274 Chronicles of the Cape Fear River

Histories, shows that its whole career was “special service,” and
the instances of signal bravery, daring, and endurance related
were so constant that they were looked upon as all in the day’s
work, and'no special notice was taken of them.

This regiment, which went to Virginia in 1861 with 1,500
men, took part in every battle, in the thickest of the fray, from
Mechanicsville to Appomattox. Very much reduced by forced
marches and hard fighting, with no chance for recruiting, only
300 men went into the Battle of Gettysburg, and when the
regiment was mustered after the battle, 77 muskets were all
that responded in the ranks and “they lost no prisoners, and
had no stragglers.”

The compilers of the history of the Third Regiment say mod-
estly that they “were not in a position, nor of sufficiently high
grade, to write anything beyond the range of their own vision,
but that the history of one regiment of North Carolina troops is
the history of another, save in the details which marked their
achievements.”

An incident told in Captain Denson’s Memorial Address on
General Whiting, delivered in Raleigh on Memorial Day, 1895,
is interesting. It was written to Captain Denson by Sergeant
Glennan:

“During the bombardment of Fort Fisher, there was at head-
quarters a detail of couriers, consisting of youths fifteen to

eighteen years of age—the bravest boys I have ever seen; their
courage was magnificent. They were on the go all the time,

carrying orders and messages to every part of the fort. Among
them was a boy named Murphy, a delicate stripling. He was
from Duplin County, the son of Mr. Patrick Murphy. He had
been called upon a number of times to carry orders, and had
just returned from one of his trips to Battery Buchanan. The
bombardment had been terrific, and he seemed exhausted and
agitated. After reporting, he said to me with tears in his eyes,
‘I have no fear physically, but my morale is lacking.’ And
then he was called to carry another order. He slightly wavered
and General Whiting saw his emotion. ‘Come on, my boy,’ he
said, ‘don’t fear, | will go with you,’ and he went off with the
courier and accompanied him to and from the point where he
had to deliver the order. It was to one of the most dangerous
positions and over almost unprotected ground.

“The boy and the general returned safely. There was no
agitation after that, and that evening he shouldered his gun

The War Between the States 275

when every man was ordered on duty to protect the fort from a
charge of General Terry’s men. The boy met death soon after

and rests in an unmarked grave, but his memory will ever be
treasured.”

THE MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION.

The band of faithful women who had worked under Mrs. A. J.
DeRosset as the Soldiers’ Aid Society organized in July, 1866,
a permanent Memorial Association, with the purpose of rescuing
from oblivion the names and graves of the gallant Confederates —
who lie buried near Wilmington. Mrs. Julia A. Oakley was
made president. The first memorial observance was on July 21,
1866. Many citizens and a number of old Confederate soldiers
were present, and the ladies went from grave to grave in Oak-
dale, bringing their floral tributes to the dead. A beautiful and
touching address was delivered by Maj. Joseph A. Engelhard,
and prayer was offered by Rev. George Patterson, who had been
chaplain of the Third Regiment.

The Memorial Association afterwards obtained a charter from
the Legislature through Col. William L. Saunders in order that
they might hold the deed for a “Confederate lot,” which was
given them by the directors of the Oakdale Cemetery Company.

Five hundred and fifty bodies of Confederate soldiers, buried
at various points where they fell in the vicinity of Wilmington,
were brought and reinterred in this lot. Only a few of the
names were known.

In 1870, Memorial Day was observed for the first time on the
10th of May, the anniversary of Stonewall Jackson’s death,
which was afterwards made a legal holiday.

In 1872, the beautiful memorial statue to the Confederate
heroes was unveiled. Self-denial, work, prayers, tears and
heart’s blood went into the building of that monument.

In 1899, a neat stone was placed, marking the grave of Mrs.
Greenhow, who lost her life in the service of the Confederate
States. This same year mention was made for the first time of
the fact that the bronze statue of a soldier on the monument was
cast from cannon captured during the war.

In 1875, the Memorial Association, having been greatly weak-
ened by death and the age of its members, decided to merge
into the Daughters of the Confederacy, an organization then
newly formed, in which they could still carry on their sacred