James Williams Gardner was the son of Daniel and Susan Baskins Gardner. He had seven brothers. When James William (known as J. W.) was about 12 years old, his family moved from Flat Rock, S.C. to Tillers Ferry, S.C. At the age of 16, he entered the Confederate Army. He was a 1st Lieutenant in Company A, 7th South Carolina Battalion, Hagood's Brigade, Hoke's Division. He served as Captain when Dr. Ben Lucas's arm was shot off. He trained men at Charleston and at Adam's Run. He later told his family how the homesick young men would sit around the campfire at night and sing songs-sometimes the enemy would join in the singing from across the river.
Near the close of the war he was taken prisoner and marched to Fort Delaware. They were without food for three days. Upon arrival at camp, barrels of hard tack and beef were given to them. The prisoners ate large quantities and became quite ill-J.W. was blind for a few hours. He was slightly wounded in the leg and was given a furlough home.
After the war, he was married to Victoria King at Tiller's Ferry, South Carolina, Nov. 16, 1865, at Uncle Wiley King's home near Clyde School. They had seven children. He built his bride a large one room log cabin near the site of his father's old home,(father was Daniel Gardner). His father's home had been burned by the Yanks when they marched through Tillers Ferry after burning Columbia.
James William was quite an accomplished man, he taught himself Latin, read everything he could find and became the correspondent for the Camden Messenger newspaper.
This is one of the writings he is most noted for, The Monthly Weather Review for June, 1901, contains the interesting account from Mr. J. W. Gardner, volunteer weather observer at Tiller's Ferry, South Carolina, U.S.A., that "during a heavy local rain about June 27, there fell hundreds of little fish (cat, perch, trout, etc.) that were afterwards found swimming in the pools between the cotton rows in [an adjacent] field."