The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-04-12

graph. In the open field, upon an
elevation not far from old Appomattox
| Court House, a memorial of granite
| two and a half feet square has been
erected upon which is this inscription
| in bold letters:
NORTH CAROLINA.
The Last Federal Battery
Taken by the Confederates was Cap
tured by the North Carolina
Cavalry Brigade OF Brig
Gen. w. p. Roberts at
This Place.
| This memorial was unveiled by
Capt. Holt, who said:
I'VE have here a modest little me-
mortal erected without State aid. to
| the memory Of the remnant of the
| brigade of North Carolina cavalry
commanded by the gallant General
| w. p. Roberts. On the morning of
| April 8, 1866, 40 years ago, there was
| in these fields and in these woods a
victorious army of $4,000 veteran
American soldiers, well fed, well
| clothed, well armed and furnished
| with every appliance then used in
warfare, and backed by a government
| rich in men and money and all the re-
sources needed to make its armies
almost invincible. On yonder hillside,
J fronting this spot, was a thin gray
| line of wornout and hungry and
ragged men, who for nearly four years
| had neVer> failed or faltered. Often
| they had met their foe three to one
and yet had been victorious. over
there just beyond that farm house
which you see, was what was left OF
the cavalry of the army of Northern
| Virginia, General w. p. Roberts's bril-
gade, composed of the Fourth and
| Seventh North Carolina regiments,
| in all not over 100 officers and men,
! holding the line just in front of the
! two-story dwelling you see on that
hill. At sunrise on that eventful day
battery of four pieces of artillery
took position on this spot where we
now stand and began Smelling us.
| General Roberts at once gave the
command, Draw sabres! Forward,
trot march, charged and down the
hill we swept in u swift gallop, across
that valley, over some bitches and up
this hill and then once more We had
demonstrated the Valor of Southern
manhood The battery and its sup
port of dismounted infantry were cap
tured. Shell and grape, canister and
mimic bullets filled the air, but there
was no faltering by any one OF that
gallant little band. Led by the young
est brigadier general in the Confeder-
comrades in arms that the cavalry
could fight and did fight, too, to the
last. May our modest little monument
endure for all time to mark the spot
where the Tar Heel cavalry were true
rto the cause for which they fought
to the last
1t was garlanded with flowers from
the Daughters of the Confederacy.
VYY,a Te,,lrfnS Tablet
Not far from the Roberts tablet
is the Jenkins memorial erected to
perpetuate the valor of Capt. Wilson
T. Jenkins, who called for twenty-five
volunteers who, with him, fought the
last skirmish in their attempt to hold
back the Federal soldiers. The in
scrirtion on that granite memorial
similar to the Roberts memorials
in these words:
NORTH CAROLINA.
At This Place Was Fought the Last
Sl1irnish
BY Captain Wilson Il. Jenkins,
OF the Fourteenth North Carolina
Regiment,
Commanding Twenty-Five Men
of the Fourth and Fourteenth North
Carolina Regiments.
This memorial was also garlanded
with flowers by the Daughters of the
Confederacy.
An old colored man by the name
of Lee Patterson, presented to Cover
nor Glenn a gun. When he brought it
up it was an old carbine. breech load
er, used by the Confederates. He was
reliable old negro and the Governor
highly appreciated the gift:
Mr.. Walter Greene was told on the
battle ground that there was a gentle
man in Lynchburg, named w. B. Abb
bolt, who was in possession OF gun
found on the battle field, on which
was marked: ~. L. A, Company A,
Fourth n. C. Regiment" If Mr.. Abb
bolt can find a brother or relative of
the owner of the gun, he will be glad
to return it to the family.
1t is to be regretted that the names
of all the North Carolinians here can
not be printed. They came by differ
ent routes and there was no way TO
obtain the names of the two hundred
or more North CarolinianS here. From
the humble son of the soil. without
reputation or money down to the elo-
quent Governor, the State of North
Carolina was we'll represented in the
character of its sons and in numbers
/ say 'SdOWn to" the Governor because
on this occasion the man who wore
the gray no matter how unknown, is
a greater figure than the Governor
of his Commonwealth. proud as all
North Carolinians were of the noble
way he bore himself today.
The largest number of veterans here
were from along the line of the Nor
folk & Western road-the only rail-
road that ran an excursion train from
North Carolina. Durham. Person and
Caswell furnished a large number
under the leadership of Gen. Julian
S. Carr and Col. j. A. Long. both
wearing the Confederate uniform. 1t
was becoming costume for both. The
train came in so late the names of the
veterans on board could not be OBJ
tanned. They were accompanied by a
number of younger men and ladies
who graced the occasion.
Among those nresent from North
Carolina were all the members of the
ApDomattox Commission. Chairman H.
A London. A. d. McGill, C. 3. Watson
w. T. Jenkins and E. J. Holt.
whose wise and patriotic management
calls for a formal resolution of thanks
by the next General Assembly which
imposed the honorable duty upon