.
24 Norra Caroiina TRoopS, 1861-65.

garded delays as dangerous, and anticipated with forebodings
the occupation of the forts by the Union forces. we ae

Early in January, 1861, alarmed by the con ssi ss .
fairs in Charleston harbor, they determined to =“ = vee
delay. A meeting of the citizens of Wilmington was :
the court house, at which Robert G. Rankin, Ksq., ae ;
who afterwards gave his life for the cause on the = e ;
of Bentonville. A Committee of Safety was forme » an .
call made for volunteers to be enrolled for = service un
der the name of “Cape Fear Minute Men. The se coasted
tion was speedily effected, John J. Hedrick being chosen com
acuee January Major Hedrick and his men embarked on
a small schooner with provisions for one week, the ern
tee of Safety guaranteeing continued support and supp =
each man carrying such private weapons as he ciate
Arriving at Smithville (now Southport) at 3 p. m., rags
possession of the United States barracks known as Fort ohn-
son, and such stores as were there in charge of United onto
Ordnance Sergeant James Reilly, later Captain of Reilly’s
Battery. The same afternoon Major Hedrick took twenty
men of his command, reinforced by Captain S. D. Thruston,
commander of the “Smithville Guards,” and a number of his
men and citizens of Smithville, but all acting as individuals
only, and proceeded to Fort Caswell, three miles across the
bay, where they demanded, and obtained, surrender of the
fort from the United States Sergeant in charge.

Major Hedrick assumed command and prepared to make
his position as secure as was possible. About twenty-five
strong, armed only with’shotguns, but sure of ample rein-
forcements should occasion arise, these brave men determined
to hold Fort Caswell at all hazards. In bitter cold weather
they stood guard on the ramparts and patroled the beaches,
reckoning not that, unsustained even by State authority, their
action was treasonable rebellion jeopardizing their lives and
property. There were only two 24-pounder guns mounted,

. one on the sea face and one on the inner face, both carriages
being too decayed to withstand their own recoil, but, such as
they were, with them they determined to defy the army and

|
A Capture BEerorE THE Wan. 25

navy of the United States. The smoke of an approaching
steamer being once descried below the horizon the alarm
was signaled, and, believing it to be a man-of-war, the brave
men of Smithville flew to arms, and soon the bay was alive
with boats hurrying them to the aid of their comrades within
the fort. Women, as in the old days, armed sons and fath-
ers, and urged them to the front. But the steamer proved to
be a friendly one.

Upon receipt of unofficial information of this movement,
Governor John W. Ellis, as Captain-General and Command-
er-in-Chief of the North Carolina Militia, 11 J anuary, 1861,
addressed a letter to Colonel John L. Cantwell, commanding
the Thirtieth Regiment North Carolina Militia, at Wil-
mington, in which, after stating his belief that the men were
“actuated by patriotic motives,” he continued:

“Yet, in view of the relations existing between the Gen-
eral Government and the State of North Carolina, there is
no authority of law, under existing circumstances, for the
occupation of United States forts situated in this State. I
cannot, therefore, sustain the action of Captain Thruston,
however patriotic his motives may have been, and am com-
pelled, by an imperative sense of duty, to order that Fort Cas-
well be restored to the possession of the authorities of the
United States.

“You will proceed to Smithville on receipt of this commu-
nication and communicate orders to Captain Thruston to
withdraw his troops from Fort Caswell. You will also in-
vestigate and report the facts to this department.

“By order of Joun W. Exuis,

“Captain-General and Commander-in-Chief
“Granam Daves, “North Carolina Militia.”

“Private Secretary and Acting Adjutant-General.”

Upon receipt of this order on the 12th, Colonel J. L. Cant-
well notified the Governor that he would proceed at once to.
Fort Caswell, accompanied by Robert E. Calder, Acting Ad-
jutant, and William Calder, Acting Quartermaster, two staff .
officers temporarily appointed for that duty. Transporta-
tion facilities between Wilmington and Smithville were then