Richard Burnett lived in Franklin County where, at the age
of 28, he enlisted on October 18, 1862. He was mustered in as a private in
Company K, 44th North Carolina Troops. Burnett served almost a year before
dying in one of the Lynchburg hospitals of "phthisis pulmonalis" on
or about September 28, 1863. 
C. C. McKenzie was living in Sampson County when he enlisted
at the age of 20 on March 27, 1862. He was mustered in as a private in Company F,
20th North Carolina Troops. He served for almost a year, being reported either
present or accounted for, until he took sick and died in a hospital in
Lynchburg on February 20, 1863, of "pneumonia."
David W. Ferrill was 30 years old when he enlisted in Rowan
County on July 4, 1862, in Company B, 57th North Carolina Troops. He was
hospitalized in Richmond in November 1862 with rheumatism, but returned to duty
on December 30, 1862. Corporal Ferrill died on February 28, 1863, in a hospital
in Lynchburg, of laryngitis. 
My travels take me many places, and I consider myself
blessed. In June of 2010, I visited and spoke with the Civil War Round Table in
Columbus, Ohio. While in town, I visited the Camp Chase Confederate Prison Cemetery
and took photographs of as many North Carolina soldiers as I could find. This
is the grave of Pvt. James K. Goldsmith of Company G, 14th Battalion, North
Carolina Cavalry. Company G came primarily from Henderson County, North
Carolina. Records are poor, mostly limited to an undated bounty roll, except
for four men: James M. Calloway, Robert B. Clayton, David H. England, and James
R. Goldsmith. All four were captured on December 13, 1864, in Cooke county,
Tennessee, and all four were sent to Camp Chase in Columbus, Ohio. Clayton and
Goldsmith would not survive. Clayton died on February 11, 1865, of pneumonia,
and Goldsmith on January 28, 1865, of "general devility."(That's what
is says. I imagine it was supposed to be "debility," but I've known a
few folks who could have died of "devility," or could have killed
other people with it.). 
The Thirteenth marched across South Mountain and camped near
the hamlet of Boonesboro. Soon, however, we had to retrace our steps to meet
the enemy on the summit of South Mountain. On this battlefield the Thirteenth,
under the command of Lieutenant -Colonel Thomas Ruffin, covered itself with
glory. Garland's Brigade was all the force we had to defend the pass against a
division under General Butterfield. Early in the action General Garland fell,
mortally wounded, and the command of the brigade fell to Colonel Duncan K.
MacRae. Brigade after brigade of the enemy assaulted our line, but each time
were driven back with heavy loss. There is hardly any doubt that we killed and
wounded more of the enemy than we had in our ranks. Never was there a more
stubborn contest, for we were told that the lines must be held, that we had no
reserves, and that every man must do his whole duty. Provisions were cooked in
camp and carried up the mountain and our men fed in line of battle... There is
no instance in the war where more heroic courage was exhibited than was shown
by the Thirteenth North Carolina in this battle. Captain Chalmers Glenn, of
Rockingham, fell in this battle and was buried by his faithful servant, Mat,
the grave being dug with a bayonet. If is said that Mat died of a broken heart
at the loss of his best friend, and hence the grave was never found. 
There was some great news this past week concerning Civil War Charlotte: Last Capital of the
Confederacy. There were two really good reviews. The first appeared in the Avery Journal-Times on Wednesday, and
the second appeared in both the Charlotte
Observer and the Raleigh News and
Observer this past Sunday. You can check them out here, here, and here. 
As many of you know, Matt Ransom was a North Carolina native
(Warren County), UNC grad, Confederate general, and United State Senator (post
war). During the War, he served as colonel of the 35th North Carolina Troops.
He was wounded three times during the war. Born in 1826, he died in 1904.The
North Carolina Historical Commission commissioned this bust, and it resides in
the rotunda of the State Capitol building in Raleigh, North Carolina. It was
dedicated on January 11, 1911. 
It had been a long winter for the men in the 58th and 60th
North Carolina regiments in and around Dalton, Georgia. However, with Sherman's
men poised just to their north, no one could really look forward to the spring
campaigns. During the attacks on May 14 - 15, 1864, the 58th and 60th
Regiments, a part of Reynolds' brigade, Stevenson's division, launched an
attack across these fields, and pushed the Federals back. Sherman, however,
soon moved a force further to the south, and Johnston was forced to abandon his
position and fall back, keeping himself between Sherman and Atlanta. 
Zebulon Baird Vance is undoubtedly one of the most important
North Carolinians of all time. From Buncombe County, he was educated at UNC
(there was only one at the time), was a lawyer, served in the General Assembly,
the United State House of Representatives, as colonel of the 26th North
Carolina Troops, as governor of North Carolina, and as a United State Senator.
Vance was born on Reams Creek, near Weaverville, northeast of the Asheville.
The historic site contains reproduction cabins, along with numerous
outbuildings, and a visitor center with museum. 
Flags held a special place of honor among many of the
soldiers we study and write about. Many men gave their lives for these banners,
and even today, are irreplaceable artifacts connected to the past. The North
Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh has the third largest collection of
Confederate flags in existence. However, the flag of the 1st North Carolina
Cavalry, pictured here, is not one of them. This flag, and a small number like
it, are held in private collections. 
