206 Norra Carorina Troops, 1861-’65.

doing picket duty, and on various scouting expeditions to

points near New Bern. ee
About 1 December we returned to Wilmington, but soon

afterwards were ordered to Goldsboro, and were under fire
for the first time near that place (Neuse River Bridge), as
we engaged the enemy on 17 December, the regiment taking
an active part. Our men behaved with conspicuous gal-
lantry and forced the enemy to retire before them. The regi-
ment suffered a loss of about fifty in killed and wounded in
this engagement, Lieutenant Solomon Boykin, of Company
K, being among the killed. After this engagement we re-
turned to Wilmington for winter quarters.

Colonel Allen resigned and the following changes were
made in our officers: Hector McKethan, Colonel ; Captain
Caleb B. Hobson, of Company B, Lieutenant-Colonel ; Cap-
tain J. R. McDonald, of Company D, Major; Chaplain,
Colin Shaw, vice J. B. Alford, resigned.

About 18 February, 1863, we were ordered to Charleston,
S. C., and thence to Savannah, Ga., spending only a few
days at the latter point when we were again ordered to
Charleston and camped on James Island. At this place we
suffered greatly from sickness and scanty and unwholesome
rations. On 1 May we returned to Wilmington, gong into
camp at Topsail Sound. A few days later Companies B, D,
E and H were detached and sent to Magnolia under the com-
mand of Major McDonald.

On 1 July, a raiding party of the enemy from New Bern
tapped the Wilmington & Weldon Railroad at Warsaw and
this detail hurried to that point, causing a hasty retreat of
the enemy in the direction of New Bern, and capturing some
of their stragglers.

BATTERY, WAGNER.

About this time the enemy began active operations against
Charleston, S. C., and on 10 July Clingman’s Brigade was
ordered to that point, and on the 12th the Fifty-first Regi-
ment was sent to Morris’ Island as a garrison for Battery
Wagner, where we were almost continuously exposed to the
sharpshooting and cannonading of the enemy until the 18th,

Firty-First REGIMENT. 207

suffering almost beyond endurance from heat and great scar-
city of water and rations, to say nothing of the inferior qual-
ity of the same, and \from the terrible shelling which was
only equaled during the war at Fort Fisher, the average being
twenty-eight shells per minute by actual count from sunrise
to 7 p.m. Battery Wagner was a field work of sand, turf,
and palmetto logs, built across Morris’ Island, extending
from the beach on the east to Vincent Creek on the west,
about 200 yards. From north to south it varied from 20 to
75 yards. On the space to the west were built wooden quar-
ters for officers and men, and bomb-proofs capable of holding
from 800 to 1,000 men. There were also bomb-proof maga-
zines and heavy traverses.

On 18 July, the armament consisted of one 10-inch Colum-
biad, one 32-pound rifle, one 42-pounder, two 32-pound Car-
ronades, two Naval Shell guns, one 8-inch sea-coast Howitzer,
four smooth-bore 32-pounders, one 10-inch sea-coast Mortar,
making in all thirteen pieces. Of these only one was of much
effect against the monitors, and the Federal land batteries
were beyond the reach of the other guns, so that we had little
to do but submit to the hail of iron sent upon us by the supe-
rior and longer range guns of the enemy from sunrise until
sunset.

The garrison at this time consisted of part of the Thirty-
first North Carolina, Lieutenant-Colonel Knight command-
ing, which had been sent over on 17 July; the Fifty-first
North Carolina, Colonel Hector McKethan; a Charleston
battalion, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Gail-
lard, with Tatum’s and Adams’ companies of the First South
Carolina Regulars, acting as artillery; Buckner’s and Dix-
on’s companies of the Sixty-third Georgia Heavy Artillery,
and DePass’ Battery, in all about 1,700 men.

The Charleston Battalion and the Fifty-first North Caro-
lina Regiment were assigned to the defense of the parapets in
the order named, from the right along the south front. The
four companies of the Thirty-first North Carolina Regiment
extended along the sea face from the Fifty-first; the balance
of the Thirty-first was held in reserve at Fort Gregg. Two
companies of the Charleston Battalion were outside of the