Henry Wyatt was the Southern first hero in a long war. Wyatt
was a Virginia native, but was living in Edgecombe County when the war broke
out. The 19-year-old Wyatt volunteered to serve in
Company A, 1st North Carolina Volunteers. On June 10, 1861, he was killed at
the battle of Big Bethel Church, Virginia. Wyatt was heralded as a hero and
given a hero’s burial in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. His
tombstone reads "In Memory of the First Confederate Soldier Who Was Killed
in Action..."
There are other monuments to Wyatt - one
marks the spot where he was struck down, and another graces the grounds of
Union Square in Raleigh.
I took this photo in May 2006.
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