an AE AL a_i “Wn ia ni AC la Re a nen <P SE natn mln in na Sh |

62 NortH Carotina Troops, i861-’65.

mand, or to capitulate and surrender as prisoners of war.
He wisely determined upon the latter alternative.

The loss on our side in killed and wounded and missing, is
as follows: Killed, 23; wounded, 58; missing, 62. The
loss of the Forty-ninth and Fifty-ninth Virginia Volunteers
is: Killed, 6; wounded, 28; missing, 19; that of the Eighth
and Thirty-first North Carolina and Second North Caro-
lina Battalion, is 16 killed, 30 wounded, 43 missing. Of
the engineer department, Lieutenant Selden killed, who had
patriotically volunteered his services in the line and was as-
signed to the command of the 6-pounder which he handled
with so much skill as to produce immense havoc in the en-
emy’s ranks, and to elicit the unbounded admiration of all
who witnessed it. Unhappily, however, that gallant officer

received a rifle ball in the head and he fell without a groan.

The committee are satisfied that Colonel Shaw held pos-
session of that post as long as he could have done without use-

less sacrifice of human life; that on the 7th and 8th the of-
ficers and men in Fort Bartow displayed great coolness, cour-
age and persevering efforts to sustain their position and drive
back the enemy’s fleet. In the battle of 8 February, at the re-
doubt, the officérs and men exhibited a cool and deliberate
courage, worthy of veterans in the service, and sustained
their positions under an uninterrupted and deadly fire for
more than five hours, repulsing the enemy in three separate
and distinct charges, and only withdrew from the deadly con-
flict after exhausting their ammunition for their artillery,
and being surrounded and flanked by more than ten times
their number. Instead of the result being “deeply humili-
ating” it was one of the most brilliant and gallant actions of
the war; and in the language of their absent commanding
general, “both officers and men fought firmly, coolly, ef-
ficiently and as long as humanity would allow.”
* * * * * * * * * *
Buresgss S. GarrHer,
Chairman.

RicumonD, VA.,
May, 1862.

 

THE FALL OF ROANOKE ISLAND.

8&8 FEBRUARY, 1862,

By E. R. LILES, Lrevrenant-Conone, Tuirty First RxGimMent,
Nortu Caro.ina Troops

About two weeks before the enemy made his appearance,
my company (B) and the Hatteras Avengers (Company F),
Captain Charles W. Knight, of Martin County (both of the
Thirty-first Regiment), were ordered to Ashley’s Landing,
& distance of eight miles from our camp, and nearly two
miles below our lowest battery, Fort Bartow. Two brass
field pieces, 12 and 18-pounders, were put in my charge,
and I was ordered to defend the Landing and, at every haz-
ard, to save the artillery. An officer from the Eighth Regiment
was detailed to drill squads from Captain Knight’s and my
company on the cannon, but he only visited us twice, spend-
ing each time about half an hour. All that our men really
learned of artillery was taught them in an hour by Colonel
Jordan and one or two short lessons by Lieutenant Kinney, of
Wise’s Legion, who came to the island about three days be-
fore the battle. I had no horses, and the mongrel “bank
ponies” which Colonel Shaw ordered me to press into service
were untractable and of little use. We felt that our posi-
tion was an important and responsible one. This landing,
where vessels drawing eight feet could land at any time, had
been neglected to the last moment, and the ninety men, badly
prepared as above shown, were placed to defend it as long as
possible, with strict orders to carry away the artillery in
ease of a retreat being unavoidable. On Thursday morning,
§ February, at a very early hour, W. Riley Diggs, of Compa-
ny B, being on the lookout, discovered two of the enemy’s ves-
sels coming up the Sound, some ten or twelve miles away.
By aid of a glass, I soon made out four large steamers, and
immediately dispatched a message to convey the news to
camp. One by one the vessels, of all sorts and sizes, rounded