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286 Chronicles of the Cape Fear Rwer

line pushed steadily forward. The distinguished physician, or
general, or jurist, as well as the humble private, got his passing
notice in the meagre letters which a chance correspondent sent
to one of the few newspapers, and in a short time he was for-
gotten in the fresh calamity of the day.”

The following may be added to Dr. Wood’s interesting ac-
count:

In August, 1862, the military occupation, the laxity of mu-
nicipal control, the constant movement of troops, the utter neg-
lect of sanitary precautions, the non-enforcement of quarantine
regulations, practically invited the introduction of yellow fever
from Nassau by the daily arrival of blockade runners with
frequent cases of infection.

The first victim was a German wood-and-coal dealer named
Swartzman, whose place of business was on the wharf quite
near the landing place of the blockade runner Kate, which
brought the infection. My father was informed promptly of
this by our physician, Dr. James H. Dickson, who advised him
to remove his family at once to the country. As my father had
seen much of this terrible scourge in the West Indies and in
South America, he recognized the gravity of the situation, and
sent us all to Duplin County, where he had relatives. Before
we left, a ludicrous incident occurred which has stuck in my
memory. One of my brothers having kept to his room from
indisposition, was at once the object of much solicitude. My
father, being a bit of a medico, directed the boy to put out his
tongue, which he did with evident reluctance, to the horror of
my father, who declared he had symptoms of yellow fever. A
shame-faced confession that the patient had been secretly chew-
ing tobacco, which had caused his sickness, relieved the situation
and calmed our fears. The year 1862 is still remembered by
our older people as a period of terror and dismay. The date
of frost was delayed nearly a whole month that fall and nothing
but frost would stay the fearful pestilence.

Among the devoted band of Christians who remained at their
post of duty and yielded up their lives while rendering succor
to those who could not leave, were Rev. R. B. Drane, rector of
St. James’s parish, aged 62 years; James 8S. Green, treasurer of
the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, aged 63 years; Dr. James
H. Dickson, an accomplished physician and man of letters, aged
59 years; John W. K. Dix, a prominent merchant, aged 30
years; Isaac Northrop, a large mill owner, aged 67 years;

The War Between the States 287

James T. Miller, a prominent citizen and the collector of the
port, aged 47 years; Rev. John L. Pritchard, a Baptist minister,
who fell at his post, never faltering, aged 51 years. Thomas
Clarkson Worth, an eminent merchant, after laboring among
the sick and destitute, yielded his life to the plague November
1, 1862; Cyrus Stowe Van Amringe, one of nature’s noblemen,
who refused to leave and remained to help the sick, died at his
post, aged 26 years. Rev. Father Murphy, a Roman Catholic
priest, a hero among heroes, worked night and day until nearly
the last victim had died, and then fell on sleep. Rev. A. Paul
Repiton was the only minister remaining in the city who sur-
vived. He worked unceasingly for the sick and buried the

dead. His name is blessed in the annals of Wilmington. Hun-
dreds of others bravely met the issue and remained to nurse the
sick during the horror, and few survived. Of about 3,000 in-
habitants who remained in the city, about 446 died within three
months.

In a sketch of Wilmington in 1867, the late Joshua T. James
wrote of the epidemic as follows:

“In August, 1821, the yellow fever appeared here, introduced
by means of the brig John London from Havana. It raged
with great violence for about six weeks and a large proportion
of the citizens of the little town, then numbering only about
2,500 inhabitants, was swept away by it. In the autumn of
1862 its ravages were terrible. It began August 6 and ended
November 17, 446 persons having died of the plague within
that time. In this instance, as in the former, it was imported
from the Indies, and on this occasion by the steamship Kate, a
blockade runner, trading between this port and Nassau. For
Over ten weeks it raged with terrible violence, and at a period,
too, when it was most difficult to combat its effects. Medicines
and provisions were both scarce and high in price, and the little
luxuries needed for the convalescent were most difficult to obtain.
Those of the frightened inhabitants that were able to do so fled
the town; all business was abandoned, and the closed stores and
Silent streets gave the place the appearance of a deserted city.
It was then, in that time of distress and suffering, that a few
of the noble spirits of Wilmington arose equal to the emergency.
Regardless of self, many of our oldest and most valued citizens
remained behind to minister to the wants of those who were
unable to leave. Distributing food to the poor, medicine and
attendance to the sick, consolation to the dying, and holy burial