Abstract:
Part five of Gerard's eight-part series on the Civil War is about William Henry Asbury Speer of Yadkin represents the conflicted Confederate soldier; hesitant to fight but determined to defend his state. He was appointed captain of Company I, 28th Regiment of North Carolina Troops. During the course of the war he would be captured and transported to several northern prisoner of war camps, returned to service, and placed in charge of troops in almost every major engagement. He perished at the Battle of Reams' Station near Petersburg, Virginia in 1864.