The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1904-08-05
Raleigh. n. c.. July 30

1iStciy dh0 tDS Nel NAAN HC 81 AAA
ly lends are of special interest. One is
an overcoat, made Of blockade goods.
which was brought through the block
ade from England. The large army
buttons could not be obtained and so
navy buttons were used on his gar
The overcoat is patched where
torn by a fragment of shell. A jacket
and vest were worn Sunday morning
at the battle of Charlottesville. a
solid shot tore a hole in both these
garments and in the under garments
n swept away alsc General Cox's
and pocketbook. He was wound
ed in the arm and the surgeon, believ-
ing him mortally wounded. cut the
sleeve n vest open in order to re-
move them. a hat has a hole in it
made by a shell fragment which AUS
ed a wound on the head. When the
covered on the hat, brains and frag-
ments of one of some comrade who
a been killed by his side. Another
hat shown was made of rabbit fur, by
a soldier who was a hat maker by trade
n who was detailed for this purpose
General Cox says it was considered the
most stylish hat in the division n
cost him $25 in Confederate money. A
gray cape shown is part Of an o%vercoat
which was made by Charles M. Farriss,
then the most fashionable tailor in Ra-
leigh, who charged the General $3.50 in
Confederate money merely for making
the garment and lining it with red fam
mel, the General furnishing the mate
rial. After the war the Federal govern
ment required army buttons to be eth
er covered with cloth or removed n
so the buttons were cut off Masonic
buttons substituted. There is a bullet
hole in this garment. A cap of the
Flrench pattern which was the one
prescribed by the Confederate regula-
ton, that is the kept, is shown n
was worn by General Cox. A similar
one which he wore at Malvern Hill, is
shot through by a mimic ball which
glazed his head, and but for the-fact
that he had m~omentarily bent his body
to look at Captain Sawyer. of Jones
county, who had fallen mortally wound
ed, the ball would have passed through
his brain.
The writer is Obliged to Colonel Will
liam L. DeRosset, Of Wilmington for
calling attention to an error regarding
the flag prescribed by the state con-
vention in 1861. The general similarity
Of that flag and the present state flag
led to the error. The present flag has
a blue field n one bar, red and the
other white. The flag Of 1851 had a
red field and it's bars were blue and
white. The following is the act of the
convention, ratified June %. 1861, on
this subject: 1.-The flag of North Car
DINA shall consist of a red field with
a white star in the center, and with the
inscription above the star, in a semi
circular form, May 20, 1775,' and below
the star in a semi-circular form, May
20, 1851 There shall be two bars OF
equal length and the length of the field
shall equal the bar, the width OF the
field being equal to both bars; the hrst
bar shall be blue and the second be
white and the length of the flag shall
be one-third more than its width
The writer has found an original re-
port made in December, 1864, by Samuel
F. Philips, who was commissioner or
blockade accounts, having been ap-
pointed, pursuant to suggestions in
Governor Vance's message to the iegis-
lature, dated May nth of that year.
Mr.. Phillips could not begin the WORK
until August 18th. He says the report
is incomplete. it being found that the
officers and agents of the state who
had conducted this business in foreign
countries, together with some others,
had made no such returns Of their
TRANSACTIONS as were required in order
to pass upon the condition of the inter-
ests of the state in their hands. de
was informed by a gentleman whose
special duty it had been for some
months past to superintend these mat
tiers hat he made repeated efforts to
obtain definite returns from North Car
olina's English correspondents, with
out success, the letters from these gen
tlemen giving no statements of amounts
or balances as to money or property,
| nor was this want supplied by any re-
port from the gentleman who had been
| agent for the state in England for a
year past. Mr.. Phillips says that the
want of information was unusual IN
| such dealings, and unpleasant. but thai
under the circumstances which sur
| rounded the foreign intercourse Of the
! state it might be improper to say more
| upon this head, and that a few weeks
| more might entirely clear up the diff
| Guilty. Under the impressions produc-
| ed by these Incidents, Governor Vance
|! late in the summer OF 1854, appointed
John White, of Warrenton, who had
made himself favorably known by the
| results of a previous mission to Eng
land on behalf of the state. to return
to London and take general supervis-
II OIL. MI. fIllllpS CiiAD aNCo thAS oPPNA
tunity of requiring from the states for
eign agents the accounts which were
wanted, but unfortunately at that time
the blockade OF the Cape Fear river
vas enforced with unusual rigor, and
this fact, together with some accident
to the vessel upon which he was about
to embark. prevented Mr.. White from
leaving the state for several weeks al
ter the time at which he first visited
yU;1rn;1o tan FOR haf prrDnSa Mr. pills
iips's observations apply particularly to
the c-onsignments Of cotton to England
upon the general accounts of n state,
and in some measure to the dealings in
cotton warrants issued by the state
and to shipments of goods purchased
on account of the state, result being
that he could only guess whether the
general balance in England upon mer-
| chandize accounts was In favor OF or
AEnH- Vi