Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 14.djvu/61

 Diary of Lieutenant-Colonel John G. Pressley. 55

and found a diary, which he had brought down to the capture of Lieutenant Dibble. The diary gave an account of the building of masked batteries at Folley Inlet on the northern end of FoUey Island, of which the Confederates had no knowledge previously. I deemed this information quite important, and sent the diary imme- diately to General Ripley in Charleston. [If proper attention had been paid to the information which it contained the surprise and dis- aster of the loth of July would have been avoided, and the advantage gained would in some measure have compensated for the unequal exchange which had been made when we lost Lieutenant Dibble and got a sergeant.] I allowed nothing taken from our prisoner except this diary, and the spy- glass. These he begged to be allowed to retain. He was told that the diary was too valuable to be left in his keeping, and that as our Lieutenant had a spy-glass with him when he was captured, we would take this glass in exchange. [Lieu- tenant Dibble remained a prisoner in the hands of the enemy till October, 1864, and the Twenty-fifth South Carolina Volunteers was thus deprived of one of our most promising officers.]

July gth.—A\\ of our hopes of a quiet summer are rudely dis- pelled. The enemy unmasked formidable batteries at Folley Inlet, and their iron-clad fleet appeared and crossed the bar. The steamer Pawnee came up Stono river and shelled James Island as she pro- ceeded. The regiment marched to the cross-roads near the Presby- terian church where we had so often been when our works were threatened, and there we spent the night in battle array.

July 10th, 186 J. — The enemy opened a furious fire from their battery at Folley Inlet. Under cover of this fire General Strong's brigade crossed and captured all of our works on the southern end of Morris Island. The camp and camp equipage of the Twenty-first regiment fell into their hands. Our troops were driven with consid- erable loss down to Battery Wagner, and the further progress of the enemy was stopped by the guns of that famous fortification.

The regiment remained on the picket line all day and night expect- ing that the enemy would advance on our works simultaneously with the attack on Morris Island, but all was quiet in our front though the enemy had advanced and held James Island as far as Grimballs.

July nth. — We were relieved this morning and returned to our camp at Secessionville. The signal book which was found on the Keokuk remained for a long time in the hands of General Beauregard as useless as a sealed volume. At length a signal officer of the enemy was captured near Beaufort. (I have seen it stated by a Fed-