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Show f HOW HE BROKE THE LINE. WRITTEN FOR THE TIMEP. f It was subsequent to the final surrender of Johnston to Sherman in the spring; of 1S65, that General Potter with a column of Union troops, white and black, horse, foot and light artillery were fighting their way from Camden, in the interior of South Carolina, to the sea coast in the vicinity of Charleston. Aside from the ordinary impedimenta impedi-menta of a hostile column in an enemy's country, the march of the troops was impeded im-peded by the necessity of protecting and feeding some three or four thousand contrabands, con-trabands, men women and childien, who had gathered from the large plantations Within striking distance of the union division, di-vision, and uuder the guidance of "Massa Liukum's" soldiers, started on their toll-some toll-some exodus from the land of bondage. He must have been a hard-hearted man in-tieed, in-tieed, who could have calmly looked upon that helpless and homeless crowd, crippled by the extreme of age and infancy. It was a running and continuous light of sharp skirmishes rising Into the dignity of pronounced pro-nounced battle until a confederate Hag of trace in the absence of telegraph tele-graph lines or mails prouounced the peace which followed the fcurrender of Leo and Johnson. Then, with the discharge of shotted guns, with songs and crbeers, -with blare of trumpets and rattle of drums the column took up its jubilant march to the coast aud home to "God's couuntry." The next day a thunderbolt out from a clear Sky fell on that tearful but wrathful division. A courier on a foaming steed checked the leading regiment of blacks with the awful word that Lincoln with his .entire cabinet had been assassinated. One word of permission per-mission would have turned back that lonu' array of non-combatants and converted it into a resistless avalanche of wrath and destruction. The humblest member of the thousand armed men and fleeing; slaves in that long column will never forget, the thrill and shock of the eventful hour. But this is preliminary to the relation of an incident which occurred on the march between BtiUetbtrxgfe and Camden. A strong; force of rebels, supposed to be ounmandcd by the gallant Genera Gordon of Georgia, made a determined stand in a strong position posi-tion on the Stale mad. As the Union troops moved to the attack, a masked battery opened from a commanding range so itunoyingly that two black regiments were detached from the attacking column to Hank, and, if possible, to e-apture the battery . A detour of two or three miles over a wild, uneven country, and the skirmishers of the rebel Infantry supports were driven in, and the Well-handled anil well sec reted pieces opened suddenly mi the Hanking forces with hot and shell. The two biaek regiments In admirable line of battle were pre-sing close upon the heels of the skirmishers through an old cotton -field and on a down rrnule to capture the battery. Suddenly the well aiirjned ranks broke to the rear near the colors, and a quickly seemed to recover from sutlden panic and came together again, as the line officers, of-ficers, supposing that the unexpected screech anil rattle of bursting shells hael broken the line, hastening to rally the men. found a masked and coiied battery in the shape of an enormous diamond - marked rattlesnake, ready do battle against aii3' odds. He was left in possession of his chosen position and forcibly reminded one of South Carolina's old colonial flag, on it a thrifty palmetto tree, with a coiled rattlesnake rattle-snake near, and the significant warning, "Touch Me Not!" just over his threatening crest. It was mi the 19th day of April, lSt'itj, that the South Carolinau broke the Union line of battle. |