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W A TnT TTT7,'T7,'T THE OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC 'ASSOCIATION. ! Vol.9, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, CHAPEL HILL, N C.i March 11, 1901. NO. 19 -Fort Fisher and the South ern Blockade. Professor Noble's Fine Lecture. Among the very highest in the list of the Faculty lectures that have so pleasantly enterained the Uni versity, .will,' there can be no doubt, be placed that delivered under the above title last Thursday evening in Gerrard Hall. Seldom does it fall to our lot to hear one so thor oughly master of so interesting a subject, and, too, so happy in the selection of the matter presented. The lecture was full of interesting anecdotes and of humorous turns wherever humor was consistent. It was of a nature exactly suited to his audience. Professor Noble began with a modesty entirely out of keeping with the circumstances under which he spoke. "I had thought," he said, "that I had made a mistake in ac cept'ng the invitation to address you, young gentlemen, especially when I thought of the others who having preceded me, on subjects broader and more able to please the general audience. Yet, when I re member that a greater part of you are, like me, native after the man ner born, t feel that I need make no apology for talking of the deeds of the brave sons of North Carolina. . T7 - T . 1 1' . ,'J - -i 1 J-1 ... A- X or 1 noia nrm to a xneury inai pa triotism will never die out." Hear ty applause assured the speaker ItLXCLL lit. J.1CLV4 IAJ li lu -J n v-M mm u continued, "and that is, that cer tain localities were from the begin ning of the world more fitted for noble deeds than others Waterloo, Gettysburg, Manassas. In the same way, I think that this Cape Fear region was selected as the place where events should be enact ed that will always arrest the eye of the historian." With a few quick lines Professor Noble drew a map of the State, showing the riv er of which the Cape Fear is the only one entirely a North Carolina river. "It is very fitting, " he con tinued, that the only distinctly North Carolina valley should be chosen. He told briefly of the many .points of historical note along the river, as Moore's Creek, Alamance, and Guilford, o f Revolutionary fame. "I could show you here, too, battle fields of the Civil War, but will take up only one." Fort Fisher was here. In the very -early political life of North Carolina before there was a state, an enterprising man from the north came here, and undertook to civil ize the gentle natives, and at the same time to raise cattle. How a smart yaukee made such a mistake as to try to raise cattle in that country I cannot understand. It did not pay, and he went back: where he came from, leaving a dgn of warning posted there, advising no one, on pain of death, to land at such a God-forsaken place, that no one could stay there. Over a hun dred years afterwards a norhtern general came to the same conclusion A court of inquiry agreed that he could not have stayed there any longer than lie did. At the mouth of the river is Smith Island, which got its name as did, Smith Hall, our Library, from Governor Smith of this State. It was originally part of the main land that stretches down in a long tongue between the river and the ocean, but a great storm in 1761 cut a channel through here, New Inlet separating off this island. When the civil war came on, it was necessary for us to send to foreign countries our wealth of cotton and tobacco, to get in ex change, arms, ammunition, blan kets and shoes, and all the things that our soldiers needed. Block ades were established by the fed eral government at all our ports to prevent these from getting out. replied, and the shot carried day Novv of the four Southern ports, lkrht with it through the funnel of the most desirable was Wilming- lthe Susqnehana, Thus began one ton, The Bermudas were no furth- of the- erreatest bombardments in er away than is Asheville, and the i the history 6f warfare. ' " ' the explosion. After much treat ing with tobaccoV and many ques tions, he finally admitted that the explosion '.waked up furty nigh every man in the fort'. Butler was fond of saying that though it was said that he 'borrowed silver spoons and the like' no one ever called him a fool' Right here is where it exploded' said Prof .Noble, point- l ing to the map. The twenty fourth was a beauti ul, mild day. At sunrise the great fleet got under way, making for the fort in a great crescent. In the Center were the great frigates Colorado, Minnesota and Susque hanna, each carrying more ammuni tion than all the land batteries. When alJ was readv. there was a flash, a-puff of smoke, and a boom, from one of the frigates, and the shot splashed into the river' beyond the fort. ' A gun on the ramparts Track Team. Systematic Practice to Begin the Fifteenth. on that winter is past and the spring days are come the trip was easily made in two days. T h e s e blockade-runners ran through New Inlet instead of the larger route and Fort Fisher was built to protect them as they ran in from the pursuit by the blockading-fleet. When Col. Wm. Lambe now living in Norfolk, Va. In vivid language Prof. Noble told ' the story of the fight how, by i when the flag was shot away it was sent to one of the batteries to be raised, but the halyards were tang led, and it was necessary to : climb the flag pole to straighten them out, how a brave fellow f rom . Sampson took charge it was weak ond pow- county climbed .up, fixed' it, as he erless. He worked for months thought, onlv to find that there was with over a thousand slaves, with still a hitch; and how, with every other workman, in making Fort 1 gun in the fleet directed on that flag Fisher the powerful place that it ; staff, he again climbed up and shook was.. Among the slaves who work-' out the " Bonnie : Blue-Flag- to the there was one of our great colored citizens, Air. Benjamin Booth." A description of the fort was then given. The shape was that of the letter L, the long branch ex tending along the beach, the short one running from the northern end almost across the peninsula, To. the south, along the Inlet, were built several powerful batteries, one by Lieutenant Pitman a Uni versity man from Edgecombe County. "On Monday, Oct 24, 1864, there was great excitement in the fort. It was heard that Porter and Butler were about to attack the post. There were only nine hun dred men and the hundred and sixty boys, Junior Reserves, in the fori. There was a saying that 'the Con federacy had to rob the cradle .and the grave to keep her armies in the field'. But there was no - robbary here. All looked forward gladly, eagerly for the fight. For several days a great storm raged, and the fleet had to keep out at sea. But on the twenty third day of Decem ber every thing was gotten ready for the fight which was sure to come the next day. During the afternoon a powder ship was sent in at the fort, .and two hundred and fifty tons of powder exploded. Some time after that a long, lank specimen of North Carolina human- breeze: '; He told" how a landing pat . .. ' ' i i ' 'i 1 e i ty came asnore to tne nortn or tnt fort, was repulsed at- the stockade built there, and the first attack was over. ' "The second attack was on Christ mas day. A storm of shot and shell, 120 to the minute, was; hurled against the angle of the fort, batter ing it dovyn. The landing party again came ashore, without the least opposition from General Bragg, stationed there to keep them off. There .were 1900 boys in the fort. A detachment of 2000 marines came along the beach toward, the broken down angle. They were forced to retreat with great loss by the gal lant little band of Junior Reserves, under a six teen-y;ar-Oid Lieutenant. The main body of the attacking ar my came down along the riyer.' Col. Lamb telegraphed Bragg: "At tack! attack!; attack!" Bragg did not attack, why, only one man now alive knows, and he cannot be made to speak of the war. j Before the gieat attacking force the men in the fort gave away, mound after mound, until they tit last had to take ship and leave. The fort was lost." The speaker told most interesting ly of the blockade-runners, and their fearless captains and pilots, who knew all the crooked channels as well as the fanner knows the paths on his farms, took the Marie Celeste ity was captured and sharpl,-jout for Nassau one dark August questioned by Butler as to the ot I (Continued on 4th page.) Now warm candidates for the Track Team will be put into regular and systematic training. The system of training to be employed this year requires that six weeks be given to put the men in the best condition for the coming meets on southern tracks. This is the time deemed necessary by the leading track men of this country, for successful training of track men. Our small experience here with men who have had to leave the track on account of indiscreet practice confirms us in the opinion that the best results may be had by careful and gradual development. The training is so fine and the li ability to overtraining delicate muscles so imminent that great care must be taken to see that no one is overworked at the first. With this point in mind we have decided to use' the scheme employed at Yale. This scheme marks out definitely the work for each day during the period of, six "eeks. The candi dates will be divided into squads and trained according to the charac ter of the event which the candi dates propose to enter. ; All candidates for the track team are expected to meet in the Gymna sium on Friday, March 15th, at five o'clock. It is imperative that the training begin on that day unless the condition of the weather renders it unwise to come out ot doors in a thin running suit. In case of cold weather the training will begin in doors and move to the track when the days are warmer. Besides the thirty or more stu dents who have given in their names as candidates for the team others will be allowed the practice provid ed that they are out on the first day and are regular in their practice. Ir regular workers amount to nothing and are only in the way of others. Each candidate must be provided with a running suit antl a pair of spiked running shoes by March the 15th and present himself for prac tice with this equipment. F. M. Osborne, Captain. Soph Class Team. The plan of the classes getting out a baseball nine appears to be a ;ry excellent one. Most of the classes have organized and elected their managers and captains. Sev eral interesting Scrub games have been played between the classes. The Soph team is a very good one. They have furnished the Varsity practice several afternoons .lately. The following is a line-up given us by Captain Ramsey, who says that all positions are yet open ana n any others want to play for them to come out and they will be given a chance. Harvard's best debater, in her late debate with Yale, was a negro, R. C. Bruce, of Mississippi.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
March 11, 1901, edition 1
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