Getting Wiley G. Woody’s service record correct

 

   Family histories and county heritages books are great resources. They contain family linages and histories, little pieces of the past that, coupled together, paint a large picture of the history of a place. However, many people writing these histories, while well intentioned, often communicate mis- information. The service of Wiley G. Woody, 29^th North Carolina Troops, is a prime example.

   The entry for Woody goes like this: He was ““conscripted into the Confederate army, and was enrolled in Co. I, 29^thth Regt. NC Inf. After a furlough of forty days to recuperate from illness, he rejoined his Regiment at Morristown, Tenn., where he was detailed to guard the commissary wagons. He deserted and went home where he was captured in the fall of 1863 and imprisoned in Castle Thunder… While being transported from Castle Thunder to his regiment in Wilmington, N.C., he escaped and went home, where he hid out in the ‘bushes; until he joined the Union Army at Bulls Gap, Tennessee, in Garrett Honeycutt’s Co., E, 3^rd NC Mtd. Inf., on 3/25/1864.” (Bailey, The Heritage of the Toe River Valley, 1:466)

   Looking into Woody’s Confederate Compiled Service record, we find something of a different story. He was not conscripted in the Confederate army. Woody volunteered on July 11, 1861. (The Conscription law was not passed until April 1862). He was mustered in as a private in Company I, 29^th North Carolina Troops. It appears that on February 21, 1863, Woody was detailed to work in the Quartermaster’s Department, making shoes, in Shelbyville, Tennessee. Sometime later, maybe in March 1863, he was transferred to the Confederate Shoe Shop in Columbus, Georgia. He was still there in August 1864. However, he had been listed as “diseased” on an inspection report on April 21, 1864, while working for the Quartermaster’s Department. That is the end of his Confederate Compiled Service Records from the National Archives.

   Did he desert twice? Maybe. Did he do time in Castle Thunder? Maybe. However, his Confederate regiment was never stationed in Wilmington. His Federal Compiled Service Record states he enlisted in Mitchell County, North Carolina, on March 25, 1864. More interesting was that he was not mustered into Federal service until September 23, 1864, at Bulls Gap, Tennessee. From March 25 to September 23 is a long time to not be officially mustered into service. It might be more likely that he was still in Columbus in August, working for the Confederate government, before making it home and then across the mountains into East Tennessee to enlist by late September. Woody was mustered in as a private in Company E, 3^rd North Carolina Mountain Infantry (US). He was not reported on muster roll sheets until January 1865. On the March-April muster roll sheet, Woody is listed as a deserter, having left on April 2, 1865, taking his Springfield rifle with him. On April 30, 1865, he was dropped from regimental rolls. He was still absent when his regiment was mustered out of service on August 8, 1865. 

   In June 1866, former Federal soldier and local lawyer W. W. Rollins (see this link for more) wrote a letter to the assistant adjutant general, asking that Woody be restored to duty and honorably discharged. Rollins (who had also served in the 3^rd NCMI, but later got in trouble for pension fraud) stated that Woody was “a good soldier, always ready for duty” and based upon the evidence in front of him, thought Woody a trustworthy man. Woody’s letter (in Rollins’s handwriting), dated June 29, 1866, also appears in Woody’s record. Woody’s excuse? While on picket duty in the Crab Orchard section of Washington County, Tennessee in April 1865? (Maybe Crab Orchard in Carter County?), his company moved on without him, heading to Salisbury, NC. (Actually, they never really moved further east than Watauga County, NC, one county away). Woody states he headed to his home in Yancey County (one county southwest), “hoping to hear… of my command…” At some point, he attempted to find his command, but owing to the rainy weather, could not get over the mountains. He apparently gave up. “I could not send any papers to my commanding officer then being no mails in this county.” He was willing to forego pay and allowances to be restored to duty. An affidavit in Woody’s support added that Woody was not only cut off from his command, but that he was also sick. In the end, Woody’s charge of desertion was removed. He applied for an Invalid Pension on April 29, 1869, which was granted.

   Did the author of this short biograph on the Woody family have all of the pieces I have just laid out? Maybe, or maybe not. Did someone purposely try and mislead people? Maybe, or maybe not. Did not including all of the facts (and maybe there are more in Woody’s pension application) hurt future researchers? Yes, they probably did. But for now, at least parts of the service of Wiley G. Woody have  been corrected.

Site Visit Saturday: Cumberland Gap

 

Lay down boys, take a little nap

Lay down boys, take a little nap

Lay down boys, take a little nap

14 miles to the Cumberland Gap!

   For those of us living in the east, Cumberland Gap has a special history. It is the site of an ancient road used by Natives to travel, at times trading with others, and at other times, making war. Daniel Boone passed through the Gap in 1775. He traversed the Gap several times on a route we now call the Wilderness Road, taking settlers into Kentucky.

   During the Civil War, both North and South viewed Cumberland Gap as a strategic stronghold. The gap sits on the juncture of the state lines of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. The Cumberland Mountains are a long mountain chain that runs along the Kentucky-Virginia border, and on into West Virginia. There are other gaps (like Pound Gap), but Cumberland is the most accessible.

Braxton Bragg and his rebel band

Braxton Bragg and his rebel band

Braxton Bragg and his rebel band

Run George Morgan in the Bluegrass land

   At the beginning of the war, many thought that the Cumberland Gap area would be the site of a major conflict. If Federal forces could seize the gap, then Federal soldiers could move into Unionist East Tennessee, seizing control of the railroad in the area. Southwest Virginia with its salt and lead mines could be easily taken; after that, western and central North Carolina, then back into middle Tennessee could all be vulnerable. And there was a plan kind of like this in November 1861. East Tennessee Unionists planned to destroy several of the railroad bridges in East Tennessee, while Federal soldiers passed through the Gap and seized control before Confederate sources could react. Several of the bridges were burnt on the night of November 8, but the Federal soldiers never came.

   Cumberland Gap changed hands several times during the war. Confederate forces held the Gap from the start of the war until June 1862. Then in September 1862, it was abandoned by the Federals, and the Confederates again assumed control September 1863. The defenses at Cumberland Gap were seen as impregnable. While the Gap never fell in a battle, it was all to easy to cut off lines of supply and starve out the defenders. Confederate forces that defended the Cumberland Gap at various times included the  29^th North Carolina Troops, 58^th North Carolina Troops, 55^th Georgia Infantry, 62^nd North Carolina Troops, 64^th North Carolina Troops, 64^th Virginia Infantry, 1^st Tennessee Calvary, and others.

Rebels now give a little yell

All you rebels give a little yell

All you rebels give a little yell

Scare the Yankees all to Hell

   Cumberland Gap has been a national park since 1940. The park today covers 24,000 acres and is one of the largest parks in the eastern United States. There is a great visitor center, campground, and numerous trails, some of which explore some of the defensive works constructed by Confederate and Federal forces during the war.

   I have explored this park numerous times over the years. My last visit was in December 2020.

William Wallace Rollins: Confederate Captain - Yankee Major.

   He probably started off as a Confederate soldier, deserted, joined the Union army, and even had a fort named for him. But when it comes to the life of William W. Rollins, plenty of questions remain.

   It appears that Rollins was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on July 14, 1838. He was the son of a L. J. Rollins, listed as a preacher in the 1860 census. By 1860, the family was living in Madison County, North Carolina.  From available online resources, it is unclear if Reverend Rollins was connected to the new Mars Hill College prior to the war. In the same census, William Rollins was listed as having $1000 of real estate and $250 of personal property.  

W. W. Rollins, in Federal uniform. 

  On August 13, 1861, Wallace W. Rollins enlisted in Company D, 29th North Carolina Troops. I believe that William W. Rollins and Wallace W. Rollins are the same person. There is no other Rollins with similar initials in the 1860 Madison County census. The enlistment cards list Wallace W. Rollins as being 23 years old when he enlisted in 1861, consistent with an 1838 birthday. Rollins was mustered in as a First Sergeant. On an unknown date, he was promoted to sergeant major of the 29th Regiment and transferred to the field and staff. On May 2, 1862, Rollins was elected captain of Company D and transferred back to the company (Capt. John A. Jarvis was defeated for reelection when the regiment reorganized.)

   It is really unclear what happens next (the records of the 29th North Carolina are some of the worst. One card lists that he was in the hospital in Atlanta on August 20, 1864. Another card reads "By Presdt G. C. Martial this man was on furlough and was ordered to remain in N C to attend the Court Martial." In a letter written on January 17, 1865, Maj. Ezekiel H. Hampton, 29th North Carolina,  asked that Rollins be dropped from the rolls of the regiment. "Capt W. W. Rollins... who deserted from Hospital in August, GA on or about the 12th of Aug. 1864... went to the enemy [and] took (20) twenty men with him, and is now commanding troops in the enemey's lines in East Tenn." Rollins is listed as being dropped as an officer in the 29th North Carolina on February 17, 1865.

   On March 14, 1865, William W. Rollins was appointed major in the 3rd North Carolina Mounted Infantry (US). His compiled service record tells us that he was 26 years old in 1865. The cards do not tell us where he was from. When Col. George W. Kirk ordered part of the regiment to Blowing Rock in Watauga County in April 1865, the earthworks they constructed were named Fort Rollins in his honor. Rollins did get a leave of absence in July 1865 to return to North Carolina and help the Governor (W. W. Holden) reorganize the civil government. Rollins was mustered out on August 8, 1865. One item I do not have that might clear up a question or two is his pension application, which was filed on January 23, 1893.

   In the 1870 Madison County, North Carolina, census, there is a "Wm Wallace Rollins" age 31. He is listed as a lawyer, with considerable wealth ($12,200/20,500). He is married to Elizabeth and they have one son, Wallace, and three servants. He is listed as living in Marshall, Madison County, in the 1880 census. Rollins is a farmer and lawyer. Eliza is listed as his wife, with four children, one nephew, and three servants. By 1890, Rollins has moved to Asheville. He is listed in the 1890 veterans census as a major, but no regiment is given. The 1900 census lists him as widowed, living in Asheville, and working as the postmaster. Wallace Rollins appears in the 1910 census in Asheville as a postmaster. And finally, W. W. Rollins, 1920 census, retired, still living in Asheville.

   Rollins ran for the state senate in 1866, representing the counties of Buncombe, Henderson, Madison, and Yancey, but appears to have been defeated by Leander S. Gash of Henderson County. (Arthur, Western North Carolina, 449)

   According to William C. Harris's bio on William Woods Holden, Rollins was first tapped to lead the force that Holden wanted sent into Alamance and Orange and surrounding counties. Rollins declined, and upon Rollin's recommendation, George W. Kirk was given the job. This would eventually lead to Holden's impeachment.

   Looking through local newspapers, one can find that Rollins was involved in the railroad, serving as president of the Western Division of the Western North Carolina Railroad (Asheville Weekly Citizen April 11, 1878); some of his dealings with the railroad wound up in litigation for years (Asheville Weekly Citizen April 22, 1880); there were other court cases as well - "W. W' Rollins vs. Eastern Band Cherokee Indians (Asheville Weekly Citizen January 5, 1882); Rollins was one of the organizers of the Western North Carolina Fair (Asheville Weekly Citizen October 23, 1884); he was one of the directors of the First National Bank of Asheville (Asheville Citizen-Times December 15, 1885); a stockholder in the Asheville Gas and Light Company (Asheville Citizen-Times June 15, 1886); president of the Asheville Tobacco Association (Asheville Citizen-Times September 3, 1889); president of the Asheville Branch of the Building and Loan Association (Asheville Democrat March 27, 1890); collector of internal revenue for the fifth North Carolina District (Asheville Weekly Citizen October 2, 1890);

   Rollins was also very involved in local Republican politics, was a member of the G. A. R. Post 41; and was considered one of the largest growers of tobacco in Western North Carolina.

    When he died in 1925, his obituary mentioned his service as major of the 3rd North Carolina Mounted Infantry (US), but failed to mention his three years of Confederate service.

    So that is my question: is the Wallace W. Rollins, captain in the 29th North Carolina Troops, the same as Maj. William W. Rollins, 3rd North Carolina Mounted Infantry? Maybe that pension application will tell.

Remembering Robert B. Vance

Today, I had the opportunity to attend the unveiling of a marker remembering Robert B. Vance in Crosby, Tennessee. The marker was installed by the Maj. James T. Huff Camp 2243, Tennessee Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans.

We seldom remember Robert Brank Vance. He gets lost in the shadow of his younger brother, Zebulon Baird Vance. Robert was born in 1828. He was a merchant in Asheville, a farmer, and a clerk of court in Madison and Buncmbe Counties. On September 11, 1861, Vance was appointed colonel of the 29th North Carolina Troops. The regiment moved from Asheville to Raleigh in October 1861, and then after the bridge burnings to Jonesboro, Tennessee, in late November 1861. The winter months were spent in Cocke County, Tennessee, and then along the East Tennessee and Georgia and East Tennessee and Virginia Railroads. On February 20, 1862, Vance and the entire 29th were ordered to Cumberland Gap, serving there until late April, and in east Tennessee until Bragg's Kentucky campaign. The 29th Regiment fought at Murfreesboro in December 1862/January 1863.

Vance was promoted to brigadier general on March 4, 1863. When the Department of Western North Carolina was created, Vance was tapped as its commander. Around the end of 1863, Vance was ordered to Raleigh. Before he left, he was ordered to make a demonstration into Tennessee, hoping to distract Burnside who was looking to engage with Longstreet. Vance and his command captured a supply train, but on their return and after a small skirmish near Crosby, Tennessee, Vance was captured. He spent time in the prisons at Nashville, Louisville, Camp Chase, and Fort Delaware. Vance was finally paroled on March 14, 1865, and returned to North Carolina.

After the war, Robert Vance served in the General Assembly and in the US House of Representatives, and then in the patent office. He was married twice: first to Harriet McElroy, and then in 1892, to Lizzie R. Cook. He died at his farm near Asheville and is buried in Riverside Cemetery in Asheville. His grave is right in front of that of his brother.

If you are heading down US321, towards Gatlinburg (from the east), take a moment, pull over, and learn a little more about the life of Robert B. Vance, and the skirmish at Shultz's Mill.

Looking for NC's Civil War: the 29th NCT at Murfreesboro

Some battlefields, like Gettysburg or Fort Fisher, I visit on a regular or at least annual schedule. Murfreesboro is not one of them. My first visit came in 1993 or 1994. A second visit came in October 2012. I stopped for the purpose of photographing the different spots that are associated with North Carolina regiments. There were three of them involved in the battle: the 29th NCT, 39th NCT, and 60th NCT.

Here are the words of Robert B. Vance, then colonel of the 29th NCT, and later brigadier general:

   In the heat of the fire, Private David Patton, of the "Buncombe Life Guards," was killed by a shell which took his head off, and it [his head] lodged in the fork of a small tree.

   While the regiment was in camp at Versailles, Ky., the Colonel of the Twenty-ninth got his meals at the house of Colonel Cotton, of the Sixth Kentucky (US). Mrs. Cotton was very bright and said she would make her colonel shoot ours if they met. Our colonel said: "We will shoot high on your account," but sadly enough, he was killed in front of our lines on the field of Murfreesboro or Stone's river.

   After the fire had slackened on 31 December, 1862, our men saw a Federal Lieutenant-Colonel between the lines, seemingly fearfully wounded. At the risk of their lives our people formed a squad and went after him. The balls fell around them, but not one was struck.

 

I took this photo, over ground where the 29th NCT charged on December 31, 1862, in October 2012.

Avery County

If you have the read this blog for any length of time, you probably already know a great deal about Avery County and the war. For the past ten years, I have called Avery County home, and I spend a great deal of time, working with school and scout groups, and the community, both learning about and and teaching others about what went on in the area during the war.

Avery County is celebrating its 100th anniversary of formation this weekend (the actual date was in February, but unless you want to ski down the street, we don't expect many folks at a parade in Avery County in February). There will be a parade, concerts, festivals, and I'm even participating in a local living history on the square in front of the courthouse. So, I thought we could make Avery County the focus of our next North Carolina in the Civil War county profile.

Since we are celebrating the 100th anniversary of our founding, you've probably figured out that Avery County did not exist during the War. The area was a part of Watauga, Mitchell, and Caldwell Counties, with the majority lying in Mitchell.

Avery County was sparsely settled in the 1860s, with most of the inhabitants living in the southern, less mountainous region, which in itself is a contradiction, considering that the whole area is pretty mountainous. Most men in the area served in Company A, 58th North Carolina Troops, also known as the Mitchell Rangers. This company was organized in December 1861, a reaction to the bridge burnings in east Tennessee. The Mitchell Rangers were a part-time infantry and cavalry organization. They spent their time guarding mountain passes from the Unionists in east Tennessee. After  the conscription ordinance was passed, the infantry of the Mitchell Rangers became Company A, 58th North Carolina Troops, while many of the mounted men transferred to the 5th Battalion, North Carolina Cavalry, and even later, the 6th North Carolina Cavalry. There were a few others who served in the 6th North Carolina State Troops and the 29th North Carolina Troops. There were also some men who served in the 3rd North Carolina Mounted Infantry, a Federal organization made up of men from the mountains of western North Carolina and east Tennessee.

Within the confines of Avery County there was the Cranberry Iron Mines, which produced iron ore for the Confederacy, employing up to 40 men during the conflict. In June 1864, Capt. George W. Kirk of the 2nd/3rd North Carolina Mounted Infantry led a raid through the area and into Burke County. The Federals' goal was Camp Vance, which they successfully destroyed. They fought several skirmishes with local home guard contingents on their way back up the mountain. Kirk's Raiders were armed with seven-shot Spencer rifles, so the contest always tipped in favor of Kirk's men. Once back into present-day Avery County, the Raiders burned the home of Col. John B. Palmer and destroyed the iron works at Cranberry.

One other important part of local history can be found in the Banner Elk community. There was an underground railroad that ran through Watauga County, with Banner Elk as one of the stops. This underground railroad funneled escaped prisoners from Salisbury and from South Carolina, along with other dissidents, through the mountains and into Federal-held territory in east Tennessee. The Banner Elk community was a Unionist haven, while at the same time, ironically enough, the Banners were the largest slave owners in the area.

There were no veteran groups in Avery County, nor is there a Confederate monument. The only monuments can  be found in the numerous cemeteries scattered throughout the county.

Three of Asheville's Confederate monuments.

In about a week, I need to submit the paper I am presenting at the Civil War Memory Symposium that is taking place in Raleigh in May at the Museum of History. The paper is on the process of remembering the War in western North Carolina, specifically on the monuments that were erected. So, last night I went to ASU to root out any additional materials from the different newspapers, and I came across a good mystery, which I might have already solved. But the mystery first.

For a long time, I’ve worked on a list of North Carolina-related Confederate monuments. The list is five pages and includes both monuments in the state and out of state. On this list, I have entries for five monuments or plaques in Asheville: one for Willie Hardy, one for Thomas L. Clingman, one for the 60th North Carolina, the large Vance obelisks, and one in the Newton Cemetery. I knew from previous research that the monument to the 60th NCT was dedicated on November 8, 1905.

Last night, I dug out the corresponding Asheville Citizen for the dedication of the monument for the 60th NCT. Not only did the citizens of Asheville erect and dedicate this monument on November 8, 1905, but they also dedicated monuments for Thomas L. Clingman and William B. Creasman. All three were located on the grounds of the Buncombe County Court House in Asheville.

The dedication of the monuments followed the usual routine. About 1,500 people gathered for the unveiling ceremony. The monument to the 60th NCT was draped in white, with eight ribbons hanging from the corners, which were held by eight little girls. As the crowd sang, “In the Sweet Bye and Bye,” the coverings were taken off. The monument to Clingman was unveiled by the UDC and Children of the Confederacy, and the monument to Creasman was unveiled by his descendants.

Due to the weather, the crowd was moved indoors to the courthouse. There, North Carolina governor Robert Glenn addressed the crowd, stating in his opening remarks that he “hoped the day would never come when his tongue would refuse to speak of that glorious cause for which my father died.” After the governor’s address, County Commissioner Locke Craig received the monuments on behalf of the county. At the conclusion, refreshments were served by the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

All three of the monuments were designed and manufactured by the Cherokee Marble Works. That being said, I believe all three would have been similar in construction. The monument to the 60th NCT still stands in downtown Asheville. You can see an image of it here. I believe that the monument to Clingman now resides over his grave in Riverside Cemetery. You can view that monument here. So what about the monument to Creasman? And, why did he have a monument?

According to the Asheville Citizen, there were eighteen men who were colonels and came from Buncombe County: Robert B. Vance (29th NCT), Zebulon B. Vance (26th NCT), Thomas L. Clingman (25th NCT), J M. Lowry (29th NCT ), David Coleman, (39th NCT), Robert Coleman (7th NC Cav.), Thad Coleman (58th NCT), Harry Deaver, Washington M. Hardy (60th NCT), James M. Ray, J. Thomas Weaver (60th NCT), Stephen Lee (16th NCST), Philetus W. Roberts (14th NCST), A. H. Baird (5th Batt. NC Cav.), George N. Folk (6th NC Cav.) George W. Clayton (62nd NCT), William B. Creasman (29th NCT), and James L. Gaines (1st NC Cav.). Two interesting points: despite the Citizen’s statements, not all of these men were colonels, and, not all of them hailed from Buncombe County. For instance, George N. Folk lived in Watauga County in 1860 and is buried in Caldwell County. And, why is James S. McElroy, colonel of the 16th NCST, who moved to Weaverville after the war, not included?

And, why is Creasman’s name on this marker, and why did he have his own monument? Creasman was born in Yancey County and lived in Yancey County at the start of the war. He did not move to Buncombe County until the war was over, and actually died in July 1869. By this I am perplexed.

Also, what happened to Creasman’s monument? Is the monument that stands on Creasman’s grave at Bethel Baptist Church in Buncombe County the monument that was placed on the courthouse grounds in Asheville? It does not seem to fit the same motif as the monuments to the 60th NCT and to Thomas L. Clingman. Furthermore, the newspaper article described Clingman’s monument as a “granite-based marble shaft ten feet high” while Creasman’s is described as a “marble block in ornament design.” Maybe this “block” resembled Governor Vance’s tombstone in Riverside Cemetery.

I found this on a genealogical web site, from Kevin White in 2000 (this is the original text, without corrections):

Hi Rob,




I dont know what accomplishment earned Col Creasman the monument, but i do recall the monument, which was a granite stone with brass plaques attached to both sides. It was located in the middle of Pack Square in the center of downtown Asheville, maybe 20 yards east of the still extant Pack Memorial obelisk. This was directly in front of the main entrance to Pack Library, where it was then located, and there were benches next to it. I used to wait there on those benches for my mom to pick me up from visits to the library, and i recall her telling me that the Col Creasman memorialized there was my ancestor.


As an adult i developed an interest in genealogy, and i went back to see this monument, only to find that it was gone. Sometime in the late 1970s, the Akzona Corporation (formerly American Enka) decided to relocate its corporate headquarters to Asheville, and built a new building (designed by I. M. Pei) on the north side of the square. The city took this opportunity to "renovate" the square, because among other incentives the city gave to Akzona to induce this relocation was the right to build underground parking under the square for their new building, in complete violation of the original grant from Pack to the City for the square for "public use". At that time the public restrooms ("white" and "colored") under the square had been closed for many years, but now all traces of them were removed, along with the monument to Gen Clingman and Col Creasman, and another monument placed on the square by the Daughters of the Confederacy honoring other persons. I am ashamed to admit how many years passed before i noticed this uprooting of monuments.


Once i was aware the monument was gone i attempted to find out what had happened to it. The Asheville City Parks and Recreation Department, at least at that time, had the responsibility of maintaining the square, and the head of that department since the early 1970s, now in honored retirement, was Ray Kisiah. I spoke to Mr Kisiah, who told me 1) no such monument had ever existed, and 2) the City wouldn't have removed it without first contacting those groups or parties who had placed the monument there. He suggested i contact the president of our local chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy. This was about 1993, just before Mr Kisiah retired. I did as he suggested and called the president, whose name escapes me, and related to her the substance of Mr Kisiah's remarks, including his assertion that no monument would be removed without first contacting the groups who had placed the monument. She replied "Why, they certainly did NOT do so. If one of our members hadnt happened to be driving by as they were uprooting our monument we would have had no notice at all". It was only a few months before this conversation that the Daughters had succeeded in having their monument reset on the square, after about 15 years in storage somewhere.


But apparetnly, since no one who cared witnessed the City uprooting the monument to Gen Clingman and Col Creasman, the city was safely able to dispose of that monument, and now apparently officially maintains the stance that this monument was never there. Makes me proud to pay my taxes.

Col Creasman is still mentioned on a monument to all the confederate Colonels and Generals from Buncombe county, which is located just beside the courthouse, and is apparently too big and prominent to be safely sanitized.

What do you think? Is the rock at Bethel Baptist Church the monument the one that used to be on the lawn of the Court House in Buncombe County? Or is Creasman’s monument tucked away somewhere in a warehouse, right next to the Ark of the Covenant?

Setting Stones

I’ve probably said this before, and I’m sure I’ll say it again: I believe that every soldier’s grave should be marked by a tombstone. This past Saturday, I got to help put in two.

On Saturday morning, I joined our local SCV Camp at a cemetery in southern Yancey County. The camp had been asked by a family to help clean a long-forgotten cemetery, and to install a Confederate marker. The family had already finished most of the work when we arrived. We did take out a couple of small trees and did some raking. I worked with a friend on re-setting the numerous leaning field rocks that mark the final resting places of about 30 or 40 people. Finally, we got the stone for Pvt. Burton Chrisown of the 49th North Carolina Troops placed in the ground. Private Chrisown lies in the cemetery under one of those field rocks.

Later in the day, I joined a couple of friends at another cemetery, this one in northern Yancey County. We had taken it upon ourselves to order a gravestone for Pvt. Henry H. Howard. Private Howard originally enlisted in Company G, 29th North Carolina Troops. He was discharged nine months later by reason of “disease of the heart.” On March 1, 1865, Howard joined Company K, 3rd North Carolina Mounted Infantry (US). Two weeks later, he was promoted to sergeant. Howard was also buried under a field rock, with the family indicating which rock he was under. Now his grave is marked.

It was a great day, and I hope to be able to do it again really soon.

Just something for you to ponder…..

Recently, I was out with a friend cemetery crawling in Yancey County. And it was crawling. We were in some unmaintained cemeteries, looking for the graves of Confederate and Union soldiers. While at one of these cemeteries, we came across the graves of two men: William B. Biggs and Thomas D. Silver.


Thomas D. Silver, according to the Troop book series, “Resided in Yancey County and enlisted at the age of 17 on July 3, 1861.” He was mustered in as a private in Company B, 29th North Carolina Troops. Silver was “Wounded in the left shoulder at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on or about December 31, 1862. [He] Returned to duty on an unspecified date. Captured at Spanish Fort, Mobile, Alabama, April 8, 1865. Confined at Ship Island, Mississippi, April 10, 1865. Transferred to Vicksburg, Mississippi, where he arrived on May 6, 1865. No further record.”

William B. Biggs also enlisted in Company B, 29th North Carolina Troops. According to his record, he “resided in Yancey County and enlisted at the age of 29, July 3, 1861. Transferred to Company K of this regiment September 16, 1861. Transferred back to this company on March 11, 1864. Last reported in the records of this company in November 1864.” Biggs appears in another regiment – the 3rd North Carolina Mounted Infantry (US). He joined Company K of the 3rd Regiment in Burnsville on March 1, 1865, and was mustered into service in Knoxville, Tennessee, March 13, 1865. Biggs was promoted to the rank of 5th Sergeant in June 1865. It is interesting to note that he was promoted to fifth sergeant, but he could not read. It is also interesting to note that there are no discharge papers for Biggs. He simply disappears.

The more remarkable tie between Silver and Biggs is that they are buried not only in the same cemetery, but right beside each other (albeit with a tree in between). Biggs lies there with a Federal stone, and Silver, to his right, with a Confederate stone.

Just something for you to ponder…..

Another Tour

We had a chance this past Saturday to get out into the field once again. Our local SCV camp tries to take a field trip every year. This year, we visited a few of the sites in Knoxville, Tennessee. We started off our tour at the McClung Museum in Knoxville. The museum has a half-hour-long movie on the battle of Fort Sanders that was not half bad. The only thing I would complain about was that the movie said Burnside moved into east Tennessee and forced the Confederates out of the area. Actually, the Confederates in east Tennessee (save Frazier’s brigade at Cumberland Gap), were withdrawn to General Bragg in north Georgia, thus allowing Burnside to take east Tennessee. Much of the downstairs area is full of original artifacts pertaining to the war. I really enjoyed the original case of canister shot. There were also artifacts excavated from the construction site where a sorority house has now been built by UT. Next, we visited the Mabry-Hazen House, built in 1858 and full of original furnishings. Then we were off to Bethel Cemetery, a couple of blocks away. This cemetery contains the graves of 1,600 Confederate soldiers, including numerous Tar Heels from the 29th, 39th, 58th, 60th, and 64th NCT regiments. Finally, we headed over to the south side of town and visited the entrenchments at Fort Dickerson. As General Wheeler attacked from the south, Federal troops fell back into this earthen fort and stopped this portion of the Confederate advance. We tried to find neighboring Fort Stevens, but did not have much luck. We also drove over a portion of the Fort Sanders battlefield, and saw the two 15-inch Rodmans on the courthouse grounds. Overall, it was a great day, and I look forward to Camp 1946’s next outing.

Picture: three-inch rifle at Fort Dickerson.

Mitchell County

Sorry for the lack of posts – I’ve been kind of busy and, unfortunately, I believe that this will continue for the next two or three weeks.

I thought we would continue with our county-by-county study of North Carolina and turn our attention to Mitchell County and a mystery.

Mitchell County was formed in 1861 from portions of Watauga, Yancey, Caldwell, and Burke Counties, and named in honor of Dr. Elisha Mitchell, former professor at the University of North Carolina (there was only one campus at the time). Since the county was formed in 1861, we do not have the usual stats, and Mitchell County’s representative in the 1861 secession debates was the same as Yancey County’s: Milton P. Penland, a Yancey County merchant. According to a Tax List, there were 65 slaves in Mitchell County in 1862. The original county seat was in the southern portion of the county and called Calhoun, in honor of John C. Calhoun. The county seat was moved by General Assembly decree during the war, to a spot called Davis, even though it cannot be ascertained if the community was called Davis in honor of Jefferson Davis, or because some members of a Davis family lived nearby.

That being said, we’ll jump into the mystery. Ask anyone locally about the formation of Mitchell County and you will hear that it was formed because it was more pro-Union that Yancey County. In 1935, Muriel Early Sheppard wrote in Cabins in the Laurel, “As soon as war was declared, the [Toe River] Valley split in two. The northern half , which supported the Union, wanted to part company with the Secessionist southern half. They succeeded in bringing about the separation in 1861…” (56). It would be impossible to tell you how many times this has been reprinted, both in conversation and in print. I don’t think it is true, and I’ll show you why.

New counties do not get formed overnight, especially in western North Carolina. In the nineteenth century, the power base in the Tar Heel state resided with the eastern counties, and their legislatures fought hard to keep new western counties, which differ in politics, from being formed. Yancey County, which contributed the most to the new county, is a good example. The formation of Yancey County was originally proposed in 1825. It was not until 1833 that the measure actually passed. One representative in the General Assembly in 1833 tried to establish a new County in the east called Roanoke (as a counter balance), and then went as far as to propose that Yancey County be established with “administration of justice without representation.” Both measures failed.

People in the Toe River Valley had been trying to form this new county for a long time. According to the Asheville Messenger, there was a meeting held in June 1850 in Burnsville for the purpose of “making a New County out of portions of Buncombe, Yancey and Watauga.” I do have other evidence to prove false the idea of Mitchell being formed because it was pro-Union, but we’ll just leave it at these two. The idea that Mitchell was formed because of the secession crisis is simply not fact; it is local myth.

Was there a strong Unionist element in Mitchell County? Absolutely. I’ll not deny that, especially in northern Mitchell County. As with most western North Carolina counties, the closer you get to the Tennessee line, the more Unionist they become. Most of the Confederate soldiers served in Company E, 6th NCST; Company I, 29th NCT; Companies A, B, and K, 58th NCT; and, Company K, 6th NC Cavalry. Most of the Union soldiers served in the 3rd NC Mounted Infantry and the 13th Tennessee Cavalry. According to Terrell Garren’s Mountain Myth, there were 771 Confederate soldiers and 84 Union soldiers from Mitchell County.

Details about Mitchell County and the war are scarce, mostly just fragments found in obscure sources. There was an underground railroad funneling escaped prisoners through the area during the war. One stop was the old English Inn in Spruce Pine. There are also a couple of stories of large deserter camps in the county, and one, up near Roan Mountain, contained 250 armed men. I’ve also never been able to determine if Mitchell County ever organized a home guard company. If so, the designation appears to be lost. I can find evidence of Brig. Gen. John W. McElroy being ordered into Mitchell County with the home guard companies from surrounding counties, in an attempt to help Mitchell County organize its own home guard. Maybe more information on this will come to light in the future.

Most of the war in Mitchell County could be described as the worst of guerilla warfare. Families fought against families, neighbor against neighbor. Most of these encounters were small engagements (a few shots). In August 1864, portions of the 68th North Carolina Troops were quartered in Bakersville, probably attempting to break up some of the deserter camps in the area.

Garren estimates that 87 Mitchell County men died during the war. Hundreds more probably perished within the confines of the county where civil war truly existed. There are no records of a United Confederate Veterans camp in the county after the war. I did see a newspaper article once of an attempt to form of Grand Army of the Republic camp in Bakersville, but apparently this did not materialize.

Mitchell County will celebrate its sesquicentennial next year, and I’m looking forward to being a part of the festivities.

I have the honor to tender…

Once a man joined the army, he had little opportunity to get out. If he was an enlisted man, he could be discharged for some medical ailment, or possibly because he was too young or too old. And of course, death would get a man out of the army.

Officers were given a choice. They were allowed to resign their commissions. (We could have a whole discussion about the origins of commissions, and how in other armies commissions could be purchased and sold, but we will leave that for another time.)

An officer wanting out of his commission had to simply write a letter. William Y. Farthing, captain of Co. E, 37th NCT, wrote on November 12, 1862: “In 1861 I brought into service my Co. and enlisted it for twelve months. Last April I re-enlisted ‘for the war’ and induced most of my company to follow me. I am fifty years old and have two sons; one of my sons is now a member of my Co. and the other is about to enter the army being subject to the Conscription law. I own no slaves, therefore my wife and daughter are left without any male assistance on the plantation.” Farthing’s letter then went up the chain of command – his colonel, William Barber, approved it; Brig. Gen. James H. Lane approved; A. P. Hill approved it; Stonewall Jackson approved it; and, finally, the adjutant general’s office approved it. Farthing had his answer on November 28: his resignation had been accepted and he was free from his responsibilities in the army. We don’t know if Farthing ever learned that news or not. He died that same day in a hospital in Winchester of “pleuritis.”

Officers submitted letters of resignation for every conceivable reason. The most obvious was due to wounds. Lt. Samuel J. Helper , Co. B, 14th NCT, was wounded in the left arm during the battle of Sharpsburg (September 17, 1862). He submitted his resignation on May 15, 1863, citing his wound as the reason, and his resignation was accepted on June 1. Lt. William W. Hall of Thomas’s Legion resigned on July 25, 1863, due to an attack of typhoid fever. The same reason, “a severe case of typhoid fever,” was the cause of the resignation of Lt. Col. James M. Lowry of the 29th NCT. Lt. George W. Thompson of Company A, 31st NCT, submitted his resignation on March 28, 1863, citing “chronic rheumatism of the feet & ankles” as his reason. Lt. Col. John C. Keener of the 58th NCT submitted his resignation on June 16, 1863, stating that was “near fifty years of age… [and] now consider it my duty to retire from the [service] for the purpose of going home to attend to the wants &c., of my family.” Keener’s case was helped by his commanding officer, Col. John B. Palmer, who wrote that Keener “is not competent to perform the duties of the office he holds…” Keener’s resignation was accepted on or about that same date.

Not all resignations were accepted. Probably the most famous would be when on August 8, 1863, Robert E. Lee, following the battle of Gettysburg, offered to resign. Of course, Davis refused. Other resignations were also refused. Lt. Col. Samuel Silver, 58th NCT, tendered his resignation on March 16, 1865, stating that he did not feel qualified to perform his duties as commanding officer of the 58th North Carolina Troops, and was concerned about his family back in Mitchell County. Silver’s resignation was originally rejected. Lt. Gen. Alexander P. Stewart writes that “The first reason assigned should have been [tested] by the Examining Board. The second is no reason. “ Stewart is saying that when Silver went before the examining board, they found him competent for the position assigned to him by his promotion, and his reason of incompetency will not stand. Stewart’s second remark needs no explanation. (Gen. Johnston also disapproved the resignation.)

So why was Keener’s accepted and Silver’s (initially) not? Possibly the point of the war (1863 vs. 1865). Age was probably the defining point. Keener was 50, Silver just 32. Had Silver’s resignation been accepted sooner, he would have been liable for service under the conscription law, and would have been put back in service. The same was true of William Blalock of the 26th NCT. He was given a medical discharge, but once the local enrolling officer saw that he was well, he attempted to get him back in service. Another case would be that of Lt. John Tipton of Co. G, 58th NCT. He submitted his resignation on March 26, 1862, considering himself to be “wholly incompetent for the duties and responsibilities of the office through a want of education.” His resignation was accepted on May 15, 1863, and he later served as a private in this same company.

These are just a few examples – there are hundreds from North Carolina alone.

Bloody Madison

Madison County won a little poll that I put up a couple of weeks ago as the county that I would write about next in our survey of the Civil War and counties across the state. This is really only the tip of the proverbial iceberg when it comes to the war and Madison County. Maybe some of my readers will contribute more information.

Madison County was created in 1851 from portions of Yancey and Buncombe Counties, and was named for President James Madison. The county seat, incorporated in 1863, was originally called Lapland, but was renamed Marshall in honor of Chief Justice John Marshall.

In 1860, Madison County had a population of 5,908 people, including 213 slaves and 2 free persons of color. The returns from the 1860 presidential election were thrown out. In February 1861, 345 Madison County men voted in favor of calling a convention while 532 voted against the idea. In May 1861, when the convention was held, Madison County’s representative was Dr. Joseph A. McDowell. McDowell later served as colonel of the 60th North Carolina Troops, and also owned the Warm Springs Hotel.

Madison County furnished men to the Confederate army that served in Company , 2nd North Carolina Battalion; Company B, 16th North Carolina Troops; Company D, 29th North Carolina Troops; Companies B and I, 60th North Carolina Troops; Companies A, B, D, F, G, I and L, 64th North Carolina Troops; Company I, 6th North Carolina Cavalry; and, Company D, 7th North Carolina Cavalry. Also, many Madison County men joined the 2nd and 3rd North Carolina Mounted Infantry (US). Terrell Garren, in his book Mountain Myth, believes that there were 1,969 Confederate soldiers from Madison County, and 135 Federal soldiers.

William Trotter described Madison County as the “most disputed and fought-over part of the mountains” during the war. So, we have much to talk about. A riot, followed by a shootout, broke out in May 1861 during the vote to electe McDowell to the secession convention. The sheriff, who was probably intoxicated, stood in the center of town shouting “Hurra[h] for Jeff Davis and the Southern Confederacy.” A Unionist in the crowd answered with a cheer for George Washington and the Union. The sheriff accused them of being “a set of Damd Black republicans and lincolnites,” drew his pistol, and fired into the crowd, wounding a young boy. The Sheriff was chased into a building, and was later shot and killed by the boy’s father. The father escaped and later joined a Kentucky regiment.

In January 1863, a band of Unionists and deserters raided Marshall, plundering houses and shooting local citizens. Also in January, there was a skirmish between militia and deserters in the Laurel Valley area. This led to the return of the 64th North Carolina, which were assailed from all sides as soon as they entered the county. A couple of skirmishes were fought in Shelton Laurel itself. When the Confederates could find no men in the area, they started interrogating and torturing the local women. Eventually, fifteen men, some old, others young, were captured. Two escaped before the column set out for Knoxville. Around January 13, the other 13 and the Confederates set out. At a pre-selected spot, the prisoners were halted, lined up, and executed. The commander of the 64th NCT, Col. James A. Keith, was arrested after the war, and spent two years in prison awaiting trial before escaping. This is known as the Shelton Laurel Massacre, and is the subject of a book by Phillip Paludan called Victims: A True Story of the Civil War.

Later that same month, Thomas’s Legion was in Madison County looking for deserters.

In mid 1863, Confederate forces commandeered portions of Mars Hill College and used it as a base and staging area for the rest of the war. Later in 1863, men from the 3rd North Carolina Mounted Infantry (US) attacked a meeting of the local Baptist Association not far from Mars Hill College, killing two men and wounding another.

There was a skirmish in October 1863 in Warm Springs (now Hot Springs). Federal forces captured the town and the resort. A few days later Maj. John W. Woodfin led his cavalry battalion into the area in an attempt to recapture it. He was shot from his horse. Brig. Gen. Robert B. Vance (the governor’s brother), then led several attacks to regain the area, and the Federals pulled out late in the month.

In April 1864, George Wiley Grooms and his brother Henry Grooms, along with Henry’s brother-in-law, Mitchell Caldwell, were captured while out working a field. They were marched across Mt. Sterling, on the Cataloochie side. As the family story goes, either Henry or George was forced to play the fiddle before being executed. George was a private in the 11th Tennessee Cavalry (US). All three are buried in a common grave in the Sutton Cemetery #1.

In March 1865, some men reportedly belonging to the 3rd North Carolina Mounted Infantry (US) burned the buildings at Mars Hill College.

On April 3, 1865, an expedition led by Col. Isaac M. Kirby of the 101st Ohio moved through Warm Springs (now Hot Springs) and Marshall, towards Asheville, with 1,100 men. This resulted in the battle of Asheville on April 6, and with the retreat of Kirby’s force back through Madison County.

There is going to be a program on Madison County and the regiments from the area at Mars Hill College on April 5. You can learn more here. If you would like more information on the events at Shelton Laurel, click here.

color guard

I think I was able to put two and two together this morning and come out with the original color company of the 58th NCT. The color guard of a Confederate regiment was composed of six men: the color sergeant and his guard, usually five corporals. Usually, only the color sergeant, or, after June 1864, the ensign, is listed in the records. I went through several of the Troop books put out by the state looking for comparisons. William E. Weaver of the 29th NCT was formally 1st Sergeant of Company H. He was promoted to color sergeant on July 2, 1863. However, the next entry states that John R. Rich enlisted in August 1861, and was mustered in as color sergeant. He was promoted to ensign in September 1864, and took the oath in 1865. Hmmm, maybe the 29th NCT had two color sergeants. In comparison, the 30th NCT, has no one listed as a color sergeant or ensign. The 22nd NCT has two men listed: Jesse H. Pinkerton and Sion H. Oxford. Even the 26th NCT, whose role during the battle of Gettysburg is highly documented, only lists Jefferson B. Mansfield as a color sergeant. His record simply states that Mansfield “Was apparently detailed to serve as Color Sergeant on various occasions during the war.”

For the 58th NCT, we know that Green B. Woody served as color sergeant, and later ensign, from October 1, 1863, through February 1865. Woody was a 2nd Sergeant in Company C. In a post war letter written by Lt. Col. Samuel Silver, he states that during the battle of Missionary Ridge, all of the companies had been sent from the bottom of the mountain to the top of the mountain save the center company, which was Captain Suel Brigg’s Company C. The color guard would have been attached to the center company of the regiment, with that company being designated as the color company. The entire regiment would have dressed on the color guard, and the color company.

So, I know where two of the twelve companies were in line – Company A was on the right, and Company C was in the center.

Will the real Robert Milton Pittman please stand up

I started writing this blog yesterday, but I hit a road block. I’ll explain shortly – here is what I wrote:

I like lists. And I look to know who is first, and last, on my list. But sometimes those names and numbers are hard to come by.

Recently, I’ve been editing a book for our local historical society. It is a collection of obits for people who died in Avery County prior to 1950. After going through this book, and through my own records, I believe that the last Confederate soldier to die in Avery County was Robert Milton Pittman.

Here is what I have been able to piece together. Robert Milton Pittman was born “at the head of Mine Creek,” in what was then Yancey County (now Mitchell) on June 10, 1845. He enlisted in Company I, 29th North Carolina Troops, on July 11, 1861. He was discharged for an unknown reason in October 1861 – a fairly short time to be in service. According to his obituary, “He was the son of Wilson Pittman and Bettie Stewart Pittman. He was a Confederate soldier during the Civil War and served under Capt. John W. Blalock, Co. I, 29th N.C. S.T. His wife was the former Miss Mary Burleson of Toecane who died seven years ago at the age of 75. He is survived by one son, W. C. Pittman of Spear and one daughter, Mrs. Hettie Ingram of Ingalls. 17 grand children and 11 great grandchildren Three grandchildren are now serving in this war. Funeral services were conducted by Revs. T. W. Clapp and J. P. Hall at the cemetery. Burial rites were under the direction of the Hughes funeral home.” Pittman died on August 31, 1943, and is buried in a little cemetery on Henson’s Creek. Not only is there a VA tombstone to mark his grave, but also a privately purchased historical marker.


But now for the sticking point: the Robert Pittman that served in Company I, 29th North Carolina Troops, claimed to be 39 years old – a birth date of ca. 1822. I dug hard yesterday into the 1860 census – the area would have been Yancey County. I found two Robert Pittmans, aged 39 and 42, respectively. There was a Wilson Pitman, but he does not seem to have a son named Robert. He does have a son named Milton. However, Milton was born ca. 1855, not 1845. This is confirmed by looking up Milton Pitman in the 1880 Mitchell County census. He is listed as being 25 years old, with his wife, Mary.

So, I’m stumped. Pitman even received a pension for his service in the Confederate army (I do not have the pension, but I will look it up next time I am in Raleigh – I sure wish they would get the rest of those placed online). I could easily say that the compiled service records are wrong in regards to age, or maybe there are two Pitmans in the 29th NCT and that this Robert Milton Pitman joined late in the war and there is no record, save pension, of him being in the 29th NCT. I have been told that the records of the 29th NCT are the poorest of all North Carolina regiments.

KGC

One of the articles that I read recently was David Keehn's "Strong Arm of Secession: The Knights of the Golden Circle in the Crisis of 1861," found in the June 2008 issue of North and South. Familiarity with the Knights of the Golden Circle might have come from the recent movie National Treasure: Book of Secrets, in which members of the order appear in the first few moments of the flick. Keehn makes mention of meetings of the Knights in Raleigh on May 6, 1860. Since Keehn is diving into an area of the war that has received scant attention, I'll not comment on the subject of the Knights and their impact on the Tar Heel state and the secession crisis. It is not that I don't find the subject interesting, it just not something that I have studied.

However, I will comment on this: Keehn writes about Knights founder George Bickley serving as a surgeon in the 29th North Carolina in "early 1863." Keehn does not have a source for this information. I checked the roster for the 29th NCT, and found no Bickley. I also checked NPS's Soldiers and Sailors. The only George Bickley listed served as a private in Company D, 19th Louisiana Infantry.

I did some additional digging and found this passage in a book entitled Dark Lanterns: Secret Political Societies, Conspiracies, and Treason Trails in the Civil War by Frank Klement.

The author writes on page 28:
Bickley evidently served in Bragg's army for several months, for on June 10, 1863, he signed a voucher for pay from January 28 to June 9, as "surgeon, 29th N.C. Rgt." Evidently, however, he deserted and returned to the Shelbyville sector where he had been earlier living with a backwoods belle who had borne him a child. In a letter dated June 22, 1863, while he was supposedly serving as a surgeon in Bragg's army, hestated that he was "in the society of his family."

The "Records of the Adjutant General" is the source for this information.

By July 1863, Bickley is in Indiana.

Is it true that Bickley served in the 29th NCT? Don't know. But it would seem to me that he would show up on more than one pay voucher if he had served more than six months. We will need to do a little more digging.

At Chickamauga

After leaving Crow Valley Road, I drove a few miles north to visit the Chickamauga battlefield. I stopped by the information desk, and picked up some files to go through. Park Ranger Lee White was more than helpful, andI greatly enjoyed chatting with him. I did find a few good pieces of information that I did not have, and I was able to leave a few pieces that the park did not have.

While waiting for photocopies, I wandered through the museums. The weapons collection is one of the best, if not the best, in the country. I wonder how often they open those cases and clean all of those musketsand rifled-muskets.

There were five North Carolina regiments at the battle of Chickamauga. Instead of the infantry regiments being brigaded together into one Tar Heel brigade, the regiments were spread out.

6th North Carolina Cavalry - Davidson's Brigade, Armstrong's Division, Forrest's Corps
29th North Carolina Troops - Ector's Brigade, Walker's Division, Hill's Corps
39th North Carolina Troops - McNair's Brigade, Johnson's Division, Buckner's Corps
58th North Carolina Troops - Kelly's Brigade, Preston's Division, Buckner's Corps
60th North Carolina Troops - Stovall's Brigade, Breckinridge's Division, Hill's Corps

After leaving the museum, I headed to Snodgrass Hill. For some odd reason, which I am sure was logical at the time, I decided to trace the path of the 58th North Carolina in reverse. I started at Snodgrass Hill, looking for the monument of the 58th North Carolina. I had visited this site once before, in February, probably in 1999. It took several minutes to orient myself to the map that I had purchased.

By the way, when are the western theater battlefields going to get the map work of Fredericksburg or Spotsylvania?

After several minutes of searching, I found the monument to the 58th North Carolina. This is the only monument in existence to the regiment.

After taking a lot of photographs, I set out in search of the iron tablets to Kelly's brigade and Preston's Division. All three of these are not on the well-traveled path, each requiring a hike down some path through the woods. Two of these markers were not that far from Snodgrass Hill. The last was on the other side of the park, not far from where the brigade crossed over the Chickamauga River at Dalton's Ford.

I spent the rest of the evening photographing different monuments.