Windsor, the county seat of Bertie County, was just a little village off the Cashie River in eastern North Carolina. It did not have much military importance. Yet the Federals came calling in January 1864.
Confederate forces
under Maj. Gen. George Pickett were campaigning in eastern North Carolina that
winter. On February 1, the bulk of his command would move from Kinston to New
Bern in an attempt to wrest control of the port town from Federal occupation. When
the Confederates arrived in the area, they sent out foraging parties to secure
food and forage for man and beast. One of those groups, reported as two companies
from the 62nd Georgia Cavalry.[1]
USS Massasoit (LOC)
The Federals
stationed at Plymouth, on the Roanoke River, soon learned of the Confederate
presence and dispatched naval vessels, with 100 infantry on board, towards the
town on the night of January 29, 1864. The
USS Massasoit of Lt. Com. Flusser provided the transport. The vessel
proceeded up the Roanoke River before taking a right into the Cashie River. The
infantry force landed about three o’clock in the morning about six miles below
the town. A member of the 103rd Pennsylvania Infantry recalled that “About
daylight, the advance became engaged,” with the Georgia cavalrymen. “My command
was in a detachment that made a detour to the left at double quick to come in
on the enemy’s flank, but we had not reached our position before they ‘skedaddled.’”
Capt. John Donaghy, 103rd Pennsylvania, who had command of part of
the mixed Federal infantry, lost command of his troops. The Federal infantry
force was drawn from every company in the regiment. “My men were so eager to
get a pop at the rebs that some of them began firing without orders, unmindful
of a line of our skirmishers who were between us and them. It took some
vigorous language on my part and some blows with the flat of my sword against
their guns to make them cease firing.”[2]
Donaghy eventually
gained control of his men and they proceeded through the abandoned camp of the
Georgia cavalry. “The enemy, except a few escaped,” Donaghy wrote, “And all
that we captured was their camp, with some arms, and the musical instruments of
the band. Brass must have been scarce, for the horns were made of sheet iron.” The
Federals marched into town, sending out pickets on various roads while the
Federal navy, presumably their land force, “practiced with their howitzers for
a while shelling the country in every direction the rebels had gone.” In Donaghy’s
opinion, they did nothing but “waste some ammunition.” Following that, Donaghy’s
men “consumed a few rails cooking their coffee, for the halt gave us the
opportunity to eat breakfast.” Donaghy heard the sound of horses nearby and
ordered a lieutenant with a squad to go and investigate. They found several
horses tied in the woods, removed from surrounding farms as the farmers
attempted to keep the animals safe. “It was a lucky discovery for us, and
Lieut. Kelly and I, and some of the boys, ceased to be foot soldiers for the
time being. A saddle and bridle was found in a barn nearby, and I borrowed
them,” Donaghy recalled. [3]
On returning to the town, Donaghy
encountered Flusser, who “had a bottle with him, and we drank several times to
his favorite toast, ‘Confusion to the rebels, and damn the Roanoke sheep.’ By the
sheep he meant the ram that the rebels were building up the river. We left the
captured horses at the landing, without having any harrowing doubts but that
their owners would find them. We were back in Plymouth by nine o’clock at
night, with nobody hurt on the expedition.”[4]
Another member of the 103rd Pennsylvania wrote that “Horses, mules, wagons, clothing, ammunition and two soldiers were captured. Several prominent citizens were brought away to be held as hostages for certain loyal persons incarcerated in Richmond.” Who were those citizens captured? Several North Carolina newspapers commented on the raid. On wrote that the Federals had ‘burnt up some meat and destroyed some salt. . .and captured and carried off Rev. Cyrus Watters [Walters], of the Episcopal church; also Dr. Turner Wilson and L.S. Webb, Esq., Cashier of the Bank and some one or two others.” Both the commanding officers of the 62nd Georgia Cavalry, and the newspaper articles, reported that the Confederate cavalry was reinforced and “after some sharp firing, the Yankees retired.” What became of Walters, Wilson, and Webb is unknown, and more research needs to be done on the “loyal persons incarcerated in Richmond.”[5]
[1] ORs,
Vol. 33, 107.
[2] Dickey, History
of the 103rd Regiment, Pennsylvania, 54.
[3] Dickey,
History of the 103rd Regiment, Pennsylvania, 51.
[4] Dickey, History
of the 103rd Regiment, Pennsylvania, 55.
[5] Dickey,
History of the 103rd Regiment, Pennsylvania, 51; The
Charlotte Democrat, February 16, 1864; ORs, Vol. 33, 107.
No comments:
Post a Comment