North Carolina

Private James Daniel Moore: A Journey from Rural Roots to the Battlefield

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As I strolled through the serene grounds of Oakwood Cemetery in Gastonia, North Carolina, I couldn’t help but pause at the grave of Private James Daniel Moore, whose epitaph seemed to beckon me to delve deeper. Born to the hardworking farming couple of Carroll and Sarah Moore on January 5, 1846 [1], in the rural expanse of Caldwell County, young James, affectionately known as “Jimmie,” [2] had a modest upbringing and limited formal education. However, he more than made up for what he lacked in academic pursuits with his exceptional proficiency in the art of farming, honed through years of toiling alongside his parents in the fields.

Private James Daniel Moore’s grave at Oakwood Cemetery in Gastonia, North Carolina. Photo by @firefightinirish

Jimmie’s boyhood days were a tapestry of joyous outdoor adventures as he reveled in the simple pleasures of swimming, hunting, and fishing, immersing himself in the beauty of nature surrounding his family’s homestead. However the tranquility of his youth was soon shattered by the ominous rumblings of the American Civil War. This conflict would abruptly curtail his carefree pastimes and thrust him into the harsh realities of the battlefield. On July 15, 1861[3], the young Jimmie, driven by a sense of duty and patriotism, enlisted and was mustered into the “F” Company of the 26th North Carolina regiment as a private. He then embarked on a journey that would test his mettle and indelibly shape the course of his life.

Image of Private Moore in uniform provided by American Civil War Forums. “Confederate Veteran James Daniel Moore of Caldwell County, NC : Civil War Remembrances | Other Soldiers, Politicians, & Men.” Accessed June 29, 2024. https://civilwartalk.com/threads/confederate-veteran-james-daniel-moore-of-caldwell-county-nc-civil-war-remembrances.123810/.

Amid the chaos and carnage of the Seven Days Battles, Private Moore stood his ground, his youthful resilience and unwavering resolve on full display. At the pivotal Battle of Gettysburg, where the 26th North Carolina played a crucial role, Jimmie’s bravery and sacrifice would be etched into the annals of history. As part of the Color Guard on the first day’s fight, he found himself among the 85 [4] men wounded, his body bearing the scars of the relentless struggle, a testament to his unwavering dedication to the cause he had sworn to defend. He recounted his story in an 1897 interview for the “The Morning Post” (of Raleigh, NC.):

“I was wounded at the top of the hill (Cemetery Ridge) from which the last line of the enemy had been driven. At that time there was only three of us left, and I was congratulating myself that I was safe, when I was knocked insensible (senseless) by a piece of a shell striking me on the neck, and at the same time a ball passed through my leg.” [5]

He would lay there in the hot July sun for hours, losing blood and suffering from thirst before being rescued by his comrades.

Colonel Henry King Burgwyn Jr. leads the 26th North Carolina at the battle of Gettysburg, July 1, 1863. By Don Troiani.

Moore would recover in the hospital before being sent home on a furlough. While at home, he had to “fight off “bushwhackers,” northern sympathizers, who “prowled like wolves around those loyal valley homes, ready whenever they could rush in to kill and rob the unprotected.” [6] He would return to the 26th in time to join them for the Battle of the Wilderness. Here, he was with Lieutenant Colonel Jones when Jones was mortally wounded. Private Moore attended to Lieutenant-Colonel Jones and watched him draw his last breath. Due to the pain of his leg wound, Private Moore was declared unfit for infantry duty and was transferred to Company D, 1st North Carolina Cavalry. He joined them near Petersburg in September 1864.[7]

A friend and fellow member of the 1st wrote:

“he (Pvt. Moore) came to the regiment splendidly mounted on a beautiful dark mare, and from that time till the close of the war was with the regiment in the various cavalry battles and skirmishes in which it was engaged, including, among others, Boisseau’s farm. Gravelly Run, Wilson’s farm, Hampton’s cattle raid, and Bellfield.” With this cavalry troop, he served as General Wade Hampton’s courier until the close of the war, doing his full part in the exploits by which Hampton’s cavalry won imperishable fame for Southern arms.” [8]

After the war, Moore moved to Winamac, Indiana, to avoid further trouble with the bushwhackers. Here, he would be employed as a store clerk, and he believes he met the man who shot him at Gettysburg.

“One evening, while talking to several Union veterans in the store, one, whose name was Hayes, remarked that he was in the Battle of Gettysburg, and from his account of himself and his location and command, I satisfied myself that he was with the troops we fought at Gettysburg on the first day.” [9]

Image of Moore as an older man. from Parker, Hershel. “My Cousin the Author, James Daniel Moore–Female Soldier in Civil War.” My Cousin the Author, James Daniel Moore–Female Soldier in Civil War. Accessed June 29, 2024. https://fragmentsfromawritingdesk.blogspot.com/2016/04/my-cousin-author-james-daniel-moore.html.

They would remain friends during Moore’s time in Indiana. Moore would move back home to North Carolina in February of 1868[10]. Once at home, he would reconnect with Martha Lewis, they would marry on September 25th, 1870; [11] together, they would have eight children. Moore worked for his brother-in-law in Dallas, North Carolina, then moved to Gastonia to establish a cotton mill. He would become the secretary and treasurer of the Modena Cotton Mills. Moore would become one of the most successful businessmen in the county. He would die on August 6, 1905[12], after suffering from a brief illness. Businesses across the county closed, and hundreds attended his funeral. He was laid to rest at Oakwood Cemetery; his epitaph reads,

“And I Heard A Voice From Heaven Saying Unto Me, Write Blessed Are The Dead Which Die In The Lord From Henceforth: Yea, Saith The Spirit, That They May Rest From Their Labours; And Their Works Do Follow Them.” [13]

Grave of Private James Daniel Moore. By @firefightinirish

[1] “James Daniel Moore: Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming,” Internet Archive (Gastonia, N.C.: Martha J. Moore, January 1, 1970), https://archive.org/details/jamesdanielmoore00gast/page/n5/mode/2up, Pg. 21.

[2] Ibid. Pg. 15

[3] James Daniel Moore Soldier History. “Historical Data Systems, Inc”, 2024. https://www.civilwardata.com/active/hdsquery.dll?SoldierHistory?C&156013.

[4] ccwinslow394, “James Daniel Moore, Company F 26th NC : The First Day At Gettysburg,” NC Civil War History Center of Fayetteville, March 6, 2019, https://nccivilwarcenter.org/james-daniel-moore-company-f-26th-nc-the-first-day-at-gettysburg/.

[5] Ibid

[6] “James Daniel Moore: Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming,” Internet Archive (Gastonia, N.C.: Martha J. Moore, January 1, 1970), https://archive.org/details/jamesdanielmoore00gast/page/n5/mode/2up, Pg.16.

[7] ccwinslow394, “James Daniel Moore, Company F 26th NC: The First Day At Gettysburg,” NC Civil War History Center of Fayetteville, March 6, 2019, https://nccivilwarcenter.org/james-daniel-moore-company-f-26th-nc-the-first-day-at-gettysburg/.

[8] “James Daniel Moore: Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming,” Internet Archive (Gastonia, N.C.: Martha J. Moore, January 1, 1970), https://archive.org/details/jamesdanielmoore00gast/page/n5/mode/2up, Pg. 16.

[9] ccwinslow394, “James Daniel Moore, Company F 26th NC: The First Day At Gettysburg,” NC Civil War History Center of Fayetteville, March 6, 2019, https://nccivilwarcenter.org/james-daniel-moore-company-f-26th-nc-the-first-day-at-gettysburg/.

[10] Ibid

[11] Ibid. Pg. 26

[12] Ibid.

[13] Ibid. Pg. 61

The Inspiring Story of Henry F. Warner, North Carolina Hero & Medal of Honor Recipient.

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I took a trip to Troy North Carolina earlier in the week. Why Troy you ask? Answer; It is the final resting place of Corporal Henry F. Warner; this is his story.

Henry was born to Earnest and Minnie Warner on August 23rd, 1923 in Troy North Carolina.[1] Sadly, Henry’s father would be a homicide victim when Warner was only five.[2] Henry would attend the local schools, and took a job as a machine operator in the Troy Textile Mill after graduation. He entered the army on January 11th, 1943.[3]

Photo of Corporal Henry F. Warner From: https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/henry-f-warner

Corporal Warner was listed on his draft card as being six feet tall, 135 pounds, with red hair, and a light complexion. He would be assigned as a 57mm anti tank gunner with the 2nd battalion of 26th Infantry regiment, in the 1st Division (The Big Red One).[4] He would accompany them during the D-day landings, as well as fighting through France and Belgium. 

On December 16th, 1944, the German army launched a large offensive into Belgium known as “Battle of the Bulge”.   By the 20th of December the allies were practically surrounded and under constant attack, the 26th Infantry was no exception. Early that morning 20 German tanks broke through their line with almost complete surprise due to a dense fog.[5], this is when Corporal Henry Warner sprung into action.  Staff Sergeant Stanley Oldenski, witnessed Warner’s actions and describes them as such,

Soldiers of the Big Red One enter snowy Butgenbach, Belgium, From: https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/from-omaha-beach-to-victory/

“Two (tanks) headed straight toward Corporal Warner’s position, firing tank cannon and machineguns, He answered the fire and his first round hit the lead tank and set it afire. Four more shots set it afire and destroyed it. “The second tank was firing and coming right at him, but he carefully placed four rounds into it and silenced its cannon and machineguns, “‘then he saw the third Mark V was bearing down on him he didn’t seem to pay any attention. He was working at the breach lock of his weapon and didn’t stop trying to make it work until the tank was within five yards of him. “Then, jumping to the side of the gun pit, he fired his pistol at the tank as it came on and the tank commander fired back with a pistol. Corporal Warner kept firing until the German tank commander threw up his hands and slumped over the side of the tank. The tank retreated. “On the following day, the Jerries threw in a very heavy barrage and again the tanks broke through the battalion line and started machinegunning our riflemen in an attempt to drive them out of their foxholes so the German riflemen could break through. A German Mark IV appeared in front of Corporal Warner’s position and he fired, setting the motor on fire. But its machineguns got off a burst that killed Corporal Warner.”[6]

For his actions those two days Corporal Warner was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. The decoration was presented to his mother by General John T. Kennedy in a ceremony at Fort Bragg on July 6th, 1945.[7]

General John T. Kennedy presenting the Medal of Honor during a ceremony at Fort Bragg on July 6th, 1945. . https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=3984364528254729&set=a.466699133354637

His official citation reads; “Serving as 57-mm. antitank gunner with the 2d Battalion, he was a major factor in stopping enemy tanks during heavy attacks against the battalion position near Dom Butgenbach, Belgium, on 20-21 December 1944. In the first attack, launched in the early morning of the 20th, enemy tanks succeeded in penetrating parts of the line. Cpl. Warner, disregarding the concentrated cannon and machine gun fire from 2 tanks bearing down on him, and ignoring the imminent danger of being overrun by the infantry moving under tank cover, destroyed the first tank and scored a direct and deadly hit upon the second. A third tank approached to within 5 yards of his position while he was attempting to clear a jammed breach lock. Jumping from his gun pit, he engaged in a pistol duel with the tank commander standing in the turret, killing him and forcing the tank to withdraw.

Grave of Corporal Henry F. Warner at Southside Cemetery in Troy North Carolina. Photo By @firefightinirish

Following a day and night during which our forces were subjected to constant shelling, mortar barrages, and numerous unsuccessful infantry attacks, the enemy struck in great force on the early morning of the 21st. Seeing a Mark IV tank looming out of the mist and heading toward his position, Cpl. Warner scored a direct hit.

Grave of Corporal Henry F. Warner at Southside Cemetery in Troy North Carolina. Photo By @firefightinirish

Disregarding his injuries, he endeavored to finish the loading and again fire at the tank whose motor was now aflame, when a second machine gun burst killed him. Cpl. Warner’s gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty contributed materially to the successful defense against the enemy attacks.”[8]

Corporal Warner’s body was repatriated in November of 1947,[9] and he was interred at Southside Cemetery in Troy North Carolina. He was survived by his mother, brother, and sister.[10]

Grave of Corporal Henry F. Warner at Southside Cemetery in Troy, North Carolina. Photo By @firefightinirish

[1] “Henry Fred Warner U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947.” Search. Accessed December 29, 2019. https://tinyurl.com/rh8lrgq.

[2] “North Carolina, Deaths, 1906-1930 Earnest Coll Warner.” Search. Accessed December 29, 2019. https://tinyurl.com/r3tm78e.

[3] “U.S., War Department, Press Releases and Related Records, 1942-1945 Box 14: B 951 – C 270.” Ancestry.com. Accessed December 29, 2019. https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=3026. Pg. 3

[4] Ibid

[5] Ibid, Pg. 1 & 2

[6] Ibid

[7] “MOTHER RECEIVES MEDAL OF HONOR AWARDED HER SON.” Asheville Citizen-Times, July 7, 1945.

[8] “CPL Henry F. Warner.” First Division Museum. Accessed December 29, 2019. https://www.fdmuseum.org/about-the-1st-infantry-division/medal-of-honor-recipients/cpl-henry-f-warner/.

[9] “Carolinas War Dead To Arrive This Week.” The Charlotte Observer , November 23, 1947.

[10] “Henry F Werner in the 1940 Census: Ancestry.” Ancestry.com. Accessed December 29, 2019. https://tinyurl.com/u53ot2h.

The Unforgettable Impact of PFC. Dan Bullock: The Youngest American casualty of the Vietnam War.

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The other day I ended up in Goldsboro. So, I decided to pay my respects to PFC. Dan Bullock, the youngest American casualty of the Vietnam War. Dan was born to James and Alma Bullock in Goldsboro North Carolina on December 21st, 1953.[1]

Photos of PFC. Dan Bullock. From, https://napavalleyveteransfoundation.com/dan-bullock/

As a child Dan and his young nephew Nathan Bullock would play soldier and have other “childhood escapades”. [2] Dan’s Father would also fuel his desire for adventure by telling him stories of the Tuskegee Airmen and Buffalo Soldiers.[3] Sadly PFC Bullocks mother would die when he was just 11. This prompted his father to move the family to Brooklyn in order to find work.[4]  Even with the move, the Bullock family was still struggling finically. This, along with Dan’s sense adventure, are possible motivations for him to join the United States Marine Corp. He enlisted on December 10, 1968 at the age of 14.[5] Dan changed his birth certificate to read December 21, 1949, instead of December 21, 1953 in order to join the Marines.[6] That combined with the fact that Dan was five feet nine inches tall, and 160 pounds fooled the recruiters.[7] His father was against Dan’s enlistment at first but due to PFC. Bullocks enthusiasm elder Bullock relented.[8] Dan was sent to Paris Island South Carolina, where according to Franklin McArthur his “Boot Camp Buddy” Dan almost washed out.[9] PCF Bullock would complete his basic training and be assigned as a rifleman to Fox Company, Second Battalion, Fifth Marine Regiment. He was sent to Vietnam on May 8, 1969 and was stationed at An Hoa Combat Base in Quang Nam Province.[10] According to his nephew Nathan Dan would right home and he once reported “I had a buddy who got shot, but I don’t have no holes in me yet.”[11] Even in his last letter home Dan added a post script “I don’t have no holes in me yet. “tragically his good fortune would change. On June 7th, 1969 PCF Bullock was at first assigned cleanup duties that night at the base, he was reassigned to take over a wounded Marine’s assignment, guarding a Delta Airship. At 1am a group of North Vietnamese Army attacked the base, PFC Bullock “constantly exposed himself to the enemy fire in order to keep the company supplied with the ammunition needed to hold off the attack, As the attack pressed on, Dan again went to get more ammunition when he was mortally wounded by a burst of enemy small arms and died instantly.” wrote Capt. R.H. Kingrey his commanding officer.[12] PFC Bullock was just 15 years old. His body was returned to Goldsboro, where he was laid to rest wearing his dress blues.

Grave of PFC. Bullock at Elmwood Cemetery in Goldsboro North Carolina. Photo by @firefightinirish

There was little fanfare as the casket was lowered into an unmarked grave at Elmwood Cemetery. Dan would be survived by his sister Gloria and his father. Thirty-one years later, talk show host Sally Jessy Raphael heard PFC Bullock’s story and was touched. She donated a headstone, and a memorial service for Bullock in Goldsboro to dedicate the stone was held.[13]  The New York Rolling Thunder and the North Carolina Rolling Thunder motorcycle clubs took part in a procession through the town in his honor. In 2003, a portion of Lee Avenue in Brooklyn where he had lived as a child, was renamed after him. In 2017, a highway marker was installed in Goldsboro in his honor, commemorating his service to the United States.[14]

Grave of PFC. Bullock at Elmwood Cemetery in Goldsboro North Carolina. Photo by @firefightinirish

[1] “Dan Bullock Facts.” Public Member Trees. Accessed December 17, 2019. https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/67067937/person/230073682337/facts.

[2] SAUNDERS, BARRY. “Saunders: Remembering a Marine Who Died Way Too Young.” The News & Observer, November 10, 2014. https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/barry-saunders/article10124927.html.

[3] Ibid

[4] Momodu, Samuel. “Dan Bullock (1953-1969).” BlackPast, December 10, 2019. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/dan-bullock-1953-1969/.

[5] Ibid

[6] Ibid

[7] Gallagher, Brian Thomas. “He Enlisted at 14, Went to Vietnam at 15 and Died a Month Later.” The New York Times. The New York Times, June 7, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/07/nyregion/youngest-american-soldier-killed-vietnam.html.

[8] Ibid

[9] McShane, Larry. “Dan Bullock Doctored His Birth Certificate at Age 14 in Order to Join the Marines. A Year Later, He Was Killed by Enemy Fire in Vietnam.” nydailynews.com. New York Daily News, January 9, 2019. https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn-marine-15-killed-vietnam-article-1.2003597.

[10] Momodu, Samuel. “Dan Bullock (1953-1969).” BlackPast, December 10, 2019. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/dan-bullock-1953-1969/.

[11] SAUNDERS, BARRY. “Saunders: Remembering a Marine Who Died Way Too Young.” The News & Observer, November 10, 2014. https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/barry-saunders/article10124927.html.

[12] McShane, Larry. “Dan Bullock Doctored His Birth Certificate at Age 14 in Order to Join the Marines. A Year Later, He Was Killed by Enemy Fire in Vietnam.” nydailynews.com. New York Daily News, January 9, 2019. https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn-marine-15-killed-vietnam-article-1.2003597.

[13] Momodu, Samuel. “Dan Bullock (1953-1969).” BlackPast, December 10, 2019. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/dan-bullock-1953-1969/.

[14] Ibid

Sir Douglas F. Dickerson: Airborne All The Way!

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Green Hill Cemetery in Greensboro North Carolina, is a beautiful place with many interesting stories. One such story is that of Sir Douglas F. Dickerson. He was born to Raymond and Blanche Dickerson in Greenville South Carolina on March 5th, 1920.[1] Douglas was described as 6’ tall, 165 pounds, with brown hair, brown eyes, and a light complexion. He would attend college at North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering (now North Carolina State University) in Raleigh, N.C.. Here he would play quarterback for the football team and outfield in baseball. Dickerson registered for the draft on July 1st, 1941.[2]

Douglas F. Dickerson 82nd Airborne.

During his Junior year at State the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, and Douglas’s number was called. Dickerson was given a deferment to finish out the semester and would become part of the 302nd Ordnance Co. made up of local boys. He was with them at Fort Jackson, and Fort Lewis. While Douglass was at Fort Lewis his brother who was an officer in the 82nd Airborne, personally recommend Douglass for the outfit to then Col. James Gavin. Gavin would call Douglass personally to ask him to join the Paratroopers. Dickerson agreed and his orders would arrive in a week. As Douglass would say later in an interview “he (Gavin) didn’t mess around.”[3] Dickerson would take a train from DC to Fort Benning Georgia and reported for Airborne training. He would later be sent to Camp Claiborne, LA. for commando training. Dickerson would finish his Airborne training at Fort Bragg. Here he was made part of a thirty man “hit squad”, they would be split up in teams of three and placed in each company of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment 82nd Airborne. The men of the hit squad were sworn to secrecy and finished their training as “ordinary” paratroopers. Before being sent oversees Douglas would don his jumpsuit and marry Edna Lee Kearns.

His first oversees station was in Tunisia. Douglas’s hit squad would be the first men to jump into Sicily and he was the first man out the door. Their objective was to take an airfield. They killed 108 men, destroyed the barracks, and all German aircraft on the field.[4] Douglass and the hit squad would later meet up with the rest of the 82nd. They would become engaged at Biazza Ridge, where he was almost run down by a German tank. During Dickerson’s 14th day of combat in Sicily he was wounded when a sniper’s bullet hit a grenade in his pocket. The grenade exploded outward embedding the top half in his leg. Dickerson pulled it out by the pin with a pen taking a large chink of skin with it. He bandaged the wound and remained on the line for three more days before being evacuated. Fifty years later a Doctor would find that Dickerson still had that sniper’s bullet in his leg.  Returning to action Dickerson and his commandos would jump into Italy again, this time he would land on a cow. Their mission was to destroy a group of German trucks, they would only find a single vehicle and promptly blew up its engine. On the way to extraction they encountered two German patrols of 25 men each and killed them all.[5]

His next combat jump was during the Normandy invasion where he was first out the door as well, this time he landed on an outhouse. Their objective was a major communications unit near Cherbourg. They would destroy it in forty minutes and head to Sainte-Mère-Église. He reached Sainte-Mère-Église in time to see the famous Paratrooper on the church steeple and the town ablaze.[6] Dickerson would be wounded again in the leg, he patched it up and spent 33 straight days on the line during the Normandy Campaign.

Dickerson would then jump into Holland as part of Operation Market Garden. Their objective was Groesbeek where they went house to house to root out the Germans. They then went to Nijmegen to support the other men of the 82nd in taking the bridge. He would spend two months on the line in Holland. Dickerson was then sent to France to a little R & R, however this would only last three days as the Bulge had begun. He and his commando unit were loaded into trucks and sent to St. Vith in order to help free surrounded allied troops. They would use bazookas to hold off German armor, and successfully rescued their beleaguered comrades.

Dickerson would be sent to the Siegfried Line. It was shortly after crossing that he had his most traumatic experience of the war. Dickerson was showing a young replacement where to position his gun when a mortar round exploded near them. The round blew off the young replacements legs, the young man was screaming, and Dickerson held him till the medics had to pry them apart. Douglass then went behind a tree and wept.[7] According to a 1999 interview he still had flashbacks to this incident.

After the fighting around the Siegfried Line Dickerson, and the four remaining original members of the “hit squad” met with General Gavin. Gavin would send them to the rear for a physical and mental checkup. During the exam the Doctors fund that Dickerson had a bleeding ulcer. He would receive a medical discharge in March of 1945.

Dickerson would spend 371 days in combat receiving two Bronze Stars, two Purple Hearts, the Expert Infantry Badge, Triple Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Presidential Unit Citation. He would also receive Croix de Guerre medals from both France and Belgium.

Grave of Sir Douglas F. Dickerson at Green Hill Cemetery. Photo By @firefightinirish

After the war Dickerson would return to Greensboro and resume his education at his education at Guilford College and then High Point College. He graduated in 1949 with a teaching certificate in Social Studies and Physical Education.[8] He was briefly employed as a teacher before working for the United States Postal Service. Dickerson would also coach High School football ant Little League Baseball. He would enjoy showing people his memorabilia gathered during his time overseas as well as items donated by other veterans and their families. The items were displayed in a “mini museum” in his pool house. In 1998 Dickerson published his wartime memoirs, “Doing My Duty”, in which he vividly described his wartime exploits.

In 2006 The French Legion of Honor gave Dickerson the rank of “Chevalier” or “Knight”. Douglas F. Dickerson died

Grave of Sir Douglas F. Dickerson at Green Hill Cemetery. Photo By @firefightinirish

on May 25, 2011 in Greensboro, N.C., and was buried in Green Hill Cemetery in the same city.

[1] Froggatt, Errin. “Sir Douglas Farnum ‘Curly’ Dickerson.” Ancestry. Accessed November 6, 2019. https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/38740921/person/28890718647/facts.

[2] “U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 .” Ancestry. Accessed November 7, 2019. https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/38740921/person/28890718647/facts.

[3] Harrington, Sion, and John Durham. “Douglas F. Dickerson Interview, 1999-12-20 [MilColl OH 228] : Free Borrow & Streaming.” Internet Archive, December 20, 1999. https://archive.org/details/MilCollOH228Dickerson.

[4] Ibid

[5] Ibid

[6] Ibid

[7] Ibid

[8] “Doug Dickerson Papers, 1939-2006.” Greensboro History Museum. Accessed November 9, 2019. http://archives.greensborohistory.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/pdf/MssColl-204-Dickerson.pdf.

A Southern Tale Of Love and War.

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My recent adventures took me to Clarkton North Carolina. Here I stumbled upon Benevolence Cemetery, and the grave of Private Bryant B Gause. He was born in Bladen County North Carolina, to Henry Taylor and Lucy Ann Gause[1], on October 12th, 1837, [2] He was listed as being five feet ten inches tall, with blue eyes, dark hair, and a dark complexion.[3] Before the outbreak of the American Civil War Pvt. Gause was a farmer. He would meet Lucy Matilda Thompson. They would marry shortly before the hostilities began. Gause would enlist on May 3rd, 1861, at Elizabethtown North Carolina.[4] He was mustered into “B” Co. NC 18th Infantry the same day.[5] Not wanting to leave her husband and being 6 feet tall, 165 lbs., physically strong and an expert with the rifle herself[6], she…. “cut her thick hair close, took up seams in one of Bryant’s suits, oiled her squirrel musket, and boarded a train for Virginia as ‘Pvt. Bill Thompson”[7] 

Image of Lucy Matilda Thompson. From,https://civilwartalk.com/threads/private-bill-thompson-lucy-matilda-thompson-gauss.145225/

She fought side by side with her husband and the 18th at First Manassas, and was wounded when… “an iron (shell) scrap tore open her scalp from forehead to crown (later protected by a silver plate).””[8] She was discovered as a woman but begged to be sent back to her husband’s side. Her request was approved, and she was with her husband during the Seven Days where he was wounded at Frayser’s Farm.[9] They would also be engaged at the Battles of Antietam and Fredericksburg. Sadly, during the Battle of Fredericksburg Pvt. Gause was seriously wounded[10]. He was taken to a hospital in Scottsville, VA. Where he would die from his injuries on January 1st, 1863.[11]

Battle of Fredericksburg, created by Currier and Ives, Library of Congress

His wife” Pvt. Bill Thompson” was not by his side when he passed, as she was in the advanced stages of pregnancy and was home to give birth to their daughter Mary Caroline Gause.[12] Pvt. Gause’s body would be escorted home by his wife ending her service as well.

Grave of Private Bryant B Gause at Benevolence Cemetery in Clarkton North Carolina. Photo by @firefightinirish.

He would be interred at Benevolence Cemetery in Clarkton North Carolina where he now rests. Lucy Matilda Thompson Gause AKA Pvt. Bill Thompson would go back to a more traditional role post war weaving and working the fields. She would eventually settle in Savannah, Georgia. Here she would meet an Irishman who served in the Union Navy by the name of Joseph Patrick Kenney. [13] They would have six children. Lucy would die on June 22, 1925, at the age of 83. She is buried at the Meeks Cemetery in Nicholls, Georgia.[14]

[1] Gloria Cash, “Gill Family Tree,” Ancestry, accessed April 21, 2021, https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/153633896/person/102030276353/facts.

[2] “Page 1 Headstone Applications, 1925-1963.” Fold3. Accessed April 21, 2021. https://www.fold3.com/image/320518210.

[3] “Page 31 Civil War Service Records (CMSR) – Confederate – North Carolina,” Fold3, accessed April 21, 2021, https://www.fold3.com/image/37632252

[4] “Page 31 Civil War Service Records (CMSR) – Confederate – North Carolina,” Fold3, accessed April 21, 2021, https://www.fold3.com/image/37632252

[5] “Bryant B. Gause,” American Civil War Research Database (Historical Data Systems, Inc.), accessed April 21, 2021, http://www.civilwardata.com/active/hdsquery.dll?SoldierHistory?C&181744.

[6] “Florida 7th VF Bulletin,” Ancestry, accessed April 21, 2021, https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/tree/1034196/person/6003737475/media/8a687238-5116-41c0-83db-19d1689cb275?_phsrc=ZhY340&_phstart=successSource.

[7] Mauriel Joslyn, Confederate Women (Gretna, LA: Pelican, 2005), Pg. 67.

[8] Mauriel Joslyn, Confederate Women (Gretna, LA: Pelican, 2005), Pg. 67.

[9] “Bryant B. Gause,” American Civil War Research Database (Historical Data Systems, Inc.), accessed April 21, 2021, http://www.civilwardata.com/active/hdsquery.dll?SoldierHistory?C&181744.

[10] “Page 31 Civil War Service Records (CMSR) – Confederate – North Carolina,” Fold3, accessed April 21, 2021, https://www.fold3.com/image/37632252.

[11] Ibid

[12] DeAnne Blanton and Lauren M. Cook, They Fought like Demons: Women Soldiers in the American Civil War (Stroud: Sutton, 2005), Pg. 59.

[13] “Florida 7th VF Bulletin,” Ancestry, accessed April 21, 2021, https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/tree/1034196/person/6003737475/media/8a687238-5116-41c0-83db-19d1689cb275?_phsrc=ZhY340&_phstart=successSource.

[14] Ibid

A soldier’s story at Forest hill Cemetery Morganton North Carolina.

/ firefightinirish / Leave a comment

On my way back from Asheville I made a quick stop in Morganton. Here I paid respects to Lieut. John Caldwell. He was born in 1845 at Morganton, North Carolina to Tod & Minerva Caldwell. John grew up and worked on his family farm. In 1861 John who was known as “Jack”, was a Cadet at the Hillsboro Military Academy.[1] His father was a Unionist, but John went against his father’s wishes and chose to join his friends and defend his state. In July of 1861 John Was a member of the 6th North Carolina Volunteers stationed in Staunton Virginia.[2] By December of 1861, Caldwell was serving as a Drill Instructor for the state of North Carolina in a training camp at Asheville.[3]  He continued in this capacity through 1862, until most of the volunteer regiments had organized and marched off. On May 5th, 1863, John Caldwell was mustered into “E” Co. 33rd North Carolina Infantry as a Private.[4]

1/4 plate tintype of Lieut. John Caldwell Courtesy of the Brem Family Collection.

He would be immediately promoted to Lieut. in order to replace the 33rd’s loses from the Battle of Chancellorsville.[5]  Upon hearing of Young Johns promotion his father sent him a letter containing some wise fatherly advice… “Don’t be tyrannical or overbearing toward your men. Be kind and obliging to everyone no matter how low or humble his position may be, and if you get into battle be like a man and a true soldier. Be kind and merciful to your enemies if any should be placed in your power. It is a badge of true courage and of a gentlemanly Christian spirit to show mercy and kindness to your enemies and it may in the fortunes of war happen that you may need the friendship of those you are fighting against. Observe vigorously the golden rule, “to do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Oh what would I not give if this cruel and unnatural war was ended and you and your army and in honor return home to your friends.”[6]            

Lieut. Caldwell led his men during the march into Pennsylvania, he and his men were shelled along the way, and performed picket duty. They would reach Gettysburg on July 1st at around 15:30 they “on the right of the Division in the final and successful movement against the Union forces on Seminary Ridge held back Union Cavalry which threatened the flank and had a sharp conflict at the stone wall on Seminary Ridge just south of Fairfield Road.”[7]  On the second day the 33rd was involved in some heavy skirmishing. “our line of battle was not engaged but there was a very strong picket fighting in front of us and as it was the turn of his company to go out on skirmish he (John Caldwell) was skirmishing all day and was not relived until about sundown. He took his skirmishers out in gallant style and during the day lost two of his company killed and several wounded.”[8]  On the third day Lieut. Caldwell and the 33rd took part in the Pickett–Pettigrew–Trimble Charge, as part of Longstreet’s assault. During the assault Lieut. Caldwell and Lieut. Wilson Lucas were ordered by General Pender to command 75 men and take a farm lane. Lieut. Wilson Lucas writes of this action saying…. 

Gravestone of Lieut. John Caldwell 33rd North Carolina Infantry at Forest hill Cemetery Morganton North Carolina Photo By @firefightinirish

“We formed the men in line, I commanded the right and Lieut. Caldwell the left. We had to charge through an open field, with no protection whatever. … When we got within two hundred yards of the Federals, we charged with a yell, and they stood their ground until we were within ten steps of the road, then a part of them ran, but 26 surrendered. And the very last time they fired upon us, which was not more than twelve or fourteen feet from them, they shot Lieut. Caldwell in the left breast. I did not see him fall. As soon as we were in the road one of the men told me Lieut. Caldwell was killed. I went at once to the left and found him, lying partly on his back and side … I called two men, and we placed him on his back and spread his oil cloth over him. He was warm and bleeding very freely when I got to him. I could not send him out to the regiment, for it was such an exposed placed the Federal skirmishers would have killed a man before he could get a hundred yards, as we were lying close to each other.”[9] 

Currier & Ives. The battle of Gettysburg, Pa. July 3d. United States, 1863. [New York: Published by Currier & Ives, ?] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/90709061/.

Lieut. Caldwell’s commanding officer Col. Avery in letter to John’s father wrote “You may have the satisfaction to know that he fell where we would all wish to fall (if it be God will) with his face to the enemy.’[10] Lieut. John Caldwell’s body was buried on Seminary Ridge that night “near “two honey-pod trees … not far from an old two-story house.”[11] Even with the reports of Lieut. Caldwell falling before the enemy, his father refused to believe his son was killed.

Inscription on Lieut. John Caldwell’s grave at Forest hill Cemetery Morganton North Carolina. Photo By @firefightinirish

It was not until Tod R, Caldwell was governor of North Carolina, that he found out his son’s fate. It was told to him by Lieut. Wilson Lucas who was then a state legislature. It was said that the Governor “locked himself in his room and was all day in tears”.[12] Gov. Caldwell kept this secret from his wife for 14 years, she found out when Lieut. Caldwell’s bloodied commission to Lieut. Was sent home by a New Yorker who had found it on the Battlefield. Lieut. Caldwell’s body would be returned to North Carolina and reinterned at Forest Hill Cemetery in Morganton.  Let us never forget this young man’s sacrifice for his state and his country.   

[1] “Tod Robinson Caldwell Papers, 1801-1890.,” UNC University Libraries, accessed November 28, 2021, https://finding-aids.lib.unc.edu/00128/#folder_5#1.  Scan 12

[2] Ibid, Scan 14

[3] Ibid, Scan 25

[4] “Page 2 Civil War Service Records (CMSR) – Confederate – North Carolina,” Fold3, accessed November 29, 2021, https://www.fold3.com/image/45066577.

[5] Ibid

[6] Christopher M. Watford, The Civil War in North Carolina: Soldiers’ and Civilians’ Letters and Diaries, 1861-1865 (Jefferson, North California: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2009). Pg. 278

[7] “History of the 33rd North Carolina Infantry Regiment in the Civil War,” The Civil War in the East, May 17, 2021, https://civilwarintheeast.com/confederate-regiments/north-carolina/33rd-north-carolina-infantry-regiment/.

[8] Don Ernsberger, Also for Glory: The Pettigrew-Trimble Charge at Gettysburg July 3, 1863 (United States: Xlibris Corp, 2008). Pg. 57

[9] Michael C. Hardy, General Lee’s Immortals: The Battles and Campaigns of the Branch-Lane Brigade in the Army of Northern Virginia, 1861-1865 (El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie LLC, 2018). Pg. 330

[10] Biff Hollingsworth, “18 July 1863: ‘You May Have the Satisfaction to Know That He Fell Where We Would All Wish to Fall (If It Be God Will) with His Face to the Enemy.”: Civil War Day by Day,” 18 July 1863: “You may have the satisfaction to know that he fell where we would all wish to fall (if it be God will) with his face to the enemy.” | Civil War Day by Day, accessed November 29, 2021, https://web.lib.unc.edu/civilwar/index.php/2013/07/18/18-july-1863-you-may-have-the-satisfaction-to-know-that-he-fell-where-we-would-all-wish-to-fall-if-it-be-god-will-with-his-face-to-the-enemy/.

[11] Michael C. Hardy, General Lee’s Immortals: The Battles and Campaigns of the Branch-Lane Brigade in the Army of Northern Virginia, 1861-1865 (El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie LLC, 2018). Pg. 350

[12] John Hartwell, “Lt. John Caldwell, 33rd North Carolina, Pender’s Brigade,” Civil War Talk, n.d., https://civilwartalk.com/threads/lt-john-caldwell-33rd-north-carolina-penders-brigade.135030/?amp=1.