554 NortH Carotina Troops, 1861-’65.

by a small matter full of meaning, as the line of the Sixty-
third marched to the front, in almost perfect alignment and
order, with Colonel Evans in the centre and lead he struck the
middle of the edge of a long lake of water about one-third of
the regiment’s length in width and about three feet deep.
Colonel Evans marched right through the lake straight to the
front and every man on that part of the line did the same.
Older soldiers, with more experience, not in the immediate
face of the enemy, would have opened ranks and gone around
that water on that cold December day. But the Sixty-third

was on dress parade in its first great fight and it kept “tight
dress.”

COMPANIES C, I, AND G.

After the affair at White Hall, Companies C and I went on
detached duty, of which Captain Rankin wrote in the Frank-
lin Press as follows:

“Our horses were soon after ordered around to Goldsboro,
and the regiment was divided up into detachments for picket
duty, hence I can speak only of my squadron. At first it con-
sisted of Companies C and I, Captain Shaw commanding.
Shaw’s company was soon relieved by Company G, Captain
McLenahan. The squadron was thereafter commanded by
the writer until it rejoined the regiment in the spring.

“With headquarters at Wise’s Fork, we did picket duty on
all the roads leading into the city of New Bern. Some skir-
mishing occurred on the picket lines, and two or three times
the enemy made demonstrations in force, and was met by a
counter move by our infantry encamped around Kinston.
At such times the squadron had hard times. Of course the
enemy showed us no favor, and our own footmen did not ap-
preciate very greatly a man on horseback, as was shown when
one of my Lieutenants, who had a spat with the enemy on the
picket line reported the fact to General D. H. Hill, the
general carelessly asked if any one got hurt, and expressed a
desire to see a ‘dead man with spurs on.’ In the spring of
1863 orders were received for the squadron to rejoin the reg-
iment at Richmond, Va. This was accomplished by march-

Stxty-THirp REGIMENT. 555

ing from Kinston through the country to the latter point, the
squadron being several days behind the regiment.

“There we drew fresh clothing, saddles, bridles and other
equipments, preparatory to going to the front. Passing
through Richmond to Culpepper Court House, we arrived in
time to join in the grand review of all the cavalry by General
Lee, just before the noted cavalry fight at Brandy Station.”

COMPLIMENT FROM THE ENEMY.

In their operations in Eastern Carolina the Sixty-third
occasionally met the Fifty-eighth Pennsylvania Infantry and
their commander, Colonel J. Richter Jones, 8 March, 1863,
on page 161, Vol. 26, says of this regiment: “They are a
different class of troops from those we have hitherto met, con-
testing successively every strong position and giving way
only to very superior numbers.”

LIEUTENANT W. J. WILEY, COMPANY F.

On page 197, Vol. 26, General Robertson reports: “With
a view to carrying out the instruction of the Major-General
commanding, D. H. Hill, I detached a party under Lieuten-
ant W. J. Wiley, Company F, Sixty-third Regiment, with
directions to move rapidly and cut the railroad between Shep-
pardsville and New Bern. * * * Some time before day
Lieutenant Wiley’s party returned and reported they had torn
up the railroad track at a point three miles above Sheppards-
ville. From the proximity of the enemy’s forces they were
compelled to wait till after night to commence operations. I

, was highly gratified with the promptness and efficiency dis-

played by Lieutenant Wiley and party.” This was done 13
March, 1863. The party with Wiley consisted of Denson A.
Caldwell, R. Baxter Caldwell, two as good soldiers as ever
rode in the ranks, and others. And even General D. H. Hill,
with his well known dislike to cavalry, says this: “Robertson
sent me out a Lieutenant who partly cut the railroad.” Vol.
26, p. 189. His feeling about cavalry was amusing. Writing
to Secretary of War Seddon, 5 May, 1863, General Hill says:
“In the whole brigade of cavalry there has been but one man
killed in the war. I propose to have a magnificent monument