The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-07-12
A VET STORY Of THE WAR
TOLD By MOSES DEW. 4 SEVEN
TY-TWO YEAR-OLD VETERAN
FOX THE JOHN w. DURHAM
CHAPTER DAUGHTERS OF THE
CONFTDERACY OF WILSON.

Dew a veteran Of the Civil War. be
comes reminiscent and tells a story
of the trying days of the 6O's-days
that tried the souls Q fmen. When
told that the John W. Durham Chap
were des1rous that he should tell
through the News and Observer of his
experience through the Civil War, the
old gentleman replied: 1t has been
SO long ago that l don't think | can
give an eXac account of all the
sklrmishes, battles, sore-footed tramps
and other hardships l passed through
during the Var Between the States;
! must have passed through fifty bat
ties and SkirmiSheS. However,, [ will
ak for the ladies and hope it may
interest them" Here is his experience,
as he remembers it:
Il am now seventy-two years old;
/ enlisted in February, 1862, in Co. c.,
43rd y. G. Regiment-Col. Thomas S.
kenan. Elder James S. Woodard, of
Wilson, was my captain.
My company was first ordered to
Raleigh where we were drilled at
Camp Mangum; were then ordered to
kinston where We did picket duty for
a month or more and got in q light
skirmish at Deep Gulley, near New
Bern; then were ordered to Camp
Davis below Wilmington where We
3 l1lc Wi W. hS dl 1OpodI
Sound. Then to Wilmington and
from there went to Petersburg, Va,
and took part in the Seven Days Fight
at Malvern Hill. From here our COM
mand returned to Petersburg where
We remained three weeks throwing up
breast-works on the east of that city.
Our next movement was to Gull
pepper Court House, and from there
were ordered on a forced march to
Carlisle, Pa. and then to Gettysburg
where we did heavy fighting for three
days. Our brigade and division acted
as rear guard for Lees Army from
Gettysburg back to the Potomac
River.
w then fell back to Orange Court
House, Va, where we remained two
months. Then to the Pappahannock
where we did guard duty for two days
on one side of the river, the
Yankees on the other-both pickets
keeping up desultory shooting at each
other the whole time.
I'VE then moved on to Locust
Grove, where we were engaged in
what is now known as the Min Run
Battle, for fOur or five days.
'Orders were issued for US to re-
turn to North Carolina on detached
duty. The town of Plymouth, which
had beer in the hands Of the enemy
for some time, was StOrmed and re-
taken. We then surrounded the town
VI ~ S1Ni SSA1S Sph IN $3.50
~evacuate that stronghold. Here we
CAPTURED twenty-seVen hundred pris-
OnerS.
twenty-five DcSerters Shot.
after routing the enemy from
Washington we went to Kinston, and
at Bachelors Creek had a lively brush
with the enemy, running them on
the dOuble-Quick back to New Bern
which town was in their possession.
twenty-five deserterS from our ranks
were shot near Kinston. Several hun
dred negro men. women and children
were trying to desert-these were
overtaken and returned to their own
erS.
From kinston we were ordered to
Bald Head lighthouse, opposite South
port on the lower cape Fear, but pc
fore remaining there long were or
dered to join Lees Army at Peters,
burg; from there to Lynchhurg where
we chased General Hunter and his
army through the mountains to Ten
~nessee; thence through the Valley OF
Virginia to Harper's Ferry, where we
sent another wing of the enemy on
the double-quick back to Washington
CITY. A Smokers Gap we were en-
gagged in a battle of two days dura-
tion-the losses on both sides being
heavy. Here We captured many pris-
OnerS.
Then were ordered back to the
Valley where we rGIna ned until
Grants Army crossed the Potomac.
At Drury's bluff We fought General
! Buffers troops to q stand-stll-the
loss on both sides being neaVy; many
Of our men were taken prisoners and
we took many Of the enemy.
"ht the Battle of the Crater We
broke the line of Grants army at Fort
| He'll. but soon had to fall back on u
breast-works.
After this we left Petersburg on
retreat to A~ppomattOx Court House
where we surrendered.
81 was never taken prisoner. never
received a wound, but the h~ardships
| passed through were many | was
in charge of an ambulance orp OF
| nineteen men, and the sad sights that
| beheld on the battlefieldS Will never
be forgotten by me. We were always
in the thickest Of the battles-the
wounded being first taken care of.