ROBERT W. WOODRUFF
F1BRARY
SAVANNAH VOLUNTEER GUARDS ARMORY.
By long odds the finest military building in Savannah
is the arsenal of the Savannah Volunteer Guards Bat¬
talion. Unique and ornate in exterior appearance,
and tastefully finished within, the arsenal would
stand well up toward the top of a list of the best
specimens of architecture in the city. It has been
claimed for the arsenal that it is the finest one in the
Southland as yet the claim is undisputed. The site on
which it stands on Whitaker and York streets is that of
the old State arsenal. The building has three fronts —
facing north on President street, west on Whitaker
street, and south on York street. The walls are faced
with Philadelphia pressed brick, and are trimmed with
Alabama limestone and a variety of ornamental bricks.
A line of brackets, representing the muzzles of cannon,
which extends around the building just under the cor¬
nice, gives the structure a military air. This effect is
heightened by four bay windows with loops on the sides.
One of these windows'is set in each corner of the second
story. A novel idea of the architect was a V-shaped
recess in the Whitaker street face. On every side of the
building are verandas and balconies.
The building is 110 feet long, 60 feet in width, and 64
feet from the street pavement to the deck of the domed
roof. In excavating for the cellar and foundation, the
workmen unearthed two24-pounders, and the guns have
been placed, one on the northeast corner and the other
at the southeast corner of the building, close by the en¬
trances. The first bricks were laid in February, 1885,
and just one year later a grand bazar was held in the
arsenal and it was thrown open to the public. The cost
of erection was close to $60,000. Three stories are raised
on the granite ashlar. The first floor is divided into
rooms for stores and a supper room. Two of the store
rooms are occupied. The second floor is divided into
club rooms, billiard rooms, library, gymnasium, dress¬
ing and toilet rooms, officers' quarters and a corridor.
The rooms are neatly finished in yellow pine, cypress
and California red wood. All of the rooms open on the
corridor. The upper panels of the doors are of trans¬
lucent glass. The third floor is one large hall, with a
gallery at the east end. This hall, which is the largest
in the city, is used for battalion drills, balls, banquets,
bazars and the like. A wide, easy staircase at the east
end leads from the bottom of the building to the top.
The windows of the second floor all bear the monogram
"S. V. G." cut in a circle. The building is lighted by
gas and heated by steam, the boiler being in the cellar.
A large range for cooking is fitted up in the basement.
There is also a shooting gallery in the basement, and
each of the stores has a cellar underneath.
The architect was Mr. J. A. Wood, of New York,,
and the general superintendent was James G. Cornell^
of this city.
GEORGIA'S OLDEST CORPS.
THE SAV/NNAH VOLUNTEER GUARDS BATTALION.
Proud History of an Organization that has Existed for
More than Three-Quarters of a Century—The
Men who have Stood at its Head in
Time of Peace and War.
The Savannah Volunteer Guards
is the oldest infantry corps in Geor¬
gia, and has at all times numbered
among its members many of the best
citizens of Savannah. In conse¬
quence of the loss of the early records
of the corps, and the inaccessibility
of other sources of accurate informa¬
tion, if, indeed, such are still in exist¬
ence, it is impossible to give minute
details of its history prior to the year
1818.
The corps was organized as a com¬
pany early in 1802, and, under the
militia law of the State then in force,
was attached to the 1st Regiment, 1st
Brigade, 1st Division, of Georgia Mili¬
tia. Its first parade was on May 1st,
1802; and it has ever since, for that
reason, adopted and observed that day
as its anniversary. Their first parade,
according to the statement of the late
David Bell, who was then 1st Ser¬
geant, and survived until within a
few years past, was formed on the
east side of Bull street, in front of the
site now occupied by the book-store
of Davis Brothers. On the 20th May,
1802, the corps took part in the re¬
ception extended to Vice-President
Aaron Burr. The uniform at that
time, as was also stated by Mr. Bell,
was blue, lightly trimmed with red,
with gold bars across the breast.
The hat was what was called in the
corps the "leopard skin"—a round
patent leather top, with white-plated
visor— surrounded by a band of imi¬
tation leopard skin with the fur on;
a blue plume secured to the hat, and
extending from right to left, over the
crown, to which it lay close, with an
upright plume on the right side, of
white, tipped with red.
TUT GUARDS' FIRST JVFICER.
Dr. « i Gumming was the first
Captain of ttu Guards. He was an
Irishman by birth—one of the leading
and most influential merchants of
Savannah at that time, and President
of the Branch Bank of the United
States. He also assisted in organizing
and was the first President of the
Hibernian Society, now one of the
most important institutions in Sa¬
vannah. He was lost at sea, on board
the steamer Pulaski, on a trip from
Savannah to Baltimore. Funeral
services were had in honor of his
memory, at which the Guards and
the Hibernians joined in the proces-
4
SAVANNAH VOLUNTEER GUARDS.
sion. The former fired the customary
" three rounds.'G"
CAPT. JOHN CUMMING.
Captain Cumming resigned in 1808,
and was succeeded by Captain James
Marshall, who proved himself as
zealous and efficient an officer as his
distinguished predecessor, and under
his administration the corps pros¬
pered greatly. The commissioned
officers under Captain Cumming were
James Marshall, First Lieutentant,
and James Machin, Ensign; and
under Captain Marshall, during his
term were : Lieutenants James Ma¬
chin, Frederick S. Fell, Steele White,
Isaac DeLyon and John I. Roberts.
There was lately presented to the
battalion, byWilliam Grayson Mann,
Esquire, an exceedingly well exe¬
cuted oil portrait of Captain John
Cumming, which was received with
grateful thanks, and will be suspend¬
ed in the parlors of the club rooms
in the Arsenal.
IN THE WAR OP 1812.
During Captain Marshal's com¬
mand, the war of 1812 with Great
Britain occurred; and, probably upon
some sudden occasion, the Guards,
with the other companies of Savan¬
nah, composing the 1st Regiment
Georgia Militia, under the command
of Lt. Col. Jas. Johnson, were mus¬
tered into the service of the United
States for local defense. Besides
Capt. Marshall, the officers of the
corps were 1st Lieut. Frederick S.
Fell and Ensign John I. Roberts.
The enemy not approaching Savan¬
nah, however, this service continued
only for one month. During this
war, also, half of the Savannah Vol¬
unteer Guards and the Republican
Blues were sent on an expedition
against St. Augustine,Florida. There
is nothing to inform us how long
Capt. Marshall. continued to com¬
mand the Guards. He afterwards
became Colonel of the Regiment, and
was so as late as 1825, when LaFa-
yette visited Savannah. It is proba¬
ble that he resigned the captaincy
for the purpose of taking the higher
commission. He was succeeded,
when he did resign, by Capt. Frede¬
rick S. Fell, who had been his 1st
Lieutenant, as stated.
CAPT. JAMES MARSHALL.
After the death of Captain Mar¬
shall, and up to the time of her
death, his widow was the devoted
friend and patroness of the corps,
which frequently enjoyed her gra¬
cious hospitality at the family resi¬
dence on West Broad street, and to
which she presented the magnificent
stand of battalion colors it now
carries. '
Captain Fell was a printer, and at
one time was one of the proprietors
of the Savannah Republican.
Although an active officer, he ap¬
pears not to have been a successful
SAVANNAH VOLUNTEER GUARDS.
5
commander, and the corps is said to
have suffered under him a very
serious decline in prosperity. But in
1818 a vigorous effort was made to re¬
store it, and Edward F. Tattnall
(clarum et venerabile nomen) was
elected captain.
AN ILLUSTRIOUS COMMANDER.
Captain Tattnall was of that family
of Tattnalls so distinguished in the
history of Georgia. His father was
Josiah Tattnall, who had been the
third Captain of the Chatham Ar¬
tillery, Colonel of the 1st Regiment
Georgia Militia, General of the 1st
Brigade, United States Senator from
Georgia, and Governor of the State.
He was the elder and only brother of
the celebrated Commodore Josiah
Tattnall, who, himself, was a mem¬
ber of the Guards from his early
manhood to his death, and whose re¬
mains they attended to their last
resting place at Bonaventure on June
16, 1871.
Governor Gilmer, in his "Geor¬
gians," thus describes Captain Tatt¬
nall, whom he knew well when they
were members of Congress from
Georgia together. "His person was
erect and perfectly formed, with deli¬
cate hands and small feet. He ap¬
peared much larger than he was. His
walk was always with a lofty, mili¬
tary gait and measured tread. He
was the essence of chivalry. He pre¬
ferred death to the slightest coloring
of dishonor. He risked his life, and
was near losing it several times, that
he might be considered above wrong
doing. He stood by his country and
his friends as he stood by himself.
He would have gloried in offering up
his life if his country's safety had
required the sacrifice. If his bravery,
generous unselfishness, noble gal¬
lantry and vigorous execution had
been accompanied by corresponding
ready conception and forcible ratio¬
cination, he would have been the
great man of his country. He was
fitted for command rather than popu¬
lar service—for rank rather than
equality."
THE CORPS' SECOND FOUNDER.
He had been a Captain in the U. S.
army in the war of 1812, and had
greatly distinguished himself in an
engagement with the British at Point
Petre, near St. Marys, Ga. Capt.
Tattnall entered upon the command
of the Guards vigorously and with
zeal. He was evidently a born sol¬
dier; and, though a strict disciplina¬
rian and very exacting in his require¬
ments, he soon secured the absolute
devotion of his command, and, infus¬
ing into it much of his own high,
chivalric spirit, enhanced, if he did
not create, that intense and admirable
esprit de corps which has ever since
been one of its chief characteristics.
Under his leadership it attained a
degree of efficiency and prosperity it
had never known before, and re¬
ceived an impulse which it has not
yet lost. He may be considered, in
the largest sense, "the second found¬
er" of the corps. On the occasion of
President James Monroe's visit to
Savannah on May 8, 1819, the Sa¬
vannah Volunteer Guards, under his
command, took part in the reception
and parade. It was probably about
the time of his election, and one of
the incidents of the revival of pros¬
perity, that the second uniform was
adopted—blue, trimmed and slashed
With scarlet, and a full scarlet front—
very similar to the uniform of the
French gens d'armes at one time.
And, in this connection, a pleasant
incident is related as occurring on
the occasion of LaFayette's visit to
Savannah during his American tour
in 1825.
AN INCIDENT OF LAFAYETTE'S VISIT.
It appears that the distinguished
visitor landed at the foot of East
Broad street. A contemporary ac¬
count says: "The troops were placed
in position on the green, in front of
the avenue of trees, their right on
East Bay. A more gallant and splen¬
did military display we have never
seen; the effect was beautiful; every
corps exceeded its customary num¬
bers; many who had not appeared
under arms for years shouldered
them on this occasion, and the usual
pride of appearance and honorable
emulation was ten times increased by
the occasion. Those who know the
volunteer companies of Savannah
6
SAVANNAH VOLUNTEER GUARDS.
will believe this to be no empty com¬
pliment."
The incident referred to is that, as
LaFayette passed down the line,
when he reached Tattnall with his
Guards, either affected by the sight
of a uniform so familiar to him in his
own country, or attracted by the fine
appearance of the company, he
threw up both hands, and, with
sparkling eyes, exclaimed, " Ah !
quels beaux soldats ! quels beaux sol¬
dats /"
Capt. Tattnall continued in com¬
mand until January 14, 1831—longer
than any other commander of the
corps before or since, save one. Dur¬
ing this time he was elected to Con¬
gress, and then offered his resigna¬
tion. But his very name was a pow¬
er, and the company refused to ac¬
cept it, preferring to have him nomi¬
nally in command, though long ab¬
sent, rather than lose the prestige of
his personal reputation. His ill
health, too, kept him much from act¬
ive duty, even when at home. Fi¬
nally it became imperatively neces¬
sary that he should retire, and his
resignation was sorrowfully accepted.
There was a long interval between
the resignation of Capt. Tattnall and
the election of Capt. Jackson, during
which Nicholas Bayard, 1st Lieuten¬
ant under Tattnall, was in command.
He was an officer of fine capacity and
highly esteemed, but persistently re¬
fused to be elected Captain.
CAPTAIN TATTNALL'S SUCCESSOR.
Captain Tattnall was succeeded by
Lieutenant Joseph W. Jackson.
When Captain Tattnall assumed
command his subordinate officers
were W. C. Daniell and Joseph W.
Jackson, Lieutenants, and David
Bell, 1st Sergeant. When Lafayette
visited Savannah he was met and
escorted up the bluff by the Honora¬
ble W. C. Daniell, Mayor of Savan¬
nah, then an honorary member of
the corps.
During Captain T.attnall's term the
following commissioned officers
served under him: Lieutenants M.
W. Stewart, Edwin P. Starr, William
P. Hunter, William P. Bowen,
-Frederick W. Heineman, Nicholas J.
Bayard, Wickliffe Bruen, and Francis
Blois.
A superb crayon portrait of Cap¬
tain Tattnall was presented to the
battalion on April 30, 1886, by John
R. F. Tattnall, Esquire, which the
corps received with joyful enthusi¬
asm, and which will also be sus¬
pended in the club parlors in the
Arsenal.
Captain Jackson, like Tattnall, was
a lawyer; and like Tattnall, too, had
very much of the soldier in him. If
Gov. Gilmer's description of Tatnall,
above quoted, can be accepted, there
were several respects in which he
resembled him. With a similar
erect and slender figure, hie had a
similar stately, measured and milita¬
ry step—he had an equally high and
chivalric spirit, and an equally
punctilious sense of honor. He was
an officer of very great merit, and
commanded the perfect confidence of
his company. He maintained with
great success the discipline, efficiency
and esprit de corps which his prede¬
cessor left him, and transmitted it in
his turn to his successor, upon his
election to the Colonelcy of the regi¬
ment in 1836, his resignation as Cap¬
tain dating 7th September, 1836.
Captain Jackson was member of
Congress, and one of the most dis-
SAVANNAH VOLUNTEER GUARDS.
7
tinguished men of his day. He was
a near relative of Gen. Henry R.
Jackson, present Minister to Mexico,
himself a life member of the Guards,
CHOSEN FROM THE RANKS.
His successor was William Robert¬
son, proprietor of the Savannah Daily
Georgian, who assumed command on
November 16, 1836. He, also, was, at
the time of his election, a Lieutenant
of the corps. Since Tattnall's time,
at least, no one has ever been elected
an officer of the corps who was not a
member of it. This has been for
many years an express rule, and a
wise one. Captain Robertson held
his commission but a few months —
not long enough to make any decided
mark upon the history of the corps.
He was a most efficient officer. He
resigned July 10, 1837.
William P. Bo wen was the next
Captain, elected August 2, 1837. Cap¬
tain Bowen was a planter in the
vicinity of Savannah. He was a
gentleman of fine soldierly bearing,
and an excellent officer. Under
his auspices the corps continued to
maintain itself well. He resigned in
1844.
During the terms of Captains Rob¬
ertson and Bowen the following
other commissioned officers served:
Lieutenants John C. Starr, George
W. Moore, John N. Lewis, and
Charles F. Preston.
In Captain Bowen's time a step of
great importance to the corps, name¬
ly, the procurement of an Act of the
Legislature authorizing it to have
pay members, the object of which
was to lay the foundation of a fund
with which, at some future day, to
build an armory or arsenal.
When Captain Bowen resigned the
company was in great tribulation.
Adhering to the rule, that their new
commander must be a member, it
was feared that they could not find
one who would supply the needs of
the corps at that time. Fortunately,
their choice fell on Dr. Cosmo P.
P. Richardsone, then a private in the
ranks.
ELEVATED FROM A PRIVATE.
Dr. Richardsone was one of the
principal physicians of the city—
was very distinguished in his pro¬
fession—and enjoyed a very large
and lucrative practice. He was also
a citizen full of public spirit, and
took an active part in most of the
enterprises of his time designed to
promote the progress and improve¬
ment of the city. He was a zealous
member of the corps, and had been
accustomed to participate in its exer¬
cises as often as the absorbing nature
of professional engagements would
permit. He entered upon the duties
of the command con amore. Tall,
very slender, and loosely jointed,
wearing spectacles for near-sight—a
little careless about his personal ap¬
pearance—with a highly intellectual
face, though the face of a student and
scholar rather than a man of action—
no one would have suspected how
8
SAVANNAH VOLUNTEER GUARDS.
much of the dash and fire of the
military character there was in him.
CAPT. COSMO P. RICIIARDSONE.
Yet he soon proved himself to be an
officer of extraordinary merit. Firm,
but just and kind in discipline, and
always active and earnest in pro¬
moting the interests of the company,
he soon dispelled the slight clouds
which had" seemed to be gathering
in its sky, and caused it to resume
with vigor its prosperous career. He
enjoyed the personal affection as well
as the respect of his men—as, indeed,
his numerous acts of kindness to
them deserved—for he would often
give his valuable professional ser¬
vices, when needed, to the poorer
members, yet in such a way as not to
offend their pride. And he was as
much respected in the community at
large as in the corps.
QUELLING A RIOT.
On one occasion there was a riot at
an election, which the police could
not quell. Some troops were brought
out, and were about to fire on the
mob. The pieces were leveled, the
fingers were on the triggers, the com¬
mand "fire" was in the very act of
being uttered, when Dr. Richardsone,
umbrella in hand, rushed before
them and struck up the muskets, at
imminent risk to himself. Some¬
times, too, he would do a very odd
thing—and a queer story is related
of his being called to some obstetric
case at the very hour when he had
ordered a parade—he was equal to
the emergency, however—he went in
full uniform, with his sword at his
side, to visit the patient—rendered
the necessary professional assistance
—and drove out immediately to the
drill ground, and took command of
the company. During his term oc¬
curred the incorporation of the corps,
without which its subsequent history
would have been materially different
—without which, indeed, the corps
would certainly not be what it now
is. In his time, too, occurred another
important event in the history of
the volunteer military of Savannah.
It has been already stated that the
Guards, like the other volunteer mili¬
tary companies of the city, wrere
attached to the 1st Regiment of Geor¬
gia Militia. Besides the volunteers,
the regiment comprised the com¬
panies of ununiformed compulsory
militia, organized under the general
militia law of the State.
ORGANIZED A SEPARATE COMMAND.
When the whole regiment was
assembled, as the law required at
stated times, it may be conceived
what a motley appearance it pre¬
sented, with handsomely uniformed
and equipped companies interspersed
among those o'f the ununiformed
militia, in which every man was
dressed according to his own fancy.
Besides, the awkwardness and igno¬
rance of the latter were a source of
never ending embarrassment and an¬
noyance, in the evolutions of the
drill, to the skillful officers and well
instructed soldiers of the volunteers.
There were then seven companies of
volunteers, including the Chatham
Artillery, and an Act of the General
Assembly was passed, at their in¬
stance, to take them out of the regi¬
ment and organize them separately
under the name of the "Independent
Volunteer Battalion of Savannah,"
to be commanded by a Lieutenant
Colonel, with the privilege of organ¬
izing into a regiment as soon as there
shall be eight companies. The or¬
ganization was affected accordingly
by the election of A. R. Lawton,
then a Lieutenant in the Republican
SAVANNAH VOLUNTEER GUARDS.
9
Blues, to be Lieutenant Colonel.
Gen. Lawton is at present a
life member of the Guards. W.
B. Jackson, then a Sergeant in the
Guards, was appointed Adjutant,
having obtained permission of the
corps to hold the Adjutancy while re¬
taining his non-commissioned office.
It was only on battalion parades that
the two sets of duties interfered with
each other, and the esprit of the
corps was such that he was unwilling
to resign his Sergeantcy in it to take
the staff appointment had it been
necessary. This was the origin of
the present 1st Volunteer Regiment
of Georgia.
THE MEXICAN WAR.
It was during Captain Richardsone's
command, too, that the war with
Mexico occurred. All the infantry
volunteer companies in the city of¬
fered their services to the State to
make up a regiment, then being
formed, the Guards among them.
And in the hope that they would be
taken, they provided themselves with
tents and other equipments for the
field. Only one company could be
taken, however, and it was decided
by lot which it should be. The lot
fell on the Irish Jasper Greens. But
the Guards' new tents were not use¬
less. The possession of them induced
frequent encampments as the years
went by, which were of great service
in the instruction of the corps, and
they were finally worn out in the
war which occurred in 1861.
Capt. Richardsone died in commis¬
sion, to the grief bf every member—
for, to every one of them, his death
was in the nature of a personal loss.
The Republican Blues, the long-time
friendly rivals of the Guards, both in
numbers and efficiency, kindly ten¬
dered and rendered their services as
the militaiy escort at his funeral,
which occurred on February 8th,
1852. The Lieutenants under Captain
Richardsone were Thomas J. Bul¬
loch, John C. Hunter, Thomas D.
Morel, A. C. Davenport, William F.
Holland and George Robertson.
CAPTAIN RICHARDSONE'S SUCCESSOR.
Dr. James P. Screven, an exempt
private, was then elected Captain on
March 19th, 1852, the Lieutenants de-
CAPT. JAMES P. SCREVEN,
clining promotion. Dr. Screven, like
Tattnall, was of a family distinguish¬
ed in the Revolution. He was edu¬
cated for the profession of medicine,
and practiced it when a young man
with very marked success and with
every prospect of future eminence
in it. But he gave it up after some
years, and devoted himself exclusive¬
ly to his large and extensive planting
interests. He was now well advanced
in life, being in the fifty-second year
of his age; yet the Captaincy of
the Guards was the first po¬
sition of a public character
be had ever consented to take. But
this soon led him on to others; and
he became in quick succession, during
his command, Mayor of the city,
member of the State Senate, and first
President of the Savannah, Albany
and Gulf Railroad Company, after¬
wards the Atlantic and Gulf, and
now the Savannah, Florida and
Western Railway. Notwithstanding,
however, the immense demands upon
his time of these important and
exacting public employments, he
applied himself with wonderful
fidelity and assiduity to the novel
duties of his military office. Guided
by his great intelligence, and influ¬
enced by his marked and decided
character, the corps continued to
10
SAVANNAH VOLUNTEER GUARDS.
prosper and increase. In his time
the ancient flint-lock musket was
exchanged for that with the percus¬
sion lock.
Dr. Screven's pressing public and
private engagements induced him to
resign 011 December 22d, 1857.
Lieutenants J. B. Ripley and William
S. Basinger served under him.
CAPT. JOHN SCREVEN.
His eldest son, the present dis¬
tinguished Col. John Screven, then
an active private, was elected to suc¬
ceed him, on March 80th, 1858.
The company was commanded by
1st Lieut. A. C. Davenport until
the election of Capt. John Screven.
Lieutenants W. L. Haupt and Gilbert
C. Rice served with him. It would
be difficult to speak cf this gentleman,
while he yet "goes in and out among
us," in such terms as would be even
simply just, without the suspicion of
flattery. Nor does it seem to be neces¬
sary to do so in this community,
where he is so well-known and so
much respected and admired. Let it
suffice that his pure and elevated
character, and his conspicuous and
varied virtues, talents, and accom¬
plishments. fit him to adorn any
station, civil or military. All these
he brought to the service of the
Guards, informed by an ardent and
unselfish devotion to the corps, and
exalted by a high sense of the true
relations of the volunteers to the
State. Need it be said that it received
a fresh and powerful impulse under
his administration? Indeed, the ac¬
cession of Capt. John Screven to the
command of it marks a new era in
its history—an era in which occurred
its expansion into a battalion and its
preparation for and entrance upon
active warfare—in recounting which
there will be occasion to refer less to
the personal characteristics of its
chief, and more to the conduct of the
corps itself at large.
The first event of importance
during the command of Capt. John
Screven was the acquisition of an
armory.
THE GUARDS' FIRST ARMORY.
The fund arising from the receipts
from pay members under the law
heretofore mentioned had been hus¬
banded with the utmost care and
diligence. Immediately after the
passing of the Act a iule was adopted
by which all moneys received lrom
that source were set apart as a "re¬
served fund," and placed in the
hands of a special standing commit¬
tee consisting of the commanding
officer for the time being, as ex officio
chairman, and two other members
elected by the corps, not periodically,
but permanently, to serve until death
or resignation. By judicious invest¬
ments, not only of the principal, but
also of the annual interest, the fund
had increased to several thousand
dollars.
The corps had, for many years, oc¬
cupied the northwestern room in the
Exchange building, immediately
over the council chamber, by the
permission of the city government,
which, as its members increased, be¬
gan to be found inconveniently
small. It so happened, at this junc¬
ture, and in the year 1858, that the
congregation of the Second Baptist
Church, which had been the result
of a secession from the mam church,
resolved to reunite with the parent
stock. The Second Baptist Church,
when the separation took place, had
bought, lor a place of worship, the
Unitarian Church, at the southeast¬
ern e:rner of Bull and York streets,
just across from the original parade
giound of the corps, and when it de¬
cided to return to the original socie¬
ty, it also resolved t«> se 11 that lot and
building. This came to the ears of
the Guards' committee 011 the "re¬
serve fund." The opportunity was
too good to be lest. Negotiations
were at once commenced which re¬
sulted in the purchase by the corps
of the edifice and lot on which it
stood - the entire reserved fund, as it
stood, increased by voluntary contri¬
butions from members, being paid in
cash, and the'residue pronerly se¬
cured.
IN A HOME OF ITS OWN.
It required some time and expense
to prepare the building for the use of
the corps, but it finally took posses¬
sion, with the greatest comfort, pleas¬
ure and advantage to itself in all
ways, and continued to occupy it un¬
til the exigencies of the war called it
S A, V ANN AH VOLUNTEER GUARDS.
11
away. During the occupation of the
city by Sherman, in the winter of
1864-5. the armory was used by some
of his troops as a sort of guard-house.
Through their carelessness it took lire
and was destroyed.
_ Partly in consequence of the acqui¬
sition of an armory, a very rapid and
unprecedented increase in the mem¬
bers of the corps began now to take
place. Itnotunfrequently happened
that at a mere afternoon drill 150
men or more would be out—a num¬
ber quite too large to be handled with
convenience as a single company un¬
der the system of tactics then in use.
While speculating one day in I860
upon the probable duration and re¬
sult of this state of affairs, Captain
Screven and 2d Lieutenant Wm. S.
Basinger conceived the idea of tak¬
ing advantage of the charter of the
corps to expand it into an inde¬
pendent battalion, the companies of
which should not be separate inte¬
gers aggregated to form the battalion
and with no other interests in com¬
mon, but fractions of one consoli¬
dated whole, with all interests in
common, and none apart from the
whole, after the manner of a regi¬
ment in the United States army.
AN INDEPENDENT BATTALION.
The idea was no sooner conceived
than steps were taken to carry it into
effect—but it was necessary to pro¬
ceed slowly and cautiously. The first
step was to provide that it should be
in the discretion of the commanding
officer, on any parade when the num¬
ber present should seem to require it,
to make a temporary formation of
two companies, assigning the officers
and non-commisSioned officers ac¬
cording to rank. This was done by
resolution of ihe corps; and a suffi¬
cient number of well drilled soldiers
were appointed lance-corporals to
serve as sergeants and corporals upon
such occasions.
'l his step was rendered easy by the
fact that so thorough a system of in¬
struction ofnon-commissioned officers
had long been in use that there was not
one who was not well qualified to
perform the duties of a commissioned
officer as well as his own. This
arrangement was frequently resorted
to during the interval which elapsed
before the war; and, besides the
enhanced interest in drills, and the
pride the members took in it, it had
the great advantage of providing
quite a number of well-instructed
non-commissioned officers from
Whom to select officers when the time
for a permanent battalion organi¬
zation should arrive.
At the same time Hardee's Tactics
came into use instead of Scott's, and
the Guards adopted them, so far as
movements were concelned; hut,
after careful tests, they decided to
adhere to Scott's Manual, as not only
more pleasing to the eye, but as easier
and more convenient to the soldier.
And they used Scott's Manual with
Hardee's formations all through the
war. Shortly before, too, they had
been supplied with 200 Minnie rifles
of the Springfield pattern, such as
had been introduced into the United
States army.
AT FORT PULASKI.
In the meantime South Carolina
seceded from the Union—Major An¬
derson removed his garrison from
Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter—and
Gov. Brown resolved to take posses¬
sion of the forts and barracks upon
Georgia soil. Under his order to
that effect, Col. Lawton, of the 1st
Volunteer Regiment, took 50 men of
the Guards, commanded by Capt.
Screven and fully officered as a com¬
pany, the Oglethorpe Light Infan¬
try,' 50 men, commanded by Capt.
Francis S. Bartow, and the Chatham
Artillery, and with them, on January
3d, 1861, seized Fort Pulaski. While
there the Guards had their lirst expe¬
rience in the management of heavy
artillery, in which they afterwards
became so proficient. In the other
duties of a garrison they had already
been well versed by their frequent
encampments.
From this time for several months
the volunteer companies took turns
of duty at Fort Pulaski. The Guards
were there several times. They were
there as the 22d February drew nigh.
And on that occasion an incident oc¬
curred which it may be pleasing to
the survivors of the Oglethorpe Light
Infantry to remember. The law cf
the State required of every volunteer
12
SAVANNAH VOLUNTEER GUARDS.
company at least four parades annu¬
ally, and the 22d February was
the day for one of them.
Though the Guards were at
the fort with a large number, they
had left in town enough more to
make another full company. The
Oglethorpe Light Infantry had left in
town only six or eight. Captain
Screven did not think it advisable to
omit the usual parade of those in
town, and Lieutenant Basinger was
sent up to take command of them for
that purpose. Captain Bartow, hear¬
ing of this, requested that his six or
eight might parade with the Guards;
and it was arranged that they should
do so, and should take position as a
color guard, carrying the colors of
their own company, which should
serve for the nonce for the colors of
the Guards also, then at Fort Pulaski.
This was done, and thus the Guards
had the honor of parading that day
under the colors of that gallant and
distinguished corps.
ON THE EVE OF WAR.
While these events were in progress,
and it became more and more appa¬
rent that a war was imminent, re¬
cruits came pouring in, and the
Guards hastened to effect their per¬
manent battalion organization. The
plan was, in pursuance of the origi¬
nal idea, to form two companies, A
and B, by assigning members to
them upon a principle of their own—
to select the officers and non-commis¬
sioned officers of each company—
then to complete the organization by
formal elections for officers as pre¬
scribed by law, and then elect Cap¬
tain Screven Major of the battalion.
After that recruits were to join the
corps as a whole, and be assigned by
the Adjutant to the company in
which they were to serve. The men
were accordingly assigned, officers
selected, the existing rules changed
to suit the new order of things, and
the formal elections were about to
proceed. But at this juncture the
then Adjutant General of the State
thought he had discovered that there
could not be a battalion of so few
companies as two, commanded by a
field officer, under the laws of the
State. The situation was embar¬
rassing, but it was promptly met. It
was no time for controversy over
questions of law, so the corps sub¬
mitted for the time. As many offi¬
cers as was necessary consented at
once to go one grade lower. The
elections for company officers pro¬
ceeded as arranged, except that no
Captain was elected for Company A,
and Capt. Screven commanded the
whole under his original commission.
There was possibly some danger in
the expedient, but the fine esprit of
the corps carried it safely through.
The only serious inconvenience in
the arrangement was the liability of
the two companies to be separated
when on duty with the rest of the
regiment. Of course, if the scheme
had been carried out according to
the design, it would have involved
the withdrawal of the corps from the
regiment, as it was at liberty under
the law to do, and as it did after¬
wards.
THE BATTALION'S FIRST OFFICERS.
Thus organized, the officers of the
battalion,,if it may be so styled just
yet, were as follows :
Capt. John Screven, Commanding.
Co. A.—1st Lieut. W. S. Basinger;
2d Lieut. Gilbert C. Rice; Ensign
J. C. Habersham.
Co. B.—Capt. A. C. Davenport; 1st
Lieut. Geo. W. Stiles; 2d Lieut. Thos.
F. Screven; Ensign M. H. Hopkins.
The battalion was mustereainto
service of the Confederate States in
March, 1861, for two months, and
assigned to duty as the garrison of a
battery at Thunderbolt, about 4£
miles from Savannah. During its
stay there, it had an opportunity to
increase its familiarity with the use
of heavy guns, and, by constant
drills, attained a very high degree of
proficiency as infantry. No enemy
appeared; and the only ripple of ex¬
citement that occurred was the de¬
tachment of Lieut. Basinger with
his company and a detail from Com¬
pany B, under Lieut. Stiles, 100 men
in, all, to re-inforce the rest of the
regiment, then on Tybee Island, and
supposed to be threatened with an
attack by a force from the enemy's
ships at that time hovering along the
coast. No attack was made, however,
and the detachment returned in a
few days. At the end of the two
SAVANNAH VOLUNTEER GUARDS.
IS
months the corps returned to the
city, and was dismissed for a time—
though notified that it would shortly
be expected to enter service again,
and for a longer period.
AT GREEN ISLAND.
According to that notice it was
mustered for six months, and imme¬
diately sent to take charge of a much
larger and heavier battery on Green
Island, near the mouth of the Vernon
River.
The officers who accompanied the
corps on this occasion were the same
as before, except that Ensign Edward
Padelford, Jr., had taken the place
of Ensign Habersham, who had ac¬
cepted the post of Asst. Surgeon of
the regiment, and Co. B went under
the command of Lieut. Stiles. Lieut.
Rice was detailed to act as Adjutant.
Here, with better opportunities than
before, both officers and men applied
themselves with great assiduity to
exercise in the use of the heavy artil¬
lery, in which they soon acquired
marked skill. Infantry drill, too,
was vigorously prosecuted. Here,
too, Capt. Screven developed his tal¬
ent for engineering, which was ex¬
ceedingly useful to his command and
to the public service. During the
stay at this post some gunboats at¬
tempted to ascend the river, but were
deterred by a few well-directed shots
from the battery. No other event of
interest occurred. But the corps re¬
ceived large numbers of recruits from
time to time.
Before this period of service ex¬
pired, it became evident that the war
would assume huge proportions and
be of long duration, and the corps,
almost to a man, resolved to muster
again for the war. But they decided
to do so with at least three compa¬
nies, which number, it was under¬
stood, according to the views of the
Adjutant General of the State above
mentioned, would entitle them to an
independent organization and a field
officer to command. Information
was obtained that, although the mil¬
itary laws of Congress would not ad-
mit'of the reception of a battalion of
less than four companies organized
in the ordinary manner, yet if the
Guards should offer as an existing
recognized battalion under the law
of Georgia, they would be received
as such, though the number of com¬
panies should be less than four. It
was not considered prudent just yet
to attempt a fourth company; but a
third was formed by taking as many
members from Companies A and B
as could be spared.
THREE COMPANIES ORGANIZED.
And officers and non-commis¬
sioned officers were chosen. The
officers were as follows:
Co. A—Capt. W. S. Basinger; 1st
Lieut. Thos. F. Screven; 2d Lieuts.
Wm. H. K,ing and Frederick Tupper.
Co. B—Capt. Geo. W. Styles; 1st
Lieut. Edwd. Padelford, Jr.; 2d
Lieuts. Edwin A. Castellaw and Geo.
D. Smith.
Co. C—Capt. Gilbert C. Rice; 1st
Lieut. Geo. M. Turner; 2d Lieuts.
Jno. R. Dillon and Eugene Blois.
This organization was approved by
the Adjutant General of the State,
and commissions were accordingly
issued to the officers above jiamed as
such-and-such officers in such and-
such companies in the Battalion of Sa¬
vannah Volunteer Guards. And the
corps, being thus an existing battal¬
ion of volunteers under the law of
the State, was received as such by the
Confederate authorities, and muster¬
ed into the service for the war at
Green Island on or about March 1st,
1862. But it was, for the time, under
the command of Capt. Basinger, as
senior Captain, there having not
been time enough for the election of
a Major, and it being understood that
that election should take place under
the law of the Confederacy at the
earliest convenient day.
Of course this terminated the con¬
nection of the Guards with 1st Vol¬
unteer Regiment, and henceforth
their paths lay apart. John Screven
was commissioned by the Confeder¬
ate Government as Major of Artillery
and ordered to report to the com¬
manding officer at Savannah, Gen.
A. R. Lawton, who assigned him to
the command of the Savannah Vol¬
unteer Guards Battalion. A formal
election was then held, and he was
elected Major of the battalion, so he
was doubly1 commissioned.
14
SAVANNAH VOLUNTEER GUARDS.
BACK FROM GREEN ISLAND.
A few days after this muster, the
six months for which the Guards had
been sent to Green Island, came to
an end, and they were relieved from
duty, returned to the city, and were
dismissed for a month—partly for
recreation, partly to obtain recruits.
COL. JOHN SCREVEN.
About April 1, 18G2, the corps re¬
assembled, with its numbers largely
increased. The 200 Minie rifles with
which it was supplied being enough
for only two companies, Co. C was
armed with the English Enfield
rifle of the same calibre. And it is
safe to say that it would have been
difficult to find an equal number of
troops better qualified for the patri¬
otic duty to which they had devoted
themselves. All the professions and
occupations were represented in the
corps. Besides a high degree of gen¬
eral intelligence, it possessed skillful
artisans in every variety of handi¬
craft. There was scarcely any species
of work which the exigencies of the
service could call for that the corps
could not furnish superior workmen
to do. From the most delicate pre¬
parations of the chemical laboratory
to the simplest mechanical or agri¬
cultural labor, there was nothing that
it had not some one to do, and do
well. In their previous service the
men had learned much of engineer¬
ing and ordnance work, they were
fine artillerists and excellent shots
with every species of gun, and in the
drill and duties of the infantry sol¬
dier they had no superiors. Above
all, they were animated by an intel¬
ligent rind ardent patriotism, and the
esprit tie. corps which had its origin
in Tattnall's time was burning as
brightly as ever.
A few more recruits being still de¬
sired, the battalion was encamped
for a few weeks in the immediate vF
cinity of the city. Thence it was re¬
moved to Fort Boggs, a fine large
work on the bluff about two miles
below the city, overlooking Fort
Jackson and the river, and consti¬
tuting the extreme left of the inner
line of defenses.
AT FORT BOGGS.
Here it had need of many of its
resources in completing the fort, in
mounting and dismounting heavy
guns, in preparing and adjusting am¬
munition and the implements of the
ordnance branch of the service, in
the innumerable variety of things
necessary to the complete efficiency
of a work of defense.
Shortly after the establishment at
Fort Boggs, Major Screven as¬
sumed command. The staff
was organized, and the duties
of its various departments put in reg¬
ular and systematic train. The corps
had become, to all practical intent,
regular troops, and, henceforth, all
its duties and affairs were conducted
as nearly as possible according to the
Articles of War and the Army Regu¬
lations.
As the summer advanced, the un-
healthiness of the situation began to
tell seriously upon the command
t\ie sick list was enormous—every
officer and soldier, with one solitary
exception, was sick sooner or later.
For the sake of health, it was re¬
moved to different places in the*
neighborhood, first one, then an¬
other, until the succeeding winter
set in—but always in charge of Fort
Boggs, _ where 'it was obliged to
maintain a small guard, relieved
daily. Several valuable lives were
lost through this sickness—among
them Lieut. Padelford, of Co. B; and
others never entirely recovered their
health during the whole war. Dur¬
ing this period, too, the command
suffered seriously by the detachment
SAVANNAH VOLUNTEER GUARDS.
15
of Major Screven, whose services as
an engineer were required in placing
obstructions in the Savannah river
below Fort Jackson.
TITE 18TH GEORGIA BATTALION.
During the winter of 1862-3, the
battalion received for the first time a
number in the line of Georgia bat¬
talions. The officers and clerks in
the war office at Richmond seemed
unable to understand how it was
that a battalion should have a name
and not a number; and many em¬
barrassing and annoying mistakes
resulted. For the purpose of putting
a stop to these, and for that purpose
only, Capt. Basinger, then in com¬
mand, represented the case to the
War Department, and asked for a
number. The number 18 was given,
and thenceforth, in official com¬
munications, the corps was common¬
ly styled the 18th Georgia Battalion.
Of course, however, every one under¬
stood that it was still the Savannah
Volunteer Guards—it had no inten¬
tion of losing its identity as such.
In the spring of 1863 Major Screven
resigned the command. He was
President- of the Atlantic and Gulf
Railroad—a line of communication
and supply very important to
the Confederate Government—and
his constant personal attention to the
management of it was so much
needed that he could not resist the
pressure of the Government upon
him to resume it. It was with irffi-
nite regret that the Guards gave him
up.
In 1864 the defenses of Savannah
were nearly stripped of troops. In
this emergency Major Screven raised,
under the direction of Gen. Henry
R. Jackson commanding, a local bat¬
talion of five companies, enrolled
from the employes of the railroads,
mechanics and others in the city, and
was assigned to its command with
the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
Under the law of Georgia an elec¬
tion to fill the vacancy was in order.
But it was universally understood
that when the corps, with the con¬
sent of the State, entered the Con¬
federate service, it became subject to
the law of the Confederacy govern¬
ing such cases, and the iaw of the
State and its own rules were sus¬
pended. Under the law of the Con¬
federacy applicable to the case, Capt.
Basinger, of Co. A, as the next offi¬
cer in rank, was entitled to succeed,
and a commission was accordingly is¬
sued to him as Major, bearing date
May 20, 1863. Lieut. T. F. Screven,
under the same rule, became Captain
of Co. A, and the other officers of
that company went up each one
grade, Sergt. P. N. Raynal being
elected to the Junior Lieutenantcy.
CAPT. THOMAS F. SCREVEN.
16
S A V ANN AH VOLUNTEER GUARDS.
EXPEDITIONS FROM FORT BOGGS.
The battalion remained in charge
of Fort Boggs until July. 1863, slowly
recovering from the effects of the
sickness of the previous summer.
The monotony of this duty Was some¬
what relieved, however, by two ex¬
peditions on which it was sent—one
in October, 1862, to support a battery
at Coffee Bluff, on the Little Ogee-
chee ftiver, reported to be threatened
by gunboats—the other in June, 1863,
to Sansavilla, in Wayne county, to
repel an expected ascent of the Alta-
maha River by the gunboats which
had just destroyed Darien. On the
former occasion, Maj. Screven was
in command—on the latter, Maj.
Basinger. No enemy appeared, how¬
ever, and all the battalion got by
these expeditions was some very se¬
vere marching and some experience
in field duty.
It was during this service at Fort
Boggs, and before Major Screven's
resignation, that Major John B.
Gallie, a former Captain of the Chat¬
ham Artillery, was killed in defend¬
ing H'ort McAllister against an attack
by the enemy's ships. His remains
were taken to his home in the city,
and the Guards were detailed by the
General in command as the funeral
escort. On July 10th, 1863. a large
force landed from the enemy's fleet
off Charleston, made an attack on
Morris Island, and commenced the
celebrated siege of Battery Wagner,
one of the principal defenses of that
city. On the 9th, in expectation of
such an attack, a reinforcement was
sent over from Savannah, consist¬
ing of a part of the 1st Volunteer
Regiment, under Col. Olmstead; the
12th Ga. Battalion, Lieut. Col. Capers;
and the Savannah Volunteer Guards.
AT BATTERY WAGNER.
The reinforcing troops reached
Battery Wagner after midnight of
the 10th, and found the utmost con¬
fusion apparently prevailing. With¬
out undertaking, in so brief a sketch as
this, a minute description of the
work and its surroundings; it is
enough to say that the Guards were
immediately posted in its most ad¬
vanced salient—certain, by its posi¬
tion, to be the point of the expected
attack. The attack was made in
force just before dawn on the 11th.
For the details of it any interested
reader is referred to the general his¬
tory of the war.
At the sound of the first shots from
the pickets the Guards were at the
parapetof their bastion, arms in hand
and ready. There were one or two
guns in the bastion, but the gunners
were not there. »
The attacking force was close upon
the heels of the pickets as the latter
came in. As soon as they were near
enough to be plainly seen in the
darkness which prevailed, which was
not until they were within fifty or
one hundred yards from the counter¬
scarp, the command to fire was given
and! the Guards delivered a volley
from both fronts of their bastion with
deadly effect.
This was the first discharge from
the fort. It checked the enemy—
the gunners got in to their pieces;
in a moment the whole front of the
fort was blazing with a rapid fire of
infantry and artillery—and though
the attack was vigorously pressed,
the enemy were soon repulsed in dis¬
order. The loss of the enemy in
killed, wounded and prisoners was
330. The loss of the garrison was 10
in all—7 of whom were of the Guards
—4 killed and 3 wounded. Among
the wounded was Lieut. Tupper, of
Co. A. The entire loss was small,
but the distribution of it makes it
apparent that the Guards bore the
brunt of the attack. And it is but
small commendation to say that their
conduct was worthy of their history
and reputation, and elicited from the
Commanding General marked com¬
ment on what he styled the "re¬
markable individuality" of the corps.
DURING THE SIEGE.
The enemy now proceeded to be¬
siege in form. And their batteries
and sharp-shooters poured in a con¬
tinual storm of shells and bullets,
day and night. Early every day the
enemy's ships drew near, and thus a
constant cross-fire was maintained.
The Guards being often called on for
artillerists to man the guns engaged
with the ships.
The picket duty was severe; and
those who remained in the fort were
SAVANNAH VOLUNTEER GUARDS.
17
kept at work all night repairing the
damages of the day. Water was
scarce and brackish—it was impossi¬
ble to cook food, and meat was eaten
raw. The heat of the sun was in¬
tense, and aggravated by the glare
from the water and the white sea
sand of which the island is composed
—while every night brought cold
rains which chilled to the very bone.
The siege continued fifty-eight
days, and the defense became more
arduous and difficult as the enemy's
works advanced. It would have been
impossible for any troops to endure it
so long without relief. But, for¬
tunately, communications, at least at
night, were not cut off, and the
garrison was frequently relieved.
The Guards' first tour of duty was
for eight days—they afterwards re¬
turned several times for five or six
days at a time—and thus bore their
full part in the defense—and lost
some, though a few, valuable mem¬
bers. They were not there when the
place was abandoned to the enemy.
ON JAMES ISLAND.
Their periods of rest were spent in
bivouac on James Island. They
were without shelter, and the heat
of the day, alternating with the cold
rains of the nights, made the situa¬
tions very trying. Added to this was
constant picket duty, and labor on
the works on James Island, and in
moving and mounting heavy guns,
in which they were found too expert
for their comfort.
Battery Wagner was abandoned
late in August, and in about a fort¬
night the Guards were ordered to
Sullivans Island, on the other side
of the harbor, to occupy Battery Ma¬
rion. This was nothing more than a
parapet of about 400 yards in length,
connecting Battery Bee with Fort
Moultrie, with chambers for guns,
and magazines, and bomb-proofs here
and there. The guns were 10-inch
columbiads and mortars of the same
calibre. The battalion not only man¬
ned the guns, but furnished their
own infantry support. Here it re¬
mained until the following May, but
not by any means in idleness. A
constant fire was maintained by both
sides nearly every day and night,
and sometimes all day and all night,
particularly from the mortar batter¬
ies, and the troops may be said to
have lived under fire during that pe¬
riod of eight months.
ORDERED TO VIRGINIA.
Suddenly, in May, 1864, there
came an order for the corps to
go to Virginia to join the army
of Gen. Lee. It was received
with rapturous cheers—the men were
tired of the monotony of garrison
life. Arriving in Virginia, the < orps
was stationed for a time at Mattoax,
where the -Richmond and Danville
Railroad crosses the Appomattox
river upon a pretty high bridge.
Another bridge, of almost equal im¬
portance crossed a tributary of the
Appomattox a couple of miles from
Mattoax. The destruction of either
of these bridges would have been a
great disaster—some cavalry raids of
the enemy had approached very near
them—and the Guards were sent to
aid in guarding them.
A battalion of Virginia reserves
were sent to join them, and an en¬
gineer officer to throw up earthwork
for artillery, which soon arrived.
The Virginians were raw and inex¬
perienced, and ■ wholly undrilled;
and the officers, non-commissioned
officers, and even some of the pri¬
vates, were all set hard at work in¬
structing them in the rudiments of
duty. In this sort of duty, but with¬
out by any means neglecting their
own drill, the corps remained at
Mattoax until October.
JOINED LEE'S ARMY.
It was then ordered to the general
line of the army, and-posted in the
trenches on the north side of the
James river, near Chaffin's Bluff.
Indeed there was but one battalion
between the Guards and the river.
It so happened that just at this part
of the line there were six battalions
connecting with each other. These
six battalions were put together in a
small brigade by themselves—the
battalions being distributed into
pairs, each pair commanded by a
field officer—and Col. Crutchfield
placed in command of the whole—an
arrangement altogether unique, but
found very convenient. This brigade
was commanded by Gen. G. W. C.
Lee.
18
SAVANNAH VOLUNTEER GUARDS.
Major Basinger commanded, the
pair of battalions composed of the
Guards and Major Robt. Stiles' Chaf-
fin's Bluff battalion—Capt. Rice tak¬
ing immediate command in the dis¬
ability of Capt. Stiles, who was sick.
The corps had now its first experi¬
ence of a winter campaign in a high¬
er latitude than they had been accus¬
tomed to. It will be remembered that
that winter (1864-5) was unusually
severe. The men had no shelter
worth the name—the most fortunate
having nothing more than the rag¬
ged remains of old tents. Fuel, too,
was scarce, and procurable only at a
considerable distance from the lines.
The rations then issued consisted
only of a pound of corn meal and a
third of a pound of bacon per diem.
The picket duty was extremely se¬
vere; bomb-proofs were ordered to be
built, and details of the troops were
made for this purpose; it was abso¬
lutely necessary to keep up an interi¬
or guard.
HARD LIFE IN CAMP.
With one thing and another officers
and men were on hard duty forty-
eight hours out of every seventy-two.
Added to this, the opposing forces
were so very near each other that ex¬
traordinary vigilance and alertness
were imperatively required, and the
entire Confederate line was under
arms, with every command at its
post prepared for action at least an
hour before day every morning
through that trying season. And
when the weather was gt its worst,
thei-e was the greatest need for these
precautions. The spirit of the corps,
however, was so high that it could
have endured even more than these
things. But fears for the result of
the war began to creep into the
minds of even the most sanguine—
the Confederacy appeared to be los¬
ing ground day by day—Grant's im¬
mense host seemed to be surely clos¬
ing in upon the diminishing num¬
bers of Gen. Lee.
Gen. Lee found himself obliged to
abandon Richmond to its fate. On
the night of April —, 1865, the troops
began to withdraw from the lines.
As the Guards marched sadly and
silently across the bridge which
spanned the James near JDrewry's
bluff, one of the Confederate gun¬
boats lying there, which had been
set on fire, blew up with a tremend¬
ous explosion, which filled the air
with flame and smoke and bursting
shells, and fragments flying far.
It seemed the signal for the down¬
fall of the Confederacy.
THE MARCH OUT OF RICHMOND.
The march went on all night and
the next day—then a rest for a few
hours was taken, and the march
resumed before dawn of the second
day. The rations the men started
with soon gave out—expected sup¬
plies were not received—worn out
with hunger, fatigue, and want of
sleep, the troops could hardly drag
along. But the Guards, being in the
van of their brigade for the time, put
their faithful musicians in their
front to cheer the weary march.
These were negroes who had long
served the corps in peace, accom¬
panied them through all the war,
contemptuously resisted all invita¬
tions to desert, and stood by the
colors to the last. The shrill fifes of
old Joe and Henry, and the rattling
drums of George Postell and Louis
Ross, as they made the old Virginia
woods ring with the strains so often
played at home, woke up the flagging
spirit of the men, and helped them
for a time to move cheerfully. But
in vain. The enemy's cavalry began
to press the column on the left, and
on April 6th, the rear-guard of Gen.
Lee's retreating army was brought to
bay near Sailors creek.
Gen. Gordon's corps was the true
rear-guard. But in the various oper¬
ations and movements of that day
Gen. Ewell's corps got into the rear,
and had, in its turn, become the rear¬
guard by force of circumstances.
Gen. Custis Lee's division, to which
the Guards were attached, was in
Gen. Ewell's corps. The army was
hemmed in on three sides by over¬
whelming odds, but the men did not
know it; some shots had been fired
at them, but they, supposed it was
only from some light artillery at¬
tached to small bodies of cavalry
hovering in the distance on the left,
and imagined that the front was
clear.
SAVANNAH VOLUNTEER GUARDS.
19
HEMMED IN BY THE ENEMY,
The illusion was dispelled by a
rather odd incident. The corps was
in the act of fording Sailors creek,
the color-bearer was put in the mid¬
dle of it, carrying the color-staff in¬
clined upon his shoulder, when a
spent conical rifle bullet struck the
staff where it rested on his shoulder,
splitting it exactly in the mid¬
dle, and just burying itself in the
crack. "Where did that bullet come
from!" was the exclamation. "From
ahead, of course." "Then the army
is likely to be surrounded." They
knew then they had a fight on hand.
On that day Gen. Lee's division
was- in the rear of the corps—
Crntchtield's brigade in the rear of
the division—the Guards at the rear
of the brigade. The brigade was
halted for a time a few hundred yards
from the creek, and about half way
up the slope of a long aclivity.
While pausing there, some small ad¬
vanced parties of the enemy appeared
upon the ground the brigade had
just passed over—then a battery of
light artillery—then regiment after
regiment of infantry. The order
was given to form line faced to the
rear. The Guards began the move¬
ment, and thus became the extreme
right of the new line. Major Stiles'
battalion came next; and with the
colors of these two battalions the line
was established for the division.
Some of the troops were new, but the
whole evolution was effected with
admirable order and regularity.
Scarcely had the line been formed
when the enemy's artillery com¬
menced to fire, and then the battle
began. General details would be
out of place—we are only concerned
with the Guards.
THE FIGHT AT SAILORS CREEK.
When the enemy's infantry began
to ascend the slope to attack, the
Confederate troops holding their fire
until they should get quite near, a
strong body was discovei'ed making
its way through a thicket of pines on
the right of the Guards so as to take
them on the flank and rear. Fortu¬
nately, they were impeded and dis¬
ordered by the thickness of the grove.
Maj. Basinger happened at the mo¬
ment to be near the extreme right of
the Guards.
There was no time for deliberation.
He immediately marched the battal¬
ion by the right flank obliquely to
the rear, fixing bayonets as they
went, so as to face this unexpected
enemy, and, reforming his line, at¬
tacked at once with the bayonet,
while they were yet entangled in the
wood. The Guards were but 85 that
day, and nothing but the disorder of
the enemy in the thicket saved them.
A DECISIVE ACTION.
Their attack was successful; the
enemy was driven off, with the loss
of two regimental flags and many
killed, but with serious loss to the
Guards also. The battalion then re¬
turned to the original line to take its
part in the main battle. But again
the enemy came through the thicket
of pines, and were met in the same
manner as before. But they were too
strong, and the corps had suffered
too much in the former attack; the
enemy were checked, but all of the
Guards who escaped with their lives
fell into their hands as prisoners. It
was afterwards ascertained that these
attacks through the pine thicket had
been made by a force of three regi¬
ments, half advancing at a time, and
that their loss in the encounter was
about 275 men. The disorder caused
in their advance by the pine thicket
was the only thing that rendered
such a result possible. But without
this combat, the whole division
would have been assailed on its flank
and rear and inevitably destroyed.
As it was, the division, thus
guarded on its right, repulsed two at¬
tacks upon themselves, and finally,
attacking in their turn, drove the
enemy from the field, and killed and
wounded, it was said on good authori¬
ty, about 5,000 of his men, having
themselves only 2,250 engaged. But
in the very moment of their success a
courier came from Gen. Ewell an¬
nouncing that he had surrendered
himself and his entire corps. So the
division found itself in the same mo¬
ment, victors, yet prisoners of war.
In this affair the loss of the Guards
was very heavy—amounting to 30
killed and 22 wounded of the 85
engaged, and every officer but one
20
SAVANNAH VOLUNTEER GUARDS.
being either killed or wounded. The
killed were buried on the field by the
enemy; the remains of such as could
be identified were at a later day
brought to Savannah and buried in
the lot of the corps in Laurel Grove
Cemetery. The survivors were sent,
the wounded to hospitals, the un-
wounded to Northern prisons—some
to Point Lookout, the Major and
Lieutenant Gue to Johnson's Is
land. When they * were released,
these remnants of a once proud and
prosperous command strayed sadly
home, one by one, to mourn their
disappointed hopes and the ruin of
their country, and face, as they best
might, the new difficulties that lay
before them.
As long as carpet-bag rule prevailed
in Georgia, no effort to re-organ¬
ize was made by any of her volun¬
teers. The Guards, by occasional
meetings and by attending in a body
the funerals of deceased members,
endeavored to maintain their corpo¬
rate existence, and to preserve their
property. But as soon as the carpet¬
bag government was ignominously
expelled, and James M. Smith be¬
came Governor, the corps, encouraged
by him, determined to resume its
usual functions. As soon as this
determination was known, large
numbers of new members joined,
and the work of re-organization was
undertaken. All the surviving offi¬
cers and non-commissioned officers
resigned—the new members were as¬
signed to companies—officers of all
grades were chosen and elected—
Major Basinger to the command. The
battalion staff was organized—the
present uniform adopted—the drum
corps collected together again—and
the rules revised. Arms we're soon
furnished by the State, and, with
restored strength, the corps made its
first parade under the new order of
things on the 19th day of January,
1873. •
In the course of time a band
was organized and permanently at¬
tached to the battalion. Major bas¬
inger obtained from the State the use
of the arsenal for a place of meetings
and drills, and the corps had it re¬
paired and improved at its own ex¬
pense. Buildings were erected on the
lot where the armory had stood, from
which a revenue was derived—finan¬
cial affairs received due attention,
and the reserved fund put on a pro¬
per footing.
In 1879, in pursuance of a law of
the State then passed, which required
all battalion commanders to be
Lieutenant Colonels, such a commis¬
sion was sent to the commanding
officer; and the corps was numbered
third in the list of volunteer infantry
battalions.
In August, 1882, Col. Basinger re¬
signed; and Lieut. Col. William
Garrard, the present energetic and
popular commander, was elected to
succeed him.
At the time of Col- Basinger's
resignation, he had been a member
for thirty-one years, and from the
day of his admission to membership,
almost immediately contemporane¬
ous with his promotion to a non¬
commissioned office, he was distin¬
guished for his devotion and for his
high soldierly qualities, through
every grade of office within the gift
of the corps. He was inspired by
all its gallant traditions, and at no
period in its history has it had a
commander who sustained its honor
with more loyalty, intelligence and
skill. A successful lawyer and a
man of unusual attainment, he de¬
voted his unwearying industry and
highly trained powers to meet all
the requirements of a military posi¬
tion, trying in peace, but imperious
in war, and he failed in none. It
was chiefly through his efforts that
the Guards became skilled in heavy
artillery. To this branch of the
service, Col. Basinger, who is an ac¬
complished mathematician, gave
close, studious attention during much
of the war, becoming the author of
full, systematic tables of trajectories,
and was appointed, while stationed
at Battery Wagner, one of an army
commission to report on the proper
form of heavy artillery.
Of his conduct in battle, there can
be no better panegyric than the re¬
cord of the Guards in the bloody
dramas at Battery Wagner and
Sailors creek.
Col. Basinger was longer in chief
command than any of his predeces-
SAVANNAH VOLUNTEER GUARDS.
21
sors. Although previously in acting
command, he was Major and Lieu¬
tenant Colonel of the battalion dur¬
ing about nineteen years.
The commissioned officers of the
battalion under Maj. Screven were
as follows:
Co. A—Capt. W. S. Basinger;
Lieuts. Thomas F. Screven, W. H.
King, John F. Tupper.
Co. B—Capt. G. W. Stiles; Lieuts.
Ed. Padelford, E. A. Castellaw,
George D. Smith.
Co. C—Capt. G. C. Rice; Lieuts. G.
M. Turner, John R. Dillon, Eugene
Blois.
Lieut. Dillon, Acting Adjutant.
Capt. G. C. Rice, Acting Quarter¬
master.
Lieut. W. H. King, Acting Com¬
missary.
CAPT. JOHN R. DILLON,
Adjt. 18th Georgia Battalion, S. V. G.
After Maj. Basinger assumed com¬
mand, Lieut. T. F. Screven was
made Captain of Co. A, and the fol¬
lowing became Lieutenants, namely:
P. N. Raynal, W. E. Gue and W. D.
Grant, and E. P. Starr was appoint¬
ed Adjutant of battalion. After the
war ended the officers under Maj.
Basinger were:
Co. A—Capt. George W. Stiles;
Lieuts. P. N. Raynal, A. A. Winn,
E. P. Starr.
Co. B—Capt. T. F. Screven; Lieuts.
J. C. Habersham, H. H. Woodbridge,
Malcolm Maclean.
Company C—Capt. Jno. R. Dillon;
Lieuts. F. R. Sweat, H. C. Cunning¬
ham, John Reilly.
Lieut. Sweat was afterwards ap¬
pointed Adjutant, and Lieuts. Ray-
ilal and Cunningham became re¬
spectively Captains of their compa¬
nies, and the following became Lieu¬
tenants at various times, namely: C.
J. Barie, C. R. Maxwell, H. R. Sy-
mons, W. F. Symons, Cuthbert Barn¬
well, Joe C. Thompson, L. C. Strong,
M. A. Barie, J. A. Cronk, J. W.
Fretwell, W. P. Hunter (Adjutant).
Major Basinger became Lieuten¬
ant Colonel in October, 1879.
Thereafter the following became
commissioned officers in the bat¬
talion: Lieuts. O. H. Luf burrow, J.
G. Hey ward and W. H. Turner, be¬
fore Lieut. Col. Garrard took com¬
mand.
The present commissioned officers
of the battalion are: Lieut. Col.
Wm. Garrard, commanding; 1st
Lieut. W. W. Williamson, Adjutant;
1st Lieut. J. P. S. Houstoun, Surgeon;
1st Lieut. Jno. M. Bryan, Commis¬
sary; 1st Lieut. C. P. Rossignol,
Quartermaster.
Co. C (Right Company)—Capt.
Henry C. Cunningham; 1st Lieut.
John Reilly.
Co. B (Left Company)—Capt. John
L. Hammond; 1st Lieut. R. R. Rich¬
ards; 2d Lieut. Joseph A. Cronk.
Co. A (Centre Company)—Capt.
Robert H. Footman; 1st Lieut. James
L. Taylor; 2d Lieut. John W. Fret-
well.
Lieut. Col. Garrard was elected
from the ranks, and having been
commissioned on 23d December, 1882,
took active command of the corps,
on the parade of the 19th January,
1883, on which occasion a handsome
sword and belt was presented to him
by the corps. The corps took part in
the sesqui-centennial celebration of
the settlement of Savannah, during
which the handsome silk flag which
it now carries was presented to it, as
the oldest infantry command in
Georgia, by Gov. Alexander H. Ste¬
phens, an honorary member of th©
corps.
22
SAVANNAH VOLUNTEER GUARDS.
The commanding officer immedi¬
ately addressed himself to the finan¬
ces of the corps, obtaining a reduc¬
tion of the interest that was then be¬
ing paid upon the corps' debt, and
conceiving the idea that the property
known as the Old State Arsenal
might be obtained from the State as
a site for an armory, obtained the
consent of the City Council of Savan¬
nah to the execution of a deed of the
reversionary interest of the city in
said property, provided, an Act of
the Legislature could be obtained
directing the sale of said property by
the State to the corps, the State
merely having the right of user of
the same for arsenal purposes, and
the city holding the reversionary in¬
terest. To this end he prepared a
bill, and went before the Legislature
in the summer session of 1883, and,
after a great deal of labor, succeeded
in getting the same passed, and it
became a law on the 21st of Septem¬
ber, 1883. By this Act providing for
the sale of the western half of lot let¬
ter G, in Percival Ward, the Gover¬
nor was directed to execute to said
military corporation a deed, convey¬
ing all the right, title, interest and
estate of the State of Georgia in said
property. The news of the passage
of this Act was received with great
enthusiasm by the corps, as it was
the corner-stone upon which the
magnificent structure now known as
The Arsenal was erected. It should
be mentioned in passing, that upon
the death of Gov. Alexander H.
Stephens, the Savannah Volunteer
Guards sent a strong detachment of
over 100 men, upon a few hours' no¬
tice, to Atlanta, under command of
Lieut. Col. Garrard, which took part
in the funeral service, being accorded
the right of the line.
An advantageous sale was made
by the corps of its property on the
corner of York and Bull streets, the
site of the first armory, for the sum
of $16,100, with the proceeds of
which the debt of the corps was paid
off, amounting to more than half
said purchase money, and the balance
became the nucleus of the building
fund. A building" committee was
appointed, consisting of Lieut. Col.
Garrard, Capt. H. C. Cunningham,
Capt. John L. Hammond, Capt. B-
H. Footman, and Honorary Member
W. S. Basinger, to take charge of the
erection of the arsenal.
Col. Garrard announced the pro¬
ject of a fair, to raise money to add
to the building fund, and the corps
went to work upon the same with a
will during the fall and winter
months of 1884 and the early part of
1885, the result of which was the
Guards' fair, which opened upon the
15th day of April, 1884, and lasted
for two weeks, in Catholic Library
Hall, on Drayton street, the Hon. B.
E. Lester,Chairman of the Fair Com¬
mittee, delivering the address of wel¬
come, the battalion being present in
full uniform, with side arms. Dur¬
ing the progress of this fair many in¬
teresting events occured, among
which was the visit of Gov. Henry
D. McDaniel to Savannah as the
guest of the Guards battalion, who,
during his stay in Savannah, re¬
viewed the volunteer forces of the
city and received many attentions.
The fair was a success financially,
but, after the closing of the same, it
took several months to wind up the
different schemes which were for¬
mulated by it, and then Col. Gar¬
rard recommended to the corps the
purchase of more ground to add to
the western half of lot letter G, and
to this end negotiations were opened
with the Kollock family, owners of
the adjoining property, which re¬
sulted in the purchase of a strip of
20 feet by 60 feet, which, added to
the original space, gave to the corps
a site 60 feet by 110 feet for the pur¬
pose of building. The building com¬
mittee, having with great care con¬
sidered the plans of the proposed
building executed by Mr. J. A.
Wood, of New York, architect,
adopted the same, and began the
demolition of the old arsenal build¬
ing in the winter of 1884. In exca¬
vating for the new building, two old
cannon were found buried beneath
the arsenal, which now appear at the
entrances on York and President
streets, mounted and jutting over
the pavement.
In December, 18S4, the scheme of
the arsenal bazar, to raise more funds
for said building was promulgated,
SAVANNAH VOLUNTEER GUARDS.
23
the said bazar to be held during the
following winter. The corps secured
quarters for itself in Oglethorpe Bar¬
racks during the building of the
arsenal, which consumed the entire
year 1885, and a portion of 1886, the
period being about eighteen months,
in demolishing the old building,
digging out the foundation for the
new, and erection of the latter.
Although the building was incom¬
plete, the corps moved its guns and
other property into it, and marched
from same on 22d February, 1886, for
the first time. At the meeting of
February 19th, 1885, a scheme of life
membership was devised, which ma¬
terially added to the building fund,
and a few months later an issue of
six per cent, bonds was directed,
which bonds were easily disposed of
at par, and the proceeds applied to
the building fund. In the winter of
1885, arrangements were begun, look¬
ing to the opening of the arsenal
bazar, which was opened in the drill
room of the arsenal on February 11th,
1886, lasting about ten days, and re¬
sulting in a financial success; pro¬
ceeds applied to the building fund.
The arsenal is, with few exceptions,
completed, and the Building Commit¬
tee expect to turn it over to the corps
by the regular meeting in June, 1886.
A description of this building is given
elsewhere. It has been built with
great care. All the materials used in
the same, of every description, were
of the best quality which could be
obtained, and the excellence of the
work is due in a great measure to the
skill of Savannah mechanics.
The battalion proposes to fit up the
club rooms immediately, and there¬
after to occupy it as a military club
house. It will' be heated by steam.
There is a large range in the cellar
for cooking purposes, and the building
is supplied with an elevator. Every
convenience which ingenuity can
suggest, it seems, has been supplied
throughout the building, for all possi¬
ble wants of the corps. Necessarily
the erection of this magnificent home
of the corps has increased its efficien¬
cy, enthusiasm and numbers. During
the period devoted to this purpose,
which has been substantially three
years past, the corps has borne the
strain upon it financially and other¬
wise, nobly.
The Guards have erected monu¬
ments to two of their deceased com¬
manders. The first is a plain, but
strong marble shaft in Bonaventure
Cemetery (formerly the family seat
of the Tattnalls) to "Captain Tattnall,
and bears the following inscription
on its western face :
SACKED
to the memory of
EDWARD FENWICK TATTNALL,
who died in Savannah,
on the 21st day of November, 1832,
aged 44 years.
Erected by the Savannah
Volunteer Guards, which corps
he for a period of years commanded, as
a tribute of affection for his qualities
as a Man, a Soldier, and a Patriot.
Munera parva quidem, sed magnum
testantur amorem.
Near by, in the same enclosure, is
the tomb of his noble brother, Com¬
modore Josiah Tattnall, one of the
most honored of the honorary mem¬
bers of the Guards. On this signifi¬
cantly rests the effigy of a sheathed
sword, and it bears the following in¬
scription :
COMMODORE JOSIAH TATTNALL, TJ. S. & C. S. N.
Born near this spot Nov. 8,1785.
Died June 14,1871.
The second monument erected by
the corps is in Laurel Grove Ceme¬
tery to Capt. Richardsone—a taste¬
ful marble shaft with the following
inscriptions. On the eastern face:
"Erected by the Savannah Volun¬
teer Guards in token of their regard
for a beloved commander, and of
their admiration for his virtues as a
citizen." On the western face, on a
shield within a bay wreath support¬
ed on cannon: "Cosmo P. Richard¬
sone." On the southern face: "Born
January 24th, 1804." On the north¬
ern face: "Died February 6th, 1852."
Withip a few feet of the resting
place of Capt. Richardsone is that of
his friend and immediate successor
in command, Capt. James P. Scre¬
ven.
In Laurel Grove Cemetery the
Guards hold two buiial lots, num¬
bers 46 and 726. In the former are
interred Privates S. F. Ripley and
John D. Carter, who died of yellow
fever respectively in 1854 and 1876,
and privates T. L. Robertson, John
Maddox, John Johnson, A. F.
24
SAVANNAH VOLUNTEER GUARDS.
Whitlock and James D. Pardue.
In this lot also is one
grave containing the remains of
eleven members of the battalion,
who fell at Sailors creek, the last
battle of the Army of Virginia,
namely: King, Turner, Rice, Ab-
ney, Mcintosh, Rouse, Millen, Gor¬
don, Vickers, Cook and Barie, re¬
moved from Virginia along with
Rice, James, Myddleton, Bowne,
Grant and Bennett, who are interred
in their respective family lots. In
lot number 726 (the gift of 1st Lieut.
Thomas J. Bulloch) are interred
Privates Thomas D. Morel, James
M. Mallette, Frederick Myers and
James O. A. Simmons.
The motto of the Guards, graven on
their corporate seal and borne on their
colors is, " Pro arts et foois.11
This is but a sketch of the oldest
infantry organization in the State,
and one of the oldest in the United
States, sustaining a clear and contin¬
uous record through all but two of
the years of the present century, Its
officers and privates, throughout this
long and eventful period, have been
governed by the principles embodied
in the preamble, to their rules and
regulations, to which they are
pledged on admission—"to cultivate
those manly virtues, which are so
much promoted by military
exercises and associations." Hence,
it is but true, that this organi¬
zation has maintained the highest
type of citizen soldiery and a school
of military practice of great value to
its own members, to Savannah and
to the State. Long periods of peace
may seem to convert soldiership un¬
tried in the field into mere holiday
display; but when danger threatens,
when riot and the torch are at hand,
when the law demands its last en¬
forcement, when invasion comes,
when the honor and glory of the
country must be asserted, how sud¬
denly the drilled volunteer becomes
the stay and comfort of the timid
and weak, the guarantor of peace
and order, the right arm of the
State. When the laws are silent and
those only are asserted which rest in
the manly virtues of the disciplined
soldier, the citizen who is skilled
in arms, whose muscles are harden¬
ed to the musket and the march,
whose heart is voluntarily trained in
the stern school of patience, obedi¬
ence and system which fits him for
service and command alike, becomes
the true unit of social and political
order.