Rivers Bridge Camp No. 842
Sons of Confederate Veterans
"It is our duty to keep the memory of our heroes green..."   Jefferson Davis












Near where U.S. Highway 601 crosses the Salkehatchie River in Hampton County lies the community of
Crockettvil1e. In 1861 this was a part of Beaufort District. Crockettville was known then as Whippy Swamp. The
Baptist Church was the center of the community and in June 1861 the Whippy Swamp Guards mustered up and
marched to Beaufort. On July 15, Captain J.J. Harrison mustered the Whippy Swamp Guards into Confederate
service at Bay Point. They were designated Company D.
The Whippy Swamp Guards also dated to the Revolution. They drilled regularly at Old Pocataligo. An annual
review was held at Old Slow Hill near Coosahatchie. Prior to the war Captain John Frampton had led the
Guards. He was a delegate to the Secession Convention. His plantation (Frampton Plantation) near Pocataligo
would be the scene of major fighting in 1862 and would shelter General Sherman on the first night of his
march into South Carolina later in February 1865.
DanieI H. Ellis took over the leadership of the Guards for a short time. He would later command the11th after
the ouster of Colonel Heyward. Eventually Ellis would also be promoted to Brigadier General and elected to
the State Senate after the Battle of Pocatalgo.
J.J. Harrison led the Guards until the reorganization. At that time he was promoted to Major and assigned to
the regimental staff. Harrison held this position until his death at the Battle of Pocataligo. At Harrison's
promotion out of the Guards, J.J. Gooding was elected Captain. He then filled Harrison's billet on the staff
upon the Major’s death.
William. J. Gooding, a former Legislator and very popular individual, assumed command next. He led the
Guards until he was transferred. Exercising his right as an officer be resigned rather than 1eave his men. He
immediately went to the Adjutant and enlisted as a private in Company D. Later he would again be promoted to
Lieutenant.
Also serving as officers in Company D were Captain Henry D. Hucks, plus Lieutenant McDonald Gooding, J.W.
Bowers, Phillip Thomas, Osborne J. Sauls and Thomas Jenkins.
The Whippy Swamp Guards
Below is an excerpt from Neil Baxley's book shown at the right.  
It is highly recommended for those who want to know more
about the 11th South Carolina Volunteer Infantry.

11th Infantry Regiment [also called 9th Regiment] was organized during the summer of 1861 with men from
Beaufort, Clarendon, and Colleton counties. The unit served in the Charleston area, fought at Pocataligo, then
was stationed at Hardeeville. It was assigned to Hagood's Brigade, then one company was permitted to
organize and equip as a light battery (Beaufort Artillery), and the regiment served with nine companies. During
the summer of 1863 it was again active in the Charleston area but later moved to Florida and then to Virginia in
the spring of 1864. Here it fought at Drewry's Bluff and Cold Harbor and in the trenches of Petersburg. In 1865
the unit moved to Fort Fisher and saw action at Bentonville. It lost 4 killed, 15 wounded, and 2 missing at
Pocotaligo, had 14 killed, 39 wounded, and 12 missing in front of Petersburg (May 6-9), and sustained 14 killed,
28 wounded, and 45 missing at Deep Bottom. Its casualties were about sixty percent in the fight at Weldon
Railroad, and scarcely the strength of a company surrendered on April 26, 1865. The field officers were
Colonels Daniel H. Ellis, F. Hay Gantt, and William C. Heyward; Lieutenant Colonels Robert Campbell, Allen C.
Izard, and William Shuler; and Majors John J. Gooding, John J. Gooding, John J. Harrison, and B. Burgh Smith.
11th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry (9th Volunteers)
In August, 1864, during the fighting on the Weldon railroad,
200 of his men, he accompanying them, charged into the
enemy's works at a re-entering angle, and found themselves
under a severe  cross-fire, and about to be surrounded. A
Federal officer rode up, seized the colors of the Eleventh and
called upon them to surrender, when General Hagood, on
foot, his horse having been killed, demanded the return of
the colors, and ordered the officer back to his lines. This
being refused, he shot the Federal officer from his horse, the
colors were regained by Orderly Stoney, and the intrepid
general mounted his antagonist's horse and brought off his
men.
An Interesting Sidelight in the
History of the 11th
General Johnson Hagood
On Friday, June 24, 2011, Rivers Bridge Camp No. 842 was
privileged to participate in the dedication of a historical marker in
the town of Crocketville, SC.  The marker is located adjacent  to
the venerable old Harmony Presbyterian Church and is to
commemorate the site as the location of the Whippy Swamp
Muster Ground
The sign gives us the brief history as follows:
This area, called Whippy Swamp Cross Roads, was in Beaufort
District before Hampton County was created in 1878. In 1840 the
Whippy Swamp Guards of the 12th S.C. Militia built their “militia
house” nearby. It hosted inspections, drills, picnics, and political
speeches. Two Confederate companies formed in 1861-62 were made
up of men of the antebellum Guards: Co. D, 11th S.C. Infantry, and
Co. D, 24th S.C. Infantry.
(Reverse text)
Other members of the antebellum Whippy Swamp Guards served in
several Confederate units from this area. On October 22, 1862, at the
Battle of Pocotaligo, the silk flag of the Whippy Swamp Guards was
captured by the 48th N.Y. Infantry. Maj. John J. Harrison of the 11th S.
C., former captain of the Guards, was killed. The militia house was
torn down shortly after the Civil War.
Bill and Doug Corbin. Descendants of Privates
Edward Corbin and William Fennell of Company
D, 11th South Carolina Volunteer Infantry
Leah Stevenson.
Descendant of Major
John J. Harrison.
Compatriot
Ira Beach of
Rivers
Bridge
Camp No.
842. Master
of
Ceremonies.

Compatriot-
of-the Year
2010.
Historic Harmony Presbyterian Church
Mrs. Beth Booth lends old
southern charm to the new
historical marker.