled three and four deep. The cries of the wounded, pressed 
 down under the dead, were piteous in the extreme. An enfilading 
 fire was coming through the traverse down which we had retreated, 
 and General Bartlett ordered the colored soldiers to build a breast- 
 work across it. Doing so being slow work with earth, they were 
 told to fill it up with the dead, and a large number of Union soldiers, 
 white and black, were piled into the trench. The day was fearfully 
 hot, canteens were empty, and the wounded crying for water. The 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 59 
 
 artillery on Cemetery Hill and Wright's Battery kept up a constant 
 fire of grape and kept the dirt flying about us. A morter battery 
 also got our range so that their shells fell directly among us and 
 cut the men down most cruelly. Many of the men now tried to make 
 our lines, but to do so they had to run up a slope in full view of the 
 enemy that now surrounded us on three sides and nearly every man 
 who attempted it fell back riddled with bullets." In an account by 
 a member of the New York Artillery, it was stated that when the 
 negroes charged into our lines, "some of the white soldiers declared 
 they would never follow 'niggers' or be caught in their company, 
 and started back to their lines, but were promptly driven forward 
 again. Then the colored troops broke and scattered and pandemo- 
 nium began. The bravest lost heart and men who mistrusted the 
 negro vented their feeling freely. Some colored men who came 
 into the Crater found a worse fate than death on the charge. The 
 whites believed the Confederates would give no quarter to negroes 
 or whites taken with them, so that to be shut up with blacks in the 
 Crater was equal to a doom of death. It has been positively as- 
 serted that white men bayonetted blacks who fell back into the 
 Crater, in order to preserve the whites from Confederate vengeance. 
 Men boasted in my presence that blacks had been thus disposed of, 
 particularly when the Confederates came up. A few Indians of the 
 First Michigan Sharpshooters did splendid work. Some of them 
 were mortally wounded, and drawing their blouses over their faces, 
 chanted their death song and died — four of them in one group. An 
 attempt was made to dig a trench through the side of the Crater, 
 towards the Union lines, but the Rebs. got the range of that 
 hole and plugged the bullets into it so thick and fast no one would 
 work in it." Here their account ends. There is one more incident I 
 wish to give. There was one very happy man on the field that after- 
 noon. His clothes were saturated with red mud made of red dirt 
 and sweat. He was bareheaded and his hair was matted with the 
 same red mud, and his face was covered with it, except here and 
 there were streaks washed clean by perspiration. But his eyes 
 showed happiness to their very bottom. He was one of Elliott's 
 Brigade, and had been buried close by the side of the Crater, had 
 been stunned by the concussion and when he came to himself he had 
 been buried, but how or when he knew not. He could move a little, 
 and he saw near him a crack through which daylight came and had 
 
60 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 finally worked his way out with his hands and nails. He had 
 emerged from what he feared would be his grave and was happy. 
 
 Our loss by the explosion was 256 officers and men of the Eight- 
 eenth, Twenty-second and Seventeenth Regiments, and two officers 
 and twenty-two men of Pegram's Battery, The Twenty-second 
 Regiment lost Colonel Flemming, Adjutant Quattlebaum and 
 116 men. General Mahone in his orders of congratulations to 
 his command stated, "That with an effective force of less than 
 3,000 men, and with a casualty list of 598, we have killed 700, 
 wounded over 3,000, and captured 1,101 prisoners, 1,916 stands 
 of small arms and 19 stands of colors." This, however, did 
 not cover the enemy's loss. From a memorandum written by me at 
 the time I take the following : "The space of their works and ours 
 for 200 to 300 yards was covered with their dead crossed and piled 
 two and three deep in some places. From this part of the field 700 
 of the enemy's dead were buried, while 300 or 400 were also buried 
 in the Crater, and for 100 yards or more our entrenchments to the 
 north or left of the Crater was so full of their dead you could not 
 find a place for your feet to go on the ground, with the innumerable 
 little ditches running out to the rear of our line piled with their 
 slain, while many were hanging partly over our breastworks, killed 
 as they were attempting to climb over and get back to their lines. 
 Our loss in the charge led by General Elliott early in the morning 
 was nine killed and forty wounded and missing, of the missing there 
 were only two or three. This makes of killed and wounded one in 
 every seven to eight men. Among the wounded were General El- 
 liott, shot through the body, and Colonel Smith, slightly in the shoul- 
 der. Captain Wheeler and Lieutenant Hays killed. In the day's 
 fighting the enemy's loss was 5,640, including 1,200 prisoners, one 
 brigadier-general killed and one captured. Twelve hundred men will 
 cover the entire Confederate loss. The loss in the Twenty-sixth S. C. 
 Regiment was 16 killed, 41 wounded and 21 captured, a total of 78. 
 In Company K of Twenty-sixth Regiment were killed three, viz. : 
 Lieut. W. J. Taylor, Elias Tyler and Solomon Gerald ; wounded four, 
 Lieut. John H. Williamson, in foot severely; Sergt. E. A. Mincy, 
 both arms slightly; E. Harrelson, side severely; Steve S. Lewis, in 
 hand and by shell ; captured two, J. H. Gerrock and A. C. Small— 
 a loss in killed and wounded of one to every six." 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 6i 
 
 The enemy admitted a loss of 5,000 men in killed, wounded and 
 prisoners, including 1,101 prisoners, among them two brigade com- 
 manders and 21 stands of colors. During the flag of truce, 
 a colonel of a negro brigade stated "that he carried in 2,200 men 
 and brought out 800." The reports of the enemy also state that 
 they fired during this action 3,833 shot and shell, making seventy- 
 five tons of metal hurled at us, by eighty-one cannons and morters ; 
 while one of their officers says: "I have always claimed that this was 
 one of the most desperate, bloody and fearful battles for the number 
 engaged in the fight of any in the war." B. L. Beaty. 
 
 July 3, 1903. 
 
Chapter IV. 
 
 PERSONAL EXPERIENCE 
 
 Of J. H. Hudson, Lieutenant-Colonel Twenty-Sixth Regiment, S. C. 
 V., Near the Close of the War. 
 
 The Twenty-sixth Regiment, S. C. V., of which I had the honor of 
 being lieutenant-colonel, formed a part of the brigade of Gen. John- 
 son Hagood while stationed at Church Flats, below Charleston, dur- 
 ing the winter of i862-'63. Early in May, 1863, we were assigned to 
 the brigade of Gen. N. G. Evans and ordered to Jackson, Miss. 
 After the siege and evacuation of Jackson, we were ordered back 
 to Charleston, where we arrived late in July, and were stationed at 
 Mount Pleasant, in full view of the siege of Battery Wagener and all 
 the operations in and around the harbor of Charleston. In Novem- 
 ber we were stationed in the city of Charleston and farmed a part of 
 its garrison until March, 1864, when we were ordered to Virginia. 
 Owing to an injury received by General Evans in a fall from his 
 horse on the stone pavement in the streets of Charleston, he could 
 not accompany his brigade, and General Walker, known as "Live 
 Oak" Walker, was assigned to its command and went with us. At 
 Weldon the brigade was stopped and sent down to Kinston, on the 
 Neuse River, to join General Hoke in his expedition against New- 
 bern. Arriving at Newbern early in May, preparations were 
 made for the assault on the town, and operations were beguri, when 
 we were peremptorily ordered to Petersburg, Va., then seriously 
 threatened by the army under Gen. B. F. Butler. A part of Gen- 
 eral Hoke's division arrived in time to assist in rescuing from the 
 Federals the line of railroad leading to Richmond. Walker's Brigade; 
 however, did not reach Petersburg, for want of transportation, until 
 the evening of the 17th May, and found the city rejoicing over the 
 victory of Beauregard over Butler at Drury's Bluff on the day be- 
 fore, but freely criticising the failure of General Whiting to move 
 upon the left and rear of the Federal army by way of Swift Creek, 
 as he had been ordered to do by General Beauregard, which move- 
 ment, if promptly executed, would have resulted disastrously to the 
 Federal army. Remaining in Petersburg until the night of the 19th 
 May, we were moved up to Clay's Farm, in front of Bermuda Hun- 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 63 
 
 dreds, where on the 20th May we were engaged all day with the 
 forces of General Butler, and on that day General Beauregard com- 
 pleted the work of "bottling up" General Butler's army at Bermuda 
 Hundreds. In the afternoon of May 20th, the gallant General 
 Walker, whilst aligning his brigade in the woods, rode into a Fed- 
 eral ambush, and fell into their hands severely wounded by their 
 close fire. From May 20th until the 15th June the two armies con- 
 fronted each other, but without a general engagement. On the 
 night of the 15th June, the division of Bushrod Johnson, of which 
 our brigade formed a part, was moved hastily to Petersburg to aid 
 in checking the advance of General Grant. 
 
 On the 16th, 17th and 18th the Confederates fought desperately 
 against superior numbers, and as if by a miracle, held at bay the 
 army of Grant until General Lee arrived with a part of his veterans. 
 The lines Beauregard had established in the face of enormous odds 
 were held and maintained from June 18, 1864, to April 2, 
 1865, a period of nearly ten months. The history of the siege and 
 defense of Richmond and Petersburg during these ten months, if 
 truthfully written, would read like a romance, perhaps unsurpassed 
 , in the annals of modern warfare. Not a day, or night, not even an 
 hour of day or night, passed except under fire of the artillery or 
 small arms or both artillery and small arms of our persistent foe. 
 The thin line of Confederates, thirty-five miles or more in length, 
 presented to the world a spectacle of marvelous courage and forti- 
 tude in the face of vastly superior numbers. But I have not time or 
 space for even an outline of the unbroken battle of ten months, nor 
 for a description of its most bloody tragedy, the Battle of the Crater. 
 During this memorable siege our brigade was commanded by 
 Gen. Steven Elliott until the Battle of the Crater, in which he was 
 severely wounded, and thenceforth it was commanded by W. H. Wal- 
 lace, cojonel of the Eighteenth S. C. V., who was commissioned 
 brigadier after the disabling of General Elliott was definitely ascer- 
 tained to be permanent. To the besieged the toils, privations, hard- 
 ships, dangers and severity of the winter of i864-'6s were trying in 
 the extreme. A volume might be written descriptive of the siege of 
 Richmond and Petersburg, and the behavior of the garrison through- 
 cut, which, stripped of all embellishment, would justly be classed 
 with the marvelous and heroic. 
 
64 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 The first week of March, 1865, the division of Bushrod Johnson 
 was relieved of duty in the trenches around Petersburg, where it had 
 served faithfully and continuously from June 16, 1864, and the 
 corps of General Early moved in to take its place. 
 
 We went into camp in the woods at Burgess Mill on the extreme 
 right of the line and comparatively remote from the foe. The change 
 was hailed with delight by the weary soldiers, who little dreamed of 
 'the severe work in store for us so near at hand; for we were not 
 aware of the formidable flank movement of the army of General 
 Grant then about to begin with the forces under General Sheridan 
 in the van. General Lee, however, was aware of it, and to create 
 a diversion, and if possible to break through the Federal lines and 
 strike Grant's base of supplies at City Point, he planned an assault 
 on their entrenchments at Hair's Hill before dawn on the morning 
 of the 26th March. Accordingly, on the night of the 25th, our di- 
 vision broke camp at Burgess Mill and marched back to Petersburg 
 where at dawn on the morning of the 26th, in conjunction with the 
 corps of General Gordon, we assaulted and easily captured Fort 
 Steadman on Hair's Hill and the lines to the right and left to a con- 
 siderable distance, taking a goodly number of prisoners who were 
 surprised. 
 
 But to advance further with our small force was discovered to 
 be impossible, and after holding the captured ground until about 1 1 
 o'clock a. m. we were withdrawn in time to escape slaughter or 
 capture by the overwhelming force massing against us. 
 
 That night Johnson's division returned to camp at Burgess Mill. 
 On the 28th March, Sheridan's advance forces, aiming to reach and 
 destroy the South Side Railroad, struck us at the sawdust pile on the 
 Boydton plank road, near our camp. A stubborn fight ensued be- 
 tween our three brigades, Gracie's Alabama, Wise's Virginia and 
 Wallace's South Carolina on the one hand and two divisions of Fed- 
 eials on the other. We made the attack by single brigades in the 
 woods on their superior force, but with only partial success, the 
 opposing forces camping within easy range of small arms. 
 
 On the following morning by break of day we moved along the 
 White Oak road paralle] to the march of the Federals and skirmish- 
 ing with them all day. On the night of the 28th, and during the 
 day of the 29th the rain was very heavy and we suffered much dis- 
 comfort. On the night of the 30th we went into camp at Five Forks, 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 65 
 
 the enemy having moved off in the direction of Dinwiddie Court- 
 house, along which march they were much harassed by our cavalry 
 on the 30th and 31st March. On the last day of March our infantry 
 consisting of only 7,000 men under General Pickett moved in the di- 
 rection of Dinwiddie Courthouse, where Sheridan with his 25,000 
 fresh and well equipped troops lay in camp. Late in the afternoon a 
 severe cavalry engagement occurred in that vicinity with the advan- 
 tage on the side of the Confederates. 
 
 At night we encamped in the woods within two miles of Din- 
 widdie Courthouse, but it being discovered that we were within the 
 Federal lines and practically surrounded by portions of their troops, 
 no fires were allowed and silence enjoined. Before day we began a 
 retrogade movement towards Five Forks, pursued by the enemy. 
 About noon we reached our camp of the night before at the Forks, 
 and at once began to prepare dinner, being very tired and hungry. 
 Before we had finished the meal we were hastily called to arms and 
 thrown into line along the main road of the Forks ; Wise's Brigade 
 , covering the Five Forks, Wallace and Ransom on the left and Gracie 
 to the right. By the time we had cut bushes and with bayonets and 
 pans had thrown up dirt knee high, the Federals ran upon us in 
 force. The fighting was close and severe. By the middle of the 
 afternoon Sheridan's 25,000 men were up, and greatly overlapped us 
 on the left, when we were completely flanked. Warren's entire corps 
 was thrown on the left flank of Pickett's meager force, and the onset 
 had to be met by the thin brigades of Ransom and Wallace which 
 were attacked in front and flank simultaneously in an open stand-up 
 fight, for we had scarcely the semblance of protection in front and 
 none whatever on the flank. The fighting was fierce and bloody until 
 we were completely overlapped by superior numbers and stood as it 
 were between the blades of scissors, the enemy being within twenty 
 steps of our front and rear. Just before this extremity arrived a 
 tragic incident occurred. For several days it was known that spies 
 and scouts of the enemy had been among us afoot and mounted, but 
 none had been caught. In the rear of the Twenty-sixth S. C. V. was 
 a thicket of old-field pines behind which were our ambulances and 
 ordnance wagons. Through this thicket a soldier with a Federal 
 overcoat dashed up to us on horseback. Some one cried out, "Shoot 
 the Federal spy." Instantly a half dozen bullets pierced his body, and 
 he fell from his horse dead. It was then discovered that he was 
 
 5— h. 
 
66 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 General Ransom's young adjutant, Ghee or McGhee, who had been 
 but recently married. His fate was never definitely known to his 
 people or his general until I narrated it to General Ransom in 1896. 
 But the enemy had doubled upon us, and the route began in an effort 
 to retreat by the right flank, where there was the only possible chance 
 to escape the storm of bullets pelting us in front and rear. 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Culp, of the Seventeenth, and I, of the Twenty- 
 sixth S. C. V., had stood our ground until it was almost too late to 
 escape, but we began to retreat by the right flank, and were uncover- 
 ing the Five Forks when Gen. Matt Ransom dashed up on a fine bay 
 horse, hat in hand, and called for volunteers to return and beat back 
 the foe. We had then retreated less than one hundred yards from our 
 original position. I responded and gave the order to countermarch. I 
 supposed the regiment had obeyed, but owing to the confusion and 
 panic not more than the two companies of the right followed me 
 into the place of peril and confusion. The ambulances and ordnance 
 wagons had been driven from shelter and stood deserted by drivers 
 near the line then being occupied by the enemy, who likewise filled 
 the pine thicket, the dead and wounded lay thick upon the ground, 
 the bullets were flying and shells bursting in every direction. Into 
 this pandemonium we rushed and regained our position in the lines, 
 but only to become targets for the close cross-fire of the Federals 
 massed in front and rear at twenty paces distant. I was shot down, 
 as were many others, and the route of Pickett's entire command 
 became general,, a few escaping, but most being captured, and the 
 way to the South Side Railroad was open to Sheridan. 
 
 I have thus attempted to give a brief narrative of the battle of 
 the afternoon of April 1, 1865, at the Five Forks proper, where 
 less than 8,000 foot-sore, ragged and half-starved Confederates for 
 four hours in the open held at bay 25,000 well-clad, well-fed Federal 
 troops, and gave way and fled only after more than half the force 
 had been killed, wounded and captured. The route of the survivors 
 was complete, and night and the woods and impassible roads alone 
 enabled any to escape. 
 
 The able and gallant Federal corps commander, Warren, in- 
 curred the displeasure of General Sheridan for not destroying or 
 capturing Pickett's entire force, and he was relieved of his com- 
 mand, which was given to General Gibbon. Could the verdict of the 
 Confederates have been rendered Warren would have been vindi- 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 67 
 
 cated, for in our judgment his corps was never better handled, and 
 never fought better ; Warren by a court of inquiry was after the war 
 fully vindicated. This disastrous battle led to the evacuation of 
 Richmond and Petersburg on the night of April 2d, the retreat of 
 Lee's skeleton of an army and his surrender at Appomattox, Sunday, 
 April 9, 1865. 
 
 I will relate my experience after being wounded. The wound I 
 received was from a minie ball at the distance of fifteen steps, the 
 ball passing through my left side below the lungs, and just missing 
 the entrails. It knocked me down. In a moment two of the ambu- 
 lance corps, one of them being the Seventeenth S. C. V., from Ches- 
 ter, S. C, ran and hastily threw me on a stretcher, and running, 
 shoved me and stretcher into our ambulance, standing without a 
 driver within twenty steps of the enemy and in the line of the cross- 
 fire. I remonstrated with them, but all in vain, and in a twinkling 
 they were gone. As apprehended, the bullets were passing through 
 the covering of the ambulance, and in desperation I raised up, slided 
 from the ambulance in face of the battle line of the enemy twenty 
 steps off, crawled under the vehicle and horses and toddled off 
 through the small pines, every one of which was being scraped with 
 bullets, and how I escaped being riddled Providence alone knows. 
 Having hobbled off one hundred yards, I fell down in great pain ex- 
 hausted. Passing pellmell rushed the routed Confederates, when 
 Lieutenant Kennedy and two of his men, of Company F, Twenty- 
 sixth S. C. V., from Horn', saw and picked me up, telling me to run. 
 I cried out, 'T cannot walk, much less run ; carry me away ; I do not 
 wish to die and be buried here." Replying that the enemy is upon us, 
 they ran on, leaving me under fire. Rendered desperate, I regained 
 my feet and trotted on through the pines. I had gone about one 
 hundred yards when Gen. Matt Ransom (mounted on a bay 
 horse, one having been shot under him at the Five Forks), followed 
 by an orderly, came dashing by. I shouted to him my condition and 
 begged him to save me from capture. He cried out to his orderly 
 to dismount and give me his horse. On his dismounting I laid hold 
 the mane of the tallest of black horses, and bare back, no saddle nor 
 blanket, I begged him to help me on. With an oath, he cried to me 
 to mount or turn the horse loose for him. He did not know me and 
 was excusably alarmed. Making a desperate effort I climbed astride 
 and the black went in pursuit of the bay, I giving him the rein and 
 holding to the mane. 
 
68 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 At the distance of three hundred yards, having passed beyond 
 the line of fire, I came to two ambulances standing on the road that 
 leads towards Ford's Station on the South Side Railroad. Dropping 
 from the horse, I attempted to get in the rearmost vehicle, when the 
 driver objected and raised his whip to strike me. 'At that moment, 
 some one, I know not who, cried out, "Let him in; that is Colonel 
 Hudson, Twenty-sixth S. C. V., wounded." He at once lowered his 
 whip, and I crawled in the rear end of the ambulance. In justice to 
 this driver I will say that I had on a dingy, thread-bare fatigue suit, 
 and the stars on the collar of my jacket were scarcely visible in their 
 dark rusted state. The same must be said in explanation of the rude 
 words of General Ransom's orderly. 
 
 I threw myself on my back in the ambulance and begged the 
 driver to move on. He said he would do so as soon as the one in 
 front moved, telling me that in it was Lieutenant-Colonel Pegram, 
 of the artillery, who was shot through the lower part of the left lung, 
 and could not speak. I began to regret abandoning the black horse, 
 for I knew we were pursued by the enemy. However, in a few min- 
 utes the ambulances moved off. This was about sunset, and it was 
 seven miles to Ford's Station. I lay flat of my back in great pain 
 and fully believing my wound to be mortal. I could hear the noise 
 and confusion of the route all along the road, and from the driver's 
 talk could get some idea of the panic of the retreat and the condition 
 of the execrable road. Twice the ambulances stuck fast in the mire 
 and were on the eve of being abandoned, and I believe would have 
 been but for the wounded officer in each. By the aid of the artillery 
 horses as they passed us the vehicles were extricated from the mire, 
 and we reached Ford's Station at midnight, having made seven miles 
 in six hours. The driver of the ambulance in which I rode was a 
 soldier from Louisiana and a noble fellow. At Ford's Station I was 
 lifted from the ambulance by Dr. Girardeau, chaplain, and others, 
 and laid on a mattress in the house of Mr. Pegram, the depot agent, 
 while Colonel Pegram was laid upon the bed in the same room. 
 Surgeon Dick, of Sumter, gave me a dose of morphine and left with 
 me some more in a paper, with instructions not to take any of it 
 unless my pain demanded it. The effect of the medicine soon put me 
 to sleep, and my surprise was great next morning when I awoke to 
 find myself alive. I at once inquired for Colonel Pegram and was 
 told that he was dead and buried in the yard. This was unpleasant 
 news to me, as our wounds were alike, save that my lungs escaped, 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 69 
 
 but I fully believed my intestines were cut. In an hour a private 
 cavalryman from North Carolina was brought in and laid on the bed 
 on which Pegram died, wounded precisely as I was, except that the 
 ball did not pass through and out of the body. He suffered much, 
 and asked me if I had anything to ease pain. I told him I had mor- 
 phine under my mattress. He begged me to bring him a dose. L 
 informed him that I could not rise up or turn over, whereupon he got 
 down from his bed, came to me, took some of the morphine, re- 
 turned to his bed, and soon asked me to get some one to come and 
 adjust his pillow, as he was in great pain. I tapped on the floor with 
 my knife ; Mrs. Pegram came in ; I told her of the soldier's request. 
 She went to arrange his pillow, gave a look of alarm, saying he was 
 dying. I expressed my surprise, telling her that he had just left my 
 bedside after taking a dose of morphine, but she threw up her hands, 
 exclaiming, "My God! he is dead!" and so he was. Of course I 
 feared that my turn would come next, as these two with wounds 
 similar to mine had died. But night'came, I slept, and awoke next 
 irerning again rejoicing to find myself alive. 
 
 Early on the 3d day of April, Spear's cavalry, the advance guard 
 of Grant's army, arrived, and dispersed the last of Pickett's strag- 
 glers. They scoured the premises and sacked the house of all 
 vestige of food. An assistant surgeon came in, examined my wound 
 and told me I would soon die of peritonitis. In spite of the fright 
 Ihis gave me, I slept some that night and again found myself alive 
 next morning, but Grant's main army was passing by in pursuit of 
 Lee's remnant of a once proud victorious band. The tramp of in- 
 fantry and cavalry and rumbling of artillery was incessant and 
 seemed never-ending. 1 could hear all but see nothing as I lay on the 
 floor, feeling deeply anxious for the coming fate of our brave boys. 
 About noon General Grant and staff and several of his corps com- 
 manders came into the room where I lay, to rest and lunch. Of these 
 General Grant was most plainly dressed, and bore a weather-beaten 
 appearance and care-worn look. The others were more gaily dressed, 
 and more garrulous. General Grant was calm, quiet and reticent. 
 After taking a seat he inquired my name, rank and nature and cir- 
 cumstances of my wound, and then asked me if he could do anything 
 for me. I asked for a surgeon to examine my wound. He promptly 
 had one called, who came in and made the examination, inquiring par- 
 ticularly as to the time, place and circumstances of the wounding. I 
 informed him, and anxiously awaited his judgment. His appearance 
 
jo Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 and manner pleased me, and a feeling of great relief came to me 
 when he informed me that I had made a narrow escape, and that if 
 well cared for I would recover. He then told General Grant that I 
 must not be moved ; that it might be fatal to send me to a hospital 
 with other wounded. General Grant replied that he would see that 
 , I was not moved. The surgeon then directed me to do nothing for 
 the wound but to keep a wet cloth across my left side so as to cover 
 both orifices of the wound, and left me. General Grant then kindly 
 asked if he could do anything else for me, to which I replied that I 
 knew of nothing else, and thanked him for his kindness. He smoked 
 a cigar while sitting in the room, but not till he learned from me 
 that it would not annoy me. 
 
 I never saw a happier looking military family than were the 
 other officers in the room, and they plied me with numerous ques- 
 tions about the Confederate army. General Gibbon sat by me, and 
 learning that I was a native of Chester, S. C, informed me that he 
 was a native of Charlotte, N. C, and knew men of Chester, while I 
 knew men of Charlotte. We talked much of our mutual acquaint- 
 ances, and several of the gay company wished me to drink of the 
 fine liquor in their full canteens. I longed for it, but had the will to 
 decline with regret, fearing its effect upon my wound. 
 
 General Grant asked me but few questions, and among them he 
 asked if I thought General Lee ready to surrender. My answer was, 
 "General Grant, our army is thinned to a skeleton and worn down. 
 General Lee cannot resist much longer your vastly superior force, 
 but when he surrenders or is captured, you will get only a fragment 
 of this skeleton. I know that a number of his soldiers will make 
 their way South as best they can in spite of your army and will not 
 surrender. Their faces are turned homeward; they will stand by 
 General Lee as long as there is hope, but when despair comes, they 
 will take to the woods, homeward bound, and will never surrender." 
 
 He seemed thoughtful, and asked no more. He was, during the 
 hour he remained with me, the most calm, quiet and modest man 
 of his rank I ever beheld. 
 
 As the Federal army passed on, the corps of pioneers and labor- 
 ers changed the guage of the South Side road to conform to the 
 City Point Railroad, and so rapidly as almost to keep abreast of the 
 army. At each depot a garrison of a company, or part thereof, was 
 left on guard. By the small garrison thus left at Ford's Station, the 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 71 
 
 family of Mr. Pegram, consisting of himself, wife, daughter, and 
 servant, were fed, as was I and any other wounded soldier who hap- 
 pened to be brought in, and they were brought in daily, but as rapidly 
 were hauled off to hospital or prison, I alone being left undisturbed, 
 although the garrison was changed every week or ten days. The 
 coming and going of the captured and wounded continued for at 
 least two weeks, and at times the floor of my room was covered with 
 soldiers wounded variously, and not a few like unto myself, but I 
 at last was left alone with Mr. Pegram and family, and received uni- 
 formly kind treatment at the hands of Federal officers and soldiers. 
 I think the kindest, most sympathetic and tender-hearted human 
 being that ever slept by my bed and administered to my wants was a 
 freckled- faced private Federal soldier who, in the first week of my 
 suffering, nursed me a day and night ; and the sweetest food I ever 
 swallowed was the beef tea he made for me in his tin cup. A sur- 
 geon examined my wound about once in ten days, but no change of 
 dressing was prescribed. 
 
 During the fifth week of my prostration my greatest torture came 
 in the form of bed pains, and through ignorance I narrowly escaped 
 death from morphine. I knew not what quantity to take, and in my 
 torture took all I could hold between thumb and forefinger. But for 
 my suffering, this would probably have killed me, as a surgeon after- 
 wards told me of my narrow escape, and urged me to take no more. 
 
 At the end of six weeks I was able to walk a little, and was 
 paroled by General Chamberlain, of Maine, as he happened to pass 
 that way. With this parole I took the train (box car) and managed 
 to get as far south as Greensboro, N. C., where, owing to increasing 
 pain, I went into hospital. On the third day, learning by accident 
 that I was lodging within fifty yards of three tents of smallpox 
 patients, my pain left me, and I fled to the depot, where I took the 
 first train coming south towards Charlotte, N. C, where, after walk- 
 ing several miles over a break in the road ten miles beyond Charlotte, 
 in company with other returning soldiers, I arrived about 10 o'clock 
 of a fair May morning. My aim was to get to my mother's home in 
 Chester, and wait for a chance to reach Bennettsville, when there- 
 after the railroads would be repaired. 
 
 Here a Confederate soldier and road companion, Praither by 
 name, from Laurens, S. C, left me on some loose cotton in the de- 
 molished railroad round-house, and went in search of a meal. In 
 
72 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 due time he returned with a promise from a good lady— an angel of 
 merC y_t send us a meal, and presently a negro boy came bearing a 
 waiter covered with a snow-white napkin and filled with such 
 victuals as I had not seen or tasted in four years. With sharp ap- 
 petites and hearts of gratitude Praither and I ate as only the hungry 
 can, and sent the boy and empty waiter back to our benefactress with 
 sincere thanks. Praither here left me, and I have never seen him 
 since, nor did I ever learn the name of our angel. 
 
 Being alone in this desolate spot my wits began to work and I 
 remembered that my colonel, A. D. Smith, once told me if I ever 
 stopped in Charlotte to be sure to call on Mrs. Holton, and I would 
 find a friend to the soldier. This brought me to my feet, and with 
 my littie bundle of Confederate cloth received at the hospital at 
 Greensboro to make me a suit of clothes, and clad in my blood-stained 
 army fatigue suit, I wended my way up to an old freight warehouse 
 still left standing. There I met a solitary negro boy, and by him 
 had pointed out to me the home of Mrs. Holton. 
 
 Going straightway to it, I knocked and the door was opened by 
 Mrs. Holton. To her I introduced myself, made known my forlorn 
 condition, and repeated what had been told me by Colonel Smith. 
 I had not seen Colonel Smith since January, 1865, he being at home 
 on leave of absence that month and, being cut off by Sherman's 
 army, had not been able to return to Virginia, and hence had no 
 part in the closing acts of the war in Virginia ; but at home had gal- 
 lantly aided in striving to check Potter's raid to Sumter and Camden. 
 Imagine my surprise and delight when Mrs. Holton told me that 
 Colonel Smith was then in Charlotte and a guest of her house — he 
 and a Mr. Tuomey. In a half hour Colonel Smith came in and in 
 great surprise and amazement found me there, whom he had heard 
 was killed at Five Forks. He and Mr. Tuomey had made their way 
 to Charlotte late in May in a rockaway drawn by two weather- 
 beaten horses, for the purpose of buying prog on which to trade. 
 How happy was I to be told that in two days they would start for 
 Marlboro and could carry me ! At the appointed time we bid adieu 
 to kind Mrs. Holton and family of sons and daughters, and after an 
 adventurous journey, arrived on the third day in Cheraw. Here I 
 met Chancellor Inglis, Capt. Henry Mclver and others, who 
 greeted me heartily and earnestly inquired of me what would prob- 
 ably be done with the slaves, etc. I told them that absolute emanci- 
 

 ^**y r t 
 
 FACSIMILE OF PAROLE 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 73 
 
 pation was an accomplished fact, and that the whites would be 
 placed under military rule at least for a season. After getting a 
 free lunch for ourselves and horses, Mr. Tuomey, to whom the 
 vehicle and team belonged, bade us good-by and left for Society 
 Hill, he and Colonel Smith having divided their goods. 
 
 As good luck had it, an empty wagon drawn by two horses and 
 belonging to the Rev. Mr. Beattie, a neighbor of Colonel Smith's 
 father, was about to start home, and the driver took aboard Colonel 
 Smith and myself. After a rough jolt of two hours we arrived at 
 Mr. Smith's, who then lived at the Terrel place and ran a distillery 
 during the war. There I was kindly received by Mr. and Mrs. 
 Smith and fed. Mr. Robert Hamer, called "Little Bob," drove up 
 alone in a buggy to get some whiskey. He kindly gave me a seat 
 in his buggy and before sunset landed me in Bennettsville, in the 
 bosom of my family, who were surprised and rejoiced to greet the 
 "dead come to life," for all reports had left me dead on the field at 
 Five Forks. 
 
 So ended my army experience. J. H. Hudson. 
 
 Bennettsville, S. C, 1898. 
 
Chapter V. 
 
 ADDRESS 
 
 Of Judge J. H. Hudson Before the Euphradian and Clariosophk 
 
 Societies of the South Carolina College in i8po. 
 Young Gentlemen of the Euphradian and Clariosophic Societies : 
 
 Permit me to thank you for inviting me to address you on this 
 occasion. Without hesitation I accepted the invitation. I did so 
 with a full knowledge of the importance and interest always attend- 
 ing this anniversary of the two literary societies of this College, but 
 conscious that I would disappoint your expectations, and fail to reach 
 that lofty standard of excellence which has uniformly characterized 
 the addresses of my predecessors. But the motive inducing me to 
 appear before you tonight at the risk of worrying you with a plain 
 and commonplace discourse, is a yearning to come in closer com- 
 munion with the students of this time-honored institution, and to 
 revive those hallowed associations that crowd around her memories. 
 
 Cheerfully and with a will I strove to discharge the duties of a 
 student whilst here, and left these halls with feelings of deep regret 
 I had passed the time here most pleasantly, though toiling assidu- 
 ously to train my mind, and to acquire knowledge to equip myself 
 for the more arduous struggle I saw awaiting me in the uncertain 
 future. 
 
 Many years have elapsed since I bade farewell to the professors 
 and students, the buildings and grounds of this dear old seminary 
 of learning, and went forth to fight the battle of life, with the train- 
 ing and knowledge acquired here as my only capital. I cast my lot 
 in a section of the State then unknown to me, and where I took up 
 my abode, a stranger in a strange land. 
 
 Bidding farewell to my mother and her family in old Chester, I 
 began my journey to Marlboro, where I had been called to take 
 charge of the village school in Bennettsville. Having to spend a 
 night in Columbia, I strolled down in the darkness to this old 
 campus, all alone, and amidst the slumbers of professors and stu- 
 dents, unseen and unheard, I walked the silent round: In front of 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 75 
 
 old "Canaan," just over the way, and the president's house, and of 
 old "Egypt," then just above our heads, I paused and pondered, and 
 finally, stopping under the portico of the library building, I tarried, 
 whilst the tears of mingled sorrow and pleasure flowed freely as 
 emotions welled up in my bosom, and memories of the past and 
 thoughts of the future overwhelmed me. 
 
 Many students rejoice with exceeding joy at being released from 
 the bonds and restraints, the toils and cares of college life. Not so 
 with me. I believed then that I was throwing happiness behind me 
 in bidding farewell to my alma mater, and I know it now. My 
 forebodings have become realities. Scarcely had I settled myself in 
 life, and gathered even a modicum of its necessaries, to say nothing 
 of its comforts, around me and my young family, when there came 
 the political convulsions of A. D. i860, culminating in a dismember- 
 ment of this mighty republic and involving the people in the bloodiest 
 civil strife of modern days. In its fearful train came social and 
 political revolutions and experiments in government without paral- 
 lel in the history of the world, fraught with dangers to the body 
 politic of the most alarming character, and subjecting our republi- 
 can government to a fearful test. Time alone can solve the grave 
 problem, and how, no man is wise enough to foretell. In this politi- 
 cal agitation, bloody war, and subsequent superhuman efforts of 
 our people to secure the blessings of peace, constituional liberty and 
 good government, the period of my manhood has, so far, been spent. 
 The consequence has been that I have had neither opportunity, means 
 nor leisure to turn my attention to the affairs of this cherished State 
 College. 
 
 But, thank Heaven, the good and true sons of the State have not 
 forgotten her, and have found the time and created the means of 
 lifting her from her prostrate condition ; and have restored her to the 
 proud pinnacle of her well deserved fame and usefulness as the great 
 seminary of learning for noble sons of a proud commonwealth. 
 
 In this great work I have had no part nor lot. Time and cir- 
 cumstances have given me no voice in legislation, and none in the 
 councils of the College ; but my heart and sympathies have ever been 
 deeply enlisted in her welfare, and hence I have willingly accepted 
 this invitation to address you, that I might speak of my love for this 
 institution, »and utter some word that may increase the interest you 
 
j6 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 all doubtless feel in its prosperity, and your progress and excellence 
 in learning. 
 
 I have come therefore, young gentlemen, to speak familiarly to 
 you upon a very plain, but very interesting subject. I know it was 
 the custom in my day here, and I believe it has ever been so, for the 
 anniversary address before the Euphradian and Clariosophic So- 
 cieties to be devoted to some literary or scientific subject : and so 
 far as my knowledge goes the orators you and your predecessors 
 have chosen have been men distinguished for their learning and 
 high intellectual attainments; men eminently qualified to enlighten 
 you upon any branch of literature or any department of science. 
 
 It is possible that I might have selected some literary or scien- 
 tific subject, and, by much labor, have prepared an address suited to 
 the occasion and to your tastes, but, as you are aware, my time, as 
 a public servant, belongs to the State, and my periods of leisure and 
 recreation are few and short. 
 
 Several months, have elapsed since I received your flattering in- 
 vitation, but they have been to me months of severe labor burdened 
 with domestic affliction. 
 
 Under this pressure I will submit to you a few reflections upon a 
 subject now greatly engrossing the minds of our people, and in which 
 you are deeply interested. 
 
 I have thought it not inappropriate to the occasion to indulge in 
 a few remarks upon the vast importance to the family, to society 
 and the State, of the liberal education of our young men, and how 
 best to train their minds for the efficient discharge of all the duties 
 of citizenship. What use they will make of this culture and knowl- 
 edge after graduating must necessarily depend upon individual in- 
 clination and choice, influenced by time, place and circumstances of 
 life. The most liberal education of the largest number of citizens 
 practicable is the surest guaranty of good government, and the best 
 safeguard to the general welfare. This truth cannot be too forcibly 
 impressed upon our people. We live in an age preeminently practi- 
 cal, and the horoscope, social, educational and political, gives but 
 little indication of a return of public opinion to some at least of those 
 wholesome views of education, as affecting the social, industrial and 
 political life of a people, which distinguished our ancestors from the 
 people of our day. An extreme utilitarian idea is threatening to pos- 
 sess and mislead our people. It is invading and attacking our insti- 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 77 
 
 tutions of learning, from the lowest to the highest, and unless 
 checked by wholesome restraints will stamp its impress upon parent 
 and guardian, pupil and teacher, citizen and magistrate, to the ex- 
 clusion of the good, the beautiful and true, and all that is elevating, 
 lofty and orthodox in the great work of educating the young, and 
 fitting them for future life in whatsoever sphere choice or judgment, 
 circumstances or destiny may cast them. 
 
 To convert our instituions of learning into industrial schools 
 would be a step backward in the work of education. Those branches 
 of industry which require more of manual labor and dexterity than 
 of mental culture should be made secondary and subordinate to 
 mental training. They should follow and not precede it, and cer- 
 tainly should never be suffered to supplant it. Do not understand 
 me as attempting to discuss, directly or indirectly, the merits of the 
 agricultural, mechanical and industrial department of this univer- 
 sity, or the wisdom of establishing a separate agricultural and me- 
 chanical college. This is not the occasion, nor am I the person to 
 discuss these questions. They belong to the legislative branch of the 
 State government. The plea which I now interpose is for the most 
 liberal culture of our young men, the sons of the farmers, mechanics 
 and laboring men equally with all others. 
 
 In the past the sons of the farmers, the plow-boys of the land, 
 have to a large extent supplied the offices of State, the Legislature, 
 the pulpit, the bench, the bar, the medical profession, the professor's 
 chair, the merchant's desk, in fine, every calling of life with the 
 brightest ornaments. It is the case now, ever has been, and ever 
 will be so in an agricultural country. There is not a village, town 
 or city in the South in which the leading professional and business 
 men are not, to a large extent, farm-raised boys. In all the walks 
 of life, private and public, they exert a controlling influence, and the 
 destiny of the State is largely in their hands. Let their education, 
 therefore, be the highest possible. 
 
 Impart to our young men thorough mental and moral training at 
 school and at college, and they will then be fitted to begin training 
 for any vocation of life, whether it be literary, professional or in- 
 dustrial; and thus prepared by a previous course of careful mental 
 training, they will easily master that calling or profession which they 
 may select. Educate the mind first, and the hand can be easily 
 trained afterwards. Technical and industrial schools are of great 
 
78 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 value to society, and many considerations commend them to our 
 people. The home circle is the school for primary education in 
 handiwork and economy, or certainly should be made such for boys 
 and girls by all parents. Habits of industry should there be first 
 taught, and a love of labor engendered. In every family the chil- 
 dren should be taught that there is dignity in labor, and that honest 
 toil and industry are conducive to health, and open the only sure 
 road to competency and wealth. The love of industry and a knowl- 
 edge of its good fruits having been taught in its first principles in 
 the home circle, the young should have open to them technical and 
 industrial schools and colleges where they can receive ample train- 
 ing in chosen pursuits. But this education should not be confounded 
 with literary training, nor should such schools be allowed to cripple 
 or supplant our literary colleges. What I urge in behalf of our 
 young men is thorough education — an education of the highest at- 
 tainable standard, because there is truth in these lines of Pope : 
 
 "A little learning is a dang'rous thing; 
 Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring; 
 There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, 
 And drinking largely sobers us again." 
 
 It was not the intention of the poet, in these lines, to condemn 
 the general diffusion of knowledge among the people, nor the im- 
 parting to all the children of the State elementary instruction in 
 common schools ; nor is it my purpose so to do. On the contrary I 
 am an advocate of an efficient common school system. It is the duty 
 of the State to furnish to every child of the land at least an ele- 
 mentary education, and furthermore I contend that it is her duty to 
 afford to all who can avail themselves of it, the oportunity of higher 
 learning. 
 
 But what the poet- did mean, and in which he is certainly correct, 
 is that, in all the avocations of life requiring learning, as for example 
 authorship in all branches of literature, the pursuit, practice and ap- 
 plication of the arts and sciences, professorships in schools, colleges 
 and universities, and in the practice of all the learned professions — 
 in all these a little learning is a dangerous thing. It begets self- 
 conceit, vanity, bigotry, following in the wake of which is a train of 
 direct evils to the people and State too numerous to mention, and 
 most deplorable in their effects^pon the community. That a little 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 79 
 
 learning is a dangerous thing is certainly demonstrated from the 
 pulpit, the bench, the bar, the Legislature, the hustings, the labora- 
 tory of the chemist, the chair of the professor, and the countless hosts 
 of students annually emerging from our seminaries, colleges and 
 universities, bearing diplomas whose language is more high-sound- 
 ing than truthful, except as qualified by the prevailing standard of 
 excellence — a standard lower than it should be. 
 
 I recognize the fact that public opinion stamps its impress upon 
 all the institutions of society, and gives tone to our schools and col- 
 leges, the learned professions and industrial pursuits. This public 
 opinion in turn is influenced and shaped by the refining and elevating 
 effect of our institutions of learning. They act and react upon each 
 other. The supply of learning, like the supply of goods, is apt to be 
 suited to the demand. As long as the people are content with bigotry 
 in the pulpit, pedantry in the professor's chair, quackery in medicine, 
 ignorance on the bench and at the bar, demagogism in legislation 
 and a low standard of education for the youths and maidens of the 
 land, these evils will flourish, and spread their baleful influence 
 throughout the entire community. 
 
 In behalf of our common schools too much cannot be said, and 
 the State cannot be too liberal in the dissemination of elementary 
 knowledge among her children. These schools are the mudsills of 
 society, but the superstructure is builded of material supplied by 
 our institutions of higher learning, and it is essential to the welfare 
 of the State that a liberal education should be bestowed upon the 
 largest possible number of her citizens. 
 
 The method by which this is to be accomplished is a question of 
 moment. Those having large experience in teaching are the best 
 judges of the branches of learning best calculated to develop the 
 mind, and to constitute liberal education. To these we must commit 
 this great work, and I would refrain from discussing it here, did I 
 not know that the ripe judgment of the instructor is too often yielded 
 to the crude opinion, fancy or whim of the pupil, the parent or the 
 guardian. A thorough and liberal education depends upon the kind 
 of books taught, and the thoroughness of instruction rather than 
 the number of books. There was wisdom in the quaint speller who 
 insisted on having his boy thoroughly taught the three R's, to wit, 
 "Reading, Riting and Rithmetic"; and it is a wholesome warning 
 to "beware of the man of one book." Thoroughness was the idea 
 
80 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 of our foreparents ; thoroughness they insisted upon in the school- 
 room and college. The consequence was that, at the declaration of 
 our independence, and during the first half century of this great re- 
 public, there was in the social circle, industrial pursuits, learned pro- 
 fessions and offices of State a large number of men eminent for 
 scholarship and statesmanship. I speak not in disparagement of the 
 present generation, but appeal to history to bear me out in assert- 
 ing that, at the close of our colonial days, and for fifty years there- 
 after, there was, in proportion to population, a larger number of 
 great orators, statesmen, jurists, scholars and divines than we now 
 have, owing, I submit, to thorough and liberal education. 
 
 Knowledge is now more generally diffused, and people seem to 
 be content with the superficial and ornamental, rather than impressed 
 with the thorough and profound. 
 
 A well regulated college should have a fixed number of classes, 
 and for each class a fixed course of study, selected with a view to 
 gradual mental development, and adapted to the capacity of the 
 ordinary mind, which studies can be comprehended by all reasonably 
 well, but, in the pursuit of which, different grades of excellence are 
 attainable, according to the intellectual capacity and industrious 
 habit of the student. 
 
 No student should be allowed to be partly in one class and 
 partly in another. For each class the rule should be that each student 
 should study the whole curriculum or none; and as a stimulus to 
 dilligence and excellence, appropriate honors and rewards should 
 be conferred. In no event should the whim of the applicant for 
 admission, or the fancy of the parent or guardian, be suffered to 
 prevail in his classification. This classification of students must be 
 left exclusively to the faculty of the college, and should be exercised 
 only after rigid examination of the applicant. This rule I regard 
 as essential to the proper regulation and sure success of every col- 
 lege, male or female. 
 
 The course of study should consist of those books and branches 
 best calculated to induce thought, and develop all the mental facul- 
 ties and virtues, the object of early education being not so much the 
 attainment of knowledge as the training of the mind preparatory to 
 the subsequent acquisition of it, and its application to the practical 
 affairs of life. The gymnasium of the Grecians was a school for the 
 development of the muscles of the body, a place where athletic ex- 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 8i 
 
 ercises were performed, and as such it is known with us. In Ger- 
 many, where the true end and aim of education is as Well under- 
 stood as anywhere in Christendom, this term is now applied also 
 to schools for the higher branches of literature and science ; schools 
 a degree below her great universities and corresponding to our col- 
 leges. The term is thus most appropriately used. The gymnast and 
 athlete of the Greeks did not expect, in the industrial pursuits of life, 
 to perform the athletic feats taught him in the gymnasium, but he 
 found daily use for the muscular strength thus acquired. 
 
 So the college student is merely training as an intellectual ath- 
 lete, not expecting to make, in after life, a practical use of the special 
 branches there taught, but knowing that there will be a daily use for 
 the intellectual strength imparted by the course of study exacted and 
 imposed. The aim of education, as the word implies, is to draw out 
 and fully develop all the powers, especially the nobler faculties of 
 the mind ; to teach us to investigate the subjective as well as the ob- 
 jective ; to train the reasoning faculties, quicken the perception ; to 
 give retentiveness to the memory and strength to the judgment ; to 
 refine the taste and improve the morals; and thus to prepare the 
 mind to master any department of literature, of the arts and sciences, 
 to which resort may be had for pleasure or livelihood, and manfully 
 to discharge the duties of citizenship. To fathom the mysteries of 
 the human understanding, to know oneself — to know man, to study 
 him in his relations to the material and spiritual world, until we feel 
 in truth that he is the noblest work of God ; to search the mysteries 
 of creation and the Creator until the soul catches a faint glimmering 
 conception of His omnipotence, is the final cause and aim of mental 
 and moral culture. 
 
 In its proper sense, education means, therefore, more than a small 
 knowledge of the elementary branches taught in our schools. It com- 
 prehends a thorough course of mental training and intellectual cul- 
 ture, in the course of which is acquired that degree of learning and 
 moral growth necessary to fit the young man to be an ornament to 
 society, and a shining light in any avocation or position fortune may 
 cast him. 
 
 To the man enjoying a wholesome development of the intel- 
 lectual powers, all nature abounds in lessons of instruction, her 
 works are all invested with beauty or grandeur ; order is seen in what 
 appears chaotic aAabnormal to the ignorant ; the fountains of true 
 
 6— H. 
 
82 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 pleasure spring forth on every hand ; the arcana of nature's exhaust- 
 less treasures are unlocked. The educated mind gazes not with 
 stupid indifference upon nature's ineffable charms, but beholds in 
 the works of creation a moving panorama of beauty and grandeur, 
 and drinks a draft of unalloyed pleasure from their contemplation. 
 In all, through all, and above all, are visible to the intelligent mind 
 the footprints of the Creator, the indellible impress of the hand 
 •divine. All things are recognized as having been made for a pur- 
 pose, and each as having a final cause assigned it by the Creator, 
 man's chief end being to acquire knowledge that he may glorify God 
 and keep His commandments. 
 
 The object of education is to teach the student how to think, 
 rather than to store the mind with facts ; "to form the moral char- 
 acter, not by teaching what to think, but by persuading to act well ; 
 not by loading the memory with cold and barren precepts, but by 
 forming the sensibility by the habitual, fervid and rapturous con- 
 templation of high and heroic models of excellence; not by defini- 
 tions of virtue and speculation about the principles of obligation, but 
 by making us love the one and feel the other." 
 
 Now the course of life in our country, the manners, customs 
 and habits of our people, their individuality and freedom of action, 
 the necessity and inclination to begin an early career in life, the 
 tendency to early marriages and love of home and family, all com- 
 bine to shorten the period of education and to set both men and 
 women up in life before they are sufficiently prepared in mind and 
 body to meet the grave duties of citizenship. This necessarily affects 
 injuriously the course of education, and the young graduate at an 
 age most suitable to begin a college course. Permit me here to im- 
 press upon you all the importance of the study of the languages, 
 modern and ancient, as essential to mental culture and liberal edu- 
 cation, and especially the inestimable value of the ancient languages 
 in the attainment of higher learning. 
 
 In the first place, the study of a foreign language leads us to the 
 study of language in the abstract. We are forced to analyze and 
 synthetize, to take to pieces and reconstruct, and thus to examine first 
 principles in the theory of articulate sounds, and to learn how 
 language is gradually constructed and polished into elegance, sym- 
 metry and beauty. 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 83 
 
 Again, without a knowledge of the language of the ancient 
 Greeks and Romans, our own cannot be thoroughly understood. But 
 few sentences in the English are without words derived from the 
 Latin, and frequently words of Greek origin occur. The Latin, also, 
 forms the basis of the French, Spanish and Italian languages, so that 
 one who is familiar with the Latin will meet with no difficulty in 
 learning these beautiful and useful languages of modern Europe. By 
 the study of the dead languages we increase our knowledge of words, 
 cultivate the taste, improve the style of composition, strengthen the 
 judgment as to the choice of expression, and acquire an ease, a grace 
 and elegance in speaking and writing attainable from no other source. 
 
 Besides, there is sealed up in the writings of the ancients im- 
 mense stores of useful knowledge. To understand and expound the 
 Bible as it should be requires a knowledge of the Hebrew and 
 Greek. The great body of the civil law, the corpus juris civilis, is 
 sealed up in the Latin tongue. It is embraced in the pandects, insti- 
 tutes and novels of the Justinian Code, and forms the most complete 
 system of jurisprudence ever constructed by human genius, grand 
 in its proportions, beautiful in its symmetry, and surpassing in its 
 general adaptability to the wants of society, the common law of 
 England. 
 
 The Latin and Greek furnish the language of modern science so 
 far as names, terms and formulas are concerned, notably so in 
 medicine, chemistry, botany, mineralogy and geology. 
 
 Another strong reason commending this branch of study to the 
 parents and instructors of American children is the vein of earnest 
 patriotism and deep devotion to public and private duty characteriz- 
 ing the literature of the ancient Greeks and Romans. 
 
 We learn from them "that liberty, the boon for which our fathers 
 fought, liberty, sweet to all, but the passion of proud minds that 
 cannot stoop to less, is the nurse of all that is sublime in character 
 and lofty in genius." 
 
 The spirit of independence, love of liberty, admiration of heroic 
 and patriotic deeds, and deadly hatred of tyrrany, that formed the 
 motive power and mainspring of their grand achievements in the 
 science of war and of civil government, glow with fervid heat in 
 their literary productions. 
 
 In the shades of classic literature we are taught to adore the 
 name of liberty a*nd to abhor tyrrany, whether of the mob, the oli- 
 garchy or the despot. 
 
84 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 On the Bema, in the Amphyctionic counsel, the court of the 
 Areopagus, in the academy, in the groves of the Peripatetics, in the 
 tragedy and comedy, at the public festivals and Olympic games, in 
 the temples of the gods, on the tempest-tossed ocean and bloody fields 
 of battle, liberty breathed her holy inspiration, and nerved them to 
 deeds of surpassing excellence, investing their achievements with a 
 halo of glory unfaded by the lapse of many centuries, and serving 
 still as beacon lights to all lovers of constitutional liberty. 
 
 Men worshipped at her shrine, bards tuned the lire to her praise, 
 poets wrote as if breathing her inspiration, historians recorded her 
 blessings and warriors immolated themselves upon her altar. She 
 spake from the lips of poets and orators, "and she fought and con- 
 quered, acted and suffered with the heroes she had formed and in- 
 spired." We would expect of such a people greatness, and the ex- 
 pectation is justified by the fact. They were great in statesman- 
 ship, great in philosophy, great in literature, in poetry, oratory, 
 architecture, sculpture and painting, great in war and great in peace. 
 
 The few of their literary productions which have survived the 
 wreck of time, historical, poetical and oratorical, are not simply ex- 
 cellent, but are marvels of beauty and soul-stirring to the highest de- 
 gree. The specimens of their architecture which have defied the 
 ravages of time are not merely magnificent, but modern science has 
 never yet solved the method of their construction. The few pieces 
 of statuary still existing defy the modern sculptor whose finest ef- 
 forts are but faint imitations ; equality is impossible. Their achieve- 
 ments in war have never been equaled in modern times. Marathon, 
 and Salamis, Plataea and Thermopylae, Cannae, Pharsalia and Phil- 
 lippi are monuments to their genius for war and unrivalled bravery 
 and heroism. Finally it may be remarked that without a knowledge 
 of the classics, liberal culture, profound learning and distinguished 
 scholarship are not attainable. Eminence in the republic of letters 
 is impossible without proficiency in this branch of learning. Permit 
 me to commend to your careful perusal the able article upon classical 
 learning by Hugh S. Legare, from which I have taken a few extracts, 
 and borrowed some ideas. 
 
 Before closing, suffer me, young gentlemen, to urge upon you the 
 priceless value of the time and opportunity of your college career. 
 Do not imagine for a moment that you can waste your time here 
 and neglect these golden oportunities, and in after life recover the 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 85 
 
 lost ground. If any young man so thinks, let him not hug the de- 
 lusive phantom to his bosom a day longer. Habits here acquired and 
 character here formed will follow you through life, and shape youi 
 fortune. The child, the boy, is father to the man. Banish from your 
 bosoms every low and grovelling thought, every small and mean 
 sentiment, cherishing only such as are good, beautiful and true, 
 generous, lofty and noble. The value of character cannot be over- 
 estimated. Whatever may be your lot in life, in whatever sphere you 
 may move, and whatever may be your avocation, good character will 
 serve as a shield from the vile tongue of slander, and this, with a 
 mind trained and cultured, well stored with useful knowledge and 
 imbued with humble piety and reverence for God and our blessed 
 Redeemer will serve as a solace and comforter in affliction, a prop 
 in adversity and a wholesome restraint in prosperity. 
 
 Truth, honesty, integrity and piety are more precious than the 
 gold of Ophir and all the pearls of the ocean. "An honest man is the 
 noblest work of God." In your society and in the college exercises 
 in declamation, strive to attain excellence in oratory. Do not 
 imagine that true eloquence has lost its influence over your fellow 
 men. Her power is as great now as it ever was, and it will ever 
 sway man on earth. The people everywhere in this mighty repub- 
 lic will lay aside urgent business, travel great distances and flock 
 by the thousands to listen to the truly eloquent orator. Owing to the 
 restless, striving, practical and money-loving disposition of our peo- 
 ple, oratory and eloquence may not be, in fact are not, cultivated and 
 practiced as assiduously as in former days, but have lost none of their 
 influence. 
 
 Furthermore I beseech you to cultivate a devout religious spirit. 
 Read and study the Holy Bible. Neglect not the work of salvation in 
 the days of your youth. Procrastination is especially dangerous in 
 religion. 
 
 Resolve also to leave this college with a proper appreciation of 
 education, but without vanity. Entertain for all men, of whatever 
 calling, a proper degree of respect. Recognize the important fact 
 that there is dignity in labor. Honest manual labor is dignified and 
 honorable. Men engaged in it constitute the bone and sinew of so- 
 ciety, and our country's chief reliance. 
 
 To our people generally, and especially to the young men, I com- 
 mend honest industry, patient toil and steady fortitude in every 
 
86 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 calling and sphere of life ; and let the habit be cultivated by the young 
 in the pursuit of knowledge, which is so essential to the full redemp- 
 tion of this Southland. How beautifully has Sidney Smith portrayed 
 the blessings of knowledge, and the necessity of fortitude in its • 
 acquisition. I cite this extract: 
 
 "When I say in conducting the understanding, love knowledge 
 with a great love, with a vehement love, with a love coeval with life, 
 what do I say but love innocence, love virtue,, love purity of conduct, 
 love that which, if you are rich and powerful, will sanctify the blind 
 fortune which has made you so, and make men -call it justice. 
 
 "Love that which, if you are poor, will render your poverty re- 
 spectable, and make the proudest feel it unjust to laugh at the mean- 
 ness of your fortune. Love that which will comfort and adorn you, 
 and never quit you ; which will open to you the kingdorn of thought, 
 and all the boundless regions of conception as an asylum against 
 the cruelty, the injustice and the pain that may be your lot in this 
 outward world; that which will make your virtues habitually great 
 and honorable, and light up in an instant a thousand noble disdains 
 at the very thought of meanness and of fraud. Therefore, if any 
 young man has embarked his life in the pursuit of knowledge, let him 
 go on without doubting or fearing the result, let him not be intimi- 
 dated by the cheerless beginnings of knowledge, by the darkness 
 from which she springs, by the difficulties which hover around her, 
 by the wretched habitation in which she dwells, by the want and sor- 
 row which sometimes journey in her train. But let him ever follow 
 her as an angel that guards him, and as the genius of his life. She 
 will bring him out at last into the light of day, and exhibit him to 
 the world, comprehensive in acquirements, fertile in resources, rich 
 in imagination, strong in reasoning, prudent and powerful above his 
 fellows in all the relations and in all the offices of life." 
 
 In conclusion, young gentlemen, I exhort you to the cultivation 
 of the cardinal virtues that ennoble the man, and make the gentle- 
 man. Cherish sincerity, faithfulness, consistency, honor, and above 
 all, cultivate the love of truth. Read those beautiful "Discourses on 
 Truth" by the immortal Thornwell, and study them until his pre- 
 cepts are ingrained in your nature. 
 
 I cannot better close this address than by repeating his impres- 
 sive exhortation to the students who enjoyed the great privilege of 
 listening to his eloquent sermons and profound lectures : 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 87 
 
 "Let it be your ambition to have a college, in which the deport- 
 ment of every member shall reflect the refinement of the gentleman, 
 the dignity of the scholar, and the integrity of the Christian. 
 
 "We can make this a delightful place — we can turn these groves 
 into hallowed ground, and these cloistered halls we can render 
 worthy of the illustrious immortals who linger among them in their 
 works. Here we are permitted to converse, from day to day, with 
 sages, poets and heroes of antiquity. 'The blind old man of Scio's 
 rocky isle,' that prodigy of genius, whose birthplace was Stagira, 
 whose empire has been the world; that other prodigy of common 
 sense who brought wisdom from the skies, the divine Plato; the 
 masters of the porch, academy and lyceum, are all here. Here, too, 
 we can listen to the rapt visions of the prophets, hold converse with 
 apostles and martyrs, and above all, sit at the feet of Him who spake 
 as never man spake. Here, in a single word, we are 'let into that 
 great communion of scholars, throughout all ages and all nations, 
 like that more awful communion of saints in the holy church uni- 
 versal, and feel a sympathy with departed genius, and with the en- 
 lightened and gifted minds of other countries, as they appear before 
 us in the transports of a sort of beatific vision, bowing down at the 
 same shrines, and glowing with the same holy love of whatever is 
 most pure, and fair, and exalted and divine in human nature.' 
 
 "Is there nothing in such society and such influences to stimulate 
 our minds to a lofty pitch ? Catch the spirit of the place, imbide its 
 noble associations, and you cannot descend to the little, the trifling, 
 the silly, or the coarse. Every fibre of your hearts would cry out 
 against it. 
 
 "When Bonaparte animated his troops in Egypt, it was enough 
 to point to the pyramids, beneath whose shadows they stood, and 
 remind them that 'from yonder heights forty centuries look down 
 upon them.' That thought was enough. The same great motive may 
 be applied to you. The general assembly of all the great, and good, 
 and learned, and glorious, of all ages and of all climes, look down 
 upon you, and exhort you to walk worthy of your exalted calling. 
 
 "Quit yourselves like men, and make this venerable seat of learn- 
 ing a joy and a praise in all the earth. Let truth be inscribed on its 
 walls, truth worshipped in its sanctuary, and the love of truth the 
 inspiration of every heart." 
 
Chapter VI. 
 
 PROGRAM OF COMMENCEMENT EXERCISES 
 
 Of the South Carolina College, December, A. D. 1852. 
 
 Luckily I preserved a copy of this program and read and com- 
 mented on it in an address I delivered a few years ago at the com- 
 mencement exercises of the College. By special request of the 
 faculty I allowed it to be placed on file in the archives of the College. 
 
 It shows what an imposing occasion a commencement was in 
 that day as compared with the present, and with the belief that it 
 forms a valuable part of the history of the College and will interest 
 the alumni and perhaps be of future benefit to this noble State Col- 
 lege, I insert it here : 
 
 COMMENCEMENT. 
 
 Order of Procession at the College Commencement, 
 
 On Monday, December 6, 1852, at 9 o'clock, a. m. 
 
 The procession will be formed at 9 o'clock a. m. in front of the College 
 Chapel, under the direction of Adjutant and Inspector General Cantey, who 
 will act as Marshal of the Day. It will then proceed to the Governor's quar- 
 ters, where it will be joined by the Governor, and the Board of Trustees, 
 thence to the State House, where it will be joined by the Members of the 
 Senate and House of Representatives. It will then move to the College in 
 the following order : 
 
 Cadets of the Military Academy 
 
 Students of the Freshman Class 
 
 Students of the Sophomore Class 
 
 Students of the Junior Class 
 
 The Graduating Class 
 
 Former Graduates of the College 
 
 Citizens Generally 
 
 Officers and Students of the Theological Seminary 
 
 The Reverend Clergy 
 
 Officers of the State, Civil and Military 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 89 
 
 House of Representatives, with the Speaker, attended by its Officers 
 
 The Senate, with the President, attended by its Officers 
 
 The Committee Appointed by the House 
 
 The Committee Appointed by the Senate 
 
 The Professors of the Institution 
 
 The Superintendents and Other Officers of the Military Academies 
 
 Trustees of the College and the Board of Visitors of Military Academies 
 
 The Governor and Suite, and Lieutenant-Governor of the State 
 
 The President of the College 
 
 When the procession arrives at the College Chapel it will open to the 
 right and left, forming two lines fronting each other. The rear will then 
 close and march into the Chapel, the lines closing as the rear advances, until 
 the whole shall have entered in inverted order. 
 
 ORDER OF EXERCISES IN THE CHAPEL. 
 Prayer. 
 
 1. J. H. Hudson, Chester. Manning Scholarship. Salutatory Addresses 
 in Latin — The Duty of States to Educate Their Citizens. 
 
 4. Waddv T. Means, Mississippi. Speculation Higher than Specula- 
 
 tive Truth. 
 
 12. James C. Calhoun, Abbeville. National Monuments. 
 
 6. J. Wood Davidson. Enthusiasm an Element of Southern Character. 
 3. J. L. Gaston, Chester. The Lesson of Nature. 
 
 11. J. Gregg Lettner, Fairfield. Federal and Representative Govern- 
 ments Favorable to Intelligence. 
 
 5. Wm. Thomas, Charleston. The True Criterion of Civilization. 
 
 14. A. B. Wardlaw, Abbeville. The Chinese in California. 
 
 13. A. H. Jackson, Alabama. Inducements to Intellectual Exertion in 
 
 America. 
 
 9. L. F. Youmans, Beaufort The Reveries of Pitt. 
 
 10. E. S. Keitt, Orangeburg. Non Omnis Moriar. 
 
 7. P. E. Griffin, Darlington. Dialogue Between Wallace and Bruce, on 
 
 the Banks of the Carron — a Poem. 
 
 15. A. B. Rhett, Charleston. The Superiority of the Natural Sciences. 
 
 8. S. W. Melton, York. The Three. 
 
90 
 
 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 H. Walker Adams, 
 T. W. Allen, 
 W. C. Buchanan, 
 A. H. Bush, 
 James C. Calhoun, 
 J. Wood Davidson, 
 N. W. Edmunds, 
 A. F. Edwards, 
 W. H. Frean, 
 J. B. Gaston, 
 J. Lucius Gaston, 
 P. E. Griffin, 
 Harry Hammond, 
 J. W. Holman, 
 J. Ward Hopkins, 
 J. H. Hudson, 
 
 Degrees Conferred. 
 A. B. 
 
 W. W. Irby, 
 A. H. Jackson, 
 
 D. F. Jones, 
 
 E. S. Keitt, 
 N. R. King, 
 
 J. Gregg Leitner, 
 C. H. Leverett, 
 J. W. Livingston, 
 J. H. Marshall, 
 James McDonald, 
 T. McLure, 
 T. E. McNeill, 
 W. A. McPheeters, 
 Waddy T. Means, 
 S. W. Melton, 
 Sumter R. Mills, 
 
 John D. Neely, 
 S. B. Noble, 
 David H. Porter, 
 W. B. Pringle, 
 A. B. Rhett, 
 J. A. Ruff, 
 William C. Scott, 
 C. J. Stroman, 
 William Thomas, 
 H. A. Troutman, 
 A. B. Wardlaw, 
 J. A. T. Weston, 
 Joseph N. Whitner, 
 J. N. Williams, 
 Leroy F. Youmans- 
 
 -47- 
 
 Address by the President. 
 2. David H. Porter, Alabama. The Reverence of Antiquity as Affect- 
 ing the Progress of Knowledge. 
 
 Music. 
 Valedictory Addresses by D. H. Porter. 
 
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 MARLPORO COl'RTIIOI M , EKI.CTl.U A. I) iMtJ. 
 
Chapter VII. 
 
 DEDICATION OF THE NEW COURTHOUSE FOR 
 
 MARLBORO. 
 
 On the morning of May 4. 1885, a special term of the Court of 
 Common Pleas for Marlboro convened in the new Courthouse of 
 Marlboro, in the town of Bennettsville. It had been determined by 
 the county officials and the members of the Marlboro Bar to have 
 the new Courthouse appropriately dedicated, and it was left to the 
 bar to prepare the ceremony. In arranging the program these attor- 
 neys had no precedent to guide them, but diligently went to work 
 and arranged an appropriate ceremony. The special term was held 
 by Judge J. H. Hudson, of the Fourth Judicial Circuit. Before the 
 hour for opening the court the commodious and handsome court- 
 room was filled to overflowing by the citizens of the county, at least 
 half the audience being ladies. 
 
 Promptly at 10 o'clock a. m., Judge Hudson took his seat, and 
 had the court opened. 
 
 The order for the special term having been read by the clerk, 
 Judge Hudson briefly referred to the ceremony of dedication pre- 
 pared by the bar, and called upon the Rev. T. J. Clyde, of the Metho- 
 dist Episcopal Church, to open with prayer. His invocation was 
 as follows: 
 
 Almighty God, we adoringly recognize and rejoice in Thy presi- 
 dency and sovereignty over all nations and all worlds. Thy king- 
 dom is an everlasting kingdom, and Thy dominion endureth through- 
 out all generations. Thou art God over all and blessed forever. We 
 reverently acknowledge our dependence upon Thee and our indebted- 
 ness to Thee as a people. Truly, O Lord, Thou hast most graciously 
 blessed our native land and highly exalted us amongst the nations of 
 the earth. Our fathers trusted in Thee and Thou didst deliver them, 
 and enable them to achieve their independence and found here a 
 government whose laws and institutions are in harmony with the 
 teachings and requirements of Thy word. We thank Thee, O, Thou 
 Ruler and Judge of men, that we may have come into the possession 
 of the goodly heritage bequeathed us by godly ancestors, and that 
 
92 " Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 we are in the enjoyment of the highest advantages for piety and the 
 manifold and great blessings of a Christian civilization. We thank 
 Thee that we have been taught to revere and love Thy name, to 
 honor Thy laws, and seek individual and national prosperity by con- 
 forming to Thy word and will. We are utterly unworthy of these 
 mercies and blessings, for we have multiplied our transgression 
 against Thee and have not rendered unto Thee according to the 
 benefits that we have received. Our sins and iniquities do testify 
 against us, and challenge Thy wrath and indignation. We would 
 humbly confess our shortcomings and transgressions and invoke 
 Thy mercy and benediction. We would repent and turn away from 
 all our sins, and ever be mindful of the great truth that righteous- 
 ness exalteth a nation, and that sin is a reproach to any people. And 
 now, O Lord God of Truth, we adore and magnify Thy name that 
 we are here this morning to engage in the solemnities of this occa- 
 sion in the dedication of this building. Grant, O God, that this may 
 be in deed and in truth a temple of justice, where the humblest and 
 poorest shall, equally with the rich and powerful, find redress of 
 wrongs, protection in life, property and reputation, and secure all 
 the benefits contemplated and provided by the laws of our land. 
 Grant that in the settlement of all disputations, in the arbitration of 
 all cases in litigation, and in the arres.t and punishment of the trans- 
 gressor — wisdom and truth may go hand and hand with justice and 
 mercy. May the officials of this Court be men of pure lives, fearing 
 God, hating covetousness, and zealously upholding the principles of 
 righteousness. 'May they have just and intelligent appreciation of 
 the high and solemn responsibilities pertaining to their positions, 
 and seek to discharge their duties with all possible fidelity and 
 faithfulness. May our Judges and jurors be men of incorruptible 
 integrity, and whose official administration shall be a terror to evil 
 doers and a praise- to them that do well, and may all that shall be 
 done by them tend to the peace and happiness, progress and pros- 
 perity of the community. Grant, O Thou Ruler and Preserver of 
 men, that our people may have the spirit of obedience to all rightful 
 authority, that they may be ready at all times to approve the right 
 and strengthen and uphold the authority of the officers of the law 
 in the suppression of vice and crime and the promotion of virtue and 
 morality. We beseech Thee, O Lord, to accept the words of our 
 lips and the works of our hands, and grant that this building may 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 93 
 
 be preserved from all desecration and accident and stand in our 
 midst as the symbol of law, order and morality. Mercifully accept 
 us and our prayers and Thine, O Lord, be the honor and glory and 
 our the grace and benediction through our adorable Mediator and 
 Redeemer. Amen. 
 
 At the conclusion of the prayer the Rev. J. A. \V. Thomas, of the 
 Baptist Church, delivered the opening address as follows : 
 
 I thank you, Judge, for myself and the people of Marlboro, that 
 in opening this temple of justice, you have called your countrymen 
 together to acknowledge God in open court. Here we penitently 
 confess our need for courts, and officers of law, that right may be 
 maintained, our tendency to evil restrained, the criminal punished 
 and our perishable titles preserved. And today, we gratefully record 
 our obligations to a kind Providence that has blessed the labor of our 
 hands, the wisdom of our commissioners, and the skill and fidelity 
 of the builder, and furnished us a house so handsome and so well 
 suited to the purposes for which it is designed. Marlboro has not 
 been fortunate in courthouses. This is the fourth one built upon 
 her soil in the first hundred years of her history as a judicial district. 
 What kind of accommodations our fathers had in the old Cheraw 
 District at ancient Greenville (a mile or two b«low the Society Hill 
 bridge) we have no means of knowing. In those early colonial 
 times the population was sparse, courts infrequent, and but small 
 space needed for their use. On March 25, 1785, an act was passed 
 by the General Assembly of South Carolina creating several judicial 
 districts out of the territory of Old Cheraw, including Chesterfield, 
 Liberty (now Marion) and Marlboro. Claudius Pegues, George 
 Hicks, Morgan Brown, Tristram Thomas, Claudius Pegues Jr., 
 Moses Pearson, and Thomas Evans, by the same act, were appointed 
 to select a site and superintend the erection of a courthouse and 
 jail. The spot chosen was on the north bank of Crooked Creek, four 
 or five miles below this place, near what is now Evans' mill. The 
 deed from General Thomas, conveying the ground to the commis- 
 sioners above mentioned, is upon record in the Clerk's office. The 
 house erected was a two-story wooden building, ample and con- 
 venient in its arrangements. Scarcely any signs of that "old court- 
 house," and the few buildings that arose around it, can now be seen. 
 But the influence of the men to whom the administration of justice 
 was entrusted, and upon whom the formation of society and public 
 opinion devolved, lives on and is felt in all the surrounding country. 
 
94 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 Through the generous assistance of the Clerk of Court, I have the 
 satisfaction of submitting a complete roll of the Sheriffs and Clerks 
 from the beginning to a date late enough for many of these young 
 men to fill out to the present. And I beg leave to submit, your 
 Honor, if it is not desirable that you allow the Clerk to record upon 
 a bright page of his journal, this list, followed by the names of 
 those who have since served up to the present time. I will call these 
 names, and while they shall answer the roll-call on earth no more, 
 yet in this assembly today there are scores of their descendants ready 
 to respond to their country's call. The Sheriffs are as follows: 1st, 
 John Andrews, elected 1785; 2d, James Moore, in 1786; 3d, William 
 Pledger, elected in 1792; 4th, Thomas Evans, in 1804; 5th, Benja- 
 min Rogers, in 1808; 6th, William Bristow, in 1812; 7th, Charles S. 
 Strother, in 1816; 8th, Joshua David, in 1820; 9th, William Pouncy, 
 in 1824; 10th, George Bristow, in 1828; nth, E. L. Heriegan, in 
 1832; 12th, M. Townsend, in 1838; 13th, George Bristow, in 1842; 
 14th, T. C. Weatherly, in 1846; 15th, B. F. McGilvary, in 1848; 16th, 
 John W. Henagan, in 1852; 17th, B. F. McGilvary, in 1856; 18th, 
 J. L. Breeden, in 1862; 19th, A. E. Bristow, in 1866; 20th, J. L. 
 Easterling, in 1870; 21st, J. H. Jones, in 1874, who resigned in 1875 ; 
 22d, A. H. Knight, -appointed in 1875, and resigned in 1876; 23d, 
 George W. Waddill, appointed in 1876; 24th, W. P. Emanuel, 
 elected in 1876, and died in 1879, when the 25th Sheriff, Benjamin 
 A. Rogers, was appointed in 1879 and elected in-1880, reelected in 
 1884. The Clerks are as follows: 1st, John Wilson, 1785; 2d, Joel 
 Winfield, 1787; 3d, Wm. Fields, 1788; 4th, Durfy Robertson, 1789; 
 5th, Joel Winfield, 1790; 6th, John Winfield, 1804; 7th, John Thomas, 
 1808; 8th, John A. Evans, 1812; 9th, James Gillespie, pro tern., 1816; 
 nth, William Bristow, 1820; 12th, William Pledger, pro tern., 1824; 
 13th, James C. Thomas, 1828; 14th, Joshua David, 1830; 15th, 
 George Bristow, 1832; 16th, Robert D. Thomas, 1838, reelected 
 1842 ; 18th, Peter McColl, elected in 1846, and held office until his 
 death, in 1870; 19th, T. W. Allen, appointed in 1871, and elected in 
 1872 ; 20th, C. M. Weatherly, elected in 1876, and reelected in 1880, 
 and reelected in 1884. 
 
 The Ordinaries of Marlboro County are as follows: 1st, Joel 
 Winfield, Clerk of Court, served as ordinary till 1803 ; 2d, William 
 Easterling served from 1803 until his death, in 1835; 3d, Lewis E. 
 Stubbs, elected in 1835 ; 4th, Joshua David ; 5th, A. N. Bristow 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 95 
 
 served until his death, in 1867. In March, 1868, a new constitution 
 was adopted and the office of Ordinary was abolished, and Probate 
 Judges instituted. Jeremiah Grant was elected Probate Judge in 
 1868, and served two terms ; J. \V. Smith was elected in 1872, and 
 served until 1876; Knox Livingston was elected in 1876, and served 
 until 1878, when C. T. Munnerlyn was elected but did not qualify, 
 and Milton McLaurin was appointed in 1878 and elected in 1880, 
 reelected in 1882, and resigned in 1884. and W. E. Thomas was ap- 
 pointed and subsequently elected November, 1884, and T. I. Rogers 
 was elected. 
 
 I beg to mention along with the Clerk the names of Mr. John 
 Pearson, Capt. A. E. Bristow and Mrs. Eliza Bridges as having 
 given me valuable information about past events and the men that 
 are gone. In fact they have told me more things of interest than I 
 have time to tell you today. In the old musty records of your offices 
 there is interesting data for a volume of reminiscences and history. 
 
 You will understand, sir, how it was that for the first fourteen 
 years of our judicial history, law was administered by county courts. 
 And the commissioners to build the courthouse were the judges in 
 the first of these courts and a number of them are represented in 
 some of our most respectable people, and old Judge Pearson has a 
 great-grandson who is expected to take part in these ceremonies 
 as the senior member of your bar, and who with credit to himself 
 presided in the Courts of the State for several years. It was never 
 my privilege to know personally the old Judges, but in my boyhood 
 days the names of several were household words. But of the Sher- 
 iffs whose names I have called, I remember all who have served 
 since Colonel Rogers, except Wm. Bristow, the grandfather of A. J. 
 and A. A. Bristow, of this town, and C. S. Strother. The first thir- 
 teen years of my life was spent within a mile of Colonel Rogers' 
 house, and we saw him often, loved him well, a friend of the boys. 
 I can remember how the impulsive, grand old hero would rise to his 
 feet with uplifted hand and flashing eye as one of the old Coxes or 
 some other soldier of 1776 would remind him of some skirmish with 
 the Tories, and how, with rapid words, he would entertain us with 
 the recital of the incidents of those stirring times, and everybody, 
 young and old, rich and poor, had a good word and a tender thought 
 for the honored patriarch. Nor can I forbear to make special men- 
 tion of Capt. Joshua David, who was elected Sheriff in 1820, Clerk 
 
g6 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 in 1825, and served for a number of years later on in the office of 
 Ordinary. " Everywhere faithful, honest and efficient, a splendid 
 penman, his writing was like a copyplate. The old man had but a 
 single child, and he either buried him and soon followed him to the 
 grave, or else he died and we soon buried his son beside him. And 
 how can I resist the inclination to speak of that kind-hearted old 
 man, George Bristow, once Clerk and twice Sheriff of Marlboro, or 
 of the fun-loving, energetic E. L. Henagan; the practical, sensible 
 M. Townsend ; the intelligent, large-brained T. C. Weatherly ; B. F. 
 McGilvary, and my schoolmate and comrade, Col. J. W. Henagan, 
 both of whom sleep in the soldier's grave. And that remarkable 
 man, Peter McColl, too modest even to ask a man to vote for him, 
 and yet was always elected, from 1846 to the end of his life, in 1870, 
 for twenty-four years Clerk of the Court. The first Circuit Court 
 held for Marlboro was in the year 1800, Judge William Johnson 
 presiding. This distinguished jurist was elevated to the Supreme 
 Bench of the United States by President Jefferson in 1804. After 
 him there came to the "old courthouse," and held court, such men 
 as Grimke, Waties, Bay, Brevard, Nott, Colcock, and Trezevant. The 
 commission and order of Governor Drayton requiring it are recorded 
 in one of the old journals in the Clerk's office in this building, as I 
 suppose, because he was sworn in and held his first court at Marl- 
 boro "old courthouse." Here, too, such men as Falconer, Wither- 
 spoon, Wilds, Ervin, Robbins, and J. J. Evans "practiced law" ; and 
 since I have mentioned Evans, who was afterwards made a Circuit 
 Judge and frequently presided in our courts, I will ask your in- 
 dulgence to name some of the men whom I have known upon the 
 bench, and, of course, I must begin with Evans, that grand old 
 Roman, born in Marlboro. Our fathers sent him to the Legislature in 
 1812 before he was twenty-six years old. Before they could vote 
 for him again he removed to Darlington, and in 18 16 was elected to 
 the Legislature from that district. In 1829 he was made a Circuit 
 Judge, and in 1850 he was elected to the United States Senate. Marl- 
 boro "never lost her interest in him, never forgot that he was her 
 own son. Proud of him, of course she was rejoiced as honors clus- 
 tered around his name, and when in those stormy times which im- 
 mediately preceded the War Between the States, he folded his honors 
 about him and calmly fell asleep in 1858, such political opponents 
 as Wilson, of Massachusetts, and Hale, of New Hampshire, vied with 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 97 
 
 each other in weaving garlands for his tomb. Marlboro felt the 
 bereavement not less than Darlington, his adopted home. I can 
 remember the humorous, witty Richard Gantt, who used to pour 
 forth such eloquence and pathos in passing sentence upon criminals 
 as to move the most hardened. Then there used to be upon our 
 bench the frail form of John S. Richardson, in his term for thirty- 
 two years. When he was seventy, a proposition was made in the 
 Legislature to remove him from office, "on account of his bodily and 
 mental infirmities," but when he was permitted to speak for him- 
 self he utterly demolished the opposition, and "all further proceed- 
 ings were discharged." Daniel Elliott Huger, fully six feet high, 
 manly, erect, firm as granite, the people were glad for him to pre- 
 side. Bayless J. Earle, the able, pure, just Judge, was several times 
 here. Judge O'Neal, who could stand nowhere but in the front rank 
 in statesmanship, agriculture, education, religion, not less than as a 
 jurist, he stood among the leaders. Andrew Pickens Butler many of 
 you remember. His florid face, his snowy locks, his peculiar, dancing 
 eyes, his martial bearing, his uncontrollable love of fun, which would 
 sometimes convulse the courtroom, in 1846 was elected to the United 
 States Senate, ten years honored the position, and died lamented 
 by the whole country. After these there came such men as Wardlaw, 
 Glover, Withers, Whitner, and Munro. It is a bright array, and 
 they have left shining footprints upon the path your honor now 
 treads. After Equity Courts began to be held in Marlboro, the bench 
 was graced by the learned William Harper, David Johnson, after- 
 wards Governor of the State ; Job Johnston ; the distinguished, truth- 
 ful G. W. Dargan ; James J. Caldwell ; the clear-headed John A. 
 Inglis, and our own W. D. Johnson. The members of the bar who 
 have illustrated and expounded the principles of law in the courts of 
 Marlboro make an array of talent of which any people might well be 
 proud. I can only refer to such as I have known and heard. Of these 
 one must be mentioned who was distinguished more in the councils of 
 the nation than at the bar. I refer to the cultivated, golden-mouthed 
 Col. John Campbell, who succeeded his hardly less notable brother, 
 Gen. Robert B., in the United States Congress in 1836, where he 
 continued in service to the end of his life, in 1844. Polished, amia- 
 ble, modest and fearless, he was one of the most fascinating talkers 
 Marlboro has ever reared. In my boyhood I knew James R. Ervin, 
 of whom it was commonly said few men were naturally more talented. 
 
 7— H. 
 
98 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 With the settlement of Bennettsville, three gifted young men 
 rose as lights in the profession, James E. David, the friend of the 
 people; Col. C. W. Dudley, the astute, successful lawyer, and Gen. 
 John McQueen, for a dozen years a member of Congress ; the gifted 
 Charles A. Thornwell, and later on by a few years, there came three 
 other sons, scarcely less brilliant, Charles P. Townsend, Samuel J. 
 Townsend, and Harris Covington, and then the promising brothers 
 Johnson, Neil D. and Daniel White, both of whom died for the 
 "Lost Cause." Besides these our courts have been visited by gen- 
 tlemen from neighboring counties who have shed light and knowl- 
 edge upon questions of law and justice, while Withers and Hanna 
 and the Mclvers, father and son, have been a terror to evil-doers 
 in the office of Circuit Solicitors. 
 
 The removal of the courts and records to Bennettsville. Two 
 causes led to this event: the increase of population in the central 
 and eastern portion of the district, and the accepted unhealthfulness 
 of the "old courthouse" locality, because of its close proximity to the 
 swamps of the Pee Dee. And accordingly, on December 14, 1819, 
 an Act passed the Legislature directing that a new courthouse and 
 jail be immediately erected. Nathan B. Thomas, General Gillespie, 
 Drury Robertson, W. G. Feagan, James Forniss, James R. Ervin 
 and William Brown were appointed commissioners to contract for 
 and supervise the building. The site was selected and John S. 
 Thomas deeded to the authorities three acres of ground, since called 
 the "Public Square." Deed executed and recorded April 4, 1820, 
 but somehow delays occurred in the erection of the courthouse, so 
 that when the great storm of 1822 swept our country, the brick walls 
 were approaching completion, but not finished, and the torrents of 
 rain and the force of the wind caused one of the walls to crack from 
 top to bottom, and from that day there were thoughtful men who 
 doubted the security of the building. There were people who called 
 it a "man trap," a "dead fall," and were afraid to enter it with a 
 crowd. Hence its brief life of less than thirty years, for it was not 
 until the beginning of 1824 that it was finished and received, and in 
 1 85 1 it was torn down. Portions of the old courthouse and other 
 buildings were moved to the new site, and our fathers began to think 
 "Maybe there will be a village here some of these days, and we had 
 better give this place a name," and as the Governor of the State was 
 named Bennett, in honor of him they began to call the place Bennetts- 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 99 
 
 ville. I suppose if the thought had once entered their minds that 
 a town would grow up around the courthouse, to be governed by 
 mayor and aldermen, with a half dozen churches in it and almost as 
 many schools, more than a dozen stores, great brick blocks, with an 
 iron horse drawing men and goods to it upon an iron road, and haul- 
 ing thousands of cotton bales weighing five hundred pounds to the 
 bale, and bringing in ten thousand bushels of fertilizers to enrich the 
 soil, they would have given the infant town a more pretentious name. 
 And as Monroe was President at the time, they might have named 
 it "Monroe," or if the district of which it was to be the capital must 
 be called after the grand old English duke and soldier, who never 
 felt the sensation of defeat during a whole lifetime of war, they 
 might have concluded we will call the place "Marlboro," and that 
 would have been meet, especially if they could have looked forward 
 sixty years and seen the whole country for miles around so like a 
 town that they can hardly get out of sight of farm buildings and 
 residences, many of which look more town-like than even the 
 old courthouse and its surroundings did in its palmiest days. When 
 the first courthouse was being built a most singular will was probated 
 in 182 1, which was destined to make the Marlboro courtroom the 
 theater of as grand and intellectual contest as has ever occurred in 
 our history. Mason Lee, noted for his eccentricities, superstitions 
 and prejudices, and yet had capacity for money-making, willed the 
 larger portion of his wealth to the two States of Tennessee and 
 South Carolina, and directed that the best legal talent in the State 
 be employed to defend his will, in case his heirs at law, the "Wig- 
 gins family," should contest it. The best talent was employed to 
 contest it — the best to defend. It was a conflict of giants, James R. 
 Ervin, Colonel Blanding, and Chancellor Harper were arrayed 
 against Judge Evans and Col. W. C. Preston on the other side. 
 Seldom has the walls of a courtroom rang with such oratory. But it 
 is time something should be said of what your honor has justly 
 termed "the unique structure which has been replaced by this hand- 
 some building." On December 19, 1849, tr| e Legislature appropri- 
 ated $8,000 to build a new courthouse for Marlboro. M. Town- 
 send, Dr. Crosland, James Spears, and others of like character had 
 entrusted to them the superintendance of the enterprise. Neill Mc- 
 Neill was the contractor, and after some delays it was completed 
 and accepted about the beginning of 1853; the first court held in it 
 
ioo Sketches and Reminisgences. 
 
 was in March of that year. The people generally and the courts 
 were never satisfied with its accommodations and arrangements, and 
 when a few years ago a portion of the plastering and cornicing fell 
 off it was not difficult to have it condemned as unsafe and to institute 
 proceedings to build anew. An act was obtained authorizing the 
 measure, and the County Commissioners (P. M. Hamer, J. H. David 
 and Tristram Covington) took charge of the enterprise. The con- 
 tract was given to Mr. Jacob S. Allen, of North Carolina, and here 
 we are today entering upon its possession. It is the fourth in a 
 century, but it looks as if it would last for a century to come, and it 
 is most devoutly wished that the men who shall here administer law 
 and justice in future years shall never fall below their predecessors 
 in truth, honesty and uprightness. 
 
 People of Marlboro, you are my people. For threescore years 
 and more my feet have trod your sacred soil. My father, two grand- 
 fathers, and two great-grandfathers sleep in your "God's Acre," and 
 before long you will lay my body to rest in Marlboro's kind bosom, 
 which has nurtured me all these years. As an old man you have 
 honored me with this service today. And as old men begin to look 
 backward when once they begin to see present objects imperfectly, 
 you have expected me to speak of the men and events of the past. 
 Therefore have I prepared this "roll of honor." Many names are 
 upon it ; few that will ever answer to their country's call again. And 
 I charge you, young men, suffer not their memory to perish. "Though 
 dead, they yet speak" ; their influence and works yet live. Their im- 
 press is upon the population and enterprises of the country. We need 
 not to be forever finding fault with the present, saying, "the former 
 days were better than these." In many respects the men of today 
 are wiser and better than in days gone by ; progress and improvement 
 have been steady and marked in many directions ; but in fidelity to 
 duty, adherence to truth, justice, honesty and right, your fathers 
 were towers of strength, your mothers polished jewels of virtue, grace 
 and religion. Many are named who have illustrated these principles 
 in official position, and yet in all these years there have been num- 
 bers of others just as true, as noble, as capable, who never solicited 
 or coveted office. Grand old men, they loved their country, cheer- 
 fully gave their thought, time and service to it for years together 
 upon its various boards, and never thought of compensation. Scores 
 of excellent citizens as worthy of mention as any of those already 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. ioi 
 
 named have helped build up this prosperous country by creating a 
 healthy public sentiment, and building and adorning homes for you — 
 their sons and daughters. In the name of your honored ancestry, I 
 charge you to maintain the fair fame bequeathed you. Never allow 
 injustice, dishonesty and vice to sit in high places, to mar the goodly 
 heritage which is yours. You are not to ask where a man was born, 
 but is he capable, honest, worthy? Your fathers helped to elect 
 Simms and McQueen to Congress, one a native of Virginia, the other 
 of North Carolina ; and you have honored yourselves in all the honor 
 you ever gave to \Y. D. Johnson. You are as proud of McDuffie and 
 William C. Preston as if they had been born in South Carolina, and if 
 his Honor were not on the bench today, I might say we hardly ever 
 remember that Hudson was born in Chester. Why, my countrymen, 
 we have always welcomed the stranger among us, and when found 
 worthy, given him our confidence and the best places we have had. 
 So let it be, remembering, after all, that position, office is nothing, 
 is no honor to a man only as he honors the office by faithful duty. 
 "Let every man mind his own business and let that of others alone." 
 Have just as little to do with litigation, debt and the courts as pos- 
 sible, and with the law only to obey it. Live peaceably with all men, 
 pay as you go, and you will go on prospering and to prosper. 
 
 Now, sir, as you enter upon the administration of law and justice 
 in this new edifice dedicated to its maintenance, allow me to place in 
 your hands for the use of the court a copy of the word of God. 
 When, in the observance of the solemn forms administered here, the 
 hand touches this sacred volume there is a declaration of faith in the 
 Supreme Judge of the Universe, and that this is His Word. Marvel- 
 ous old book ! Its teachings true and righteous, the basis of equity 
 and right. When human actions and opinions conform to its princi- 
 ples they are wise and good ; when men in court or elsewhere depart 
 from its principles they are at sea, for it is the only trustworthy chart 
 and compass for voyagers upon life's dangerous ocean. Forsake it 
 and shipwreck is inevitable. Not designed for one age or one peo- 
 ple, but for all, it is a complete revelation, a supreme authority bind- 
 ing the consciences of all. Your appeal is to authorities in settling 
 questions of difficulty and doubt; here is an authority that survives 
 when others perish, a light which increases when others wane. It 
 reveals the Almighty Jehovah, a just God and Savior, whose throne is 
 righteousness and judgment. It goes back into eternity past, forward 
 
102 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 into eternity to come. Like as its great author is eternal, so 
 His Word is forever true. As He is one, so its teachings are one — 
 one rule of life, one system of faith, one way of peace, one law of 
 right. It is no sliding scale to suit human conveniences and prefer- 
 ences, but Divine in its origin, it only can light the soul amid the 
 dark mazes of sin and error into the sure path of truth and fadeless 
 light and eternal rest. There is no danger of cleaving too closely to 
 this "lamp to our feet" ; to loosen our hold upon it in the least degree 
 is full of danger. Many and loud are the voices that cry to us today, 
 "Don't give up the Bible." Whatever else you surrender, let it not 
 be the Bible. 
 
 JUDGE HUDSON'S REPLY. 
 
 To this address Judge Hudson responded as follows : 
 
 Reverend Sir, I accept this sacred book as a most appropriate 
 presentation in the opening of these interesting and solemn cere- 
 monies. Its sublime teachings are of priceless value to all the min- 
 isters of the law in this temple, in their efforts to dispense justice 
 tempered with mercy. 
 
 The business of the court cannot be conducted without its con- 
 stant use. The judge, the attorney, clerk and sheriff, each, before 
 entering upon the duties of his office, is sworn upon the Holy Bible 
 to obey the constitution and laws of the land, and faithfully, and to 
 the best of his ability, to discharge all the duties of his office. The 
 jurors and witnesses are likewise bound by the solemn sanction of an 
 oath the truth to deliver. 
 
 Its divine precepts are as incomparably superior to the wisdom 
 of man as is the Creator to his creatures. They form the underly- 
 ing principles of our laws, and afford the safest guide to correct 
 human conduct. Throughout enlightened Christendom, experience 
 has taught that laws enacted at variance with the simple, sublime 
 and eternal commands of the Decalogue, that briefest, yet most com- 
 prehensive and grandest of all codes, eventuate in no good, are fruit- 
 ful of injury to the body politic, and necessitate their own repeal, 
 because of their moral crookedness and deformity. 
 
 The people of England and these United States have ever zeal- 
 ously and religiously cherished as a priceless boon, Magna Charta, 
 trial by jury, bill of rights and habeas corpus. But above these in- 
 estimable constitutional rights, towering with a grandeur, sublimity 
 
SKETCHES AND REMINISCENCES. IO3 
 
 and awfulness that sinks them into utter insignificance, are the com- 
 mandments of Jehovah thundered from Sinai's Mount, and the 
 teachings of our Savior contained in this Book of Books. 
 
 It is peculiarly becoming the solemnity of this occasion that, 
 from the hands of an honored, trusted, tried and faithful minister 
 of the gospel, as all acknowledge you to be, the court should receive 
 this Holy Book, with your earnest injunctions to observe its pre- 
 cepts. The Christian churches, no less than all the people, are 
 deeply concerned in the faithful, just and merciful administration of 
 the law. The liberty, peace, happiness and prosperity of the whole 
 people depend upon it. No one in the State is so exalted or so de- 
 based as not to be subject to its influence, and in need of its protec- 
 tion and fostering care. The capitalist and laborer, the master me- 
 chanic and handicraftsman, landlord and tenant, the lawyer and 
 physician, the scholar, poet, orator, statesman and divine, the law- 
 giver and executive, all lean upon the law for support and protection 
 and bow to its majesty. 
 
 In illustration of the all-pervading influence of law, human and 
 divine, I cannot refrain from repeating those eloquent words of 
 Archbishop Hooper, when, in speaking of universal law, he uttered 
 this beautiful metaphor: 
 
 "Of law there can be no less acknowledged than that her seat is 
 the bosom of God ; her voice the harmony of the world. All things 
 in heaven and earth do her homage; the very least as feeling her 
 care, and the greatest as not exempt from her power. Both angels 
 and men, and creatures of what condition soever, though each in dif- 
 ferent sort and manner, admiring her as the mother of their peace 
 and joy." 
 
 DELIVERING THE KEYS. 
 
 Mr. J. F. Bolton, chairman of the Board of County Commission- 
 ers, then stepped forward and with a short but very appropriate 
 speech delivered the keys of the courthouse to the Judge, to which 
 the latter responded as follows : 
 
 Mr. Chairman : It is with feeling of pleasure, pride and emotion 
 I accept from your hands the keys of this beautiful temple of justice. 
 It affords me much satisfaction to say that the structure is an honor 
 to all those who have been in any wise instrumental in its erection. 
 It is to our people a source of satisfaction and pride, and, for time 
 to come, will stand as a monument to their public spirit and liberality. 
 
104 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 To our worthy Senator and Representatives who secured the 
 passage of the Acts providing for its erection, to the Board of Com- 
 missioners who adopted the plan, the architect who designed it, and 
 the accomplished builder who has so skilfully and faithfully erected 
 this temple, our people owe a debt of lasting gratitude. In behalf of 
 the court and all the citizens, I thank you all, and publicly commend 
 Mr. Allen, the builder, for the honesty, faithfulness and skill he has 
 displayed in his work from beginning to end ; and award to him, as 
 well as to the Legislators and Commissioners, the meed of "Well 
 done, good and faithful servant." 
 
 To the old temple, upon the ruins of which this is built, we bid 
 an affectionate farewell; not, however, without a lingering emotion 
 of sadness. Many most pleasant associations cluster around the 
 memory of that old courthouse. On her judgment seat sat those 
 distinguished judges of the past who constituted a galaxy of jurists 
 as learned, pure and noble as ever adorned the bench of any 
 State. 
 
 Fearless, independent and merciful, they held the scales of justice 
 with an even hand, and declared the law to jurors, honest, fearless 
 and just. In its hall lawyers, the peers of any in the land, stood up 
 to defend the right and thrilled their audiences with forensic elo- 
 quence, speaking in "thoughts that breathe and words that burn," 
 forcing conviction on the mind of Judge and jury by argument un- 
 answerable. The venerable temple has crumbled beneath the tread 
 of advancing change, and those true and tried and accomplished 
 judges and advocates are gone to their silent homes of eternal rest. 
 Their eloquent tongues are hushed in death, but they live in the 
 hearts of their countrymen. By their exemplary, lives and noble 
 works they won imperishable fame and left behind them monuments 
 more lasting than brass. 
 
 As dear and lasting as are the associations which thus cluster 
 around the recollection of that old edifice, we, nevertheless, are 
 reconciled to its removal, when in its stead we are permitted to re- 
 ceive this building, so much better adapted to the growing needs of 
 a prosperous people, and so much more in keeping with their grow- 
 ing taste and culture. 
 
 A hall in all respects fit for the convenience and comfort of the 
 court and people greatly facilitates the satisfactory administration 
 of the law. All entering here will really feel that they are in the 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 105 
 
 presence of a tribunal entitled to respect, and will, more readily 
 and forcibly than in a contracted and ill-appointed courtroom, be 
 impressed with the majesty of the law, whose mandates must be 
 obeyed. 
 
 We are pleased to receive this building for the further reason that 
 it is indicative of the rapid march of our people in material pros- 
 perity. Throughout the State there are evidences of marked im- 
 provement in all branches of industry, and great strides are being 
 made in the development of her great natural resources. 
 
 Intending no disparagement of any section of our State, I am 
 pleased to say that, in general development, and especially in the 
 development of her agricultural resources, Marlboro is second to no 
 county in the State. A people so industrious, progressive and pros- 
 perous richly deserve to have a handsome, commodious and com- 
 fortable building for the accommodation of the court and for the 
 transaction of business pertaining to all the county offices. 
 
 Once more, in behalf of the court, its officers and the people, I 
 thank our Legislators, our Commissioners, the architect and builders, 
 for the public spirit, good judgment, skill and cultured taste dis- 
 played in the projection and erection of this handsome temple of 
 justice. 
 
 And now, Mr. Gerk, to you, as the custodian of this building and 
 keeper of the records of the court, I deliver these keys, and charge 
 you to be, as I know you will, true and faithful to your trust in 
 guarding and preserving the same. 
 
 THE VOICE OF THE BAR. 
 
 Ex- Judge C. P. Townsend, the oldest member of the bar, then 
 arose on behalf of the bar and addressed the court as follows : 
 
 May it please your Honor : "Thou art weighed in the balances and 
 art found wanting," was mysteriously written by the finger of God 
 upon the wall of Belshazzer's luxurious palace amid the din and 
 revelry of a feast. This was a dismal revelation to a wicked king 
 that he had been justly judged and his kingdom divided and given 
 to his waiting enemies. Thus we learn that the justice of Heaven 
 is meted out by the balances. It is no wonder, then, that finite man 
 should symbolize the mode of measuring it by the same method 
 adopted by Jehovah himself. This forcibly illustrates the interest 
 of the human race in all ages "to do justice and love God," as well 
 
io6 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 as to assimulate human methods of dispensing it to that of the 
 omniscient Judge of Belshazzar. 
 
 The ancients personified justice as a noble and majestic woman 
 with bandaged eyes, holding the balances in one hand and the sword 
 in the other. In action, Themis was the source of law and her pre- 
 dictions of truth, as she presided over the distribution of justice. 
 The principles intended to be illustrated in this personation were 
 purity, impartiality, equality, justice, punishment. The beautiful 
 female was emblematic of that purity and probity which should ever 
 characterize the finite judge; the filleted eyes of that blindness to 
 human distinctions and that rigid impartiality which should always 
 be observed ; the balances of the good and exact measure of justice 
 which should be meted out to all; and the sword of the avenger of 
 the law who swiftly follows every infraction of it with certain and 
 deserved punishment. 
 
 Themis was the production of a pagan age, but she is still a 
 Christian ideal goddess, and will continue to be as long as the uni- 
 versal moral law for the government of the human race exists. Jus- 
 tice is still personated by a christianized Themis holding the bal- 
 ances, which symbolize the same eternal truths they did when Athens 
 and Rome were the centers of thought, philosophy, eloquence and 
 learning. To repudiate this hallowed legend is to break the spell of 
 the ages, and to abandon the symbol of justice given to us by the 
 Supreme Judge of the Universe. 
 
 Justice has been philosophically styled the standing policy of 
 civil society. Administered by private agencies it is not of a uniform 
 character. Depending as it does upon the construction of the gov- 
 ernment and the condition of civil society under which it is dis- 
 tributed, it has necessarily been multiform in the ages of the past. 
 The pure and enlightened distribution of it is an evidence of the high 
 degree of wisdom in the construction of the government, or of great 
 virtue in the administration of it. A Nero, a Caligula and a Tiberius 
 abused the judicial power, and caricatured the administration of 
 justice. Their tyranny resulted from the perversion and sophistica- 
 tions of the law, rather than the direct and palpable violations of it. 
 History teaches us that a pure and good distribution of justice is 
 impossible under a despotic government. The absolute monarch 
 measures it out by no standard of universal justice, but by passion, 
 caprice, interest and prejudice. 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 107 
 
 In the Grecian republics the distribution of justice was confided 
 to the people. The multitude were members of the court, and exer- 
 cising the judicial power themselves without restraint, were guilty 
 of the most monstrous tyranny and injustice. Socrates was con- 
 demned by a tumultuous Grecian assembly of several hundred 
 judges, and several of the most distinguished and meritorious citi- 
 zens were unjustly banished from Athens. Private and public virtue 
 were sacrificed to popular caprice or prejudice, and the voice of jus- 
 tice was silenced by the din and confusion of popular clamor. Thus 
 their judicature was popularized and democracy enthroned in the 
 tribunals of justice. Under the early monarchial government of 
 England justice was as recklessly administered as by the Roman 
 despots or the tumultuous Grecian assemblies. A Jeffreys and a 
 Scruggs distributed it as the corrupt and willing tools of the crown. 
 Lord Bacon, the philosopher, statesman, judge, was bribed, disgraced 
 and impeached, and has cast an everlasting blot upon English juris- 
 prudence, which the purity of a Hale and a Coke, that defied royalty 
 and the allurements of wealth, can never efface. Servility and cor- 
 ruption were the banes of the system, and resulted in the practice of 
 injustice, cruelty and oppression. After this period the stream of 
 justice flowed in an even, unbroken course, and the English courts 
 attained and have supported a character for dignity, impartiality, 
 purity and learning, in the administration of justice, unexampled in 
 any other age or country, except ours. The act of Parliament 
 electing judges for life and establishing the independence and in- 
 dividuality of the English judiciary, and the infusion into the system 
 of the principle of a pure Christianity, worked this wonderful change. 
 The English system thus perfected combined all the excellence of the 
 judicial systems of all preceding ages. These different phases in the 
 administration of justice admirably illustrate the difference in the 
 construction of the governments and the condition of civil society. 
 
 It has been reserved for us and our civilization to establish the 
 American system, and thus to correct the evils in the administration 
 of justice which have existed for thirty centuries. Justice is made 
 the standing policy of our civil society. The Christian religion has 
 furnished us a principle of universal justice on which our laws are 
 based, our society organized, and by which individual conduct and 
 public virtue are regulated. To do justice and love God are its 
 fundamental principles. 
 
108 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 The cardinal characteristics of our peculiar judicial system are 
 the purity, independence and individual responsibility of our judges, 
 trial by jury, limited in powers and numbers, and the honesty of the 
 bar. Since the organization of our government no judge, State or 
 Federal, has been successfully impeached, disgraced and dismissed 
 from office for accepting a bribe. The inherent purity of our form of 
 civil society makes incorruptible integrity the standing policy. The 
 , blending of the principles of Christianity inspires the apprehension 
 of the handwriting upon the wall and the swift execution of judg- 
 ment for the commission of wilful errors or the least departure from 
 judicial probity and truth. No allurements can successfully corrupt 
 the integrity of our judiciary, nor can popular caresses or violence 
 swerve it from its virtuous purposes. Truth and justice are its pole 
 star, and purity its only aspiration. 
 
 Our organic law provides for the absolute independence of it. 
 The legislation of the country is under its supervision and control. 
 No injustice and tyranny can result from the enactment of cruel and 
 unjust laws, for they must be humane, and are executed by the co- 
 ordinate branch. Justice is administered by judicial construction 
 rather than by utterances of the lawmakers as contained in the 
 letter of the law. No Draconian Code can be adopted and enforced 
 for the oppression of the people. It is impossible for the power of 
 a Nero or a Caligula in the corruption of justice and the suppression 
 of the laws to be exercised for the destruction of the lives and liber- 
 ties of the people. Our judiciary system is the corrective power in- 
 hereht in the system of government for any tendency towards an- 
 archy or tyranny. 
 
 The executive department is impotent in any attempts at usurpa- 
 tion. Our judges can speak in tones of judicial authority even to the 
 head of the government, and command; "Thus far shalt thou go and 
 no farther." The only power of which it is not absolutely indepen- 
 dent is the "vox populi." The election of judges for stated periods 
 instead of during good behavior is the only inherent lurking danger 
 in the system. This is a fatal weakness, and may in the distant future 
 sap its foundation and destroy our liberties. Old systems for the 
 administration of justice have been wrecked on the sea of popular 
 fury by this defect, and their dismembered parts live only in history. 
 
 The limited number of our judges is a wisely conservative feature 
 of the system. It averts the danger of our courts degenerating into 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 109 
 
 tumultuous assemblies for the administration of justice. Our judges 
 have a distinct individuality, and their judgments are known of all 
 men and open to public criticism. In this way individual responsi- 
 bility is recognized and enforced. No uncertain and irresponsible 
 judgments can flow from the bench; no favorable judicial oracles 
 can be extorted by persistent Alexandrian litigants ; there can be no 
 Philipping. The frowns of the public virtue and intelligence are 
 perfect safeguards against such mischievous evils. Trial by jury is 
 an essential feature of our system. It is no new experiment with us. 
 It is sanctioned by the experiences of the ages. It has been only per- 
 fected by our Christian civilization, and has, in fact, become the pal- 
 ladium of our liberties. In our system, restricted as the jury is in 
 power and numbers, it is an indispensable and potential factor. In all 
 other systems the administration of justice was controlled by it. In 
 ours it is subordinate to the judicial power, and is controlled by 
 principles higher than human powers and prejudices. The theory 
 is that the jury represents the virtue and intelligence of civil society. 
 When governed by the dictates of public virtue and justice, rather 
 than the unfavorable and more unenlightened popular judgment, they 
 are upright and just judges, and subserve the even end of the insti- 
 tution of trial by jury. Whenever they ignore that universal princi- 
 ple of justice taught by the Christian religion, and reflect popular 
 clamor, then there is a danger of the jury degenerating into tumultu- 
 ous courts like the Grecian assemblies for the practice of injustice 
 and oppression. The condition of our American civil society im- 
 presses the hope that trial by jury will always admirably answer the 
 end for which it was instituted, whatever the protection of the people 
 from executive and legislative encroachments upon their liberties 
 and the pure administration of justice. These are the salient features 
 of our American judicial system. It is preeminently a system of 
 justice, and the most perfect that can ever be devised by finite man. 
 We have attained a stage in our civil society when justice is the 
 standing policy of it ; when it can be measured by the ideal balances, 
 and administered as exactly and perfectly as it can be done by finite 
 agencies. It is fitting, then, that we should symbolize justice by the 
 balances, and that they should constitute the emblem of it in our 
 courts. 
 
 The Areopagus, the supreme judicial tribunal of the Athenians, 
 was composed of citizens of the greatest probity and justice. This 
 
no Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 august tribunal met on the hill of Mars, in the darkness of the night, 
 to the end that no external objects should distract the minds of the 
 judges. So sacred was the place, and so solemn the duties of the 
 court, that even Athenian orators were not allowed to make ex- 
 ordiums, digressions or perorations. This separation of the court 
 from the obtrusive observation and perpetual war of passions of the 
 outside world was profoundly wise. Modern civilization has aban- 
 doned this rude precaution of the wise Athenian law-givers, and 
 created temples fit for the administration of justice, in. imitation of 
 the judgment hall of the theocratical government in which Solomon 
 awarded judgment, and in faint resemblance of that temple, not 
 made with hands, in the heavens, in which the infinite source of 
 justice awards eternal judgments. In these temples are localized 
 the courts which sit in judgment upon the lives, liberties and prop- 
 erty of the citizens. They represent the invincible and conservative 
 power of the law, as did the temples of the ancients the invisible and 
 oracular power of the deities to whom they were dedicated. In these 
 should be enthroned our Christian ideal goddess of justice, and the 
 temples thus invested with a halo of truth, sacredness and reverence 
 should be dedicated to the 'solemn purpose of the pure administra- 
 tion of justice. 
 
 It is evidently proper, then, that this magnificent edifice should 
 be dedicated, so that it may be reverenced by our people and may 
 be used, as it was designed to be, as a temple in which the judges, 
 the members of the bar, and the people may gather around the altar 
 to be erected here today, and as ministers of justice may unite their 
 efforts to do justice and love God. This is, then, no idle pageant, 
 intended to amuse and entertain. Our purpose is to make this an im- 
 pressive ceremony, so as to hallow this building and to consecrate it, 
 as long as it may endure, to the sacred business for which it was 
 erected. Assembled here today to aid us in this noble work are the 
 ladies, whose presence and prayers always call down the benedictions 
 of heaven upon any cause in which they are interested. 
 
 Judges and lawyers are human, and subject to the infirmities of 
 the race. They need the inspiration of truth and justice in their 
 judicial and professional work. The inspiration can come alone 
 from the source of all truth and justice, and let us, while dedicating 
 this ternple, reverently evoke the aid of Him who has commanded us 
 to do justice, and who will aid us in the administration of it. 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. hi 
 
 The balances are a necessary part of the paraphernalia of this 
 temple. In behalf of the members of the bar and the people, I pre- 
 sent them to you today with the solemn pledges on our part that we 
 will unite our efforts with yours and the other Judges of the State to 
 faithfully measure justice, and to make this temple in deed and in 
 truth a temple of justice. Take them, and in dispensing justice 
 always keep the ideal of them before you, and then purity, impar- 
 tiality and exact justice will ever characterize your judgments. 
 Adopt them today in the dedication of this edifice as the emblem of 
 justice for yourself, for your brethren and for us, and this temple 
 will never be desecrated by the footprints of the hideous monsters 
 of injustice, cruelty and oppression. 
 
 Judge Townsend was followed by H. H. Newton, Esq., Solicitor 
 of the Fourth Circuit, who also spoke on the behalf of the bar as 
 follows : 
 
 May it please your Honor: It is gratifying in the extreme that 
 our voices are heard today in this beautiful temple which we dedicate 
 — not to the Goddess of Justice, but to Justice herself. Here, for 
 ages to come, I trust, will the gladsome light of jurisprudence be 
 shed. Here may it ever be shown that Charles Macklin erred when 
 he said "the law is a sorter hocus-pocus science, that smiles in yer 
 face while it picks yer pocket; and the glorious uncertainty of it is 
 of mair use to the professors than the justice of it." 
 
 The sovereign law which shall here be administered holds her 
 aegis over the rich and poor alike. In the language of the great 
 Pitt, undei her protection "the poorest man may in his cottage bid 
 defiance to all the force of the crown. It may be frail ; its roof may 
 shake ; the wind may blow through it ; the storms may enter ; the 
 rain may enter, but the king of England cannot enter. All his forces 
 dare not cross the threshold of the ruined tenement." Doubtless, 
 sometimes, the law fails of its great end, but the fault is not with the 
 law. It lies in defective machinery provided for its administration. 
 Its principles are the same, unchanged and unchanging through the 
 ages. So long as time shall last this mistress of the universe "o'er 
 thrones and globes elate" shall "sit empress, crowning good, repress- 
 ing ill," and when the final doom of creation shall be sounded, her 
 mission accomplished, she will return to God, from whom she came 
 at creation's dawn. 
 
ii2 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 A high regard for law marks the greatest type of civilization. It 
 is true that all laws, or rules of action, provided for the government 
 of people are not founded in the high principle involved in abstract 
 law. Indeed, sir, upon this statute book there are doubtless laws 
 which are not founded in wisdom, and do not always work justice 
 in their administration. But they have, nevertheless, been pre- 
 scribed as rules of action for the government of the people through 
 the instrumentalities provided by the people themselves. Legislators 
 may have erred, but that is no reason why we should err in the 
 matter of obedience to and administration of these statutes. We 
 must obey law because it is law. It is the only power that binds 
 society together — that sustains government, without which society 
 could not long exist. 
 
 In like manner, too, we must administer law because it is law. 
 There must be no faltering through sympathy for its victims, or a 
 belief that it is not wise. With these we have naught to do in this 
 courtroom. A bad law well obeyed or administered is far better 
 than one disregarded by the individual or the courts. In the times 
 of Holt, of Selden, of Coke and of Matthew Hale, there were stat- 
 utes which to the people of this time would be most revolting. The 
 enlightened sense of justice and humanity in England today is doubt- 
 less shocked when recurrence is had to some of the criminal statutes 
 which two and three centuries ago were enforced in the courts of the 
 realm. Two hundred years ago the accused in the highest crimes 
 was not allowed counsel to defend him nor was he confronted by 
 the witnesses for the prosecution. The government was repre- 
 sented by able and zealous prosecuting attorneys, and the judge ap- 
 peared almost always to lean toward the side of the prosecution, not 
 from corrupt motives, but from a desire to vindicate the law. The 
 statute 7 Wm. Ill, c. 3, allowing counsel to the accused, was passed 
 in 1695 and appointed to take effect on March 25, 1696. On the 24th 
 of that month, after the statute had been passed and the very day 
 before it was to take effect, Sir William Parkyn was tried for high 
 treason. He prayed in vain that counsel might be allowed him on 
 the ground that the preamble of the act was declaratory of the com- 
 mon law, inasmuch as it said that there was nothing more just and 
 reasonable. "My Lord," said he, addressing Lord Chief Justice 
 Holt, "it wants but one day." To which the latter replied : "That is 
 as much as if it were a much longer time, for we are to proceed 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 113 
 
 according to what the law is, and not what it will be." In vain did the 
 accused plead for the delay of one day, that he might have counsel 
 to defend his life. How unjust, not to say inhuman, would this seem 
 in a judge of the present time. 
 
 Selden and Hale strenuously maintained the justice of the law 
 against witches, and the ermine of the latter is tarnished by his 
 having suffered a conviction of two women for witchcraft in 1665, 
 when even the bystanders declared themselves satisfied of the ab- 
 surdity of the charge. 
 
 The Duke of Norfolk in 1571, and Sir Walter Raleigh in 1603, 
 fell innocent victims to hearsay and ex parte testimony taken behind 
 their backs, while they demanded and were denied what the law 
 of God requires — that their accusers should face them. Up to the 
 revolution of 1688 the criminal trials of England were a disgrace to 
 the national annals. Says an able writer, "it would be difficult to 
 name a trial not marked by some violation of the first principles of 
 criminal justice." Says another, "they were in fact judicial 
 murders." 
 
 The laws were unjust, but they were faithfully administered, 
 and out of them came that obedience and respect which preserved 
 the government of England and paved the way to the enlightenment 
 and liberty today enjoyed by the English people. From those dark 
 days, even, have been preserved many maxims and legal principles 
 which at present, like crystals, bedeck the jurisprudence of the 
 mother country, and glisten here and there throughout the body of 
 our own judicial decisions. If a statute be unwise let it be regarded 
 with the same binding efficacy that belongs to the most prudent and 
 humane legislation. New legislation may repeal it and enact a sub- 
 stitute, probably far wiser, because of experience with the abuse 
 incident to it. 
 
 I congratulate your Honor. I congratulate myself and every 
 other citizen of this great commonwealth, of this great nation, that 
 we live in this day of progress in law as well as other civil institu- 
 tions. Liberty is now in the zenith of her glory. The yoke of gov- 
 ernment is easy wherever justice is administered by a judge and 
 jury as in these United States. Contentment is written upon the 
 brow of every lover of law and order. The wretched are those that 
 hate government, and who, but for the sanctions of the very law they 
 despise, would disregard the rights of others and revel in rapine and 
 disorder. 
 
 8— H. 
 
ii4 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 May your Honor long live to hold the scales of justice with the 
 even hand with which you hitherto have held them. May you long 
 live to administer the written law which I. now present you and 
 which is entitled to a place upon your desk forever in this temple 
 of justice. Should your Honor ever descend from the high plane of 
 virtue and integrity which you now occupy, and perfidiously declare 
 that to be law which is not, or should a dark day bring to that bench 
 an unworthy successor, the mournful cadence of justice will be heard 
 within these walls saying to the ministers, "Arise, let us go hence." 
 The sadness of that day God grant this country may never witness. 
 
 Judge Hudson then responded to the members of the bar in the 
 following address : 
 
 Gentlemen of the Bar: In accepting from your representatives 
 the emblematic scales of justice, and a copy of the constitution and 
 statute law of the State, I am impressed with feelings of a grave 
 character, and made deeply to feel the weight of responsibility im- 
 posed upon me by my office. 
 
 To hold the scales of justice with an even hand, and faithfully 
 and correctly to administer the law, requires a degree of knowledge, 
 learning and liberal culture, and a patience and firmness of which I 
 am endowed only to a very limited extent. As age grows upon me 
 and experience enlarges I am the more forcibly impressed with a 
 painful sense of my ignorance of the great science of the law, and 
 despair of ever being able to master it. 
 
 In many of the causes adjudged by me I have been made fully 
 aware of my weakness, having to be guided through the labyrinths 
 of the case by the. light of learning brightly burning in the hands of 
 accomplished lawyers. But, amid the severe trials of my judicial 
 career, I have ever aimed, above all things, to be guided by the lamp 
 of truth, a safer beacon than learning led astray by sophistry, or 
 brilliant intellectual accomplishments impelled by selfish aims and 
 vaunting ambition. The office of judge is one of fearful responsi- 
 bility, burdened with toil, beset with cares, and compassed round 
 about with perplexities that subject mind, body, and heart to the 
 severest trials. The lives, liberty, property and happiness of the 
 people are involved in the judgments he is daily called upon to 
 render. The peace, order and welfare of the people require the 
 wise administration of wholesome laws ; and this depends upon the 
 purity, integrity and ability of the judiciary. The beauty and 
 majesty of the law are in their keeping. 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 115 
 
 The court, with all its machinery, is established to enforce the 
 law for the protection of private and public rights, to defend the 
 weak against the strong, to shield the innocent and punish the guilty, 
 to uphold the right and condemn the wrong, and by thus vindicating 
 the wisdom, dignity, and majesty of the law. to promote the general 
 welfare. 
 
 The municipal law, which is here administered, is defined by 
 Blackstone to be "a rule of civil conduct, prescribed by the supreme 
 power in a State, commanding what is right, and prohibiting what 
 is wrong." These rules are necessarily of general application, and 
 cannot, with impunity, be distorted to meet special cases. The de- 
 struction of the rule would be the consequence. The rule, to be 
 effective, must be rigidly adhered to and firmly enforced, without 
 regard to special hardship to litigants. It follows necessarily that 
 sometimes the judgment must be adverse to him or her whom tender 
 compassion would prompt us to relieve, and, in its consequences, not 
 infrequently brings ruin to those who least deserve it. The widow 
 and the orphan are at times, by the enforcement of these wise but 
 inexorable rules, turned away from the temple of justice unrelieved, 
 and sent adrift to weep over disappointment, and brood in sorrow 
 over want and calamity. 
 
 The heart of the judge sickens at the consequence of his decree, 
 but he is sustained by a conviction that the rule of law he is enforc- 
 ing is wise. Ita lex scripta est. So the law is written, and he dare 
 not, through feeling of sympathy with distress, disregard it even if 
 he could do so, because greater calamity would befall the State by 
 violating a wise general rule to grant special relief than rigidly to 
 enforce it. 
 
 But these struggles betwixt sympathy for the distressed on one 
 hand and a stern sense of duty on the other, the judge is relieved of 
 in the majority of cases. The plea of the widow and the orphan, the 
 needy and oppressed, for legal redress generally comports fully with 
 righteous justice and the law of the case. Then to the judge it is a 
 cheering thought and sweet consolation to know that in upholding 
 the law in its letter and spirit he is enabled to sustain the cause of the 
 weak against the strong, the aggrieved against the aggressor, the 
 innocent against the guilty. 
 
 I assure you, gentlemen, that I have endeavored, and will per- 
 severe in the effort, to hold the scales of justice with an even hand 
 
n6 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 betwixt my fellowmen, and I ask your aid and support in the trials 
 that attend me. 
 
 Indulge me whilst on an occasion of such interest, I address a 
 few words to you. 
 
 Your profession is no sinecure. It is beset with cares, difficulties, 
 responsibilities and severe trials ; but it is one of great honor and dig- 
 nity. That distinguished statesman and scholar, Edmund Burke, 
 says of the law that it is, "in his opinion, one of the first and noblest 
 of human .sciences, one which does more to quicken and invigorate 
 the understanding than all the other kinds of learning put together." 
 But remember that in this declaration the great statesman is speak- 
 ing of the law as a science, properly studied and honorably practiced. 
 Rise, then, to an adequate conception of the loftiness of your pro- 
 fession. Strive to master this noble science, remembering that, if 
 it be true of any branch of knowledge, it is universally so of the law 
 that 
 
 "A little learning is a dangerous thing, 
 Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring." 
 
 Eminence you cannot attain without systematic and thorough 
 study. Do not falter and be cast down in the beginning at the back- 
 wardness of clients and the absence of retainers. Confidence is a 
 plant of slow growth. Only the deserving can win and retain the 
 confidence of men. The brightest luminaries of the bar and the 
 bench of England and America endured years of painful neglect, and 
 grappled with pinching want, before their merits were recognized. 
 But hard study, close application and the exercise of strict integrity 
 and uprightness of conduct, in the end compelled respect and con- 
 fidence, commanded success and achieved for them lasting renown. 
 Closely study and strictly adhere to the true ethics of your profession, 
 the cornerstone of which is that "honesty is the best policy." 
 
 You cannot always have the right side of a cause. Some will 
 reproach you for representing the wrong side. See to it that no one 
 will have just cause to reproach you for dishonesty and trickery, 
 whether you be on the right or wrong side. Every citizen has a 
 right to a fair trial in court, be he ever so infamous. But you are 
 never justified in resorting to devious, crooked and dishonest ways to 
 secure the triumph of wrong. You can discharge the full duty of 
 an advocate without sacrificing your honor and conscience. No con- 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 117 
 
 sideration should induce you to prostitute your powers, abuse your 
 consciences and degrade your profession by zealous and unfair 
 efforts, to win victories for manifest dishonesty, fraud, perjury and 
 wickedness over truth and justice. 
 
 When the infidel, Thomas Paine, published his book entitled the 
 "Rights of Man," a shout of patriotic indignation went up from the 
 lovers of the English constitution, and the author was indicted for 
 libel. 
 
 That peerless advocate, Thomas Erskine, the pride of the English 
 bar and idol of the people, was retained by Paine to defend him. 
 When this became known, strenuous efforts were made to dissuade 
 him from the defense. But in spite of these remonstrances his sense 
 of duty impelled him to undertake it. 
 
 Never, perhaps, did an advocate encounter such severe strictures 
 and denunciations of the press and the people ; but he turned a deaf 
 ear to it all, and, in vindication of the rights and duties of the advo- 
 cate, in the progress of the trial he thus spoke : 
 
 "But with regard to myself, ever)- man within hearing at this 
 moment — nay the whole people of England — have been witnesses 
 to the calumnious clamor which, by every art, has been raised and 
 kept against me. In every place where businesss or pleasure collects 
 the public together, day after day my name and character have been 
 the topics of injurious reflection. And for what? Only for not hav- 
 ing shrunk from the discharge of a duty which no personal advan- 
 tage recommended, and which a thousand difficulties repelled. But, 
 gentlemen, I have no complaint to make against the printers of those 
 libels, nor even against their authors. The greater part of them, hur- 
 ried perhaps away by honest prejudices, may have believed they were 
 serving their country by rendering me the object of its suspicion 
 and contempt, and if there have been among them others who have 
 mixed in it from personal malice and unkindness, I thank God I 
 can forgive them also. Little, indeed, did they know me who thought 
 that such calumnies would influence my conduct. I will forever, at 
 all hazards, assert the dignity, independence and integrity ot the 
 English bar; without which impartial justice, the most valuable part 
 of the English constitution, can have no existence. From the moment 
 that any advocate can be permitted to say that he will or will not 
 stand between the crown and the subject arraigned in the court where 
 he daily sits to practice, from that moment the liberties of England 
 
u8. Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 are at an end. If the advocate refuses to defend from what he may 
 think of the charge, or of the defense, he assumes the character of 
 the judge; nay, he assumes it before the hour of judgment; and, in 
 proportion to his rank and reputation, puts the heavy influence of, 
 perhaps, a mistaken opinion into the scale against the accused, in 
 whose favor the benevolent principle of the English law makes all 
 presumptions, and which commands the very judge to be his coun- 
 sel." 
 
 These are immortal words and deserve to be held in perpetual 
 remembrance. But, brethren, throughout that celebrated trial, Ers- 
 kine never deviated from the strict line of legitimate defense; he 
 resorted to no tricks nor cunning, no subterfuge, no perversion of the 
 evidence nor violation of the truth. He rendered to Thomas Paine 
 the full measure of his transcendent ability, in a defense strictly 
 legitimate and. consistent with his own honor. Be you, at all times, 
 as unshaken in your sense of duty, never forgetting, however, that 
 honesty and truth must never be sacrificed to achieve success in any 
 cause. 
 
 Gentlemen of the jury, remember that this courthouse is a temple 
 of justice, in which you are ministers equally with judge and lawyer. 
 Disappointed litigants, defeated attorneys, unreflecting men and 
 speculative writers have been known at times, but perhaps not 
 thoughtfully and sincerely, to question the wisdom of trial by jury. 
 I have no fear that these speculations will ever result in your over- 
 throw. The right of trial by jury is justly esteemed the bulwark of 
 our liberty. It is as deeply imbedded in our laws and as firmly planted 
 in the affections of all English-speaking people as are Magna Charta, 
 bill of rights and habeas corpus. It is destined to be just as endur- 
 ing. Verdicts of juries are sometimes wrong, but so are the decrees 
 of judges, who have greatly the advantage in the knowledge of the 
 law. Infallibility belongs to no man, neither to the learned or un- 
 learned. It is an attribute of God. Humanum est errare. My ex- 
 perience, at the bar and on the bench, is that when a question of fact 
 is fairly submitted to a jury of average intelligence, and the law 
 properly expounded by the court, their verdict is apt to be correct. 
 
 Gentlemen, never forget that you are ministers here, and that 
 your high mission is the ascertainment and declaration of the truth. 
 Act well your part, and aid the court in holding the scales of justice 
 evenly betwixt all suitors. 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 119 
 
 Legislators and fellow citizens, permit me to remark that in our 
 free commonwealth, all power is derived from the consent of the 
 people. The ministers of justice, as well as the laws they are chosen 
 to administer, are creatures of the sovereign people. Guard well the 
 judgment seat. Maintain the purity, integrity and ability of your 
 judiciary. Sad will be the day to all the people when dishonesty, 
 demagoguism and corruption sit enthroned here. The fountain of 
 justice should never be suffered to be polluted by the breath of the 
 time-serving politician and unprincipled demagogue. 
 
 South Carolina has reason to be proud of her judges, who so 
 ably and nobly served her in the past. See to it that the present and 
 future generations do not blush with shame at a lower standard of 
 excellence. As is the standard of excellence in the minds of the peo- 
 ple and their representatives, so will it be in those they select to 
 serve them in high places. Let not the State suffer detriment in this 
 regard through lack of vigilance on your part. 
 
 Ladies, you have been kind enough to grace this occasion with 
 your presence. It should not be closed without a word as to the 
 propriety and significance of your gracious approval. The child's 
 first lesson in the Holy Bible, presented to the Court, are from its 
 mother. Her pious instructions indelibly impress the mind, and 
 abide with the child through youth, manhood and old age. Few men, 
 among those who attain distinction in life, can be found who do not 
 cheerfully acknowledge that they owe success to the pious teachings 
 of tender Christian mothers. The scales of justice, in ancient my- 
 thology, were represented as being held, not in the hands of a god, 
 but a goddess. How appropriate and how significant the conception. 
 What a striking and beautiful symbol of justice, tempered with 
 gentleness, tenderness and mercy, those cardinal virtues of woman, 
 to personify her as a soft and gentle female, holding the scales with 
 an even hand. 
 
 You are not ministers here, where frequently the fierce strifes of 
 men over their civil rights and personal liberty would shock your 
 tender sensibility. Nevertheless you are as directly and deeply in- 
 terested in the faithful and impartial administration of law as are 
 your fathers, brothers, husbands and sons. Domestic peace, as well 
 as public order and quiet, depends upon the enforcement of law. 
 Your rights, as well as the rights of man, are written in this book 
 of constitutional and statute law. May it nevdr be administered to 
 
120 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 your detriment, but ever with a view to your precious civil rights, 
 your peace, happiness and welfare. We greet you cordially, and 
 thank you sincerely for the smiles of approval and encouragement 
 you have bestowed upon us today. 
 
 The ceremonies were then concluded with prayer by the Rev. 
 W. B. Corbett, of the Presbyterian Church, as follows : 
 
 Infinite spring of authority and justice, glorious God "who exer- 
 cisest righteousness, judgment and loving kindness on the earth and 
 delightest in them"; we thank Thee for the interesting, impressive 
 and important thoughts brought this hour to our minds; thank 
 Thee that Thy servants wisely acknowledge Thee, whose providence 
 affords them this beautiful and commodious house as a place of 
 justice, and dedicate it to an important part of Thy earthly service. 
 Do Thou here preserve us from all influence which would poison 
 the fountain of justice. Bestow Thy spirit of wisdom and .strength. 
 Let no unjust judge, corrupt juror, dishonest or misleading pleader 
 or lying witness here arise ; let falsehood and injustice be overthrown, 
 and innocence, truth, right, order and peace prevail. Let the fear 
 of God fall upon all hearts. Let each conscience be astir. May all 
 who enter here remember the greater court to which all hasten, and 
 bethink them of the Dread Judge, the rigid scrutiny, the opening of 
 all secrets, the tremendous and eternal sentence ; may they all, and we 
 all secure that heavenly Advocate, by whose blood and righteousness, 
 we, though guilty, may stand acquitted on that day. 
 
 Lord, bless this house and the business to be transacted here, and 
 them who shall be engaged therein, and this county and our beloved 
 commonwealth and country ; and the praise shall be to Thee forever 
 through Christ our Redeemer. . Amen. 
 
 These ceremonies were gone through without a jar, 'and all 
 present seemed greatly impressed with the solemnities of the 
 occasion. 
 
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Chapter VIII. 
 
 RECOLLECTIONS OF CHESTER 65 YEARS AGO. 
 
 A Rambling Talk Before the Citizens of Chester, S. C, October, 
 ipoo, on the Occasion of the Founding of the Patterson Library. 
 
 Ladies and Gentlemen : 
 
 "Breathes there a man with soul so dead 
 Who never to himself hath said, 
 This is my own, my native land? 
 Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned 
 As home his footsteps he hath turned 
 From wandering on a foreign strand? 
 If such there be, go mark him well ; 
 For him no minstrel's raptures swell. 
 High though his title, proud his name, 
 Boundless his wealth as wish could claim, 
 Despite these titles, power and pelf, 
 The wretch, concentered all in self, 
 Living shall forfeit fair renown, 
 And doubly dying, shall go down 
 To the vile dust from whence he sprung, 
 L T nwept, unhqnored and unsung." 
 
 When Sir Walter Scott penned these lines he felt the sentiment 
 from the bottom of his heart. He loved his native land, her moun- 
 tains, her hills and dales, her rivers and forests, her heroes and 
 women, and clothed all with a halo of glory in story and song. Should 
 I attempt to give utterance to the emotions of my heart tonight after 
 so long an absence from my native home, I could but say, 
 
 "How dear to my heart are the scenes of my childhood, 
 When fond recollections present them to view." 
 
 I love old Chester, where my childhood and youth were spent. 
 It is wedded to my heart by the undying ties of my early life, the 
 recollection of which causes to well up in my heart feelings and emo- 
 tions that overwhelm me. 
 
122 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 Fifty years ago in the old brick academy that stood on the Mc- 
 Lure Hill, under the tutorship of our lamented Giles J. Patterson, 
 I was prepared for the South Carolina College. 
 
 You are founding a city library. In the interest of that benefac- 
 tion this meeting is held, and I do not know of a more appropriate 
 name to give it than the "Patterson Library." He was a useful 
 citizen, a sincere Christian, a good and worthy man, an able and 
 successful lawyer. I exhort all to come forward and aid the efforts 
 of the noble women and men of Chester in this laudable enterprise, 
 projected by his liberal and public spirited widow. 
 
 Pride in your growing, flourishing little city, in its past history, 
 its inspiring traditions, and in your noble ancestry, should incite all 
 to lend a helping hand and willing support. 
 
 My purpose, however, on this occasion is not to discuss this sub- 
 ject nor to indulge' in sentiment, but to give you an off-hand, ram- 
 bling narrative of my recollections of Chester as I knew the town 
 and the people sixty years ago. I have nothing written and will 
 only, in my crude narrative of matters and things, men and affairs, 
 express the memory of a child and lad. My statements may be in- 
 accurate, but will be just as I have treasured them in memory, and in 
 the main will be correct. A boy may not see passing events in their 
 true light, but retains a recollection of them as they appeared to him. 
 My memory dates back to the time when I was two years old, and is 
 vivid of occurrences when I was a boy. As to scenes, as to men and 
 women, localities, residences and occupants, in my boyhood I re- 
 member much. I wish it was as retentive of recent occurrences. 
 
 I was born on January 29, A. D. 1832, in the. first jail built in the 
 village of Chester, which stands now at the foot of the hill as you 
 leave the public square and proceed to the depot of the Charlotte and 
 Columbia Railroad on the left hand side, the same being now occu- 
 pied by Mr. Chisholm. 
 
 The jail or prison half of this house was built of post oak logs 
 hewed 10 by 12 inches, laid closely one on the other, nicely notched, 
 securely fastened, ceiled inside and weatherboarded outside — the 
 other or residence half being built as houses were usually built in 
 that day, i. e., with heavy framing and of the best lumber. My 
 father was a tailor, and about 1828 became the county jailor, occupy- 
 ing the jail as a residence. 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 123 
 
 Here on January 29, A. D. 1832, I was born. The room in which 
 I was born has as yet undergone no change, but to the house there 
 has been added a double front piazza. 
 
 Opposite this jail was a small house occupied by George McCor- 
 mick, a house carpenter — his and my father's family being on terms 
 of close friendship. 
 
 These two buildings were the only ones on that street which is 
 the road to Lancaster. Now it is closely built up with business 
 houses and private residences on each side for nearly two miles from 
 the site of the old courthouse on the crown of the hill. 
 
 The residence of Richard Woods, still standing, was there sixty- 
 five years ago, but it is not directly on the street or road. From this 
 statement you can form an idea of the then appearance of that street. 
 The old George McCormick house disappeared in my boyhood days, 
 so that the old jail now occupied by Mr. Chisholm is the only house 
 now standing which was on the Lancaster road or street sixty-five 
 years ago, all beyond being forest, except a corn field near the pres- 
 ent depot, which was built near the forest. On the street or public 
 road leading from the courthouse on the hill towards Yorkville there 
 stood next to the residence of Mr. John Rosborough, now occupied 
 by the surviving daughters of Mr. James Graham, the following 
 residences, viz.: the residence of Jefferson Clark where the present 
 courthouse stands ; next, a small house in which my mother lived 
 after my father's death, where Patterson's law office is ; next, a house 
 occupied by Angus Nicholson on the north corner of the present 
 street leading to the Presbyterian Church, which street did not then 
 exist ; next, a house owned by Mrs. Terry and converted into a school- 
 house, where Mrs. Ann Foster kept a school — subsequently the resi- 
 dence of Dr. A. P. Wylie. Beyond this was a large house built by 
 Dr. Dunovant, the father of Gill, Quay, John. Jefferson and Wil- 
 liams. It was converted into a female academy, presided over first 
 by the Rev. Mr. Turner, and then by Mr. McWhorter. Afterwards 
 it became the home of Richard Kennedy and is now the property of 
 Harvey Smith. It was once owned by Judge T. J. Mackey. Beyond 
 this in the direction of Yorkville there were but two other houses, 
 one near where Mr. Stringfellow lives, and the other the residence of 
 James Hemphill. Returning to the old courthouse and starting out 
 on the Saluda road, there stood on the corner the first store of 
 Thomas McLure ; next was the law office of Matthew Williams ; next 
 
124 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 the residence of Amzi Neely, still standing and lately kept as a 
 boarding-house by Mrs. Melton, the widow of Dr. William Melton ; 
 next was the residence of Clement Woods, now occupied by Mrs. 
 Eugenia Babcock; the next house was- the house of the widow Ken- 
 drick, after which was the residence of Dr. Starr, and last came the 
 house of Obediah Farrow. On the north side of Saluda street and 
 beyond Farrow's was the cottage of the shoemaker Callahan. Re- 
 turning to the public square, and moving down the Columbia road 
 there were but two houses, one occupied by James Aiken and the 
 other near the branch occupied by the keeper of the tanyard, whose 
 name I have forgotten. Along the street leading from the public 
 square towards Broad River were the residences of John McAfee, 
 Mrs. Kimball, William Farrow, Dickson Henry, Major Eaves (after- 
 wards C. D. Melton), Sample Alexander, Thomas McLure and Rev. 
 John Douglas. All of these are standing, though a few have under- 
 gone changes. On what was then called the old Pinckney road was 
 Matthew Williams' blacksmith shop, close to the present jail, and 
 near it a small house in which was for a while the village school. 
 Further on and at the forks of the road was the residence of Jordan 
 Bennett, the silversmith, the home of John Bradley being nearly 
 opposite. 
 
 Beyond these the forest began. 
 
 THE PUBLIC SQUARE. 
 
 Having named the few residences situate in the village along the 
 six streets which diverge from the public square, I will mention the 
 residences and places of business bordering the square on the main 
 hill. The only residence now standing of those then in existence is 
 that of John Rosborough, clerk of court, now occupied by the two 
 surviving daughters of the merchant, James Graham. Passing 
 thence westward along the public square was on the site of the pres- 
 ent postoffice the store of Amzi Neely, with whom was Middleton 
 McDonald, next was the law office of Samuel McAlilly, next was a 
 doctor shop, next the Robinson Hotel, next the store of John McKee, 
 next a store of Charles Alexander, next the law office of Maj. 
 Nathaniel Eaves, next a tailor shop at a later date occupied by my 
 uncle Rush Hudson, and lastly on the corner where stands the Cot- 
 ton Hotel was the store of Mr. Coleman and Henry Kennedy, sub- 
 sequently occupied by Brawley & Alexander. Crossing Pinckney 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 125 
 
 street the corner store was occupied by Dr. Dunovant and afterwards 
 by William Lytle. Opposite to this, on the present site of the opera 
 house, stood the large residence of George Kennedy, in after days 
 owned by Mr. Middleton McDonald as a store and residence. Across 
 the street or road leading to Columbia, just opposite the George Ken- 
 nedy House, was the residence of Maj. John Kennedy, from which, 
 looking east were, in the order named, the residence and store of 
 John McNinch, the store of Dickson Henry, the residence and bar- 
 room of Joshua Gore, the residence of Mrs. Curry, and last, the tailor 
 shop of my father, just on the beginning of the descent. 
 
 On the east side of the square stodd the house of old man Jimmy 
 Adair and the store of Thomas McClure. Not far in front of this 
 store and in the east end of the square was the courthouse, a two-- 
 story, hipped roof brick building, an imposing structure for that day 
 and time. 
 
 The only house of worship at that period was the Baptist Church, 
 which stood on the site of the present handsome structure. 
 
 Such was Chester as I knew it sixty to sixty-five years ago. 
 When I left for college I was nearly eighteen years old, and at that 
 time many changes had taken place. New residences had been 
 erected on all the streets, and new settlers had come in. It would 
 be perhaps of interest to make special mention of these changes, but 
 time will not permit, and that must be left to those of you who are 
 old enough to supplement from your memories. 
 
 My purpose is to describe to you the village as it was sixty years 
 ago. You can note the changes. I will remark that up to the time 
 that I left Chester I had a high opinion of it, and looked upon it as 
 a great place. It has grown with my growth and increased with my 
 years, and I retain an undying love for the town and its people. 
 
 THE SUBURBS AND COUNTRY ADJACENT. 
 
 At the period of which I speak the country adjacent to the village 
 of Chester was indeed a paradise. The hills and dales were covered 
 with a beautiful growth of forest of oak, hickory and blackjack, 
 abounding in game, and in summer supplying to the people a great 
 abundance of delicious grapes, whilst the sedge fields furnished 
 great quantities of strawberries of finest flavor. The spring branches, 
 creeks and rivulets were well stocked with nice fish — catfish, eels, 
 perch of every variety, and the stone-roller or horn-head. The small 
 
126 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 boy enjoyed fine sport in angling for them, and still greater excite- 
 ment in wading the streams, driving the fish under rocks and beneath 
 the bank, and slyly drawing them out by hand. Not infrequently 
 instead of a fish he would find his hand drawing forth a water moc- 
 casin, which he was not slow to release. On one occasion on a Sab- 
 bath day, brother John, William Woods, called Bill for short, and I 
 wandered out two miles to a branch called Grassy Run, and in a 
 quiet spot indulged in this sport of wading, driving and catching 
 fish from beneath the banks and the rocks. Instead of a fish my 
 brother John drew from the bank a large snapping turtle, luckily 
 holding him by the tail. It was "the most vicious snapper I ever saw. 
 We started home with it, brother carrying it by the tail and holding 
 it at a prudent distance from his body. We amused ourselves by 
 spitting at its mouth to see it spring and snap. When near the vil- 
 lage and before separating Bill Woods, who was chewing sweet gum, 
 requested brother to hold the turtle well up so as to give him a fair 
 spit. Filling his mouth with spittle, he thrust his head too close to 
 the snapper, which, springing, fastened its beak in Bill's nose, and a 
 scene ensued — brother John was pulling by the tail and Bill; scream- 
 ing, caught it round the neck, and the struggle began. We had 
 heard that a turtle would not let go until it thundered, and no clouds 
 were visible. Bill nevertheless cried out, "Oh, God, will it never 
 thunder?" I was much terrified, but very careful to give the turtle 
 a wide distance. 
 
 Finally, by a long pull, a strong pull and a pull altogether, the 
 hold was broken at the expense of Bill's nose, leaving a severe 
 wound and a lasting scar. 
 
 The small boy in that day and time had much in his life and ex- 
 perience to develop his physical courage, hardihood, power of endur- 
 ance and bodily strength, such as fishing, hunting, trapping, hill- 
 climbing, tree-climbing, walking long distances, carrying burdens, 
 gathering wild grapes, plums, strawberries, gunning in daytime, 
 hunting oppossums and raccoons at night, swimming, boxing, wrest- 
 ling and fist-fighting, fighting each other, fighting hornets, wasps 
 and yellow jackets, and killing snakes, in which the woods, fields and 
 waters abounded. 
 
 Boldness, daring, courage and self-reliance were engendered and 
 developed by the surroundings. It began in infancy and continued 
 to manhood. 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 127 
 
 Those Spartan mothers were the nurses of their babies and 
 trainers of their children. They had no baby carriages, go-carts, 
 leading-strings and negro nurses. The child learned self-reliance 
 from babyhood and waxed strong and healthy. Measles, mumps 
 and whooping cough were all expected in childhood, and welcomed, 
 no doctor being called in or needed to treat them. So with chills 
 and fever and summer complaint. The little brats never stopped 
 eating corn-pone and fat meat, and easily pulled through. How 
 true it is that nature is her own physician. 
 
 Fresh air, free exercise, plain food and sweet sleep impart to the 
 human body great powers of resistance and endurance to ward off 
 disease, and if attacked by ailments, great recuperative energy. 
 Nature furnishes a remedy in the vegetable kingdom for all the ills 
 that human flesh is heir to; and the plain people in that day were 
 skilled in the virtues of roots and herbs which abounded in the 
 forests, fields and gardens. 
 
 SOME CITIZENS OF NOTE IN THAT DAY. 
 
 The resident lawyers were Samuel McAlilly, Nathaniel Eaves 
 and James Hemphill, and junior to them Mr. Barron, Alexander 
 Walker, C. D. Melton, Dudley Culp and John J. McLure. The vis- 
 iting lawyers were John Williams, George Williams and Clenden- 
 nin, of York ; Wallace Thompson and T. N. Dawkins, of Union, and 
 from Fairfield came Pearson, Player and Rutland. It was a galaxy 
 of able men, but the small boy was more impressed by Samuel Mc- 
 Alilly and T. N. Dawkins, the latter being solicitor of the circuit, 
 and both being men of commanding presence, and able advocates, 
 and generally pitted against each other. 
 
 The great judges who came to preside at the Courts of Common 
 Pleas were Gantt, O'Neal, Evans, Butler, Frost, Wardlaw, Withers. 
 
 Of the chancellors the boys knew very little, for their courts 
 attracted only the solicitors-in-equity. 
 
 The Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas and General Sessions 
 was John Rosborough, who held office under the early statute, which 
 gave the life term. He and Mr. Gilliard, of Columbia, were the only 
 survivors of that law. Mr. Rosborough was an excellent officer, 
 very conscientious and upright, and for use in the courthouse kept 
 a Bible with cover removed, so that the witness had to kiss not the 
 cover but literally the naked word of God. 
 
128 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 In that day and time the law was more respected and feared and 
 more rigidly administered than at the present day. To it the people 
 looked for the protection of society, and the vindication of the 
 rights of persons and of property. To rely upon the mob to protect 
 the persons of women or of men was not thought of, and a proposi- 
 tion to resort to lynch law would have startled the sterling men and 
 noble women of that period. 
 
 How much better it would be if at the present time people were 
 as true to social duty and as loyal to the law as were our ancestors. 
 
 Jurors then were as kind of heart and as tender of feeling as 
 now, but regarded the rigid administration of law the only safeguard 
 of society, and never suffered sympathy for the accused to swerve 
 them from duty. 
 
 A striking instance of this adherence to law occurred in my 
 childhood. The case is reported in 2 Hill Law, page 619, The State 
 vs. John G. Ferguson. Mr. Ferguson was an excellent citizen and 
 peaceable man. In a fit of drunkenness he slew John Rodman, also 
 a good man. For this act he was tried, convicted of murder, and in 
 spite of the efforts of able counsel, on circuit, in the Court of Appeals, 
 and lastly before the governor, the sentence was left undisturbed, and 
 he was executed. Every servant of the law stood firm in face of 
 appeals. I was but a mere child, but remember the prisoner and the 
 deep sympathy of my parents for this amiable, unfortunate prisoner 
 and convict. 
 
 I remember also when the whipping post was in use as an instru- 
 ment of punishment. It stood a few steps in front of the jail, and I, 
 a little tot, on several occasions stood in the door and saw white men 
 led from the prison cell, stripped to the waist, fastened to the post 
 and given thirty and nine lashes on the bare back, well laid on 
 with the rawhide. 
 
 Of course it was a shocking sight, but it had a most salutary 
 effect in deterring men from committing crime. 
 
 The first sheriff I remember was Mr. Cabeen, and after him John 
 A. Bradley — both handsome men and excellent officers. The next, 
 I think, was William Rosborough, and after him James Pagan, all 
 of them faithful and capable officers, as were their successors, who 
 are well remembered by the present generation. 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 129 
 
 PHYSICIANS. 
 
 These were few, but excellent. 
 
 Dr. Moffitt comes first in my recollection, and died of consump- 
 tion. After him came Dr. A. P. Wylie, Dr. Reedy, Dr. J. B. Jen- 
 nings, Dr. William Wylie and Dr. Stringfellow, all good physicians. 
 
 SCHOOLTEACHERS. 
 
 The first academy was a two-story wooden building located on the 
 McLure Hill, in rear of the present residence of Miss Mary McKee. 
 It was burned down before I began to go to school, and I have no 
 recollection of those who taught there. 
 
 After this Miss Ann Foster, a Northern lady, opened a school in 
 the building owned by Mrs. Terry, subsequently the residence of Dr. 
 A. P. Wylie, and which stood on the site of the present residence of 
 Mr. Thomas White. Here I began my schooling under Miss Foster. 
 This lady boarded across the street at Mr. Amzi Neely's, where Mrs. 
 Melton lately kept a boarding-house. Miss Foster married Mr. 
 Kirvin Gilmore, a relative of Mr. Neely — brother-in-law, I think, 
 and she and husband removed to Columbia. 
 
 After this Mr. Wylie P. Jones opened a school in the building on 
 Pinckney street, near the blacksmith shop owned by Matthew Wil- 
 liams, which schoolhouse afterwards became the carriage factory 
 of Mr. C. Holtz. Mr. Jones taught here one year or possibly longer, 
 and was succeeded by the Rev. Mr. Sealy, who taught a year. Up 
 to this time the school had been mixed — male and female. 
 
 By this time the academy on the McLure Hill was rebuilt of 
 brick — a very nice one-story structure, but long and commodious. 
 
 In this new building Mr. Sealy taught one year, and after this 
 the teachers succeeded in the following order, viz. : Davie, Shirley, 
 Shelton, Bansemer, Patterson, which last teacher prepared me for 
 college ; and the successors are known to many of you. 
 
 CHURCHES AND MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 On the site of the present, was built the first Baptist church of 
 Chesterville, and the first house of worship in the village. It was 
 built about 1834, prior to which time religious services were held in 
 the courthouse. 
 
 9— H. 
 
130 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 The first ministers in this church, which I remember, were Rev. 
 Mr. Noland, Mr. Charfin, Mr. Jeter, Mr. Broadway, and now and 
 then J. C. Furman. 
 
 The Methodists, about 1840, built a church on Pinckney street 
 just beyond the present jail and near Jordan Bennett's residence. It 
 was subsequently bought and owned by the Seceders (A. R. P.) 
 
 The earliest preachers I there heard were Rev. Durant, Rev. 
 McQuorquodale, and the local preacher, Timothy Lipsey. 
 
 After this the Presbyterians erected a little brick church opposite 
 John McAfee's, called "The Lecture Room," in which the Rev. John 
 Douglas preached, and the next regular pastor was the Rev. Mr. 
 Auld, who boarded with old Mr. John Rosborough. 
 
 I think it is now owned and used by the Catholics. 
 
 SOME CITIZENS, MALE AND FEMALE, OF MARK AT 
 THAT EARLY PERIOD. 
 
 Of the merchants the leaders were Thomas McLure, Amzi Neely, 
 John McKee, Brawley & Alexander, Dickson Henry and James 
 Graham ; of all these it can truthfully be said that they were accom- 
 plished business men, noted for strict integrity and purity of charac- 
 ter. Among these I should include J. M. McDonald — usually called 
 Mid McDonald, who was associated with Amzi Neely; William- 
 Lytle, a man of wit, humor and eccentricity, and Leonard Harris, 
 chief clerk for Thomas McLure, a man of sterling character and 
 noted public spirit. 
 
 The hotel proprietors were Robert Robinson, proprietor of the 
 Chief Hotel, on the public square, and John McAfee and his maiden 
 sister Ellen, proprietors of the Boarding-House, a little off the 
 square and on the decline of the street leading to the McLure Hill, 
 and lastly the hotel or boarding-house kept in the George Kennedy 
 house, first in my recollection by Mr. Colvin, next by Mr. Howerton, 
 and then by Mr. Mid McDonald. Of these, the most famous caterer 
 was Miss Ellen McAfee, who was, in fact, in this line in advance of 
 her day. 
 
 The house of Maj. John Kennedy could not correctly be styled 
 a hotel nor a regular boarding-house, but was the inn in which itin- 
 erant preachers, and especially Baptist ministers, and chosen friends 
 and relatives were hospitally lodged free of charge. The main hotel 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 131 
 
 at which the judges, lawyers and travelers were lodged, and local 
 and visiting citizens boarded and took their meals, was kept by Rob- 
 ert, or as he was generally called, Bob Robinson, about the site of 
 the present Chester Hotel, near the Da Vega drug store. After Robert 
 Robinson retired to his home and farm, east of Chester, it was kept 
 by my uncle Rush Hudson for awhile. 
 
 DRAM SHOPS. 
 
 Of these I remember but two — the one kept by the eccentric, 
 humorous and loud-swearing Joshua Gore, and the other by the 
 quiet John McAfee; but it must be noted that the merchants with 
 few exceptions kept their cellars and rear grocery rooms well sup- 
 plied with liquor for the accommodation of their customers who 
 wished to buy by the three gallons or by the quart, etc. 
 
 Adulterated whiskey was then unknown, and the manufacture 
 and sale of spirituous liquor was practically free. Under the cir- 
 cumstances the general sobriety of the people was astonishing. As 
 long as I lived in Chester I never knew a drunken merchant or pro- 
 fessional man, not even an intemperate one, with rare exception a 
 drunken mechanic, and but two clerks who drank to excess, during 
 all of which time whiskey was virtually free in its manufacture and 
 sale. 
 
 Joshua Gore married a Miss Lawson, a beautiful lady from the 
 North. He was a humorous man. If business became dull he re- 
 sorted to stratagem to induce a run on his barroom. If alone and 
 lonely he would drop behind the counter and with sticks and much 
 noise and loud swearing would imitate a regular Georgia scene 
 knock-down fight. Hearing this great row, the citizens would rush 
 to the scene of the supposed fight, ready to participate. 
 
 The discovery of the ruse produced merriment, good humor and 
 much treating and drinking at the expense of the liberally inclined 
 men of the deceived incomers. 
 
 Gore accummulated money by his thrift and close attention to 
 business — was a good-hearted man — much liked by the people. He 
 afterwards moved to Yorkville, where he opened a hotel and bar- 
 room, and died leaving quite a nice property, and two daughters, as 
 beautiful and accomplished as could anywhere be found. Catherine 
 became the wife, first of Mr. Woods, on whose death she married Mr. 
 
132 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 Withers, and after his death she married the Rev. Dr. Darby, of the 
 Methodist Church. She and husband still live. Mary Helen married 
 the late Judge Samuel W. Melton, who died a distinguished lawyer 
 and advocate, after having filled many offices of honor and trust in 
 the State. (His amiable and beautiful widow has since followed him 
 to the grave, survived by their sons and daughters.) 
 
 The most noted non-professional citizen of Chester was Maj. 
 John Kennedy. As I have said, he kept open house for all itinerant 
 ministers of the gospel, especially Baptist preachers, and received, 
 lodged and entertained most hospitably many friends from far and 
 near. He was of Irish extraction and perhaps a native of old Ireland. 
 He was noted for his courage, energy, uprightness and generous 
 hospitality. He married a Miss Evans, a beautiful woman of many 
 virtues. 
 
 Their sons were John, Henry and Richard, and daughters, Mar- 
 garet, Mary, Catherine and Eliza Jane. John went West and set- 
 tled in Mississippi. All the other sons and the daughters lived and 
 died in Chester, adding in married life much to the population and to 
 the elevation of the society of Chester, except Catharine Hinton, who 
 survives. (She has recently died.) 
 
 In that day it was not disreputable to keep a dram shop nor to 
 drink liquor, but it was shameful to become a drunkard. 
 
 Attached to the boarding-house of Maj. John Kennedy was a 
 barroom presided over by his brother-in-law, Thomas Evans, who, 
 with his maiden sister, Mary, called Polly, were inmates of the 
 family of their brother, Maj. John Kennedy, all being staunch mem- 
 bers and, in fact, pillars of the Baptist Church. 
 
 In his hall or entrance room Major Kennedy had a fine mahogany 
 sideboard, on which sat his glasses and decanter. On the arrival 
 of the way-worn preacher, he was warmly welcomed, and invited up 
 to refresh himself with a glass of pure liquor, which was rarely 
 ever refused, regardless of denomination or creed, for the travel- 
 worn preacher needed it and liked it. But more faithful servants of 
 the church are not now to be found than were the members of the 
 household of Major Kennedy and the preachers he entertained. They 
 were the brave pioneers in building churches and spreading the gos- 
 pel — Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians and all whom he so hospita- 
 bly entertained. 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 133 
 
 Major Kennedy was indeed a man of public spirit, a friend to 
 the poor, and charitable almost to a fault. He was a benefactor of my 
 mother and family. I could relate many amusing incidents in his 
 life falling under my own observation, and others resting in tradi- 
 tion, but time will not allow. He lived to a great old age, and died 
 during or just after the Confederate war at an age nearing a hundred 
 years, honored and beloved by all the people. He was indeed the 
 patriarch of the town, having been a leader among her people from 
 its foundation to the day of his death, a period of three-quarters of a 
 century. A sketch of his life and the lives of his children would in- 
 clude a history of the village and the town and people. He was 
 among the best men I ever knew and a man of mark. 
 
 As contemporaries of Major Kennedy and prominent men in 
 molding the sentiment and character of the people of Chester and 
 in the upbuilding of the village, I must mention Thomas McLure, 
 John McKee, Dickson Henry, James Graham, Hiram Brawley, 
 father of Judge \V. H. Brawley ; Sample Alexander, Amzi Neely, 
 Middleton McDonald and John McAfee, Mr. Coleman and Henry 
 Kennedy. Theophilus Henry, Leonard Harris and William Lytle, 
 all men of excellence in the mercantile line, unsurpassed for honesty, 
 industry and sobriety. 
 
 Of house carpenters I remember only George McCormick and 
 old Mr. Albright, who came from North Carolina with a family of 
 sons who were good house builders, and the descendants of whom 
 and of his daughters are to be found in Chester and elsewhere. 
 
 Of shoemakers I can recall only Mr. Crawford and Mr. Adams — 
 good workmen. 
 
 • Of tailors I remember only my father and my uncle Rush, Jef- 
 ferson Clark and Angus Nicholson. My father was very peaceably 
 inclined, my uncle Rush very quick-tempered and ready for a fight, 
 in many of which he became involved. If anybody entered the shop 
 expecting to intimidate either of them, the door was at once closed, 
 a fight ensued, and before the outsiders could interfere the door was 
 thrown open and the two small tailors threw the discomfited bully 
 into the street. 
 
 My father died at an early age, leaving a widow and seven small 
 children surviving him. About ten years thereafter my uncle Rush 
 moved to Arkansas. 
 
134 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 Jefferson Clark, the other tailor, married Sarah, a daughter of 
 Judge Rosborough, the clerk of court. 
 
 He was a noted man — being not only a good tailor, but a noted 
 ventriloquist, which faculty was to himself and friends a source of 
 much amusement, but to the small boy and negro a source of wonder 
 and terror. The negro blacksmith often dropped the foot of the 
 horse he was shoeing and fled the premises upon hearing the horse 
 curse him, and others again destroyed the dozen eggs one by one 
 which they were offering for sale on hearing chickens chirping in 
 them. 
 
 Angus Nicholson was a good man, of small stature, had no train- 
 ing at school, but was singularly familiar with the geography of our 
 country, being able to name correctly the capital of every State of the 
 Union, the principal rivers,, towns, etc. 
 
 THE WOMEN OF CHESTER. 
 
 Of these I cannot speak save in terms of admiration, for their 
 superiors in all the virtues that adorn the sex I have never known. 
 All were friends of and kind to my mother and family. I must be 
 pardoned, however, if I make special mention of Mrs. John Ken- 
 nedy and her two daughters, then married — Mrs. Margaret Woods 
 and Mrs. Mary Coleman. They were noted for kindness to the poor 
 and fidelity to the church. 
 
 The same must be remarked of Mrs. Thomas McLure, Mrs. 
 Hiram Brawley, Mrs. Sample Alexander, Mrs. Dickson Henry, 
 Mrs. Kimball, Miss Ellen McAfee, Mrs. Sarah Clark, Mrs. Amzi 
 Neely, Mrs. Hemphill and Mrs. Richard Kennedy. 
 
 At a later day others came in who were bright ornaments "to 
 society, but to name all would be to enumerate the female population 
 of Chester. 
 
 A striking feature of the society of Chester, then and after, was 
 the absence of social distinction based on wealth. The poor, if well 
 behaved, were admitted to the best circles and encouraged in the 
 effort to better their financial circumstances and to elevate them- 
 selves. The purse-proud were not there, nor would such have re- 
 ceived adulation at the hands of Chester people. The teachings and 
 the impress of our ancestors in this respect are plainly manifest 
 among their posterity to this day in old Chester. I must here give 
 my boyhood recollection and impression of two women, Miss Ellen 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 135 
 
 McAfee and Mrs. Sallie Clark. They were excellent ladies and good 
 friends to my mother, and I loved and feared them. Both were in- 
 dependent, free-spoken women, and had an unaccountable facility in 
 finding out about the actings and doings of small boys, and never 
 hesitated to give them "a piece of their minds," praising when praise 
 was deserved, and rebuking when conduct was bad. 
 
 If I ever did a bad thing on the streets or at school, they would 
 learn of it quicker than my mother, and it seemed to be my bad luck 
 to be sent on an errand to one or the other shortly after I had mis- 
 behaved, and then I was sure to "catch it." They were truly terrors 
 to the rude, bad boy, but a great comfort to him if his conduct was 
 praiseworthy. Blessed be their memory. I wish their like existed 
 in every town. 
 
 CHESTER ON A PUBLIC DAY. 
 
 A public day was a notable occasion. The people were fond of 
 assembling from all parts of the district, and such days invariably 
 offered occasion for the trial of manhood. They were a bold, hardy, 
 honest, hardworking, industrious people, and overflowing with patri- 
 otic sentiment. The celebration of the Fourth of' July was never 
 neglected, an essential feature of which was a barbecue to follow the 
 oration. The present generation of men are strangers to the old- 
 time, grand barbecue. It is an institution of the past, a lost art. A 
 full and accurate description of it from start to finish would be 
 worthy the pen of a Longstreet, or Richard Malcolm Johnson, and a 
 revelation to men of this day. Salesdays, court week, muster day 
 and Fourth of July brought the people of the district (county) to- 
 gether in numbers, strength and glory. 
 
 Brave, stalwart men meeting in such crowds would naturally 
 become enthused, and more or less belligerent, especially when under 
 the influence of liquor, pure liquor, for no other was known. Thus 
 enthused, they longed for a trial of physical strength. Hence fist- 
 fights were common — knives and pistols being looked upon very 
 properly as cowardly weapons. 
 
 The small boy was always around and about to see the fun, and 
 if on a public day he did not see a half dozen fights he went home 
 disappointed. 
 
 On the eastern or Rocky Creek side of town lived the McNinches, 
 Robertsons, Whams and other Irish and Scotch-Irish citizens — 
 
136 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 usually square-built, stalwart men of medium stature. Men of nerve, 
 muscle and pride of nationality, ready at all times to espouse a 
 quarrel or resent an insult. On the western or Sandy River side of 
 the town lived, among others of the English and Cavalier stock, a 
 family of Hardins — very tall, square-shouldered, muscular men and 
 fearless. Between the two people there seemed to exist a rivalry, 
 prejudice and animosity. The consequence was that a public day in 
 Chester rarely passed without a collision between these people or 
 their neighbors and friends. 
 
 If I recollect aright, William was more addicted to drink than his 
 brother Smith Hardin. 
 
 On one occasion the Irish of Rocky Creek set upon William, but 
 he backed up in the corner behind the railing of the piazza of Maj. 
 John Kennedy's barroom, and by the advantage of his long arm sent 
 each assailant back reeling, with a black eye or bruised jaw, until all 
 were discomfited. 
 
 On another occasion a noted bully and athlete, Meredith Taylor, 
 made an attack on Smith Hardin, but was rewarded by receiving 
 his first whipping in a straightout fist fight. Taylor was a powerful 
 man, but in his assault on Smith Hardin "tackled the wrong tom- 
 cat." 
 
 After this, Meredith Taylor had in some way violated the law, 
 and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Sheriff Rosborough found 
 difficulty in securing a deputy brave enough and strong enough to 
 undertake his arrest. Finally he placed the warrant in the hands 
 of William McNinch, who bore the sobriquet of "Dod dang it." 
 
 McNinch selected his brother-in-law, John Charles, to aid him. 
 They approached Taylor's house by a by-path to within a hundred 
 yards, and tied their horses. McNinch then walked up to the house, 
 entered and feigned to be on a friendly visit. Whilst "palavering" 
 with Taylor, McNinch seized him from behind, and gave the con- 
 certed signal. John Charles rushed in just in time to save McNinch 
 from a severe beating. The two overcame the bully, tied him, 
 carried him Out, threw him across a horse and brought him safely to 
 jail. 
 
 Many instances of rough fist-fights in Chester at that day might 
 be mentioned, but time fails me. It almost always happened that the 
 fight was followed by reconciliation and drinks for the combatants 
 and friends — no sticks, no knives, no pistols were allowed. 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 137 
 
 SOME NOTED EVENTS IN CHESTER DURING MY BOY- 
 HOOD AND YOUTH. 
 
 First among these I will mention the arrest, trial, conviction and 
 execution of three slaves, the property of Allen DeGraffenreid. 
 
 He was a wealthy planter residing in the western part of Ches- 
 ter district, living alone, being a widower, and his children having 
 married and settled apart from him. 
 
 A noted slave of his. called •'Yellow John," was a "runaway." 
 Mr. DeGraffenreid was known to keep money in his home, with all 
 the arrangements of which John was familiar. 
 
 Taking into his confidence two other slaves on the place, he 
 stealthily approached at night, and, murdering his master, robbed 
 the house and fled. The three were in due time captured, tried, con- 
 victed by a court of magistrate and freeholders, and executed oa the 
 same gallows, erected about a mile east of the village in what was 
 known as the "hanging old field." 
 
 Their bodies were taken charge of by the resident physicians and 
 carried a mile or more west of the village to a spring branch rising 
 in a ravine in the woods. For days the work of dissection progressed, 
 and the place was religiously avoided by the negro, the small boy and 
 some adult whites, all of whom fully believed the place to be haunted 
 by the ghosts of the murderers. 
 
 The bones of the dead were placed in a box to dry, which was 
 nailed to a tree at the heighth of about fifteen feet from the ground 
 to be safe from the ravages of hogs and varmints. 
 
 When winter came, a negro man, Hannibal Brawley, was out 
 '"possum hunting." His dog treed, and he went to him to secure the 
 oppossum, little dreaming that his wandering in the woods had 
 brought him to the haunted spot. Looking up the tree in search of 
 the varmint, his eyes caught sight of the box of bones. Dropping his 
 axe, he fled for home, "and stood not on the order of his going." 
 His face, hands and arms long bore marks of the briars through 
 which he ran. 
 
 Varmints in that vicinity enjoyed a long period of immunity. 
 
 The next event to be mentioned was the great drought of 1845 — 
 the severest that befell the State during the last century. 
 
 From the last week in March to the first week in July no rain 
 fell in Chester district, and in the State generally. 
 
138 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 Owing to the absence of railroads and other facilities of trans- 
 portation, the distress of the people was extreme. Man and beast 
 suffered intensely for necessary food and water. 
 
 The only supply of corn came from across the mountains of 
 North Carolina and Tennessee, transported in wagons sent by farm- 
 ers to obtain and bring it. 
 
 Meal, rationed out in small quantities from wagons on the streets 
 of Chester, sold for two dollars a bushel, and at this price to a single 
 family would be sold not more than a half bushel, and only a peck 
 unless the family was large. These were home wagons, sent by 
 benevolent people to bring bread to keep the masses of the people 
 from starving. 
 
 All spring branches and small creeks were dried up, the 
 spring branch running around Chester having been, for six weeks 
 prior to July 4th, so dry that where it crosses the road leading to 
 Winnsboro it could not have been seen that such had ever existed. 
 In spite of the drought and suffering the people had assembled to 
 celebrate the nation's birthday. On that morning it became cloudy, 
 and, circulating in the crowd, as the small boy was wont to do, I 
 heard one man say to another that it would soon rain. The inquiry 
 came, "Why do you say so?" The answer was, "because the spring 
 branch which has been so long dry, is now moving across the Winns- 
 boro and Columbia road." Immediately I and other small boys ran 
 in astonishment to see the miracle. 
 
 Sure enough, there was a stream of water trickling through the 
 dust across the public road. Before night it began to rain and 
 rained for twenty-four hours steadily but gently. 
 
 Since then I have in a long life observed the same phenomenon. 
 
 Should a similar dry spell now occur it would not produce one- 
 tenth of the suffering then experienced by the people, because quick 
 railroad transportation would relieve the wants of the people. 
 
 To supply long forage for fall and winter use, farmers cut down 
 and cured the sassafras and other green bushes growing in the fields 
 and fence corners, and for man and beast sowed large quantities of 
 turnip seed. 
 
 A full history of this drought, and the efforts and expedients of 
 the brave people to relieve all classes, but especially the poor and 
 needy, would be interesting and inspiring, but this I have not time 
 to give. Had we been blessed with railroad transportation there 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 139 
 
 would have been little, if any real suffering, at least comparatively 
 little. Yet how our people do find fault with railroad companies. 
 
 THE MEXICAN WAR. 
 
 I wish I had time and space to portray the patriotic ardor of the 
 Citizens of Chester in responding to the call for volunteers for the 
 Mexican War. 
 
 This was in 1846, following the great drought of 1845. 
 
 People forgot all about the drought and its sufferings, and burned 
 with fire of patriotic enthusiasm and local pride in the praise- 
 worthy effort to organize the first company. She certainly nearly 
 achieved that honor. 
 
 The district was ablaze with enthusiasm — public meetings were 
 held in the courthouse week after week, day after day, attended by 
 the beauty and chivalry of the land. Patriotic songs were composed 
 and sung by the sons and daughters of Chester, and in a short time 
 was raised and organized as fine a company of volunteers as was in 
 the famous Palmetto regiment, the captain, R. G. Dunovant, return- 
 ing at the close of the war as the major of the regiment, decimated 
 in bloody battles. 
 
 Those meetings in Chester to raise this company, and the glory 
 it won on the fields of carnage in Mexico, had a lasting effect upon 
 the boys of Chester, which made it easy in 1861 to raise volunteers 
 for the terrible war between the States. In that trying time Chester 
 was outstripped by none of the communities of the State in marshal- 
 ing her sons for war — a war such as was not surpassed by the 
 nations of the earth during the nineteenth century in manhood, 
 patriotic ardor and soldierly characteristics. 
 
 THE ARRIVAL OF THE FIRST TRAIN ON THE CHAR- 
 LOTTE AND COLUMBIA RAILROAD. 
 
 This event occurred in August, A. D. 1851, the road being then 
 complete from Columbia as far as Chester. 
 
 The great mass of people had never seen a moving railroad 
 engine and train of cars. 
 
 Great preparations were made for the reception of this first train. 
 In the woods near the depot a grand barbecue was prepared for the 
 crowd, who began to assemble the night before. It was estimated 
 
140 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 that eight thousand people nocked in to see the wonder and enjoy 
 the feast. About 1 1 o'clock a. m. the whistle of the engine announced 
 the approach of the train, and it soon came in sight, bearing banners 
 and evergreens and a number of people from Columbia and Winns- 
 boro. The enthusiasm of the people arid the consequent confusion 
 beggars description. It was with difficulty the engine plowed its 
 way through the human mass to the depot. The president of the 
 railroad company, the Hon. Edward G. Palmer, then addressed the 
 people from the platform of the car, amidst vociferous applause. All 
 then repaired to the grove and feasted upon such a barbecue as only 
 the people of Chester' knew how to prepare. The table was erected 
 on the three sides of a square, and in measurement was of great 
 length. Such an assemblage of people at a feast had never been 
 seen in Chester, and probably never in the State. Thousands in- 
 spected the engine and cars with great curiosity and admiration, but 
 none seemed more amazed than Obadiah Farrow. _ He prided himself 
 upon his skill as a blacksmith, and believed that no man could excel 
 him as a worker in iron and brass. After a close inspection of the 
 engine he proclaimed it the greatest wonder of the world, and now 
 that he had seen it, announced his readiness to die. 
 
 What wonderful changes and improvements have since then 
 been effected in railroad and other modes of transportation, and how 
 little are our people disposed to appreciate these improvements and 
 manifest their gratitude for the amelioration of the people. 
 
 There is now scarcely a village or hamlet in the State which is 
 not reached by a railroad or electric line, nor a village nor hamlet 
 in the State in which these great distributors of produce of the land 
 are not complained of by the people. How unreflecting and how un- 
 grateful are the people, and how inconsiderate are juries in adminis- 
 tering the law of the land as to railroads. 
 
 SOME AMUSEMENTS OF THE PEOPLE. 
 
 In my boyhood there came to Chester a man of varied talent, a 
 skilled mechanic, but of literary taste — a Mr. Elliott. He married 
 Miss Kimball, formed a partnership with Fowler Kennedy in the 
 business of manufacturing tinware, and located permanently in 
 Chester. 
 
 He soon became active in organizing among the gentlemen and 
 ladies of the town an amateur theatrical club, called the Thespian 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 141 
 
 Society. They developed a high order of histrionic talent and gave 
 to the community performances of comedies and tragedies which 
 would be creditable to any similar club of the present day. 
 
 FIREWORKS. 
 
 Such a thing as a display of fireworks had never been seen in 
 Chester. 
 
 The boys of the town discovered that something mysterious was in 
 daily progress in a deserted house near the tanyard branch, and that 
 Mr. Elliott was engaged in this work. What it was, however, they 
 could not discover, for the house was kept closed up day and night, 
 but the work went on and Mr. Elliott was seen often to enter and 
 depart. The boys were perplexed and baffled. 
 
 After awhile Elliott and Kennedy began to erect in an open lot 
 in the rear of the Presbyterian lecture room a large circular plank in- 
 closure ten or twelve feet high. This greatly increased the wonder 
 ol the boys. 
 
 Finally it was announced that on a certain night there would be 
 in said mclosure a grand display of fireworks. 
 
 Before dark the boys began to gather around the high wall, 
 especially those of us who had not money to get admittance within. 
 
 At dusk, while we sat near the entrance with our backs against 
 the wall, speculating as to what the show would be, Mr. Elliott, in 
 a spirit of fun and mischief, sent up a sky-rocket. Such running as 
 we did in getting away had never been done by us before in any 
 emergency, for we thought the whole thing was blown up and that 
 our last end had come. Mr. Elliott doubtless enjoyed the fun, but 
 to us it was as we believed — death. The crowd in due time assem- 
 bled inside the mclosure, and the pyrotechnics began. 
 
 A hundred yards or more from the inclosure was a very large, 
 wide-spreading elm tree. The boys outside discovered this tree to 
 be full of negroes, who could overlook the wall and see the fireworks. 
 This excited our envy and jealousy, for we could see nothing. So we 
 called the attention of the doorkeeper to the negroes in the tree. He 
 stepped inside and informed Mr. Elliott, who promptly sent several 
 rockets directly among them, which so frightened them that they 
 fell to the ground in great numbers, and the others descended in 
 great haste and all scampered off. 
 
142 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 CALITHUMPIANS. 
 
 In a spirit of fun and with good intentions, some of the citizens 
 organized a secret club which they called Galithumpians, the object 
 of which was to stop night prowling in town, and cause old and 
 young to keep indoors at home after a reasonable hour at night. 
 Masks were worn, secrecy observed, and the town became alarmed 
 at the mystery, for citizens caught out late at night were frightened 
 and pretty roughly handled by these ghouls. 
 
 As always happens, however, with such societies, the good pur- 
 pose was gradually ignored, and perverted into evil deeds, violence 
 was resorted to by the band, and serious trespasses upon the property 
 of good men were committed. 
 
 On one night this band tore down the palings around the beauti- 
 ful yard and flower garden of that good man, the Rev. John Douglas, 
 because he had been heard to condemn the doings of the band. 
 
 On the occasion of the closing exercises of the large female 
 school taught by the Rev. Mr. Turner, the band assembled and tore 
 down the entire large inclosure around the academy, and entering, 
 made night hideous with all kinds of noisy instruments and yelling, 
 to the great alarm of the girls and all the audience. 
 
 These excesses aroused all the good people of Chester, and led 
 to the dispersion of the band of outlaws, yet so well did they pre- 
 serve, secrecy that no one was detected and prosecuted, but all dam- 
 age to property was repaired, but from whom came the money was 
 never known. 
 
 The young men of Chester were fine specimens of manhood, 
 possessed of manly traits, but so full of energy and vivacity that, 
 they would not and could not abstain from fun and mischief. When 
 not calling on the girls at night, they were inclined to deeds of no 
 great harm, but not of commendable nature. 
 
 Often it happened to the people upon rising in the morning, and 
 looking to the main hill, to find every approach to the public square 
 blockaded with fences made of dry goods boxes, barrels and all 
 sorts of material and contrivances, and every sign over places of 
 business removed and replaced with the sign of another house, all 
 arranged with a view to the ludicrous. 
 
 No real harm came of this kind of misconduct, and Chester never 
 had cause to blush at any species of mischief save that of the Cali- 
 thumpian Band, which soon ran its course. 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 143 
 
 I omitted to mention the residence of Robert McNinch, on 
 Saluda street, which stood, in my childhood, between that of Clement 
 Woods and Mrs. Kendrich. 
 
 Mr. McNinch had four sons, William, James, Robert and Israel, 
 and two daughters, Elizabeth, who married George Culp. and Isa- 
 bella, who married George Curtis. These daughters and one son, 
 Israel, still live. 
 
 Among the clerks in stores during my boyhood I remember 
 Robert Jennings, who clerked for Dickson Henry, and John and 
 Edmund Jennings, who clerked for John McKee ; also John, the son 
 of John McKee. 
 
 Robert and John Jennings removed to Mississippi, where John 
 died, but Robert still lives in Yazoo. Neither of these married. 
 Edmund settled in Shelby, N. C. 
 
 Leonard Harris was chief clerk for Thomas McLure until his 
 death, after which he clerked for Brawley & Alexander, and lastly 
 became a bank cashier till his death. William Robinson was also a 
 clerk for Brawley & Alexander. Millikin Graham clerked for John 
 McAfee and others. 
 
 Among the men who settled in Chester before I went to college 
 I can name James Parish, William Timmy, the Albrights, George 
 Latimer and his cousin, George Latimer ; Jerry Blackman and Elijah 
 Blackman, Mr. Killian, Mr. Holbrook, Mr. Howerton, George Cur- 
 tis, Mr. Holtz, Samuel McNinch and George Culp, all excellent 
 mechanics. Robert West and Daniel Carroll, tailors ; Jackson West, 
 a harness and saddle maker; Mr. James Robinson, a shoemaker; 
 Miles Simnl, a tailor; John Simril, whose special calling I forget; 
 Mr. Letson, a hotel keeper ; John S. Wilson, a lawyer, and in later 
 life and for years probate judge; the widow Wilkes, with two sons 
 and four daughters; the Rev. Mr. Hinton, who marred Catherine, 
 daughter of Maj. John Kennedy, and a brother of Mr. Hinton, who 
 married Eliza Jane, another daughter. 
 
 Other settlers came in prior to 1849, Dut I cannot now remember 
 their names. Nearly all of those named have died, but many of 
 their descendants live and bear honorable names and live honest and 
 useful lives. 
 
Chapter IX. 
 
 BENNETTSVILLE AS IT WAS FIFTY YEARS AGO. 
 
 During the winter of 1900-1901, in aid of the building of the new 
 Methodist Church, I gave, not a lecture, but a talk before the people 
 upon Bennettsville as it was fifty years ago. I had no notes — no 
 manuscript to speak or read from. 
 
 I, now in the summer of 1903, have reproduced the rambling 
 talk as nearly as memory serves me, giving the substance only in 
 what is here written. 
 Ladies and Gentlemen: 
 
 In December, A. D. 1852, I graduated from the South Carolina 
 College. 
 
 Before the commencement exercises my attention was called by 
 my friend and classmate, W. W. Irby, to an advertisement for a 
 teacher by the Trustees of the Marlboro Academy at Bennettsville, 
 and he advised me to> apply for the place. This I at once did, and 
 fortified my application by very flattering testimonials from the 
 members of the faculty of the College. 
 
 I was elected, and on January 6, A. D. 1853, left Chester for 
 Bennettsville. I spent the first night in Columbia. Leaving Colum- 
 bia by the South Carolina Railroad, I traveled to Kingville, where I 
 took the train of the Wilmington and Manchester Railroad and trav- 
 eled as far as Florence, which was then a station in the pine forest 
 without a depot, a rough board shelter being the only accommoda- 
 tion for passengers getting on and off there. 
 
 Here I took the stage, which carried me as far as Darlington, 
 where I spent the second night, and next morning resumed my 
 journey in the stage to Society Hill, where I lodged on the third 
 night with the widow Douglas, who kept the Inn. 
 
 On the morning of January 9th she sent me in a buggy, driven 
 by her son John, to Bennettsville, my destination, where I arrived 
 about 12 m. I was three days and a half traveling from Chester to 
 Bennettsville, and was delighted with the speed of my journey and 
 wondered at the great improvement in the rapidity in travel. Now 
 the traveler would complain much if he could not make the journey 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 145 
 
 in one day. On reaching Bennettsville we found the public square 
 filled with a great concourse of people, the occasion being a public 
 one. It made me feel, indeed, that I was a stranger in a strange 
 land, for, of the vast multitude, I knew no one as I then could see. 
 
 I lodged with Mr. Philip Miller, a German, who kept one of the 
 hotels of the place, the other being kept by Mr. William Bristow; 
 the one bore the name of Miller's Hotel, the other the name of Marl- 
 borough, or Buck Horn, which name came also to be applied to its 
 proprietor, who was frequently called Buck Horn Bristow. 
 
 I walked out among the people after dinner to observe and listen, 
 when to my great delight I met my friend and classmate, W. W. 
 Irby. By him I was introduced to Mr. Peter McColl, who was clerk 
 of court and also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Academy. 
 I was next carried to the store of Townsend & Douglass and intro- 
 duced to the proprietors, and after this I found an old acquaintance 
 in Dr. J. Beaty Jennings, who had practiced medicine in Chester in 
 my childhood, and had been very kind to my mother and family. 
 
 Before the day was out I was introduced to several other gentle- 
 men, and met Mr. Charles A. Thomwell, whom I had previously 
 met at the residence of his illustrious brother, Dr. James H. Thorn- 
 well, President of the College. 
 
 By the kind attention of my friend, William Irby, I was at once 
 made to feel at ease to some extent in my new home. The following 
 week I opened school in the Academy, but found a rival school in 
 progress in a small house near by on the premises of Mr. Joel 
 Emanuel, where now stands the residence of Sheriff John B. Green. 
 This school was in charge of D. McD. McLeod, who had taught the 
 previous year in the Academy. It being the opinion of Mr. McLeod 
 "and friends that he failed to be reelected because he was a Secession- 
 ist, he was prevailed upon to open a rival school. I soon made his 
 acquaintance and was pleased with him, finding him to be a gentle- 
 man. Before the month was out Mr. McLeod abandoned his enter- 
 prise, and the Academy was soon filled to overflowing, and my labor 
 became very heavy. 
 
 I will strive to draw a picture of Bennettsville as it was in 1853. 
 It was a small village of less than five hundred inhabitants. 
 
 On the public square stood the courthouse — a unique structure — 
 and hard by it, just in its rear, was the jail, a square brick building 
 with a hipped roof, the prison cells being on the second floor and 
 residence of jailer on the first. 
 10 — H. 
 
146 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 Around the square were the hotels, shops, stores and some resi- 
 dences. 
 
 The Miller Hotel stood on the southeast corner where is now the 
 spot once occupied by the store of L. B. McLaurin, which was burned 
 down a. few years ago, and the small shop of Mr. Miller stood 
 directly on the corner. Opposite this hotel, across Darlington street 
 and on the corner, stood the office or doctor shop of Dr. J. Beaty 
 Jennings, where now is the drug store of his son, Douglas Jennings. 
 This doctor shop had been owned and occupied by Dr. Williams pre- 
 viously and, I think, built by him or perhaps by Dr. Jones, the first 
 physician who located in Bennettsville about 1822. 
 
 Across the avenue which led up to the residence of Dr. William 
 Crosland, and on the corner now occupied by C. S. McCall, stood the 
 law office of Charles A. Thornwell. This was built by John Mc- 
 Queen, soon after he came to practice law in Bennettsville, as a law 
 office. It is said that during its erection he made money enough by 
 his practice to pay for the lot and building. Such could not be done 
 now. Afterwards it became the office of Dr. Alexander McLeod — 
 next the law office of Charles A. Thornwell, and when I arrived here 
 it was occupied by him for a short period and then by Dr. William 
 Wallace until it was burned by the stragglers of Sherman's army. 
 Next to this building stood the store of Townsend & Douglas, the 
 only two-story store house in the village. They were the leading 
 merchants, and owned and occupied the largest store in the village. 
 Next to this store stood a small structure used and occupied by W. J. 
 Daniels as a tailor shop, and on the corner where now stands the two- 
 story brick store of Mr. Walter Rowe, stood a wooden building 
 occupied as a store by Cook & Sutherland, and soon thereafter by 
 James B. Breeden, in which building he began his successful career 
 as a merchant. It was afterwards occupied by M. I. and C. S. Hen- 
 agan, and again by J. B. Breeden. 
 
 Across Main street and on the opposite corner, where now is the 
 two-story brick store of Mr. Lee Kirkwood, was a small wooden 
 building occupied and used in 1853 as a tailor shop by Mr. William 
 Little, and soon thereafter as a store by Henry Crabbe, who married 
 a Miss Hairgrove. 
 
 Adjoining it, and about where Mr. A. J. Rowe's store stands, was 
 a small building used as a doctor shop by Dr. William Wallace, and 
 then by Dr. John Dudley. 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 147 
 
 On the corner where now stands the store of Mr. John Jackson 
 was the store of Mr. James Barrentine. 
 
 Across the avenue leading to the Presbyterian Church, and on the 
 corner where once stood the McColl Hall, was the Buck Horn Hotel, 
 kept by William Bristow and his wife, known to all as "Aunt Chris- 
 tian." Here the judges and solicitors were usually entertained. 
 
 Across Darlington street, and on the corner where stands the 
 store of C. M. Weatherly, was the store of William Munnerlyn, and 
 on the same side of the square, where is now the place of business 'of 
 W. P. Breeden, adjoining the present postoffice, was the store of 
 John McCollum, and down on the corner beyond was a store which 
 was used as a residence by William Stubbs, and and then as a work- 
 shop of Alexander DuPre, who first married the daughter of William 
 Stubbs, and afterwards married a Miss Webster. 
 
 On the side of the public square next to the creek the only build- 
 ing was the present law office of T. E. Dudley, which, in 1853, was 
 the law office of James E. David in one part and the tailor shop of 
 W. J. Daniels in the other. 
 
 On the east side of the square and directly on it were no buildings 
 except the shop of Mr. Miller already mentioned, and his stable, 
 which stood where Mr. Barfield's furniture store now stands. 
 
 Leaving the square and proceeding east the following residences 
 existed, viz. : the residence of Dr. Jennings, still standing, and then 
 occupied as a boarding-house by Abijah Bristow ; on the left was 
 the residence of Alexander Murdock, now the Adams House. 
 
 Following on the same or left-hand side of the street was the 
 residence of Donald McKay, where Mr. Cobb lives, then the resi- 
 dence oi John McCollum, where Capt. P. L. Breeden lives; then 
 next was the Methodist church, where is the present new building 
 to be erected — next was the house occupied by Mr. Thomas Cook — 
 after him by Joseph L. Breeden, and after him by Alexander Suther- 
 land on the site of Mr. F. M. Emanuel's residence. 
 
 Further on was the house occupied by Alexander Miller and after 
 him by Mrs. Marshall, on the lot lately owned by Mr. John McRae. 
 
 The only other residence on that side was that of Mrs. Elizabeth 
 Munnerlyn, on the present site of the residence of Knox Livingston, 
 Esq. All beyond this was the cotton field of Nathan 15. Thomas, 
 now called East Bennettsville, dotted with handsome residences. 
 
148 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 Crossing the street from the residence of Knox Livingston, Esq., 
 was the old muster field, which had been bought by W. I>. Johnson, 
 then a lawyer and afterwards a chancellor. On it he was then erect- 
 ing a handsome residence, the builder of which was Alexander 
 (Sandy) Miller. It is now the residence of Capt. A. E. Bristow. 
 Returning thence toward the public square you came to the follow- 
 ing buildings in the order named, to wit: the residence of Robert 
 Little, where P. A. McKellar lives; the residence of Maj. B. D. 
 Townsend, where his nephew, Judge C. P. Townsend, subsequently 
 built after the old home was burned ; then came the Female Academy, 
 where Walter Townsend lives; next was the house of Mrs. Fanny 
 Thomas, occupied by J. L. Breeden, with whom the female teachers 
 boarded, on the spot where Mr. John Robertson afterwards built; 
 next was the house of Charles A. Thornwell, where J. L. Breeden's 
 fine residence stands, and on the corner where Mr. Ricaud lives was 
 the small residence of Mrs. Grant, which was built by John and 
 Alexander Thomas and used by them as a gin shop. Where Fuller 
 Brothers have their livery stables was the shop of Thomas Chapman, 
 the mechanic, and lastly the residence of Dr. J. B. Jennings, already 
 spoken of. 
 
 On the street on which I live, called Parsonage street, there were 
 but three houses, viz. : the small residence of Thomas Chapman, 
 where I now live; the Methodist parsonage, where James Barnes 
 afterwards built and Mr. Draughon now lives, and a small private 
 schoolhouse, built by Dr. William Crosland, where A. J. Bristow 
 lives. Beyond this, eastward, on the Fayetteville road, stood the resi- 
 dence of Col. W. J. Cook, now occupied by his two unmarried 
 daughters, Olivia and Sally. 
 
 Such at that time was Bennettsville as you looked east from the 
 public square. How changed it is now. 
 
 At the end of. the street, leading southeast, between C. S. Mc- 
 Call's and the drug store, stood the stately residence of Dr. William 
 Crosland. 
 
 On what was called Marion road, now Depot street, there was 
 the former residence of Mr. Long, the merchant, then occupied by 
 Robert Little, standing near the rear end of Mr. Kirkwood's present 
 brick store, and further down and on the left side of the road was 
 the Temperance Hall, and next to it was the residence of W. J. 
 Daniels, afterwards occupied by J. J. Rowe, near the present liverv 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 149 
 
 stable of L. Strauss, and these were the only residences on that 
 street. On or near the present site of the Coxe block stood the drug 
 store of Dr. J. H. Lane, who sold out to Abner Bristow in 1854. 
 
 On Darlington street, leading toward Society Hill, and near the 
 Buck Horn or Marlborough Hotel, was a dilapidated, unoccupied 
 building, and next to it was the newly erected residence of Matthew 
 Heustiss, on the present site of the handsome residence of H. W. 
 Carroll. The Baptist church was the next building, and near to it 
 was the male academy. 
 
 Three houses in the village in that region, but not on the street, 
 were the residences of Mrs. Taylor, in the corner of what is now the 
 Murchison grove, the residence of N. P. Peabody, soon thereafter 
 occupied by Alexander Sutherland, in the grove of large oaks near 
 the Taylor House, and back of these the residence of Mrs. Mary 
 Long, where stands the Meekin House. Returning to the public 
 square and proceeding down the north side of Darlington street, 
 were the following residences, viz. : first, the then residence of Archy 
 Mclnnis, on the spot where Jesse B. Adams lives ; the Peter McColl 
 blacksmith shop, where is now Hubbard's store; the "White Man- 
 sion,'* occupied by the widow Peterkin, afterwards by Thomas E. 
 Stubbs, on the site of the handsome residence of Mrs. J. N. 
 Weatherly. 
 
 Next in order, and where the residence of Dr. Julius Jennings 
 stands, was the residence of Dr. J. H. Lane, and beyond this and to 
 the rear and west of Mr. Bolton's, was the residence of Joel Emanuel, 
 and no residence was beyond this, but the foundation of the residence 
 of Col. C. W. Dudley was laid. 
 
 This closes the list of houses of all kinds then forming the vil- 
 lage of Bennettsville, whose inhabitants were intelligent, cultured, 
 neighborly, genial and social, investing the village with more life, 
 animation and real social enjoyment than now characterizes the pres- 
 ent town, although the population is four times greater, and the 
 sources of enjoyment relatively enlarged. 
 
 Why it is so I cannot tell. It ought not thus to be, for our people 
 now are as good and as cultured as were those of that day, the 
 gentlemen as handsome and the ladies as beautiful. Perhaps my 
 opinion is influenced by age. 
 
150 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 THE SCHOOLS. 
 
 At that time town and village school buildings were called acade- 
 mies; instructors were called teachers, and closing exercises were 
 called school breaking, with examinations and exhibitions. People 
 were plain spoken and modest then. Now teachers are called pro- 
 fessors and closing exercises are called commencements, for why- 
 should not teachers in town and village schools and their closing 
 exercises be honored with as great names as are given to college 
 exercises and college professors. 
 
 The female academy was in charge of Miss Hood and her assist- 
 ant Miss Meng, both pretty and accomplished. The one became the 
 wife of Charles A. Thornwell, and after his death married A. G. 
 Johnson ; the other married W. P. Emanuel and still lives, the mother 
 of a good family of boys and girls — all now grown. 
 
 In 1853 the female school was largely attended, and had been for 
 years before and was for years after. 
 
 The male academy was in my charge, and so continued for four 
 years, during two years of which time I had as assistants, P. L. 
 Breeden for one year, and Oliver David for one year. 
 
 The number of pupils was from fifty, the lowest, to seventy, the 
 highest number. The labor was great — was, in fact, wearing me out, 
 and hence I resigned and began the study and then the practice of 
 law in A. D. 1857. 
 
 The closing exercises of these two schools each year were mem- 
 orable occasions and drew immense crowds of people to hear the 
 public examinations, but more especially the musical concerts of the 
 girls and the exhibitions of the boys, consisting of declamations and 
 dialogues. Boys were then given as fair a showing as girls, and the 
 exhibitions of the pupils of the male academy attracted even larger 
 crowds than the concert of the girls. How different now. The boys 
 are not seen nor heard of — have no showing at all — it is all girl and 
 no boy ; the boy is a creature of secondary importance. What effect 
 this reversal of the order of nature will have upon society the future 
 alone can tell. Sure I am, it will not be good. 
 
 CHURCHES. 
 
 In 1853 there were but two churches, the Baptist, where the new 
 building now stands, and the Methodist, on the site of the new 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 151 
 
 building in process of erection. These were plain wooden houses, but 
 sufficient for the congregations of that day. The Rev. J. A. W. 
 Thomas was then pastor of the Baptist Church, young in years and 
 in the ministry — of limited education, but endowed with a high order 
 of ability. His subsequent career is too well-known to call for 
 comment. 
 
 The minister in charge of the Methodist Church was the Rev. 
 R. P. Franks, of whose subsequent career I know nothing. 
 
 LAWYERS. 
 
 At that time the resident lawyers were C. W. Dudley, James E. 
 David, E. P. Ervin, Charles A. Thornwell, W. D. Johnson and 
 Donald Matheson, and the visiting lawyers were John A. Inglis, 
 Henry Mclver, \V. J. Hanna, Henry T. Moore and W. L. T. Prince, 
 of Chesterfield, and W. \Y. Sellers, of Marion. All these have passed 
 away. 
 
 OFFICERS OF COURT. 
 
 Peter McColl was clerk of court and so continued until five or 
 six years after the Confederate War, and died in office. 
 
 A. X. Bristow was ordinary and so continued until 1867. B. F. 
 McGilvarv was sheriff, just retiring from office, and his successor, 
 John W. Henegan, qualified in February, 1853. 
 
 MERCHANTS. 
 
 These were Maj. B. Townsend and A. H. Douglas, of the firm 
 of Townsend & Douglas; John McCollum, Col. W. J. Cook and 
 Alexander Sutherland, of the firm of Cook & Sutherland; James 
 Barrentine, J. B. Breeden, and one or two small shopkeepers. 
 
 The druggists were Dr. J. H. Lane and Abner N. Bristow, of the 
 firm of Lane & Bristow. All are dead. 
 
 PHYSICIANS. 
 
 These were J. Beaty Jennings, William Wallace, W. J. David 
 and John Dudley, all of whom are dead. 
 
152 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 CITIZENS. 
 
 The leading men were John McCollurn, B. D. Townsend, W. J. 
 Cook, A. H. Douglas, Dr. William Crosland and the lawyers and 
 physicians above named. 
 
 MECHANICS. 
 
 These were few in number, but of marked skill and reliability, 
 to wit: Alexander Miller, the carpenter; J. J. Rowe, the shoemaker; 
 Archy Mclnnis and Thomas Chapman, makers of wagons and work- 
 ers of wood ; N. P. Peabody, the silversmith, and W. J. Daniels and 
 Robert Little, the tailors, all honest and faithful workmen and good 
 citizens, and all now dead. 
 
 LANDLORDS OR HOTEL KEEPERS. 
 
 These were two, and both noted as hosts, viz. : Philip Miller and 
 Wm. Bristow. They were men of marked peculiarities, giving rise 
 to more anecdotes than any two men in town unless it was J. J. Rowe 
 and Archy Mclnnis. 
 
 It would be entertaining to speak at length of Philip Miller, 
 William Bristow, J. J. Rowe and Archy Mclnnis, to which names 
 should be added Abner N. Bristow, often called "Dickey Short," and 
 Alexander Sutherland and Thomas Chapman. 
 
 These were plain people, honest men, industrious and frugal, and 
 were the life of the town. Each was fond of a good story and a good 
 joke, provided the joke was not at his own expense. They were 
 much given to telling jokes, each upon some one of the group. I be- 
 came very fond of these men and found them entertaining. 
 
 Perhaps the leader among them, in narrating the extraordinary 
 and sensational, was J. J. Rowe. He was not only a skilled shoe- 
 maker, -but was an expert in hunting and fishing. I often accom- 
 panied him and never failed to bring home game or fish, the greatest 
 part of which he captured, for I was not skilled in the art. He was 
 liberal and always desired me to take the larger part of what we had 
 secured. His fish and snake and shooting stories were extraordinary 
 and incredulous, but entertaining. He told me that some of them 
 were pure fictions, thought out by him for the benefit and surprise 
 of Mclnnis, Miller and the two Bristows. He made it a rule never 
 to tell one of these marvelous stories to more than one of these men, 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 153 
 
 for he knew full well that all would soon get it from that one, and 
 spread it for one of Rowe's romances. While sitting with him one 
 day on the bank at the mouth of Crooked Creek, fishing and listen- 
 ing to his marvelous narratives, I said to him. "Mr. Rowe, I believe 
 you know more concerning the finny tribe than any living man, but 
 there is one fish I have never heard you speak of." "What fish do 
 you mean?" says he. "It is the screw fish. It swims to the shore, 
 when the head unscrews, crawls out on the bank, eats a quantity of 
 herbs and grass, crawls back, screws on to the body again and swims 
 away." After studying awhile he said, "Who told you of that fish?" 
 With gravity I replied that a German told me. "Yes," said he, "and 
 he told you a Dutch lie." Alas ! this excellent mechanic and expert 
 sportsman is dead, and with his death ended my sporting days. He 
 was a friend to me. 
 
 Of these plain, substantial, industrious men of Bennettsville, a 
 numerous posterity are living and occupying respectable positions in 
 all the walks of life. 
 
 The village of Bennettsville had at that time a population unsur- 
 passed in intelligence, morality, religion, patriotism and all the cardi- 
 nal virtues in man and woman that adorn society. Such, too, may 
 be said of her present inhabitants. 
 
 At that time there were no railroad communications, and the 
 Great Pee Dee was the only highway of commerce available. A 
 regular line of steamboats ran on that river from Cheraw to George- 
 town, by which all cotton was exported and goods imported. Gard- 
 ners Bluff, five miles distant, being the point of shipment and 
 crowded with business, especially in the spring and fall of the year. 
 
 The railroads have reached us and changed transportation, so 
 that the Pee Dee River is virtually abandoned as a highway. Yet, in 
 spite of the increased facility and speed of travel and transportation, 
 our people grumble at railroad rates and schedules. 
 
 Man will never be satisfied with locomotion until he can travel 
 and transport in airships, and perhaps then will envy the speed of 
 lightning. 
 
Chapter X. 
 
 THE SOUTH CAROLINA COLLEGE CHARTER CEN- 
 TENNIAL. 
 
 'On December 19, A. D. 1901, in the auditorium of the South 
 Carolina Interstate and West Indian Exposition, in the city of 
 Charleston, S. C, was celebrated the centennial of the granting of 
 the charter to the South Carolina College. 
 
 On the night of that day, in the dining hall of the Argyle hotel, 
 the alumni sat down to a sumptuous banquet. 
 
 The duty was assigned to me to respond to the toast, "The 
 Alumni in the Law." 
 
 This I did extemporaneously. By request of the committee I 
 subsequently reduced to writing the substance of my remarks, and 
 these were published in the pamphlet of proceedings issued by the 
 committee. The following is the report of my speech contained in 
 said pamphlet: 
 
 HON. JOSHUA H. HUDSON. 
 1 
 Judge J. H. Hudson responded to the toast, "The Alumni in the 
 
 Law," and spoke in substance as follows : 
 
 Mr. Chairman and Fellow Alumni : I have listened with great 
 interest to the speeches that were made in the auditorium today, and 
 to those at this banquet tonight with the deepest interest and pleas- 
 ure. It seems to me that the subject which I have been called upon 
 to discuss has been already exhausted, for in almost every address 
 much has been said of the alumni in the law. 
 
 However, before I address myself directly to the subject as- 
 signed me, permit me to say a few words in reference to the found- 
 ing of the South Carolina College, because it is a very interesting 
 part of the history of that institution as well as of the State at large. 
 The idea of a college in the interior of the State was first proposed 
 by the great John Rutledge, and was further advocated by Judge 
 William Henry Drayton, and finally took shape under the adminis- 
 tration of his son, Gov. John Drayton. The representatives in the 
 Legislature from the city of Charleston and other parishes of the 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 155 
 
 low country were thoroughly impressed with the conviction that the 
 welfare of South Carolina could best be promoted by the education 
 of her sons in the back country. 
 
 The bill to establish a college for higher learning was introduced 
 in the Legislature by its friends from the low country at the earnest 
 recommendation of Gov. John Drayton. This measure met with 
 serious opposition from many of the representatives from the dis- 
 tricts in the upper and middle regions of the State, but in spite of the 
 opposition it was carried by the earnest advocacy of the representa- 
 tives from Charleston and the low country, and became a law on 
 December 19, 1801. 
 
 The college was most wisely located at the capital of the State, 
 and by the earnest efforts of the committee in charge of the work 
 was opened for the reception of students in 1805. The first student 
 to enter was William Harper and following him closely were the 
 two brothers from Newberry, Anderson Crenshaw and Walter A. 
 Crenshaw. After graduating. Anderson Crenshaw removed to Ala- 
 bama and became a distinguished chancellor of that State. 
 
 Walter A. Crenshaw graduated with the first honor, and return- 
 ing to Newberry, died at an early age. 
 
 In a few years thereafter Josiah J. Evans and John Belton 
 O'Neall were admitted. 
 
 The beneficial results of the higher education imparted to the 
 young men from the back country soon became manifest. In less 
 than a quarter of a century from the founding of the college young 
 men who were sent out from its halls to various parts of the up- 
 country began to distinguish themselves in all the walks of life, as 
 instructors in academies, as farmers, as merchants, as ministers of 
 the gospel, as physicians, but more especially as lawyers and judges. 
 To the law bench were elevated Josiah J. Evans, John Belton 
 O'Neall, Baylis J. Earle and Andrew Pickens Butler, and to the 
 chancery bench were elevated William Harper, Job Johnstone and 
 shortly thereafter George Dargan, Francis Wardlaw and Chancellor 
 Caldwell. Soon thereafter, as law judges, there came David L. 
 Wardlaw, Thomas J. Withers, Joseph Whitner and Thomas W. 
 Golver. 
 
 To the great men of Charleston and the low country, and to their 
 children as well, it must have been a gratifying sight to witness such 
 rapid and wonderful fruits, following directly from the college of 
 
156 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 higher learning established by them at the capital of the State, and 
 to greet as judges and chancellors men from the remote interior, 
 educated at this grand institution. 
 
 These patriotic men who were instrumental in founding this 
 college builded wiser than they knew. No one can estimate the 
 rapid results and benign influence of this institution upon the people 
 of the whole State, from the mountains to the sea. 
 
 Among the great orators, lawyers, advocates and statesmen, 
 issuing from its halls, we mention James L. Petigru, Hugh S. Le- 
 gare, George McDuffie and William C: Preston. When George 
 McDuffie died, in 1851, William C. Preston, as president of the 
 South Carolina College, delivered a lecture to his class upon the life 
 and character of George McDuffie. Politically they had been at 
 variance, but personally, friendly. William €. Preston was properly 
 styled the inspired declaimer and peerless orator. His judgment of 
 George McDuffie as an orator was therefore entitled to weight, and 
 in his lecture he stated to his class that he had heard great orators 
 in England and the greatest orators in America of his day and time, 
 and had no hesitation in declaring that George McDuffie fulfilled his 
 idea and conception of Demosthenes more than anyone he had ever 
 heard speak. 
 
 I also once heard Mr. Preston say that James L. Petigru was, in 
 his judgment, the ablest lawyer and strongest advocate of his day. 
 The lawyers whom I have named as eloquent advocates constitute 
 only a small part of the alumni of the College, who, in that day and 
 time, constituted the bar of South Carolina. It was a rare thing to 
 find distinguished lawyers in any part of South Carolina who were 
 not graduates of South Carolina College, and it may truthfully be 
 said that in no State of the Union was the tone of the bar higher or 
 the integrity and ability of the judges more exalted. 
 
 This came chiefly from the training received in college. In that 
 institution there was no criterion save merit and character. The dis- 
 tinction of wealth and family was not recognized. 
 
 A more democratic institution could not exist. The poorest boj 
 was as highly esteemed as the wealthiest, provided, he was a boy of 
 good character and possessed of talent. Honesty, truthfulness and in- 
 tegrity were essential to good standing in the eyes of the students 
 and professors, and distinctions conferred in degrees were based 
 solely on these traits and upon merit in recitation. If any partiality 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 157 
 
 was shown at all, it was more apt to be bestowed upon the poor boy 
 rather than upon the rich, other things being equal. This fact can 
 be verified by referring to the degree of first honor conferred an- 
 nually from the founding of the institution up to the present day. 
 The character thus formed in this College was the foundation of the 
 greatness attained by the alumni in all the walks of life, and espe- 
 cially at the bar. It was the distinguishing trait of lawyers and of 
 judges, and compelled the respect and admiration of their fellow 
 men. Young men from all parts of the State were brought together 
 in the college, receiving the same education, the same training and 
 a like tone of character. The low country and the up country were 
 thus intimately associated, and became, year by year, united in senti- 
 ment, in respect and in admiration. 
 
 A college commencement was a most noted occasion, and was 
 attended by fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters from all parts of 
 the State, and also by every department of the government, execu- 
 tive, judicial and legislative, as well as by all the civic and educa- 
 tional bodies of the city. The student who was so fortunate as to 
 win an appointment or an honor, addressed, as it were, the whole 
 State of South Carolina, its beauty, its chivalry, its executive, 
 judicial and legislative branches. 
 
 It is to be regretted that a change has been made in the date of 
 the commencement. The impression made by those commencements 
 upon the under-graduates, and upon those who were awaiting appli- 
 cation for admission, cannot at this day and time be conceived. 
 
 I well remember the impression made upon myself. Among the 
 graduates who addressed that vast assembly on that most interest- 
 ing occasion were two who particularly impressed me, and who now 
 sit upon my right hand, Charles H. Simonton and Theodore G. 
 Barker. The first delivered the salutatory address in Latin, being 
 the first honor man, the second had for his theme "Classical Litera- 
 ture." They seemed to be very handsome young men, and acquitted 
 themselves most creditably. Charles H. Simonton now wears the 
 spotless ermine as a circuit judge of the United States. It has been 
 my good fortune to meet in his courts in Richmond, Va., and else- 
 where distinguished lawyers from the cities of New York, Phila- 
 delphia, Baltimore, Richmond, Wilmington, Charleston and else- 
 where, all of whom, without exception, pronounce him the peer of 
 any judge of the United States circuit bench. His life has been 
 
158 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 identified with the history of South Carolina for the last fifty years, 
 both in peace and in war, as a lawyer, soldier, legislator and judge. 
 Every position he has been called upon by his fellow men to fill he 
 has adorned. 
 
 Mr. Barker has equally distinguished himself in peace and in war 
 as lawyer, soldier and legislator. As a college student, he was emi- 
 nent for his assiduity, his learning and eloquence ; he was a good in- 
 tellectual combatant then, and is still 'a stalwart fighter. 
 
 After graduating I was called from old Chester to cast my lot in 
 the county of Marlboro. I there met with a tall, slender, black- 
 haired young lawyer by the name of Henry Mclver, then recently 
 elected solicitor of the Eastern Circuit. He impressed me favorably 
 on first acquaintance, and that impression has grown into admira- 
 tion. For twenty-five years as a judge he has adorned the Supreme 
 bench of South Carolina, a large part of which time he has been, 
 and still is, our honored chief justice. Associated with him in the 
 recent past were Associate Justices Haskell, McGowan and Chief 
 Justice Simpson, all graduates of the South Carolina College. 
 
 When I left the Chester Academy to go to the South Carolina 
 College there remained behind me in that academy two interesting 
 boys, Billy Brawley and Johnny Hemphill. They now sit opposite 
 me here on the other side of this banquet table. The one is the Hon. 
 William H. Brawley, judge of the United States District Court for 
 South Carolina, and the other the Hon. John J. Hemphill, a dis- 
 tinguished lawyer, and recently a representative of South Carolina 
 in Congress, than whom the State had no abler champion. Of my 
 own class I am proud to name S. W. Melton and LeRoy F. Youmans 
 as great lawyers and advocates. Each filled the office of Attorney- 
 Gjeneral of the United States with marked ability, as well as other 
 positions of honor and responsibility. As scholars, lawyers and 
 advocates they should be ranked with Preston, Legare and McDuffie. 
 
 Since the Confederate war the College has given to the bench, as 
 judges, Thomas N. Dawkins, who, for many years, was the able so- 
 licitor of the Middle Circuit, and Franklin J. Moses, a distinguished 
 lawyer of the Eastern Circuit before the war, and afterwards the 
 chief justice of the Supreme Court; and, as judge of equity, Chancel- 
 lor Carroll, of Edgefield, and at a still later day Judge W. H. Wal- 
 lace, I. D. Witherspoon and Thomas Fraser. To these must be 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 159 
 
 added Robert Graham, S. W. Melton, C. P. Townsend and William 
 M. Thomas. 
 
 It will thus be seen that from 1820 up to 1895, a period of three- 
 quarters of a century, the alumni of the South Carolina College have 
 filled the benches of law and equity in the State, and supplied the 
 bar almost exclusively with its members, and especially with its 
 ablest lawyers. 
 
 It is not extravagant to say that these judges, chancellors and 
 lawyers have been and are the peers of the judges and lawyers of 
 any of the States of the Union. They have stood forth as, and still 
 are, living monuments of the great and good work done by that noble 
 old State college. She needs no nobler vindication. 
 
 Prior to the war this college was assailed by narrow-minded, 
 unthinking men in different parts of the State, but to the credit of 
 all the people they were few in number. These assaults called forth 
 from the Rev. James H. Thornwell, an alumnus, and then a dis- 
 tinguished professor, the ablest vindication ever written, in the shape 
 of a letter to Gov. John L. Manning. This distinguished divine was 
 a poor boy in Marlboro, who, with the assitance of Mr. Robbins and 
 General Gillespie, was enabled to graduate with the first honor from 
 the South Carolina College. He was pale-faced, diminutive, sallow- 
 complexioned in his schoolboy days, but possessed of a most won- 
 derful intellect, and while living was justly esteemed the ablest 
 divine of his day. 
 
 During Radical rule in South Carolina the old College fell in 
 disrepute, and practically ceased to exist. In 1876, under the leader- 
 ship of that great hero and statesman, Wade Hampton, the people 
 rescued the government from the rule of the carpetbagger and the 
 negro, and restored it to the white men of the State. To reopen the 
 College and restore it to the people became the prime object of the 
 Legislature. 
 
 It is a singular fact, however, that this important measure met 
 with strenuous opposition from some of the legislators from the 
 interior and upper part of the State, and the great battle for its 
 restoration was again fought by legislators from Charleston and the 
 low country, who stood nobly in its defense, and who, with the aid 
 of alumni from other portions of the State, achieved a great victory 
 and once more restored to the State the inestimable boon of this 
 great central non-sectarian College. 
 
160 Sketches and Reminiscences. ' 
 
 I chanced to visit Columbia when this struggle was in progress 
 in the Legislature, and heard the able and noble speech in behalf 
 of the college delivered by that distinguished alumnus, the Hon. C. 
 G. Memminger, representative from Charleston, once a poor boy 
 in the Charleston Orphanage, but then the able lawyer and eminent 
 statesman, venerable in years, his head hoary with the frost of many 
 winters, but his mind clear, fervent and strong. 
 
 It seemed to me then a singular thing that after the lapse of 
 three-quarters of a century the city of Charleston and the people of 
 the low country should be constrained once more to come to the 
 rescue of the College, but they did it nobly, patriotically and success- 
 fully, with the aid of broad-minded men and alumni from other por- 
 tions of the State. The institution at once took on renewed life and 
 vigor, and once more sent forth from its halls to all parts of the 
 State young graduates of culture, refinement and learning, diffusing 
 throughout the length and breadth of the land the blessings of 
 higher learning. From their number come the larger portion of the 
 young lawyers of this day, who bid fair to equal the lawyers of old 
 in tone, character, learning and ability. 
 
 In 1890 another political revolution swept over South Carolina, 
 and placed all branches of the government in new hands. The 
 enemies of the College, seeing old things swept away and all things 
 becoming new, considered the time opportune for the subversion of 
 the College. This revolution placed Benjamin R. Tillman in the 
 executive chair. So great was his influence with his followers that 
 he could easily have persuaded the Legislature to close the doors 
 of this State institution, but fortunately for the good of the State, 
 he declined to exert his influence in this direction and, on the con- 
 trary, espoused the cause of higher education, and became the cham- 
 pion of the College. He went further, and became largely instru- 
 mental in founding Clemson College, for industrial education for 
 boys, and Winthrop College, for the higher education of girls, and 
 for their industrial training. / 
 
 These three institutions, together with the State Military 
 Academy and the establishment of our graded schools, reinforced 
 by the splendid sectarian colleges in the State, make a grand system 
 of education beautiful, symmetrical and perfect. Esto perpetua. 
 
Chapter XI. 
 
 MEMORIAL ADDRESS 
 
 Delivered by Judge J. H. Hudson in Memory of the Late Chief 
 Justice Henry M elver, January 22, 1903. 
 
 Remarks of Judge J. H. Hudson upon the occasion of the me- 
 morial exercises before the Supreme Court of South Carolina, in 
 commemoration of the life and services of the late Chief Justice 
 Henry Mclver. held in the hall of the House of Representatives. 
 
 Judge J. H. Hudson said : 
 
 May it please the Court: I rise to join in the request that the 
 order just submitted by the president of the Bar Association be 
 passed by the court. In doing so I will say, in the outset, I endorse 
 every word that has been said of tribute to the memory of Chief 
 Justice Mclver by the Attorney-General, by the President of the Bar 
 Association, and in the memorial that has been presented to the court. 
 Your Honors, I cannot add anything to that tribute to the deceased, 
 as a judge. 
 
 My acquaintance and my intimate relations with Judge Mclver 
 extended over a period of fifty years preceding his death. I do not 
 suppose that anyone who will address the court tonight can say 
 the same thing; nor do I suppose any one of those who will address 
 your Honors will be able to speak of Henry Mclver as a young 
 lawyer, a young man, and I propose in the remarks which I shall 
 make to confine myself to that period in his career. 
 
 On Friday, January 9, 1853, I arrived in Bennettsville to take 
 charge of the village male academy. On entering the public square 
 I observed an immense concourse of people, and on a gallows hard 
 by the courthouse, in the middle of the public square, sat a white 
 man awaiting execution, and he was executed. He was a man of 
 property and of large influential family connections. He was charged 
 with, indicted for, and convicted of murder of one of his own 
 slaves, not by a single stroke of violence, but by a system of cruelty 
 covering a period of some months which eventuated in the death of 
 the slave. He was indicted for that offense. W. J. Hanna was the 
 solicitor of the Eastern Circuit at that time, but he was physically 
 1i— H. 
 
■i62 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 disabled, and Henry Mclver, the young lawyer, had generously come 
 to his assistance, and was acting as his deputy in the discharge of 
 his arduous duties, and the prosecution of this case fell upon this 
 young lawyer. It was a remarkable and an unusual case. The pris- 
 oner was defended by John A. Inglis, of Cheraw, the most accom- 
 plished lawyer in the eastern part of the State, if not in South Caro- 
 lina, and one of the ablest advocates, and subsequently renowned as 
 a judge. The accused was defended with all the ability, zeal and 
 eloquence of that able man; but young Mclver prosecuted the case 
 with such calmness, force, legal ability and power that he succeeded 
 in getting from the jury a verdict of guilty. All efforts to obtain a 
 pardon from the Governor failed, and the convict . was executed. 
 Being a stranger in that community, I inquired and learned that the 
 young lawyer from Cheraw who had distinguished himself in the 
 prosecution of the case was Henry Mclver. I felt a desire to see 
 him, to know him, and at the following March term of court, while 
 he was st;ill discharging the duties of Solicitor Hanna, I met him 
 and formed his acquaintance. I was struck with and impressed by 
 his personality. He was tall, slender, erect, with a full head of jet 
 black hair, with keen eyes, and a countenance beaming with intelli- 
 gence, open and frank, a modest man, and his demeanor such as to 
 impress anyone. I could^not but regard him as a model young man, 
 and felt satisfied that he would, if he lived, accomplish great things 
 in the line of his profession. In that spring, Solicitor Hanna died, 
 and the Governor for the second time commissioned young Henry 
 Mclver to discharge the duties of solicitor of the Eastern Circuit 
 until the election could take place the following December, at which" 
 time, and for the first time in his life, he ran for office. In that con- 
 test he was opposed by Charles A. Thornwell, his senior in years 
 and his senior at the bar, a learned lawyer, who was recognized at 
 that time as the best lawyer at the Marlboro bar. Thornwell was a 
 member of the Legislature, his brother, Dr. J. H. Thornwell, was a 
 professor in the South Carolina College, an able divine and learned 
 theologian. Thornwell's influence was great, but Mclver was for- 
 midable. When the ballots had been cast, and Thornwell ascer- 
 tained, the counting being nearly completed, that Mclver was 
 elected, he stepped up to him, took him by the hand and said : "Mc- 
 lver, I am disappointed and mortified at my defeat, as you well 
 understand. I was sanguine of my election ; you have defeated me, 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 163 
 
 but you have defeated me by high and honorable means. You are a 
 gentleman, and henceforth we are to be friends" ; and they were 
 friends until the untimely death of that distinguished lawyer. 
 
 In a few years after that I came to the bar, and my relation then 
 became more intimate with Henry Mclver, and I had a better oppor- 
 tunity of estimating him, both as a man and a lawyer. 
 
 There occurred shortly after I came to the bar a most shocking 
 tragedy in Bennettsville. I saw three men writhing in death's agony 
 on the floor in the store of a young merchant in the town of Ben- 
 nettsville. In a few hours they lay dead from the effects of strichnia. 
 The young man who owned that store was the grandson of one, the 
 nephew of another, and the third man was his bookkeeper ; so if he 
 was the guilty man, he had taken the life of his grandfather, his 
 uncle and his bookkeeper. He was arrested, indicted, and tried for 
 the offense. It fell to my lot to be associated with the solicitor in 
 that case, and I had the opportunity of observing the method and 
 manner, the mind and intellect of Henry Mclver in the preparation 
 and conduct of that case. The accused was defended with unusual 
 zeal by that great advocate, Jno. A. Inglis. The case was one of 
 circumstantial evidence altogether; but by a careful preparation of 
 the case, a judicious development of the testimony, Henry Mclver 
 wove the thread of circumstantial evidence around the accused so 
 effectually that there was no escape save in conviction ; and he, too, 
 was executed. In that day and time the majesty of the law, your 
 Honors, was upheld in our courts, and juries faithfully discharged 
 their duty. 
 
 Shortly after that I saw Henry Mclver put upon his metal and 
 tried as few young men are tried, and that was in the town of Dar- 
 lington. I witnessed fifty-four men arraigned and tried for murder. 
 The circumstances of the homicide would be too tedious to narrate ; 
 I will not attempt to do it. As soon as a true bill was found by the 
 grand jury, the young solicitor handed to the court the order com- 
 mitting those fifty-four men, who were then on bail, to the custody 
 of the sheriff until they should be delivered by due process of law. 
 Day by day, as the trial progressed, these men were marched from 
 the jail to the courthouse. They were defended by four of the 
 strongest lawyers in Eastern Carolina — John A. Inglis, of Cheraw; 
 Julius A. Dargan, of Darlington ; Franklin J. Moses, of Sumter ; 
 W. W. Harllee, of Marion. Henry Mclver had able assistants — 
 
164 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 A. C. Spann, of Sumter, and James Norwood, of Darlington— but 
 he was the giant of the occasion in the prosecution of that case. J. 
 A. Inglis told me after the trial, that although he had confidence in 
 his case, he knew the sympathy of the people was with him, the 
 majority of those fifty-four men being among the wealthiest men of 
 Darlington, and none beneath the rank of substantial farmers, and 
 yet with all their influence and that of their friends and the powerful 
 advocacy of those four strong lawyers, Chancellor Inglis told me 
 afterwards that when the speech of Henry Mclver was being de- 
 livered, he trembled for the safety of his clients. 
 
 These matters I mention, may it please the court, to show the 
 early life of Henry Mclver and the early development of his strength 
 and power as a lawyer and advocate. 
 
 I will say a few words as to Judge Mclver's style, his manner 
 and bearing as an attorney in the courts of justice. It was a model 
 of propriety. He made it the rule of his life never to insult another, 
 nor to take ah insult. He was uniformly dignified, uniformly 
 courteous to the members of the bar and respectful always to the 
 bench, and what was still more creditable to him, he had a tender 
 regard for the feelings of a witness. He never brow-beat a witness ; 
 he treated him always kindly and courteously, and in doing so got 
 from witnesses in a short time more satisfactory, convincing, ef- 
 fective, and truthful testimony, than could have, been got from them 
 otherwise. In cross-examining defendants' witnesses he never 
 offended, and he told me frequently that to do so was wrong, that 
 these people were compelled to come in court, they did not come of 
 their own free will, and that it was the desire of most men, he be- 
 lieved, to tell the truth, and that the lawyer should respect them, and 
 the bench protect them. In addressing a jury he rarely spoke half 
 an hour, but in that half hour won his verdict. It was only on extra- 
 ordinary occasions he spoke, more than half an hour. I never knew 
 him to speak longer than one hour. His style was not demonstrative, 
 boisterous or vehement. He could not be called an eloquent man; 
 he was calm, deliberate and logical, direct and forcible. Every word 
 he uttered went home to the jury. They knew he was honest and 
 sincere. They could understand him, and his words had their full 
 weight. 
 
 Now, only one other remark. How did Henry Mclver come to 
 be a great lawyer, and a great judge? Criminal law is very simple 
 and requires no great learning to master it. 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 165 
 
 In the day and time I have been speaking of, the country was 
 not traversed by railroads, telegraph and telephone lines, and each 
 court would last probably only a week. In two or three days the 
 solicitor would get through with his work, but could not return home 
 and join the judge at the next court, for want of time and facility of 
 traveling. Hence he would be compelled to remain, and naturally 
 fell into the practice of civil cases. Occupying the position of solici- 
 tor he was brought into prominence, and naturally would be called 
 to manage important cases on the common pleas side of court. He 
 gathered his cases around the circuit, and diligently prepared them 
 during recess. Often the solicitors had local partners, but whether 
 they had local partners or not, during vacation they were busily 
 engaged preparing civil cases that they were to argue on circuit. 
 When the judge and solicitor left home for court, neither saw home 
 again until the entire circuit had been gone over. Our Court of 
 Equity did not interfere with the Court of General Sessions and Com- 
 mon Pleas, and he had opportunity to practice in that court. Under 
 this condition of things our solicitors were enabled to take their 
 stand in the forefront with lawyers of learning and ability. For 
 seventy-five years of the history of South Carolina the solicitorship 
 became the stepping stone to the bench. We can look back and 
 enumerate many of them who went from the solicitorship to the 
 bench and made distinguished judges. I can mention Judge Wilds, 
 Josiah J. Evans, David Johnson, Charles J. Colcock, J. J. Caldwell, 
 B. J. Earle, Thomas J. Withers, Joseph N. Whitner, Thomas N. 
 Dawkins, A. J. Shaw and Henry Mclver, the last surviving judge 
 and the peer of any of those great names I have mentioned, if he is 
 not the greatest of them all. 
 
 May it please your Honors, Judge Mclver was courtesy itself; 
 he was a noble man in every respect. 
 
 When he began his service on the supreme bench of this State, 
 it was with Chief Justice Willard and Associate Justice Haskell; 
 then came Chief Justice Simpson, Judge Haskell and Judge Mclver ; 
 then Chief Justice Simpson, Associate Justices Mclver and Mc- 
 Gowan; then Chief Justice Mclver, Associate Justices McGowan 
 and Pope ; then Chief Justice Mclver, Associate Justices Pope and 
 Gary; then Chief Justice Mclver, Associate Justices Pope, Gary 
 and Jones ; lastly, the court as now composed. Through more than 
 twenty-five years of association with his brethren of the bench I 
 
166 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 never heard of one single jar, not one single instance of ruffled 
 feeling, not one single instance in which there was an absence of 
 courtesy and good fellowship. 
 
 Your Honors, Henry Mclver was a great man — he was great 
 from his youth ; he was great as a lawyer and he was greatest of all 
 as a judge. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 I graduated from the South Carolina College in December, A. D. 
 1852. In December, A. D. 1854, I attended the celebration in the 
 then new college chapel of the semi-centennial of the opening of the 
 College. I listened with deep interest to the farewell address of 
 President James H. Thornwell, and to the oration of that distin- 
 guished alumnus and great lawyer, James L. Petigru. I secured a 
 copy of the pamphlet containing the proceedings, and fortunately 
 have preserved it. I deem it of sufficient interest to the alumni and 
 the public generally to insert it in full in this collection, so as to pre- 
 serve and perpetuate it, especially as preparations are now being 
 made to celebrate the centennial of the opening of this venerable 
 State institution. 
 
 The proceedings are as follows: 
 
 Semi-Centennial Celebration of the South Carolina College, 
 
 consisting of the 
 Baccalaureate Address by the President of the College, 
 
 the 
 Semi-Centennial Oration by the Hon. Jas. L. Pettigru, 
 
 and 
 Answers to Letters of Invitation. 
 
 Published by Order of the Board of Trustees. 
 
 NOTICE. 
 
 The addresses and letters which compose this pamphlet were oc- 
 casioned by the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the organi- 
 zation of the College, which took place last December, in conformity 
 with the appointment of the Board of Trustees. The celebration 
 was resolved on at the annual meeting of the Board, in 1853. A 
 committee was appointed to make proper arrangements, and the 
 Hon. James L. Petigru was unanimously requested to deliver the 
 semi-centennial oration. The Committee of Arrangements was in- 
 structed to invite the presidents, professors, and trustees of the 
 
168 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 colleges in this and the contiguous States to be present on the occa- 
 sion, together with such other gentlemen from abroad as it might 
 deem entitled to the compliment. 
 
 The 4th of December, being commencement day, was fixed on 
 as the day of the delivery of the oration, and the hour, at the close 
 of the usual commencement exercises. The Board subsequently 
 ordered that the baccalaureate address of the president of the Col- 
 lege, the oration of Mr. Petigru, and the answers to letters of invi- 
 tation should be published in the present form. 
 
 ADDRESS 
 
 Delivered to the Graduating Class, December 4, 1854, by Rev. James 
 H. Thomwell, D. D., President of the College. 
 
 Gentlemen : You have reached the period when your alma 
 mater is about to dismiss you from her roof, not with cold, unfeeling 
 severity ; not as a burden of which she would be relieved, a tax from 
 which she would be exempt. She loves you with a mother's love, 
 and yearns over you as you go forth into the world, with all the 
 tenderness, solicitude and affection which speak from the eyes of a 
 kind parent, as a beloved son takes his leave, for the last time, of the 
 paternal home. She sends you out because she trusts that you are 
 now prepared to provide for yourselves; and as she watches your 
 receding steps, her heart swells with hope, and from her heaving 
 breast she pours out upon you the benedictions of her soul. She 
 cannot say farewell until she has given you a few parting words of 
 counsel, brief, hurried, broken; but they are the honest expressions 
 of love, confidence, and hope. Through me, her organ and repre- 
 sentative, she speaks to you today, and speaks for the last time. 
 Other scenes will soon surround you, other cares will soon oppress 
 you, but amid the din of business and the hot pursuit of your various 
 aims, let your mind occasionally revert to this hallowed spot, and 
 let the counsels and benedictions which now attend your departure 
 exert their influence upon your future course. You have begun well, 
 and it must be pleasant to you, as it is most delightful to me, to 
 reflect that in leaving the maternal mansion today, no domestic feuds 
 embitter our memories, and no hard thoughts or unkind expressions 
 rise before us to solicit mutual forgiveness. The house has not 
 been divided against itself. You have been generous and 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 169 
 
 grateful sons, and have shown yourselves more than sensible 
 of the advantages you have enjoyed. The past is an omen of the 
 future, and in the hope which it inspires, I, in the capacity already 
 intimated, would impress upon you the desire of excellence, as 
 the habitual rule of your actions. Whatever deserves to be done 
 at all, deserves to be well done. By excellence, I do not mean 
 superiority over others; and by the desire of excellence, I do not 
 mean that spirit of ambition which simply aims to surpass a rival. 
 Excellence is relative to our own capacities and powers ; and he 
 who puts out all his strength, whether it be much or little, is entitled 
 to the praise of it. The giant is mightier than the child, but relatively 
 to their strength, one may do as much as the other. That perfection 
 which your natures are capable of, whether in general habits or 
 special skill, should be constantly before you as the animating prin- 
 ciple of exertion. As scholars, aim at the enlargement of your minds 
 by the culture of all its faculties ; bring them out in their just and 
 legitimate proportions; guard against all distortions or derange- 
 ment. The whole soul is the thing to be educated. As professional 
 men, aim to master your profession, in all its departments, as far 
 as your energies will allow. Do not think only of the dowry, but 
 seek first to deserve it, and then, if it does not come, comfort your- 
 self with the thought that the race is not always to the swift, nor 
 the battle to the strong ; neither yet bread to the wise ; nor yet riches 
 to men of understanding; nor yet favor to men of skill; but time 
 and chance happeneth to them all. Like the miser, though in a very 
 different spirit, and with reference to a very different wealth, you 
 can say : Populus me sibilat, at mihi plando. 
 
 Ipse domi; simul ac nummos contemplor in area. 
 
 It is only by pursuing a profession in this spirit that it becomes 
 liberal, or in the language of Aristotle, an end to itself; otherwise 
 it is degraded to a trade; and I must say that I have much more 
 respect for the mechanic, or the drudge of a workshop, than the 
 man who gives himself to law or physic, or any other generous pur- 
 suit, with no other inspiration than that of Mammon. Scorn this 
 beggarly ambition ; aim at excellence ; aim to be something, whether 
 you die rich or poor. Of course, excellence in professions involves 
 a faithful and conscientious discharge of all their duties, as a part 
 of the merit. They all imply practical habits ; these arc an element 
 of the excellence of man, and these can only be acquired by single 
 acts — by industry, perseverance and patience. 
 
170 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 Above all things, aim at excellence, in working out your general 
 vocation as men. Our special callings are subsidiary to a higher, a 
 nobler end which attaches to us in our essential relations as members 
 of the human race. There is a work which belongs to man as man ; 
 and in reference to this work, it is enjoined, whatsoever thy hand 
 findeth to do, do it with thy might, as there is no wisdom, nor 
 knowledge, nor device in the grave whither we are hastening. Here 
 we are to prepare for an endless life, for that blessed immortality 
 which is at once the reward and the very consummation of all ex- 
 cellence. Religion is not a secondary matter, nor a local and tempo- 
 rary interest; it is preeminently that for which man was made, and 
 without which it would be far better that he. had never been born. 
 Settle in your minds that nothing can ever be well done in the true 
 and proper sense unless it is done in the spirit of genuine religion ; 
 and no religion can ever solve for a sinner the problem of life, or 
 quicken him who is dead in trespasses and sins, but the Gospel of 
 Jesus Christ. The aspect in which Christianity should be habitually 
 contemplated by you is that of a discipline for your everlasting des- 
 tiny" It first puts you in the condition to be trained, and then sup- 
 plies the means, motives and agency of an effective education for 
 eternity. It is the school which fits us for the skies ; and if we see 
 our dignity and excellence in their true and just proportions, in the 
 very spirit of Paul, we should count all things but loss for the 
 excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord. I know, 
 gentlemen, that your alma mater has taken especial pains that you 
 should never be found among profane scoffers and jesters. You all 
 have a profound reverence "for the truths, rites and ministers of 
 religion ; but still it is possible to respect without loving — to admire 
 without a cordial sympathy. It is possible to escape the curse of the 
 scoffer without securing the reward of the believer. Here, then, 
 let your energies be concentrated. Give your whole souls to God, 
 and you will have the highest motive and the strongest encourage- 
 ment to excellence in everything else. 
 
 This general spirit which I have been commending will save you 
 from what is almost as prolific a source of failure and disappoint- 
 ment in life as absolute idleness. I mean heartlessness of effort. 
 Half-work is little better than no work. Nothing can be done well 
 into which a man does not throw his soul. Enthusiasm is only the 
 glow of energy. 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 171 
 
 You need not be cautioned against confounding the admiration 
 with the pursuit of excellence. As Butler has taught you, these 
 ideal pictures may be a source of positive injury, if they are permitted 
 to stop at the emotions, or dwell only in the fancy — they must enter 
 the domain of the will — they must be joined with firm resolution 
 and determined purpose — they must ripen, as you have opportunity, 
 into acts. 
 
 These hints, gentlemen, are given at parting, as a sort of chart to 
 guide your future course. You will find life a very different thing 
 from what you anticipate. It is not a summer's dream nor a fairy 
 tale. The period, too, at which you step into the world is a period 
 of fearful interest. The signs of the times admonish us that we are 
 on the eve of great events. The earth is heaving like an earth- 
 quake — all things are in commotion. The State and society are con- 
 cerned in the character and principles of every individual who is 
 sent into the arena of action. Earnest men are needed, for earnest 
 work is at hand. Go forth, young champions, prepared to acquit 
 yourselves like men. Go forth to adorn your State, to benefit your 
 country, to bless your race. Go forth in the panoply of truth and 
 the strength of the Lord, and may the blessings of Israel's God go 
 with you. 
 
 And should any stranger this day put the question, Who are 
 these that this venerable mother is sending out into the world? I 
 am proud to answer by pointing to the men. There you see the pale 
 student, and the pale student of college is always likely to be the 
 hero of action. In all you see honorable men, men of principle and 
 character, whom the State may cherish and trust. There are no 
 cowards there — no sycophants or parasites. All, all, I believe to be 
 good men and true, and I turn you over to the commonwealth in the 
 precious hope that as no son of South Carolina can ever be ashamed 
 of her, so she may never be ashamed of you. Nay, I know that of 
 some of you, in after days, she will be proud. Go on, gentlemen, 
 as you have begun. Noble ends by noble means pursue. When your 
 last summons comes, let it find you with harness on your backs. Live 
 for excellence, and you shall reap the reward of everlasting glory. 
 Farewell. 
 
172 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 ORATION 
 Delivered by Hon. James L. Petigru. 
 
 When Alexander the Great complained of his illustrious master 
 for having exposed philosophy to the knowledge of the vulgar, he 
 uttered a sentiment familiar to antiquity, and in complete unison 
 with the spirit of his age. The principle of exclusion pervaded all 
 early societies, hence distinctions of caste, of classes, of orders and 
 sects. Even where superstition had erected no bar against common 
 right, opinion in some degree supplied the place of law, and the 
 learned who considered themselves a class were little disposed to 
 share with the multitude the accomplishments by which they were 
 honorably distinguished. Such was the spirit of antiquity, and such 
 the way of thinking in the Middle Ages. But since the revival of 
 letters there has been a steady and progressive tendency to a more 
 liberal view of social duty. Society is thought to owe more to its 
 members, and individuals are taught their solidarity in the duties 
 which unite society. Government is held responsible for the evils 
 which it has the power to remove but suffers to exist, and the duty 
 of government is the exponent of that obligation by which all the 
 members of society are bound to one another. 
 
 It is consoling to reflect on the changes which have been operated 
 in a long course of years by the influence of this principle. The 
 debtor, the lunatic and the criminal have felt the benignant influence 
 of the change. Misfortune is no longer confounded with crime; 
 the barbarous laws that submitted the debtor to the cruelty of his 
 creditor, after having long excited the abhorrence of mankind, are 
 by general consent laid aside. The sphere of charity is extended to 
 the inmates of the asylum, and force is restrained even against those 
 who are bereft of reason. Nor is crime itself excluded from the pale 
 of humanity. For ages no voice was raised in favor of the van- 
 quished and the weak, except in schools or churches ; but now states- 
 men have learned to venerate humanity, and the people to feel for 
 the rights of their common hature. But nowhere is the triumph of 
 humanity more signal than in this, that the obligation of educating 
 the people is now freely acknowledged. 
 
 It was no proof of narrow bigotry then on the part of the mag- 
 nanimous conqueror, and builder of cities, to consider philosophy 
 the privilege of greatness, and ignorance the proper lot of all who 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 173 
 
 were not raised by fortune above the reach of sordid cares. Such was 
 the sentiment of the age in his time ; and if a more liberal and gener- 
 ous way of thinking characterizes the opinions of rulers in the present 
 day, we are indebted for the change to the spirit .of the age in which 
 we live. But the spirit of the age itself depends no little on the state 
 of education. Public opinion does not represent the ideas of the 
 majority, for the majority is made up of individuals who do not 
 think alike. The diversity of private sentiment is endless and 
 proverbial; but public opinion is something definite and intelligible, 
 not a mere aggregation of inconsistent things. It is a motion pro- 
 duced by the collision of opposing forces — a spirit distilled from the 
 fermentation of various elements but differing from them all. And 
 the spirit of the age represents not the opinions of any particular 
 portion of the civilized world, but the general tendency of the human 
 mind at a particular era. But education is the external power that 
 gives activity to the intellect, which produces that fermentation of 
 the mind out of which opinion proceeds. Therefore, the spirit of the 
 age is modified by education, and an improvement in education is 
 not only a positive gain but an evidence of general progress — for as 
 education improves, the spirit of the age will partake of that im- 
 provement. 
 
 But of all social improvements, the greatest is the diffusion of 
 light — the increase of the educated class. To educate is to civilize 
 — and to add to the number of educated persons, is to advance the 
 boundaries of civilization. To educate is to develop the faculties 
 of the human understanding; and to extend the blessings of educa- 
 tion, by making it universal, is to raise the people in the scale of 
 being. Who, then, can doubt that it is a duty to educate the people, 
 or deny that the obligation which this duty imposes is binding on the 
 high and low, the governors and the governed? This is solidarity. 
 It is the bright side of democracy, and if egotism and envy could be 
 chained below, there would be but one opinion of it. 
 
 It was in the year 1801 that the initiative was taken in the first 
 legislative act for founding this College. The period is remarkable 
 as coinciding with a transfer of civil power — with a revolution that 
 changed the relations of the parties which then divided — perhaps 
 to some small degree may still divide the opinions of men — if not in 
 this, at least in other States. It was in a house of assembly, where the 
 victorious party held yet only a divided rule, and their adversaries, 
 
174 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 though vanquished, still 'kept the field, that this great measure 
 was originated. It came like the last will and testament of the ex- 
 piring party ; and sounded like the proclamation of the conquerors, 
 announcing the terms granted in the hour of victory. It is fortunate 
 to find hostile parties agreeing in a grelt principle. Indeed it is a 
 proud reflection that whatever may be the extravagance or madness 
 of party, opposition to learning is no instrument of popularity in 
 America. 
 
 But though the spirit of our countrymen is too high for an alli- 
 ance with ignorance, there were not wanting objections, both popular 
 and specious, to the endowment of this College out of the public 
 treasury. The immediate benefits of a college are received by those 
 only who are educated in it : the number of these must necessarily 
 be few; and the assistance 'which they derive from the State is a 
 species of protection, rendered still more invidious by the fact that 
 it is in a great measure confined to those who are already in a more 
 eligible situation than the generality. In such circumstances, the 
 opportunity for appealing to prejudice was too favprable to be neg- 
 lected. The pittance wrung from the hard hand of reluctant pov- 
 erty, it was said, was to be lavished on the education of the rich. 
 Those who were in possession of the advantages of education were 
 to levy a tax on the poor, to perpetuate those advantages by educat- 
 ing their sons at the public expense. The majority were to bear 
 their full proportion of the burthen, but the recompense was most 
 unequally distributed. And these topics might be urged with more 
 show of reason, because there was then no provision* for common 
 education by means of free schools. It was' hard that the rich- 
 should be assisted by the public treasury in giving their sons an. 
 education suitable to their situation in life, while the children of the 
 poor were taught at their own expense. It was strange that the 
 State should come to the aid of the rich, and leave the poor un- 
 assisted to struggle with their difficulties. With that class of poli- 
 ticians who think that the public welfare is best promoted by leaving 
 every man to take care of himself, and with all those who disclaim 
 a solidarity in the obligation of the State to its members, these ob- 
 jections might have had great weight. Let us do justice to the 
 wisdom and foresight of the men of 1801, who rejected such un- 
 generous counsels. 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 175 
 
 It is our grateful task to commemorate the virtues of our found- 
 ers — to celebrate the triumph of liberal principles over a narrow, 
 egotistic policy ; and to mingle our congratulations over the fiftieth 
 anniversary of the day, when the South Carolina College welcomed 
 the first student, to its hospitable halls. If any doubts were enter- 
 tained of the expediency of establishing this seat of learning at the 
 public expense, they have long since disappeared. No one now 
 doubts that it is the duty of the State to make liberal provision for 
 the higher branches of education. Such provision must be made by 
 the State, because such establishments are too costly for individual 
 enterprise. The enterprise of individuals, sustained by the prospect 
 of commercial profits, may scale the mountain barriers that vainly 
 interpose their heights to the invasion of the engineer and the 
 progress of the railroad. But the hills of Parnassus are proverbially 
 barren : and literature tempts no capitalist with the hope of dividends. 
 Without the patronage of the State, it would be impossible to erect 
 the costly buildings, to collect the learned men, and supply all the 
 materials requisite for a seat of learning adapted to a high and com- 
 prehensive course of study. And if it be asked, for what use such a 
 college is wanted, the answer is, that such an establishment is neces- 
 sary to the progress of improvement. Curiosity is the spring of lit- 
 erary and scientific research. It is^ excited by the knowledge of what 
 has been discovered — by acquaintance with the methods of investiga- 
 tion — by emulation, and the intercourse of kindred minds. It is in 
 colleges that these causes are in full operation. They stimulate 
 activity, keep pace with the improvement of the age, and furnish 
 inquiring minds with the means of further progress. It is a law of 
 our nature that if society be not progressive it will decline. Colleges, 
 therefore, are institutions of necessity, and where they answer the 
 purposes for which they are founded, amply repay the generous 
 patronage of the public; although they add nothing to the stock of 
 material wealth. 
 
 Fifty years have passed — and we have crossed, for the first time, 
 the threshold of the new hall, where the future anniversaries of this 
 college are to be celebrated. The old chapel and the early days of 
 this institution will henceforth be invested with a sort of historical 
 interest. When we survey the flowing river, we are prompted by a 
 natural curiosity to know from what distant springs it takes its 
 sourte; and I revert from this splendid dome to the incunabula of 
 
176 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 our College with more pleasure, because it affords the opportunity 
 of rendering the poor tribute of posthumous applause, to the mem- 
 ory of its first president, my revered master. ■ 
 
 Jonathan Maxcy exerted no little influence on the character of 
 the youth of his day ; and his name is never to be mentioned by his 
 disciples without reverence. He had many eminent qualifications 
 for his office. His genius was aesthetic ; persuasion flowed from his 
 lips; and his eloquence diffused over every subject the bright hues 
 of a warm imagination. He was deeply imbued with classical learn- 
 ing, and the philosophy of the human mind divided his heart with the 
 love of polite literature. With profound piety, he was free from the 
 slightest taint of bigotry or narrowness. Early in life he had entered 
 into the ministry, under sectarian banners; but though he never 
 resiled from the creed which he had adopted — so catholic was his 
 spirit — so genial his soul to the inspirations of faith, hope and char- 
 ity — that whether in the chair or the pulpit, he never seemed to us 
 less than an apostolic teacher. Never will the charm of his elo- 
 quence be erased from the memory on which its impression has once 
 been made. His elocution was equally winning and peculiar. He 
 spoke in the most deliberate manner ; his voice was clear and gentle ; 
 his action composed and quiet ; yet no man had such command over 
 the noisy sallies of youth. His presence quelled every disorder. The 
 most riotous offender shrunk from the reproof of that pale brow and 
 intellectual eye. The reverence that attended him stilled the pro- 
 gress of disaffection; and to him belonged the rare power — exer- 
 cised in the face of wondering Europe by Lamartine — of quelling by 
 persuasion the spirit of revolt. 
 
 The Bachelor's Degree was conferred, for the first time, in 1806 
 — and then upon one student, Anderson Crenshaw, the protagonist 
 of this school. He made his solitary curriculum without an asso- 
 ciate, and thereby gave an example of independence which accorded 
 well with the integrity of his mind. May it ever be characteristic 
 of our school to pursue the path of honor, even if it be solitary? 
 May the man whom this College enrolls among her sons ever retain 
 the firmness to stand alone, when duty and conscience are on his 
 side. Nor was our protagonist unworthy of these anticipations. He 
 was elevated to the chancery bench in Alabama; and when he 
 occupied the judgment seat, we may be sure that the balance of 
 justice was never disturbed by a sinister influence. 
 
. Sketches and Reminiscences. 177 
 
 The list of graduates rose the next year to four; and in 1808, a 
 numerous class increased the reputation of the College, more by 
 their abilities than by their numbers. In that constellation was one 
 bright star, which was only shown to the earth, and then set pre- 
 maturely; but which ought not to be forgotten, if the memory of 
 virtue is entitled to live. When I look on the place once familiar to 
 his voice, imagination invests the scene with the presence of George 
 Davis, such as he was in youth — in health — the pride of the faculty, 
 the monitor and example of the school. When he was to speak, no 
 tablets were needed to record the absent — every student was in his 
 place. It is a traditionary opinion that the orator is the creature of 
 art. Poeta nascitur, orator fit. But those who heard the youthful 
 Davis would go away with a different impression. The maxim 
 indeed does not deserve assent, further than this, that when the 
 orator has to deal with the actual affairs of life, he must, to persuade 
 and convince, be master of all the details of his subject ; often re- 
 quiring great minuteness and variety of knowledge, the fruit of 
 sedulous labor and attentive study ; whereas, the poet addresses 
 himself to those sentiments and emotions characteristic of our com- 
 mon nature, which are revealed by the faculty of consciousness and 
 self-examination. But Davis was already an orator. Before he 
 began to speak, his audience were rendered attentive by his noble 
 countenance, in which the feelings of his soul were expressively 
 portrayed. In language pure and flowing, equally free from rant or 
 meanness, he poured out generous sentiments, or pursued the line of 
 clear and methodical argument. To gifts so rare was joined the 
 utmost sweetness of temper; and his manners were as amiable, and 
 his conduct as free from eccentricity, as if he had been a stranger to 
 the inspiration of genius. Early in his Senior year, he withdrew 
 from college ; and before the wheels of time had ushered in the day 
 for conferring degrees, the news that George Davis was no more 
 fell like a chill on the hearts of his fellow students. They thought 
 of the legend of Cleobis and Biton, as embodying a sentiment true 
 to the feelings of nature; and owned that the grave of one so bright,* 
 so blameless and so young, must have often suggested the thought 
 that it is not to the favorites of heaven that long life is granted. 
 Nearly fifty years have passed since the grave closed on all that was 
 mortal of George Davis ; and few now remain that ever felt the grasp 
 of his cordial hand ; but many long years may pass before tears will 
 flow for one so bountifully endowed, or society sustain an equal loss. 
 12 — H. 
 
178 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 In strong contrast, within the same group — to memory's view — 
 stands the robust frame of Nathaniel Alcock Ware. His intellect 
 was like a fortress built upon a rock ; the flowers of fancy grew not 
 in the shade of its battlements. The pursuits of- literature did not 
 satisfy the cravings of a mind like his, which loved to grapple with 
 subjects that required the strength of his Herculean arm. His mem- 
 ory was capacious of the most multifarious nomenclature, and 
 science was congenial to his taste. In college exercises, he uni- 
 formly outran the professor; and when the class was entering on a 
 new study, he was preparing to quit it, or was already engaged in 
 exploring some more distant field. Nor was his mind less discrimi- 
 nating than apprehensive; and the mass of information with which 
 his memory was stored was readily reduced to order and method by 
 the strength of his judgment. Neither did he lack the kindlier affec- 
 tions ; and though he scorned the flowers of fancy, his heart was 
 susceptible to friendship. Whether from the neglect of those studies 
 which are most proper to secure for one's sense a favorable reception 
 "delectatione aliqua allicere lectorem," or from indifference to popu- 
 lar arts, he did not make on the public an impression in proportion 
 to his power, or the judgment of his fellow students. And he that 
 would have guided with a steady hand the helm of State was con- 
 fined with a solitary exception to a private station. And those pow- 
 ers that would have regulated the finances of an empire, or organized 
 the march of armies, were limited in their operation to the acquisi- 
 tion and management of a colossal fortune. 
 
 Among those now no more, but then the pride of the College, who 
 would fail to recognize the large figure of Charles Dewitt, radiant 
 with youth, and sedate with reflection? The dignity of manhood 
 marked his steps, and the warmth of youth animated his conversa- 
 tion. By his fortune, placed above the care of money — by the eleva- 
 tion of his mind, above the allurements, of idleness or dissipation — 
 he seemed a youthful sage, neither ascetic nor devoted to pleasure — 
 cultivating knowledge for its own sake, and cherishing virtue as its 
 "own reward. In his case, imagination could easily anticipate the 
 work of time, and conceive of the youth already grave beyond his 
 years, as surrounded with the honors of mature age; and ttan the 
 image would suggest the principal figure in the glowing lines of the 
 poet: 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 179 
 
 "Ac, veluti magno in populo quum saepe coorta est 
 Seditio, saevitque animis ignobile vulgus; 
 Jamque faces et saxa volant ; furor arma ministrat : 
 Turn pietate gravem ac meritis, si forte virum' quern 
 Conspexere, silent; arrectisque auribus adstant; 
 Tile regit dictis animos, et pectora mulcet" : 
 
 But he was not destined to see that day, and an early death deprived 
 the State of one that seemed to be born for a part so noble, and not 
 unfrequently needed. 
 
 Nor in this retrospective view would it be possible to omit the 
 most careless of students, the most ingenuous of men, Charles Ste- 
 phens — absent-minded, forgetful of college bell or college exercise, 
 but never at fault in detecting a sophism, or weaving the chain of ar- 
 gument. In after times, when he would rise in the Legislature, on 
 some knotty point of parliamentary or constitutional law, the absence 
 of all ornament of speech or gesture, and of all attempts at the arts by 
 which an audience is flattered, could not prevent him from being 
 listened to with profound attention. No man wielded a keener dia- 
 lectic. The blade glittered to the eye, but the weapon was held in 
 a harmless hand. Had he been bent on cutting his way to distinction 
 by subverting the existing order of things, the social fabric would 
 have had no more formidable adversary. His dialectic would have 
 hardly been resisted by any establishment ; because all things mortal 
 contain some error ; and to the keen logician every weak place fur- 
 nishes a point of assault, and an opening to the enemy. But Steph- 
 ens was conservative — the severity of his logic was tempered by the 
 mildness of his disposition. He lived in peace, which he loved ; and 
 died surrounded by affectionate friends, who admired his genius, but 
 valued more the qualities of his heart. 
 
 Nor should Waring be forgotten, already skilled in the knowl- 
 edge of human character. His observant spirit naturally led him to 
 the study of medicine, in which he rose to high and merited distinc- 
 tion in Savannah. Nor the noble-minded DuPont, of kindred race, 
 but of warmer temperament ; who also chose the path of medicine, 
 but was too soon removed to reap the honors, civil and professional, 
 which he was so well qualified to win. Nor Miller, even then re- 
 markable for the talent which afterwards raised him to the highest 
 distinctions in the State. Nor Gill, whose early death deprived society 
 
180 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 of all that might be expected from his hardy sense and constant 
 application. Nor must we forget the leaders of the class — the bland 
 Murphy, and the inflexible Gregg. They were the real students, 
 who, like true soldiers, never forgot the rules of discipline, but 
 studied for the first honors, and won them gallantly. 
 
 And could I forget thee; the soul of honor and the joy of friend- 
 ship, George Butler — the most gallant of men, the most genial of 
 spirits! The profession of arms well accorded with his martial 
 character; and though his plume was not destined to wave in the 
 battle's storm, and the fortune of war confined his service to a barren 
 field ; yet no more devoted son rallied to the flag, under which he 
 would have been proud to die for his country. Nor does the trump 
 of famebear to the winds the echoes of a name, where the soldier's 
 zeal was more gracefully blended with the tenderness ,of a gentle 
 heart. 
 
 But the youth instinct with great ideas, the scholar, the bard, 
 the genius of the school, remains. How shall I describe thee, Wil- 
 liam Harper? Careless, simple and negligent, he lived apart, in the 
 world of his own genius — his imagination brought all things human 
 and divine within the scope of his intellectual vision. For him it was 
 equally easy to learn or to produce. It was not to be expected that 
 such a mind could find occupation in any enforced routine. He was 
 no candidate for the honors of college, though he received a dis- 
 tinguished appointment; in fulfilling which he delivered a poem, 
 almost an improvisation, on the death of Montgomery. 
 
 It is very common to underrate the imagination, as an element 
 of power. It is imparted in a high degree to but few, and the opinion 
 of the majority proceeds from imperfect and superficial knowledge 
 of the subject. Works of the imagination are measured by the 
 standard of utility, and condemned by common minds as frivolous. 
 The character of genius suffers in the same way when tried by the 
 estimate of prudence. Nor can it be denied that, for common affairs, 
 originality and invention are of little value ; nor that the finest parts 
 must yield the palm to the intrinsic value of good sense. Fancy, 
 imagination, memory, nay — reason itself, are of little avail without 
 the presence and moderation of that sober guardian. But the great 
 mistake of the common judgment is to suppose that between genius 
 and good sense there is some principle of opposition. The very re- 
 verse is true; good sense is essential to genius, and the example of 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 181 
 
 William Harper is a striking corroboration of the truth. He was a 
 true poet; of imagination, all compact; and if he had given the reins 
 to his genius, would certainly have devoted himself to the lyric muse. 
 But "dura res et — noxntas" the exigencies of common life, and the 
 little encouragement bestowed on literature, determined otherwise; 
 and he embraced the legal profession. How completely he refuted 
 the idea that an imaginative or esthetic mind is ill adapted to the 
 severest legal studies, is known to all South Carolina. His judg- 
 ments, contained in Bailey. Hill and the later reporters, from 1830 
 to 1847, are an enduring monument of his judicial fame; and his 
 defense of the South, on the relations existing between two races, is 
 so profound in conception, so masterly in execution, as to cause a 
 widespread regret that his pen was not more frequently employed in 
 philosophical investigation. 
 
 The distinguished men that have proceeded from this place fur- 
 nish the best evidence of the successful cultivation of learning in this 
 College. If we were to follow the stream of time, we should meet 
 with many a name to prompt the eulogy of departed worth ; but I 
 forbear. Though the ornaments of succeeding years might claim the 
 tribute of friendship, or challenge the praise of a more eloquent 
 tongue, these contemporary portraits are reflected in the glass of 
 memory, and later years come not within the field of its vision. 
 Rather is it within the purpose of this celebration to inquire how far 
 the results have corresponded with the expectations of the friends 
 of the College, and what hopes may be reasonably entertained of the 
 future. 
 
 As to the past, there is much ground for gratulation in the effect 
 which this College has had in harmonizing and uniting the State. 
 In 1804, sectional jealousies were sharpened to bitterness, and there 
 was as little unity of feeling between the upper and low country as 
 between any rival States of the Union. Although the suppression of 
 such jealousies is, in part, attributable to the removal of some anom- 
 alities in the constitution, much the largest share in the same good 
 work is due to the attractive force of a common education. To the 
 insensible operations of the same influence must also be referred the 
 liberal provision that has been made for general education by the 
 establishment of free schools. And if the benefits of such schools 
 have not yet equaled the full measure of usefulness expected from 
 the system, the failure arises from peculiar circumstances, and 
 
182 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 affords no just cause for discouragement. Wherever there is a resi- 
 dent proprietary equal to the duty of their position these schools 
 have not failed to answer the purpose of diffusing the elements of 
 learning. Nor let the limited education of the poor be contemned. 
 It is much more the spirit of instruction than the amount which is 
 imparted, that interests the State. By the instruction received in the 
 most backward school, the learner is put in communication with a 
 higher degree of learning. It is the natural order of things to pro- 
 ceed by steps, and if this gradation do not exist in the social fabric, 
 it is a serious defect. The influence of the College, like the ambient 
 air, should extend on all sides — upwards to the regions of discovery, 
 and downwards to the smallest tenement of rudimental instruction. 
 In this way, the blessings of civilization are extended by a sound and 
 healthy state of public opinion; and if we compare the progress 
 which the State has made since 1804, we shall have no reason to 
 withold our assent from the conclusion, that the hopes with which 
 the College was inaugurated have not been disappointed. 
 
 As to the future, we trust that the College will be true to its 
 mission as the nurse of an enlightened public opinion. From this 
 source should issue not only the rays of knowledge, but the light 
 which disperses the mists of prejudice. Knowledge is a step in the 
 improvement of society, but it is not the only desideratum. Very 
 pernicious errors may prevail in the midst of much intellectual activ- 
 ity, and opinions long discarded by cultivated minds may still exert 
 a, widespread and pernicious influence. In eradicating such weeds 
 from the minds' of the young, the public instructor has an arduous 
 duty, in which every encouragement is to be given to his efforts. It 
 is in the college that the reformation of popular errors should begin. 
 
 Education is the handmaid of civilization, which includes morals 
 and manners as well as learning. But if opinions which reason 
 condemns find shelter in colleges, where shall we look for improve- 
 ment to begin ? Education is valuable to society, because it improves 
 the moral sense and develops the energy of the mind. The fruit 
 of such culture should be shown by an exemption from popular error 
 or local prejudice. When the College is but the echo of the popular 
 voice, there is room to surmise that the culture has been neglected, 
 or that the professor has labored upon an ungrateful soil. A liberal 
 education implies a superiority to common errors; and deep regret 
 must follow the disappointment of that expectation. But it is still 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 183 
 
 more deplorable when the College becomes a place of refuge for 
 exploded fallacies; among which none can be more pernicious than 
 that false sentiment — that resistance to authority is an honorable 
 impulse. Now fidelity is the very bond of honor, and lends its sanc- 
 tion to all the demands of lawful authority. To promise, and fail to 
 perform, is always a reproach ; and if the default be wilful, it entails 
 the heavier penalty of disgrace. But lawful authority imposes obli- 
 gations of equal weight with those which are clothed with a promise. 
 To set against such obligations, considerations of personal will, in- 
 terest, or opinion, is characteristic of sordid egotism, and inconsistent 
 with the first principles of honor. A liberal education implies a keen 
 sensibility to every duty which fidelity enjoins; and over the portal 
 of every college should be inscribed in letters of gold, Obedience is 
 Honorable. 
 
 And now, considering the feeble beginnings of 1804, when the 
 course of the senior year would hardly be considered in these days 
 a qualification for the sophomore — when the whole array of faculty 
 consisted of three professors, and the philosophical apparatus of one 
 telescope — and comparing that state of things with the present nu- 
 merous and learned staff — with the well stored library, copious 
 instrumentality and convenient halls of the present day — it is equally 
 just to applaud the generous policy of the State, and to utter the 
 heartfelt vow that the hundredth anniversary of this institution 
 may confirm the example of past usefulness, and justify the hopes of 
 future progress. 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 The Hon. Wm. F. DeSaussure, Chairman of the Committee of Ar- 
 rangements of the Trustees of the South Carolina College. 
 
 My Dear Sir: On my return home from the mountains, now 
 some days ago, I received your communication of the 4th instant, as 
 chairman of the committee of arrangements of the South Carolina 
 College, inviting the presence and cooperation of the Trustees of the 
 College of Charleston, to celebrate on the 4th proximo, with becoming 
 solemnity, the fiftieth anniversary of your institution. The Trustees 
 of the College of Charleston, previously to my return, had adjourned 
 to meet yesterday, the 20th instant, and it was deemed advisable to 
 
184 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 await that day to lay your letter before them. They met according 
 to adjournment, and, on hearing your letter, they unanimously 
 
 Resolved, That this board accept with great pleasure the invita- 
 tion of the Trustees of the College of South Carolina, through the 
 chairman of their committee, the Hon. W. F. DeSaussure, to attend 
 on Monday, the 4th day of December next, the celebration of the 
 fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the institution. 
 
 Resolved, That every member of this board be, and is hereby 
 earnestly requested to give, if it can be made at all convenient, his 
 personal attendance and cooperation on this auspicious occasion. 
 
 It is very gratifying to me to be the organ to lay these resolutions 
 before you, my dear sir, and through you, if you please, before your 
 committee and the Board of Trustees of the South Carolina College. 
 Earnestly do I hope to have the satisfaction of waiting on you on 
 the 4th proximo, and of participating in the solemnities of the day. 
 The State has just reason to be proud of her noble institution. In 
 the distinguished men whom it has reared, it has repaid her manifold 
 for all the support and patronage that she has given it. She owes 
 for it a debt of immeasurable gratitude to the men of the revolution, 
 and their associates, by whose advice and wisdom it was founded. 
 In it they laid the surest foundation for the maintenance and security 
 of that enlightened and regulated freedom which is dearer than life 
 to every son of South Carolina. 
 
 I have the honor to be, with the highest respect, my dear sir, 
 Your obedient servant, M. King, 
 
 Charleston, Nov. 21, 1854. President T. C. C. 
 
 Boston, Nov. 18, 1854. 
 
 My Dear Sir : I duly received your favor of the 4th instant, in- 
 viting me, on behalf of the committee of arrangements, to attend 
 the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of South Carolina College, 
 on the first Monday of December next. 
 
 I am much obliged to the committee for this distinguished act 
 of courtesy, and I beg to assure them, through you, that nothing of 
 the kind could have been more agreeable to me than to have it in my 
 power to accept this kind, invitation. I am, unfortunately, prevented 
 from leaving home by controlling personal and domestic circum- 
 stances. I beg you to be assured that I deeply feel the extent of the 
 sacrifice I am thus obliged to make. It is no small privation to lose 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 185 
 
 the pleasure (though I would fain hope not finally), of a visit 
 to the only great section of the country of which I have not already 
 6een some part; and the still greater pleasure of renewing my ac- 
 quaintance with many distinguished citizens of Carolina, whom I 
 have known at different periods of my life — some from my school- 
 boy days. 
 
 I should, indeed, have missed from their places at home several 
 of the most honored sons, I will not say of South Carolina, but of 
 our common country, with whom, in the course of my life, I have had 
 personal and friendly intercourse — Lowndes, Hayne, Legare, Mc- 
 Duffie, Poinsett, Calhoun — men from whom I have more or less 
 differed on those questions which, during the thirty-five last years, 
 have divided North and South ; but to whose eminent ability as 
 statesmen I have always done justice, and whose amiable and attrac- 
 tive personal qualities I have been able by experience to appreciate. 
 
 It would especially have delighted me, had I been able to accept 
 your invitation, to see again some of the friends and associates of 
 my college days. I should have met at your festival, had I been able 
 to attend it, several well-remembered fellow-students, yourself 
 among the number : two respected and valued classmates, Chancellor 
 Dunkin and Mr. John Rutledge ; and not a few who were, at a little 
 later period, my pupils at Harvard, one of whom, Mr. R. W. Barn- 
 well, greatly distinguished even then, has since represented you in 
 both houses of Congress, and presided with much credit over your 
 College. 
 
 I should also have been able to renew my acquaintance with many 
 congressional associates, whose intercourse and friendship I have 
 enjoyed at Washington, and among them, my highly esteemed friend, 
 your late president, Colonel Preston, to whose rare and fervid elo- 
 quence I have often listened with admiration, unimpaired by differ- 
 ence of political opinion. In a word, at a moment when sectional 
 differences have reached so painful and alarming a height, I should 
 have derived heartfelt pleasure, retired as I am from public life, in 
 meeting the friends of literature, science and education at the South 
 upon an occasion of so much interest, on common and neutral 
 ground. 
 
 Though not able to be with you in person, I pray you to accept 
 the assurance of my cordial sympatky, with my best wishes for an 
 
186 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 agreeable and successful celebration. It cannot fail to be so with the 
 attractions held out by the selected orators of the festival — Mr. Peti- 
 gru and Governor Floyd. 
 
 I remain, dear sir, with great regard, 
 
 Your fellow student and friend, 
 
 Edward Everett. 
 Hon. W. F. DeSaussure. 
 
 Frederick City, Md., Nov. 22, 1854. 
 W. F. DeSaussure, Esq., Chairman, Etc. 
 
 Dear Sir: I received the invitation with which the trustees, 
 through your kind courtesy, have honored me, to be present at the 
 celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of South Carolina College, in 
 the pleasing hope that I should be able to participate in the solemnities 
 of the occasion. But engagements which will not excuse me for- 
 bid the anticipated pleasure. 
 
 I have long wished to visit South Carolina. For the last quarter 
 of a century she has been marked by the strongest individuality of 
 all the States in the Union; and has done more than any other to 
 give efficiency to the great conservative function of the States in our 
 Federal economy. The occasional self-assertion of a State is effica- 
 cious to counteract that centralization which tends to extinguish the 
 federate principle, and subordinate the States to provinces. I would 
 be proud to stand on the soil of a State thus distinguished in our 
 Federal history, and feel that I was still at home, not merely in the 
 generous Southern hospitalities, but in the unity of that mighty 
 federative empire which towers above the States not to overshadow, 
 but to make them radiant with a common national glory. 
 
 If I should thus feel at home as a guest and a citizen, how much 
 more should I feel at home as a friend of education. Literature and 
 science are the common heritage of man. Not even the diversities of 
 language can long confine them within national limits. Thought 
 transmigrates from language to language, until the sentiment of the 
 Greek fires the soul of the Anglo-Saxon. The unity of the empire 
 of science is admirably illustrated in that noble institution founded 
 at Washington, "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge amongst 
 men." An Englishman, liberalized by scientific studies, conceived 
 the idea of establishing, under the most popular government in the 
 world, an institution for elicitftig original thought from universal 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 187 
 
 man, and diffusing it as a common blessing to all nations. And a 
 philosopher of our own country has organized an institution fully 
 adequate to the universal purpose of its founder. Thus, the enlight- 
 ened liberality of Smithson, and the constructive genius of Henry, 
 have instaurated scientific research in an organization so compre- 
 hensive as to embrace every inquirer as a colaborer in the common 
 fields of science. And through the influence of this noble institution, 
 a more intimate communion will be established between the colleges 
 of the different States ; and science, with its catholic spirit, will lend 
 its aid in binding together that political confraternity which only can 
 ensure the full development of the intellectual, as well as the physical 
 capabilities of each State, while it gives to each the majesty and 
 might of their united energies. 
 
 In these broad national sentiments should the young men of each 
 State be educated. Their minds should be enlarged and liberalized 
 by the contemplation of the grand rythmical movement, through our 
 federative organization, of law and order over so' vast a territory 
 diversified by geographical, institutional, and ethnical differences. 
 The true majesty of our great confederacy can in this way be esti- 
 mated, and our young men inspired with a comprehensive patriotism. 
 
 As auxiliary to these broad sentiments of nationality, education 
 should be so directed as to enlarge, liberalize, elevate, and refine the 
 mind not only by the study of modern thought in its diversified forms, 
 but by the elegant culture of ancient literature. There are peculiari- 
 ties in ancient thought for which nothing in modern can compensate. 
 It takes us back, through the stillness of past ages, to a life much 
 more poetic than the modern. This has a most benign influence. The 
 Grecian State, which was most illustrious in poetry, in art, in oratory, 
 in history, in philosophy, was also most distinguished for commerce 
 and for war. The robustness of the Greek mind was not enervated 
 by its high esthetic culture, much less can the Anglo-Saxon with its 
 far greater practical tendencies. The sweet mystery of the beautiful 
 is thrown over creation as a lesson for the study of man. In educa- 
 tion, therefore, the beautiful should receive its due regard. I would 
 even so connect art with the trades as to make the mechanic an artist 
 without his knowing it ; so that, like honest Peter Fischer, he might 
 manufacture brass candlesticks, and chisel immortal statues. The 
 useful and the beautiful have been united by the Creator ; let them not 
 be divorced by man. . 
 
188 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 With this outline of my views of education, let me present my 
 compliments, through you, to the trustees of South Carolina College, 
 in the following sentiment : 
 
 South Carolina College: May it, in its hundredth anniversary, 
 be seen like a temple of pure crystal, receiving into its halls, filled 
 with a thousand students, all the lights of all the knowledge of the 
 earth ; and that citizens from sister States may meet there to celebrate 
 the cause of education, carried thither by the patriotism which re- 
 joices at whatever is great in a sister State, as a part of its own glory. 
 
 With my thanks to you, sir, I am your obliged servant, 
 
 Samuel Tyler. 
 
 Boston, Nov. 25, 1854. 
 
 My Dear Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge your very oblig- 
 ing communication of the 4th inst., in behalf of the trustees of the 
 South Carolina College. I have delayed answering it until now, in 
 the hope that I might find myself able to avail myself of the kind 
 invitation which it contained. 
 
 Few things would give me greater pleasure than to visit South 
 Carolina on such an occasion as you propose to me. It would afford 
 me the highest gratification to participate in the celebration of the 
 fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of the College at Columbia. I 
 should esteem it a privilege, too, to renew my acquaintance with 
 your accomplished President, Dr. Thornwell, whose letter to Gov- 
 ernor Manning, on the subject of public instruction, I have so lately 
 read with the deepest interest. Nor can I fail to remember the pleas- 
 ure I should derive from meeting, at the scene of his labors and his 
 studies, my distinguished friend, Professor Lieber, who has just fur- 
 nished so valuable a contribution to the science of "Civil Liberty and 
 Self-Government." 
 
 The Republic of Letters recognizes neither State nor national 
 boundaries. The cause of education is a common cause the world 
 over. But, in our own country particularly, it is a cause to bind to- 
 gether, in perpetual amity, all who have an interest in the present 
 success, or a hope for the future stability of our free institutions. 
 For myself, I cannot but feel that whatever is done for public instruc- 
 tion, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, is done for the whole country, 
 and I can hardly rejoice less in the progress and prosperity of a 
 College at Columbia than if it were at our own Cambridge. 
 
Sketches and Reminiscences. 189 
 
 I sincerely regret, my dear sir, that I find it impossible to be with 
 you on Monday next, but I pray you to present my grateful acknowl- 
 edgements to the trustees for remembering me on the occasion. 
 I have the honor to be, with great respect, 
 
 Your obliged and obedient servant, 
 
 Robert C. Wintiirop. 
 Hon. \Y. F. DeSaussure. Chairman Committee of Arrangements. 
 
 University of Virginia, Nov. 16, 1854. 
 
 Dear Sir : Your letter of invitation to the celebration on the first 
 Monday in December, of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of 
 South Carolina College, addressed to Dr. Harrison, late chairman of 
 the faculty of this institution, has been received. 
 
 It would give us great pleasure to be present on so interesting an 
 occasion. But we are in the midst of a laborious session, and im- 
 perative duties here compel us to forgo that pleasure. 
 
 Tendering you our grateful acknowledgements for the honor of 
 the invitation, with our best wishes for the continued prosperity of 
 the institution you represent, we have the honor to be 
 
 With great respect, your obedient servant, S. Maupin. 
 
 Chairman of the Faculty University of Virginia. 
 
 \Y. F. DeSaussure, Chairman Committee of Arrangements, etc. 
 
 University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Nov. 28, 1854. 
 
 Dear Sir : Your note of the 4th ult., inviting the faculty of this 
 institution to cooperate with the authorities of the South Carolina 
 College in the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding 
 of the College, was duly received. 
 
 I have delayed a reply until this late period under the hope that 
 circumstances might occur which would admit of our being properly 
 represented upon so interesting an occasion. We are now, however, 
 in the midst of our annual examination, and the term will not close 
 until Friday, December 1st. It is hardly possible that one or more of 
 our number may be able to reach Columbia by Monday. The health 
 of my family, I am sorry to say, will not, probably, admit of my 
 making an effort to do so. I need scarcely intimate that there is no 
 festival likely to occur in my day, in any portion of the Union, from 
 an attendance upon which I could really anticipate greater pleasure 
 
190 Sketches and Reminiscences. 
 
 and improvement than I find myself compelled to forego in declining 
 your kind invitation. 
 
 With assurances of my high respect for yourself, personally, arid 
 the body of which you are the organ, 
 
 I remain, your obedient servant, 
 
 D. L. Swain. 
 W. F. DeSaussure, Esq., Chairman Committee of Arrangements. 
 
 University of Alabama, Nov. 16, 1854. 
 
 My Dear Sir : I much regret that official duties will peremptorily 
 forbid my attendance on the occasion of the jubilee of our alma 
 mater. From peculiar occurrences, two of our most important chairs 
 are now vacant, temporarily, and this devolves increased labor and 
 responsibility on the residue. Besides, we have lately modified our 
 organization ; and this, though slight, requires that I should be pres- 
 ent. I have some hope that I shall be able to induce Prof. Samuel 
 M. Stafford (an elder alumnus than I) to attend. My class was 
 that of December, 1821. 
 
 That this first general convocation of our brothers may be happy, 
 and fruitful of the best influences, is the sincere wish of, 
 Dear sir, yours, most respectfully, 
 
 B. Manly. 
 
 Wm. F. DeSaussure, Esq.