The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1900-05-06

! calling especial attention to some of the
exploits of North Cardinals soldiers.
AT the beginning of the war the white
| population of North Carolina was only
| 1894 and yet she furnished to the
Confederate army $4,000 soldiers. In
| other words, one fifth of North Carolina S
| entire white population was in the South
ern armies. The total number of soldiers
| in the Confederate army was about 60O,-
| Co., so that North Carolina furnished one
| fifth of all the troops that constituted
| the Confederate army.
North Cardinals troops consisted of
sixty-six regiments of infantry, seven of
cavalry three of artillery, and six battal-
| ions of infantry, seven of cavalry and four
| of artillery While we refer with pride
| to the large number Of troops by our State.
we recall with still greater pride their
/ unsurpassed valor and heroism. Always
| placed at the post of greatest danger-in
| the front in every assault and protecting
| the rear in every retreat-the soldiers OF
| North Carolina on every battle field i'm
| mortalzed themselves and their State.
| In the first battle of the war-at Big
| Bethel, on the 10th of June. 1S61-North
| Carolina troops under ID. H. Hill, gallant
| ly repulsed the Federal troops. under
| Beast Butler; and on the 9th of April,
1855 North Carolina troops, under the
| gallant Grimes, were the foremost in the
| last charge, and fired the last volley at
| Appomattox. In every battle fought and
every victory won by the glorious old
| Army of Northern Virginia North Caro-
| lima soldiers were the heaviest sufferers
| In the seven days battles around Rich
mond. in the summer of 1862, there were
| ninety-two Confederate regiments, and
| forty-six of them were from North Caro-
| lima. and more than half of the killed and
| wounded were our brave North Caro-
| linians AT Charlottesville, in May
| 1868, there were ten North Carolina
| brigades, and of all the Confederates
| there killed or wounded one-half were
from North Carolina On the fatal field
of Gettysburg North Carolina had thirty
eight regiments and two battalions. and
the dead Confederates found farthest in
the Federal lines were North Carolinians
At Reams Station in August, 1864, after
| the first efforts of the Confederates &c
dislodge the enemy had failed, the three
| North Carolina brigades of Cooke. Mac
Rae. and Lane, consisting of only seven
/
to the charge and SO successful were
they that they not only routed the enemy
but captured twenty one hundred prison
ers AT Spottsylvania in May. 1864
Ramseurs Brigade immortalized itself
| by a charge, for which General Lee II
person thanked them, telling them thai
| they deserved the thanks OF the country
| they had saved his army
hAln M
troops suffered more heavily than did the
Fifth North Carolina regiment at VIII
liamsburg, the Fourth regiment at Seven
Pines, the Third regiment at Sharpsburg
| the Twenty Sixth at Gettysburg, and the
| Twenty Seventh at Bristoe Station. Al
| Williamsburg, on the 9Th OF May. 1862
| the Fifth North Carolina regiment lost, in
killed, wounded and missing, 1877 out OF
| 24O At Seven Pines. on the 31st OF May
| 1862 the Fourth regiment commanded by
| the bravest of the brave, Bryan Grimes
| went into battle with % officers and $40
non commissioned officers and privates
and of that number every officer, except
one and 462 men were either killed or
wounded At Sharpsburg, on the 18th OF
September 1862 the Third regiment went
| in with $40. and lost $50. mostly in the
| short space of an hour Out of its ~
officers "a were killed or wounded, among
| the latter being it's gallant commander
| Colonel w. L. De Rosset. In the first
days fight at Gettysburg the Twenty
Sixth regiment lost $40 men out OF 500
including its youthful colonel, the gallant
| Harry X Burgwyn. In this regiment
were two companies from Chatham coun-
~. which went into that battle with 149
men. and lost 1885, We doubt if there
was such loss in any other company in
any battle of the war. At Bristoe Sta
| tion on the 18th of October, 1863, the two
North Carolina brigades of Cooke and
Kirkland made one of the bloodiest
charges of the whole war, one regiment
alone, the Twenty-Seventh, in less than
half an hour losing 291 out of 426. | could
mention numerous other instances OF the
heavy losses suffered by North Carolina
| troops, but enough have been cited to
prove that there were charges made by
North Carolina troops during the civil
war as gallant, as daring, as bloody and
as self sacrificing the world-renowned
charge of the immortal Six Hundred at
Balaklava.