eventful life as a glorious example for you to emulate. An unknown cadet, who, by meritorious deeds and gallantry on the battlefield, that his numerous wounds attested, was promoted to major-general of cavalry in less than four years. This is his record as a soldier. As a civilian, elected soon after the war and serving several terms as Congressman, the wisdom of this selection being confirmed by his appointment by the National Government as their fit representative in foreign lands during the only two Democratic administrations since the civil war. "Our Confederate Brigadiers" die, but when their mortal remains have been long mouldering in the dust they will live forever in history and in tradition, and children's children learn with their earliest breath to lisp the names of the great chieftains of the South, and with their youngest emotions to admire and emulate their illustrious example. Amidst the wreath of immortelles that will garland the memory of him who was called the "Beau Sabreur of Georgia," the most noted cavalry officer of your State, and one the most celebrated in either army, North or South, we desire to contribute this leaflet as a memento of our estimation of him who was once our colonel and an honorary member of this Association. E. J. O'CONNOR, F. E. EVE, Committee. [From the Raleigh, N. C., News and Observer, April 11, 1897.] THE 23rd NORTH CAROLINA INFANTRY. Organized in 1861, as the 13th Regiment of Volunteers. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BY H. C. WALL. Upon the secession of North Carolina, May 20, 1861, the convention passed an ordinance authorizing the raising and equipping of ten regiments of infantry, to be designated "State Troops," the said regiments to be numbered from one to ten, inclusive, in the order of their organization, the enlistment in the same to be made for and during the war. Subsequently the raising of other regiments, as volunteers for the term of twelve months, was authorized, these to be, in like manner, numbered from one up, in the order of their organization. This distinction between "State Troops" and volun teers was kept up until the re-organization under the general Conscript Act, which went into effect on the 17th of May, 1862, when the order of numbering the regiment was changed by adding the volunteer regiment, as originally numbered, to the number of "State Troops," by which the 1st regiment of volunteers became the 11th, and the others, in like manner, ten numbers beyond those they first bore. The re-arrangement, therefore, changed the old 13th into the 23rd. Under the ordinance referred to, ten companies from the following counties, viz: one from each, Richmond, Anson, Montgomery, Mecklenburg, Lincoln, Gaston, Catawba and three from Granville, were entered in the official records of the adjutant-general at Raleigh, as the 13th Regiment Volunteers. The several companies were ordered to rendezvous at Garysburg, Northampton county, and the line officers thereof directed to hold an election for field officers on Wednesday, the 10th of July, 1861. At the election so held John F. Hoke, of Lincoln, at the time being Adjutant-General of the State, was elected Colonel; John W. Leak, of Richmond, Lieutenant-Colonel, and Daniel H. Christie, at that time of Granville county, but originally from Virginia, was elected major. Isaac J. Young, of Granville, was the first adjutant of the regiment. During the war the office of colonel of the regiment was succeeded to respectively by D. H. Christie, commissioned May 10, 1862; Charles C. Blacknall, August 15, 1863; William S. Davis, of Warren, a transfer from the 12th North Carolina, who was commissioned in October, 1864. That of lieutenant-colonel was succeeded to by Robert D. Johnston, of Lincoln, commissioned May, 1862, who was promoted to a brigadier generalship in July, 1863. That of major by Ed. J. Christian, of Montgomery, May, 1862, and by Charles C. Blacknall, May, 1862-more than a year before he became colonel of the regiment. The office of adjutant, subsequent to original organization, was held respectively by Vines E. Turner, of Granville, commissioned May, 1862; Junius French, of Yadkin, June, 1863; Thomas F. Powell, of Richmond, July, 1863, and by Lawrence T. Everett, of Richmond, May, 1864. The first quartermaster of the regiment was Edwin G. Cheatham, of Granville, commissioned July, 1861; succeeded by W. I. Everett, of Richmond, in the spring of 1862; by Vines E. Turner, June, 1863. The first commissary was James F. Johnston, of Lincoln. The first chaplain, Theophilus W. Moore, a Methodist, of Person, who later in the war was succeeded by Rev. Berry, a Baptist, of Lincoln. The names of Robert J. Hicks, of Granville, surgeon; Dr. Caldwell, of Mecklenburg, assist ant surgeon, and William F. Gill, of Granville, sergeant-major, complete, as far as we know accurately, the field and staff of the regiment. The companies of the regiment and their commanding chiefs were as follows: Company A-Captain William F. Marllee, Anson. men. On Wednesday, July 17, 1861, Colonel Hoke, with seven companies of the regiment, left the "Camp of Instruction" at Garysburg, N. C., for Virginia, leaving three companies, viz: “C,” “D” and "H" behind, because of the much sickness (measles) among the These seven companies reached Manassas Junction on the 21st of July, while the battle was raging, but took no part therein as they were not ordered to the field. On August 5th, the three remaining companies, under command of Major Christie, broke camp at Garysburg. After several days of delay at Richmond, Va., for want of transportation facilities, the three companies were enabled to reach their destination and join the regiment which was then in quarters at Camp Wigfall, near the late battle-field. For several weeks encamped at this place, the regiment suffered exceedingly from sickness. By the surgeon's statement the sick-call at one time numbered 240, while fifty-seven of the cases were typhoid fever. The mortality was large. From camp to camp the command was moved until it went into winter-quarters on Bull Run in December, where it remained, with only such changes in position as the exigencies of the situation in outpost and picket duty required, until the 8th day of March, 1862. Meantime the regiment had been incorporated into a brigade with the 5th N. C. "State Troops," Colonel Duncan K. McRae; the 20th Georgia, Colonel Smith; the 24th Virginia, Colonel Jubal A. Early, and the 38th Virginia, of which brigade Colonel Early being the ranking officer, he was placed in command, subsequently being commissioned as brigadier-general. In the fall and winter of 1861 numerous changes in the officers of the line of the regiment had taken place, which perhaps it is not material to note in detail. The winter was a severe one, and great was the mortality among the troops from pneumonia, typhoid fever, and other diseases. The old camps were abandoned on the 8th of March, 1862, and at daylight the regiment moved out, throwing away tents and camp equippage; sum total of first days' march, one and a half miles from starting point, progress being checked by confusion of orders. Early was now acting as major-general, in command of the fourth division. Not until sunset of the 9th did the grand column move again, reaching Manassas Junction that night. An immense amount of property was destroyed, as the army commanded by General Joseph E. Johnston was to change base to the peninsula. A very carnival, restrained to some extent by the power of military discipline, reigned that night at the junction. The soldiers got rich with plunder; depots of supplies and the express office were fired and barrels of whiskey opened at the head, poured their contents in streams upon the ground. A rough soldier was observed with six canteens of whiskey around his neck, and, as if he "wept such waste to see," actually wading in a puddle of the stuff while in a ditty, tuneless but gay, he whistled his regrets over departed spirits. Our army at Manassas, numbering less than 50,000, was confronted by a host of more than 100,000. General McClellan, styled through the favoring pride of his friends, "the Little Napoleon," fell upon the expedient of transferring his troops by the way of the Potomac and Chesapeake Bay to Yorktown, anticipating an easy victory over the small army of Magruder, and then "on to Richmond" by the Peninsular route. This move on the part of McClellan, though conducted in great secrecy, was not long hidden from the eagle eye of Johnston; hence the retreat from Manassas, and his resolve to reinforce Magruder and take command of the entire force at Yorktown. With the other commands the regiment reached Yorktown on the 8th of April, '62, a stop having been made on the south side of the Rappahannock of several weeks duration, to await the full development of McClellan's plans. At Yorktown, the trying duty of service in the trenches began. On the 17th, after nine days behind the breastworks, the boys had their first experience with cannon balls and bombshells. The picket line was situated between opposing batteries, three-fourths of a mile apart, and more than one shell exploded in uncomfortable proximity to them. When the first shot was fired directly at the position occupied by the 23d regiment, the writer was on duty in the rifle pits as sergeant in command, some 200 yards in front of our breastworks. Well is remembered the "sensation" produced by the first shell that fanned the cheeks of ye innocent braves who occupied those rifle-pits, and particularly the moving effect wrought upon a certain tongue-tied individual whose deportment now, as contrasted with previous pretensions, presented a striking consistency with the spirit of the ancient ballad: "Naught to him possesses greater charms Upon a Sunday or a holiday, Than a snug chat of war and war's alarms, for, with a precipitate bound, the tongue-tied warrior made tracks for the breastworks, exclaiming, in answer to remonstrances and threats of court-martial: "Dam 'fi come 'ere to be hulled out this way when I can't see who's a shootin' at me "—using the term hulled instead of shelled as synonomous, though he hardly thought of it at the time. At a period a little later in the service such conduct would have been most severely punished, but it is not remembered if "Dam 'fi" got more than a sharp reprimand and orders for an immediate return to his post. If he ever afterwards flinched, we were not informed of it. He was killed at Gettysburg. The term of service at Yorktown was not at all irksome, nor was it unmarked by occasional diversion from the tread-mill routine of duty. About the quaint old town were many points of interest that awakened patriotic contemplation. Soldiers would, as relaxation from duty permitted, repair to the spot, marked by a marble slab and a half mile from the town, where Cornwallis gave up his sword to Washington; and, standing on the consecrated ground, they would breathe the prayer that here may America's second revolution, as did the first, have an ending. But, alas! even then, as if in derision of prophecy and hope, there hung upon the horizon a cloud-not yet comparatively bigger than a man's hand, but which was destined to increase in proportions and intensity, and ere long to burst and scatter destruction and death over all the land. On the night of the 3d of May Yorktown was evacuated. Twelve miles out in the suburbs of the ancient town of Williamsburg the battle of the 5th of May occurred, rendered necessary by the too eager pursuit of the enemy. From a point on the road several miles beyond the town towards Richmond, Early's Brigade-now com |