USA > South Carolina > Spartanburg County > A history of Spartanburg county > Part 12
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Mineral Limestone Springs was a small Saratoga for several
Springs years. But its inaccessibility was a fatal handicap to the hotel; it did not draw a sufficiently large patronage to justify the investment, and went into bankruptcy.
Glenn Springs, on the other hand, grew steadily in fame as a mineral spring. It had a well patronized boarding house as early as 1816; and a company was incorporated to promote it in 1836. Whether because its waters were better, or it was more accessible, or because its equipment was less expensive, the Glenn Springs company enjoyed a steady prosperity, and in the fifties it was the scene of political and social gatherings of genuine brilliance. From all over South Carolina, and from other States also, its guests came --- statesmen, politicians, match-making mamas, aspiring beaux, horse- traders, literati. All types thronged the place from the thirties till the outbreak of the Civil War, which for some years threw it into eclipse. Several springs of mineral waters, dancing, excellent food, fireworks, croquet, whist, drives to nearby gold mines and points of Revolutionary interest, afforded the guests plenty to do.
Hotels and cabins were built at a number of other springs, which enjoyed in their day good patronage. All of them were reached by stagecoach or by "hacks" from Clinton, Spartanburg, Pacolet Depot, or Union. Spartanburg had two hotels which advertised for sum- mer boarders and offered hack excursions to any of the springs. Limestone and Glenn's were both lively and gay; but Cherokee and Pacolet Springs, and the Chalybeate Springs at Campobello, besides several smaller resorts, offered no dancing or amusements, and only plain fare. They invited especially the patronage of invalids and families. All of these springs brought Spartans valuable contacts with a larger world than their own.
CHAPTER TWELVE Secession and War Years
Resources The outbreak of war came at a most opportune time for For War
Spartanburg District ; the Spartanburg-Union Railroad had just been put into operation, and this fact made possible Spartan- burg's development as one of the important producing and distributing points for the Carolinas and Georgia throughout the conflict. With- out this means of communication and transportation the wealth of natural resources and products could not have been made available to the extent they were; nor without this means of marketing their out- put would farmers and manufacturers have felt encouragement to plant and develop their lands and to build and operate their mills. The excellent reputation of the schools and colleges was an important factor in bringing new residents, and in securing for these institutions throughout the war a full attendance. The demand for implements of war, food stuffs, and clothing stimulated every mill and manufac- turing plant in the District. The hotels at the mineral springs offered attractive refuge for many whose homes were in the vicinity of war activities.
According to the 1860 census the District had a population of 26,919. Of these 18,679 were whites and 8,240 were colored. Of the Negroes, fewer than one hundred were free. There were in the District 3,386 families, and the real estate valuation amounted to more than six million dollars, and the personal property to more than ten million. The hotels at Cedar, Glenn, Limestone, and Cherokee Springs advertised in the Columbia and Charleston papers and enjoyed a considerable vogue. The District contained 34 Baptist churches, valued at $44,100, and accommodating 19,250 attendants ; 22 Metho- dist churches, valued at $18,750, and accommodating 7,025; 3 Pres- terian churches, valued at $10,500, and accommodating 1,600; and 2 Episcopalian churches, valued at $4,000, with accommodations for 550. The schools at Reidville and Limestone Springs, not yet offi- cially called colleges, were well patronized, as were Wofford College and the Spartanburg Female College, and the several academies scat- tered over the District. Numerous corn and flour mills were in opera- tion, and their number increased rapidly under the war demands for flour, meal, and grits. There were at least ten cotton and wool mills, some quite small.
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Vigilance Societies, Minute Men, Liberty Poles During the fall of 1859, and the year following, military organizations were being formed and were drilling ; and, throughout the District, lib- erty poles and flags were being raised with patriotic ceremonies. The Wofford College students, February 22, 1860, organized the "South- ern Guards." Sentiment in Spartanburg for secession was intensified day by day. November 1, 1860, a meeting was called, through the Spartan, for the formation of a Vigilance Association, "in view of the present state of our political affairs and the impending crisis." De- cember 1, 1860, the Minute Men of Spartanburg adopted "resolutions of thanks to Mrs. Dr. J. J. Vernon, Miss Mary Vernon and Miss Minnie Smith, for the beautiful flag which now waves from the Lib- erty Pole." These Minute Men adopted as their badge the emblem worn by the Nullifiers during the controversy of 1832, a blue cockade on which was mounted a gold palmetto button.
December 18, 1860, Captain William Foster of the Mount Zion community organized at Cherokee Springs the Cherokee Vigilant So- ciety, and a liberty pole was erected with suitable ceremonies, and was crowned with the "Palmetto Flag." This flag was red, and had on one side a white lone star, and on the other, a white oval field on which was a gold palmetto tree. A similar flag flew from a liberty pole at Bivingsville, and at its foot was planted a real palmetto tree brought from the coast. At Bomar's Old Field a Palmetto Flag with a pole which stood ninety-five feet high was raised in the presence of a great throng of patriotic spectators, and with lengthy speeches and military displays. The "young ladies of Limestonce Springs Female High School" appeared at one of these flag-raisings, wearing caps which bore the letters M. G., meaning Minute Girls.
The greatest single demonstration in connection with a flag- raising was the celebration of Cowpens Day, January 17, 1861. The Reverend J. G. Landrum made a report on the Secession Convention, and other leading men made speeches. The day's activities on the battleground began with a torchlight procession at five o'clock in the morning. At ten the Palmetto Flag was hoisted and the military evolutions and orations began. More than two thousand people were present. The fact that the flag was later secretly cut down in the night proved the existence of Unionist sentiment in the vicinity. In- vestigations were made by a Vigilant Committee, who punished a cul-
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prit who confessed. Another, known to have helped him, escaped in spite of the offer of rewards for his capture.
Steps Toward Meanwhile, in response to the proclamation of Gov- Secession ernor Gist and the action of the legislature, Spartans called mass meetings to consider the situation. On November 15, 1860, at a meeting at the Walker House, Judge T. N. Dawkins of Union, who had been the leader of the Co-operationists, made a stir- ring speech in favor of immediate secession. At this meeting Simpson Bobo, who had in 1832 been an outstanding Unionist, ended a moving address with the sentence: "Painful as it is to utter the word, I must say that this Union must be dissolved."
The most noted meeting of the period was held at the Palmetto House, November 24, in preparation for the election to the State Con- vention to be held December 17. Simpson Bobo was chairman of the committee on arrangements, which included a representative body of citizens from all over the District. The Reverend J. G. Landrum presided, and vice presidents from the various sections of the District were on the platform. The day was filled with heated speeches and resolutions, all favoring immediate separate State action. United States Senator James Chestnut, Jr., of Camden, and former Judge Magrath delivered orations, and the day's proceedings ended with a torchlight procession of the Minute Men. The election was held De- cember 6, and the six delegates chosen each received more than a thousand votes : J. G. Landrum, A. B. Foster, Benjamin F. Kilgore, James H. Carlisle, Simpson Bobo, William Curtis. On December 17, 1860, these men, with others similarly chosen from all over South Carolina, met in the First Baptist Church, Columbia, and organized what is known in history as the Secession Convention. This conven- tion, because of the appearance of smallpox in Columbia, adjourned to Charleston, and there, December 20, signed the Ordinance of Seces- sion.
First Call In response to Governor Gist's November proclama- For Volunteers tion, companies had organized and drilled and were now ready to respond to call. In January, mustering officers posted the following notice in Spartanburg :
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RECRUITS WANTED Able-bodied Men Wanted for THE ARMY OF SOUTH CAROLINA To Enlist for One Year Pay $11.00 per month Rations and Clothing same as U. S. Army Non-commissioned Officers will receive pay as follows :
1st Serg't $20.00
2nd Sergt's 17.00
Corporal 13.00
Apply at my office, Spartanburg Court House John R. Blocker Lieut. S. C. Army
Off for In spite of their elaborate preparations the volunteers were Camp taken by surprise when the call actually came to proceed to Charleston for training. Great plans had been made in Spartan- burg for celebrating the fifth anniversary of the Morgan Rifles, April 19, 1861, with a tournament on the St. John's campus at eleven o'clock in the morning and a Social Party at the Palmetto House in the eve- ning. Prizes were to include a saddle, an ostrich plume, gilt spurs, and a plated bridle bit. Three generals, four colonels, two lieutenant colonels and other military leaders had accepted invitations to be present. But instead of tilting on prancing steeds at a rate of one hundred fifty yards in nine seconds, the prospective celebrants were, April 13, six days before the date set for this brilliant event, off for camp.
The official call of the Fifth Regiment Volunteers to immediate service, which forced a cancellation of plans for the tournament, brought the people nearer to a realization of the impending conflict. Soon letters came from the coast, where the recruits were training, reporting that the soldiers had constant drill, daily prayer, and no drinking.
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A HISTORY OF SPARTANBURG COUNTY
Off for After a few weeks of such drill the soldiers came home, Virginia May 28, to enjoy a seven-day furlough before proceeding to Virginia. In this body were the Pacolet Guards, the Lawson's Fork Volunteers, the Kings Mountain Guards, the Morgan Light In- fantry, the Tyger Volunteers, and the Spartan Rifles-in all numbering more than 300 of the 5th Regiment's total enrollment of 1,150 men. The Spartan Rifles enjoyed the distinction of having been the first company of volunteers enrolled from Spartanburg District. They were marched out April 10, 1861. A quiet and subdued throng of friends and relatives gathered at the train on Monday morning, June 3, to see their soldiers depart to fight "ruffian Northern mercenaries and miserable recreants"-the words of the Spartan reporter. Fore- boding filled the minds of the citizens, and although it was salesday, usually a day of brisk business and social activity, the crowds at the station scattered quietly to their homes, in no mood for talk or trade.
Spartan Companies Before the end of the year Spartanburg had in the Field fourteen companies in the field. In the 5th Regiment, Colonel Micah H. Jenkins, were the Spartan Rifles, Cap- tain Joseph Walker; Morgan Infantry, Captain A. H. Foster ; Law- son's Fork Volunteers, Captain R. B. Seay ; Limestone Springs Com- pany, Captain J. Q. Carpenter. In the 3d Regiment, Colonel James H. Williams, were the Blackstock Volunteers (Glenn Springs), Cap- tain Benjamin Kennedy; Cross Anchor Volunteers, Captain Thomas B. Ferguson. In the 9th Regiment, Colonel J. D. Blanding, were the Cowpens Guards, Captain William Foster. In the 6th Regiment, Colonel L. Linder, were the Limestone Springs Infantry, Captain W. D. Camp. In the 13th Regiment, Colonel O. E. Edwards, were the Forest Rifles, Captain D. R. Duncan; Pacolet Guards, Captain W. P. Compton; Cherokee Guards, Captain Joseph Wofford; Iron District Volunteers, Captain A. K. Smith; Brockman Guards, Cap- tain B. T. Brockman. In the 15th Regiment, Colonel Jones, the Enoree Rangers, Captain Niles Nesbitt.
Soon cheerful letters came from Virginia, declaring that the Third and Fifth Regiments, in which at that time most of Spartan- burg's soldiers were enrolled, were the best in the field. The volun- teers wrote enthusiastically of their camp in a clover field, with stones for tables and seats and pillows. When news came to Spartanburg that some of her sons were killed at Manassas, like true Spartans the people called for volunteers to fill their places. The first men from
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SECESSION AND WAR YEARS
Spartanburg reported as killed in battle were H. A. McCravey and William Little.
War Work Behind The actual outbreak of the War Between the
the Lines
States forced upon all citizens many problems of adjustment. The war must be financed ; all available resources must be conserved and placed at the command of the new Confederate Gov- ernment ; soldiers must be equipped and sent to the front, and their families and property must be cared for in their absence.
The ladies were kept busy making clothes and uniforms for the soldiers. Subscription lists were formed to pay for cloth for the uni- forms. Ten or twelve leading citizens "stood for" the bills, but the communities soon, through subscriptions, refunded the outlay. Cap- tain Benjamin Kennedy bought cloth in Columbia and had a tailor cut out for each man in his company a uniform to his measure. These were then sent home to be made. So great was the patriotic zeal of the women to do their part that there were not enough uniforms to supply all who volunteered to make them. Many flags were made and painted or embroidered.
Financing the War In the summer of 1861 a committee consisting of Simp- son Bobo, the Reverend N. P. Walker, and James Far- row was appointed to sell Confederate bonds. These gentlemen met with a cordial response, and secured loyal cooperation over the entire District. Sub-committees were appointed for Cross Anchor, Wood- ruff's, Fingerville, Limestone Springs, and Cedar Spring. In Decem- ber 1862, the Spartan boasted that the District had not only contrib- uted as many men as any other, but that it had also taken more Confed- erate bonds. In 1862 Spartanburg District paid, for the carrying on of the war, $44,467.75. In subsequent years direct taxes for conducting the war were not levied. At a public meeting held in Spartanburg on salesday, December 1863, resolutions were adopted urging the Con- federate Congress to levy a tax which would defray expenses from year to year, rather than continue to sell bonds. These resolutions bore the signatures of leading citizens : Simpson Bobo, J. L. Wofford, S. N. Evins, John Winsmith, Gabriel Cannon, and John E. Bomar.
In 1864 the Confederate Government demanded a tithe of produce, and mills were authorized to exchange, in behalf of the government, thread and cloth for produce. Bivingsville in this way was able to supply the government during March 1864, between 8 and 10 thousand pounds of bacon, 1,000 cotton sacks, and 90 bunches of
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A HISTORY OF SPARTANBURG COUNTY
yarn ; and Hill's Factory furnished 5,000 pounds of bacon. The gov- ernment claimed one-half of a mill's output.
Mills and As the war became more and more imminent, the recog- Iron Works nized poverty of the South in manufacturing was felt to threaten disaster. The Charleston Mercury, in May 1861, ad- monished "The Old Iron District" to develop her iron to the utmost, and thereby both serve her country and make herself rich ; to "become another Springfield, giving us the best of weapons in the best of causes." But Spartanburg had depleted the forests which furnished the charcoal for smelting and now had to pay the penalty of earlier poor management by facing a scarcity of fuel. Many a man must, at this time, have recalled with a sense of shock the wasteful methods of clearing and burning up the logs in earlier days.
However, the iron manufacturers did their best. Thirty-two- pound cannonballs and eighteen-pound shells were made for the Con- federacy at Leo's Foundry near Limestone Springs. The South Caro- lina Manufacturing Company's large furnace near Cowpens battle- ground and the Rolling Mill at Hurricane Shoals were, upon the outbreak of war, devoted to supplying the needs of the Confederate Government, and turned out bolts, shot, and shell. Limited quantities of four-pound cannon were successfully cast. Small mills and smithies did their part. Householders were urged to supply as much lead as possible to be melted into bullets. Old-fashioned soapstone bullet molds were put into use.
The manufacture of cotton and woolen goods was but one of many activities carried on at Bivingsville. A cupola furnace for the smelting of iron ore was operated there, as were also sawmills and mills for grinding corn and wheat. The most interesting development was the construction, about 1864, of machinery which made 600 wooden shoe soles in one day. Wooden shoe soles were widely used by that time, but, so far as is known, Bivingsville was the only place where they were made by machinery.
Soldiers' Aid and The women realized the value of organization, Relief Associations and, July 18, 1861, the Cross Anchor Military Aid Society, the first in the District, was organized. August 9, 1861, a Soldiers' Aid and Relief Association was organized in Spartanburg, its members choosing, at first, to designate themselves as Sisters of the Confederate States. Enrollment was for the duration of the war and annual dues were $1.00. The plan was that this organization
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SECESSION AND WAR YEARS
should be extended by the organization of local branches throughout the District. Its officers were: President, Mrs. Jefferson Choice ; vice-presidents, Mrs. D. R. Duncan and Mrs. H. Bowie ; correspond- ing secretary, Mrs. Hosea Dean; recording secretary, Miss Mary Wingo ; treasurer, Miss Susan Foster. On the executive committee were Mrs. L. C. Kennedy, Mrs. Whitefoord Smith, Mrs. Joe Smith, and Mrs. O. E. Edwards. Cedar Spring, Ridgeville, Woodruff, Goucher Creek, Hobbyville, Glenn Springs, Gaffney, North Pacolet soon had branch organizations. These ladies provided gifts for the absent soldiers, ministered to their families, and cared for soldiers on furlough. They assigned a special company to each unit of the organization, so as to avoid duplication or omission of attentions. They sent "Singing Billy" Walker to Richmond, June 10, 1862, to nurse soldiers. Mrs. B'elle Lockwood was sent at the same time by the Methodist Sunday School Association. These nurses carried wines, delicacies, clothing, bedding, and other comforts.
Soldiers' Board of Relief In December, 1863, the State legislature appointed Soldiers' Boards of Relief to care for soldiers' fami- lies. On this board in Spartanburg District were : John B. Cleveland, G. W. H. Legg, Jonas Brewton, P. P. Beacham, Samuel Morgan, Aaron Cannon, Oliver Clark, J. L. Scruggs, James Petty, E. P. Brown, J. H. Whitmire, Harvey Wofford, John E. Bomar, Bryant Bomar, Henry C. Gaffney, Noah Webster, John Strobel, James Nesbitt, David C. Burton, O. P. Earle, Jared Drummond, Ibra Cannon, A. J. Daniel, J. C. Zimmerman. According to the treasurer's reports, this organi- zation distributed to the families of soldiers $28,180.02, besides sup- plying food and clothing to 990 families consisting of 3,803 persons.
In April 1864, the ladies of Spartanburg District established an orphan asylum for the care of soldiers' orphans. In the later months of the war they established a Wayside Hospital in a house given for that purpose by Major T. Stobo Farrow.
Participation of Schools and Colleges During all these disturbed times colleges and boarding schools were maintained. Tuition and board charges mounted steadily during the war. In later years some of the schools announced to their patrons that provisions were even more acceptable than cash. The pupils participated in varied patriotic activities, they gave benefit tableaux and concerts; were present at drills and rallies ; and knit and sewed for the soldiers. President Cur- tis of Limestone Springs Female High School and President William
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A HISTORY OF SPARTANBURG COUNTY
Kennedy Blake of the Spartanburg Female College continued to make pilgrimages to Savannah and Charleston to conduct young ladies to school. The Reverend R. H. Reid emphasized the importance of maintaining the schools; and stressed the necessity to society of pro- viding education for the children of soldiers by establishing scholar- ships and training teachers for the future. In December 1864 Reidville students and citizens gave an evening of "Tableaux" for the benefit of the Wayside Hospital in Spartanburg, the proceeds amount- ing to 50 pounds of flour and $306.30-in Confederate money. Wof- ford College was kept open, but the number of students and teachers diminished. In December 1863, President A. M. Shipp announced that generous donations had been secured from leading citizens, amounting to $51,000, and that two professors had been added to the faculty, with the purpose of educating free of charge all indigent orphans of Spartanburg and Greenville districts who might apply for such aid.
Cheer and Gloom The railroad was, increasingly, a satisfaction. It facili- tated the coming and going of the soldiers, and it afforded safer and quicker transportation of supplies to them than had ever been possible before. It brought to Spartanburg welcome visitors from the coast country. Many of these war refugees purchased homes and established themselves here permanently. It was cheering that the Walker House and the Palmetto House were filled to capacity in the summer of 1862.
Yet by this time the optimistic tone of public opinion had begun to change. There were wails against extortionists, speculators, dis- tillers, draft dodgers, and complaisant doctors too ready to grant exemptions. Criticism and sarcasm were directed at the legislature for misuse of taxpayers' money on such things as a gun factory in Greenville, which was without iron; and ice to make ice cream for the soldiers in Columbia, when most countrymen-whose taxes paid for this luxury-had never tasted ice cream. Farmers were urged to plant grain crops for food, not for distilling, and to resist the tempta- tion to plant cotton for the blockade runners, who were ready to pay exorbitant prices for it. In July 1862, Bethesda Church recalled its invitation to the Broad River Baptist Association to meet with it, giving as reasons the failure of the grain crop, the state of the country, the fact that nearly every home was one of mourning, and the further fact that there were not enough able-bodied male members of the
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congregation at home to take care of the duties incidental to the As- sociation meeting. The Philadelphia Church, which was much larger, was not in such distress, and the Association held its meeting at that church.
Premonitions Conditions the following year grew worse. Said the
of Defeat editor of the Spartan: "War is now by necessity and the law of self-preservation, the occupation of the people of the Con- federate States." Many preachers and doctors had decided they were more needed on the field of war than at home. The papers warned against making more cotton than was needed at home and urged the planting of more corn and the use of all of it for food. Mor- alists were still echoing Bishop Asbury's denunciations of Spartans who drank rather than ate their corn. Rising prices caused alarm. The newspapers made pleas for rags, which were essential to the mak- ing of paper. There were two weeks in January 1863, when the Spar- tan did not appear because it was impossible to get paper. That which was finally secured was of such poor quality that the faded files almost crumble at a touch, and are in parts illegible. Men wrote public letters urging government confiscation of all goods and property ; or de- manding that lists be made and action taken against all who were predicting the downfall of the Confederacy. Said one of them: "It is treason now to despair of the Confederacy . . The cause is God's, and it must prevail." Frequent notices of the sale of land and of "likely negroes" may indicate that some men were less hopeful of retaining the slavery regime. Dr. R. V. Lemoine visited Spartanburg and stirred up much feeling and discussion by attacks on Jefferson Davis and his government.
Deaths Death had touched many households, but not until June 24,
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