SEVENTIETH REGIMENT 
NORTH CAROLINA TROOPS
SEVENTIETH REGIMENT
(FIRST JUNIOR RESERVES.)
-------------------------------
BY COLONEL CHARLES W. BROADFOOT
Under the inexorable necessity of filling the ranks depleted by the waste of three years of war, the Confederate Congress on 17 February, 1864, passed the act by which the military age, previously 18 to 45, was extended to embrace all from 17 to 50. Those from 17 to 18 years of age, known later as Junior Reserves, were embodied into companies in April and May, and in May and June were formed into battalions, and later on into regiments-forming a total in this State of three regiments and one battalion, which became the Junior Reserves' Brigade in Hoke's Division, Hardee's Corps. The embodying of those from 45 to 50 years of age was postponed a few weeks to enable the men to make and save their crops and make arrangements for the care of their families.
The First Regiment of Junior Reserves was formed by the consolidation of the First and Sixth Battalions, of whose organization it is proper to speak at this place.
FIRST BATTALION.
This battalion consisted of three companies. Company A, Captain Charles Price, 81 officers and men; Company B, Captain D. S. Speed, 78 officers and men; Company C, Captain C. J. Richardson, 93 officers and men. Total, with field and staff, 255.
It was organized into a battalion at Camp Holmes, near Raleigh, 25 May, 1864, by electing as Major, the writer, who had served in the "Bethel" Regiment and afterwards in Company D, Forty-third North Carolina, but at this time was an Aide on the staff of Lieutenant-General Holmes, and had recently returned with him from the campaign in Arkansas.
The battalion was equipped with clothing, shoes and accoutrements as well as the government at that time could do, but were armed with Enfield rifles, which had been changed to percussion from flint and steel, and which were well nigh worthless. Later on better guns which had been captured in Virginia, were issued to the Juniors.
On 29 May the battalion was ordered to Weldon, where it went into camp on the Northampton side of the river, on the ground formerly occupied by the Fifty-sixth Regiment, near the residence of Mr. John M. Moody, who with his entire family was as kind and considerate of the soldier boys as it was possible to be, The camp was styled "Camp Daniel" in honor of Brigadier-General Junius Daniel, then recently killed in battle and who was born a few miles distant in Halifax County.
THE SIXTH BATTALION.
The Sixth Battalion consisted of five companies. Company A. Captain A. M. Heitman. 80 officers and men: Company B, Captain C. D. Dowd, 80 officers and men; Company C, Captain W. S. Lineberry, 78 officers and men ; Company D, Captain W. H. Carter, 76 officers and men; Company E, Captain Thos. L. Lea, 82 officers and men. Total when organized, including field and staff, 408 officers and men.
This battalion was organized at Camp Holmes near Raleigh, 3 June, 1864, by electing Walter Clark, Major. Major Clark, a cadet at Tew's Military School, had in May, 1861, entered the service as drill-master and later went to Virginia with Pettigrew's regiment, Twenty-second North Carolina ; in 1862-63 he had served as Adjutant of the Thirty-fifth North Carolina (Colonel M. W. Ransom). On the return to this State of that brigade in 1863, he resigned and entering the senior class at the State University, graduated 2 June, the day before his election as Major. His battalion was equipped much as the First had been and was ordered to Goldsboro, 8 June. After a few days stay it was ordered to Weldon 18 June and went into camp 19 June, near the First Battalion, in a camp styled "Camp Ransom," in honor of General M. W. Ransom, whose residence was close by and on whose staff (when Colonel Ransom) the Major commanding had served.
The post at Weldon was commanded by Colonel James W. Hinton, of the Sixty-eighth North Carolina, and the district was under the command of General L. S. Baker, with headquarters at Goldsboro. Pickets were kept out by the two battalions to guard against surprise by raiding parties, or a sudden advance of the enemy from the Chowan. The command was rigidly and constantly drilled and with the facility of boys soon acquired military discipline and efficiency. On 27 June the Sixth Battalion was ordered to Gaston and took post on the east side of the river to protect the railroad bridge at that point from a threatened cavalry raid, but returned to Weldon 1 July.
ORGANIZED INTO A REGIMENT.
On 4 July, 1864, the First and Sixth Battalions were, in pursuance of General Orders, organized into a regiment. On 15 June. Captain M. C. Nixon's company had been assigned to the First Battalion. The Halifax County company of Captain W. R. Williams, was now added to the two battalions, making ten companies whose officers on that day elected
CHARLES W. BROADFOOT, Colonel.
WALTER CLARK, Lieutenant-Colonel.
N. A. GREGORY, Major.The election was conducted by Lieutenant Graham Daves, Aide to General Holmes. Upon his report of the election, orders were issued assigning above officers to duty accordingly. Major Gregory had seen service as First Lieutenant of Company I, Twenty-third North Carolina Regiment, but having been wounded and disabled at Chancellorsville, had resigned. He now patriotically accepted his election and re-entered the service.
During July, the headquarters of Lieutenant-General Holmes were removed to Weldon. Not long after his arrival, he sent, for the above field officers of the First Regiment and explained to them his earnest wish that his chief of staff, Lieutenant-Colonel F. S. Armistead, might be made Colonel of the First Regiment, as thereby he felt confident that he would without delay be appointed Brigadier-General of the Junior Reserves Brigade (which was to be formed) by President Davis, who had been a cadet at West Point with himself and a life-long friend. Colonel Armistead was himself a West Pointer and brother of General Armistead who was killed at Gettysburg. Their mother was a Stanly, of New Bern. In deference to General Holmes' wishes the field officers resigned and at the new election F. S. Armistead was elected Colonel, C. W. Broadfoot Lieutenant-Colonel, Walter Clark Major, and N. A. Gregory accepted the vacant captaincy of Company H. This arrangement was expected to endure for a very brief period and in order to carry it out fully, General Holmes delayed the formation of the other battalions into regiments as long as he could. But the expected promotion of Colonel Armistead, for some reason, did not materialize, and the arrangement continued to the end, except that on formation of the Second Regiment, Gregory was elected Major of that. As Colonel Armistead for many months commanded the post, or the brigade, the regiment was in the actual command of Lieutenant-Colonel Broadfoot and in his absence by Major Clark. On the second organization, the company of Captain W. R. Williams was transferred to Anderson's Battalion and that of Captain John A. Manning was substituted.
The companies as relettered after the second organization were officered as follows:
COMPANY A--Warren, Franklin and Nash-Captain, Charles Price, of Warren; First Lieutenant, C. C. Smith, of Nash: Second Lieutenants, E. S. Foster and W. B. Coppedge, both of Franklin. This company was the only one which had no change in its officers from its organization in May, till the surrender a year later. Captain Price is a distinguished lawyer, living in Salisbury and has been United States District Attorney for Western North Carolina; Lieutenant Foster is a promising physician in Louisburg.
COMPANY B--Granville--Captains, D. S. Speed, R. L. Crews, F. R. Gregory; First Lieutenants, A. Thorpe, T. W. Taylor; Second Lieutenants, F. S. Daniels, W. H. Gregory, R. H. Andrews, Alex. Turner.
COMPANY C-Davidson--Captain, A. M. Heitman; First Lieutenant, J. A. Parks; Second Lieutenants, C. L. Badgett, R. W. Lindsay, F. E. Thomas.
COMPANY D--Wake--Captain, C. J. Richardson; First Lieutenants, A. J. Alford, G. R. Smith; Second Lieutenants, G. R. Smith, W. H. Crabtree, R. Halyburton.
COMPANY E--Moore and Montgomery--Captains, C. D. Dowd, W. W. Beard; First Lieutenant, W. A. Fry, R. W. Wellborn; Second Lieutenants, J. T. McCaulay, D. J. Dye, E. J. Dye, J. C. Neal.
COMPANY F--Randolph--Captain, W. S. Lineberry; First Lieutenants, L. S. Gray, H. C. Causey; Second Lieutenants, H. C. Causey, Z. T. Rush, W. T. Glenn, W. R. Ash-worth.
COMPANY G--Caswell and Stanly--Captain, Thos. L. Lea, of Caswell; First Lieutenant, J. W. Smith, of Stanly; Second Lieutenants. J. G. Denny and L. Eudy, of Caswell, Waverly Johnson, of Northampton.
COMPANY H--Chatham--Captains, W. H. Carter, N. A. Gregory, J. A. Faison; First Lieutenants,, J. T. McAuley, Carson Johnson; Second Lieutenants, W. Y. Fulford, J. J. Watson, J. W. Treloar.
COMPANY I--Orange--Captains, M. C. Nixon, J. S. Farthing, A. D. Markham, W. F. Hargrave, B. F. Weaver, Gabriel Holmes. The latter was a son of Lieutenants-General Holmes and grandson of Governor Holmes.
COMPANY K--Martin, Northampton, Bertie and Chowan--Captains, Jno. A. Manning, Frank S. Faison; First Lieutenants, Frank S. Faison, W. D. Pruden; Second Lieutenants, W. D. Pruden, J. K. Wheeler. Lieutenant Pruden is now the well known lawyer of Edenton.
There were many changes among the officers by the operation of the Examining Board and resignations and some names may be inadvertently omitted. Among the company officers, Captain N. A. Gregory, F. R. Gregory, J. A. Faison and W. W. Beard and Lieutenant W. H. H. Gregory had seen previous service in the army. Captain Faison was a West Pointer.
The staff of the regiment was as follows:
A. T. LONDON, of Wilmington, Adjutant.
N. M. JONES, of Chatham, Sergeant-Major.
O. S. WEDDEN, of Wake, Quartermaster Sergeant.ASSISTANT SURGEONS, James Jordan, of Northampton; F. R. Gregory, of Granville; G. G. Smith, of Concord. Dr. Gregory had previously been Captain of Company B.
When first organized into battalions, we had no surgeons and the following extract of a letter from the writer at that time gives an idea of the situation:
"CAMP DANIEL,
"June 2, 1864. "
I have no surgeon and have to prescribe for the sick myself. A doctor of Major Hahr's Battalion has kindly furnished me with some medicines with full directions how to use. To-day I dosed about thirty. * * * I have a good deal to amuse me in camp. My men come to me for everything. One wants a furlough, one has broken his gun and expects me to mend it for him; another wants to go home to get married, etc."
An assistant surgeon reported for duty on 17 June, 1864, but. with no medicines. These came within a short time, however, and thereafter we had the services of kind, attentive and competent surgeons. This regiment, with the other Junior Reserves, joined in the following letter:
"CAMP OF JUNIOR RESERVES,
"NEAR WELDON, N.C., October 10, 1864.
"Hon. Secretary of War, Richmond, Va.
SIR:-We, the undersigned Field Officers of the Junior Reserves of North Carolina stationed near Weldon, N. C, at the unanimous request of the officers and enlisted men of the commands, respectfully tender their services to the department for duty in Virginia during the present emergency, while our National Capital is threatened and its brave defenders stand in need of reinforcements."
This letter was a source of pride to Lieutenant General Holmes, commanding the Reserves of North Carolina, who often spoke of it in highly complimentary terms to the writer. On 16 October, 1864, the regiment went to Boykin's Depot, met a raid from the Blackwater where it remained a day or two, and returned to Weldon, as the enemy had retired, where we continued to furnish guards for bridges at Gaston and elsewhere, and heavy details for outpost duty.
THE LOWER ROANOKE.
This regiment and Anderson's Battalion were ordered to Plymouth on Saturday, 29 October. We left Weldon and went by rail to Tarboro. On Sunday marched eighteen miles, on Monday twenty-five to within thirteen miles of Plymouth, where we met our troops returning from the capture of the place and the blowing up of the Albemarle by the enemy, and were ordered to Hamilton, N. C. This was extraordinary marching for raw levies. There was little or no straggling and the regiment was highly complimented by General Baker, commanding.
Camp "Baker," near Hamilton, was headquarters, and from this point the outpost service become both arduous and important, as our advanced posts extended to Foster's Mills, below Williamston, in Martin County. Covering the approaches to Martin, Edgecombe and Pitt Counties, whence at the time large supplies were drawn for the support of Lee's army.
Early in November, four companies (B, E, H and I), were sent under command of the Major of the regiment to Williamston where he was placed in charge of the post, relieving Lieutenant Colonel Van Hook with six companies of the Fiftieth. Two companies of cavalry, Captains Pitts and Brown, of the Sixty-fifth North Carolina, and Lee's Alabama Battery of artillery were also under his command, seven companies altogether. With these he was to guard the crossings at Foster's and Rawls' Mills and patrol the roads leading to Plymouth and Washington where the enemy were in force. One of the principal objects served by the outpost at that time was to cover the movements of Dr. Fretwell, who had been sent out from Richmond to place torpedoes in the Roanoke below Williamston, which he did successfully with a force of detailed men as experts. The enemy made two or three attempts to disturb our quiet, and on one occasion Major Clark followed them with part of the cavalry, and three companies of infantry and a section of artillery nearly to Jamesville, the rest being left to guard the road from Washington.
BELFIELD, VA.
About 10 December, six companies, A, C, D, F, G and K were ordered from Camp Baker to Virginia and went as far as Belfield, Va., where they took part in the fight at that place which turned back the raid under General Warren. The other four companies, B, E, H and I, were at the time below Williamston at and near Foster's Mills, and were ordered to follow the others as rapidly as possible. These four made a forced march to Tarboro, when they were immediately ordered back to meet a raid from Plymouth.
BUTLER'S BRlDGE.
On 12 December, after marching one hundred miles in eight days, they were in line behind breastworks at Butler's Bridge, near Hamilton, Fort Branch and Camp Baker, with a section of Lee's light battery from Montgomery, Ala., and two companies of cavalry of the Sixty-fifth North Carolina State Troops, Captains Brown and Pitts in the immediate front. The whole force under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Broadfoot. Just before daylight on the morning of the 13th, we were attacked in front and rear at the same time, the party in the rear having been piloted through the swamps by one or more traitors, known as Buffaloes. The cavalry companies were dismounted and in front as skirmishers, and their horses were a few yards in rear of the breastworks, on the Hamilton side, when they were fired upon by the enemy and broke away from the few men in charge of them and dashed over the bridge and up the road in the direction of Tarboro. The noise of these loose horses crossing the bridge was mistaken by the enemy in front for a charge, and they fell back, allowing the entire command to escape, and reform on the Tarboro road about one-fourth of a mile distant, in a line of old breastworks commanding the road.
In this affair the regiment lost Dr. Gregory captured in Camp Baker, where he went to attend the wounded, Lieutenant VanB. Sharpe, of Pitt County, who had been wounded while on the skirmish line, and several privates were also captured, and we had our camp plundered, if a camp of Junior Reserves at that time can be said to be the subject of plunder. Colonel Hinton and Adjutant Hinton, of the Sixty-Eighth, who had spent the night at the Sherrod house in our rear, waiting the coming up of that regiment, were captured, as they came out expecting to meet it, but the Adjutant soon escaped. He had a leave of absence in his pocket to go home to be married and he kept his tryst. The enemy returned hastily to Plymouth. Upon the return of the six companies from Belfield, the regiment resumed its duties at Camp Baker of protecting the approaches from below and thus guarding Tarboro and Weldon.
POPLAR POINT.
Late in December, the enemy sent several boats up the Roanoke, threatening Fort Branch, and on 23 December, two companies of the regiment, with a section of Dickson's light battery (Company E, of Starr's Battalion), the whole under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Broadfoot, who had volunteered for this service, went to Poplar Point on the Roanoke, a short distance below Fort Branch, to reconnoiter, and prevent, if possible, their further ascent of the river. The loss of a boat, sunk near Williamston by a torpedo placed in the river the night before by Dr. Fretwell, who had been sent from Richmond as already stated, for the purpose of obstructing the river, had checked the gunboats which were advancing slowly, dragging the river from open boats as they went. When they passed a bend in the river below Poplar Point and came into view, the guns of Dickson's Battery located on the bluff, opened fire and stopped them. The enemy shelled the banks, which were lined with two companies of our regiment, without damage, and upon 24 December another battery having been placed below the gunboats and the infantry having been reinforced by Colonel Whitford's Sixty-seventh Regiment, the enemy retired, shelling heavily the woods as they withdrew. General Leventhorpe, commanding the District of North Carolina, complimented our command for its part in this affair.
Just here an anecdote: While passing along the line the officer in command caught one of the boys with an unexploded shell from the enemy between his knees, trying to extract the powder. Upon being sharply reprimanded and told of the danger to himself and others, the boy replied: "I am not skeered of the d-d things when they are coming at me through the air, and I know I ain't afraid of 'em when I have 'em in my hands." About 29 January this regiment, with the Second and Third Regiments and Millard's Battalion of Junior Reserves, commanded by Captain C. M. Hall, were formed into a brigade under command of Colonel F. S. Armistead, by General Order No. 1, of this date, and Captain B. F. Smith, Assistant Quartermaster, was assigned to duty as brigade Quartermaster. This was our first acquaintance with a quartermaster, as our dealings heretofore with that branch of the service were at long range. We never had a commissary officer, but our brigade had an excellent ordnance officer in Lieutenant F. S. Foster, of Company A, of our regiment, assigned to duty as such.
About the middle of February, 1865, our regiment as part of the First Brigade Reserves, went to Kinston, N. C, and were accounted worthy to stand with their older brethren of Hoke's Division, as part and parcel of the same; and from this time to the farewell address of that gallant General made to his division on 1 May, 1865, we shared its hardships, as well as its glories.
SOUTH WEST CREEK.
After being encamped with the brigade for some three weeks at Kinston (about one mile west of the Jno. C. Washington residence), news came that the enemy was advancing from New Bern in force. The brigade was placed under command of General L. S. Baker, and attached to Hoke's Division, and on 6 March we crossed the river and marched down to South West Creek, where we lined the bank of that stream, the right of our brigade (the First Regiment) resting on the county road where it crosses that stream north of the railroad. The morning of the 8th we heard the heavy fighting and joined in the cheering as the news came down the line that Hoke had captured 1,600 prisoners and a general officer on the right. About 3 p. m. we were ordered to cross the stream before us, which we did on an improvised bridge under firing going on between our skirmishers and those of the enemy.
On the other side the brigade formed line of battle in the same order as before, the First Regiment Reserves (Seventieth North Carolina) on the right. On orders from General Baker the brigade moved handsomely forward, and drove the enemy from behind their temporary breastworks of fence rails and logs. We captured some prisoners and the loss in the brigade was not very heavy.
MIS-STATEMENT CORRECTED..
General D. H. Hill, writing a month after, says in his report of this battle, speaking from hearsay, for he states therein that the Reserves were not under his command, as follows, 98 (Serial Vol.) Off. Rec. Union and Confed. Armies, 1087. The Reserves advanced handsomely for a time, but at length one regiment (the First, I think), broke and the rest lay down and could not be got forward." Had General Hill been writing of troops under his own command, or of matters of his own knowledge, his statement would be accepted. But by the very reason of his high character this statement by him on hearsay can not be allowed to go down in history uncorrected. I, who saw the whole matter, must say, and all others who were present (of whom hundreds are still living,) among them the editor of this work, will concur with me that this statement is a gross injustice to the gallant boys. The facts are that the whole brigade went forward handsomely, as General Hill says, and while closely engaged, a portion of the First Regiment (not all) misconceiving a command that was given to the skirmish line, did break and fell back some 150 yards to the stream. They did not attempt to cross it by the bridge or otherwise and were readily and promptly rallied and immediately went forward again. They were much chagrined at misunderstanding the orders which alone had caused them to fall back. No part of the brigade at any time lay down and refused to go forward. Those who commanded the Juniors or saw them in action know that there were no troops who had more enthusiasm or were more easily led than they.
About dark General Hoke placing himself at the head of our brigade, some other troops being added, marched us down the road towards Neuse river with the intention of turning the enemy's flank, but about midnight the scouts brought in news which induced General Hoke to retrace our steps and at daylight we had recrossed the creek and were back in our breastworks.
The enemy in front were repulsed, but Sherman's army was coming up from South Carolina and we were in danger of being ''in a strait betwixt two.'" On the 10th we retreated through Kinston, thence through Goldsboro to Smithfield, where we saw General Joseph E. Johnston, who was in chief command. There one morning the Junior Reserves Brigade was drawn up on three sides of a square to witness the execution of three men from Zachary's Georgia Regiment, who were to be shot for mutiny. There were threats of rescue, hence this precaution. The men were tied to stakes and shot by a detail, half only of whose guns were loaded with ball, the other half with powder (the loading being done by others) so no man would know that he fired the fatal shot. It was a painful scene.
BENTONVILLE.
On 16 March the battle of Averasboro was fought and the next morning we moved forward to meet Sherman. The night of the 18th we camped in the woods beyond the stream which runs through Bentonville. The next day, 19 March, was a bright Sunday morning. Hoke's Division lined the road and at right angles to us was the Army of the West The enemy were in the angle. In the afternoon we saw the Western army at right angles to us as it charged and took two successive lines of breastworks, capturing the enemy's artillery. Several officers led the charge on horseback across an open field in full view, with colors flying and line of battle in such perfect order as to be able to distinguish the several field officers in proper place and followed by a battery which dashed at full gallop, wheeled, unlimbered and opened fire. It looked like a picture and at our distance was truly beautiful. It was gallantly done, but it was a painful sight to see how close their battle flags were together, regiments being scarcely larger than companies and a. division not much larger than a regiment should be. In the meantime Hoke's Division was sharply engaged with a corps which was trying to turn our flank. The enemy's large force enabled him to do this and next morning Hoke's Division was thrown back and formed a new line of battle facing nearly due east, whereas the day before we had been facing southwest
This new line the division promptly fortified with breastworks hastily thrown up of logs, filled in with earth dug up with bayonets and tin pans and a few spades and shovels. In front of this line, two hundred yards, was the skirmish line of each brigade. That of our brigade was commanded by Major Walter Clark, of the First Regiment. During the two days we held that position the enemy repeatedly charged and sometimes drove in the skirmishers to our right and left, but being favored by the ground or for some other cause, the skirmishers of our brigade held their ground the entire time. On Tuesday afternoon, the enemy having broken through to our extreme left, threatened our communications. That night General Johnston withdrew across the stream, having held 70,000 of Sherman's troops at bay with forces in the beginning not exceeding 14,000, and at no time reaching 20,000. In many respects this was one of the most remarkable battles of the war. Sherman's troops were evidently demoralized by a long course of pillaging and plunder.
Sherman did not follow our retreat, but sheered off to Goldsboro. General Johnston's army was encamped around Mitchener's depot and was reorganized 31 March, 100 Official Records Union and Confederate Armies 732-786. On 6 April we had the last great review held of any of the Confederate armies and Governor Vance made one of his most inspiring speeches. No brigade there made a finer appearance than the Juniors. It was the largest brigade in Hoke's Division, nearly doubling in numbers Clingman's, and indeed was the largest brigade in the whole army by the official returns.
THE RETREAT.
On 10 April we began our final retreat. On 12 April we passed through Raleigh, Hoke's Division being the rear guard and our last pickets passed through the town at midnight, Governor Vance passed out just ahead of us and spent the night in General Hoke's tent about seven miles west of Raleigh. We passed through Chapel Hill and the Alamance Regulator battle ground (of 16 May, 1771) and thence on up to Red Cross in Randolph, where we halted several days awaiting the result of the "Bennett House" surrender of 14 April.
In passing through Alamance the streams were much swollen by recent rains, and there was great difficulty in crossing and many narrow escapes from drowning occurred, especially among the boys.`
The first treaty for surrender, the most creditable thing in the career of General Sherman, having been disallowed by President Johnson, we were again moved westward but we were again stopped at Bush Hill, near Trinity College, by the news that a final surrender had been made on 26 April, There on 1 May $1.25 in silver was paid to each one from general to private and on the next day, what was left of the command received paroles, from the commanding office of their respective regiments. By this time the army had dwindled to a skeleton, the certainty of a surrender and the unwillingness to be made prisoner having rapidly thinned the ranks.
On the afternoon of 2 May, 1865, what was left of the First Regiment of Junior Reserves received their paroles and quietly dispersed to their respective homes. The regiment was off duty forever.
We suffered, we fought, we failed, it has pleased some to call us rebels because we had done our duty, but history will record the names of the gallant, bright-faced boys of the North Carolina Junior Reserves on that page where only those of heroes are written.
CHARLES W. BROADFOOT.
FAYETTEVILLE, N. C,
2 May, 1901.
[from North Carolina Regiments, 1901, by Walter Clark, Vol. 4, pg. 9-23
Derick S. Hartshorn-webmaster - © 2008
Last Modified: 04/30/2008 18:52:28
