Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 16.djvu/163

 The Wee Nee Volunteers of Wttliamaburg District. 157

Carolina volunteers. The Twenty-eighth Georgia, a small regiment, occupied a part of the land face. The balance of the land face, all of the sea face and flank wall outside, running from the fort to the water, were occupied by the Twenty- fifth South Carolina volunteers. Major Glover was assigned to the command of the flank wall and the sea face. I had command of the land face and the general supervi- sion of the whole regiment. The two regiments mentioned, and several companies of the Second South Carolina artillery constituted the garrison inside the fort. The Twenty-seventh Georgia was kept in the sand hills as a reserve. Battery Gregg was garrisoned by a company of regulars. These troops constituted the whole Confede- rate force on the island. The fire of the enemy was not very brisk during the night, but there was very little chance for any rest on the part of our garrison. We were in our places on the parapet of the fort all night. 1 made the salient angle regimental headquarters. Major F. F. Warley, of the Second South Carolina artillery, was Chief of Artillery and had the general supervision of all the guns. During the night Colonel Lawrence M. Keitt, of the Twentieth South Carolina volunteers, came down and relieved General Colquit, who left the island.

September jd, Thursday. Enemy still approaching. One or two of our guns and one mortar keeping up a steady fire. The men of the Twenty fifth were in high spirits, a great many of them went to work building defences with sand bags on the walls of the fort. They constructed loop-holes in these defences, through which to shoot at the enemy, whose works were provided with similar means of offense and defence. Firing from these loop-holes had become very dan- gerous, yet it was steadily kept up. As soon as light was seen through one of these holes the Federal sharpshooters fired, and not unfrequently succeeded in sending their balls through. Each side fired at the flashes of the rifles of the other. Our men, after firing, shoved their hats into the loop-holes to darken them before they drew out their muskets, which, when reloaded, were put carefully back and the hole covered by a man before the hat was withdrawn. One man, Private Wallace, of Company C, received a ball in his piece, which, happening to be of larger calibre than the enemy's gun, did not lodge. He took it out, put down a charge of powder and sent the ball back to its former owner. Musketry firing and hissing of balls were incessant. The enemy did not to-day use their artillery very briskly, but were hard at work in their trenches. Not a man could be seen, but a long line of spades was visible as they were lifted up