The French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1896-1912, 1910-01-27

the $500 men from the division OF
General B. F. Butler (afterwards Of
silver spoon fame.) After W IN
successful attacks the federal soldiers
retired to Fortress Monroe, having
had 18 men killed and So wounded.
This was the battle of Bethel church,
in which Henry L. Wyatt OF a North
Carolina regiment won the undying
fame of being the first Southern sol
der to fall in regular battle.
Manassas.
six weeks passed before the next
battle-that of first Manassas. The
cry in the North was .On to Rich
mond." T~hirty-hve thousand men
left washington under h command
of General mcdowell to hurl the Con-
ifederate army out of he way at Man
nassas and then end the war by taxi
ing Richmond. So confident were the
people of the North that a victory
would be won that many carriages
followed the federal army to see the
rebels conquered-score upon score
of handcuffs were taken to place
upon the captured enemy. All h
hot day Of July Fl, 1861, the lines Of
battle crossed and ~recrossed as first
one army and then h other gave
way, but before night the Confeder-
ates had won the first great victory
of the war, and the cry instead OF
being "On to Richmond" was "Off to
washington, In the mad rush from
the field. arms, knapsacks and food
were thrown aside and many a John
nv Reb'' had a square meal and a good
blanket as a result of this march to
Richmond. The sixth North Caroli-
ma regiment o undying fame in
this battle by its magnificent charge
mon Ricketts, splendid battery,
equipped with all the modern m
ments of war, but at the cost of the
life of it's gallant colonel, Charles F.
Fisher.
Close upon this great victory at
North Carolina was thrown
into a deep gloom by the fall of Hat
teras, which had furnished a base of
for the mosquito feet which
protected our coast. Governor Clarke
appealed to the Confederate govern
for aid, calling attention to the
that three North Carolina regi-
were hen in Virginia, that
these three regiments were well arm
ed and equipped and could give us
But the answer came
thai these regiments were need
ed at the front, and North Carolina
sent back the unselfsh reply that she
would do as best she could without
them. She had only her own men to
draw upon, and these after her pick
sons n equipment had gone to the
In some instances the prepa-
to fight an enemy armed with
muskets and artillery were
indeed. Farm wagons,
drawn by plough mules, were used to
carry cannon, and all the squirrel
rifles and butcher knives in the coun-
try were called into service n sent
to Roanoke island. Canal tugboats
carrying a single gun served as war
ships. However, notwithstanding
these handicaps these men did not
hesitate to go forth to battle: they
held Roanoke island and the other
eastern forts until February, 1852,
when the federal government sent an
other great expedition against. the
Carolina coast. After stubborn re-
sistence for many days; until finally
it was seen that it would only be a
waste of life for so small d force to
longer, the island was given up
close upon it's surrender the town
of Winton was fired and Newbern fell
lhG AA6AA0S IN OA1SAAyg LII /
nearly the whole of the eastern Sec
ton of the state overrun.
During The first year of the war
Carolina had furnished and
equipped and turned yer to the Con-
federate government Al regiments of
with approximately 1000 men
to the regiment. Could these men
nave been kept at home the east
would never have been occupied by
federal forces, but for the gen.
eral good North Carolina, with her
characteristic unselfshness, exposed
herself to h ravages of the enemy.
While the loss of so much of their
and of so many troops was a
sore grief to the people, yet there was
all the more need to ave the rest of
The state, The government called for
troops and the call was answer
ed by a rush of arms, and % regi-
nents were raised, 15 of which were
ready to take the field just as soon as
hey could be supplied with arms
Such, my friends, were he condi-
ions and operations in the Old North
State during the first year of the war,
1 might follow up the record of
Ter troops to the final a ending of
he cause you loved 81 well, and for
which so willingly gave your blood,
out for the fact that / may weary you
With details. 1t a be said, however,
hat throughput the great struggle
state kept up her same unselfish
'ecord, and in every conflict, whether
On the fields far to the south, or
whether when the war was carried
nto northern territory, North Caro-
ina has nothing to cause the blush of
shame upon the cheeks of her sons
daughters, and there is a deal
!. great deal-of which she can justly
De proud. For instance, her record
It Gettysburg, the ~1ercest battle
Inown to the worlds history. The
reports give 1891 as the total
of ~Confederates killed and
vounded. OF this immense number
North Carolina regiments lost 4033;ld
lat is, o than every fourth man
Tho fell at Gettysburg was a North
'arolinian. Four hundred killed and
is counted a large brigade