The news & observer., 1904-10-30
THE EDGECOMBE CONFEDERATE
MONUMENT UNVEILED.

The most important permanent his
| torical event of the year. except the
proof by the State Historical Associa-
| ton that North Carolina was first at
Bethel. furthest at Gett-rsburg am?
| Chicamauga, and last at Appomattox."
was the unveiline of the Confederate
monument to Edgecombe Confederate
soldiers yesterday. Indeed the reDort
| of the Historical Association was large
| ly devoted to Edgecombe soldiers. for
Wyatt, the first to fall in defence of
| the Southern Confederacy, volunteered
at Tarboro and was a member Of an
| Edgecombe company; General Will
| liam r. Cox, who led the last charge
at Appomattox, is distinguish "A
! Confederate soldier, who resides in
Edgecombe county; and among the
other names of military chieftains who
wrote their names high on the scroll of
| the Confederate muster rolls are Will
| liam Dorsey Pender and William Gas
| ton Lewis, of Edgecombe. That county
was second to none in the numbel
of soldiers it sent to the front AM
| it's private soldiers were of the Wyatt
type just as it's officers were of tho
| Dorsey Pender type. Fourteen hun
| dred sons of Edgecombe wore the
| gray" rights and honor's hue"-ac-
cording to the careful roster prepared
by the gifted, patriotic and devoted
| Confederate soldier, Hon. Frederick
Philips, whose illness kept him from
| the notable day in Tarboro yesterday.
In May last year, Judge Philips deliv-
cred the Memorial address at Tarboro
1t was easily one of the finest efforts
| of the kind that has been made In
the South, and every orator in thc
| South has spoken upon 1.-The Confeder-
ate soldier" In that s1eech Judge
Philips gave a noble eulogy of 1.-The
women of the Confederacy." In vieN
of the fact that the credit for the
erection of the monument unveiled
Yesterday is due to the Edgecombe
women, we make the following extract
from Judge Philips elegant and just
| tribute:
THE outside world can scarcely ap-
preciate the influence of the women of
the Southern States in carrying on the
| fight when it was once started. Their
intensity of purpose was everywhcr-
manifest. The Paul ReVeres of the
| bloody conflict were not confined t.
those in male attire. Indeed the Ly 1ia
Darrahs, of the South, were found
everywhere our armies went, ana
| their earnest devotion and daring risks
beggar the powers of computation
- l.t tfT,,,
that the first advance of Federal
troops from Fortress Monroe in the
| first Peninsular Campaign was made
known through the dauntless energy
of a Virginia matron? Mrs. Hannah
Tunnel, who seeing the Federals ad'
vancing to surprise General MagrU-
der at Bethel, ran for miles eluding
their advance guard by detours
through the woods, to give him warn
| ing of their stealthY approach. Ste
met General Magruder and CClonel
Ray out, slenderly attired, recOnnoit-
ering, and they would have come in
collision with the advancing enemy but
| for this timely warning. Had it not
been for the voluntary and patriotic
service rendered by this noble and en-
ergetic woman in saving the FIRST
| North Carolina Regiment from pos
| sible surprise, the blood of mahy
Wyatts might have stained the field OF
| the IlrSt CONNECT, ana IHe Ddllle OI 1Sl3
| Bethel might not have been recorded
among Confederate victories. There is
another interesting episode of the war
which should not be permitted to fade
| from the memory of those who admire
genuine womanly heroism, and physi-
| cal courage In 1868. when that great
| fighting leader of fighting men, had
pursued Colonel Streight with boGv
| of two thousand men of well attested
pluck and endurance, armed ana
| equipped for an expedition into the in
| terror of Alabama and Georgia for
| the purpose of destroying the railroads
of that country. and maneuVerln&
| General Bragg South of the Tennessee
river his pursuit was checked by the
burnin~ of a bridge over Black Creek,
a crooked, deep and sluggish stream
I with precipitous clay banks and mud
! bottom. Forrest had followed Streight
| for five days and nights, with relenl-
| less energy more than two hundred
| (20U) miles AM the Federal Com
I mander, believing that Forrest cOuid
| not cross the stream, posted his men
| along the high bluffs to insure the
| complete destruction of the bridge,
and hoped to give his picked ana
| chafed mule riders some rest from
fatigue and loss of sleep Forrest SEE
/ ing the burning bridge rode to the
| modest home of the widow Samson, or
| the roadside about 200 v,ards from the
| burning structure and was told how
| the enemy had gotten over their IN an,
and piled fence rails on the bridge, ana
| had fired them. and were taking some
| rest; and was cautioned not to move
| his men down the hill. else they would
4 be slaughtered for the enemy were in
| line beyond the bluffs. Forrest asked
| if there was any way that he could
cross that stream with his men. En-
| ma, a sixteen-vear- old daughter OF
| Mrs. Samson. smoke UP and said there
was an old ford on her mothers farm
about 200 yards above the bridge, that
her mothers cattle crossed in low
water, and that she had gone over
herself on horseback. and she thought
| he could get over with his men safe
w and offered to show it to him if she
could get her saddle ---'t on a horse.
| Forrest said. there is no time to saddle
a horse, get up here behind me. anu
he rode to the bank on the side or
the road. The girl. with one bounG,
seated herself behind this great unyu.
tored genius of war. and her mother,
half choked with surprise and anxiety
gasped out, Emma, what do YOU
mean? 2" General Forrest said She
is going to show me a ford where !
1 caO NV T1opO over in time tb c1tCh