31 March 1865: “There would probably be no difficulty is getting the men to volunteer into this service but the difficulty is to procure the horses”

Item Description: Letter from Major General Cash to South Carolina Governor A. G. Magrath. He writes that he’s raised the men for a division from the eastern counties of South Carolina but does not have the weapons, ammunition, rations, or horses to fight the enemy. He writes to Magrath asking him for orders.

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Item Citation: Folder 2, in the A. G. Magrath Papers, #467-z, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Item Transcription:

Society Hill March 31 1865

Governor:

In accordance with your orders I proceeded to organize the troops of this Division. I formed seven companies and put three into a Battalion- there was no report from Georgetown, Williamsburg and Horry and only a partial report from Marion- I found upon enquiry of the Cols. that the arms deposited at the respective Court Houses by the state authorities hand been loaned out to the people and were not to be had- Col. Cook of Marlboro had retained the arms placed in his care and I understand those deposited at Horry were in possession of the Col. of that District- there being no arms and no ammunition and having no provisions and no money with which to purchase and having no authority to impress I felt at a loss how to execute the orders I had received from you and consulted with your aid Col. Mullins who did not hesitate to direct me to order the men to their homes until further orders- this I proceeded to do and sent Col. Wm H. Evans to consult with you. He failed to reach Columbia the R. Road having been cut by the enemy a few hours before he reached Kingsville. I should have made an effort to communicate with you since the enemy left us but I did not know where to send and the means of communication are extremely rare between this section of the state and every other part- There being no R. Road facilities and the country having been stripped of horses. I came to this place today to send a Staff Officer to you but avail myself of the services of Mr. Frost who will pass through Columbia and Newberry. I have your communications one from Spartanburg and one from Newberry- also the orders of the Adjt. Genl. It is all important and absolutely necessary that I should have a mounted force of at least one hundred men to act as scouts and to annoy the enemy. There would probably be no difficulty is getting the men to volunteer into this service but the difficulty is to procure the horses- the Districts of Chesterfield, Marlboro and much of Darlington are almost without horses and I fear not much is to be expected from the people in the lower Districts who have heretofore manifested very little interest in the preparation for the defence of the state. Will it be in your power to  authorize me to impress such as may be necessary? The question of rations must be settled by you- there is an abundant supply of corn in the country and bacon can be procured in those Districts not overrun by the enemy. I think private arms can be had in sufficient numbers to arm the force to be called out but the supply of ammunition will be very limited. There may be some ammunition at Marion and probably some at Horry as soon as it is possible I will ascertain the amt. to be had at those points & report to you. I have been informed that all the arms and ammunition at Florence was destroyed by our own troops & under Genl. Hardee’s order. I will request the bearer of this communication to learn the facts on that point and report verbally to you.  Allow me Governor to assure you that I am fully awake to our situation and will do everything in my power to arouse the people and get them up to their duty- as soon as I can get a small force mounted I will proceed to meet the enemy whence they may be found in the state and will have Col. Evans who commands the Battalion recently formed, to call out that force and make the best use of it- with a small force well mounted I can force the enemy to advance only in large bodies through the country. I wish very much it was in my power to give more definite information in regard to affairs in this section but we have been cut off from the surrounding country and know very little of the actual state of affairs. This portion of the state has suffered severely in the loss horses bacon and other property but thanks to the brutality of the enemy, there is a spirit of resistance and undying hostility engendered that time can never overcome. We expect the R. Road to to be repaired to a point near Cheraw by the first of the ensuing week when it will be safe for me to entrust my communications to you by mail and I will report all my movements to you.

I am sir with the highest respect your obt. servt

(sgd) Eyb C. Cash

Maj. Genl. 4th Divs. S.C.

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2 Responses to 31 March 1865: “There would probably be no difficulty is getting the men to volunteer into this service but the difficulty is to procure the horses”

  1. Todd Kesselring says:

    It is Society Hill, SC. It still exists. A noted speed trap these days. Apparently that is how they make their revenue.

  2. Todd Kesselring says:

    First page near the beginning:
    “Had been loaned out to the people and were not to be had”

    Middle of the last page:
    “- with a small force well mounted I can force (instead of face) the enemy to advance only in large bodies through the country.”