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The 7th South Carolina is known as "the Bloody
Seventh" because of its bloodshed in numerous Civil War battles as part of
Kershaw’s Brigade. While much of the first year was spent near the front in Northern
Virginia and on the Virginia Peninsula between the York and James Rivers, the men of
the 7th only saw minor skirmishing. It was time well spent learning their trade as
soldiers. The weak died or were sent home as they were of no value to the army. The
survivors spent countless hours learning Civil War drills and maneuvers, suffered
the rigors of long marches, witnessed the dangers of combat and became accustom to a lack
of sufficient food and clothing. Held in the Richmond area to protect the
Confederate capital, the 7th South Carolina missed the severe fighting of 2nd
Manassas. During the siege of Harpers Ferry, Kershaw’s
Brigade drew the key assignment of capturing Maryland Heights. On September 13, the 7th
bore the brunt of the fighting in the successful capture of the heights, but paid a
high price losing 28 killed and about 85 wounded. Four days later, they fought
near the Dunker Church at Antietam losing another 39 killed and 137 wounded. The
regiment was beginning to earn its nickname. Three months later at Fredericksburg, the 7th South Carolina stood atop Marye’s Heights next to the Marye House. Lieutenant Colonel Elbert Bland brilliantly used the terrain to his advantage by having his command load their weapons while protected by the reverse slope of the hill and exposed themselves to enemy fire only briefly while they fired. The right wing of the regiment being more exposed by the lay of the ground suffered the majority of the 7 killed and 62 wounded. A long cold winter allowed time for the
exhausted soldiers to regain their strength and many of the wounded to heal. In the first
week of May, 1863, their brigade held many important positions at Chancellorsville, but
were only lightly engaged suffering 2 killed and 11 wounded. The momentum of back to
back victories along the Rappahannock River propelled the Confederate army
north to the Pennsylvania college town of Gettysburg. The 7th marched across the
Rose Farm and seized the Stony Hill, only to be forced back by a counter attack from the
Wheatfield. The unit lost 29 killed and 87 wounded in the bloodiest day of the war
for Kershaw’s Brigade. The Confederates returned to Virginia in late
July for badly needed rest. Six weeks later, Kershaw’s Brigade boarded
trains for northern Georgia. On Snodgrass Hill at Chickamauga the regiment lost about 100
more men including two of its best officers,
Lieutenant Colonel Elbert Bland and Major John Hard. Beginning in November, the brigade
participated in the East Tennessee campaign. Although not heavily engaged at several
smaller engagements, the casualties continued to mount and morale suffered during
the long cold winter in a section of the South where Union sentiment dominated.
In April, the brigade joyfully returned to General Robert E.
Lee’s army in central Virginia. But joy quickly turned to blood, sweat and
hardwork as Lee tangled with General Grant’s forces in a series of five battles
that went on for six weeks without a day of rest. The survivors choose not to rememberthe
bloodiest and toughest campaign in American history. Twice in 48 hours, Kershaw’s
Brigade helped save Lee’s army on May 6th at Wilderness and then at Spotsylvania. By the third week in June, the armies had
reached Petersburg. After an Union effort to seize Petersburg
failed, Grant steadily stretched out his line to the west to seize the roads and
railroads into the city. At the same time, Grant tried a series of quick thrusts to
the northeast to capture Richmond. Kershaw’s Brigade participated in one
of these actions known as 1st Deep Bottom at the end of July. In early
August, the brigade went to the Shenandoah Valley where they fought in several small
engagements as wellas the highly significant action at Cedar Creek on October 19 in which
the Confederate force in the valley was routed after an early morning success.
Gettysburg, Pa. July 2,. 1863
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