426 Nortu Carorina Troops, 1861-’65. Captain R. T. Barden’s Company, from Wayne County, and Captain W. P. Ward’s Company, from Jones County. On 22 June the regiment organized by electing Captain G. B. Singletary, Company F, Colonel; Captain Pride Jones, Lieu- tenant-Colonel; Captain Strong, Company H, Major. Im- mediately after this organization, Companies D, E and H, and Captain Drysdale’s company, volunteered for the war— the regiment being only twelve months volunteers—and were assigned to some of the regiments of State Troops,.the Third and Fourth, I think. This left a battalion of only six companies, of which Col- onel G. B. Singletary was elected Lieutenant-Colonel. Soon afterwards, the “Perquimans Beauregards,” Captain Wm. Nixon, was added to it, and some time in September, 1861, the Orange Guards, Guilford Greys and Goldsboro Rifles were again assigned to this regiment, which was then called the Seventeenth North Carolina Volunteers, and was consti- tuted as follows: Company A—Goldsboro Rifles—Captain, M. D. Craton. Company B—Guilford Greys—Captain, John Sloan. Company C—WNorth Carolina Guards—Captain, G. F. Whitfield. Company D—Tuckahoe Braves—Captain, W. F. Wooten. oc E—Marlboro Guards—Captain, Wm. H. Mor- rill. Company F—Perquimans Beauregards—Captain, Wm. Nixon. Company G—Orange Guards—Captain, Joseph C. Webb. Company H—Pitt Volunteers—Captain, R. W. Single tary. Company I—Captain, W. P. Ward, from Jones County. Company K—Captain, B. T. Barden, from Wayne County. At the organization of this regiment in September, 1861, Lieutenant-Colonel G. B. Singletary was elected Colonel; Captain John Sloan, Lieutenant-Colonel, and Lieutenant Thomas C. Singletary, of Company E, Major. Seven com- panies of the regiment were then camped at New Bern, and Twenty-SreventH REGIMENT. 427 the other three—Companies A, B and G—were on detached service at Fort Macon, where they remained until 28 Feb- rnary, 1862. Colonel G. B. Singletary having resigned, an election was ordered in December, 1861, when Lieutenant- Colonel John Sloan was elected Colonel; Major T. C. Sin- gletary, Lieutenant-Colonel, and Adjutant John A. Gilmer, Jr., Major. February 28, 1862, the three companies from Fort Macon joined the remainder of the regiment, then camped at Fort Lane on the Neuse river, below New Bern. The regiment remained in camp at this place till 14 March, 1862, when it took part in the battle of New Bern, occupying the extreme left of the line, with its left resting on Neuse river. As the fighting was principally upon the right and right-centre we were not much engaged, having only some skirmishing and sharpshooting. I deem it due to the regi- ment, however, to state that twenty-seven of the men who worked Latham’s battery, which was in the middle of the fight and gained great credit, were from this regiment, having ‘heen detailed for that service by order of Brigadier-General L. O’B. Branch, then commanding at New Bern. These men were detailed by me, as Adjntant of the regiment, by order of General Branch, and were from Companies D, C, E, F and H. A certain number of men in each company had been ordered to be drilled in light artillery, and Lieutenant Brown, of the artillery, was attached to the regiment for that pur- pose. Tow well these detailed artillerists did their duty is evidenced by the fact that about two-thirds of them were either killed or wounded. Upon the retreat, we were or- dered to fall back to the railroad depot in New Bern. There we reformed, and, after the last train had left, and when the enemy were landing in the Fair Grounds from their gun- boats, we continued our retreat up the railroad, being the last regiment to leave New Bern, so far as I saw, and reached Kinston late at night. Here we remained in camp until 31 May, 1862. Lientenant-Colonel Thos. C. Singletary having resigned, Oaptain R. W. Singletary, of Company H, was elected Lieutenant-Colonel. At the reorganization of the regiment, 16 April, 1862, Major John R. Cooke, Chief of Artillery on General Holmes’