512 Norra Carotina Troops, 1861-’65.

Va., he rode all night with Captain Morrill, our regimental
Commissary, hunting for something for his men to eat and
the next morning we had good rations, while the other regi-
ments had but little. There are several other incidents of
this kind that I could mention, but it is not necessary. Suf-
fice it to say that his kind and considerate care of his men
caused him to be loved by all of them and they were always
ready to follow him. He never pushed his command for-
ward. He always. led 1.

Though not a North Carolinian, yet he was proud of the
Old North State and her troops. I have often heard him
speak of it.

I have stated above that his staff were not North Caroli-
nians. Yet they were all true believers in the Old North
State.

Even our Quartermaster, Major Braxton—one of the most
quiet and sedate gentlemen that I ever knew—could not con-
tain himself when, in 1864, he heard a young officer speak
disparagingly of the North Carolina troops; but sprang from
his chair, with the remark, “You don’t know what you are
talking about! North Carolina has more troops in Lee’s
army than any other State, and they are the best troops that
Lee has.”

General Cooke was a Missourian by birth, but his nearly
four years of service in command of North Carolina troops,
whose dangers and hardships he shared entitles him to be
recorded as a North Carolina General. There was also a
Cook’s Georgia Brigade, commanded by General Philip
Cook. This is sometimes confounded with Cooke’s North
Carolina Brigade.

James A. GRAHAM.

Wasurneron, D. C.,
9 April, 1901.