332 NortH Caro.ina Troops, 1861-’65.

State. She made many successful and valuable trips for Con-
federate and North Carolina soldiers, but was finally cap-
tured. A well equipped Whitworth gun of tremendous range
and great accuracy of shot, patrolled the beach from Campbell
to Lockwood’s Folly, some twenty miles below, and was a ter-
ror to the gun boats if they ventured too near. Its sudden
appearance from behind a sand hill would instantly make
them show their heels. This gun was operated with as much
promptness and speed as our modern city fire engines.

BLOCKADE RUNNING.

One of these blockade runners, the steamship Spunkie, in
coming in, got among the gunboats and her officers got so rat-
tled that they ran her ashore right under fort Campbell, after
the danger had all been passed. The Captain and every man
deserted the ship and came ashore. Instantly Lieutenants
Dickinson, Goelet, Terrell and Powell took a boat and boarded
her through the rough waves several feet high, green as we
were, but young and vigorous with a desire for excitement and
adventure and without orders or any particular object in
view. We found everything good to eat and drink—rum,
brandy, champagne, canned goods, cheese, “shore ’nuff cof-
fee,” tropical fruits, cigars and many more good things. We
had a royal time for three hours, then Colonel Jones, com-
mander of the post, had his say next. But we cared little.
The vessel soon went to pieces and the cargo was greatly dam-
aged. Many wrecks were long after to be seen on the coast
from the same cause.

While at Fort Campbell a detail of five men, with a row
boat was sent out to supply the post with oysters that
abounded in the sound near by. This crew deserted and
rowed out to the gun boats and the next night a squad of Yan-
kees came through the channel in a row boat and went to
Smithville (now Southport), two miles in rear of Fort Cas-
well, evidently piloted by one of the deserters, to the General’s
headquarters and quietly took the Adjutant-General out of

bed to the gun boats. A flag of truce next day explained all.
The General happened to be off.

 

 

TENTH BaTraLion. 350

A NICE FIRE-DOG.

This boat crew used a 42-pound shell for an anchor while
gathering oysters, and left it at their boat landing. Think-
ing it would make a nice fire-dog (it being apparently empty)
I put it in my fireplace and in about six hours she went to
pieces. It knocked the chimney down, turned a six-foot table
legs upwards, opened what windows were shut and closed
those already open, see-sawed the doors until they would
neither open or shut, knocked brick dust into Reuben Stu-
art’s, my Orderly’s hand, and turned me heels upward flat of
my back in the sand in a dazed condition. The long roll was
sounded, the parapets were instantly manned and when called
upon to explain, I felt like the boy that fell out of the hind
part of the cart. That thing had the right name.

IN GEORGIA,

In November, 1864, news reached that region that some-
thing had “broke loose in Georgia.” We bid those old Bar-
bette carriages and Columbiads, so grimly pointing at those
old black hulks on the ocean, good-bye. Same at dear old
Wilmington. We did not have a band, but the boys sang as
they boarded the train “The Girl I Left Behind Me,” and
in due time we landed at Augusta, Ga., and at once com-
menced entrenching on the western suburbs, but were soon or-
dered to Savannah as Sherman and his bummers were steer-
ing, stealing and burning on a line for that city. We went
via Charleston, S. C., and somewhere between there and Sa-
vannah, either at Coosawhatchie, Salkehatchie, Pocotaligo,
Honey Hill (or some other hill), we were taken off the train
and in about twenty minutes beat the stuffing out of a small
force of Yankees (negroes, I think), that had landed and were
approaching the railroad. They re-embarked and were soon in
the dim distance. Our casualties were slight and theirs un-
known. They were surprised and awfully frightened. This
being our first cartridge biting, I saw a few “Goo-Goo” eyes

our boys.
Oe bal ieaval at Savannah we were sent up the Central
Railroad to the 45-mile post, and there deployed as skirmish-
ers across the railroad and the county road leading to the