Land Troops Attack Gunboats on the Roanoke in 1862
? ?: f- ? ? ; ??r??-??
Lieutenant Andrews
Harasses the Enemy
Gunboat Is Engaged
By Calvary FQr The
First Time In War
I'ullit'r <?f l,o<al Man R?>|M>rt*
Movement of Boats Up
Hoanoke River
Martin County has a rich war rec
ord from the Revolution on down
but unfortunately there are only
broken accounts to throw light on
the parts played by the loyal ones
who led and followed their leaders
in time of war. A unique storv. one
that records for the firstTimeTrTafiy
kind of war the engagement of gun
boats by a calvary unit, appears in
the North Carolina Troops.
Reviewing the work of the Ninth
North Carolina Regiment, later
known as the First Calvary, Colonel
W II Cheek, writing in "North Car
olina Troops" refers to the account
written by Brigadier-General Rufus
Barringer who dwelt at length on
the part played by the Ninth
throughout the war. The regiment
was looked upon as one of the brav
est m support of the South's Cause.
The men were reviewed by Jeffer
son Davis, President of the Confed
eracy, and its record includes action
in many sections from the beginning
of the war until the end.
The Mr. Burroughs referred to in
the account was the father of Mi
Hugh M Burras, of Williamston, ev
en though the name is spelled dif
"Terastiyr ??
The story:
General Barringer, in his preced
ing sketch of the First North Car
olina Cavalry, so fully described the
organization, instruction and move
ments of our regiment up to the
time of his promotion to Brigadier
General ill June, 1864, that it is im- I
possible for me at this late day, with
the limited data at my command, to
enlarge or to improve ujxin his nar
rative. There are, however, several
engagements during the time cover
ed by General Barringer's article
which I consider so well calculated
to illustrate the talent of our officers
and the courage and discipline of the
enlisted men, and which udded so
largely to building up the reputation
of the regiment, that I desire to go
back- -and- -brine, lhem forward and
place them in a mnrp puncniono..,, . ~f
place them in a more conspicuous po
sition than he has given them.
And first in order of time comes
the attack of Company B upon the
gunboats in Roanoke River in the
spring of 1862. At that time the pres
ervation of the railroad bridge at
Weldon was of the utmost import
ance to the Confederacy. So, when
the regiment was returning from
K as tern North Carolina to rejoin the
Army of Northern Virginia, Com
pany R Captain Wiiitaker, was de
tached to do picket duty down the
Roanoke, and especially to watch the
approach of the enemy's gunboats.
Captain Whitaker was a large plant
er on the river, and once when he
was home, and the Company was un
der the command of First Lieuten
? ?ant A. B. Andrews, the enemy made
an effort with three gunboats to as
cend the river, his object being the
destruction of the railroad bridge at
Weldon. Lieutenant Andrews (now
Colonel A. B Andrews, first vice
president of the Southern Railway
System), very skillfully attacked
him from the bluffs and other favor
able points, and so harassed and
punished him that at Hamilton he
abandoned the expedition and re
turned to Plymouth. This engage
ment of cavalry with gunboats was
a novel proceeding, a new feature in
warfare, and the first of the kind
that happened in our army. This
success of Lieutenant Andrews
shows the wonderful capacity of the
officers and men of this celebrated
command to contend with an enemy
on water as well as when mounted
on horses or dismounted as infantry
Lieutenant Andrews has kindly furn
ished me with the following account
of his operations:
Attack of Lieutenant Andrews
On the Gunboats
"On the morning of July 9, 1862
(I think this date is correct) a cour
ier from Mr. Burroughs came to
my camp soon after sunrise with a
note stating that three gunboats had
passed Jamesville, supposed to be
on their way to Weldon to destroy
the Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad
bridge at that point, that bridge be
ing on the main thoroughfare be
tween General Lee's army and the
South (as you will recall, that was
before the Piedmont Road between
TJanvttte and Greensboro was built);
On reading the note I at once had
sounded 'boots and saddles,' and had
my company of 43 men mounted,
rode down the river, saw the boats
coming up and waited until they
had passed the wharf at Williamston,
going up towards Weldon, There was
great excitement in the town. I ask
ed some of the citizens to pilot me up
the river with a view of attacking
the gunboats from different points
along the river, leaving two cour
iers at Williamston to report to me
in rase the boats should turn back
and land at Williamston. Mr. S. W.
Watts (afterwards Jbdge Samuel
Watts) and a Mr. Williams went up
the river with me. At a place call
ed Poplar Point, about ten miles
from Williamston, I stationed Sec
ond Lieutenant J. W. Peel with ten
men dismounted, with instructions
to fire upon the first boat, which
was commanded by Lieutenant Plus
FIRST TAVERN
< /
Back in the Revolutionary
Period what is believed to be
the first tavern in Martin Coun
ty was opened and operated by
a man named Hudson. Little or
nothing is known about the tav
ern. but the keeper had a daugh
ter who was the belle of the
then important Roanoke River
port. His daughter, Marina Hud
son, it has been told, possessed
great beauty and she number
ed her admirers by the doiens.
Strange as it may seem, Marina
never married. The years took
their toll, and in her old age she
was believed to have been akin
to a witch.
Miss Bell Whitaker, a native
of this county, recently recalled
the story at her home in En
field. "1 ran see the old woman
quite vividly now smoking her
pipe and begging from house to
house for something to eat."
Minister Conserves
Soil To Save Souls
In Country Parish
?TT~
Suwet-iliitfi in II in Important
Tusk Where Many llatl
Failed Brfari1 llini
?
Twenty six?years .iRii. a young
preacher, Paul Doran, went to a rur ;
al parish on Calfkillcr River in White ;
County, Tenn. Twenty-eight differ
ent pastors had served here during
the previous 25 years. Each one left
as soon as he could get away. But
Doran has been here 26 years. And
hopes to stay much longer. When he
came, there were 4 churches on the
circuit with memberships of 2(1, 411.
12 and 12 Now there are 11 churches
with a total membership of"800 The
church budget is now 30 times what
it was when he came. There are now
110 miles of improved roads in the
parish, where there were none be
fore The average yield of corn pel
acre has increased from 18 bushels
to 42. A stranger driving through this
county today can tell when he
reaches this parish by the painted
ligion has found expression in the
total life of the community.
And how was this change brought ]
about? Mainly by a program begun |
and led by this unusual country pas
tor. From an article in The Progres
sive Farmer we learn that his first
decision was that he must lift the
economic level of his people. So he
bought a farm and set apart some
demonstration plots to show them the
value of soil conservation and soil
ser, of the United States Navy, and
as soon as he delivered his volley to
at once remount his horses and re
port to me at Rainbow Banks, which
was two miles below or east of
Hamilton Rainbow Banks was
bluff on the river, afterward forti-1
fied and called Fort Branch 1 dis
mounted the men I had and arrang
ed them along this bluff, taking po
sition on tbe right of the company
myself, and ordered the men not to
fire until 1 had commenced firing my
pistol, and then to fire and reload
as rapidly as possible. 1 waited un
til the front boat, on which Lieu
tenant Flusser was. had gotten op
posite me and then commenced fir
ing my pistol, and the 41 men be
gan firing and reloading and firing
again as rapidly as possible. Lieu
tenant Flusser was on deck, and I
have never seen a man display more
bravery than he did in command of
this fleet. Finally the front boat
passed us and opened its stern gun
upon us, shelling the banks so that
I was compelled to retreat, mount
my horses and go to another point
higher up the river. The men had
had no breakfast and it was nearly
1 o'clock in the day. I went to a farm
house nearby, secured what provi
sions they had, giving the men some
thing to eat, and then proceeded to I
Hamilton. On the outskirts of the|
town I was met by a good many rit
izens who were very much excited,
and begged me not to go in the town
and asking me to go around it, as
Lieutenant Flusser had landed one
hundred and twenty-five marines
and two pieces of artillery, and they
were satisfied that if I made an at
tack on them in the town of Hamil- |
ton that they would destroy the |
town.
"I waited until they started down
the river again and then proceeded
down the river to undertake to har
ass them again at Rainbow Banks,
but they placed a boat in position
and shelled the banks until the oth
er two had passed, and then com
menced shelling the banks upon the
river so as to enable the first boat to
pass. I attempted at other places to
fire upon them, but they were shell
ing the banks on the river all the
way down, and it was impossible
fur us to get another opportunity to
attack them. I followed them until
about nine o'clock, several miles be
low Williamston, then returned to |
Williamston.
"I did not get a man hurt, and lost I
nb property, except one relay horse J
which I had left in a stable at Ham
ilton, and which they took. Lieuten
ant Peel and all the men displayed \
great coolness and bravery.
"Yours truly,
"A. B. Andrews."
improvement? Then he put on some |
livestock projects. The first purebred
Jersey cow in his parish belonged to
the church. He also started a night
school which during the winter
months met five evenings a week.
This night school is still'one of his
leading activities and has trained his
men alike in techniques of farming
and methods of church work. He or
ganized a consumer-producer coop
erative. He offered prizes for the
best home gardens. He made him
self a sort of local health officer. He
helped young men buy farms. His
personal library of 7.000 books be
came a community library. His ef
forts brought results in enriched
lives, improved farms, and increas
ed church income. The first year
Mr. Doran was in his parish the main
j church gave only $20.10. Last year
their -contribution was $1,100. His
[circuit of 11 preaching places now
has over 800 communicant members
and on an ordinary Sunday the at
tendance is about 1.200 people. As!
The Progressive Farmer points out:
"This rural parish in the Cumber
land Plateau illustrates rural recon
struction through the church. The i
program here was not handed down [
but it grew up from within. It was
indigenous. It began where the peo
ple were It was built around the
needs of the people. Individual con
flicts were changed to cooperative
living. Religion was expressed in to
tal life. First there was a leader,'
then knowledge, then vision, then
planning The church led, but coop
erated with other agencies. The Gos
pel was clearly preached. And the
whole program rested on a program
f eeonomic improvement "
Strong Organization Is
Needed By the Farmer
Farming Is Not All
c
Pleasure, Secretary
Claud Wickard Says
Learned First llauil That
Farm Prices Went Down
While Olht 'rs Went l'|>
One of my iphildhood memories
helped me see the need for farntVr |
organization. Our ot<jf family physi
cian was a grand man, but he had
a habit of giving me orations on the
joys of being a farmer. Maybe I had
run
it nail in my foot, or maybe I
was suspected of having the measles
or the whooping cough. It didn't mat
what I had, because he gave me cas
tor oil for everything. After giving
me the standard dose he would al
ways give me his lecture on the ad
vantages of the farmer.
? Why, Claude." he would say, "you
folks on the farm are the luckiest
people there are. Just think of it;
you can work when you please, and
if you don't feel like working you
can knock off. If you want to go
fishing, you go fishing, and you al
ways have Sunday off to go to
VITAMINS
A new hope Tor mankind's
health has been announced.
What we did not have time to
get in the hurried snack at the
way-side eating joint is now
being offered in a newly patent
ed cigarette. The cigarette has
Vitamin H in it, meaning that
men, women and children won't
have to stop smoking to eat.
The question is. Will we smoke
a cigarette that will aid rather
than injury our health? One has
reason to wonder.
with your
friends. And all the time the corn
keeps on growing and the hogs are
getting fat. I tell you there's nothing
like it. You're-a ..lucky boy. my boy."
Well, after our home farm came
under my management, I begun to
find out about the joys of farming
I found out that the hogs could sud
denly stop getting fat and die of
cholera, and that if they didn't die
they could sell so cheap that there
would be no profit in it. I found out
j that the prices for some things I had
to sell were set in the world markets,
i while 1 had to pay whatever price
Rules of the
Road . . .
RECKLESS DRIVING
Sec. 102. Motor Vehicle Laws of
North Carolina? "Any person who
drives any vehicle upon a highway
carelessly and heedlessly in willful
or wanton disregard of the rights
or safety of others, or without due
caution and circumspection and at
a speed or in a manner so as to en
danger or be likely to endanger any
person or?property, shall be guilty,
of reckless driving . . ."
Tins meahs that, regardless bl
speed laws, every driver is required
to drive with caution and with re
gard for the rights of other individ
uals at all times. You can be guilty
of reckless driving when going only
30 miles per I tout on an open high
way where the maximum speed lim
it is 60 miles per hour.
was asked for the things I had to
buy. And 1 found that farm prices
were going down while the. prices of
things we bought were going up. so
that my neighbors and I were being
economically whip sawed
1 realized that if we expected to
get equality for agriculture we had
to have some way of getting the tacts
across to people like our family doc
tor. To do this, farmers had to or
ganize. Organization gave us a sort
of megaphone which carried the
farm story to the ear of the public.
Secretary of Agriculture Claude It
Wickard
Older Farm Boys
Been Neglected
A group which has been more or
U.iis neglected by the government
aid programs of recent years is in
for some special attention, according
to plans now underway by the Ten
nrssrr Agricultural Extension Serv
ice. This is tlve older rural youth
group, la to 25. most of whom arc too
mature to have interests common to
1 1! club members but do not yet
have all the iut< rest of adult far
mors.
Keei niK a committee "I Ti-nnes
see I a.rm .ir?tI 11<>11fi agent. old 4.-H
club pee mi i -1 outhtu'd a program
for tin i.iiurvouMi group. A major
?objective "l the m-vv program is to
d?\e|op de: Jlaftje ideals .111(1 light
attitudes tow ard the farm and. home,
community life, citizenship and dem
ocracy in Aniei ur^a, Direct.or C. E.
Brehm. >aid. It i planned to teach,
, hy d? loon,.! i .a ii.11,. iinpi ' <?. ?f,-ir?n ?
ing and home making practicesj to
develop habit id le. a It hi nt living;
provide instruction arid guidance in
the itse of leisure time; give training
in cooperative aetiCi'ti-? ... and pther
m a niet ion designed. Lo lin tlii ts con
vein. oe. and content im- lit on the
farm
I'tie plan a- worked out by the
committa e call lor the organization
of countv farm yoiuig people's clubs.
Tradrt lonal art ia it a s. uOh as annual
banquet >. folk games and other rec
reational parties-, educational trips,
? te will' lie f< 'In c(l in . addition to
work;' will) individuals
1
Miss Texaco Says:
liya
TEXACO
DEALER
next time
\iiss 11 \ t( a
They All Call for
TEXACO
TEXA$S
MOTOR 0"1
INSUlAtf?
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2. Ili^li milt'iifcc per ipiurl of oil.
Kri'|m engine ill full power.
I. Kiioy Htaiiing.
.">. Fewer repair liilU.
ft. Prolong* life of engine.
1. Itilhi iii^mh |>iohclion.
2. Itiylni mili'ii^c |iri i|iinrl.
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I. Morr "a-oliiii' inilca^r.
I a?ii'i' -tailing.
(>. Sa\iiio of mollis in rrpair loll-.
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