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210 Norra Carotina Troops, 1861-’65.

onel Hector McKethan, Lieutenant-Colonel C. B. Hobson,

and Major J. R. McDonald.”
The following incident is vouched for by Lieutenant J. A.

“McArthur, of Company I, Fifty-first North Carolina, now
‘a resident of Cumberland county: The day of the assault
Lieutenant McArthur was the officer of the day, and as such,
Jhad a guard of sixty-five men detailed from the different
eommands on the Island. In the third and last assault when
the enemy secured a lodgment near the bomb-proof, he was
ordered by General Taliaferro, in command of the post, to go
with his guard to the relief of that part of the line. As Lieu-
tenant McArthur, led by one of the men with a torch ascended
the bomb-proof, the enemy began to fire upon them, and the
fire was promptly returned as they advanced, but as they
neared the enemy an Irishman from one of the Charleston
companies in McArthur’s detail, appealed to him to have the
firing cease, as he had recognized the voice of his brother in
the ranks of the enemy, which turned out to be true, for when
they surrendered a few minutes afterwards the brother was
found to be among the prisoners. Next morning the prison-
ers were formed to be sent to Charleston, when our Irishman
appeared the second time begging that his brother should
not be sent to prison, and when told that it could not be
helped, as he had been captured with the others, he then
proposed that his brother be permitted to enter the ranks by
his side, and in this way the prisoner was transformed to a
‘Confederate soldier.

The enemy now concluded that the only way to capture
Wagner was by slow siege, we doing our share of the garrison-
ing while this was going on. On 24 November we returned
to North Carolina, going to Tarboro by rail, and marching
to Williamston, were assigned to duty at Foster’s Mill, in
Martin county. On 13 December we returned to Tarboro,
where we remained till 5 January, 1864, going thence to Pe
tersburg, Va., and occupied Camp Hill near that place. Later
in January, 1864, we returned to North Carolina, marching
on New Bern and engaging in a sharp skirmish at Bachelor’s
Creek, driving the enemy from their position and pushing
them into New Bern. We then returned to Petersburg, V2-

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