Tae car aera ananaaraliandati

 

484 Norra Carorina TROOPS, 1861-65.

came from the counties of Alleghany, Beaufort, Chatham,
Craven, Greene, New Hanover and Sampson.

FIRST MILITARY SERVICE.

ormed its first service as a brigade in
lov =

ring the months of October and Nov we"

i N. CG. From there it was ordere

The brigade perf
doing picket duty du
ber, 1862, below Kinston,
to Wilmington, N. C.

in honor of the comman¢ Be? wee
December it was ordered to Goldsboro, N. C., to oppose

an active rt S$ g t : e 3 t r Fe to apture
f=
ct ; pa in repuls ing he enemy 8 a te mp c

f 3 7 . *,?
at Judge Thos. O. Fuller, m writing of the part

1 ‘i in this fight, says:
<en by Clingman’s Brigade in g
eel aie in December, 1862, attempted to cpa |
Goldsboro, I commanded a section of sear s renee! La
ith Cli 2s Brigade. There could not be a -
ted with Clingman’s Brig aa’ a
friar in the hour of fiercest battle than was Clingman 0

that occasion.

‘He rode up and

, and stationed at Camp Whiting, —
anding General of the department. in

down the line on horseback, apinene
without fear, giving bis commends’ paral and Unga
i ? The brigade rept
= ee Foster’s attacking columns, and the latter's
army retreated to New Bern.
SERVICE AT CHARLESTON, 8. C.
ade was transferred to Charles-

i time
ton and pitched its tents on James Island. During = ep:
of its encampment on James Island, there he ape oe

an the malaria emanating
ness, and many deaths from “ae eat ag
f the locality. In May
swamps and marshes 0 " sang
I i leasant surroundings
brief respite from these unp ee
i ilmington. In the large oak
turn of the brigade to Wi oe
i t twelve miles from the city,
ear old Topsail Sound, abou :
cau found an ideal location for a camp, and to tone
name distinguished in the annals of the Cape Fear sec

”?

5 ‘station w Ted “Camp Ashe.
he State, the station was ca } ; :
‘But this respite was of short duration, and in July th

In February, 1863, the brig

i APR CARRERA eT NB Ra RE

ee e 5 mike

an cal

Sic hea eg AE ARTISAN I

Criineman’s Brigape. 485

brigade was ordered back to Charleston to take part in the de-
fense of that important seaport. The enemy had gained a
footing on Morris Island, and was preparing to attack Bat-
tery Wagner, the strong earthwork the Confederates had
erected to defend the entrance to the harbor of Charleston.

On the night of 18 July, 1863, the enemy made a bold as-
sault on the work and were signally repulsed with great loss
to the attacking forces, principally among the negro troops
who were put in the advance. The enemy now settled down
to a regular siege of the place, which lasted fifty-eight days.
The approaches were in parallels, each parallel bringing the
besiegers nearer to the battery. Five parallels were thus con-
structed, the last one approached within about one hundred
yards of the Confederate works. On the night of 6 Septem-
ber, 1863, the Confederate troops quietly and undisturbed,
evacuated the fort and retired to Sullivan’s Island.

The services of the brigade in this defense of Battery Wag-
ner were of the most trying and dangerous character. Says
a member of the brigade, Historian Ludwig, of the Eighth
Regiment: “The men were at all times exposed to the en-
emy’s fire, both from the land and from the sea. An attack
had to be prepared for at any instant, either night or day.

“It was no place for rest. The men had to keep under
cover of the battery or in pits near by dug in the sand hills
along the beach. There was no place for cooking. All the
rations had to be prepared elsewhere and carried there. The
water too, was bad. Under such circumstances, it was nec-
essary to relieve the men and officers about once every seven
or eight days.” It must not be supposed the enemy were left
undisturbed while they were making things so uncomforta-
ble for the Confederates. It was no easy task the Federal
troops were ealled upon to perform. Hundreds and thou-
sands succumbed to the climate and the fire of their oppo-
nents. There was organized in Clingman’s Brigade a corps
of sharpshooters armed with the Whitworth (globe sighted)
rifle, the first ever used in our army and imported from Eng-
land. The service of this Corps was so effective under Lieu-
tenant Dugger, of Company F, of the Eighth Regiment, and

the other officers commanding this corps, that the enemy were