Durham County NcArchives Obituaries.....Barbee, William Matthew May 24, 1898
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The North Carolinian Newspaper
[The State: Columbia, Tuesday Morning, May 24, 1898]
FATAL WRECKING OF A MILITARY TRAIN

Private Barbee of the First North Carolina Volunteers Crushed to Death Near
Savannah.

Savannah, GA, May 23 -- Private Wm. Barbee of Company I, First regiment North
Carolina volunteers was killed and Private J. M. Colcolough of the same company
seriously injured, in a head-end collision of the military train with a special
freight train on the Florida Central and Peninsular rail road early this
morning. The collision took place near Burroughs, GA, 11 miles from Savannah.
The military train was section four of the regular passenger train No 37 from
Columbia to Jacksonville. On it was the third battalion, Major Butler
commanding, comprised of companies from Durham, Raleigh, Concord and Charlotte.
Three sections of the train had passed the siding on which the freight train
awaited them. Engineer Nix of the freight train claims that the third section
displayed no signals indicating that another section was coming and he drew out
on the main track, the collision coming within 20 minutes.
Engineer Carran of the fourth section of the military train saw the freight in
time to bring his train to a standstill before the collision. Company I occupied
the front passenger coach in the rear of the three box cars containing
equipment. Ample warning was given for most of the men to escape through doors
and windows. Barbee and Colcough were caught on the front platform between the
box car and coach, and Barbee was literally crushed to death, and Colcolough was
badly mangled about the shoulder. Several other privates were slightly bruised
or cut.
The comrades of the two men were intensely excited over their fate and violence
to the engineer and conductor of the freight train was feared.
Barbee's body was sent on to his home at Durham this afternoon accompaned by an
escort. Colcolough was also sent home in care of a physician.
The engineer and conductor of the third section claim that their signals were
correct and place the responsibility on the freight crew. The railway officials
and coroner have begun an investigation.



Additional Comments:
Comments: 
Mat Barbee joined the service during the Spanish-American War. His regiment was 
one of many who boarded a train - destination was Jacksonville, Florida. About 
seven miles south of Savannah, Georgia, at 5:45 AM on the 23rd of May, 1898, the 
third section of the train collided with a freight train, and the result was one 
killed and seven injured. W. M. Barbee of Company K was crushed between the cars 
and instantly killed. Of the seven men injured, only one was seriously injured. 


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