Wednesday, July 3, 2013
The Kings Mountain Herald | www.kmherald.net
Page 3A
Courage, honor, sacrifice... all could be found in the 55th regiment
By ALAN HODGE
Special to the Herald
The month of April
marked the 135th anniver- -
sary of the end of the Amer-
ica Civil War. A tragic
struggle that saw over
600,000 men die for the
causes they believed in, the
Civil War still holds us in its
grip through movies, books,
videos and reenactments.
North Carolina played a
vital role in the Confederacy.
During the years 1861-1865
over 123,000 Tar Heels
served in the Confederate
military. Of this number,
40,000 would die from dis-
ease or wounds. North Car-
olina contributed more men
to the Southern armies than
any other state—and lost
more as well. North Car-
olina’s 20,000 combat deaths
were more than the states of
Virginia and South Carolina
combined.
Men from Cleveland
County also shouldered their
share of muskets during the
Civil War. Of the companies
raised in Cleveland County
during the war, Companies
*C” and “D> of the 55th
North Carolina would go on
to make history in a way that
many people today are not
even aware of. These two
companies, named the
“Cleveland Grays” and the
“Cleveland Farmers” respec-
tively, can truly claim to be
the high tide of the Confed-
erate army at the Battle of
Gettysburg.
Reading a roster of the
Grays and Farmers is like
looking at a who’s who of
the present day families in
Cleveland County. Surnames
that appear on the company
lists include Hamrick,
Bridges, Cabaniss, Mooney,
(Mauney), Moss, Hendrick
and Lovelace. As evidence
of the sacrifices Cleveland
County boys made at Gettys-
burg, an account states that
at least one dozen men with
surname Hamrick were
killed or wounded during the
battle.
Fought on the first three
City, county seats up for grabs
Filing for all Cleveland County offices,
municipalities, board of education and water
district begins Friday, July 5 at noon and
ends at noon Friday, July 19.
Locally, three seats are open on the Kings
Mountain City Council. Four-year terms of
Mike Butler, Ward 2, Tommy Hawkins,
Ward 3, and At-Large commissioner Dean
Spears are expiring in November.
In Grover, three seats on town council are
up for grabs. Jackie Bennett, Cindy O’Brian
and Shane Davis face voters in November
for four-year terms.
Terms of four members of the county
Shelby.
board of election are up this year. They in-
clude Philip Glover, Kathy Falls, Dale
Oliver, and George Litton. .
Candidates file at the Cleveland County
Board of Elections, 215 Patton Drive, in
The Cleveland County
Chamber sponsored a
Business After Hours
reception at Kings Mountain
Internal Medicine.
Just as Dr. Kish and staff
were being introduced, the
power went out in a severe
thunderstorm. Nonetheless,
the food and fun continued,
including door prizes do-
nated by area businesses.
At right: Tammy Truett and
Chrissy Thomas greeted
guests and presented them
with goody bags, compli-
ments of KM Internal
Medicine.
photo by BETH BROCK
HONORED FOR SERVICE -
Monty Thornburg, Director of
the City of Kings Mountain
Aging Program, was honored
for 30 years’ service with the
city at the recent city council
meeting. Mayor Rick Mur-
phrey, left, makes a presen-
tation to Thornburg. A
number of members of the
Senior Citizens program at
the Senior Center were pres-
ent to applaud their director
for long service.
Photo by ELLIS NOELL
No dance classes
Evening line dance
classes on Tuesday nights
have been suspended for the
summer at the H. Lawrence
Patrick Senior Life & Con-
ference Center. The classes
will resume Sept. 3 from 6-
7:30 p.m. on Tuesday nights.
EET
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days of July 1863, Gettys-
burg has had more written
about it than any other battle
in American history. Each
year, hundreds of thousands
of tourists visit the hallowed
fields in that Pennsylvania
town in hopes of somehow
connecting with the past. In
1998, over 20,000 Civil War
reenactors fought a three-day
replay of the battle that in-
cluded a full-scale Pickett’s
Charge on Sunday after-
noon.
Raised at Camp Mangum
near Raleigh in May 1862,
the 55th regiment N.C.
Troops: had already seen
hard service in Eastern North
Carolina and Virginia before
it began its long march to-
ward Gettysburg in June,
1863, as part of Davis’
Brigade, Heth’s Division, A.
P. Hill’s Army of Northern
Virginia. :
The first day of battle at
Gettysburg, July 1, 1863,
saw the 55th and other mem-
bers of Heth’s Division en-
gaged along the
Chambersburg Pike just west
of town. During this first day
of fighting the 55th and
Davis’ Brigade almost
ceased to exist. After engag-
ing federal troops of the 6th
Wisconsin, the 55th and
other units in Davis’ com-
mand were suddenly over-
whelmed by Yankee
reinforcements and retreated
to a nearby railroad gully for
cover.
Going for the railroad cut
was a fatal mistake. Instead
of protection, the cut made
the 55th like fish in a barrel.
Mercifully, the federals that
stood at the top of the ditch
ordered Davis’ men to throw
down their muskets and took
them prisoner in a situation
that could have been a
bloodbath. At least 200 Con-
federates were captured in
the cut, the rest escaping.
After a day of rest on July
2, 1863, the 55th was called
upon that afternoon of July 3
to take part in the legendary
“Pickett’s Charge.” The idea
was to break the federal lines
on Cemetery Ridge south of
Gettysburg with a massive
frontal assault by over
12,000 Confederates. In this
action, the Southerners
would have to cross over a
mile of open ground under
musket and artillery fire
from Union soldiers poised
behind a stone wall.
Following an hour-long
artillery bombardment by
Confederate cannoneers, the
41 rebel regiments stepped
off to immortality. Under fire
almost the entire 1,300
yards, the Confederates
would lose over one-third of
their men in the failed attack.
For its part in Pickett’s
Charge, the 55th would have
to wait over 130 years to get
the credit they deserved. For
many decades it was as-
sumed that the 26th North
Carolina Regiment had pen-
etrated the Union lines far-
thest that fateful day before
falling back. Indeed, the say-
ing that North Carolinians
were “farthest to the front at
Gettysburg was based on the
26th claim. Now, new evi-
dence has shown that it was
actually the 55th, including
boys from Cleveland County
who can claim that honor.
In her recently published
book, “Pickett’s Charge in
History and Memory” author
Carol Reardon has uncov-
ered evidence that supports
the 55th right to be called the
“high tide” of the Confeder-
acy at Gettysburg. Reardon’s
research shows that the loca-
tion of several dead Confed-
erates farthest across the
stone wall were members of
the 55th.
Though they made his-
tory at Gettysburg, the
Cleveland Grays and Cleve-
land Farmers suffered with
the rest of the 55th and their
fellow rebels. During the
battle, the 55th lost over 400
men killed, captured or
wounded. Total rebel losses
exceeded 28,000.
Though the Civil War
was a heartbreaking affair
for all involved, it was also a
time when words like
courage, honor, and sacrifice
were the code by which men
lived. Residents of Cleve-
land County today, and espe-
cially those who had
ancestors in the 55th North
Carolina, can be proud of the
bravery those boys in gray
displayed on the green fields
of Pennsylvania so long ago.
Sponsored by
Kings Note erald
July 20
Patriots Park
Kings Mountain
All Proceeds will
benefit Relay for
Life, The Green
Banana Project
Ice
Cream
CP
Reday for Life
Name: E-mail:
Address: City:
State: Zip: Phone:
Category you are entering: (Circle only ONE, fill out a separate
application for each category you enter.)
Vanilla
and Nut
There is a $5 entry fee for the Crank-Off. Entrants are required to bring
one (1) gallon of their ice cream for tasting by the public. This is IN ADDITION
Chocolate
Fruit
to the one (1) gallon required for judging.
Registration will be from 11 a.m. to noon Saturday, July 20 at Patriots Park,
downtown Kings Mountain. Judging and public tasting begin at 1 p.m. Bring
your own table, paper towels, etc. Tasting cups & spoons provided.
Entries pre-registered by July 12 receive Ice Cream Crank-Off apron. All
entries must be received by July 17. To pre-register, fax this form to 704-739-
0611 or email to wendy@greenbanana project.org
Entrants may sign below to release their winning recipe, if they are chosen,
to be the Green Banana Ice Cream Specialty of the Year, which allows it to
be used to create ice cream products for the benefit of Green Banana Project
fundraising. Signature is not required to participate.
*No unpasteurized products or raw eggs may be used in the recipes.
You Made What!! - Outrageous!
Gourmet
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