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ILESTONE EDITIO: AN INSTITUTION OF COMMUNITY SERVICE SINCE 1909 Hertford Count-y 1759-1959 The Herald 1909-1959 1 Pages—This SecUon Ahoskie. N. C. Milestone Year—1959 Civil War in Roaiioke-Cliowaii: Brief History in Troybled Time At a glance, the Civil Wav in the Roanoke-Chowan: IN IfStii—As war drums sound ed in the nation, young men of the Roanoke-Chowan gathered in the spring of 1351 to form volun teer companies. Within a few weeks, more than 1,000 men from Gates, Hertford, Bertie and Northampton, trooped to the Con federate colors. LATER IN THE SAME year, the war came home to people of the Roanoke-Chowan when a fed eral fleet descended on the still- incomplete Confederate defenses of the Outer Banks. Fort Hatteras fell in August. THEN, IN EARLY 1862, a giant federal force struck again at east ern North Carolina, Roanoke Is land fell, and the sounds and rivers of the state were left at the mercy of Union gunboats. Hertford men were in the illfated gaiTison on Roanoke Island. On February 19, 1862, a federal force churned up the Chowan River, aiming to seize a bridge on the upper Blackwater. At Wanton, the unit stopped, was fired on by a small group of Confederate troops. The Union forces landed, burned the tiny village—includ ing the courthouse. It was the first town burned in the war. FOR THE REST OF 1862, the Roanoke - Chowan watched un easily as Union forces overran much of the eastern part of the state. Union cavalry units rode imhindei-ed on the Gates shore of the river. Union aunboats sailed up Roanoke and Chowan rivers. At Hamilton on the Roanoke, Confederate forts guarded the upper reaches of the river. MEANWHILE,. IN VIRGINIA,' dozens of young Roanoke-Cho-! wanians met death in the great ^ Seven Days Battle around Rich mond in the summer of 1862. Others died in September at the, bloody battle of Antietam in | Carolina, Roanoke- j Chowan men were in the force which saw New Bern fall to the enemy in March. The Union seizure of ea.stern North Carolina brought new mo bilization, and several hundred more Roanoke-Chowan men join ed companies being formed, join ing I’egiments some of which were organized to defend the very hearthsides of North Caro linians. AS WINTER of 1862 came, many Roanoke - Chowan men came home on furlough, to tell stories of battles in Virginia, and on the bloody slopes of Antietam Creek. Noi-th of Murfreesboro, along the Blackwater River, other Roanoke- Chowan men spent the winter guarding against sudden crossings by Union forces in firm control of south.side Virginia from their base at Suffolk. Skirmishes were fought in Gates County. THE SPRING OF 1863 came with new hope for the Confedei-- acy, but it ushered in what was to be a hectic year for the Roan oke-Chowan. Confederate armies gathered in Virginia for a major offensive. Most of the Roanoke-Chowan’s soldiery was in the army that General Lee maneuvered toward Pennsylvania. Other men from the section remained in defenses around Petersburg and on the Blackwater, keeping an eye on the federal forces in eastern Vir ginia. DOZENS OF ROANOKE-Cho- wan men fell under fire as Lee’s army moved northward. Many others went down on the bloody slopes of Gettysburg. BUT BACK HOME, their loved ones were experiencing war at, the Roanoke-Chowan doorstep. ’ Federal forces in eastern Caro lina saw a chance to smash the Confederate lifeline, the railroad from Wilmington to Richmond. A strong cavalry force landed at Winton in July, maixhed for Weldon. Hastily-organized cav alry and infantry units of the Roanoke - Chowan had already skii'mished with federal recon naissance units probing up the Chowan River. WINTON MARKER TELLS FAMOUS INCIDENT At Potecasi Creek, between Winton and Murfreesboro, local cavalrymen skirmished with the bluecoats, then fell back. The Union soldiers marched through Murfreesboro, gunboats heaved into view up the Meherrin River. Hundreds of citizens fled west ward. As the last days of July came, the federal cavalrymen marched to Jackson, and thei-e, at Boone’s Mill, they met a Confederate force commanded by Gen. Matt Ransom of Northampton, The Bat tle of Boone’s Mill, fought in sight of Ransom’s plantation home, ended when rain stopped the shooting. The federal force fell back to Murfreesboro, then to Winton. Units galloped through the Roan oke-Chowan, burning and seizing supplies. THUS, THE ROANOKE-Chd- wan saw war in its own bailiwick. For the remainder of the year, eyes were kept watching for other fedei-al attacks. Young men of the area who had fought in the awful actions in Virginia and Pennsylvania came home on fur lough to tell of war. IN NOVEMBER, 1863, federal troops were again landing at Win ton, cavalry patrols ranged to ward Murfreesboro. But the Un ion forces tried no major push. AS THE YEAR 1864 came in, Roanoke - Chowanians serving with the Army of Noithern Vir ginia prepared for another year’s campaigning. In North Carolina, as winter went on, the Confederacy tried a desperate gamble to clear the enemy from the eastern part of the state. Hundi-eds of Roanoke-' Chowanians, many led by Gen. Ransom, took part in the recap ture of Plymouth in April, as the Confederate ii'onclad Albemarle —for a moment—.seized the inaval ■ initiative. , „ It was a short-lived success. Al ready, Union patrols had pene trated into the area. A skh'mish was fought at Windsor, another at Harrellsvillo, as .small parties of Union troops landed from gun boats to destroy stores of sup plies gathered to be sent to the Confederate army. AS THE YEAR rolled on, de spair deepened. From Virginia came news of the bloody battles of the Wildei-ness. Young Col. Thomas Miles Garrett of Hertford and Bertie was killed in action in the fighting. The summer before, youthful Col. Harry Burgwyn cf Northampton had died on the hills of Gettysburg. In the Roanoke-Chowan, small units, of Confederate and Union cavalry fought in little battles along dusty roads and at Chowan River landings. Increasing bands of deserters and other outlaws were causing fear among local people. The shortages of war were causing civilian hard.ship. Hundreds of families of soldiers lived on doles of corn and bacon from meager stores of supplies bought by coun ty officials with depreciated Con federate currency. AS THE YEAR RAN OUT, fed eral troops again controlled Ply mouth. Winton had become a favorite landing place for Union patrols. On the upper Chowan and Blackwater, Roanoke-Cho wan cavalrymen fought to hold the line of the river agaimst in creasing federal pressure. IN EARLY 1865, the Union pressure mounted. A cavalry col umn struck from south of Peters burg, penetratied into Northamp ton County. Murfreesboro people again saw bluecoated horsemen galloping down the town’s streets. In the same month, larger groups of Union raiders hit at Colerain. Ycungstens of the Jun ior Reserves marched In the rain to the Chowan River Ij^nding 'to t.b.c enriiny gone. "SPITING CAME IN 1865, even the tiny homo guard unit^^ which had tried to stop the at-' tacks of the U. S. cavalry and Ihc outrages of outlaw “buffalo” band;. were called to a final effort. Many I wanians had given their lives. Roanoke-Chowanians saw battle at Bentonville in Johnston Coun ty in the largest action of the war on North Carolina soil. Then, as April came, so came the end. More than 500 Roanoke-Cho- They lay buried in graves near Richmond, at Gettysburg, in shal low mounds on the slopes of Shenandoah Valley hills, in hos pital cemeteries, and in unmarked diggings scattered throughout the battle area. More than 1.00 men of the sec tion made their way back from the dark and stench of federal prisoner-of-war stockades. Thus, the story of the Roanoke- Chowan in the Civil War, a time of heroics, of sacrifice, of coloi-- ful events, and terrible tragedy. Thcusatids Went to Colors: eSA Soldiers in Many Units... Roanoke-Chowan men didn’t want their state to secede from the Union when the question was put in early 1861. Voters in all four counties—Hert ford, Bertie, Gates, Northampton— turned down the secession proposi tion when it was put then. A few months later, however, President Lincoln called for 75,- 000 federal troops to put an end to the incipient southern rebellion, Roanoke-Chowanians joined thou sands of North Carolinians in the ranks of the Confederate army. How many from the four coun ties served in the gray ranks? No one has ever added up the total. Time has blurred accurate statistics. But, unofficially, more than 3,000 men from the four counties an swered the Confederate call. This compares with the great man power effort of North Carolina as a whole, which gave the Confed eracy nearly half its total cannon fodder. The total soldiery from the Roa noke-Chowan which served in the Civil War equaled the white male voting population in 1860. General ly, it totaled about ten per cent of the entire white population. Roanoke-Chowan men made up 27 companies in North Carolina Confederate regiments, six other companies were made up of men from two or more Roanoke-Cho wan counties, or included substan tia! numbers of men from Roanoke- Chowan counties. Figuring about 100 men to the company, this means that over 3,000 men from the four counties marched with the southern armies. They included; About 1.100 men from Northamp ton County. Some 1,000 men from Hertford County. 630 men from' Bertie County. 500 men from Gates County. Company Units Confederate companies were us ually organized in the various coun ties, and then companies were banded together into regiments at training camps in the state. This is the breakdown of total Roanoke-Chowan units in the Con federate ranks: NORTHAMPTON — Five com panies of infantry, three of caval ry, and one of artillery were or ganized in Northampton. Two other coinpanies cf infantry and one cf cavalry included substantial numbers of Northampton men. In addition, a company of Northamp ton cavalry served in a Virginia cavalry regiment. HERTFORD .— Seven companies of infantry, two of cavalry and one of artillery were organized in Hertford. Men from the county served in one mixed infantry com pany and two mixed cavalry com panies. BERTIE — Three companies of infantry and one of cavalry were organized in Bertie. Men from the county served in two mixed in fantry companies and two mixed cavalry companies. GATES — Four companies of infantry were organized in Gates County. Men from the county served in one mixed infantry com pany and one mixed cavalry unit. Thus, men from the four coun ties made up 19 infantry com panies, six cavalr.v companies, and two artillery companies, in addi tion to .SLX other companies made up wholly ot men from two or more of the Roanoke-Chowsji coun ties. This does not include, of course, a spi'inkling of men from tlie coun ties serving in other companies throughout the Confederate army. The total of this group is small, however, probably not over 100 See NUMBERS, Pago 4 \tlerffotd Soldiers in 3ht Surrendered on Roanoke Alter young men marched away to the battles in Virginia, the old- time militia remained as the home defense forces for the Roanoke- Chowan in the Civil War. Jn each county, the old militia companies were denuded of most of their personnel by the volunteer conlederato units which formed during the spring of 1861. But, with encouragement from the state government, militia units were reorganized with older men, those medically unfit for service with the Confederate army, and younger men. The 15th Regiment of North Carolina Militia was regularly organized and ordered to patrol the lower Halifax River. It in cluded a cQpipany from North ampton CounV' Companies of this regiment, loosely-organized and generally only called out in an emergency, did engineering work on Roanoke River strong points. The forts at Rainbow Banks on the Roanoke were largely constructed by mili- ciamen and their slaves. Conine Creek in Bertie was also blocked by militiamen. Later in the war, these militia men were officially known as the “Home Guai'd.” In 1864, as the manpower squeeze tightened, many of these units were organized into regular regiments, known as the Junior Reserves and the Senior Reserves. Several companies of young Roanoke - Chowanians join ed these units, and their stor>’ is told elsewhere. Militiamen and Home Guard soldiers were used intermittently in the area to guard military stores aiad foodstuffs. Harrellsville in Hertford County was an im portant supply point where goods from the lush corn-and-hog areas of the Bertie Peninsula were col lected for shipment to the armies. It was usually guarded by Home Guardsmen. j More than 90 Hertford County men wha marched away to bat tle in the autumn of 1861, six months after many of their fel lows had joined the first volun teer companies of North Carolina Confederates, didn’t have to wait long to taste war’s bitterness. Hertford men of Company C of the 31st Regiment were captured within six months after they marched away. The regiment, formed from eastern North Carolina companies in September, marched to Roan oke Island in December. Across the shallow sounds, Union forces already had the Outer Banks of North Carolina, ■ after an expedition in the sum mer had successfully seized un ready Confederate defenses there (and captured another company of Hertford men, members of the 17th Regiment). The 31st, untested in fighting, was easy prey for the giant Union expedition of General Burnside, which came in Febi-uary, 1862, to seize Roanoke Island and assure fedei'al control of coastal North Carolina for the remainder of the war. After a short fight, the little Confederate command, less than 1,000 men in all, surrendered to the overwhelming Union power, put ashore under the guns of the largest fleet ever assembled in American waters. Among those who laid dov.m their arms were the men of Com- pafty G. Captain Julian Picot was the Gates, Hertford Companies in Famed Unit: Fifth Regiment Fought in Battles With Army of Lee for Three Years Roanoke-Chowan soldiers from Gates and Bertie made up nearly ono-third of the Fifth North Caro lina Confederate regiment. Companies B and H were com posed of Gates County men, while young men of Bertie had formed Company F. Captains were T. P, Thompson for Company B, Thomas MUes Gar rett for I. the Bertie men. and S. B. Douge was the commander of Gates men of Company H. The unit organized at Halifax in the summer of 1861, and from then on was in the thick of fighting as south and north locked in an irre pressible conflict. The regiment marched imme diately off to the north, and was one of the few North Carolina units present for the battle of Bull Run, when northern and southern arms first locked in major battle. Not actively engaged, the regi ment was assigned as a picket force on tlie Confederate front. It remained until late spring, 1862, when in May. the regiment was ordered southward to a position near the famous old Virginia capi tal of Williamsburg. Down the historic Yorktown pen insula, a giant Union anny under McClellan advanced toward Rich mond’s spires. The Fifth North Carolina met McClellan's advance in a ' bloody action near Williamsburg. Many Killed In the confused rearguard battle. Captain Garrett was wounded. Jonathan Liecester, Trotman Spi-' vcy, William Riddick, Meredith^ Savage. John Langston, Elbert: Knight. Thomas Hoflin, Thomas! Jones. John B, Ralph, Jesse Um- phlett, William Bunch and Robert Lee, all of Gates, were killed. Lt. Joe Hayes of Bertie was killed in the fight. It was one of the most costly actions of the war for the regi ment which was to see much action. The bloodshed was to signal a time of death for the Fifth. Within the next five months, the unit was reduced to a handful as it fought around Richmond (Jacob Powell was killed at Cold Harbor— he was sergeant of the Bertie men) and in northern Virginia as Con federates under Lee maneuvered Union troops out cf the state and fought at Antitiem in Maryland (Aquilla Todd of Gates died at South Mountain in the campaign). Young Garixtt, a school teacher- lawyer who had taught many Ber tie youngstei's before donning the gray coat of the CSA, was pro moted to colonel of. the small regi ment in December. 1862. The unit fought as best it could in the ac- tion,s at Fredericksburg and Chan- cellorsville. Again, in the latter action. Col. Garrett was wounded as he led his men in action. Death at Gettysburg The regiment marched to Get tysburg in greatly reduced number, and on those bloody slopes, another group of young Roanoke-Chowan ians lost their lives, including El bert Knight, John King, Richard Blount. James T. Morgan, George R. Williams. Levi Worrell, Alexan der Speight, H. H, Milton, Julius Peck, Joe Baker, and John Parker. By now, Roscoe Riddick was commanding Company B, Charles King was in command of Company H and C. E. Riddick was com manding the mixed unit of Gates and Bertie in Company F; Early in the fall of 1863' the regiment charged across the Rac coon Ford to attaclc an enemy bat tery near Bristoe Station. Col. Gar rett, now recovered from wounds at Chancellorsville, led the brigade attack. Lt. Riddick of Company B was cited for bravery. So was schoolteacher-warrior Garrett. The unit stayed in winter quar ters in 1863-64, and when May came, marched out to do battle with the giant army of Grant. Garrett Killed In the confused, bloody action at Spottsylvanla Courthouse on May 12, Col. Garrett fell dead, shot through the head in a furious ex change. See FIFTH, Page 2 officer in coinmand. Picot, a famous teacher at Buckhorn Academy, had succeeded J, J. Yeates, a fellow Hertford coun- tian, as captain of the unit when Yeates had been named a major shortly before the unit marched to Roanoke Island. The surrender was to end Pi- cot’s military career. He returned to Hertford after being paroled from federal prison in Septem ber. 1862. He was succeeded by Isaac Pipkin, member of another fa mous Hertford family, when the regiment was re-formed in Sep tember, 1862. Many other of the 95 Hertfoi'd Oicn decided that their surrender and 12 months in prison consti tuted enough sei'vice. Many stay ed home when the unit was reor ganized in Raleigh in September, 1862. Other officers of the illfated j unit, after its reorganization, in-! eluded John L. Everett, promoted from corporal, and John D. Gat ling, who rose from First Ser geant. Soon after its reorganization, the 31st marched to eastern North Carolina for skirmishing with federal troops based in New Bern. To South Carolina Later, it headed South, and was ' assigiaed to defense duty around Charleston, South Carolina. This important port was still open in early 1863, although fed eral naval forces were drawing an iron blockade around the beautiful port city. The Slst was assigned to duty near big Battery 'Wagner, a key gun post in the city’s harbor de fenses. Then, in late July, made bold by Union success on the slopes of hills near Gettysburg in faroff Pennsylvania, federal forces made an attempt on the Charles ton defenses. Battery Wagner was the focus of federal attention, as several thousand bluecoated men storm ed in behind heavy naval gunfire. And the men of Company G were in the thick of the battle. J. A. Grant of the company was wounded in action. But Wagner’s defenses held. At Q Glance: Confederate (Jriits HERTFORD H O R S E M A N— Daniel W. Lewis was a lieuten ant in Hertford’s company in the Fourth North Carolina Cav alry Regiment. The young of ficer was cited for bravery when he commanded a rear guard post as the Army of Northern Virginia fell back from the Gettysburg campaign. He lived many years after the war to recall stirring, sori-ow- ing, events of the conflict. The 31st was soon relieved from its defenses and boarded train for Virginia, its men made happy by a victory that had atoned somew'hat for the humiliation of surrender in 1862. Until the spring of 1864, the Slst I'emained near home, as part See SOLDIERS, Pago 6 At a glance, these are the units in which Roanoke-Chowan men served as soldiers of the Army of the Confederacy: i FIRST NORTH CAROLINA REGIMENT — Company F was ’ from Hertford County with Northampton men. Called “The . Hertford County Grays.” Organiz ed spring, 1361, 17th NORTH CAROLINA REGIMENT — Company C and Company D from H'ertford. Or- 1 ganized spi'ing of 1861 as 7th Vol- . unteers. Company C known as ! “Hertford Light Infantry.” Cap tured at Fort Hatteras on Outer Banks. Reorganized in winter of 1862 as 17th North Carolina, 19th REGIMENT (Second Cav alry) — Company C from Gates and Hertford, Organized August, 1861. Slst REGIMENT —Company C from Hertford. Organized Sep tember, 1861. 59th REGIMENT (Fourth Cav- j airy)—Company D from Hertford. I Organized summer of 1862. ; 68th REGIMENT — Companies i D, E and K mostly from Hertford, j Organized in summer of 1863 I when federal forces on coast I thi-eatened inland invasion of I North Carolina. ! THIRD BATTALION, LIGHT ARTILLERY—Company C from Hei'tford. Known as “Moore’s Ar- |tillery.” Organized spring of 1861. 12th BATTALION OF CAVAL RY—Known as “Wheeler’s Cav alry.” Composed of Roanoke-Cho wan companies. Organized inde pendently as companies in 1862. Into battalion. May, 1863. Com pany B from Bertie with some Hertford men. Later assigned to 59th Regiment (Fourth Cavalry). 15TH BATTALION OF CAV ALRY—known as “Wynns’.s Cav alry.” Organized summer of 1863. Company A from Hertford. Stay ed in area throughout remainder of war. ■' Bertie County FIFTH REGIMENT—Company F from Bertie. Organized July, 1861. Colonel Thomas F. Garrett of Bertie was commander until killed in spring of 1864, 11th REGIMENT — Known as the “Bethel Regiment,” first state unit to see action in first battle of war at Bethel Church, Va. Company B from Bertie. Won fame at Gettysburg, Organized early spring, 1861. Reorganized summer of 1862. 19th REGIMENJ —' (Second Cavalry)—Company H made up of men from Rertie and North ampton. Formed summer of 1861. 32nd REGIMENT—Company G from Bertie. Organized as bat talion in summer, 1861. As regi ment year later: 59th REGIMENT (Fourth Cav alry)—Company F from Bertie. Organized summer of 1862. Com pany I (eai-lier of Wheeler’s Cav- alrjO joined regiment in late 1863. Composed of Hertford and Bertie men. 68th REGIMENT — Company P from Bertie. Organized in sum mer of 1863 when federal inva sion of central North Carolina threatened, 70th REGIMENT (First Junior Reserves)—Company K had some Bertie men. Organized in May, See UNITS, Page 2 Colorful Homs Guard Outfit: Wlieeler's Cavalry Served in Battles in Home County (A story of the main action of this unit of the Confederate Army is described in a stcry in another section.) Wheeler's Cavalry was composed of Roanoke-Chowan minutemen who gathered in the yearj 18S2 to guard their homeland from federal cavalry raids. The unit, commanded by color ful Major S. J. Vvheelcr ot Mur freesboro, included a company from Hortford-Bei’tio, and two from Northampton. Captain 11, E. Hoggard was commander of one Northampton unit, Capt. E. A. Mar tin of the other. Joseph O. Cherry of Bertie commanded the unit of mixed Mertford-Bertie men. The battalion came together as a unit in July, 1863, just in time to meet the big Union cavalry attack from Winton toward Weldon. Several men of the battalion be came prisoners at Potecasi Creek between Winton and Murfreesboro as the battalion exchanged shots with the bluecoated cavaU’y col umn. They included Lemuel As kew, Jesse Baggett. Thomas Bow ers, I. H. Hoggard, D. W. Parker, B. A. Robeson and James Warren. After its ser\’ice in its home counties i.n the spring and summer of 1863, the unit went into quarters at Garysburg, and in the spring of 1864, it was broken up, two com panies being sent to the Fourth Cavalry in Virginia, another to the 75th North Carolina Regiment. In these units, the small com panies .served until the surrender at Appomattox as cavalry pickets for the Army of Northern Virginia. Major Wheeler retired to his medi cal work in Murfreesboro.
The News-Herald (Ahoskie, N.C.)
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Jan. 1, 1959, edition 1
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