Site Visit Saturday: Fox’s Gap and Brig. Gen. Samuel Garland, Jr.

    Do lawyers make good generals?  Some of them have. Others, not so much. There were a slew of lawyers who became Confederate generals, such as Lawrence Branch, John B. Gordon, Theodore W. Brevard, Jr., Daniel W. Adams, and Alpheus Baker, just to name a few. Included in the bunch was Samuel Garland, Jr.

   Born in Lynchburg, Virginia on December 16, 1830, Samuel Garland, Jr., was the great-grandnephew of United States President James Madison. His father was an attorney (who died when Samuel was ten years old). Samuel was educated in a private school in Nelson County, then at Randolph Macon College, and finally, the Virginia Military Academy, where he graduated in 1849, third in his class. He went on to study law at the University of Virginia, and after John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry organized a militia company. When the war came, that company became a part of the 11^th Virginia Infantry, and Garland was commissioned the regiment’s colonel. Garland and his regiment fought at the battle of Manassas in July 1861, as a part of Brig. Gen. James Longstreet’s brigade. Following the battle of Seven Pines, in which Garland was wounded in the elbow, he was promoted to brigadier general. He commanded a North Carolina brigade composed of the 5^th, 12^th, 13^th, 20^th, and 23^rd Regiments.

 

Garland Marker, Fox's Gap

   With the reorganization of the Army of Northern Virginia following the Seven Days campaign, Garland found his brigade in D.H. Hill’s Division, Jackson’s wing. During the Maryland Campaign, while the rest of Jackson’s command invested Harper’s Ferry, D.H. Hill’s command was sent to guard the gaps across South Mountain, protecting the rear of Jackson’s forces capturing the town. At the beginning of the fight, Garland was ordered to take his brigade and defend the National Pike. D.H. Hill wrote after the battle that “The firing had aroused that prompt and gallant soldier, General Garland, and his men were under arms when I reached the pike. I explained the situation briefly to him, directed him to sweep through the woods, reach the road, and hold it at all hazards, as the safety of Lee's large train depended upon its being held. He went off in high spirits and I never saw him again. I never knew a truer, better, braver man. Had he lived, his talents, pluck, energy, and purity of character must have put him in the front rank of his profession, whether in civil or military life.”  During the fighting at Fox’s Gap, Garland was struck in the back by a bullet that passed through his body. His last words were “I am killed. Send for the Senior colonel.”

   Following his death, Garland was interred at the Presbyterian Cemetery in Lynchburg, next to the graves of his wife and son who had passed in June and July 1861 of influenza.

   In September 1993, the Sons of Confederate Veterans erected a commemorative marker near the spot of Samuel Garland’s death. I last visited the site in May 2011.

Gates County

Gates County was formed in 1779 from portions of Chowan, Hertford, and Perquimans Counties. It was named in honor of Patriot general Horatio Gates. He was also honored with the naming of the county seat, Gates Court House, that was changed to Gatesville in 1831.

In 1860, the total population of Gates County was 8,443 people, including 3,902 slaves and 282 free persons of color. One article claims that Gates County was composed mostly of “subsistence farmers [who] did not hold many slaves.” Hmmm, I would think the census says otherwise. In the 1860 presidential election, Breckinridge received 338 votes, Bell received 394, and Douglas received a scant 12 votes. In the February 1861 vote on the question of calling a convention to consider the question of secession, Gates County men voted 367 for, with 141 against. Alfred J. Walton was the elected representative to the convention in May 1861. Walton was a farmer and a “strong secessionist after Lincoln’s call for troops.” He was a justice of the peace and chairman of the county court.

Gates County produced several companies for the Confederate cause. They included Companies B and H, 5th North Carolina State Troops; Company E, 33rd North Carolina Troops; Company C, 52nd North Carolina Troops; Company I, 68th North Carolina Troops; and, Company C, 2nd North Carolina Cavalry.

William P. Roberts, regarded as the “youngest Confederate general,” hailed from Gates County. He was born there in 1841, and prior to the war, was a teacher and a private in the local Militia. He enlisted on June 10, 1861, in what would become Company C, 2nd North Carolina Cavalry. Roberts was mustered in as an orderly (or first) sergeant, and on September 30, 1861, was appointed a second lieutenant. By August 13, 1862, he was captain of his company and in February 1864, appointed major of the Second. Roberts was wounded in the head at Haw’s Shop, Virginia, in June 1864, and soon thereafter took command of the Second. He was officially promoted to colonel August 19, 1864. Roberts was promoted to brigadier general in February 1865, and assigned a brigade in Lee’s Divisions of the Army of Northern Virginia. Robert E. Lee is supposed to have presented Roberts with his own gauntlets in recognition of Roberts’s maturity and leadership. He was paroled at Appomattox on April 9, 1865. He later served as a Virginia legislator. Roberts died in Norfolk in 1910, one of the last living Confederate generals, and is buried in the Old City Cemetery in Gatesville.

Information regarding military activity in Gates County is scarce.

The US Navy landed in Gates County on May 9, 1862, and burned a warehouse containing “bacon, corn, lard, fish, &c.” They were attacked on their return to Elizabeth City.

June 5 through 7, 1863, found a US Navy reconnaissance through the county and down the Chowan River.

John A. (Jack) Fairless, a deserter from the 52nd North Carolina Troops, apparently caused much trouble for local citizens in the area. His band of men “pillaged, plundered, burned, and decoyed off slaves in their forays into Chowan, … Berties, Perquimans, Hertford, and Gates Counties.”

Like in so many counties in North Carolina, the citizens in Gates County erected a monument to local Confederates on July 8, 1915.

Lenoir County

I thought this morning we would turn our attention to Lenoir County, over toward the east coast. Lenoir County is named for Gen. William Lenoir (1751-1839). The county was formed in 1791 from Dobbs County. Lenoir was a patriot in the American Revolution. He lived in modern Caldwell County, where the county seat, Lenoir, is also named for William Lenoir. Kinston, which had served as Dobbs County’s seat, was retained as Lenoir County’s seat. Kinston was incorporated in 1762. The name was originally Kingston and named in honor of King George III.

In 1860, Lenoir County had a population of 10,220, including 5,131 slaves and 177 free blacks. And during the 1860 Presidential election, Lenoir County voters cast 533 votes for Breckinridge, 317 for Bell, and 21 for Douglas.

February 1861 found Lenoir County voting 447 for a convention to consider secession, with 195 against the question. Representing the county during the convention of May 1861 was John Cobb Washington, a relative of George Washington. J. C. Washington was born in Kinston in 1801. He was a merchant and a farmer and was opposed to secession.

Numerous companies were recruited from Lenoir County, including Company D, 5th NCST; Company C, 13th Batt. NC Infantry; Companies C and D, 27th NCT; 1st Company K, 32nd NCT; Co. E, 61st NCT; and Companies C and H, 1st Batt. Local Defense Troops.

The county was the site of numerous raids during the war. Lenoir County was between the Federal army at New Bern, and the Confederate-held (and extremely important) Wilmington and Weldon Railroad. We are going to focus our time on the two larger battles in the county, namely, the battle of Kinston, fought December 13-14, 1862, and the battle of Wyse Fork, fought March 8-10, 1865.

The first battle of Kinston was part of a general troop movement by Union forces which extended as far west as Goldsboro, as far north as Fredericksburg, Va. and as far south as Wilmington. Union troops under the command of Brigadier General John G. Foster of New Hampshire had already taken the town of New Bern. Foster’s force consisted of about 10,000 infantry, 640 cavalry, and 40 pieces of artillery, supported by nine small gun boats on the Neuse River. Defending Kinston were a little more than 2,500 Confederates under the command of Brig. Gen. Nathan G. “Shank” Evans. On December 11, 1862, the raid commenced, and on December 13, the two forces collided. Federal cavalry battled Confederate infantry at Southwest Creek, with the North Carolinians being driven back. Evans consolidated his forces about two miles away at a bridge crossing over the Neuse. The next day, the Federals faced stiff resistance but were able to cross a swamp and out- flank the Confederates. Evans, believing all his men were across the bridge, ordered it burned. However, not all of his men were across the river, and he lost 400 captured to the Federals, along with eleven pieces of artillery. The flames on the bridge were extinguished by the Federals, who were able to cross over into Kinston. Evans continued to retreat, and skirmishes were fought at Seven Springs (then Whitehall) in Wayne County. Eventually, the Federals reached Goldsboro, but were unable to capture and destroy the bridge due to Confederate resistance, and were forced to retreat. By Dec. 14, Foster's inland expedition resulted in 90 Union soldiers killed, 478 wounded, and nine missing. On the Confederate side, 71 were killed, 268 wounded, and over 400 captured.

The battle of Wyse Fork, also called the Second Battle of Kinston, was fought March 7-10, 1865. This battle has been called the second largest battle in the state and was a delaying action by Braxton Bragg against forces of John Schofield. Schofield planned to advance inland from Wilmington in February, at the same time assigning Maj. Gen. Jacob Cox to direct Union forces from New Berne toward Goldsboro. On March 7, Cox’s advance was stopped by Hoke’s and Hagood’s divisions under Gen. Braxton Bragg’s command at Southwest Creek below Kinston. On the 8th, the Confederates attempted to seize the initiative by attacking the Union flanks. After initial success, the Confederate attacks stalled because of faulty communications. On March 9, the Union forces were reinforced and beat back Bragg’s renewed attacks on the 10th after heavy fighting. Bragg withdrew across the Neuse River and was unable to prevent the fall of Kinston on March 14. Federal loses were 1,101. Confederate losses were estimated at 1,500.

Also of importance to Lenoir County history is the Confederate ironclad CSS Neuse. “ The CSS Neuse, named after the river on which it was based, was constructed in 1863 amid Confederate hopes that the ironclad could help regain control over the rivers and sounds of eastern North Carolina. In April 1864, the Neuse, not yet fully equipped, left Kinston to help with a planned attack against New Bern. Before it reached its target, the Neuse ran aground and eventually returned to its base. On March 12, 1865, she was burned by her crew to prevent capture. The wreck remained in the river until 1963 when it was raised, then located in its present site. The remains of the Neuse (much of its wooden lower structure and some of its iron plating) are displayed” at the CSS Neuse State Historic Park.

There are numerous things to see in Kinston and Lenoir County pertaining to the war. There is a driving tour available of the battle of Kinston. You can gain information on the tour by visiting the Visitor Center on Hwy. 70 just on the outskirts of town. The Visitor Center has a video and numerous artifacts from the battles. There is also a monument on the Visitor Center grounds. If memory serves me correctly, the Visitor Center is on part of the battlefield. The Historic Preservation Group in Lenoir County has preserved 56 acres of land pertaining to the March 1865 battle at Wyse Fork. There are also several signs and markers detailing this battle. The remains of the CSS Neuse can be visited, along with the “Cat Hole of the Neuse” a spot on the river where construction of the ironclad was finished. Right in the middle of town is the CSS Neuse II, a full-size replica of the original ironclad.

I was in Kinston in August of last year and greatly enjoyed my visit. I encourage you to also drop by.

Veterans of the battle of Kinston. Possibly taken on May 10,1920.

News and Notes...

Well, time for a look around.

A few days ago, the Winston-Salem Journal ran a short piece on the excavations at Fort Anderson. You can read it here. The short piece is about half way down. My thoughts? If this is the quality of reporting at the Journal, well… no wonder so many newspapers are in trouble. Why might I write this? Well, Fort Anderson is not in Western North Carolina – it is about as far from Western North Carolina as you can get. And I don’t think I saw anything about a cannon being found. Remnants of a platform yes, cannon, no. And, cannons are offensive weapons, not for “personal defense.” Well, it appears my comments are longer than the article.

There is an very interesting article in the Richmond Daily Press about anew marker being installed for Jewish Confederates in the Hebrew Cemetery in Richmond. You can read that article here. I did some further digging and found a list of men in this cemetery. You can view the list here. There are two North Carolinians listed. The first is G. Wolfe and the second is M. Aaron.

The Fayetteville Observer has a article about North Carolina Sharpshooter commander Capt. Benjamin Robinson (Co. A, 5th NCST). You can read the article here.

There is a very article in the New Bern Sun Journal, entitled “Pro-Union connection hard to find.” The gist of the article is that evidence of the strong pro-Union element in New Bern that we have been told was there, may not be true. I wonder if eastern North Carolina has been operating under the same mis-information that western North Carolina has been. You can read the article here.

There is also a blurb (and video) about the end of the war in Raleigh in the Raleigh Public Record. You can find this interesting link here.

Johnston County

Since I have been doing quite a bit of reading on the battle of Bentonville, I thought for our next county study we would look at Johnston County.

Johnston County was formed in 1746 from portions of Craven County. The new county was named for Gabriel Johnston, a Royal Governor of North Carolina from 1743 to 1752. The county seat is Smithfield and was established in 1777. Smithfield, formerly known as Smith’s Ferry, became the county seat in 1771, and was formally chartered in 1777.

In 1860, Johnston County had a population of 15,656 people, including 4,916 slaves and 195 free blacks. Johnston County was a major cotton producing area, and in 1854, the railroad linked the cotton growers to major outlets. In the 1860 presidential election, the men in Johnston County cast 974 votes for Breckinridge, 630 for Bell, and 38 for Douglas. Johnston County’s representative to the 1861 Convention was William A. Smith. Smith was a “Union man” and went on in 1864 to serve in the state legislature. After the war, he served in the State constitutional convention and in the state senate.

Johnston County sent an estimated 1,500 men into Confederate service, serving in these companies and regiments: Company C, 5th NCST; Companies C, E and I, 24th NCT; Companies C and D, 50th NCT; Company C, 53rd NCT; Company g, 55th NCT; and Company B, 56th NCT.

Johnston County’s big moment during the war came almost at the war’s end. In mid-March 1865, the armies of William T. Sherman and Joseph E. Johnston collided near the community of Bentonville. Sherman was continuing his drive through the Southland, having already completed treks through Georgia and South Carolina. He was heading north to join with the Federal forces currently laying siege to Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia. Johnston, in the words of Mark Bradley, chronicler of the battle of Bentonville, “regarded Confederate defeat as inevitable, and believed that a stunning blow to Sherman’s army might give the South greater leverage at the bargaining table.”

It is easy to look at the battle in hindsight. Johnston should have taken control of the railroads, and more of his scattered forces (like Cheatham) could have been brought to bear against the Federals. Johnston should have told Braxton Bragg to take command of McClaw’s Division, which had been sent to strengthen Bragg’s flank, but he did not. And McClaw’s division, the largest in Johnston’s “Army of the South,” remained idle throughout the battle. Bragg, well what do you say about Bragg? He should have been somewhere else doing something else, and his troops turned over to a more competent leader. I think Bragg does have good traits, but being a battlefield commander is not one of them . Regardless, Johnston was able to catch a portion of the Federals unawares, and drive a portion of them back. All in all, there were just too many Federals for Johnston to cope with, and he was forced to retire from the field. Bentonville produced an estimated 4,738 casualties – 1,646 Federal, 3,092 Confederate.

Bentonville was the largest battle fought on North Carolina soil during the war. You can find a really good web site about the battle, and the battlefield, here.

I have been to Bentonville several times or the past decade, and, as many of you know, I am currently working on a book about one of the Confederate regiments that fought at the battle. If you ever get a chance, make sure you visit the area.

If you visit this link, you can get more information on some of the Civil War Trail markers in the area.