Page 35: Battle Account of the June 4, 1862 Battle of Secessionville as printed in New Castle Courant Newspaper, June 17, 1862; Death Announcement of William S. Gilgore, Co. G
Courant.
EXTRA.
NEW CASTLE, TUESDAY, JUNE 17, 1862.
We issue this little extra in order to get the important and painful intelligence contained in it, to our readers, before the regular day of publication. We gather these particulars from the correspondence of the New York Tribune and Pittsburgh Dispatch. The paper will be published at the regular time.
A SKIRMISH IN SOUTH CAROLINA.
THE ROUNDHEAD REGIMENT ENGAGED.
I give the following short detail of the day before yesterday’s skirmish for the information of our friends.
On Sunday, the First and Second Brigades embarked at Beaufort for Charleston leaving the Fiftieth Pennsylvania regiment, Col. Christ to hold the position at Beaufort and on Monday evening, the 2d inst the Seventy ninth New York, Volunteers, and four companies of the One Hundredth Pennsylvania A. Templeton, F, (Cline,) D, (Hamilton,) and I, (Lieut. Blair) disembarked at Stone Fort, abandoned by the enemy, and immediately went in upon the Island, driving the enemy’s pickets before them.
On the morning of the 3d, the enemy approached in force and a stubborn contest ensued. The transport having on board the balance of the brigade could not cross the bar to reinforce the troops engaged till about ten o’clock in the morning. At the time of the arrival of the companies E (Bently,) K (Van Gorder) G (Brown) and B (Dawson,) our wounded were being brought in and we at once reinforced the advance and the enemy fell back.
The following is a correct list of the casualties to the four companies of this regiment, the only ones that occurred, except one man mortally wounded of the Seventy ninth New York, on the evening of the 2d.
KILLED.
W. S. M’Knight, Co. F. Eastbrook.
Solomon Fisher, Co. F Slipperock.
MORTALLY WOUNDED.
James Bell, Co. I Youngstown, O.
Harrison White, Co. D. Darlington.
BADLY WOUNDED.
Thomas M’Keegan, Co. A.
Mr. Bell was shot through the head, but still lives.
Mr. White was shot through the abdomen, but still lives.
Mr. M’Keegan, shot through the upper part of the left lung, but is doing well.
Mr. Fisher was shot through the abdomen, and died in a short time.
PRISONERS.
J. H. Cline, Capt. Co. F.
Serg’t D. J. Gilfilan, Co. F
Robert Moffit, Co. F.
Samuel M’Clure, Co. D.
Corporal Jas. Bard, Co. A.
Corporal P. A. Forbes, Co. F.
G. Aken, Co. F.
R. Duke, Co. F
J. Irwin, Co. F.
J. M’Masters, Co. F.
Conrad Shaffer, Co. F.
J. Calvin Sampson, company F.
J. Smith, company F.
J. Klotzbaker, company A.
James Kerr, company A.
Robert Douthet, company D.
J. Funkhouser, company D.
F. Watt, company D.
J. Herron, company D.
Jos. F Cook, company D.
D. Kenard, company D.
J. Wibble company D.
These prisoners had advanced on the left of the position under Capt. Cline and the center of the advance was held by two companies of the Massachusetts Twenty-eighth, a green regiment, and they suddenly fell back in a great panic leaving Capt. Cline and his party at a long distance from support. The enemy rushed after the retiring twenty-eighth, and thus got between Capt. Cline and the reserve, and cut him off. Just a few minutes before, the Adjutant of the Charleston Sharpshooters took deliberate aim at Capt. Cline but before he drew the trigger, Lieut. Calhoun, of Co. I., shot him down with his revolver, and the men seized him and brought him off a prisoner.
There were only one hundred and sixty of the Roundheads in the fight, but all here, from the General who was personally with them, down to the privates of the other commands, unite in in stating that the men did honor to their Roundhead blood. They were cool as veterans, and in good humor all the time, many of them laughing in the midst of the hottest fight.
At last they advanced to where they saw an enormous battery of siege howitzors, eight inch caliber, and a party headed by Capt. Templeton, of company A, made a dash at a charge bayonet, and captured it and brought off two of the pieces leaving two disabled.
All this time the enemy were shelling them from another battery but they held on to their trophies and brought them off. We now await the order to advance on Charleston which with Fort Sumpter, is in sight of our advance posts.
A Roundhead Gone.
We regret to learn, says the Mercer Dispatch, of the sudden death Sergeant William S. Gilgore, of Co. G, Roundhead Regiment of Mercer, who died on the 22d ult. of camp fever. His regiment was ordered to Fortress Monroe, to join M’Clellan’s forces, just as he was recovering from an attack of fever, and so anxious was he to be with them to participate in the conflicts in which they might be engaged, that he started with his company, notwithstanding the remonstrance of his physician and the entreaties of his friends. The voyage proved too much for his already exhausted body, and he had to yield in the conflict with the last enemy. He was a very promising man, and many will regret that he has been called home so soon.