Bamber’s Station, A. & C. R. R.
February 7, 1865.
Our regiment led the corps to-day. The 17th Corps strikes the railroad at Midway, three miles to our right, and the 20th to the left five miles. We are 14 miles northwest of Branchville. The enemy are on the opposite bank of the Edisto, two miles from us. There is a great “peace” excitement among the citizens here. This day’s work cuts off all railroad communication between Georgia and the eastern part of the Confederacy. I saw another new thing (to me) in the destruction of railroads. After the iron has been heated by the burning ties, by a simple contrivance, four men twist each rail twice around. They put a clamp on each end of the rail, and put a lever in the clamp perpendicularly, and two men at each end of the lever, will put the neatest twist imaginable in the heated part of the rail. I never saw so much destruction of property before. Orders are as strict as ever, but our men understand they are in South Carolina and are making good their old threats. Very few houses escape burning, as almost everybody has run away from before us, you may imagine there is not much left in our track. Where a family remains at home they save their house, but lose their stock, and eatables. Wheeler’s Cavalry is about all we have yet found in our front and they keep afar off. The citizens fear them fully as much as they do us. A lady said to-day that she would as lief have us come as Wheeler’s men; she could see no difference. Wheeler’s men say, “Go in, South Carolina!” and the Yankees say the same thing. We got 50 bales of cotton here, which I suppose will be burned. Struck the railroad at 9:30 a.m.
