The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-12-21
A SURVIVOR OF FORT FISHER

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CofAss to h Defense Of His Old Comrades.
He Tells VIA He Knows About That
FierceIy Contested Battle-Rev. j.. 4.
Smith, Editor Of the Fair Bluff Times,
Replies to General Bragg
The Messenger Bureau, Of December
4th. 1897. contains a letter said to have
been written by General Braxton
Bragg to Ex-Governor Bragg. telling
him how Fort Fisher was captured
He says that the officers and soldiers
were drunk and in the bomb proofs,
and the Yankees walked IN and took
possession. Thirty-two years have
passed and gone since the fall OF Fort
Fisher and it is a great n sore "a
lamity to the survivors OF the Bragg
family that such an infamous letter
should have been brought to light. II
would have been far better Tor It 70
have remained amid the family rub
bish thar to be brought forward TO
misrepresent and SANDER as brave
patriotic soldiers as ever ~unsheathed
the sword in the day Of battle. 1t is a
gross insult both to the living and the
dead and should receive the cOndemna-
tion Of all who believe in defending the
eternal principles of truth and justice.
The Fort Fisher veterans are not al
dead, and those who read The Messen-
ger Of December 4th, must have ex-
perienced a feeling of the most intense
indignation at the statements made In
the letter, said to have been written by
General Bragg. Many of them are ut
terly false and without foundation
and full Of much injustice to the brave
men who fell at Fort Fisher, as we'll
as the few veterans who stiH survive.
The letter Of Bragg Is unworthy or the
pen Of one who would style himsef a
great commander, and it is totally un-
like the spirit Of the other great COM
manders who led the Confederate host
in the day of battle. The letter is a
cruel fling at Major-General Whiting.
who was a gallant officer, loved n
respected by all his men. The author
Of this article was in the battle OF
Fisher from beginning to end and we
are, therefore in a position to vlndlcate
the right against the wrong. AS we
were put a beardless youth at the time
of the battle and years have passed
and gone, we ave interviewed those
who were older men at the time Of the
battle. Out next door neighbor, who
lis one of the oldest men in Columbus
county, and is a worthy member OF
the church., belonged to McBryde's
in the 40th regiment and was
i'm the entire fight, says that General
d . Is QAloOSo Ao"S W AAAA
and that many Of his statements are
utterly false. He was, during the fight.
in a different section of the fort from
THAN the author of this article, and HE
says that he nowhere saw either Off
GERS or men under the influence OF
whiskey or m~anifesting the slightest de
gree of cowaIdice. In his letter Gen
eral Bragg makes this strong state
ment: 1.-The enemy when meeting US
n1n6pr a. flag nf truce asserted that
they walke into the fort without re-
s~istance, not "a shot being fired at them,
and the men being in the bomb proofs"
We felt like taking a god cry when we
saw this statement, for each soldier in
that Inflated garrison knows that It is
entirely false. The author Of this ar
ticle was a member of Company D, LIST
North Carolina Heavy Artillery, COM
handed by Captain James L. McCOr-
mick, who was killed in this memor-
able fight. Our company during the
severe and terrified Smelling of the
fort on Sunday evening was on the ex-
IRENE left of the fort ext to Whining
tor AS we were somewhat protected
from the Smelling behind the last two
traverses we were commanded to man
the palisades at the gate, and our
company was Immediately put in line
of battle from the gate to the edge Of
the water in the Cape Fear river. One
or two brass howitZers belonging to
Adams light battery was in the same
position, Captain Braddy's company
was on our immediate right and we
had scarcely assumed this position be-
fore we saw the blue coats coming
down the river beach as thick as the
locusts of Egypt. We Immediately
opened upon them a CALLING I'M des-
tructive fire. Dur first volley produced
such a panic that they retired for a
short time, and the surviving members
OF Company D. who were at the gate
with their own brave Captain McCor-
mick will remember how they were cen
Sured by Captain Mccormick for shoot
ing at a wounded man who was rapid
ly crawling away-the boys did not
think the man was wounded. but
adopted this ruse to escape. Shortly
after this the enemy made a terrible
dash at the gate n at the same time
those of us who belonged to Company
ID. recognized the enemy on the tops
of the parapets just behind us. They
had broken line somewhere on our
right and had scaled the oarapets be-
hind us. If there was a neglect of
duty anywhere it was not in putting
more men on the right Of Captain
Braddy's company. 1t was impossible
for those of us who were at the gate
to escape and Honorable lack Fillmore,
formerly OF Robson county, but now
of Texas, gave the signal to surrender
and those of us at the gate fell into
the lands of the enemy several hours
before h fort surrendered. II ZEN
eral Bragg had seen ne. number of
dead and wounded both outside and in
side the gate he never you'd have
made such a statement about walking
into the fort without a shot.
Honorable Thos "A. McNeill, at
t~orney-at-law, Lumberton, N. C., was
a sergeant in Company D. He also
was ait the gate and can substantiate
these statements. Mr.. Edwin Purcell,
of RObeson county, who was a SER
geant in company D. at the time on
detached service at Reave's Battery
just across the river. He was using a
spyglass and saw the charge and it's
results. and he told us two years ago