Hampton's Legion

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Wade Hampton 1.jpg


The Hampton Legion was raised and organized by wealthy South Carolina planter and politician Wade Hampton III in summer of 1861, initially consisting of a battalion of six companies of infantry, a battalion of four companies of cavalry, and a battery of artillery. Like most legions in the war, the different arms never actually fought together as intended and eventually went on to serve as individual units.

This thread will mainly focus on the infantry portion for the sake of clarity and since it retained the original name of "Hampton's Legion" throughout the war.


Infantry Battalion:

Company A - Washington Light Infantry Volunteers (Charleston District)

Company B - Watson Guards (Edgefield District)

Company C - Manning Guards (Clarendon District)

Company D - Gist Rifles (Anderson District)

Company E - Bozeman Guards (Greenville District)

Company F - Davis Guards (Anderson & Greenville Districts)

Company G - Claremont Rifles (Sumter District) Joined the legion after First Manassas.

Company H - South Carolina Zouave Volunteers (Orangeburg & Charleston Districts) Largely organized from the state militia company, the Charleston Zouave Cadets. Joined the legion in July 1862.

Company I - Originally companies B, D, and E of the 4th SC Inf. Btn. Assigned to Hampton's Legion on November 11, 1862.

Company K - Originally companies A and C of the 4th SC Inf. Btn. Assigned to Hampton's Legion on November 11, 1862.


Shortly after the capture of Fort Sumter in April 1861, Wade Hampton proposed his idea of raising a legion to Governor Pickens, financing part of it out of his own pocket if the state would also contribute. The governor immediately approved of his idea, and it was officially approved by the Confederate War Department on April 27.

The legion initially called for 600 infantrymen, 340 cavalrymen, and 120 artillerymen. Hampton began recruiting in Charleston, running ads in the local newspapers, and later in Columbia and other upcountry towns. He personally searched for good officer material by interviewing former members of U.S. Army, graduates of military academies such as West Point or the Citadel, as well as members of local militia organizations. Before long, over thirty companies offered themselves for enrollment in the legion; Hampton inspected and hand-picked the best. The Washington Light Infantry, one of Charleston's most prestigious local militias, was organized as Company A of the legion. Recruits filled the ranks so quickly that by May 1861 Hampton had more troops on hand than he was authorized to accept.

Hampton funded most of the legion's weaponry, ordering four Blakely rifles and 400 Enfield rifled muskets from England; the state would furnish the rest, however. The cavalry was expected to provide its own arms and mounts. The artillery could not furnish its own battery teams, so those were provided by the state.

It's widely believed that Hampton also funded the legion's uniforms, although each company actually provided their own uniforms initally. After those wore out over time Hampton did eventually furnish uniforms for the troops, writing his sister Mary Fisher Hampton and friends to sew new clothing in September 1861. Chaplain A. Toomer Porter also procured new uniforms from the South Carolina Quartermaster Department that August, which were issued out in October, consisting of frock coats and trousers made of gray jeans cloth and trimmed in yellow. As the war progressed the troops would be issued new uniforms by the state quartermaster or the Confederate quartermaster department.

The legion was organized and mustered into Confederate service at Camp Hampton (located on his estate outside Columbia) on June 12, 1861. Soon Hampton requested that the legion be attached to Beauregard's command, and before long his men were shipped off to Richmond on June 26.

The legion's infantry would get to the front in time to do more than just participate in the battle of First Manassas. They found themselves in the midst of the chaotic fighting at Henry House Hill, taking part in the capture of Ricketts' Battery. Hampton was wounded through the face in a charge on the guns, though not seriously. The legion lost 121 officers and men out of over 600 present; Lt. Col. Benjamin J. Johnson was among the killed. As John J. Hennessy says in his history of the battle, "No regiment on the battlefield rendered more important service than did Wade Hampton's legion." and "Likely no other regiment on the field received more acclaim afterward than did Hampton's, abetted greatly by Charleston's hyperactive press." The cavalry and artillery portions, however, did not arrive on the field in time to fight in the battle.

Hampton later took command of a brigade in late 1861, including his legion. They would see action throughout the Peninsula Campaign, including the battles of Eltham's Landing and Seven Pines. In the latter the legion would lose half its number (45 killed, 284 wounded) in disorganized attacks against the Federal right flank on the second day of the battle, and to no gain. Hampton was also wounded - shot through the foot - the bullet immediately being removed on the field by Surgeon E. S. Gaillard.

Initially turning down promotion, Hampton later accepted a commission as brigadier general in June 1862, departing from the legion's infantry and eventually transferring to cavalry command that July. The legion's one-year terms of service were coming to an end that summer and it would be reorganized with a reelection of officers. Though many men would reenlist, Hampton was not happy about some of the officers elected in the infantry battalion, such as Martin Witherspoon Gary, elected lieutenant colonel.

Martin W. Gary 1.jpg

Martin Witherspoon Gary. An attorney from Edgefield, SC, he originally commanded Co. B "Watson Guards" of the legion.

Gary would prove to be a capable commander, although he was overly ambitious for self-advancement and electioneered his way into command, undermining his own friend, Lt. Col. James B. Griffin, whom Hampton preferred. From then on the infantry contingent would serve separately from Hampton, who took with him the cavalry battalion and one battery.

Always maintaining the original name of "Hampton's Legion," the infantry portion was assigned to Hood's Texas Brigade from June to November 1862, then transferred to Micah Jenkins' South Carolina Brigade. It was later mounted in 1864 and served as such throughout the remainder of the war.

While with Hood's Texans the legion saw some of its fiercest fighting. In the battle of Gaines' Mill, during the Seven Days battles, they made the charge across Boatswain's Creek; at Second Manassas they participated in the destruction of the New York Zouaves and the fighting on Chinn Ridge; and at Antietam the legion was engaged along the Hagerstown Pike on the southwestern edge of Miller's Cornfield. In the latter they went into battle with only 77 officers and men and lost 55 (3 officers and 3 men killed, 3 officers and 46 men wounded), or 71%. They weren't brigaded together for long, but during that time Hampton's Legion and Hood's Texans earned each other's respect and friendship through the trials of battle.

In November 1862 the legion was organized into a full-strength regiment with the addition of two companies from the disbanded 4th South Carolina Infantry Battalion and transferred to Micah Jenkins' brigade of fellow South Carolinians. In 1863 the brigade was left to guard Richmond during the Gettysburg Campaign, but they went West with Longstreet's Corps that year. They arrived too late to fight at Chickamauga, but participated in the Chattanooga and Knoxville Campaigns. With the rest of Jenkins' Brigade, Hampton's Legion was engaged in the night battle of Wauhatchie at Chattanooga - their only major battle during the two campaigns.

After returning back East, the regiment was separated from Jenkins' Brigade and mounted in March 1864. Commander Col. Martin W. Gary was promoted to brigadier general and placed in command of a brigade of cavalry (including the legion) in the Department of Richmond. Hampton's Legion was equipped and would fight as mounted infantry throughout the remainder of the war, armed with rifles and bayonets and still mostly fighting on foot. They would see action in the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign and Appomattox Campaign until the surrender of Lee's army. The legion mustered 238 officers and men at Appomattox.

Gen. Gary refused to surrender, however, and escaped with a handful of his men, joining President Davis in North Carolina after his flight from Richmond and escorting him and his party to Cokesbury, South Carolina, where Gary's mother lived. He then ended his service there.


Infantry Battalion Commanding Officers:

Col. Wade Hampton - Promoted brigadier general June 1862.

Col. Martin W. Gary - Promoted brigadier general 5/19/1864.

Col. Thomas M. Logan - Commanded the legion until transferred to another cavalry brigade and promoted to brigadier general 2/15/1865.

Lt. Col. Robert B. Arnold - Surrendered the legion at Appomattox.


Besides Wade Hampton, five officers who served in the legion also went on to become generals: Stephen D. Lee, Martin W. Gary, Matthew C. Butler, James Conner, and Thomas M. Logan.
 
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Cavalry Battalion:

Company A - Edgefield Hussars (Edgefield District)

Company B - Brooks Troop or Cavalry (Greenville District)

Company C - Beaufort District Troop (Beaufort District)

Company D - Congaree Troop or Mounted Riflemen (Richland District)

Commanded by Major Matthew C. Butler, the cavalry battalion of the legion missed First Manassas but saw action in the Peninsula Campaign the following year, albeit fighting separately from the infantry. It was organized into the 2nd South Carolina Cavalry in August 1862 after being consolidated with four companies of the 4th South Carolina Cavalry Battalion and two independent companies. Matthew C. Butler was elected colonel. The 2nd SC Cav served in Wade Hampton's cavalry brigade and was in thick of most major battles and cavalry operations in the Eastern Theater. It never formally surrendered and was disbanded at Chester Court House, SC, June 1865. Wade Hampton's brother, Frank, served as lieutenant colonel in the regiment and was killed at Brandy Station, June 9, 1863.

Note that there's some false information circulated online that the cavalry portion joined the legion's infantry once it was mounted in 1864. This is NOT correct. The legion's cavalry continued to serve separately as the 2nd SC Cav throughout the war. The mounted infantry followed the ANV to Appomattox, while the 2nd SC Cav served in the Carolinas during the last days of the war.

Matthew C. Butler
Matthew C. Butler.jpg
 
Artillery Battalion:

Company A - Washington Artillery (Charleston) (Not to be confused with the New Orleans artillery of the same name.)

Company B - German Volunteers/Artillery (Charleston)

The German Volunteers was organized from Charleston's German-American community. It wasn't mustered into Confederate service until August 22, 1861, and didn't join Hampton's Legion until September. It was first organized as Company H of the infantry but was soon after converted to artillery, forming Company B of the artillery battalion.

After a battalion of artillery was formed Captain Stephen D. Lee, commanding Company A, Washington Artillery, was promoted to major in command of the battalion. S. D. Lee later rose to leutenant colonel in May 1862 and the battalion was disbanded that summer when Hampton's Legion was officially dissolved. The two batteries then served separately.

The Washington Artillery of the artillery battalion was mounted as horse artillery in summer of 1862, thereafter known as Hart's Battery (Capt. James F. Hart) and served in J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry division and later cavalry corps of the army. The German Artillery was known as Bachman's Battery (Capt. William K. Bachman) after separating from the legion and served in Hood's division of the ANV from summer of 1862 until sent to South Carolina in 1863.
 
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Bibliography of Hampton's Legion:

Brooks, U. R., ed. "Record of Hart's Battery, from Its Organization to the End of the War"; "Sketch of Bachman's Battery"; "Sketches of Hampton's Cavalry" in Stories of the Confederacy (Columbia, SC: State Co., 1912).

Cisco, Walter Brian. Wade Hampton: Confederate Warrior, Conservative Statesman. (Washington, DC: Brassey's, Inc., 2004).

Douglas, David G. A Boot Full of Memories: Captain Leonard Williams, 2nd S.C. Cavalry (Camden, SC: Gray Fox, 2003).

Field, Ron. The Hampton Legion, Part 1: Regimental History (Lower Swell, Gloucestershire, UK: Design Folio, 1994).

Field, Ron. The Hampton Legion, Part 2: Company Histories (Lower Swell, Gloucestershire, UK: Design Folio, 1995).

Longacre, Edward G. Gentleman and Soldier: A Biography of Wade Hampton III (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2009).

Martin, Samuel J. Southern Hero: Matthew Calbraith Butler, Confederate General, Hampton Red Shirt, and U.S. Senator (Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2001).

McArthur, Judith N. and Burton, Orville V. "A Gentleman and an Officer": A Military and Social History of James B. Griffin's Civil War (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996).

Priest, John Michael, ed. Stephen Elliott Welch of the Hampton Legion (Shippensburg, PA: Burd Street Press, 1994).

Rod, Andrew, Jr. Wade Hampton: Confederate Warrior to Southern Redeemer (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2008).

Sturkey, O. Lee. Hampton Legion Infantry C.S.A.: The South Carolina Regimental-Roster Set (Wilmington, NC: Broadfoot Publishing Co., 2008). A review of this book and interview with the author can be read here and here.

Wellman, Manly Wade. Giant in Gray: A Biography of Wade Hampton of South Carolina (New York: Charles Scribner, 1949).
 
Thomas M. Logan 6.jpg

Thomas Muldrop Logan, third and final colonel of Hampton's Legion. Born in Charleston in 1840, he graduated from South Carolina College in 1860. He enlisted as a private in Company A "Washington Light Infantry," later appointed 2nd lieutenant and eventually making his way up to captain. Was wounded in the foot at Gaines' Mill and cited for bravery at Antietam. Promoted to lieutenant colonel in December 1862. After Col. Martin W. Gary rose to brigadier general in May 1864, Logan was promoted to colonel in command of Hampton's Legion. He only commanded the legion until late 1864 when he was offered and accepted command of Butler's cavalry brigade, promoted to brigadier general February 15, 1865. He went on to serve in the Carolinas Campaign and surrendered at Greensboro, NC.

Photo of Logan in the College Cadets at the South Carolina College, 1856.
Thomas M. Logan 2.jpg


Full bio of him here: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/brig-gen-thomas-muldrup-logan.152301/
 
Lt. Col. James B. Griffin 2.jpg

Lt. Col. James B. Griffin, born October 10, 1825, was one of the wealthiest men in Edgefield District. He was first appointed major of the cavalry battalion of Hampton's Legion, but after Lt. Col. Benjamin J. Johnson of the infantry was killed at First Manassas, Griffin was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the infantry battalion. He was defeated by Martin W. Gary in the reelection of officers in June 1862 and so resigned, serving out the rest of the war in the defense of Charleston and elsewhere. Griffin lost everything after the war and later immigrated to Texas, where he worked as a brick manufacturer. He died in Fort Worth, Texas, June 25, 1881.

His letters can be read here: http://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/archive/resources/documents/ch17_05.htm
 
James Conner.JPG

James Conner, born in Charleston, September 1, 1829. He initially served as captain of the Washington Light Infantry, Co. A of Hampton's Legion, until appointed major July 21, 1861. After Col. Hampton was wounded and Lt. Col. Johnson killed at First Manassas, Conner assumed temporary command of the legion. He later accepted a commission as colonel of the 22nd North Carolina Infantry in summer of 1862, and was eventually promoted to brigadier general on June 1, 1864.

A letter to his mother on the battle of First Manassas can be read here: https://bullrunnings.wordpress.com/2011/10/26/capt-james-conner-hamptons-legion-on-the-battle/
 
Theodore Kekeley Klinck.jpg

Half-plate ambrotype by George S. Cook of Charleston, S.C. Courtesy of Citadel Archives, Charleston, S.C.

Theodore Kekeley Klinck served as a second lieutenant in the Washington Light Infantry Volunteers, Company A of the infantry battalion of Hampton’s Legion, during the First Battle of Manassas on July 21, 1861. He “acted his part well” and survived without injury.

He was not as fortunate at the Battle of Seven Pines on May 31, 1862. Klinck, now first lieutenant in command of his company, was seriously wounded in the thigh and dragged out of range of fire, before being abandoned. He lay on the field for 18 hours without food or assistance before Union soldiers discovered him. Klinck was transported by ship to Philadelphia, and then on to a military hospital. According to one report, Klinck experienced the hostility of Philadelphians firsthand. “Stretched upon litters, was one who attracted much attention, from the fact that an attendant kept the face of the prostrate man carefully covered by a newspaper. There were many who surmise as to the motive for the concealment, and but few guessed its real object … He had his face covered … to escape the dreaded insults of the people of Philadelphia.”

A surgeon amputated Klinck’s leg, but “physical exhaustion caused him to sink under the effects of the operation.” He died on June 11, 1862.

https://militaryimages.atavist.com/palmetto-faces-autumn-2015
 
Hampton Legion Cavalry Battalion Roster

https://ranger95.com/civil_war/so_c...legion_cav_bn/hampton_legion_cav_bn_rost.html


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Sixth-plate ambrotype by an anonymous photographer. The Liljenquist Family Collection, Library of Congress.

The ranks of the Beaufort District Troop, a cavalry company raised southwest of Charleston, S.C., included the Boynton brothers of Walterboro, who enlisted as privates in June 1861. Stephen D. Boynton, 23, and 19-year-old Moses M. Boynton provided their own horses and much of their equipment following Confederate protocol. The brothers, members of the cavalry arm of Hampton’s Legion, conducted scouts, raids and reconnaissance expeditions along the banks of the Potomac and Occoquan rivers in Virginia in late 1861.

In May 1862, during the withdrawal from Yorktown during the Peninsula Campaign, a portion of the Hampton Legion cavalry encountered their Union counterparts. Eighty of the Legion’s troopers, including the Boyntons, made “a brilliant dash” against a much larger force of the 6th U.S. Cavalry. In a short, bloody skirmish, they took 14 federals prisoner and killed 20. Stephen Boynton and another South Carolinian died in action. Gen. Wade Hampton issued a General Order of congratulations for his “cavaliers of South Carolina.”

Moses went on to serve in Company A of the 3rd South Carolina Cavalry. He last appeared on a military record with a rank of second lieutenant in October 1864.

John S. Schoolbred.jpg

Sixth-plate tintype by an anonymous photographer. Courtesy of Joseph A. Matheson Jr. of Camden, S.C.

On March 30, 1863, near Catlett’s Station, Va., troopers from the 8th Illinois Cavalry captured Pvt. John Stanyarne Shoolbred. A member of Company B of the 2nd South Carolina Cavalry, Shoolbred had enlisted two years earlier in the Beaufort District Troop, cavalry battalion of Hampton’s Legion. His company was re-organized as Company B of the 2nd in June 1862.

The Illinois cavalrymen paroled Shoolbred shortly after his capture. His military service record ends here, though at some point he returned to South Carolina. He died in 1872 at age 31 and is buried in a cemetery in Congaree, S.C., just outside Columbia.

The uniform he wears in this portrait dates to late 1861. Shoolbred packs a pair of Navy revolvers in his waist belt and holds a Model 1842 musket.

https://militaryimages.atavist.com/palmetto-faces-autumn-2015
 
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Capt. Henry Julius Smith.jpg

Captain Henry Julius Smith, Company D "Gist Rifles." He was mortally wounded at Antietam. After the battle, he was brought to the Shepherdstown home of Grandison T. Licklider, where he died on Sept. 21, 1862. After Smith’s death Licklider sent the officer’s sword, sash and other possessions to his widow.


Smith is mentioned in Lt. Col. Martin W. Gary's official report of the battle.

CAMP NEAR MARTINSBURG, W. VA.,
September 23, 1862.

Colonel W. T. WOFFORD,
Commanding Texas Brigade.

COLONEL: I have the honor to submit the following report of the infantry battalion of the Hampton Legion in the battle of the 17th at Sharpsburg, Md.:

The battle opened about day-break along the whole line. The legion was placed to the left of the brigade, the Eighteenth Georgia being to its right. We began to advance from under cover of [the West] woods in rear of a church, and engaged the enemy so soon as we emerged from them, the enemy being in line of battle near the edge of the corn-field immediately in our front. We advanced steadily upon them, under a heavy fire, and had not gone far when Herod Wilson, of Company F, the bearer of the colors, was shot down. They were raised by James Esters, of Company E, and he was shot down. They were then taken up by C. P. Poppenheim, of Company A, and he, too, was shot down. Major J. H. Dingle, Jr., then caught them and began to advance with them, exclaiming, "Legion, follow your colors!" The words had an inspiring effect, and the men rallied bravely under their flag, fighting desperately at every step. He bore the colors to the edge of the corn near the [Hagerstown] turnpike road, on our left, and, while bravely upholding them within 50 yards of the enemy and three Federal flags, was shot dead. I immediately raised the colors and again unfurled them amid the enemy's deadly fire, when Marion Walton, of Company B, volunteered to bear them. I resigned them into his hands, and he carried them gallantly and safely through the battle. Soon after the death of Major Dingle, I discovered, about 200 yards distant, a brigade of the enemy in line of battle, covering our entire left flank. I immediately ordered the men to fall back under the crest of the hill. I then rallied them and reformed them, and remained with the brigade the remainder of the day.

I have to record the death of many of my best officers. The brave, modest, and energetic Major J. H. Dingle, Jr., fell, among the foremost in battle, and died with the colors in his hands; Captain R. W. Tompkins, who was killed near where Major Dingle fell, and was conspicuous in the fight, for his gallantry and efficiency; Lieutenant J. J. Exum was killed near the same place, heroically leading his men; Captain H. J. Smith was mortally wounded, in the same charge, while bravely leading his men (he has since died); Lieutenant W. A. B. Davenport was wounded at the head of his company; Lieutenant W. E. O'Connor, acting adjutant, was wounded in the engagement the evening before. I have but to mention my four remaining officers-Captain T. M. Logan, Lieuts. B. E. Nicholson, J. H. M. James, and J. J. Cleveland-all of them in command of their companies, and bearing themselves with great bravery, having shared the same dangers of their less fortunate comrades. The number of the legion was reduced more than one-half by the numerous details for skirmishers, scouts, cooks, and men barefooted, unfit for duty.

The following is a list of the casualties. Strength of battalion in action, officers and men, 77.

I have the honor to be, your obedient servant,

M. W. GARY,
Lieutenant-Colonel, Commanding Hampton's Legion.
 
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Here are a couple other accounts of the legion at Antietam....

Letter by Stephen Elliott Welch of Co. H describing his experiences in the Maryland Campaign:

[Monday] Sept. 22nd 1862
My dear Parents,
Doubtless you have seen by the papers that I am among the wounded of the battle fought in Maryland. I believe I wrote you last just before crossing the Potomac into Maryland. We travelled on and were near Hagerstown, when we learned of the approach of the enemy. As they were between the rivers & ourselves we had to meet them.

Sunday, the 14th, we marched back and filled into a cross road
[at Boonsboro, Maryland] where one of our batteries was firing on the Yankees but a battery of the enemy's obtained our range & we had to move. Our next position was at the foot of a deep mountain [South Mountain] and then we had to march to the top. A call was then made for 3 volunteer skirmishers & [Henry] Brandes, [Gregg B.] Gelling & I slept out. Under one of the Lts. We pushed ahead and on reaching the crest of the mountain we saw a line of blue coats [51st Pennsylvania] not 30 yards ahead from us. Fortunately they did not see us, so taking deliberate aim we fired & withdrew; it had the effect of astonishing them and as soon as possible they fired upon us in return, doing no damage, however. Now being ranked [in line of battle] we [four] lay down & and the Yanks fired over us. During the night we retired & I was nearly captured, being only a qtr. of a mile off asleep.

I escaped and Monday & Tuesday night we were in line of battle. Tuesday night we were under a terrific fire of shot & shell, but only a few were wounded, among them
[Henry] Brandes, his wound is not serious but is quite painful.

Wednesday the 17th, the day opened with a hail storm of shell, grape & canister shot and until 8 A. M. we had to submit to it, but we heard the order to forward and off we went. Coming to a fence we had to climb it and then additionally expose our selves but once over and like a hurricane we swept over the land. I stood near the flag and saw it fall but being hard at work loading I did not pick it up though it was raised by a color corporal
[James E. Estes, Company F]before I was ready. Seeing it float again I pressed on.

The first gun I had wouldn't go off; throwing it down I found another when, like the first,
[it] wouldn't shoot so I had to get a third, which [at] last fired well. After firing five or six shots I fell, doubled up & lay insensible for a while; as soon as my senses returned I felt a queer sensation on my head & found my right eye closed & ear full of blood & a pool of blood by my side, my rifle thrown one way & hat another. Picking up my cap it bore no trace of a cut on the outside but the inside was much torn. It is really a mercy I was not torn to pieces for it appeared I never saw rain fall faster than the bullets around us.

I fired every shot at the U.S. flags and as fast as
[they were] raised they fell again. We rushed to within 50 or 60 yards of their battery and the grape & canister tore immense holes through our ranks. Our reinforcements did not come up, but theirs did & on both flanks and in front we had one continued sheet of flame. All around me the bullets whistled and from a battery far on our right the shells burst upon us. A piece of shell struck me and knocked me stupid.

Never have I seen men fall so fast and thick and in about one hour's time our whole division was almost annihilated. The order was given for us to retreat and slowly, sullenly we fell back but as soon as our reinforcements we forwarded up again and drove them back. As evidence of that fire we had six color bearers shot down: the major
[J. Harvey Dingle]was killed holding them up and the others were wounded.

I had to get off the field the best way I could and after hunting for several hours found the hospital where I had my head dressed. We were then sent across the Potomac to Shepherdstown
[Virginia] where we almost starved but for the kindness of a lady and a gentleman whom we asked to cook a little meat for us; not content with cooking the meat she had some nice bread and preserves set out for us. . . .

I am quite well, and suffer from my head to the right. The wound is more than an inch long, on the scalp, and just touching the bone. I am thankful my life is spared, for surely it seems no one had a more narrow escape than myself. My spirits are up at high water mark. . . .

Write whenever you have a chance & I shall do the same. God bless you my dear parents is my daily pray.
Your Affectionate Son
Elliott
Excuse errors & c.

- Stephen Elliott Welch of the Hampton Legion
edited by John Michael Priest


Hampton's Legion and Hood's Brigade 1, CV 16, 342.jpg

Hampton's Legion and Hood's Brigade 2, CV 16, 342.jpg

- Confederate Veteran 16 (July 1908), pp. 342–43
 
John Coxe, who served in Company F of the Hampton Legion infantry until September 1862, authored a series of articles in the Confederate Veteran magazine. Here are the links to those detailing his service while in the legion:

"The Battle of First Manassas": https://archive.org/stream/confederateveter23conf#page/n37/mode/2up


"Bloody Night Affair at Colchester, VA": https://archive.org/stream/confederateveter23conf#page/168/mode/2up


"With the Hampton Legion in the Peninsular Campaign": https://archive.org/stream/confederateveter291921#page/414/mode/2up


"In the Battle of Seven Pines": https://archive.org/stream/confederateveter301922#page/24/mode/2up


"Seven Days Battles Around Richmond": https://archive.org/stream/confederateveter301922#page/90/mode/2up


"Wade Hampton": https://archive.org/stream/confederateveter301922#page/n423/mode/2up


From Greenville, SC, Coxe joined up in May 1861 at 16 years old. He later took advantage of the age exemption and left the legion in September 1862, enlisting in the 2nd South Carolina Infantry in 1863.
John Coxe.jpg
 
By chance has anyone come across a picture of a member of the Edgefield Hussars in their militia uniform from before 1861. Capt Griffin and Capt Gary commands them before the war?

Also there is a thread on the site about the Beaufort District Troop uniform from a wood etching showing the coat with lace across the front from a period newspaper. Has anyone ever figured out if it was correct? The Troop had been around for most of the 1800’s as a state militia unit and the uniform could have carried over as it was similar to other Cavalry units. Any thoughts or help is appreciated.
 
Also the picture of Thomas Logan as an enlisted man should actually be him as a freshman at the South Carolina College in 1856 as part of the College Cadets. That was their uniform at the time. They were disbanded later that year after a riot in Columbia.
 
By chance has anyone come across a picture of a member of the Edgefield Hussars in their militia uniform from before 1861. Capt Griffin and Capt Gary commands them before the war?
Sorry, I'm not aware of a picture of the Edgefield Hussars, but they were originally organized and commanded by Capt. Andrew Pickens Butler in 1833. James B. Griffin was captain shortly before the war and Andrew Pickens Butler's nephew, Matthew C. Butler, joined in 1859 and was elected 2nd lieutenant, later elected captain in 1861.

Not sure if Martin W. Gary was ever a member of the Edgefield Hussars in prewar years, but at the outset of the war he was elected captain of the Watson Guards from Edgefield, Company B of the infantry battalion.

Also the picture of Thomas Logan as an enlisted man should actually be him as a freshman at the South Carolina College in 1856 as part of the College Cadets. That was their uniform at the time. They were disbanded later that year after a riot in Columbia.
Thanks for the correction!
 
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