630 Nortu Carorina Troops, 1861-65.

the Buffaloes, Yadkin and in all that broken wooded country
were safe hiding places for these desperate and lawless men,
and they had many sympathizers and friends to conceal them.
These deserters and outlaws were well armed and reckless,
and terrorized the country and murdered, stole, burnt and
made it as dangefous as to be in the midst of moving armies.
I received orders to arm, provision and keep in the field as
many men under their officers as I thought necessary. Lieu-
tenant-Colonel Faucett and Major Summers, of the regiment,
were assigned to their respective localities and every Captain
had orders from me to patrol his district and keep it clear of
lawless men. Captain Hildesheimer and Adjutant Richard
Sterling and myself joined various parties, frequently in the
night, and run down and captured many deserters and re-
turned them to the army.

This service, while very onerous and disagreeable, was also
at times very dangerous. Bands of desperate men would
waylay us, secrete themselves in dense thickets on the side of
the road we were travelling and attempt our lives. I kept
myself in communication with the Adjutant-General and the
Governor, and had many vexations because of apparent con-
flict of State and Confederate laws. The Governor sustained
me in all my efforts and the service rendered by the officers
and men was highly efficient and creditable. It was also my
duty to aid the enrolling officer to enforce the Conscript law
and send to the army men within the Conscript age. Dr.
Glenn of Guilford, was the Surgeon of my regiment, and ren-
dered valuable aid in this department of the service. On
different occasions I ordered the entire regiment from the
whole county to meet in Greensboro for drill and instruction
and the commands were promptly obeyed. In the Fall of
1864, an emergency having arisen by the invasion of the east-
ern part of the State and by heavy reinforcements of the en-
emy, Governor Vance ordered out about one-third of the
Home Guard (I think) and about fifty companies from dif-
ferent parts of the State were ordered to Goldsboro. The
Governor ordered me to take command of the troops sent to
that point, and, under the direction of General C. Leven-
thorpe, to organize the First Regiment in the field of which I

 

Homer Guarps. 631

was appointed Colonel; W. F. Green, of Franklin, Lieuten-
ant-Colonel, and A. Summers, of Guilford, Major. Out of the
fifty companies I formed ten. Out of the hundred officers,
I selected forty. Captain Hildesheimer, of Guilford, was ap-
pointed Quartermaster; Lieutenant Banks, of Wake, was ap-
pointed Adjutant; Sergeant Hannah, of Guilford, was ap-
pointed Sergeant-Major. When the organization was com-
plete and arms procured and the men uniformed, I made my
report to General Leventhorpe and was gratified to receive
the approval of himself and his Adjutant-General, Major
Bond. Tents had been furnished the regiment and we were
fully in the field and ready for whatever service might fall
to our lot. The men were drilled every morning in squad
and company drill by their officers and for two hours every
afternoon in regimental drill by myself, assisted by the field
and staff officers.

In November it was reported that the enemy was approach-
ing from the direction of New Bern and I was ordered by
General Leventhorpe to take my regiment to Kinston and
take charge of a long line of breastworks on the eastern side
of the Neuse river to meet the enemy as he approached Kin-
ston. General Leventhorpe commanded the brigade com-
posed of my regiment, the Seventh Regiment of Cavalry,
Cumming’s Battery of Artillery, a South Carolina Battery,
several heavy guns along the breastworks and two or three
other regiments of infantry. In the absence of General Ley-
enthorpe, as the next in rank, I commanded the brigade.
Under my immediate command when not commanding the
brigade, was the First Regiment Home Guards, the South
Carolina Artillery and the battery of heavy guns on the
breastworks. Guards and scouting parties were thrown for-
ward towards the enemy at intervals day and night, drills
were kept up, officers instructed, and all the duties of soldiers
so well performed that six weeks after the organization of
the regiment, General Leventhorpe, on inspecting, review-
ing and witnessing its drill, paid us the high compliment of
saying, “You have accomplished wonders.” We felt grati-
fied because of this compliment coming from a soldier and
gentleman of age and experience, and from a man whose supe-