South Carolina
4th Cavalry Regiment
Company K
The Charleston Light Dragoons

 


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ORGANIZATION:

    Organized ca. 1730
    Joined the C.S.A. latter part of March, 1862
    as Company K 4th Regiment - South Carolina Volunteers
ASSIGNMENTS:
    Gen. Hood's Cavalry, C. S. A.

Battles

    Beaufort, SC
    Hawe's Shop, VA
    Bentonville (March 19 - 21 1865)

SURRENDERED:

    Bentonville, NC
    April 26, 1865

HISTORICAL SKETCH:

    It is a good rule, that every writing, however simple, should be held to "show cause" why it ought not to be burned, instead of being read. In a sketch of the Charleson Light Dragoons this "condition precedent" is readily fulfilled, for a corps, which has existed in this community for many generations, must be a subject of some interest. But there is a better reason than this; it is because the Dragoons were representative in a marked degree of the influences which made the Confederate army a grand body of citizen- soldiers. Aristocracy is a word now only to be spoken, if at all, under the breath, because it acts upon many as a red flag upon a bull; still, in spite of the risk of being gored, we will refer to Edmund Burke's statement to a British Ministry, to the effect, that the "colour-line" had made yeomanry, as well as gentry, at the South quasi-aristocrats, the outcome of which was a brave people devotedly attached to civil liberty. Of this state of society the Dragoons were, as has been said peculiarly representative. Once, some one, as a joke, styled them the "kid-gloved company," but the imputation of dandyism implied, even if it had been true, would not have been very hard to bear. Wellington used to remark, as Croker says, that when he required a man for a specially difficult service, he looked around for one of the faces often seen peering from White's windows. In fact the dandy in all times has played an important part, particularly where the game happened to be war. As at Steinkirk, when the French army, surprised and routed, called upon the household troops to save the day, and gallants rustling in silk doublets, their lace collars hastily put on, sprang to arms; then the order rang down their line of battle, "Fire no shots! give them cold steel!" For once the Saxon went down before the Celt; heirs of the memories of Cressy and Agincourt before the splendid chivalry of France. Thus the dandies fought and throughout the land peasant vied with prince in gratitude to those "kid-gloved" companies and all the pretty women for many a day wore lace scarfs knotted round their shapely throats in Steinkirk-fashion. What more could Frenchman want?

    If the story of the Charlston Light Dragoons is to be preserved, it is full time it should be written, for many of the facts exist only in the memories of the surviving members, and before long this detachment will hear the bugle-call to which they must yield obedience. The present sketch is intended to be confined to the "Old Company," to its personnel and memories, referring only to its regiment, brigade, or division where this is necessary for an understanding of the Dragoons's story. This is not done for the purpose of underrating those of others, but because the writer's information is too limited to warrant his entering a broader field.

    That the history of the cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia will yet be written by the hand of the chieftain, who led its columns so ably, is earnestly so hoped, and the greatest pride of the Dragoons will always be, that they were a fraction however small of Hampton's Corps.

    The story of the Charleston Light Dragoons is interwoven with the social and military history of South Carolina from early colonial days. It is to be regretted that public data in regard to its organization and personnel have been lost in the lapse of time, and that records of its own, old muster-rolls and similar archives, were necessarily abandoned, from lack of means of transportation, after its surrender with Johnston's army in North Carolina in April, 1865, at the end of the War between the States. it is clear that the corps existed at least as early as 1733, being called then with British loyalty the "Charleston Horse-Guards," a title changed, doubtless in deference to Republican sentiment, at the Revolution, into "Charleston Light Dragoons." *In 1733, Samuel Prioleau was captain, and some hundred and thirty years later two of his blood and name fought gallantly under the colours - one brother being severely wounded at Pocotaligo, and the other dying a hero's death at Cold Harbor.

OFFICERS:

    Rutledge, Captain B. H.
    Colcock, Richard Hutson 1st Lieut., Captain
    Nowell, L. C. 2nd Lieut., 1st Lieut
    O'Hear, Jr. 2nd Lieut J. W.
      Probably James.
      Info. provided by Ronda Winkfein.
    Harleston, J. E. 1st Sgt., Jr. 2nd Lieut.
    Bickley (Beckley), J.C. 2nd Sgt., 1st Sgt.
    Huger, Benjamin Frost 3rd Sgt. 2nd Sgt.
    Ball, 4th Sgt. Elias Nonus (8 Aug 1834-1872) planter of Dean Hall Plantation
    Hutchinson, 5th Sgt. Joseph Hall Waring (ca. 1830 - 1877)
    Simons, 1st Cpl. S. W.
    Miles, 2nd Cpl. John Allen
    Bostick, 3rd Cpl. L. R.
    Rose, 4th Cpl Alexander
    Kirkland, Courier William Leonard
    William Lenox Kirkland, II was born in 1828. He owned a rice plantation named "Rose Hill" on the Combahee River. His wife, Mary Miller Withers was the daughter of Judge Thomas Jefferson Withers, a signer of the Secession Ordinance and a Senator of the Congress of the Confederacy. When Yankee troops took Port Royal in 1863, Kirkland's family moved to Camden. On June 2, 1863, Rose Hill was destroyed in a raid against the Combahee River plantations. Kirkland, an officer of the Charleston Light Dragoons, was wounded in the knee in the Battle of Hawe's Shop, Virginia in May 1864. His leg was amputated, gangrene set in, and he died in Richmond, Virginia on May 28, 1864, age 36.

    REF: Info. and picture provided by Katharine Kirkland Moore, his great great granddaughter katharinemoore@erols.com

PRIVATES: Adams, R.
Adams, J. R.
Adger, James Jr.
Barnwell, F. M.
Bedon, Josiah
Bee, James L. (S?)
Bell, William
Bellinger, W. H.
Blake, W.
Boone, J. W. (could be Joseph Hall Waring Boone b. 1840 of St. Paul's)
Bostick, B.
Bostick, L. A.
Bostick, Edward
Bostick, R. F.
Boyle, William Augustus I. (1839- 1923) of Summerville, SC
Brisbane, J. L.
Burnet, Henry DeSaussure
Burnett, B. R.
Clark, J. M.(W?)
Chisolm, J. M
Colcock, Thomas Hutson
Creighton, James (24 Mar 1824- 22 Sep 1862) died in service of CSA
Davant, Frank F. - Seventeen years old when he enlisted on 30 Mar 1862, at Camp Hope, near Savannah. He is listed as being of a fair complexion, hazel eyes, and light hair. He transferred from the "Georgia Hussars" Captain W. H. Wiltberger, Commanding to the Charleston Light Dragoons (4th SC Cav.) on 5 Jun 1862, by order of General Pemberton. REF: [MIL REC FILM M266 # 14]
Davis, W. R.
Desel, C. M.
Desel, J. B.
Durant, T. W.
Dupont, B. C.
Dupont, T. B.
Elliott, T. O.
Elmore, A. R.
Evans, J. W.
Fairly, William H.
Fitzsimmons, P. G.
Fludd, Daniel (16 Mar 1818- 24 Mar 1896) a doctor of Summerville, SC
Freer, J. H.
Frierson, J. J.
Fuller, H. M. Jr.
Gaillard, E. T.
Gordon, A. B.
Gregorie, A. F.
Gregorie, W. D.
Gregorie, Isaac
Happoldt, John
Heyward, J. K.
Holland, Edwin Clifton (18 Aug 1828- 4 July 1902)
Holmes, T. G.
Hopkins, James
Howell, J. M.
Huguenin, Abram
Hutchinson, Phillip Henry (4 Nov 1839- 10 Oct 1910) of Summerville, SC
Jenkins, A. H. Jr.
Kirkland, W. L.
Lance, W. S.
Law, J. W
Lewis, F.
Lining, Thomas
Lining, Arthur P.
Manigault, G. E.
Manigault, Alfred
Manning, W. H.
Marion, B. P.
Martin, J. M.
Martin, Vencent
Martin, Edward
Martin, R. H.
Martin, W. A.
Maxwell, P. J.
Meetze, J. Y.
Middleton, F. K.
Middleton, O. H.
Mikell, E. W.
Miles, John Allen I
McLeod, W. W.
McPherson, J. J.
Neyle, H. M.
Nowell, E. W.
O'Brien, Timothy
O'Hear, L. W.
O'Neille, J. J. A.
Palfrey, J.(A?) C.
Phillips, A. B.
Porcher, Purcival R.
    Wounded at the battle of Hawes Shop, VA 28 MAY 1864. Died 2 JUN 1864 of wounds.

    "It was necessary to pass across an open piece of ground to reach the place to which they had been ordered. As they were doing this in single file, the attention of the enemy's sharp-shooters was attracted, and by their fire Percival Porcher was mortally wounded, and Tim O'Brien seriously hurt."

    REF: The Charleston Light Dragoons - pg. 42.

Pringle, D. L.
Pringle, J. J.
Pringle, J. R. P.
Pringle, M. B.
Prioleau, C. E.
Pritchett, G. E.
Purcell, James
Rhett, B. S. Jr.
Richardson, H. W.
Richardson, J. B.
Richardson, John
Richardson, R. C.
Robertson, Alexander
Killed at the Battle of Hawes Shop, VA 28 MAY 1864.

"Here Alexander Robertson fell, shot probably by a chance bullet. He was left in charge of two comrades to be put in an ambulance, they soon rejoined their company, for their services could no longer avail the poor fellow."

The Charleston Light Dragoons - pg. 42.

 Robertson, Eber Rabb
Eber Rabb Robertson, b. 3 April 1847, d. 27 September 1864, Monument in St. John's Cemetery, Winnsboro, SC next to his brother Eddie Butler Robertson and his parents Judge William Ross Robertson and Elizabeth Caroline Rabb Robertson.

His father's autobiographical sketch states that, "Eber was a Confederate Soldier, and whilst acting as courier for Major Gen'l M.C. Butler was killed in Virginia on the 27th day of September 1864 in the 18th year of his age."

From : Sons of Privilege - The Charleston Light Dragoons in the Civil War, by W. Eric Emerson, University of South Carolina Press, Page 96.

"On August 11, 1864, eleven Dragoons were placed on horse detail for forty days and sent to South Carolina to replace the unit's animals that had been injured or killed since the unit's departure for Virginia. By late September 1864, the Dragoons were once again serving as a company, though one with barely enough men to form a squad. Third Lieutenant Edward Harleson Jr., the Dragoons' officer who had been in Richmond during the unit's first three battles, commanded the survivors. The company fought at every engagement in which Butler's Brigade played a role, and it continued to suffer casualties. Eber R. Robertson had joined the Dragoons at age 16 in November 1863, after making the long trip to Charleston from Winnsboro, South Carolina. On September 25, 1864, four days after the Dragoons returned from horse deatil, he was accidentally killed by a Confederate sentinel near Petersburg."

_____________

From "Charleston Light Dragoons", by Edward L. Wells
Page 31, Muster roll of Company just prior to duty in Virginia lists "E. R. Robertson."

Page 76,"Early in October [sic 1864] the Brigade was concerned in several affairs, in one of which General Dunnovant, then commanding, was killed. It was during these fights that Davis and Benjamin Bostick fell. F. R. Robertson, a bright boy and a good soldier, also lost his life." [Note "F" instead of "E" and the later date.]

Page 97, "List of the Names of the Dead on the Monument" inscribed as "Eber R. Robertson" located in Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston, SC erected by the Survivor's Association of the Charleston Light Dragoons.

EMAIL from J. Mark Robertson

Robinson, John
Robinson, Arthur
Seabrook, Henry
Seabrook, Joseph
Simons, Ion
Taylor, A. R.
Thurston, John Gough
Trenholm, E. L.
Vanderhorst, L.
Vincent, W. E.
Wagner, A. C.
Waring, Joseph Hall
Waring, Morton Nathaniel
Wells, E. L.
Weston, R.
White, W. W.
White, J. D.
Wilkins, G.
Withers, W. R.
Witsell, E.
    Probably either Edward Fuller Witsell or Dr. Emanuel Witsell (1819-1897)
    Info. provided by Ronda Winkfein.
Witsell, W. H.
    Probably Walter Hamilton Witsell (1825-1872)
    Info. provided by Ronda Winkfein.
Wragg, A. MCD.

The Company before leaving the coast (Charleston) had to be reduced to the maximum number fixed by law, there being at that time an excess, counting detached men. The members thus cut off were such as had most recently enlisted, but some of these volunteered "for Virginia" and exchanged with older members, thus remaining with the "Drags" A muster-roll of the Company as thus constituted follows, though all the names do not represent men who actually served with the colours in Virginia:

OFFICERS:

Colcock, Captain R. H.
Nowell, 1st Lieut. L. C.
O'Hear, 2nd Lieut. T. W.
    (handwritten note (J. W.) in original. Probably James.
    Info. provided by Ronda Winkfein.
Harleston, Jr. 2nd Lieut. E Jr.
Beckley, 1st Sgt. T. C. (handwritten note J. C.)
Huger, 2nd Sgt. B. F.
 PRIVATES:
Adams, R.
Adams, J. R.
Adger, James Jr.
Bee, J. S.
Blake, W.
Bostick, B.
Bostick, L. A.
Brisbane, J. L.
Boyle, W. A.
Bedon, Josiah
Bellinger, W. H.
Boone, J. W.
Burnett, B. R.
Bell, William
Chisolm, J. M.
Clark, J. W.
Davis, W. R.
Desel, J. B.
Desel, C. M.
Durant, T. W.
Dupont, B. C.
Elmore, A. R.
Evans, J. W.
Fairly, William H.
Freer, J. H.
Gregorie, A. F.
    This is probably either someone named after Alexander Fraser Gregorie (1767-1848) or Ferdinand Gregorie (1819-1880).
    Info. provided by Ronda Winkfein.
Gordon, A. B.
Holland, E. C.
Holmes, T. G.
Howell, J. M.
Hopkins, James
Hutchinson, P. H.
Jenkins, A. H. Jr.
Kirkland, W. L.
Law, J. W.
Lining, A. P.
Lining, Thomas
Lewis, F.
Martin, R. H.
Manigault, Alfred
Manigault, G. E.
Manning. W. H.
Middleton, F
Middleton, O. H.
Mikell, E. W.
Miles, Jeremiah Jackson
Miles, John Allen I
McLeod, W. W.
Neyle, H. M.
Nowell, E. W.
O'Brien, T.
O'Hear, L. W.
Palfrey, A. C.
Porcher, P. R.
    Percival Ravenel Porcher
    Wounded in battle of Haws Shop,Virginia
    Died in Richmond, Virginia hospital
    Info. from Mrs. James J. Ravenel (Martha M. Porcher)
Pringle, J. R. P.
Pringle, M. B.
Pringle, J. J.
Pringle, D. L.
Phillips, A. B.
Prioleau, C. E.
Richardson, J. B.
Richardson, H. W.
Richardson, R. C.
Robertson, E. R.
Robertson, Alexander
Robinson, Arthur
Robinson, John
Rhett, B. S.
Taylor, A. R.
Thurston, John Gough
Trenholm, E. L.
Vanderhorst, L.
Vincent, W. E.
Waring, Joseph Hall
Waring, Morton Nathaniel
Wells, E. L.
Weston, R.
White, W. W.
Withers, W. R.
Wragg, A. McD

REFERENCES:

CONTRIBUTORS:

    Elizabeth Waring Noble (bawaring@worldnet.att.net)
    Julius Huguenin (huguenin@vivid.net)
    (hb@hhbfs.com Ashe Pollette

This information is excerpted from A Sketch of the Charleston Light Dragoons From the Earliest Formation of the Corps, the Regimental History of the "Drags".

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