Battle of Secessionville - After Action Report (Part 1)
Kind reader, I share with you a few lines about a recent action at Fort Lamar on James Island in South Carolina. I do not pretend to write the history of what happened there, but only some observations of a private serving in the front rank of the Confederate army.
Our troops arrived throughout the day and into the night on Friday, setting up camp near Fort Lamar. The air was brisk and the sky clear. We pitched our tents under pecan trees with moss draped branches. We awoke the next morning to a heavy frost and fog hanging low in the fields. The rising sun finally burnt off the fog and brought much anticipated warming. In the light of day the full extent of our camps could be seen and we found our compatriots "The Long Beards" had arrived with others during the night.
The company was formed, comprised of troops from the 13th and 43rd North Carolina Troops, and we marched off for morning parade. A company drill followed the parade after which we headed back to camp. Captain Shafer of the 13th NC, nursing a foot wound, had been restricted to camp but was in no way idle. He had prepared an excellent breakfast of grits and shrimp! The men filled their bellies and all were well satisfied.
Around 11:00 in the morning, we formed up and marched into town. We stacked arms and the local ladies provided lunch for the troops (I particularly enjoyed the cake). The men also had time to visit the sutler’s tents for any fancy foodstuffs or items not supplied by the quartermaster. About 12:30 we reformed and marched out of town back to our camps.
I guess it was around 3:00 in the afternoon, when word of Federal troops rapidly approaching Fort Lamar was received. We formed up and marched into the fort. Soon the Yanks could be seen and the artillery from the fort, five pieces in all, opened up on them. We were quickly directed to the walls of the fort, as was other infantry as they arrived. Our company was split on either side of an artillery piece on the extreme right of the fort. The battle raged for what I suppose was an hour or more, with the Yankees making several attempts to breach the walls of the fort. A few Yanks made it over the walls, only to be killed or captured. One Yankee prisoner made a run for it back towards the Federal main body, practically running right over Corporal Etzler and miraculously avoiding the minie balls from our rifles. Guess it just wasn’t his time. The Yankees finally withdrew, but only after suffering great losses. The ground in front of the fort was littered with the dead and wounded blue coats.
Following the battle, we were withdrawn from the fort and returned to camp. Again Captain Shafer had been busy during our absence and a supper of rice and gumbo was simmering over the fire. We even had sweet potato and pecan pies to finish off the meal! After letting another fine meal settle, some attended a dance in town at the cotton dock, while others stayed in camp or gathered around a large bonfire that had been set in a nearby field. The flames from the bonfire were as high as forty feet, a fire that Private Lynch would have been proud of.
