orders for his troops to halt, form, and march up; a
howitzer was brought to bear upon the bridge, and a fatigue party
rushed forward to throw off the planks. Armstrong saw the danger,
dashed across the bridge, with his section, drove off the
artillerists, and captured the howitzer before it could be discharged.
The fatigue men, who had been at work on the bridge, snatched up their
guns, gave a volley and fled. Armstrong's party, in crossing the
bridge, had displaced some of the planks, and formed a chasm.
Lieutenant Carrington with the second section of dragoons leaped over
it; the chasm being thus enlarged, the horses of the third section
refused. A pell-mell fight took place between the handful of dragoons
who had crossed, and some of the enemy. Armstrong, seeing the foe too
strong in front, and no reinforcement coming on in rear, wheeled off
with some of his men to the left, galloped into the woods, and pushed
up along the stream to ford it, and seek the main body.

During the melee, Lee had come up and endeavored with the dragoons of
the third section to replace the planks of the bridge. Their efforts
were vain; the water was deep, the mud deeper; there was no foothold,
nor was there any firm spot where to swim the horses across. While
they were thus occupied, Colonel Coates, with his men, opened a fire
upon them from the other end of the bridge; having no fire-arms to
reply with, they were obliged to retire. The remainder of the planks
were then thrown off from the bridge, after which Colonel Coates took
post on an adjacent plantation.

It was not until three o'clock in the afternoon, that Sumter with his
forces appeared upon the ground, having had to make a considerable
circuit on account of the destruction of the bridge. By four o'clock
the attack commenced. Sumter, with part of the troops, advanced in
front under cover of a line of negro huts, which he wished to secure.
Marion, with his brigade, much reduced in number, approached on the
right of the enemy, where there was no shelter but fences; the
cavalry, not being able to act, remained at a distance as a reserve,
and, if necessary, to cover a retreat. Sumter's brigade soon got
possession of the huts, where they used their rifles with sure effect.
Marion and his men rushed up through a galling fire to the fences on
the right. The enemy retired within the house and garden, and kept up
a sharp fire from doors and windows and picketed fence. Unfortunately,
the