University of Virginia Library

ORGANIZATION.

"(Extract)

"Special Orders.

"No. 188.

. . . . . . . . . .

"II. Brigadier-General Hagood's Brigade will be organized and consist
of the following regiments and battalions: Eleventh, Twenty-first and
Twenty-fifth Regiments, and the First (Charleston) Battalion and the
Seventh Battalion South Carolina Volunteers. This organization for the
present, however, will not interfere with any temporary distribution of
troops by the district commander. . . .

"(Extract)

"Special Orders.

"No. 198.

"I. By authority of the War Department, the First Battalion South
Carolina Infantry, Lieutenant-Colonel P. C. Gaillard commanding, and the
First Battalion South Carolina Sharpshooters, Major Jos. Abney commanding,
will be consolidated into a regiment. . . .

"By command of General Beauregard.

A subsequent order numbered the regiment "Twenty-seventh
South Carolina" and arranged the officers as follows: P. C. Gaillard,
colonel; J. A. Blake (late captain, Charleston Battalion),
lieutenant-colonel, and Joseph Abney, major. The regiment now
had ten full companies. Subsequently, in 1864, the order of the
secretary of war disbanded one of them (Clarkson's, Co. K,) on
account of some illegality in its organization, and the regiment
consisted of nine companies during the rest of its career. The
Eleventh Regiment also consisted of nine companies, one of its

companies having been permitted to organize and equip as a light
battery. It was known as the Beaufort Artillery, and Steven
Elliott (now Major Elliott at Fort Sumter) was its first captain.
At the date of the brigade organization this company was formally
detached from the regiment.

ROSTER OF BRIGADE, 30TH OF SEPTEMBER, 1863.

                           

Johnson Hagood	Brigadier-General, Commanding
P. K. Moloney	Captain and Assistant Adjutant-General
G. B. Lartigue	Major and Quartermaster
R. G. Hay	Major and Commissary, Subsistence
E. H. Frost	Captain and Assistant Commissary
Edmund Mazyck	Lieutenant and Ordnance Officer
W. E. Stoney	Captain and Assistant Inspector General
Ben Martin	Lieutenant and Aid-de-Camp
Carlos Tracey	Volunteer Aid-de-Camp
S. N. Bellinger	Mounted Orderlies
Geo. K. Ryan
Dwight Stoney
G. B. Hacker	Office Clerks
F. S. Dibble

ELEVENTH REGIMENT.

               

F. H. Gantt	Colonel Commanding
A. C. Izard	Lieutenant-Colonel
—	Major
C. F. Davis	Adjutant
R. P. Gantt	Assistant Quartermaster
A. E. Williams	Surgeon
J. B. Black	Assistant Surgeon
A. B. Stephens	Chaplain

Company A.

(The Beaufort Artillery.)

Company B.

       

G. J. Westcoat	Captain
H. W. Bowman	First Lieutenant
W. D. Ellis	Second Lieutenant
John Black	Second Lieutenant

Company C.

       

T. D. Leadbetter	Captain
J. J. Guerrard	First Lieutenant
F. R. M. Sineath	Second Lieutenant
T. W. Stales	Second Lieutenant

Company D.

       

J. J. Gooding	Captain
Mac. D. Gooding	First Lieutenant
O. J. Sauls	Second Lieutenant
H. K. Hucks	Second Lieutenant

Company E.

       

J. H. Mickler	Captain
W. Smith	First Lieutenant
T. S. Tuten	Second Lieutenant
Thomas Hamilton	Second Lieutenant

Company F.

       

B. F. Wyman	Captain
J. S. Morrison	First Lieutenant
J. M. Mixon	Second Lieutenant
E. H. Wyman	Second Lieutenant

Company G.

       

W. D. McMillan	Captain
W. M. Wolfe	First Lieutenant
J. H. Brownlee	Second Lieutenant
S. H. Brownlee	Second Lieutenant

Company H.

       

T. E. Raysor	Captain
W. D. Wilson	First Lieutenant
J. P. Mims	Second Lieutenant
L. C. Mellard	Second Lieutenant

Company I.

       

W. S. Campbell	Captain
E. B. Loyless	First Lieutenant
J. C. Riley	Second Lieutenant
Robert Campbell	Second Lieutenant

Company K.

       

J. Boatwright	Captain (suspended)
—	First Lieutenant
L. B. Murdaugh	Second Lieutenant
W. Johns	Second Lieutenant

TWENTY-FIRST REGIMENT.

               

R. F. Graham	Colonel Commanding
A. T. Dargan	Lieutenant Colonel
G. W. McIver	Major
F. Dozier	Adjutant
A. C. McDuffie	Assistant Quartermaster
C. Happoldt	Surgeon
E. B. Smith	Assistant Surgeon
J. E. Dunlap	Chaplain

Company A.

       

J. Harleston Read, Sr.	Captain
Thomas Ford	First Lieutenant
J. H. Read, Jr.	Second Lieutenant
W. R. Ford	Second Lieutenant

Company B.

       

S. H. Wilds	Captain
J. W. King	First Lieutenant
J. L. Hart	Second Lieutenant
—	Second Lieutenant

Company D.

       

M. G. Tant	Captain
J. H. Villeneuer	First Lieutenant
S. D. Sanders	Second Lieutenant
A. A. Vanderford	Second Lieutenant

Company E.

       

B. T. Davis	Captain
A. W. Davis	First Lieutenant
J. A. Craig	Second Lieutenant
Alexander Craig	Second Lieutenant (in hands of enemy)

Company F.

       

J. A. W. Thomas	Captain
N. A. Easterling	First Lieutenant
R. E. Townsend	Second Lieutenant
W. D. Crook	Second Lieutenant

Company G.

       

R. W. Reddy	Captain
J. M. Woodward	First Lieutenant (in hands of enemy)
N. A. Bevile	Second Lieutenant
R. H. Hudson	Second Lieutenant

Company H.

       

(Vacant)	Captain
(Vacant)	First Lieutenant
D. G. Dubose	Second Lieutenant
W. H. Carlisle	Second Lieutenant

Company I.

       

R. G. Howard	Captain (in hands of enemy)
H. M. Cannon	First Lieutenant
W. J. Altman	Second Lieutenant
(Vacant)	Second Lieutenant

Company K.

       

J. W. Owens	Captain
C. L. Sansberry	First Lieutenant
E. B. Green	Second Lieutenant
H. J. Clifton	Second Lieutenant

Company L.

       

H. Legett	Captain
W. B. Baker	First Lieutenant
E. L. Sweet	Second Lieutenant
W. D. Woodbury	Second Lieutenant

This regiment had originally eleven companies. Company C had been
transferred to another command.

TWENTY-FIFTH REGIMENT.

               

C. H. Simonton	Colonel Commanding
John G. Pressley	Lieutenant Colonel
John V. Glover	Major
Geo. H. Moffett	Adjutant
James E. Adger	Quartermaster
W. C. Ravenel	Surgeon
A. J. Beale	Assistant Surgeon
A. F. Dickson	Chaplain

Company A.

       

J. M. Carson	Captain
H. B. Olney	First Lieutenant
J. A. Ross	Second Lieutenant
J. S. Hanahan	Second Lieutenant

Company B.

       

E. W. Lloyd	Captain
J. S. Burgen	First Lieutenant
R. M. Taft	Second Lieutenant
J. E. Bomar	Second Lieutenant

Company C.

       

Thomas J. China	Captain
E. Logan	First Lieutenant
B. P. Brockington	Second Lieutenant
S. J. Montgomery	Second Lieutenant

Company D.

       

W. J. McKerral	Captain
D. G. McKay	First Lieutenant
R. P. Bethea	Second Lieutenant
M. L. Smith	Second Lieutenant

Company E.

       

W. B. Mazyck	Captain
A. J. Mims	First Lieutenant
V. Due	Second Lieutenant
G. M. Salam	Second Lieutenant

Company F.

       

M. H. Sellars	Captain
L. A. Harper	First Lieutenant
John G. Evans	Second Lieutenant
F. E. Shuler	Second Lieutenant

Company G.

       

James F. Izlar	Captain
S. N. Kennerly	First Lieutenant
S. Dibble	Second Lieutenant (in hands of enemy)
G. H. Elliott	Second Lieutenant

Company H.

       

L. S. Hammond	Captain
W. H. Seabrook	First Lieutenant
F. G. Hammond	Second Lieutenant
J. F. Ramsey	Second Lieutenant

Company I.

       

J. C. Burgess	Captain
J. J. Logan	First Lieutenant
F. B. Brown	Second Lieutenant
R. F. Felder	Second Lieutenant

Company K.

       

W. B. Gordon	Captain
F. J. Lesesne	First Lieutenant
E. R. Lesesne	Second Lieutenant
C. Lesesne	Second Lieutenant

TWENTY-SEVENTH REGIMENT.

               

P. C. Gaillard	Colonel Commanding
J. A. Blake	Lieutenant Colonel
Joseph Abney	Major
W. M. Smith	Adjutant
R. Press Smith	Assistant Quartermaster
J. L. Pressley	Surgeon
S. P. Caine	Assistant Surgeon
—	Chaplain

Company A.

       

F. F. Miles	Captain (resigned shortly after)
B. W. Palmer	First Lieutenant
J. W. Axson	Second Lieutenant
J. M. Easterby	Second Lieutenant

Company B.

       

Thos. G. Simons, Jr.	Captain
William Sinkler	First Lieutenant
A. H. Masterman	Second Lieutenant
A. W. Muckenfuss	Second Lieutenant

Company C.

       

Samuel Lord	Captain (resigned shortly after)
George Brown	First Lieutenant
J. Campbell	Second Lieutenant
H. W. Hendrix	Second Lieutenant

Company D.

       

J. Ward Hopkins	Captain
J. A. Cay	First Lieutenant
A. St. John Lance	Second Lieutenant
J. T. Wells	Second Lieutenant

Company E.

       

R. Chisholm	Captain
S. R. Proctor	First Lieutenant
T. B. Crooker	Second Lieutenant
S. M. Kemmerlin	Second Lieutenant

Company F.

         

Joseph Blythe Allston	Captain
J. G. Hugenin	First Lieutenant
M. Stuart	Second Lieutenant
(Detached in enrolling office. Never served with Brigade).
E. P. Cater	Second Lieutenant

Company G.

       

Henry Buist	Captain
E. H. Holman	First Lieutenant
C. J. McBeth	Second Lieutenant
A. B. White	Second Lieutenant

Company H.

       

J. M. Mulraney	Captain
A. A. Allemony	First Lieutenant
J. Burke	Second Lieutenant
R. R. Hogan	Second Lieutenant

Company I.

       

W. D. Walter	Captain
T. R. Lynch	First Lieutenant
J. C. Salters	Second Lieutenant
W. J. Trim	Second Lieutenant

Company K.

       

William Clarkson	Captain
—	First Lieutenant
J. G. Harriss	Second Lieutenant
A. D. Simons	Second Lieutenant

SEVENTH BATTALION.

             

P. H. Nelson	Lieutenant-Colonel Commanding
J. H. Rion	Major
S. W. Nelson	Adjutant
Eli Harrison	Assistant Quartermaster
R. B. Hanahan	Surgeon
—	Assistant Surgeon
—	Chaplain

Company A.

       

B. S. Lucas	Captain
F. McCaskell	First Lieutenant
A. McCaskell	Second Lieutenant
J. W. Gardiner	Second Lieutenant

Company B.

       

John R. Harrison	Captain
J. L. Kennedy	First Lieutenant
H. L. Isbell	Second Lieutenant
S. W. Douglass	Second Lieutenant

Company C.

       

A. W. Pearson	Captain
J. R. Manken	First Lieutenant
—	Second Lieutenant
—	Second Lieutenant

Company D.

       

J. L. Jones	Captain
E. A. Young	First Lieutenant
R. W. Young	Second Lieutenant
R. J. Cunningham	Second Lieutenant

Company E.

       

P. P. Gaillard	Captain
J. M. Ross	First Lieutenant
—	Second Lieutenant
—	Second Lieutenant

Company F.

       

Dove Segars	Captain
William McSween	First Lieutenant
H. D. Tiller	Second Lieutenant
A. W. Raley	Second Lieutenant

Company G.

       

William Clyburn	Captain
L. L. Clyburn	First Lieutenant
W. J. Taylor	Second Lieutenant
T. W. Sligh	Second Lieutenant

Company H.

       

J. H. Brooks	Captain
T. M. McCants	First Lieutenant
William Weston	Second Lieutenant
B. J. Randall	Second Lieutenant

The aggregate strength of the brigade thus formed was four
thousand, two hundred and forty-six (4,246) present and absent,
of whom fully five hundred were detailed in the different workshops,
offices, etc., in the department. The majority of these
men never got into the field. Some of them were properly
detailed where they were, and from their mechanical skill or
other special qualification for the detailed duty were more useful
to the cause than they would have been in the ranks. But most

of them were men whose native repugnance to the field endowed
them with a facility in dodging, which, when backed up by more
or less social influence, enabled them to skulk the war through
as employees in the conscript and other military bureaus, on railroads,
in printing offices, banks, blockade running and other
employments supposed essential to Confederate existence.

A short notice of the history and character of the regiments
now first brought together in brigade organization is necessary.

Eleventh Regiment.

Under the Act of the Legislature of South Carolina passed
December, 1860, to provide "an armed military force," the
original companies of this regiment were raised for twelve months
and went into service on the coast, Colonel Wm. C. Heyward[1]
commanding. It was then called the Ninth South Carolina Volunteers,
and its organization was irregular, having more than ten
companies, and one of these a light battery. The regiment transferred
its service during '61 to the Confederate Government under
arrangement made between the Convention of the State and the
Confederate authorities, and was now known as the Eleventh
South Carolina Volunteers. In May, 1862, it re-enlisted for "two
years or the war." A more general bouleversment of officers took
place upon the re-enlistment in this regiment than in any other
South Carolina command at the re-elections through a most mistaken
policy, permitted by the government. The regiment was
seriously and permanently injured.

Its service had been uneventful to this date. Some of its companies
had been engaged at the bombardment of the forts at Port
Royal in 1861, and at the Battle of Pocotaligo, in '62, a portion
of it had won reputation, while the remainder of the regiment
had suffered some loss (its major, Harrison, included), being fired
into upon a railroad train while en route to the scene of action,
when it arrived after the repulse of the enemy. At the siege of
Charleston, the regiment had not borne as prominent a part as
some others, though here as well as in Florida, whither it had
been sent in the latter part of the siege, it had done its duty well
when called upon.

Its present commander, Colonel Gantt, had been a lieutenant
in the original regiment and was, on the reorganization, elected
lieutenant-colonel. He succeeded Ellis on the latter's being compelled
to resign to avoid charges of incompetency. Ellis—a crossroad
politician—had been elected over Heyward without having
served a day in this or any other regiment. Colonel Gantt had
been at the State Military School, and his lieutenant-colonel,
Izard, had held a commission in the United States navy. Colonel
Izard served very little with the regiment after it was brigaded;
he was most of his time on sick leave. Gooding, the senior
captain, who succeeded to the majority, was an incubus upon the
command, without soldierly spirit, and yet with ability enough to
keep clear of such derelictions of duty as would bring him before
a court. Finally, however, in the waning days of the Confederacy,
he overstayed a leave under circumstances almost amounting
to desertion and was dropped from the rolls.

Colonel Gantt was a good drill officer and had his regiment in
fair discipline and presenting a good military appearance when
it reported to the brigade. Its subsequent history will show that
it had much good material in the ranks and among its officers,
many of whom were worthy of their commissions.

This regiment was chiefly raised in Beaufort and Colleton Districts.

The Twenty-first Regiment

Was organized 12th November, 1861, under a call upon South
Carolina for additional troops and was mustered into Confederate
service 1st January, 1862, for "three years or the war." It
was drawn from what is known as the Pee Dee region of the
State. Colonel Graham, its commander, had been an officer in
Gregg's six-months regiment. Its lieutenant-colonel, Dargan,
and its major, McIver, were excellent officers, and in the subordinate
grades was found the usual melange—some as gallant and
noble spirits as ever bore a sword or stopped a bullet—many who
creditably filled their positions, and some of the earth, earthy.
The regiment had been, from its organization, on the coast of
South Carolina, and had borne a conspicuous part in the siege of
Charleston. From its somewhat eventful service here, it was at
this time more or less disorganized and required attention.

Twenty-fifth Regiment.

Companies A and B of this regiment were raised from the
Washington Light Infantry, a time-honored militia organization
of Charleston, which also contributed a company to the
Hampton Legion. These companies went into State service,
serving at Coles Island the winter of '61-'62, and called themselves
The Eutaw Battalion, Simonton, senior captain, commanding.
Upon the reorganization of the First South Carolina
(Hagood's) regiment in April, 1862, three of its companies
(Pressley's, Glover's and Sellars') seceded, as they were permitted
by the law to do, to this battalion, and it grew into a
regiment by the addition of newly raised companies. On 22nd
July, 1862, it was mustered into Confederate service for "three
years or the war." Captain Simonton became its colonel. He
was a lawyer of prominence in Charleston, both before and after
the war. His service with his regiment during its connection
with the brigade was limited, he being most of the time detached
on post duty. Captains Pressley and Glover became respectively
lieutenant-colonel and major, and were both most excellent and
meritorious officers. Among the subordinates were a number of
first-class officers, and the men were of excellent material. Companies
A and B were raised in Charleston; the other companies
from the middle country of the State.

The discipline and esprit of the regiment was good. Its service
had been principally in and around Charleston. It was creditably
engaged at the Battle of Secessionville, among the troops
outside of the fort. During the existing siege of the city, it had
had a comparatively easy time on James Island until the last
days of Wagner, when for the first time it was part of the garrison.
Under its lieutenant-colonel, Pressley, it had then behaved
with much steadiness, and met with considerable loss. Under the
same meritorious officer it was engaged in the affair of the 16th
July with General Terry's forces on James Island, and it had
borne its share by detail in the other duties and events of the
siege.

Twenty-seventh Regiment.

The Charleston Battalion, composing the first six companies of
this regiment, was originally raised in Charleston and mustered

into Confederate service in March, '62. In its subsequent history,
it received many recruits from the country, but its officers were
almost without exception Charlestonians, and the city element
largely predominated in the ranks. The several companies were
offshoots from the old militia organizations of the city and
among themselves retained the names of their parent companies.
Indeed this was common throughout the brigade, and there was
scarcely a company in any of the regiments which, though known
officially as Company A or Company B of such a regiment, had
not some fancy name by which they were fond of calling themselves
and by which they were generally known at home. P. C.
Gaillard was the lieutenant-colonel commanding and David
Ramsay major. Colonel Gaillard had graduated at West Point,
a contemporary of General Bragg's, had served in the United
States Army, and subsequently for many years was engaged in
commercial pursuits in Charleston. He was a man with much of
the old Roman type of character about him, had unbounded
influence over his command, and was every inch a soldier. Notwithstanding
his age and the loss of an arm at Wagner, he served
faithfully with his regiment under every hardship of the campaign
of '64 in Virginia, until, toward its close, his health succumbed
and he was compelled to go upon the retired list and a
post command.

Major Ramsay was a lawyer of high culture and fell at Wagner
on the 18th July.

The battalion of sharpshooters composing the remaining companies
of the regiment was raised in June, 1862, under orders
from Richmond, partly by compulsory drafts from regiments
already in service, and partly by voluntary enlistment. The
officers were appointed, not elected, and the organization was
rather that of Regulars than Volunteers.

In passing, it may be remarked that the scheme of the War
Department of raising a special corps of sharpshooters failed, and
though in this instance some excellent companies were formed,
they never did duty other than infantry of the line. Indeed,
as the war progressed, the whole Confederate Army rapidly
became light infantry in mobility and appointments, and in a
wooded country, with the Enfield rifle or its equivalent on both
sides, it was seldom that anything but the ordinary skirmisher

was needed. Under the circumstances, the repeating firearm was
a greater advantage than any increased length of range or special
accuracy of fire, the Enfield carrying its missile with deadly force
and accuracy across most of the open levels encountered. There
were occasions, however, such as at Wagner, at Petersburg and
elsewhere in the writer's experience, when a few telescopic rifles,
such as Whitworths, distributed through a regiment—say one to
the company—were capable of good service. The possession of
such a rifle might have been made a mark of honor as well as skill
in the beam.

Major Abney, commanding the sharpshooters' battalion, had
served in Mexico as lieutenant in the Palmetto Regiment; had in
this war been elected to the command of one of the regiments
raised in the State in the spring of '62, and, upon the inevitable
reorganization upon entering Confederate service, a few weeks
afterwards had been ousted by a man who was subsequently
broken for cowardice. Abney was a brave man, but his habits were
not good, and his virtues were rather passive than active. Blake,
the lieutenant-colonel, also was a negative character. Both he and
Abney had not sufficient elan and failed to command the confidence
of their men. When Gaillard was absent, the regiment
always did better under one of its many good subordinates.
Abney's health became bad and he went on the retired list; and
Blake was dropped for over-staying a leave in the spring of '65.
He appealed, however, alleging great injustice done him, and
was granted a court amid the rapidly culminating misfortunes of
the Confederacy, the decision of which was never announced.

The Twenty-seventh was especially claimed by the Charlestonians
as their regiment, and in consequence of its local popularity
many of the best young men of the city were in its ranks.
The average intelligence and social position of the rank and file
were thus greater than most regiments, and its discipline and
character were peculiar. It was not equal to some others in discipline,
but under Gaillard, or any other of its officers who
possessed its confidence, it would go anywhere and do anything.
Under Blake or Abney it was far less efficient. There was too
much intelligence and too little rigidity of discipline in its ranks
for men without force of character to command it successfully.
This regiment, like the others, had served only in South Carolina,

but had been peculiarly fortunate in its service. It had won
honor in the fort at Secessionville in '62; had been Talliferro's
mainstay at Wagner on the 18th July; a portion of it had been
Elliott's garrison at Sumter when the boat attack was repulsed;
and two of its sharpshooter companies had obtained honorable
mention at Pocotaligo.

The Seventh Battalion.

Lieutenant-Colonel Nelson, commanding this battalion, had
commenced the war as brigadier-general of State troops at the
reduction of Sumter, and General Hagood, then Colonel of the
First South Carolina, had been attached to his command. When,
shortly afterward, the State troops were transferred to Confederate
service, the general officers lost their commissions, Nelson
returned home and raised this battalion "for the war." He was a
planter, a gentleman of high culture and fine presence, and an
excellent officer. Major Rion had commenced the war as colonel
of the Sixth South Carolina, had lost his commission in the
re-election consequent upon taking Confederate service; had
raised a company and joined Nelson. He was a leading lawyer
of Fairfield District, both before and after the war. The subordinate
officers were, with scarce an exception, good and some
superior, and the men of excellent material. This battalion came
nearer to Regulars in discipline and uniform efficiency at all
times and under all circumstances than any volunteer troops the
writer met with during the war; and this was largely due to the
zeal and ability of Major Rion.

The battalion had served with distinction at Pocotaligo,
arriving on a railroad train in time by a vigorous assault to
decide the day. It had also borne honorable part in the existing
siege of Charleston. It was drawn from the central districts of
the State.

Such, briefly, was the character of the regiments now organized
and known afterward as "Hagood's Brigade," as it appeared
to one who knew them intimately, and who appreciated, as
one appreciates a well-tried blade, that exalted heroism and
unflinching devotion which marked their subsequent career as a
body, but who had no respect for individuals in such a corps who
fell short of its high standard—men bearing commissions in the

spirit of a conscript, while there were privates in their commands
clad in rags, often infested with vermin, who went into action,
or endured the hardships of the march and the trench, as if they
bore a marshal's baton.

The following anecdote will show the estimate in which the
regiments were held by one of the higher rank, who knew them
well. On the lines before Bermuda Hundreds in May, '64, General
Bragg, then holding staff position at Richmond, asked
General Hagood in presence of General Beauregard what sort
of a brigade he had. General Beauregard replied by narrating
the incident mentioned in the Memoirs of the Second Military
District (Vol. I, page 112) of Hagood's disappointment in going
with the brigade sent to Vicksburg, and said: "I told him, then,
that when opportunity served I would give him a good brigade
with which to take the field; and I gave him the best troops I
had, sir."

At the date of the order organizing the brigade, most of the
regiments composing it were on James Island, constituting chiefly
the infantry supports of the battalion of the east lines—a subdivision
then commanded by General Hagood. The others were
concentrated under his command in this position as soon as
circumstances permitted. Gilmore's active operations had ceased,
as before narrated, with the boat attack on Sumter, and the siege
had subsided into a matter of long range fire. This state of
affairs chiefly occupied the artillery, and afforded opportunity
of bringing the brigade into a high state of efficiency, which was
eagerly embraced.

The following circular was issued, and its directions enforced:

Circular.

I. A course of instruction in drill will be instituted by the several commandants
of regiments of the brigade as follows: The six (6) lessons in
the battalion drill (Hardee's 2 Vol.) will be gone through with on successive
days; and then three successive days will be devoted to the skirmish drill
including the deployment of the battalion.[2] These duties will be had in

the afternoon, and in the forenoon of the same day, each regimental commander
will have caused his officers to recite on the lessons of the day—
blackboards or some substitute being used.

II. Special attention will be given in this course to the guides, and
commandants of the regiments are required to reduce to the ranks any noncommissioned
officer, who, after reasonable instruction, fails to become
master of his duty. The "advance in line" must be practised until the
troops are perfect in its execution and its principles thoroughly understood.
The troops must also be accustomed to manœuver as well by the rear rank
as by the front, by inversion as by direction.

The "formation against cavalry," the "instructions for skirmishers," the
"advance in line" and the "march in column" are of chief importance in
the drill; and their relative importance is in the inverse order in which
they are here enumerated. The points to be looked to in the march of a
column, whatever the breadth of its front, are (1) that the depth of the
column never exceeds the width the troops are to occupy in line of battle.
(2) That meeting an obstacle in the march, the men do not improperly
break into files to pass it. (3) That no man, upon any pretense whatever,
falls out of the ranks without the permission first obtained of his captain.
The first two rules are to prevent fatigue to the men in closing up from
time to time, and to prevent delay in the march of an army. A single
battalion may lose but ten minutes on a march in thus improperly breaking
into file, that will delay a brigade near an hour, and a division five hours,
in which time a battle may be lost or won. The third rule is to prevent
the evil of straggling, and all these rules will be enforced in this brigade
on all marches, however distant from the enemy—whether going to or returning
from duty, or upon any other occasion. Discipline is the result of
habit, and careless habits in this particular must not be formed, or, if
formed, must be broken. Officers must use such means, amounting to severity
if necessary, as will enforce these rules, and they alone will be held
responsible for any departure from them.

III. Commanding officers will notify these headquarters of the hours
in the afternoon each may select for the drills ordered to the end that the
brigadier-general may when practical be present.

By command Brigadier-General Hagood.

At a later day, when the brigade was in the field, a standing
order, of which the following is an extract, prescribed minutely
the details necessary to secure the proper conduct of marches,
and regimental commandants were held directly responsible to
the brigade commander for their proper observance:

"On all marches the officers second in rank present for duty
with each regiment, together with the assistant surgeon, or in his
absence the surgeon, will follow the regiment and be accompanied

by a non-commissioned officer and a file of men. This will be the
regimental rear-guard. The last regiment will, however, have
instead a company as brigade rear-guard, and will be accompanied
by the brigade surgeon and the surgeons who may not be
immediately in rear of their regiments, filling the places of absent
assistant surgeons. The ambulances will follow immediately
thereafter and be succeeded by the ordnance wagons; and then
the quartermaster's train, when the latter marches with the
brigade. The commanding officer of the regiment will habitually
march at its head, but he will frequently stop and let it march
past him, to see that it marches properly. He will always do this
upon encountering a rivulet or other obstruction which the men
may be inclined to break their ranks in passing. This is most
positively forbidden; all such places must be passed in proper
order, and the regimental commander will immediately arrest
and report any captain who fails to bring his company properly
through such places. No discretion is allowed the regimental
commander in such cases. An officer or man unable from any
reason to keep up with the march will obtain from his immediate
commander verbal permission to fall out. The regimental rear-guard
will examine him, and if properly out of the ranks the
assistant surgeon will give him written permission to fall to the
rear, when the brigade surgeon will take such action as the case,
in his opinion, requires. The brigade surgeon will be careful to
allow no one to ride in the ambulances except in case of necessity.
The files will be kept closed in marching and dressed,
though the precision of the drill is not required. File closers will
be held responsible for this by their company commanders. Cases
of unauthorized straggling will be made by regimental commanders
the subject of severe and summary discipline; it is the
highest military offense, next to desertion.

"When in line of battle, the horses of those who do not ride in
action[3] will be kept in the neighborhood of the field infirmary.
The brigade quartermaster will see that they are supplied with
forage at this point; and he will cause a light forage wagon to
follow the brigade when the general quartermaster's train does
not march in the column. A mounted quartermaster's man will

have charge of this matter and of the ambulances, and always be
with the column.

"Regimental commanders will hold their assistant quartermasters
responsible for the regular supply of properly cooked
food for their men. Any irregularity in this matter is prima
facie the fault of these officers for which they must account."

The brigade inspector also habitually marched with the rear-guard,
which, when he was present, took its orders from him.
In traveling by rail, other standing orders directed the company
formation to be retained as far as practicable and company
officers were required to ride with their men. A guard was kept
in each car. In marches, which he could control, General Hagood
always ten minutes after the march commenced halted for ten
minutes to allow the men to adjust their packs and attend to the
calls of nature. Afterwards he halted ten minutes in every hour.
He always, too, after one of these halts, gave a preliminary signal
to prepare to march. The writer has seen much unnecessary
fatigue to the men and much discreditable lengthening of column
by the absence of method in conducting a march. The practice
in the Army of Northern Virginia was to have halts at no regular
time, and, after a temporary halt, for the head of the column to
move off without a general signal given, and each regiment arose
in succession from the roadside where the men were resting and
followed the march only from seeing the regiment ahead of it
move. Thus the extra fatigue of hurrying up to close the column
did away with the benefit of the rest. The march of the Confederate
armies was habitually in "column of fours."

But to return to James Island. Subsequently to the course of
regimental instruction, a school for field officers was opened at
brigade headquarters with daily recitations and drills in evolutions
of the line. Before this course was completed, each field
officer was qualified and required to drill the brigade. The
clothing, transportation and equipment of the brigade was at
the same time inspected and renewed and completed, through the
medium of proper requisitions. The ordnance was specially put
upon an excellent footing. The long Enfield rifle, with accoutrements
complete, was obtained for the whole command, except
Gantt's regiment, and a small corps of artisans (selected from
the ranks) was organized with traveling forges, etc., to render

the command independent in matters of repair. Gantt's regiment
remained armed with the smooth-bore musket until the
victory of Drury's Bluff, when it armed itself upon the field with
Enfields, and thenceforward the brigade was relieved from the
inconvenience of having two calibres among its arms, and was in
effectiveness of weapon upon a footing with the troops it
encountered.

The following circular organized a Pioneer Corps and completed
the preparation for the expected field service of the
ensuing campaign:

Circular.

I. A Pioneer Corps will be organized for this brigade, and Major Gooding,
Eleventh South Carolina, is assigned to its command.

II. Captains of companies under the supervision of regimental commanders
will at once indicate from their respective companies each two
men, having regard solely to their fitness from previous occupation for this
purpose. The regimental commanders will each select a lieutenant of
energetic and practical habits and report his name, rank, etc., together with
the names of the men selected from their respective commands, to these
headquarters.

III. The brigade quartermaster will issue, upon the requisition of Major
Gooding, the necessary axes, spades and picks, together with the necessary
slings for carrying them.

IV. The brigade ordnance officer will furnish to the Pioneer Corps the
short Enfield rifle instead of the long Enfield, which the men now have,
and see that they are supplied with proper slings for carrying them.

V. It is intended upon ordinary occasions that the officers and men of
this corps shall remain and do duty, as usual, with their respective commands.
In all marches, however, of the regiment, its Pioneers will be
detached under its lieutenant and precede it. When the brigade moves the
whole corps will precede the column under command of its field officer, the
packs of the men being carried upon the baggage wagons. Upon marches,
the corps will be excused from camp guard and picket duty. In action, the
men and officers will return to their respective commands. Should this,
under the circumstances, be impracticable, the corps will take its place in
line of battle as a separate battalion.

VI. Upon all inspections and reviews, the Pioneers will appear united
under their officers. The men will be held as strictly responsible for the
condition of their implements as for their arms and accoutrements. Company
commanders are charged with this and are held responsible that the
implements are not used for ordinary camp purposes. The senior officer
of the corps will inspect it once a month by regiments, and report its condition

to these headquarters, commandants of regiments ordering out the
Pioneers upon the request of this officer.

VII. Major Gooding will keep rolls and rosters, and take all necessary
steps to make his corps efficient in the spirit of this order.

By command Brigadier-General Hagood.

Major Lartigue, the brigade quartermaster, took special interest
in equipping this corps, and devised very complete slings for
carrying the implements with ease to the men even at a double
quick.

As thus organized, the corps was continued and did good
service until the fall of '64, though, after the brigade was assigned
to Hoke's Division, it was generally (under a lieutenant) a part
of the Division Pioneer Corps. In October, 1864, General Lee, in
an effort to increase the fighting strength of his attenuated army,
ordered all such corps broken up and the men returned to the
ranks. Instead, he directed one man from each company to be
selected and known as "Pioneer," who, as such, was exempted
from guard and picket duty, but in all other respects was considered
a soldier in the ranks. In like manner commissioned and
non-commissioned officers were selected who were to be put in
charge when these pioneers were called together.

The fact was, that this campaign had been so much one continued
siege, and the men were by this time so thoroughly
indoctrinated with notions of the value of breastworks and rifle
pits, that the entrenching tools with which each company had
been supplied, or had supplied itself, were carried as its most
valuable property. Peculations of these cherished implements
were not uncommon, and on the march it was not an unusual sight
to see a company officer carrying a cherished spade or pick, after
it had successively passed through the hands of some half dozen
wearied soldiers of his command, each of whom had borne it in
addition to his arms. A special corps supplied with such implements
was, therefore, no longer important.

In the general organization of the Confederate armies, at first
there were brigade and regimental commissaries—all commissioned.
At the date of which we are now writing, the regimental
commissaries had been discontinued, and their duties assigned to
the regimental assistant quartermasters, aided by regimental

commissary sergeants. At a later day the regimental assistant
quartermasters were discontinued, and the organization was a
commissary and a quartermaster to the brigade, each ranking as
major, and each with an assistant, ranking as captain. There
remained throughout a commissary sergeant and a quartermaster
sergeant to each regiment.

The medical corps consisted, during the whole war, of a surgeon
and an assistant surgeon to each regiment, and when
brigaded, the senior surgeon assumed control and was known as
the brigade surgeon.

These various staff officers in the beginning were all nominated
by the line officer to whose corps they were attached. Afterwards
they were transferred and assigned from corps to corps by the
chief of their respective bureaus at Richmond without consulting
the line officer commanding, and often to his chagrin and disgust.
The same general remarks as to organization, appointment
and assignment apply to the adjutants, inspectors and ordnance
officers. Major-generals, lieutenant-generals and generals had
each their staff officers of each department for their respective
commands, and a bureau chief of each department of the staff was
located at Richmond.

There were also post quartermasters, and post commissaries,
whose duties never led them into the field, and who were too often
corrupt speculators upon the necessities of their suffering country.
It was the shortcomings of this class that brought the very name
of commissary and quartermaster into odium and contempt. Of
those officers of these departments who served with the armies in
the field, the writer deems it but justice to say that there was as
much high tone and devotion to the cause among those whom he
met as among any other class of officers in the service. He
desires here to record his appreciation of the gentlemen who filled
these offices in his command. They yielded to no members of his
staff in patriotism, high honor and personal gallantry. Their
names will not as often occur in these memoirs as others, for the
discharge of their necessary duties oftenest kept them in the rear,
but they were always ready, when these permitted, to come to him
as volunteers in action—and on these occasions did always well.