From the beginning of the century, the French element of Charleston's population has been uniformly public-spirited and devoted to the best interests of city and State. The following were officers in 1861: Captain John T. Kanapaux; Lieutenants M. P. O'Connor, L. F. LeBleux, G. W. Aimar, A. Victor Kanapaux. By assignment to special duties and other causes, changes occurred during the war, and at the date of the Honey Hill battle (1864) the following were commissioned officers: Captain John T. Kanapaux; Lieutenants, senior first, C. J. Zealy; junior first, A., Victor Kanapaux; second, T. W. Bolger.

Two guns and thirty-six men, under Lieutenant Zealy, were detached from Bee's Creek Battery and sent to Honey Hill. No passing commendation does justice to that meritorious officer, Lieutenant Zealy, whose career in the war was marked by devotion to the cause and a cheerful and most efficient discharge of duty. If he had done no more than serve his guns in the desperate fight down the road in the morning fight near Bolan Church he would be entitled to the highest praise. He still survives; resides in Charleston, and is richly entitled to the "well done" of the community. The other two guns, under Sergeant Joseph Bock, acting lieutenant, remained in position at Bee's Creek, and the surplus men were equipped as infantry, under Lieutenant T. W. Bolger, as a support for the guns there. Captain John T. Kanapaux remained in command of that post. An incident in the fight at Honey Hill in this Lafayette detachment is worth recording, showing the character and military spirit of the men. Sergeant Julius A. LePrince was at one of the guns; he was a sufferer from chills and fever, and that was the alternate day for his attack; sure enough, in the very midst of the fight the gallant sergeant was shaking very perceptibly, and burning up with fever, but by sending spare men off to the rear, to fill his canteen with water, which he was drinking in large quantities, he kept to his gun. An officer finally noticed him and promptly said:

66

Sergeant, you ought not to be here; go the rear!"

But the sergeant quietly remarked:

"If I go to the rear, shaking as I am, people might think I am scared!"

He stayed by his gun until the action was over, late in the evening.

My youthful friend of November 30, 1864, as modest as he was brave, who was then scarcely of military age, is now among the "Survivors" with streaks of silver in his hair; he will, I hope, ex

cuse me for publicly recording how he did his duty to South Carolina and the South, under very serious disabilities, in perilous times. As soon as it was possible after the election of Governor Hampton, the "Lafayettes" resumed their position in the volunteer military of the State, and are still in that service.

THE FURMAN LIGHT ARTILLERY, (EARLE'S BATTERY.)

One day in 1862 a tall, well-mounted artillery officer rode up to my quarters, near Hardeeville, and inquired for me; he introduced himself as Captain Earle; said that his light battery had been ordered to the vicinity, and asked my advice as to a good locality for a company camp. I mounted my horse and rode with him, pointing out different localities that were suitable, one was finally selected, and later in the day the command arrived. In the course of conversation Captain Earle remarked upon the disabilities encountered in drilling and preparing the men in the light artillery service. He had found it impossible to obtain a hand book for the light artillery drill, and had to be dependent upon such verbal instructions as he could obtain. By a singular coincidence I owned a copy of the very latest edition of the United States Light Artillery Manual, descriptive of and illustrated with plates of each and every part of the gun, carriage, caisson, projectiles and every detail of the drill, etc. I mentioned this, and said I would send to Charleston and get the volume for him. This I did, and I record here that I never in the army, or out of it, witnessed more painstaking, constant work done than went on in "Earle's Battery." Hour after hour, day after day, for months the drills were kept up, and the result was very soon seen-one of the best disciplined and most efficient light batteries in the service. The personal friendship thus begun lasted uninterruptedly until Captain Earle's recent lamented death.

The company known during the war as "Earle's Battery" was organized in August, 1861, by (Rev.) W. H. Campbell as captain, for service in Colonel Maxcy Gregg's infantry regiment. It soon attracted a large membership, and the lieutenants were: G. W. Holtzclaw, first; W. E. Earle, second; James Furman, third. There being need for artillerists, Colonel Gregg consented to release the command; in numbers it was large enough for two companies. Captain W. H. Campbell was promoted major, and Lieutenants Holtzclaw and Earle were made captains. Captain Earle's company as a compliment was named for Dr. James C. Furman, a prominent and highly esteemed citizen of Greenville city. Its three officers

were Lieutenants James Furman, a son of Dr. Furman; E. H. Graham, Jr., S. S. Kirby (Citadel, 1860), and Anderson. (In United) States War Records and other war publications Earle's Battery is not reported at Honey Hill-a strange neglect and unexplained.)

The battery at Honey Hill had Lieutenant Kirby sick in the hospital, and Lieutenant Anderson absent on leave. Sergeant J. P. Scruggs, acting lieutenant, was in charge of a gun on the extreme left of the line, commanded by Major John Jenkins. The other guns, with those of the "Beaufort" and "Lafayettes," were in battery at the head of the Grahamville road. Earle's Battery was in

a number of engagements on the coast line during the war; did tours of duty at Fort Sumter and at Battery Wagner, and was with the army when it surrendered at Goldsboro, N. C.

In conclusion, I remark that Captain Stuart was fortunate in his command, having the entire confidence of the well-drilled veteran artillerists guarding the key of the battle line at Honey Hill. I doubt if any better light artillery battle service was ever directed or performed in any war! The best evidence of this may be to take the enemy's account of it.

In Captain Emilio's (U. S. A.) book we get an idea of the confusion and demoralization caused by Captain Stuart and his artillerists at the head of the road after three hours' service of his guns. I quote:

"The 35th United States colored troops, Colonel Barber, charged up the road; it went forward with a cheer, but receiving a terrible fire, after some loss, was forced to retire." * * * "Colonel Hartwell, with eight companies 55th Massachusetts, ordered a charge in double column. Twice forced to fall back by the enemy's fire, their brave colonel gave the command, 'Follow your colors!' and himself led a charge on horseback; the 55th turned the bend, rushed up the road, and in the face of a deadly fire advanced up to the creek. But it was fruitless; the pitiless shot and shell so decimated the ranks that the survivors retired, after losing over one hundred men in five minutes! Colonel Hartwell, wounded and pinned to the ground by his dead horse, was rescued and dragged to the woods." * * * "The noise of the battle at this time was terrific; the artillery crashing away in the centre, while volley after volley of musketry ran down both lines, and were reverberated from the surrounding forests." *** "As we approached, they took off their hats and shouted, 'Hurrah! Here's the 54th! Go in, boys; no loading in nine times there.'

I re

"At 1:30 o'clock I saw General Hatch speak to Colonel Bennett, chief of staff, who at once rode to me and said, 'Follow me.' plied, I would like a moment to close up my men, Colonel,' when he said, in a most excited manner, General Hatch's orders are for you to follow me.' Well, after Bennett's remark I had only to follow, which I did. Arriving near the section of artillery, he said, 'Go to the rear of that battery, file to the left and charge!' I obeyed orders-all but the charging! On the right of the battery I looked around and found Lieutenant Reid and eight men. How the cannon shot tore down that hill and up that road. I could see where the 55th had charged and the dead lying there. 'Wagner' always seemed to me the most terrible of our battles, but the musketry at Honey Hill! (Georgians,' under Willis, Edwards, Wilson, Cook and Jackson, and 3d South Carolina cavalry,' as infantry, under Major John Jenkins responsible), was something fearful. The rebel yell was more prominent (artillery, cavalry and infantry, all responsible) than ever I heard it!"

66

"GOOD MANAGEMENT OF THE ENEMY."

It is only fair to say that the Confederate management seems to have been excellent from first to last. The energy which brought a force from Western Georgia to the coast of Carolina so opportunely that it got in position only ten minutes before the main action opened, the audacity and adroitness which checked the advance of a whole brigade for several hours with one (2) gun and a few dismounted cavalry, and the soldierly ability with which artillery and infantry were so handled, as to inflict a loss of 750 men, while losing only 50, all deserve the highest praise; on their side good generalship, on ours the reverse."

On the day of Honey Hill the disastrous Battle of "Franklin was fought; then quickly followed the burning of Atlanta, the fall of Savannah, the burning of Columbia, Averysboro, Bentonville and the surrenders at Goldsboro and Appomattox! The Confederate armies! how memory goes back to their wonderful achievements! Their high soldierly qualities! Their whole career, marked by a virile spirit; a decisive energy; a brave persistence; a patient endurance, which reflect the high military qualities of the men of the same race, "kin beyond sea," who won victory for Wolfe at Quebec! Made Ingliss hold Lucknow against fearful odds! and who planted the Cross of St. George on the walls of Delhi, in the midst of the mutiny! If a like success did not attend finally the grand achieve

ments of the soldiers of the South the causes may be traced, partly to disparity of numbers and resources, and partly to other serious disabilities of a different kind, which the loyalty of the armies to the flag and the forbearance of the people in their homes for the sake of "The Cause" have forbid all reference to or mention!

It was First Used as a Camp of Instruction for Infantry as well as Cavalry-An Artillery and Conscript Camp, Finally.

Colonel John C. Shields, the commandant at old Camp Lee, furnishes the Dispatch with a most valuable article, giving the history of the camp from its establishment in the earliest days of the Confederacy, until the close of the war.

Colonel Shields was the editor of the Richmond Whig for a number of years, and among older newspaper men in Virginia, his name is very familiar. He was the founder of the Lynchburg Virginian, which was for many years one of the widely influential papers of the State. He stood in the front rank of Virginia journalists in his day, and some of his contributions to the historical data of early Virginia, especially the Valley, are very valuable.

Colonel Shields has for several years been retired from journalism, living with his family at his beautiful home in Rockbridge county, where he leads an ideal existence among his books, fruit trees, and flowers.