662 NortH Carotina Troops, 1861-’65.

Major W. N. Garrett, promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel later
on, was also a good soldier and of good family, which for
many years had lived near Hot Springs. His father was bru-
tally murdered, shot down on his own door step in the very
arms of wife and daughters. :

This was only three or four miles from Paint Rock, at the
Tennessee State line, along the borders of which up and down
for near two hundred miles were constantly ranging bands
of outlaws, murdering such men as Colonel Walker, of the
Eightieth North Carolina Regiment; Wm. Walker, Cherokee
County; Sheriff Noland, of Haywood County; Colonel Ed-
ney, of ——————— Regiment, Henderson County; Privates
Rice Hyatt, —. —. Hopkins, of the Sixty-ninth Regiment;
and Woody and Askew, of Madison County, and many others.

Of the company officers, such men as Captain Melvin E.
Carter, Jones, Peek, Candler and others were peers of the
best men of the State.

The regiment was never attached to any body larger than a
brigade, except on one or two occasions; but was all the time
kept on scouting service, sometimes in one section of the
country, then in another. In East Tennessee about 1 Feb-
ruary, 1863, the regiment was attached to Colonel Palmer’s
Brigade and was at Big Creek Gap till about 1 April, when
it went to Clinton and thence it was soon ordered to move and
for one month was kept on a continuous march and went
within four miles of Monticello, Ky. This part of Ken-
tucky was a hot-bed of unionists and little was accomplished
by these hard marches.

While in camp on Wolf river, or creek, a detail was made
of 300 men to make a raid on what was known as Poplar Cove
where it was said was a regiment of bushwhackers. The de-
tail was started out and marched all night. At a late hour in
the night a special detail was made to go across the field
to a house, the rest waiting ‘their return. Arriving at the
house they found a man in cavalry equipage and the woman
of the house cooking rations for quite a company. Some of
the men secured pine torches, but making no further discov-
eries, started back. When within about one hundred yards
of the camp they were fired into by a company of bushwhack-

Srxty-FourtH REGIMENT. 663

ers who had taken in the situation, and taken position on the
path they would return. Immediately our men extinguished
their lights and made good their eseape through the darkness,
only one man being wounded, and that slightly.

The regiment returned to Clinton about 1 May and from
that time until August was kept constantly on the march.
They were ordered to Murfreesboro, but arriving at Chatta-
nooga were ordered back to Knoxville,

CUMBERLAND GAP.

Twice again were they sent to Chattanooga. On 3 August
1863, the regiment then commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel
Garrett, was surrendered with the other troops by General
J. W. Frazer, who commanded that post, and remained pris-
oners during the rest of the war. The Sixty-fourth was at
that time much reduced in numbers. The officers were sent
to Johnson’s Island and the privates to Camp Douglass on 26
December, 1863. The number of non-commissioned officers
and privates belonging to the Sixty-fourth Regiment in
prison at Camp Douglas were 288, 119 Official Records
Umon and Confederate Armies, p. 797. So, while the Sixty-
fourth North Carolina Regiment can not boast of battles
fought, or deeds of daring, yet its career was one of hardship
and endurance, always ready to act promptly at every com-
mand, A number of good men were lost, killed by bush-
whackers and concealed enemies.

There were, however, several officers and some privates who
would not surrender and made good their escape at Cumber-
land Gap with Major B. G: McDowell, of the Sixty-second
North Carolina, through the mountains and again went into
active service. The total surrendered so shamefully by Gen-
eral Frazer at Cumberland Gap was 2,026 prisoners, 12
pieces of artillery, and great stores of provisions and ammuni-
tion and quartermaster supplies.

In the fall of 1863 General R. B. Vance was sent to Ashe-
ville to take command of the forces on duty in Western North
Carolina and in response to a general order from General
Vance the men of the different companies of the regi-
ment were brought together and again went into camp, but