Samuel Johnson and the Plymouth Massacre

    Major General Benjamin F. Butler was in a tizzy. He had received a deposition from the provost marshal bearing incredible news, a note he had forwarded to General Grant. The deposition was from the orderly sergeant of Company D, 2^nd United States Colored Cavalry (USCC), Samuel Johnson. Johnson claimed that he was in Plymouth, North Carolina, with a “Sergeant French.” French was a recruiting officer and was in Plymouth “to take charge of some recruits.” Johnson claimed to have witnessed the April 1864 battle of Plymouth, the most successful combined Confederate army-navy venture of the war. On learning that the Federal garrison was going to be surrendered to the Confederate command under Brig. Gen. Robert F. Hoke, Johnson

Pulled off my uniform and found a suit of citizen’s clothes, which I put on, and when captured I was supposed and believed by the rebels to be a citizen. After being captured I was kept at Plymouth for some two weeks and was employed in endeavoring to raise the sunken vessels of the Union fleet.

   From Plymouth I was taken to Weldon and from thence to Raleigh, N.C., where I was detained for about a month, and was forwarded to Richmond, where I remained until about the time of the battles near Richmond, when I went with Lieutenant Johnson, of the Sixth North Carolina, as his servant, to Hanover Junction. I did not remain there over four or five days before I made my escape into the lines of the Union army and was sent to Washington, D.C., and then duly forwarded to my regiment in front of Petersburg.

   Upon the capture of Plymouth by the rebel forces all the negroes found in blue unforms, or with any outward marks of a Union soldier upon him, was killed. I saw some taken to the woods and hung. Others I saw stripped of all their clothing and then stood upon the banks of the river with their faces riverward and there they were shot. Still others were killed by having their brains beaten out by the butt end of muskets in the hands of the rebels. All were not killed the day of the capture. Those that were not were placed in a room with their officers, they (the officers) having previously been dragged through town with ropes around their necks, where they were kept confined until the following morning, when the remainder of the black soldiers were killed.

   The regiments most conspicuous in these murderous transactions were the Eighth North Carolina and, I think, the Sixth North Carolina.[1]

   Johnson’s account is often used as an example of the brutality of Confederate soldiers toward Black Federal soldiers captured during the war. Yet, Johnson’s account has numerous problems. First and foremost, there is no Orderly (or First) Sergeant Samuel Johnson in the 2^nd USCC.[2] Maybe the regiment was wrong. There was a Samuel Johnson in the 3^rd USCC. He did not enlist until July 11, 1864, in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Another Samuel Johnson enlisted in the 4^th USCC in New Orleans on March 1, 1864. Yet another Samuel E. Johnson enlisted in Columbus, Ohio, on December 20, 1864, in the 5^th USCC. This soldier was appointed sergeant on February 1, 1865.[3] Maybe the provost marshal in his deposition got the first name wrong. There was a corporal Berry Johnson, but he was in Company G; Corp. Henry Johnson served in Company B; Sgt. Joseph Johnson served in Company L, but did not actually enlist until March 9, 1865; Pvt. Kuggs Johnson is the only Johnson in Company D, but he did not enlist until March 14, 1865; Richard Johnson enlisted on December 24, 1864 in Prince Anne County, Virginia. He was also a private, and his compiled service record states he was in various engagements like Petersburg, Virginia, on May 9, 1864; Richard R. Johnson was a sergeant in Company C but is reported present from March to June 1864. Maybe his service record was lost. But why not a pension record?[4]

   If Johnson’s service cannot be substantiated in the Company D, 2^nd United States Colored Cavalry, then that should end the conversation right there. Digging a little further, there is a record for a George N. French somehow connected to the 2^nd USCC. He does not seem to have been officially mustered into the regiment until March 18, 1866, at the rank of second lieutenant. In July (25^th or July 2, ‘65?) a B.H. French writes to the government asking about a son who was a lieutenant in the 2^nd USCC, stating he had been captured at Plymouth. B.H. French was living in Chicago at the time she wrote. There appears to be no prison record, no parole record, and no pension. What became of French?

   Johnson stated that after two weeks in Plymouth and a month in Raleigh, he was sent to Richmond, remaining an undisclosed time, when he was sent to be the servant of a “Lieutenant Johnson, of the Sixth North Carolina.” There is no Lieutenant Johnson/Johnston in the 6^th North Carolina. By the time that Samuel Johnson arrived with the 6^th North Carolina, that regiment had been ordered to the Shenandoah Valley.  From the vicinity of Hanover Junction, Johnson stated he escaped into Federal lines.

   What of the murder of Black Union soldiers so graphically described in Johnson’s affidavit?  One challenge is this: there were no Black regiments stationed in Plymouth during the battle. There were some recruiters and Black recruits for Black regiments. And it is possible that some were killed. However, one Richmond newspaper reported on April 27, 1864, that “two negroes in Yankee uniforms,” arrived with General Wessells (the Federal commander) and the other federal officers in Richmond.[5] Obviously, not all Black men found in uniform were executed in Plymouth.

   Black men, women, and children were held for some time in Plymouth. One newspaper reported that citizens from the surrounding area were “hastening” to Plymouth to “to reclaim the property stolen from them by the Yankees. Besides a large number of negroes, horses and other articles identified by their owners.”[6] On April 23, Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard telegraphed Gov. Zebulon B. Vance, instructing him to send “the slaves captured” at Plymouth “to Wilmington,” to work on the fortifications.[7]

   It is interesting that Samuel Johnson never mentions James Dearing. Dearing’s ad hoc cavalry command plays a role in hunting down both Blacks and local unionists in many other accounts (many post-war, or contemporary to our time) of the battle. Many had escaped to the swamps where Dearing was sent to hunt them down. One report stated that 300 to 400 actually gave themselves up, and Lt. Charles French, with the U.S.S. Miami, picked up “many escaped soldiers . . . who had taken to the swamps.”[8] Yet Johnson never brings those in the swamps up in his affidavit.

   After the war was over, the members of the 101^st and 103^rd Pennsylvania Infantry, who fought at Plymouth and were captured, considered the matter at one of their reunions. They came to the conclusion that men like Samuel Johnson, and the veterans who wrote about the “massacre” after the war, were “mistaken.” They believed that “many negroes and native North Carolina Union soldiers were killed, and perhaps an occasional one brutally murdered, by individual soldiers, but the victims, apprehending cruel treatment, were attempting to make their escape, when by the laws of war, the victors are justified in shooting even an unarmed man.” They believed that Union soldiers, placed in the same situation, might enjoy the “same kind of sport.” They believed that Wessells, who was still in Plymouth when this supposedly took place, “would have instantly taken issue with the Confederates, had he any suspicion of such atrocities.” Considering that the 101^st and 103^rd finished the war in Andersonville Prison and had every right to be embittered against their foe, they declined to endorse the idea of a large-scale massacre of Black soldiers following the battle.[9]

   It is interesting to note that Samuel Johnson claimed to belong to the 2^nd USCC. Just a few weeks prior, the 2^nd USCC ambushed portions of Ransom’s brigade near Suffolk, Virginia, killing and wounding several. When Confederates discovered the house the sharpshooters were using, they set fire to it, with the Black soldiers inside, later declaring that “Ransom’s brigade never takes any negro prisoners…”[10] On passing along Johnson’s affidavit, Butler told Grant that “something should be done in retaliation for this outrage.” He had several prisoners from the 8^th North Carolina and, if in independent command, “I should take this matter into my own hands.” Grant ignored him and the testimony of Samuel Johnson.[11]

   It is entirely possible that Confederate soldiers, in the heat of the moment, killed fellow combatants after they had surrendered. It happens in all wars and not just with Confederate soldiers. Federal officers lost control of their soldiers at the battle of Fort Gregg in April 1865 (read more here). But the idea that Wayne Durrill advanced that “roughly six hundred U.S. soldiers, most of them black, whom the Confederates failed to take prisoner,” were killed, along with the testimony of Samuel Johnson, should be seen as unsubstantiated myth.[12]  

 

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[1] OR, Ser. 2, 7:459-460.

[2] Both compiled service records on Fold3 and Ancestry were checked, along with pension records. I also had someone else double check this.

[3] Various compiled service records.

[4] CMSR, Roll 0024, M1817, RG94.

[5] Richmond Whig, April 27, 1864.

[6] Richmond Examiner, quoted in the Memphis Daily Appeal, May 9, 1864.

[7] Papers of Vance, 3:185.

[8] The Daily Confederate, Apr. 30, 1864; ORN 8, 641.

[9] Dickey, History of the 103d Pennsylvania, 269-70.

[10] Charlotte Daily Bulletin, March 18, 1864.

[11] OR, Ser. 2, 7:459-460.

[12] Durrill, War of Another Kind, 206-8.

The fighting Averys

   “Major, tell my father I died with my face to the enemy,” is a well-known last request made during the war. It was uttered by Col. Isaac Avery after he was mortally wounded at the battle of Gettysburg. Isaac Avery was just one of five Avery brothers who rose to prominence in the 19^th century. They were all the sons of Isaac and Harriet Erwin Avery. The Avery family were large landowners in western North Carolina.

William W. Avery

   The oldest brother was William Waightstill Avery. Born in Burke County in May 1816, W.W. Avery graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1837. He later studied law under Judge William Gaston and was admitted to the bar. Avery became a trustee of the University in 1850, and in 1857, became a director of the Western North Carolina Railroad. Avery served several terms in the General Assembly, and in the 1856-1857 term, was speaker of the North Carolina Senate. He, along with Thomas L. Clingman, was a strong advocate for secession. In 1858, he ran for a seat in the US House, but lost to Zebulon Baird Vance. In 1860, Avery was chairman of the state’s delegation to the Democratic National Convention, meeting in Charleston. Appointed Chairman of the resolution committee, Avery “favored the majority report denying the right of congress or territorial legislation to prohibit slavery in the territories, demanding federal protection for all property in those territories, upholding the Fugitive Slave Act, and advocating the acquisition of Cuba from Spain as soon as practicable.” Many delegates walked out, but not the North Carolinians. They would walk out when the convention met again in Baltimore. Once North Carolina left the Union, Avery served as a member of the provisional Confederate Congress and as chairman of the committee on military affairs. Avery failed to win an appointment to the Confederate senate and returned to western North Carolina, where he worked on raising a regiment for Confederate service. W.W. Avery was mortally wounded while leading local home guard in a skirmish with raiders in northern Burke County in late June 1864, dying on July 3, 1864. Avery was married to Mary Corinna Morehead, daughter of Governor John Motley Morehead, and they had several children.[1]

Clark M. Avery

   Clark Moulton Avery was the next son with a wartime connection. He was born in October 1820 and, like his older brother, graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unlike his brother, he was not a politician, but instead farmed a large piece of property in Burke County. In February 1861, friends enticed Avery to run for the state secession convention, and election that he won. However, the convention did not meet. Avery would not serve when the actual convention met in May. Instead, when the principles of the foundation of the United States came under attack, Avery joined the military. On April 25, 1861, he was elected captain of Company G, 1^st North Carolina Volunteers, fighting at the battle of Big Bethel in June 1861. Then-colonel D.H. Hill wrote that "Captain Avery Company G displayed great coolness, judgment and efficiency in the battle of Bethel." As the regiment neared the end of its six-month term of enlistment, Avery was elected lieutenant colonel of the 33^rd North Carolina Troops, and then in January 1862, colonel. In March 1862, Avery was captured at the battle of New Bern, being released seven months later. He returned to his regiment and was wounded in the fighting at Chancellorsville and at Gettysburg. At the battle of the Wilderness in May 1864, Colonel Avery was struck in the left arm. When he refused to go the rear, a stretcher was brought forward, and he was carried along the lines, encouraging his men. Avery was eventually struck four times that day, including in the leg, neck, and through the body. Avery survived for six weeks before dying of his wounds on June 18, 1864. Avery was married to Elizabeth Tilghman Walton and was survived by four children.[2]

Isaac E. Avery 

   Isaac Erwin Avery was born in December 1828 in Burke County. For one year, he attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill but then left the school to help manage his father’s farms in Burke and Yancey Counties, North Carolina. He also worked with Charles F. Fisher and Samuel McDowell Tate to construct the Western North Carolina Railroad. When the war came, he worked on forming a company that became a part of the 6^th North Carolina State Troops. Avery was elected captain of Company E on May 16, 1861. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel and then colonel of the 6^th NC and was wounded at the battle of Malvern Hill. On July 2, 1863, while leading Hoke’s brigade in an attack on the Confederate left, Avery was mortally wounded, penning the famous note after his wound: “Major, tell my father I died with my face toward the enemy.” Avery died the next day. Colonel A.C. Godwin, 57^th NC, wrote in his official report that, upon the death of Avery, “the country lost one of her truest and bravest sons, and the army one of its most gallant officers.” His slave, Elijah, began to return to Burke County with the body, but he was forced to stop and bury Avery in Williamsport, Maryland. Avery’s body was later moved to Rose Hill Cemetery in Hagerstown.[3]

   Alphonso Calhoun Avery was born in September 1835. After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Avery studied law under Chief Justice Richmond M. Pearson and was licensed in June 1860. AC Avery helped his brother Isaac raise a company and was then elected first lieutenant in that company in the 6^th NCST. Following the battle of Seven Pines, he was promoted to captain, but by the end of 1862, he was transferred to the staff of Maj. Gen. D. H. Hill as assistant inspector general. Major Avery later served on the staffs of John C. Breckinridge, Thomas C. Hindman, and John B. Hood. At the end of the war, Avery was commanding a battalion in the western parts of North Carolina, attempting to curtail some of the damage being done by Federal raiding parties and bushwhackers. Avery was captured in Salisbury by some of Stoneman’s men and was imprisoned at Camp Chase until August 1865. After the war, Avery practiced law and was elected to the state senate; he lost his seat when the radicals came to power, served as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1875, and then served as judge of the superior court. Trinity College (now Duke University) conferred upon him a MA, and the University of North Carolina honored him with an LL.D. In 1888, A. C. Avery was elected an associate justice of the Supreme Court, serving for eight years. In 1892, he assumed the position of dean of the law school at Duke University. Avery retired in 1897 and became a prolific writer, respected historian, and prominent member of the Southern Historical Society. His first wife was Susan Washington Morrison, daughter of the Rev. R. H. Morrison. His brothers-in-law included D.H. Hill, Stonewall Jackson, and Rufus Barringer. Avery’s second wife was Sarah Love Thomas, the daughter of Col. William Holland Thomas. A.C. Avery died in June 1913.[4]

   The last Avery brother to serve in the war was Willoughby Francis Avery, born in Burke County in May 1843. He was attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill when the war broke out, and, leaving the school, he joined the 3^rd North Carolina Cavalry, where he was elected third lieutenant. When the company was reorganized, he failed to win reelection and resigned. Avery was then appointed a second lieutenant in Company C, 33^rd North Carolina Troops. Promotion to first lieutenant came on January 14, 1863, and on December 15, 1863, he was promoted to captain and transferred to Company E. A month later, he was transferred to Company I. Captain Avery was wounded in the mouth and throat at the battle of the Wilderness in May 1864, returned to duty in November 1864, and was captured at Salisbury on April 12, 1865. He was confined at Camp Chase and released in June 1865. After the war, Willoughby Avery edited newspapers in Charlotte and Asheville before returning to Burke County and establishing a newspaper in Morganton. He was married twice and died November 1876.[5]

   There are, of course, the Avery daughters as well. Adelaide Leah Avery (1822-1897) never married but became one of the first librarians in Burke County. Mary Ann Martha Avery (1831-1890) married Joseph Franklin Chambers. Harriet Justina Avery (1833-1902) married Pinckney B. Chambers, a major in the 49^th North Carolina Troops. The last daughter, Laura Myra Avery (1837-1912), never married.

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[1] Warner and Yearns, Biographical Register of the Confederate Congress, 9-10; Powell, Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, 1:67.

[2] Powell, Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, 1:111; Allardice, Confederate Colonels, 68.

[3] Jordan, NC Troops, 4:266; Allardice, Confederate Colonels, 47; The Herald-Mail, November 4, 2007.

[4] Powell, Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, 1:66-67.

[5] Manarin, NC Troops, 2:221; Jordan, NC Troops, 9:220; Powell, Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, 1:72.

Three flags

For many years, the people of North Carolina have been responsible for raising the funds to see to it that Confederate flags, entrusted to the state so many decades ago, are being preserved for future generations. Over the past decade, I've had the chance to stand beside many of these flags and to speak about their regiments. It is a huge honor.

To my knowledge, there are two flag preservation projects underway right now within the state.

For the past few months, the North Carolina Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans has been raising funds to preserve the battle flag of the 54th North Carolina Troops. It is possible that the flag was captured on November 7, 1863. The curators at the North Carolina Museum of History believe that the damaged section was caused by Federal soldiers snipping pieces as war trophies. The pictured flag was first sent to the War Department, then to Maine, and finally, through the work of Fredericks Olds, was returned to North Carolina in 1927. For more information, please visit the NC SCV website.

The second flag, recently announced by the 26th North Carolina Troops, Reactivated, is the headquarters flag of the Brig. Gen. Lawrence O. Branch. No greater group of men and women has done more to make sure items in the North Carolina Museum's collection are preserved than the fine folks in the 26th NCT. This flag was the headquarters flag of General Branch, a pre-war congressional leader who also led the defense of New Bern in March 1862. The battle was a Confederate loss. Branch went on to command a brigade in the Light Division, Army of Northern Virginia. He was killed at the end of the battle of Shaprsburg. The flag started home with his body, but was left in Winchester and discovered years later. In 1920, it was placed in the North Carolina Hall of History/North Carolina Museum of History. If you are interested in helping to see that it is conserved, please visit this link.

The third flag is a company-level flag belonging to the 6th North Carolina State Troops. Early in the war, companies were often presented flags before they left their communities and headed to a camp of instruction. This flag was presented to the North Carolina Grays, in Morrisville, on June 1, 1862. The North Carolina Grays later became Company I, of the 6th NCST, and consisted of men from Wake and Chatham Counties. According to information at the North Carolina Museum of History, this flag was captured by Federal soldiers from Ohio in a baggage wagon, in the fall of 1863. It was returned to North Carolina after the close of the war. Friends in the Cedar Fork Rifles Preservation Society are raising funds to preserve this flag. The flag of the North Carolina Grays is made of silk, and silk flags take considerably more funds to conserve than wool bunting banners. You can find more information about this project by visiting the Cedar Fork Rifles Preservation Society here. 

Burke County

Tomorrow night, I will be heading up the Burke County Civil War Round Table at the Burke County History Museum, so I thought we might spend some time surveying Burke County and the War. By the way, the program, on June 26, 2012, begins at 6:00. Everyone is welcomed.

Burke County, in the western portion of the state, was created in 1777 and named for Thomas Burke, delegate to the Continental Congress and governor of North Carolina from 1781-1782. The county is the parent county of Alexander, Buncombe, Caldwell, Catawba, Madison, Mitchell, McDowell, and Yancey counties. The county seat is Morganton, incorporated in 1784 and named for Gen. Daniel Morgan, who led the Patriot forces during the battle of Cowpens.

In 1860, there were 9,237 people who lived within the confines of Burke County. This included 2,471 slaves, and 276 free persons of color.

One of the Burke citizens was local politician William W. Avery. Avery had served in the General Assembly, and in 1856, was speaker of the Senate. Avery ran for the U. S. Congress in 1858, but lost to Zebulon Baird Vance. In 1860, Avery chaired the committee which introduced the resolution that split the party, leading some members to walk out of the meeting. He later served in the Provisional Confederate Congress, but was defeated for election. Avery returned to western North Carolina, and was in the process of recruiting a cavalry battalion when he was killed.

Avery County men cast 470 votes for Breckinridge, 447 for Bell, and 4 for Douglas in the 1860 presidential election. In the February 1861 call for a convention to consider a secession convention, Burke Cast 718 votes for, with 273 against the convention. Surprisingly, the voters elected Dr. John Calhoun McDowell, who opposed secession, as the local representative, over lawyer Burgess S. Gaither. McDowell's brother, Dr. Joseph A. McDowell, also served in the convention, representing Madison County.

Local men served in Company G, 1st North Carolina State Troops;  Company D, 6th North Carolina State Troops; Company D, 11th North Carolina State Troops; Company E, 16th North Carolina State Troops; Company B, 46th North Carolina Troops; Company H, 6th North Carolina Cavalry;  Company G, 3rd North Carolina Junior Reserves, and Company G, 8th Battalion North Carolina Junior Reserves. There were also a few men in the 2nd and 3rd North Carolina Mounted infantry (US). Several of the Avery slaves also served in the 40th United States Colored Troops. Overall, Terrell Garren in Mountain Myth, writes that there were 1,450 men from Burke County who served in the Confederate army, and 28 men who served in the Union army. Of the Confederate forces, 308 died while in service.

Probably the most famous soldier from Burke County was Isaac Avery, colonel of the 6th North Carolina State Troops and brother to W. W. Avery. Colonel Avery, after being mortally wounded on day 2 of the battle of Gettysburg, penned the hauntimg words "Major, tell my father I died with my face to the enemy." This blood-spattered letter is a part of the collection at the North Carolina Museum of History. Another Avery brother, Col. Clarke Moulton of the 33rd North Carolina Troops, was killed the following year during the battle of the Wilderness. A fourth Avery brother, Maj. A. C. Avery, led a cavalry battalion, known as Avery's Battalion, during the war. A. C. Avery was a brother-in-law to Stonewall Jackson.  

Confederate officials established Camp Vance in Burke County, to the east of Morganton not far from where the railroad terminated, in mid-1863. The camp was a base for the efforts in western North Carolina to deal with new soldiers (such as the junior reserves in 1864), and for conscripts rounded up in periodic sweeps through the area. Men were taken to the railroad depot and sent further on, back to their regiments or to Salisbury prison. Camp Vance contained several buildings, such as a jail, barracks, and a hospital. In June 1864, Capt. George W. Kirk, of the 2nd North Carolina Mounted Infantry, led a raid out of east Tennessee, through the mountains of western North Carolina, and attacked Camp Vance. The camp was forced to capitulate, and the Federals captured over 200 men. Kirk's band, after burning a train, boxcars, and other supplies, along with the buildings of the camp, set out back to east Tennessee. They fought three different skirmishes in northern Burke County. In one skirmish, Kirk used some of his prisoners as human shields, and then laughed when the local home guardsmen shot and killed Confederate soldiers. In another of the skirmishes, W. W. Avery was mortally wounded. Kirk, wounded himself, was able to make it back to Federal lines. Camp Vance was rebuilt.

The war was never far from Burke County. Numerous small raids were conducted through the area in 1864 and 1865. In April 1865, a large contingent of Federal soldiers, conducting what has become known as Stoneman's Raid, arrived in Burke County. On April 17, Union soldiers battled with the  local home guard at Rocky Ford along the Catawba River. After holding the Federals at bay for several hours, the local home guardsmen began to run low on ammunition for both small arms and their one artillery piece. Also, a large Federal force soon attacked at Flemmings Ford, pushing aside the defenders. The main defensive force at Rocky Ford was forced to withdraw. Federal cavalry was soon in Morganton. Homes, barns, and smokehouses were ransacked. Louisa Norwood wrote that the Federal soldiers "tore everything to pieces... and put pistols to the ladies' heads, drove them out of the house and took what they liked, guided by a negro boy." Some homes were burned, including that of Dr. Felix Dula, and the records from the courthouse. On April 19, the Federal cavalry headed west toward Asheville.

Following the war, a permanent post for the Federal army was established in Morganton, and continued in operation for a number of years. On June 22, 1918, a Confederate monument was dedicated on the grounds of the Burke County Court House. There is also a Civil War Trail Marker at Rocky Ford and Morganton.

Mecklenburg County

In the county studies that I have written in the past, I’ve shied away from the large cities and their respective counties in the state. I just struggled with a way to both find the information that I wanted to include, and to find ways to write that information. I think I have figured it out. We are going to look at Mecklenburg County today, and probably for the rest of the week in a series of related posts.


Mecklenburg County was created in 1762 and named for the home of King George III’s wife, Charlotte Sophia’s home – Mecklenburg-Strelitz. The county seat, originally called Charlotte Town, was incorporated in 1768. Charlotte earned the name “The Hornet’s Nest” during the American Revolution because of the citizens’ patriotic fervor. It was also the site of the signing of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, a document that was supposedly signed a year before the far more well-known Declaration of Independence.

In 1860, there were 17,374 people who lived in Mecklenburg County, including 6,541 slaves and 290 free persons of color. Today, Mecklenburg is the most populous county in North Carolina. In 1860, Buncombe, Granville, Guilford, Halifax, New Hanover, and Wake Counties were larger. In the 1860 presidential election, eligible voters cast 1,101 votes for Breckenridge, 826 votes for Bell, and 135 for Douglas.

During the February 1861 call for a convention, eligible voters cast 1,448 votes in favor of calling the convention, and 252 against. They were allowed two candidates for the convention: William Johnson and James W. Osborne. Johnson was born in present-day Gaston County in 1817. He was a graduate of UNC (1840) and then studied law. He settled in Charlotte soon thereafter. In 1856 Johnston was a railroad president. Johnson resigned his seat in the convention when appointed Commissary General by Governor Ellis. Osborne was born in Salisbury in 1811, and graduated from UNC in 1830. He also studied law and settled in Charlotte. In 1859 Governor Ellis appointed Osborne to a judgeship, and the legislature later approved the governor’s actions. Both Johnston and Osborne died in 1896.

Numerous companies came from Mecklenburg County and joined the Confederate cause. They include Company K, 1st North Carolina Cavalry; Company E, 4th North Carolina Cavalry; Company F, 5th North Carolina Cavalry; Company B, 2nd North Carolina Junior Reserves; Company C, 1st North Carolina Artillery; Companies B and C, 1st North Carolina Volunteers; Company A, 6th North Carolina State Troops; Company D, 7th North Carolina State Troops; Companies A, E, and H, 11th North Carolina State Troops; Company B, 13th North Carolina Troops; Company K, 30th North Carolina Troops; Company G, 34th North Carolina Troops; Company H, 35th North Carolina Troops; Companies C and I, 37th North Carolina Troops; Company K, 42nd North Carolina Troops; Company B, 43rd North Carolina Troops; Company F, 49th North Carolina Troops; Company B, 53rd North Carolina Troops; and, Company K, 56th North Carolina Troops. After the war, Dr. John B. Alexander, himself a former member of the 37th North Carolina Troops, believed that 2,713 men from Mecklenburg County served in the Confederate army.

There are numerous important people (to the Confederacy) who lived in Charlotte at the time of the war. Included in this list is Daniel Harvey Hill, who was teaching at the North Carolina Military Institute at the start of the war, along with Brig. Gen. James H. Lane and Col. Charles C. Lee.

There are numerous issues we could discuss about Charlotte and Mecklenburg County and its role during the war. I would argue that Charlotte and Mecklenburg County was the second most important area of North Carolina during the war (behind Wilmington and New Hanover County). Charlotte was the site of the North Carolina Military Institute, which provided numerous officers to the Confederate army. (Check out a post about the school here.) Also located in Charlotte was the Confederate Naval Ordnance Works, a hospital, the Confederate Acid Works, a Confederate gunpowder manufacturing facility in the Moore’s Chapel/Tuckaseegee Ford area, and a prison camp – Camp Exchange. The area was the site of the last cabinet meeting of the Confederate government in late April 1865. It was in Charlotte that Jefferson Davis heard of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Charlotte was later garrisoned by Federal soldiers after the war. We’ll talk more about these in the days to come.

After the war was over, Charlotte and Mecklenburg County was home to a large United Confederate Veterans camp, the Stonewall Jackson Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and the James H. Lane Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. In 1929, North Carolina held its only National Reunion of the United Confederate Veterans in Charlotte. You can learn more about that here and here. There are numerous Confederate markers and monuments around the county. Mecklenburg County is also the final resting place of D. H. Hill (in Davidson), Brig. Gen. Rufus Barringer and Brig. Gen. Thomas F. Drayton (in Charlotte).

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.

Ghost of Winter Past

I thought since so many of us (myself included) are snowed in, I would post a few snow-related stories from the war. I hope you enjoy.

“We have plenty of snow here and the soldiers appear to enjoy themselves finely snowballing each other. Penders Brigade & Greggs had a powerful time yesterday. Both parties held their ground. It imitates a battle as much as anything I ever saw.” Lt. Burwell T. Cotton, 34th North Carolina Troops, Feb. 25, 1863, Fredericksburg, VA.

“It is mighty cold Weather here for the last 3 or 4 days there has been a very good deal of snow here the last week the mountain is white with it now the Wind blows cold from it the mountains looks so pretty and White” Benjamin and W. H. Freeman, 44th North Carolina Troops, Feb. 19, 1864, Camp on the “Rapid Ann”

“I am sorry that I haven’t any thing new or interestin to write. I will write a bout the weather. It is very rough and has been for sore time and it seems like it will continue so, for it is raining and sleating and snow occasionally and the mud is from shoo top to knee deep.” Harrison H. Hanes, 4th North Carolina State Troops, Feb. 1, 1862, Manassas, Virginia.

“This morning at 4 o’clock we were waked up by the pleasant sound of the long roll. We were ordered to get ready to march. It is very cold, snow nine inches deep.” Louis Leon, 53rd North Carolina Troops, Feb. 4, 1863, Goldsboro, NC

“times is hard here and the winter is very cold here and clothing scearse. We have no clothing, only what we have on. Our houses is the forest of the woods. Our bead is the cold damp earth. Thre of us sleeps to gether.” Thomas L. Morrison, 6th North Carolina State Troops, Jan. 7, 1863, “near Frederick va”.

“I can inform you that we left the Gap Saturday the 25th at 1 o’clock and march 10 miles west and camp in Powell Valley and just before day it commenced snowing. The ground was gray at daylight. We marched at 8 o’clock and by 10 there was a good tracking of snow. At 12 the large snow commenced flying fast and the wind blew in every direction. It was bad traveling meeting the wind. I gave 50 cents to git my gun and napsachall (carried) and it saved me for I should of gave out. Some of the boys did not reach camp that nite. Wyatt and Jim Slagle like to of gave out. We camped at 4 o’clock and bilt fires. I had a good fire when the boys got there and by dark the snow was ankle deep but I can inform you I slept good and warm. I have got that pillow yet and was a great beautiful morning on Sunday. “ Green B. Woody, 58th North Carolina Troops, Oct. 29, 1862, east Tennessee.

“"Last Sunday has not been equaled for snow and wind since the furious ‘wind and snow Sunday' of 1856: our tents and huts were all wet with it. It lay on the ground about 12 inches…" John B. Alexander, 37th North Carolina Troops, Feb. 25, 1863, near Fredericksburg, Virginia.

An interview with Colonel Tate

It would be difficult to express the amount of times I have wish I could talk to the old veterans of the war. Questions about positions, flags, uniforms, camps, and reasons would flow from my tongue. However, they are all gone, and have been gone for a very long time. Today, I give you an interview from Colonel Tate of the 6th North Carolina State Troops concerning the a visit he made to Gettysburg after the war, marking the position of his regiment during the fight. While my questions would be a little different, these nonetheless are informative, and I hope you enjoy.

“Tate at Gettysburg: The Colonel Marked the Position of North Carolina Troops.” The News and Observer (Raleigh) 15 Aug. 1894

Colonel S. McD. Tate returned yesterday from Gettysburg battlefield where he has been since Thursday last to assist in locating the position gained by North Carolina troops during the memorable battle of July 1863.
Colonel Tate was accompanied by Col. Thomas S. Kenan, of this city, also by Gen. W. Gaston Lewis, who went on his way to his home in Goldsboro.
These three gentlemen, together with the three National Commissioners, Col. J. B. Bachelder, of Massachusetts, Col. Nicholson, of Pennsylvania, and Major Robbins, of North Carolina, were the only ones engaged upon the work in hand.
“It was a matter of love with us who went from this State,” said the Colonel in the Yarborough House yesterday. “I have been there two or three times for the purpose of trying to maintain for the soldiers of this State the credit that is due them. Up to, say three years ago, the so-called ‘rebel’ positions had received no attention, while on the other hand, there was a forest of monuments, most beautiful, to mark the Union line of battle.”
“People came there from the world over, and the first question that came to them was: ‘What where you Union men shooting at?’ For there was nothing in sight except an old field against an army of monuments. Then it was that the esprit de corps was arrested in the yankee breast and they reasoned among themselves this: ‘Let us mark out the host that was against us.’ Thus was this work of justice to the South and to History set on foot.”
“Did you not have some trouble after all this lapse of time in picking out spots accurately?”
“Well, no: Gettysburg is a curiously marked field, not so that as it impressed me during the war. In settling upon one point, I found that we had pretty surely come certainly within ten feet of it. A Mr. Culp, a German farmer who now owns a part of the battle ground was with us at the time all of us being on his place. Said I ‘Mr. Culp, was that fence standing at the time of the battle?”
‘Yes” said he, ‘it is the same fence.’
“ ‘Well, was not these a clump of apple trees near here?’
“ ‘Yes’ he replied, with a hearty laugh, ‘but the bullets caused them to die, and I had to cut down, there is the spot.’
“I remember those apple trees, because I had sat down under one of the, during one part of the fight. Then I found the point I sought without difficulty.
“How about the position, Colonel, gained by your regiment on Cemetery Heights?”
We marked that, too, and the stake is there fast for the site of the monument that will make the story of those men’s valor imperishable.”
“You want to know about that flag? No I did not take it personally from the man who was shot down while carrying it: I should not have disgraced my men by refusing them the honor. But they took it up one by one as each one fell until it was rescued and brought back to me. It was my men who did it,” the Colonel added with a mingled ring of modesty as to himself and pride as to his brave fellows.
“Yes, they brought it back, and I kept it until three weeks ago, when I sent it Christian Reid, at Salisbury. The Salisbury Military Company had already asked me for it, but I could not think of sending it to them.
“Do you not think it belongs in the Historical Library?”
“Yes, but Christian Reid said I could not refuse her and these were the circumstances: She was the daughter Frances, of old Judge David S. Caldwell, and afterward married Col. Chas. Fisher. She and the Colonel’s sister, Christine Fisher, made that flag out of an old blue silk India shawl that belonged to the mother of Frances. The needle work was minute, elaborate, exquisite, and it was a gem among all the army flags. Now she has it, tattered as it is with bullet holes, but one strange thing about it was that the coat of arms which was worked so richly in embroidery was not scratched, and the legend is plain and unharmed upon it now, ‘Deeds, not Words.’
“Yes, we had every courtesy, shown us, both by the officers of the Commission, as well as by the others. For there are now these 8,600 Pennsylvania troops encamped, and last Saturday Governor Parrison with staff and a troop of cavalry came in, looking like real soldiers, dusty after a ride of fifty-two miles from Harrisonburg to Gettysburg. We received distinguished consideration from the Governor, and came away happy.”
“Has Gettysburg changed much?”
“Yes, it has prospered and is a snug little town of 3,000. The difference between that and Florida is that one lives on dead Yankees and the other on live ones.”
“Do the National Commissioners live there?”
“Yes, they will probably be at work for five years yet at $10 a day, according to the latest appropriation. This was the change made after Col. Bachelder had sold the plans he made just after the war to the government for $50,000, and was thought to be the cheapest way out. The gentleman engaged are charming men and seem to be animated only by a spirit of liberality and fairness.”
The Colonel looked well and walked out of the hotel to his office in the Capital.


PS – this is post #400!!!

John M. Houston

While out and about on Sunday afternoon, I photographed another grave on Henson’s Creek (Avery County) that I thought I would share with you. No, I don’t have any questions, or great stories, I just like the way the photograph turned out. John M. Houston was September 15, 1846 and died September 16, 1916. He served in Company E, 6th North Carolina State Troops.

Charlotte during the war

I thought I would spend a little more time dealing with Charlotte’s war-time history.
Historiography: To my knowledge, there has only been one work written since the end of the war. This was a work entitled: On the Home Front: Charlotte During the Civil War.. It was published in 1982 by the Mint Museum and only contains 20 pages. There have been other works that mention the war years, including John B. Alexander’s two works: The History of Mecklenburg County: From 1740 to 1900 (1902), and, Reminiscences of the Past Sixty Years (1908).

Charlotte, and Mecklenburg County, contributed numerous men to the Confederate cause. Of our first regiment that went off to war, two of the companies, the "Hornet Nest Rifles" (B) and the "Charlotte Grays" (C) hailed from the County. Col. D. H. Hill lived in Charlotte, as did Lt. Col. Charles C. Lee, Lt. John H. Wyatt (Assistant Commissary of Subsistence) and T. B. Boyd, hospital steward.

Other companies from Mecklenburg include:
Co. A, 6th NCT
Co. D, 7th NCT
Co. A, 11th NCT
Co. E, 11th NCT
Co. H, 11th NCT
Co. B, 13th NCT
Co. K, 30th NCT
Co. G, 34th NCT
Co. H, 35th NCT
Co. C, 36th NCT
Co. I, 36th NCT
Co. C, 37th NCT
Co. I, 37th NCT
Co. K, 42nd NCT
Co. B, 43rd NCT
Co. F, 49th NCT
Co. B, 53rd NCT
Co. K, 56th NCT

What about in Charlotte proper?

The old US Mint building, now known as the Mint Museum, served both as a headquarters building and a hospital. There was also a Wayside hospital (near Morehead street) in Charlotte. Most of the Confederate dead in the Confederate section of Oakwood Cemetery were buried beside this hospital. Charles C. Lee, mentioned above, is buried in this cemetery (killed while leading the 37th NCT in battle), as is Rufus Barringer, and Thomas Drayton.

Also in Charlotte was a manufacturing facility for the Confederate Navy. Charlotte was also the home of Julia Jackson, wife of Stonewall Jackson. During the last days of the war, Jefferson Davis held his last cabinet meeting in Charlotte, and was in Charlotte when he heard of the death of Lincoln.

More to come...

Col. Isaac E. Avery honored

There have been two articles in national publications recently that talk about the finding and marking of Col. Isaac Avery’s grave.

The first was in the January issue of Gettysburg Magazine. Entitled "Etched in Blood," this article was written by Richard E. Clem. Clem provides a brief overview of Avery’s life. A history of the 6th NCST is also given, with attention to the role of the 6th NCST at Sharpsburg. Clem then goes on to write about the 6th NCST at Gettysburg on day two, when Avery was mortally wounded. After Avery’s death, his body servant buried him in the Riverview Cemetery in Washington County, Maryland. Avery’s body was later disinterred and reburied in the Washington Confederate/Rose Hill Cemetery in Hagerstown.

Clem’s article is illustrated with a war-time image of Avery, Avery’s letter to his father, the Riverview Cemetery and Avery’s new grave marker.

The second article appeared in the latest issue of Civil War Times. This one page article features both a photo of Avery’s new gravemarker, and one of Avery. The brief article describes Avery’s mortal wounding, his famous letter to his father, and the work of Richard Clem in finding and marking the grave.

If you get a chance, check out both of these articles.

Col. Isaac E. Avery - 6th NCST

Folks - I had a reader send me a couple of days ago this piece about the marking of the grave of Col. Isaac E. Avery of the 6th North Carolina State Troops. Averyw as from Burke County, North Carolina, and penned the famous "I died with my face towards the enemy" from the fields of Gettysburg.

This article is from The Herald-Mail

Sunday November 4, 2007Family pays its last respects to Rebel soldier who was a hero
By ALICIA NOTARIANNImailto:NOTARIANNIalician@herald-mail.com

After 34-year-old Col. Isaac Erwin Avery was shot and died during the Battle of Gettysburg, his slave, Elijah, set off on a journey south to return Avery to Swan Ponds plantation in Morganton, N.C., his native soil.

As Avery’s body began to decompose, Elijah reconsidered his plan and buried Avery in Williamsport overlooking the Potomac River. Unbeknownst to his family, Avery’s body eventually was moved to Hagerstown along with thousands of other Confederate soldiers.

Avery’s family brought his native soil to him Saturday during a tombstone dedication ceremony at Rose Hill Cemetery.

For years the Avery family had been unable to locate the colonel’s remains, Civil War enthusiast and writer Richard Clem said.

Research done by Clem, 67, of Hagerstown, determined Avery’s final resting place and was the basis for a story he wrote for The Washington Times in March.

"After I wrote the article, I put the paper between my folded hands and prayed it would end up in the hands of the right people," Clem said Saturday morning. By the blessing of God that we are here this morning.

Isaac Avery’s fourth cousin, Civil War re-enactor Bruce Avery, 52, of Stevensville, Md., read Clem’s article and called him.

Bruce Avery said the mystery was solved after all these years. He said, "We need to put a stone on that grave," Clem said.

Clem provided documentation of Avery’s Hagerstown burial to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which furnished and inscribed the marker free of charge.

More than 30 people were present for the dedication, including Clem, members of the Avery family and Civil War re-enactors from Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

It was a crisp and sunny morning as Bruce Avery stood in the grass facing the ground-level marker. Avery acknowledged Clem for his efforts, then spent several minutes sharing an account of Isaac Avery’s life and service. At times, Bruce became choked up and paused to regain his composure. He said Isaac Avery’s military superiors had recommended his promotion to general, but his career was cut short by death.

Bruce’s friend and fellow re-enactor, Michael Hendricks of Virginia Beach, Va., read a letter written by Maj. Samuel Tate, Isaac Avery’s friend, following Avery’s death. Mary Ann Avery, Bruce’s wife, read an excerpt from Shelby Foote’s The Civil War " A Narrative.

"Ken Avery, 55, of Annapolis, Bruce’s brother, blessed the grave and sprinkled it with soil from Swan Ponds, the Avery plantation in North Carolina.

"May all who visit in the future know this is hallowed and sacred ground," Ken Avery said.

As the ceremony concluded, 5-year-old Christopher Avery, Bruce’s son, placed a wreath on the marker.

It’s sad for the family when you don’t know where a soldier is buried. It tore (Isaac Avery’s father apart not knowing, Mary Ann Avery said. It’s important to have him marked with soil from his home state. He is still under North Carolina soil after today.

Ken Avery said it meant a lot to finally identify his ancestor’s final resting place."We are direct descendants. He was a hero to the cause of the South," Ken Avery said. "This helps us bring some closure to this little piece of our family history."

Bruce Avery said as a Civil War re-enactor for nearly 20 years, he was especially pleased to honor his family’s history.

"I know the family story behind Isaac. It’s an honor for me to have gotten this done," Bruce Avery said. "Hopefully, he’s up there looking down and smiling."