The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-04-04

- 1870 AA@R1
speakers all along have claimed for her.
She was the last southern state. as
Judge Clark mentions, to enter the
Federal Union, and was the last 10
leave the Union when grim visaged
war was lowering in angry menace
over this beloved southland Justice
Clark at the end OF The last volume, in
his very impressive and interesting
conclusion, has much 70 say Of singular
interest and excellence Writing OF the
$50 contributors he has this touching
passage:
Among h brave men who have
traced the lines in these volumes are
soldiers who heard the first shrek OF
shells at Bethel in the first real battle
OF the war on the 10th OF June. 1851, and
whose ears caught the patter OF mines
at Cox's brigade fired the last volley at
Appomattox on the 9Th OF April. 1865,
and who missed but little of the music
OF war between those dates Among
these writers are some who heard the
opening gun at Sumter on the 18TH OF
| April, 1861: many who heard the crash
| of A. P. Hills musketry or that sultry
summers eve as he grove back Burn
side at Sharpsburg and who listened 10
the long monotone OF artillery at Get
tysburg so steady and unbroken as 10
seem the prolonged re~verberations OF a
single broadside; eyes now dim saw the
southern night lightened with she'll and
mortar over doomed Nicksburg; limbs
now stig stepped fast and cherrily as
the echoes OF Jackson's cannon rolled
along the silver Shenandoah. Such an
other gathering can not be found In any
other work and could not be duplicated
now for nearly one in every ten has
passed beyond the pale since their ar
ticles were penned. Their comrades OF
whose deeds they wrote SLEEP, many of
them, where the Georgian pines are
bare. others by the Mississippi, the
Cumberland, the Ohio. the kanawha
and where Potomac's breeZes answer
ing low soothe many S ldier's endless
sleep"
In these five historic volumes there
are 252 articles. Judge Clark writes;
THE history Of each of our 81 regi-
ments (Which includes the "Bethel'
regiment) is written by a member
thereof except the sketches Of four OF
the senior reserves regiments and two
of the detailed men which 10 survivors
could be found. The history of ONE OF
our Twenty-six battalions were written
by members thereof. \ separate sketch
of each and every regiment and battal-
ion is given. The history Of each brig
ade is written by a m thereof. A
valuable series OF battles, giving North
Cardinals part therein, is furnished by
participants on the respective occasions.
An account of North Cardinals share
in the navy is herein preserved includ-
ing the story of the cruise of the Shen-
andoah commanded by a gallant North
C~arolinian who flew the Confederate
battle emblem at her mast head till the
9th Of November, 1865. nearly seven
months after Lees surrender"
He states emphatically that the rec
ords show incontestably that there
were more than 1850 0 soldiers from
North Carolina in the great wal for
second independence, for such in all
truth it was. There are over 900 en-
cravings of officers and men, and pri-
Yates nave as good a showing as of
fcers. He makes honorable mention OF
one true North Carolinian resident at
Oxford. He says of the pictures that
nearly one hundred Of these-mostly
privates (for no line has been drawn at
| rank) have been sent in by Judge A.
w. Graham. He was too young to be
in service himself, but he had five
brothers in the service each of whom
was wounded and four of whom have
contributed articles 10 this work. A
very large part Of the other photo
graphs have been sent in by the
mothers. wives and daughters of SOL
diers who with a devotion known only
to a woman's heart have preserved
these mementoes of a long-buried past,
| oftimes the only relic OF their dead"
Judge Clark was engaged upon this
immense undertaking more h seven
years. In order to secure the proper
persons to write these $50 histories he
| wrote with his own hand 5000 letters
without pecuniary gain or otherwise. He
states with modesty and self-abase-
ment that "it has been prosecuted with
many hinderances," and then adds:
TT would be bootless to relate the
tribulations attending such an under
taking. Its merits are due to the eff
forts of the self-sacriicing patriotic
men who have written the several his
tories composing it. It's shortcomings
are due to the editor and the limita
tons which the lapse of time and unto
ward circumstances lave imposed.
For better for worse. the record is
now made up. The last word to the
present 3 or pOSterlIy mas Deen SAID
and already the voices of many h
have spoken are still IN DEATH"
We wish we had space to reproduce
here a full column of his admirable
paper. 1t has beer said, and some may
have thought, boastingly with the spir-
it of a braggart, that North Carolina
was first in many things. She was a
LONG way first in the number Of her
soldiers. Generals from other states. as
we W. the best reason for believing,
have given her the first rank as to their
Quality-A. P. Hill, Hood, D. H. ELL,
H~ampton-men of other states. The
list can be extended. We have given
in the past what they said and believed.
Let Judge Clark be heard here as to the
deeds OF North Carolina:
Major Hale's history of the Bethel