Wayne County, NC - Heritage Series Reprinted with permission of the Mount Olive Tribune and cannot be reproduced without permission. North Carolina's Role In The Civil War "Our Heritage" By Claude Moore March 9, 1984 In the election of 1860 North Carolina voted a majority for John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky, the Southern Democratic candidate for President. The Constitutional Union Party headed by John Bell of Tennessee did get a sizeable vote which indicated that in 1860 there were large numbers in the state who were not ready for secession. After the seven states of the far South withdrew from the Union, North Carolina held a referendum on February 28, 1861 & secession was voted down by a small minority. The Peace Movement failed & President Lincoln called for troops to subjugate the Confederate states. Governor Ellis called for a convention which met in Raleigh on May 20, 1861. North Carolina seceded from the Union on the same day & ratified the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States. North Carolina furnished 80 regiments for the Confederacy made up of in excess of 125,000 men. This did not include the Home Guard made up of men too old for regular service nor did it include men from North Carolina who enlisted in neighboring states. There were approximately 850,000 men in the Confederate Army. More than 40,000 North Carolina soldiers were either killed in battle or died in the service of disease. In the 1890s John W. Moore, a historian, did a roster of North Carolina troops in the War which was not entirely accurate since he did not have access to all muster rolls or enlistment records. A new roster is being done at a snail's pace by the N.C. Division of Archives & History. At the end of the War, North Carolina had gained the reputation for "First at Bethel, fartherest at Gettysburg & last at Appomattox." The Battle of Big Bethel was fought on June 10, 1861. Henry L. Wyatt of Edgecombe County was the first soldier killed in this battle. There were two lieutenant generals from North Carolin & they were Theophilus Hunter Holmes of Sampson County & Daniel Harvey Hill. General Holmes, a son of Governor Gabriel Holmes, graduated from West Point in 1829. He died in 1880 & is buried in McPherson's Churchyard near Fayetteville. D. H. Hill (1821-1889) from Charlotte, graduated from West Point in 1842. General Hill & General Stonewall Jackson married sisters, the daughters of the president of Davidson College. There were seven major generals from North Carolina: Robert Ransom, 1828-1893 of Warren County; Robert F. Hoke, 1837-1912 of Lincoln County; William D. Pender, 1834-1863 of Edgecombe County; W. H. C. Whitling, 1825-1865 of Wilmington; Bryan Grimes of Pitt County; Stephen D. Ramsuer, 1837-1864 of Lincolnton; & Jeremy F. Gilmer. There were 26 brigadier generals from North Carolina, nine of whom were killed in battle. North Carolina lost 36 colonels, 25 lieutenant colonels & 27 majors in the War. Two of the lieutenant colonels, Franklin J. Faison & Dr. Elias F. Shaw were from Sampson County. North Carolina was well represented in the Confederate Navy. Captain J. W. Cooke was Commander of the C.S.S. Albemarle; Captain J. N. Maffit of Wilmington, Commander of the Confederate Cruiser, The C.S.S. Florida; & Captain James I. Waddell of Pittsboro, Commander of the Confederate Cruiser, The S.S. Shenandoah. Two of President Jefferson Davis' cabinet officers were from North Carolina. The Honorable Thomas Bragg served as Attorneey General from 1861 to 1862 & the Honorable George Davis of Wilmington held the same position in 1864 to 1865. The principle railroads in North Carolina at that time were the state owned railroads which ran from Charlotte to Winston-Salem, to Greensboro to Raleigh, to Goldsboro, to Kinston, to Beaufort & the Wilmington & Weldon (161 miles long) railroad which connected the port of Wilmington with the Petersburg & Richmond railroad in Weldon to Portsmouth. Eleven battles & 73 skirmishes were fought in North Carolina. The most important being the Battle of Bentonville, March 19, 20, 21, 1865. ============================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. The electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Guy Potts ==============================================================