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Bertie County, North Carolina

Bertie County in the War


We WELCOME material that is related to Bertie County and its participation in the ALL the Wars!

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Colonial Militia |Revolutionary War |War of 1812 |Cherokee Indian (1836-1839) |
Civil War |WWI | WWII
Military Marker for Veterans

Military Links NCGenWeb Wonderful page, well maintained.

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Colonial Militia

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Gerald Thomas presents a history of Bertie County’s militia regiments during its COLONIAL ERA (1722-1775) .
His meticulous research provides us with information on a little known period of the early militia in Bertie County.

Revolutionary War

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Rebels and King's Men: Bertie County in the Revolutionary War by Gerald Thomas has now been published!
It is available for purchase from the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, Historical Publications Section. It can be ordered on-line ORDER Price is $15 (plus tax, S&H).

Please note that the full text of the three appendixes conveying service summaries of Bertie County's Continental Line soldiers (Appendix 1), detached militiamen (Appendix 2), and British soldiers (Appendix 3) is available electronically at HPS's website.
Electronice Appendix

Due to the overall length of the book, only the names and ranks of the men are included in the appendixes of the hardcopy. ORDER Purchase all three titles in the Bertie at War series, plus a copy of Bertie County: A Brief History, at a 40% discount.

My ancestor was living in Bertie County during the time of the Revolution. Was it likely that he served in the Military?
All men were enrolled in the "militia", but not all would have served in the Continental Line. For "tax purposes", all men were listed according to the Military District in which they lived. We have some of these Tax Lists on-line.
See Bertie County History for a better understanding of the political times.
See Number of Bertie Men serving in Militia - compare it with total population and that of other counties.

What is the difference between the Continental Line and the Militia?
The Militia was every man on the Tax List and mainly served to protect the military district itself.
The Continental Line were the men who were drafted or volunteered to serve in the actual Army fighting against the British.
Click here to read the report from the 2nd Continental Congress establishing the Militia. It explains the ages (16-50); officers to be designated; each company to be about 68 men; type of equipment; "minute man"; allows for religious principles--and other details.

Click here to gain understanding of the importance of the militia to General Washington's plans.

What are the dates of Revolutionary Service?
Usually these dates are inclusive: April 19, 1775 to Nov 26, 1783.

How did the draft function?
An alloted number of men from each Military District were selected when each call for men was made. Frequently money was offered as an incentive for "volunteering" before a "draft" had to be made.

Read the pension application of Thomas Tart for a good understanding of his enrollment July 20, 1778. [These NC men are listed in alphabetical order]

What Regiments would a soldier from North Carolina have enlisted in?
Each State provided it's own Regiments, so the State Name is included in the Name of the Regiment itself. I've tried to combine some helpful information about those from North Carolina to help you. Visit N.C. Revolutionary Regiments.

What is on-line for Bertie County Revolutionary Soldiers already?
Bertie County Revolutionary Soldiers We're working on lists of Soldiers, so please look over the listing, and give us your information! It includes Pensions and other listings.

In 1775 Bertie County elected as officers: Thomas Whitmell, Colonel
Thomas Pugh, Lieut-Colonel
James Moore, 1st Major Arthur Brown, 2nd Major

Is there an outline to help me with Research Steps?
This LDS site Research Outline for US Miltary Records is very thorough.
Be sure to look at the TABLE showing the various kinds of records and what you are apt to find in each one, i.e. Military Service, Pension, Bounty Land, Draft, Cemetery, Soldier Homes, Lineage Society, Biography.

Ed St.Germain's site is very complete.

Are there any published books where I can look for my ancestors name?

Locating Your Revolutionary War Ancestor: A Guide To The Military Records by James C. & Lila L. Neagles.$6.36 Raleigh-NC Archives

Service Records

Roster of soldiers from North Carolina in the American Revolution, with an appendix containing a collection of miscellaneous records;Durham, NC, 1932

North Carolina 1780-81: Being A History of the Invasion of the Carolinas by the British Army under Lord Cornwallis in 1780-81 by David Schenck

Published Feb 2000. Includes narratives and battle maps as well as ppendix listing officers, etc. Heritage Books, Inc.: Index .

The Colonial Records of North Carolina by William L. Saunders Vol 1-5

North Carolina Revolutionary Army Accounts: Secretary of State, Treasurer's & Comptroller's Papers, Journal "A", (Public Accounts) 1775-1776 Haun, Weynette Parks,(Durham: pub. by author, 1989)

North Carolina Revolutionary Army accounts Secretary of State, Treasurer's & Comptroller's papers, journal "A", (public accounts), 1775-1776/ Weynette Parks Haun

Roster of North Carolina Soldiers in the American Revolution by Genealogical Publishing Co, 1972 (Originally published by the D.A.R. , Durham, N.C., 1932) which lists:
Heitman's Register: First,Second, and Third North Carolina Lines; and Pierces's Register (from the seventeenth report of the Daughters of the American Revolution The General Index of this Register is preserved in MSS. in the Library of Congress. North Carolina Certificates 89,501 to 91,938 )

Register of Soldiers from North Carolina in the American Revolution by Genealogical Publishing Company, 1984, Library of Congress # 67-28097.

The Continental Army- North Carolina (BIBLIOGRAPHY) This is the US ARMY CENTER OF MILITARY HISTORY site and contains alot of information.

DAR Patriot Index(Washington, D.C., 1994. Centennial Edition). Alphabetical listing of submitted data from 1890-1990. (Covers Service, Pension, pension for widow or children)DAR Patriot Look-up
for free DAR LookUps...
Additional look-up site or additional look-up site.

Visit this site to request a look-up (ONLY 1 per e-mail).

PROVIDE INFO - Provide as much of the following as possible. While other info is often interesting (If you think it is, by all means share it with us) and may give a clue, all we have is an
               index, and ALL it has is: 

               dates of birth and death;
               state/colony of birth and death; 
               spouse(s);
               rank, position or type of service; 
               state/colony of patriotic service.
American Revolutionary War Soldiers & Their Descendants " Remembered and Not Forgotten " These pages contain the email and/or URL addresses of descendants or persons who can give you some background on the revolutionary soldier that is listed with each email address. The email address on this index page you are reading now is only for submissions and problems about the website, not for queries.

Guidelines for submitting your ancestor If your ancestor is not listed, and you are willing to share information to others about your ancestor, these are the guidelines for sending in your Revolutionary or Fr.& Ind. War ancestor. (You MUST be willing to respond to those who write you about your ancestor) Please list in this order: 

	1) Send name of your soldier ancestor as: SURNAME, firstname
	2) Send state of residence or service of ancestor in abbeviation and
parenthesis: (NY)
	3) Send your email address and/or the URL of a page specific to the
soldier's name
	4) Send your name as: John Doe,
	5) Please put either Revolution ancestor or F&I ancestor in Subject line

If you really want to make it easier for us to list your ancestor, and see that it is indexed faster, please either copy and paste or fill in the appropriate areas with the proper html code as follows: [p>SURNAME firstname (STATE Abbreviation) [A HREF="mailto: youraddress@your.com">Your name[/A> [/P> If you understand html, go ahead and substitute a (<) in place of the opening bracket: [. 

Send this information to:   louisianaroots@writeme.com

Please remember that we do not offer research services, the purpose of this
site is to simply list your ancestor's name with your contact address so
others may contact you.

A third way to submit your ancestor is to submit it with this guestbook
registry. It will be added to the indexes later, but will be instantly
available under new unindexed entries:

For suggestions write: AmericanRevolution@avoyelles.com

Pension Records
Genealogical Abstracts of Revolutionary War Pension Files, 4 Vol abstracted by Virgil D. White, published in 1991 and 1992 by the National Historical Publishing Company, Waynesboro, TN.

"Lists of soldiers who received pension under the several Pension Acts were published by Act of Congress.(1817, 1818, 1823, 1828, 1831, 1835). The lists are arranged by county . The 1835 Pension list has been published, but if your veteran died BEFORE that, you might also want to check the Congressional Serial Set. Most major Universities, Reference libraries and Federal Depository Libraries have this among their holdings.

National Archives and LDS Microfilm

General Index to Compiled Service Records of Revolutionary War Soldiers, Sailors and Members of Army Staff Departments National Archives Microfilm roll M 881 . This alphabetical index includes soldiers, sailors, members of Army staff departments, and civilian employees of the Army and Navy (such as teamsters, carpenters, laundresses and cooks). For each soldier or civilian, the index lists the name, rank, unit and profession or office.

The Compiled Service Records of the Revolutionary War Soldiers Who Served With The American Army During The Revolutionary War - National Archives Microfilm M881.

Revolutionary War Rolls, 1776-1783 National Archives Microfilm M246. Original company rolls, muster rolls, payrolls, and strength returns of Continental Army, militia, and state volunteer units. They are arranged by unit in folders, called "jackets". Use the index to the compiled service records to find the name of the regimental commander, then use the index (FHL film 830280) to determine the jacket number.

M853 -Pay Records ,Revolutionary War, Military Operations & Service Settlement of Accounts & Supplies in the War Records RG 93 ( 41 rolls)

Note: If your account says record section..."2nd regt. of NC militia", remember that NARA doesn't have militia records, just those of federal service. You should be asking the NC state archives.

I've found his name on a list. Now what?
You're on the way!
See ordering information for how to request his military record. Also Bounty Land. Also Pension. But each one must be submitted separately to the National Archives - Washington.

I'd like to know what battles he may have fought in.

Visit this site - http://www.army.mil/CMH-PG/lineage/OrgHist.htm
Lists all the North Carolina regiments.....when organized, officers, and battles they engaged in. **This link isn't working, if you know the new one let me know!

Chronological Listing of Battles (not just NC)

Alphabetical listing of battles

Summary of Battles and Commanders of the Revolutionary War. Click directly on red dots for battle stories.

Time line
The Library of Congress has posted two timelines of events:
for 1764-1775 (prior to the Declaration of Independence)
for 1776-1789 (from then until the acceptance of the Constitution).

Calendar of Revolutionary Events by year and day

Did my ancestor fight with General George Washington?
The Library of Congress at: http://lcweb.loc.gov/ has on-line all of the letters of George Washington for viewing in their original form and in their transcribed form.
Use Search our website (middle top)
Click on letter W on next page on right side
Click on George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress<
Once you get to that site:
You can search all the letters using the "Find" feature. Enter White and all of letters [if any] with the name White in the letter will be listed for you to read.
Gen Washington wrote many letters and you might find your ancestors names!

Did everyone receive a Pension? When did Pensions begin?
The Pension Laws changed. Visit this page to learn more about Pensions and who might have qualified.

How can I find his Pension Record?
Genealogical Abstracts of Revolutionary War Pension Files, 4 Vol abstracted by Virgil D. White, published in 1991 and 1992 by the National Historical Publishing Company, Waynesboro, TN.
This index book including the abstracts which will give the microfilm roll no. to look for.
The National Archives has Microfilm roll M 881 The Compiled Service Records of the Revolutionary War Soldiers Who Served With The American Army During The Revolutionary War - RG 93 ( 1097 Rolls).
You can review the Roll at any of the District National Archives offices or order the film through LDS. These may contain Bible records,birthdates,family members,death records.

Could he have received Bounty Land?
Yes. This site Revolutionary Bounty Land Warrants will help you learn more about these possibilities.

Are there any other records?
Yes--North Carolina's 1)Pay Vouchers and Certificates and 2)Account Books. Click here for an explanation of these possibilities.

What things are on-line about North Carolina?
North Carolina in the Revolutionary War:
Visit this page to learn more about the involvement of the citizenry of North Carolina in the conflict.

ABSTRACT of the ARMY ACCOUNTS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA LINE
Accts. settled by the commissioners at Halifax from the 1st September, 1784, to the 1st Feby, 1785 and at Warrenton in the year 1786, designating by whom the claims were receipted for respectively. This is an alphabetical listing--click on the letter of the alphabet.

Are there places to share my information to help others?
Yes! REVOLUTIONARY WAR BIOGRAPHY
Share your Revolutionary Ancestor's Biography

Bertie County Revolutionary PENSION BOARD
Place your pension application on-line to help other researchers. These applications usually contain names of witnesses to the military service and important information about the actual regiments and time served.

Is there a place to ask questions about doing Rev. War Research?
Place queries specific to researching the Revolutionary War ancestor in North Carolina.

       Revolutionary War Mailing List - To subscribe, send an e-mail message to: 
          AMERICAN-REVOLUTION-L-request@rootsweb.com (for individual messages) 
          AMERICAN-REVOLUTION-D-request@rootsweb.com (for a digest of multiple 
			messages)
          In the body include only one word: subscribe Turn OFF your signature 
			file when sending this command) 
          The list owner is Ruth Hesterly,

Would the SAR records help me?
National Society, Sons of the American Revolution is located in Louisville, KY. The Society has a wonderful library reading room. $5.00 per day for non-members and free to members. All of their databases are available on site for searching.
Their 1999 Patriot Index in CDROM format contains over 610,000 names and is available for ordering for $39.95 plus $5.00 for shipping. Data was taken from family history records of patriots and their descendants.

Would the DAR records help me?
Offerings at the DAR Library The Daughters of the American Revolution Patriot Index may also be of interest to anyone who believes that they have Revolutionary War-era ancestors. This index lists all of the Revolutionary War patriots who have been used for membership, and includes information such as the patriot's birth date, death date, spouse's name, a few details about their service, and the names of people who have used the individual to join the Daughters of the American Revolution.

  • Ordering the pension/military/bounty land record
    Obtain FORM available via download. Be sure to state: 1) Quantity needed 2) Correct Form # 3) your postal mailing address
    Or if you prefer, postal inquiry: National Archives Form NATF Form 80
    Military Services Branch
    National Archives and Records Administration
    8th & Pennsylvania Ave NW
    Washington DC 20408

    When you return the form, they will search certain records for that individual. If you use your credit card, they will proceed to copy and send to you the information they found. If they are unable to find any information you will be notified, and there is NO CHARGE. The cost for a successful search if $10 and depending on the amount of copying, some extra charges.

    Could he have been a Tory?
    Yes. There were many people loyal to the Crown in the beginning days. Those who had shortly arrived from England or Scotland had taken oaths of allegiance to the King and felt great loyalty to their native land. Bertie County Loyalists

    The Gourd Patch Conspiracy or Llewellyn Affair was a plot to murder those leaders advocating rebellion in the northeastern counties of North Carolina.

    Read more about this Conspiracy

    Resources:
    "The Loyalists in N.C. During the Revolution" by DeMond
    "The Loyalist Experience in N.C."
    "The Highland Scots of N.C., 1732-1776" by Duane Meyer
    On May 10th 1777, North Carolina at Newbern, passed an Act of Assembly , entitled an Act for the Security of the State which prescribed an Oath of Allegiance that all males were required to sign. Refusal to sign the oath could result in a Court Order that the persons be commanded and directed to depart the State of North Carolina.

    Several of Oaths of Allegiance were circulated in the county for signatures. These are the ones we do have on-line :
    Bertie County Petition against King George III

    The History Place - American Revolution:
    http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/revolution/index.html

    Claims of British Merchants after the Revolutionary War

    Abstracted from British Records Collection at the NC State Archvies in Raleigh. Treasury Series T 79/83. Microfilm box Z.5.149N)
    Claims of British merchants against American debtors who contracted debts before and during the Revolutionary War have been abstracted by Ransom McBride and published in the North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal in a series 1981-1982). The report is dated 14 Sept 1800 and is arranged by Counties. Sometimes lists an "informant" revealing information like "RUFFIN, John. (3L.8.3) Lamon Ruffin informs that this man resides in Edgecombe near Coky bridge in good circumstances."

    North Carolina Loyalists During the American Revolution:

    Extracts of All Such Grants of Confiscated Property As Are Recorded in the Office by the Secretary of the State of North Carolina

    Contains names of Loyalists (Duckenfield, McCulloch, Lother, McKitrick); number of acres of land confiscated; names of purchaser and the price paid. Arranged by Counties. Also a section for claims, and pensions.

    Robert DeMond, Loyalists in North Carolina During the Revolution, appendix B. Copyright 1940, Duke University Press, Durham, NC. All rights reserved.

    American Revolutionary War History Links:
    http://www.americanrevolution.org/histlinks.html

    Published Resources



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    Fort McHenry     War of 1812
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    War of 1812-Bertie County Roster (Aug 1814)

    Bertie County Men Serving in War of 1812 Corrected Information from Gerald Thomas

    Bertie County Men Serving in War of 1812 contributions by individual researchers.

    "Muster Rolls of the Soldiers of the War of 1812 Detached from the Militia of North Carolina in 1812 and 1814 (1851, repr. 1998)"
    For look up: Email Kathie Marynik

    Post Your Pension Information

    David Stone and the War of 1812

    What is available for Research

    NATIONAL ARCHIVES INFORMATION
    Obtain FORM 80 available via e-mail. inquire@arch2.nara.gov Be sure to state: 1) Quantity needed 2) Correct Form # 3) your postal mailing address
    Or if you prefer, postal inquiry: 
National Archives Form NATF Form 80
Military Services Branch
National Archives and Records Administration
8th & Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington DC 20408
    When you return the form, they will search certain records for that individual. If you use your credit card, they will proceed to copy and send to you the information they found. If they are unable to find any information you will be notified, and there is NO CHARGE. The cost for a successful search if $17 and depending on the amount of copying, some extra charges.

    Mailing List: WARof1812-L@rootsweb.com
    Join by sending e-mail to WARof1812-L-request@rootsweb.com . Subscribe in body of note.

    Is there on-line help for look-ups?
    Yes, http://genforum.genealogy.com/warof1812/. Post a message and someone will respond to you.

    History of the period

    North Carolina and the War of 1812 by Sarah McCulloh Lemmon

    (This is a wonderful book (only 54pgs) which describes the feelings in NC at this time.)

    Troops were:

    All men were enrolled in the militia, but not all would have been called up. Those who were enrolled were know as the "detached militia". These might be volunteers, but also could have been "drafted" if the county didn't have enough volunteers.

    You may have wondered why the Roster from Bertie was formed in 1814 rather than in the beginning 1812. Ms. Lemmon's book tells us that after the burning of the capital, (Aug 23, 1814) NC Governor Hawkins ordered the militia of 15 counties to march immediately to Norfolk. He then issued a proclamation that all "new draft" meet at Gates County Courthouse, under Brigadier General Jeremiah Slade.

    Chances are if you have sent for your ancestor's record, the enlistment place will be in that time period and at Gates County Courthouse.

    Another key date to judge "where your ancestor was"....is the Sept 13, 1814 date when Francis Scott Key witnessed the attack on Ft. Henry and wrote his "Star Spangled Banner"....at dawn's early light.

    Another probability is that your ancestor was in Capt James Iredell's Bertie Company.

    Dr. Lemmon sheds light here too:

    "A young lawyer named James Iredell, Jr. was one of the officers of a Bertie company. His mother did not want him to go to war. She feared that the militia would teach him bad habits, and she also thought it was bad for his law practice to go dashing off to Norfolk. Iredell did not agree, however, and marched on with his men.

    When the troops arrived in Norfolk, they were sworn into federal service and encamped at Moorings Rope Walk. The citizens lined the road and applauded as they arrived. Iredell wrote to his sister that he and the two other young offices had a little hut, just large enough for the three of them. They had hired a cook and had a kitchen just back of the hut. Now and then the cook prepared them a pudding. There was a table, four chairs, a bench, two bedsteads, and a cot swung like a hammock from the joists...."

    She continues with her description, so you can see what delightful reading this is!

    Though they apparently did not see any battle, many men became ill and even died from disease....and in Feb 1815, the regiment was discharged. Peace had been declared at Ghent in Belgium and signed Dec 24, 1814, but the news did not reach New York until February 11.

    Could my ancestor have obtained Bounty Land for 1812 service?
     The War of 1812 brought the need for enticed enlistments. The Revolutionary War was still fresh in the memories of everyone, and the new war had resulted in a British embargo which created hardships for all. Congress responded by creating three new military districts for the exclusive use of new enlistees: one in the Michigan territory, one in Illinois, and one in Louisiana (later became Arkansas).

    Six million acres were allotted for this purpose, and claimants were required to pre-select the district they preferred. A lottery was then held to determine the precise parcel of land, which could not be assigned or mortgaged until the patent had been issued."

    One hundred sixty acres and $16 in cash were given to each man who would enlist for five years or the duration of the war. 

    Bounty lands for 1812 veterans:
1. All who enlisted were promised free land.

2. After the war the officers were told there was not enough land 
to go around so they did not receive land at the time.

3. Much later (1830s or 40s) the govt. decided to grant land to officers.

    Pension Rolls

    Could my ancestor have received a Pension? How about his widow?
    GenForum War of 1812
    Good place for asking questions. Also some individuals will do Pension Look-ups.

    The Pension Rolls for 1835 contain the names of ex-soldiers who fought in the War of 1812 who received a pension for their military service.
    The Roll for North Carolina is at:
    Surnames A-E
    Surnames F-L Surnames M-R Surnames S-Z

    The Tennessee Pension Roll of 1835 lists many ex-soldiers from North Carolina:
    http://files.usgwarchives.net/tn/statewide/military/warof1812/pensions/pen1835.txt

    Many lot of people who settled in what is now Tennessee were from NC

    Resource:Branson's 1872 North Carolina Business Directory, includes this advertisement;Page 262.

    PENSIONS FOR SOLDIERS & WIDOWS OF THE WAR OF 1812
    A law has been passed by Congress granting pension to Soldiers and Sailors of the war of 1812. The act authorizes the placing on the Pension Roll all surviving officers, enlisted and drafted men, militia and volunteers, of the Military or naval service of the United States who served a period of sixty days in the war of 1812. Also other officers named personally in any resolution of Congress who served less than sixty days.
    All applicants are required to take an oath to support the Constitution of the United States.

    The surviving Widows of all such Officers, Soldiers, etc., are entitled to pensions, provided they were married before the treaty of peace which terminated the war of 1812, (Feb. 17th, 1815,) and have not since re-married.

    The amount allowed is $8.00 per month, to commence from the time the act passed, (Feb. 14th, 1871,) and continue during the pensioner's life.

    Having paid the special tax required by the Department, and qualified myself as Claim Agent, I am ready to collect these pensions for those to whom they are due, at very small expense to them. No payment required until collection is made. The necessary Blanks for application will be sent to any one entitled to pension.

    For Blanks and information enclose stamp to J.A. Jones, Attorney and Solicitor of Claims, Raleigh, N.C.

    Daughters of 1812

    The Star Spangled Banner

    Major Battles of the War of 1812:
    http://www.multied.com/1812/

    Military History: War of 1812 (1812-1814)
    http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/amh/AMH-06.htm



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    Cherokee Indian War (1836-1839)
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    Records are on microfilm according to State. I've not seen these microfilm, but I understand that there is a published book based on the microfilm from North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee which was published in 1995. (Sorry, but I don't have the author)

    The book took information from the jacket of the record and includes the man's name, rank, state, and unit (Horton's Co - 3 NC Mil)

    "The original records were filed under the muster rolls of each unit and these have been carefully checked and made into individual files and listed alphabetically in the National Archives.... "For many men there are additional files in the National Archives as pensions and Bounty Land Warrants were issued to many of these men as per their or their widow's request."

    If anyone is able to research this particular war, please do share with us your information....

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    Civil War Flags     Civil War
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    Political pre-1861 | Companies from Bertie | African-Americans in War |Pensions | Misc Links

    Political Pre-1861 Atmosphere in Bertie County

    North Carolina remained in the Union in late 1860, but the state was divided. Bertie County was represented were led by Unionist P.T. Henry in the lower house and David Outlaw in the upper legislature.

    Governer John Ellis leaned towards secession and pressed the legislature to call a convention to consider leaving the Union. Bertie County was committed to the Union and political meetings were held in the county to oppose secession.

    Feb 28, 1861 - Bertie Co. cast 80% of their ballots against the proposed convention. Even at this time, the majority of the population in Bertie were slaves. 

    Total Population: 14,310
White Population: 5846
Freemen: 279
Slaves: 8186
# of volunteers between April-Nov 1861:  183     3.3% of possible 1190 eligible men

    April 15, 1861 - President Lincoln's proclamation to stop the "rebellion".

    May 1, 1861-the legislature held a special convention that took North Carolina from the Union.

    Divided Allegiance: Bertie County during the Civil War

    Gerald Thomas' book is a "must read" for learning about Bertie County in the Civil War. By tracing the events as they unfold, he helps you understand what it was like to live in Bertie County during those dreadful times. He thoroughly explores the division of loyalties among Bertie Co. families. Mr. Thomas uses his expansive research to provide specific incidents and stories about individuals both in the active military and those at home so that you can feel the anxiety build.

    Appendix provides rosters of Bertie County men for both the Union and the Confederate troops.(1996) $12

    Bertie in Blue Experiences of Bertie County's (NC) Union Servicemen during the Civil War, by Gerald Thomas. OUT OF PRINT
    BOTH books are available at the NC Archives-Raleigh, Hope Plantation, and Amazon.com.

    April 21, 1861 First company raised. Jesse Copeland Jaccocks, commander. "Bertie Volunteers"

    May 9, 1861 Private steamer, Alice, on Cashie River operated by Lafayette Thrower provided supplies

    He was the civilian Captain of the Alice. Supplies were accumulated at Windsor for Confederate forces. The Alice carried the goods to Halifax and Weldon up the Roanoke River.
    He usually went down the Cashie River. across Ryan's Thoroughfare to the Roanoke, and then turned up that River. One time, he entered the Roanoke and was seen by one of the Union Gunboats from Plymouth which immediately gave chase. Thrower gave the order for all the steam possible and he attempted to outrun the enemy. Steadily, the Union ship gained on him. He reached his maximum power, but still they came.
    He decided that they were going to get him, so he deliberately ran his ship ashore in the swampy woods, jumped off the bow and made his way through the swamps for a day - coming out at Williamston.The Union captured the Alice, the cargo, but they never got Thrower.
    He is buried in the Windsor Methodist Churchyard on the right of the church. Harry Thompson

    May 29, 1861 "Bertie Volunteers" march from Windsor to Colerain, steamboat to Franklin, VA, march to Garysburg, assigned as Co L to 1st Reg N.C. Infantry

    July 3, 1861 Thomas Miles Garrett (Colerain lawyer) captain of company-assigned to 5th Reg N.C. State Troops

    July 9, 1861 Bertie men joined the cavalry formed by Northampton men John Randolph and Henry B. Hardy - Co H - 19th regiment

    Strategic Location

    Bertie County was strategically located at the Albemarle Sound, Roanoke and Chowan Rivers. These waterways as well as the other Sounds of NE North Carolina would play an important role, and both sides of the military realized their importance.

    August 26, 1861 Union forces take Hatteras Island

    Sept 4, 1861 Col Jonathan Jacocks Rhodes calls Bertie County's militia to muster. [Charles Smallwood comments skeptically in his diary]

    Sept, 1861 The Union Navy began to recruit black men

    Nov 13, 1861"Bertie Volunteers" return having fulfilled their 6 months.

    Jan 23, 1862Francis Wilder Bird commander of company (many from "Bertie Volunteers". Co. C. 11th Reg N.C.

    February 10, 1862 - News of Union troops capturing Roanoke Island and occuping Elizabeth City

    March 19, 1862Capture of New Bern by Federal troops.

    March, 1862 Organization of a battalion of NC Light Artillery under Solomon H. Whyte, a Bertie planter. (In May this company was assigned to 32nd Reg as Co. G)

    April 25, 1862 Capture of Fort Macon by Burnside's troops.

    September 1862 - Letters in Gov. Z. Vance's "Vance Papers" reveal conditions in Bertie County as John Pool writes to plead for 1)Confederate Cavalry support (hoping that some of the Bertie boys could be returned [Co H (Capt John Randolph's) and C. C (Capt Mills L. Eure's) of 19th Regiment, NC Troops.]
    2)That Pres Jefferson Davis exempt Bertie County from further conscription of soldiers.
    3) No slaves be ordered to work on fortifications. (Mr. Pool feared that this would not only make the slaves run away, but would also be an excuse for Federal troops to seize others.
    None of these suggestions were fullfilled.

    Jan 1, 1863 President Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation, declaring all slaves free
    As in other Confederate States, this was only true if the slave left the county and was able to reach Union lines.
    But it allowed the Union to actively encourage blacks to enlist and fight.

    May, 1863 1st Reg NC Colored Infantry organized and 54 Bertie County men enlisted in May and June. April 24, 1863 Law passed to "assess taxes" for defence, requiring 1/10 of the produce to be given to the Confederate government.

    June 18, 1863 Union gunboats landed at Colerain for brief period of time. Both sides were "conscripting" men for their regiments. The Union gunboat "Valley City" anchors off Colerain and visits Joseph H. Etheridge's plantation taking from him food supplies.

    Men who didn't want to join the Confederates often hid in the swamps and crossed over to the Union side whenever possible.

    September, 1863 John T. Mebane, commander. Enlisted 52 men from Bertie for this State Service to protect the county. Capehart's Baptist Church was their headquaters (being only 4 miles from the River) and they watched the movement of the Union Gunboats on the Chowan.

    July-Aug, 1863 Morale in the CSA was low. 22 Bertie men left their regiments to return home to care for their families, hiding in the woods to prevent being captured.

    April 20, 1864 Battle of Plymouth won by Confederate forces.

    "Massacre at Plymouth:April 20, 1864" by Weymouth T. Jordan, Jr and Gerald W. Thomas. The N.C. Historical Review, April 1995 #2. pg 125-197.

    Plymouth was important because of its nearness to the Wilmington-Weldon Railroad which was the life line for Gen Robert E. Lee. Although outnumbered by Union forces, the Confederates were able to win because of the ram C.S.S. Albemarle, which came down the Roanoke River to Plymouth. Gen Henry Wessle, commander of Union troops, surrendered to Gen. Robert F. Hoke. It was the last victory for the South.

    Click here to learn more history of the building of the C.S.S. Albemarle as well as the capture of Plymouth and its eventual demise on Oct 27, 1864.

    Visit the Port-O-Plymouth Museum   919-793-1377   to learn details of this battle and additional resources.
    It is one of the top ten Civil War centers in the two Carolinas.

    They have research data on the Battle of Plymouth on April 17-20, 1864 the last major Confederate victory in the South. Come on to Plymouth and see us. Just turn right on NC 45 at Midway - between Hope Plantation and Edenton on the way to Elizabeth City. Hours: Tues.-Sat. 8:00AM to 5:00

    Nice photos of the C.S.S. Albemarle as well as civil war events.

    Battle of Albemarle Sound

    April 9, 1865 - Palm Sunday Gen Robert E. Lee surrendered at the Appomattox Court House. Only 19 Bertie County men were present, though others were still in other locations.

    April 11, 1865. Confederates "blow up" Fort Branch.

    Chronology based on Divided Allegiance by Gerald Thomas

    BERTIE COUNTY COMPANIES

    See Gerald Thomas' book Divided Allegiance for complete listing of rosters and men serving both the Union and Confederate troops. He has compiled a listing of the Bertie men who served, and listed them by company and regiment.

    The list below is only the "major" regiments, i.e those with the largest number of Bertie men.


    Oath of Allegiance

    Although this oath was administered and signed in New Orleans, it is probably the same one that was signed by all southern Civil War veterans. Alfred S. Cowand was a distant relative of mine. Also of interest is the fact that his father, Jesse Cowand, was raised in Bertie County before going to New Orleans around 1800 and then fighting in the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. br> Johncowand@aol.com John W. Cowand, Jr.

    Confederate Veterans - Bertie County

    There is a book in the Bertie Register of deeds Office in the Courthouse which is the register of Confederate Veterans in Bertie (500 plus of them) which also includes the minutes of their organization, some who died from Bertie, and some notes on the monument.

    Newspaper Acct
    Newspaper Account of Raising Money for the Confederate Monument at Hope Mansion -1896

    Charles Smallwood's Diary

    Charles Smallwood kept a diary which gives a picture of what the life of the citizen in Bertie County and their thinking on the war. His comments portray some of their anxieties, hardships and even the military maneuvers that were occurring in Bertie County's backdoor on the Albemarle and Roanoke Rivers. (http://www.unc.edu/mss/inv/s/Smallwood,Charles)

    I understand that this microfilm is availabe by interlibrary loan. Originals returned to private owner in 1951.

    Pensions

    Post Your Pension Information

    NC State Archives Pension Information

    N.C. State Archives Search Room, Raleigh, has a set of circa 1890-1930s Confederate Army servicemen's state pension applications made to county boards of local citizens and forwarded with or against recommendation to the state in Raleigh. These records contain both White and Afro-Americans seeking Confederate pensions. Confederate Afro-Americans mostly served in the field as orderlies to officers, and their pension applications may contain additional support documents.
    These records are archived by counties, pensions, Confederate.

    Confederate War Records at the Raleigh Archives

    Battle of Gettysburg

    Thanks to Alex Gunnell who got the copies of this poem and obtained
permission from John E. Tyler, for us to use them; thanks to Marilyn Capps
for doing the typing.

FORWARD 

These poems written by my father, John Edward Tyler, are collected in book
form for the benefit of his friends and mine.  Most of them have been
published in newspapers and magazines; some have never before been
published.  I have collected as many of them as I have been able to locate,
but there are numerous others. 

Edward R. Tyler 
  

Delivered by the author at the unveiling of a monument to the Confederate
Dead of Bertie County, at Windsor, N. C., in August, 1896.  Bertie County
was formed from Albermarle in 1722, and was named for James and Henry
Bertie, two of the Lords Proprietors.   The name of the County is
pronounced with accent on the second syllable. 

BERTIE AT GETTSYBURG 
  

Before them rose the frowning hill 
     And the valley lay between 
With grazing herd and gurgling rill 
     And meadows broad and green. 
  

Along the valley oak and pine 
Grew side by side and the clinging vine 
     Climbing from tree to tree; 
And waiting near that leafy wood 
An Army tried in battle stood 
Under the banner starred and barred, 
The flag of Stuart bold and free. 
  

Of Young Burgwyn and Beauregard, 
     The flag that followed Lee. 
The word was "Forward!" Line on line, 
>From the sheltering groves of oak and pine, 
With measured step as on parade, 
By company, regiment and brigade, 
Across the valley in battle array, 
Silently, steadily, undismayed, 
     Marched the men who wore the gray. 
Rang from the summit the shrill command— 
           "Fire!" 
  

>From the ridges of rock and the walls of stone 
Where the strength of the Union had taken a stand 
And the demon of carnage had builded a throne, 
           "Fire!" 
  

Burst from the Northern cannon 
With the leap of a hurricane's breath, 
>From twice a hundred cannon 
     Smoke and flame and death. 
  

But never a moment wavered 
The soldiers of Pickett and Lee, 
Never a moment their courage died 
As forward they swept through the valley wide 
And over the stones of the steep hillside 
      With the sweep of a stormy sea. 
Down went the horse and the rider, 
      But no man halted then 
By the horse and the dying rider 
     In the long gray lines of men; 
And up the hill to the cannoneers, 
     As the tide rolls over the land, 
Straight on they charged to the cannoneers 
     And fought them hand to hand. 
  

Steel and fire and the walls of stone! 
Fire and Steel!  Shout and groan! 
Curse and prayer!  Grapple and thrust! 
In the blinding smoke, in the heat and the dust, 
      Where the Union held its own. 
Oh vainly they rushed to the fierce attack, 
      Outnumbered two to one! 
The Northern thousands upon them dashed, 
Met them and slew and forced them back 
      From the muzzle of every gun; 
Oh vainly they rushed to the fierce attack 
      And fought till the struggle was o'er 
Where the rifles rang and the bayonets clashed, 
And the solid hills and the ridges of rock 
Trembled and reeled in the earthquake shock 
      Of the cannon's ceaseless roar. 
  

The strength of the South was broken, 
      Broken and swept aside, 
For the God of the Nations had spoken, 
And on the heights of Gettysburg 
     The dreams of a Nation died. 
  

Outnumbered, but cowering not, 
Defeated but not in shame, 
Back through the tempest of shell and of shot, 
    Back through the smoke and the flame, 
Back through the broad green valley, 
    Back through the flame and the smoke, 
Back through the death-strewn valley 
    To the groves of pine and oak. 
  

Oh! Bravely there floated for every eye 
    Our banner of battle then; 
Among the flags it floated high, 
    The flag of the Bertiemen; 
Our gallant standard starred and barred, 
    The colors of Company C, 
Our banner of Hampton and Beauregard, 
    Our flag that followed Lee. 
  

Tattered and rent where the bullets went 
    And torn by the bursting shell, 
It sank to the ground on the crimson field 
When with his blood his faith he sealed 
    And Corporal Gregory fell. 
But Byrd, our hero dead and gone, 
    Thank God for the hero then! 
Caught up the flag and bore it on 
    The flag of the Bertie men. 
  

Twice was the flagstaff shot in twain, 
And twice he raised the flag again, 
And over the wounded and over the slain, 
Through the iron hail and the leaden rain 
    He bore it from the field. 

Into the struggle went thirty-eight 
    Privates of Company C, 
And on the field when the fight was o'er, 
Dead and wounded lay thirty-four 
   Privates of Company C. 
  

Fearless and proud is the OLD NORTH STATE, 
   Whatever the odds may be; 
And true to the death were the thirty-eight 
   The brave men of Bertie. 
God speed the dawning o'er land and sea 
When the booming of cannon forever shall cease, 
When every nation shall kneel to thee, 
white winged angel whose name is Peace! 
But still our pulses leap with pride 
At the thought of the men who fought and died, 
Cooper and Rayner and Rhodes and all 
Whose charged to the guns and the granite wall 
On that third day at Gettysburg. 
    The brave men of Bertie. 
  

Honor the men who wore the gray! 
Honor the brave men passed away! 
Honor and glory for Jackson and Lee! 
Honor and glory from mountain to sea 
For Byrd and Pickett and Pettigrew 
Who charged to the guns that smote and slew! 
Honor the men from every State 
Who yielded to naught but to death and to fate! 
Honor the blue and the gray! 
Honor the true men passed away! 
  

As Harold the Saxon was laid to rest 
With his cloak of purple enshrouding his breast 
In a tombless grave by the salt sea wave 
To guard the strand that Hastings gave 
To the grasp of the Norman, even so, 
The past recalling, to guard the land, 
God willing, let yonder sentinel stand 
That all who look thereon feel 
The states are united by bands of steel, 
United for justice to friend and to foe, 
To the weak and the strong, to the high and the low, 
That sectional strife shall forever be dumb 
And silent forever the bugle and drum 
As time sweeps on and the centuries come. 
  

But while the swift years forward fly 
When the tale is told of the days gone by, 
The stern resolve and the purpose high 
Of the soldiers in gray who marched to the fray 
With Ransom and Roberts and Clingman and Lee; 
When they tell of the fields our fathers knew 
Ere the crossing of swords by the gray and the blue, 
The blood bought fields of the olden time, 
Immortal and sacred in story and rhyme, 
Guilford and Yorktown and Monterey, 
Our children's children will answer and say: 
"In the battle's front at Gettysburg 
Were the brave men of Bertie".

    Other Links

     Civil War Forum

    North Carolina Civil War Soldiers

    Union Regiments from North Carolina

    The History Place - U.S. Civil War 1861-1865: http://www.historyplace.com/civilwar/index.html

    Bertie County African-Americans - Union Army

    Visit the U.S. Colored Troops formed in North Carolina page for a growing list of rosters and information. A database is set-up to link "veteran ancestors".

    <

    NC US Colored Troops mailing list: Send the same message to NC-USCT-L-request@rootsweb.com. .

    The number of Bertie County Blacks who served in the Union Army totaled 349 blacks serving in eight different regiments. According to author Gerald Thomas, these men spent most of their time in garrison duty. More than 150 blacks enlisted after Jan 1, 1865, as the war was coming to an end.

    1st Regiment NC Colored Infantry

    Visit the 1st NC Colored Infantry / 35th US Colored Infantry page for complete information.

    1st NC Colored Infantry / 36th US Colored Infantry

    3rd NC Colored Infantry / 37th US Colored Infantry

    1st NC Colored Heavy Artillery / 14th US Colored Heavy Artillery At the Battle of Olustee in Florida on Feb 20, 1864, "The colored troops behaved creditably...like veterans", said Brig Gen Truman Seymour. but the "unanticipated yielding" of a white regiment from Vermont which stampeded at "a moment when everything depended on its firmness".

    Six Bertie County men were among the casualties. Pvts. ARTHUR CHERRY, DAVID BUNCH and EDWARD BELL were wounded. Pvts. STARKING NORTHCUTT was wounded and captured. Pvts. JERRY LONG and ANDREW BLUNT were reported missing in action(never accounted for after the battle)

    Buffaloe Soldiers
    Fort Macon as a Shelter for Buffaloes Bertie Co. Buffaloes died in Andersonville prison. Only one Bertie County soldier, YANCY EVANS, returned to the Bertie County from Andersonville.


    Andersonville Prison Site

    The Main Entrance to our main site is at http://www.historylink.org/

    Those men (and their families left in Bertie) who enlisted with the Union Army were persecuted by the Confederate troops. In some cases the Bertie County "buffaloes" men moved their families to Plymouth for protection.

    Service Record of the 1st & 2nd NC Infantry Regiment of Union Volunteers:

    Of the 127 Bertie County men who served in the 1st Regiment of NC Union Volunteers, 13 died of diseases or illnesses, three were discharged early, and four deserted. None were killed in battle or died of wounds.

    Roster of the 2nd NC Union Volunteers:
    As Bertie men became disenchanted with the CSA, some deserted and joined the ranks of the 2nd NC Union regiments. Mr. Thomas tells of Littleton Johnson doing this in Oct 1863.

    Though the Regimental Headquarters for the 2nd NC was located at Beaufort, NC, all of the following members enlisted at Plymouth, NC, and most were present at the Battle of Plymouth, which took place 17-20th April, 1864. The 1st NC, to which the 2nd NC was consolidated with on 27 Feb 1865, mustered out on 27 Aug 1865.
    Index to Soldier's last names

    GEORGE BURDIN, Bertie Co. , was captured and held prisoner until the end of the war. JOHN WARD escaped after receiving a head wound and rib injury by "playing dead". Knocked to the ground by a shell, he "laid right there on the ground". When night came he started for Little Washington.

    Two other county natives--MADISON MILLER and JOHN BURDIN--escaped from Plymouth. PETER RUFFIN was killed during the battle.

    Union Navy Men

    Fifty-seven Bertie Co men--black and white--enlisted in the Union navy, as Gerald Thomas explains in the last chapter, "The Union Sailors". Forty nine of the men were black and they constituted about 17% of all NC blacks who enlisted in the Federal navy.

    They began signing up shortly after the US navy occupied Plymouth and they started making their way to Lt. Charles W. Flusser's gunboats patrolling the rivers of the Albermarle region.

    Bertie County sailors were on the gunboat, Underwriter, when Confederate forces captured and destroyed it in the Neuse River at New Bern on Feb 2, 1864. Three Bertie County men escaped: THOMAS LIVERMON, ANDREW SHARTK and CASSIUS WATFORD. Two other Bertie Co men--PETER SPREWELL and LEWIS LIVERMON--were unaccounted for. Bertie men were serving on the Miami and the Southfield at Plymouth on April 19, 1864, when the Confederate Ram Albemarle attacked the two ships and sent the Southfield to the bottom of the Roanoke River.

    Except for two, all on the Southfield survived the attack and served on other vessels. From Bertie were: THOMAS KELLY, MICHAEL BARNES, GEORGE E. HARRELL, ROBERT HILL, MANASSA WHITE and JOSEPH REDDICK. GEORGE E. HARRELL was transferred to a hospital.

    In addition to the men on the Southfield, five Bertie County men were on the Miami: FREEMAN BELL, WILLIAM HOGGARD, JAMES PUGH, ASA SANDERLIN and JACOB WILSON. All survived without injury. On the Albermarle was the only Bertie black to enlist in the Confederate forces: 12 year old BENJAMIN GRAY who served as a powder boy.

    Bertie men were aboard several gunboats fighting the Albemarle in the Battle of Batchelor's Bay on Mar 5, 1864; FREEMAN BELL, WILLIAM HOGGARD, JAMES PUGH, ASA SNADERLIN and JACOB WILSON on the Miami; WILLIAM ASKEW, LAWRENCE BURDIN, WILEY SCISSON, ISHAM SHARK, HAYWOOD SHARP and JOHN SHARP on the Whitehead; ROBERT HILL on the Ceres; and WILLIAM OVERTON, SAMUEL POOLE, MERIDA WALTON and CASSIUS WATFORD on the Commodore Hull. None suffered casualties.

    JOHN WOOD was the only Bertie sailor who died as a result of wounds in action. He was injured while serving aboard the Valley City at Poplar Point on the Roanoke River on Dec 21, 1864.

    Southern Cross of Honor

    Raleigh United Daughters of Confederacy Offices have some confederate documents. Some are the same ones that exist in the National Archives in DC. Staff is very helpful and courteous. They are very good about making copies and helping you sift through all the files. Service Records are available there. They have many Civil War books for researching.

    The Southern Cross of Honor was applied for by veterans and awarded by the UDC. To see if your family member received the Southern Cross of Honor, you need to send his full name, the company or regiment in which he served and the state where he served. There is a $5 charge for each request. 

    Make checks payable to:  Treasurer General UDC.
The mailing address is:  UDC Business Office
			328 N. Boulevard
			Richmond, VA  23220-4057
Please enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope.

Jacquelyn

    Published Resources

    Clark's Regimental History by Chief Justice Clark
    Best old source written right after war, but missing a lot of names. This is a collection of regimental histories written by men in the different regiments- a great source if you know the regiment.

    NC TROOPS by Weymouth Jordan
    13 plus volumes with all the updates. Now working on 60th-69th Regiments.

    North Carolina Troops 1861-1865: A Roster compiled by Louis H. Manarin- it lists the regiment, gives a capsule history and lists each man who had a muster roll and gives a summary of his career in the War from the muster rolls. ( 62nd N.C. Regt missing)

    John Moore's Roster of North Carolina Troops Lists men by their regiment but is not indexed. Contains some listing not included in Manarin.

    Divided Allegiances: Bertie Co. during the Civil War. Thomas, Gerald W.(1996)
    The Book Divided Allegiances gives a good account of the Albemarle, Capt. Calvin Hoggard,The Buffaloe Soldiers, Fort Branch in Hamilton as well as the Battle of Plymouth. It also contains the Burning of Windsor and Winton. Includes history on the 2nd NC Union Volunteer Infantry

    Bertie in Blue: Experiences of Bertie County's Union Servicemen during the Civil War. Thomas, Gerald W. OUT OF PRINT (1998)
    $12 at the Museum Shop of Hope Plantation (hopeplantation@coastnalnet.com) or at Port o' Plymouth Museum in Plymouth. (harry@plymouthmuseum.com)

    Charlie Mosher's Civil War Diary (85th NY), by Wayne Mahood. $30.

    General Robert F. Hoke, Lee's Modest Warrior (Biography of Gen. Hoke, including a battle account of Plymouth), Daniel W. Barefoot. $24.95.

    Ironclad of the Roanoke (The story of the Albemarle), by Robert Elliott. $29.95

    The Plymouth Pilgrims (History of the 85th NY), by Wayne Mahood. $30.00

    "The Civil War in North Carolina," John G. Barrett, The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1963.

    The Coastal War: Chesapeake Bay to Rio Grande, Peter M. Chaitin, Time-Life Books, Alexandria, VA, 1984.

    Compendium of the Confederate Armies: North Carolina, Stewart Sifakis, Facts on File, New York and Oxford, 1992.

    Confederate Goliath: The Battle of Fort FisherRod Gragg, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 1991.

    Fort Caswell in War and PeaceEthel Herring and Carolee Williams, Broadfoot's Bookmark, Wendell, NC, 1983.

    Histories of the Several Regiments and Battalions from North Carolina in the Great War 1861-'65, 5 volumes, edited by Walter Clark, Nash Brothers, Goldsboro, N. C., 1901.

    Ironclads and Columbiads: The Civil War in North Carolina, The CoastWilliam R. Trotter, John F. Blair, Publisher, Winston-Salem, NC, 1989.

    Last Ninety Days of the War Cornelia Phillips Spencer, Watchman Publishing Company, New York 1866 (reprint by Broadfoot Publishing Company, Wilmington, NC, 1993).

    North Carolina Civil War Documentaryedited by W. Buck Yearns and John G. Barrett, The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1980.

    North Carolina Troops, 1861-1865, A RosterVolume 1 Artillery, edited by Weymouth T. Jordan, State Division of Archives and History, Raleigh, 1989.

    Sherman's March Through the CarolinasJohn G. Barrett, The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1956.

    Co. C 11th NC Regiment

    Company C, 11th NC Regiment, was formed from the "Bethel Regiment" at reorganization in Raleigh in 1862. They spend the remainder of the year in guard duty along the NC coast, and in 1863 joined Pettigrew Brigate to participate in the Battle of Gettysburg. They suffered heavy losses and spent the remainder of the war in northern VA to defend against General Grant's advances. By surrender at Appomattox, the numer was reduced to a Corporal's Guard.

    Captain E.R. Outlaw, Company C, was elected the first president of the Bertie County Confederate Veterans Association organized in 1889

    BATTLE AT GETTYSBURG Poem by John E. Tyler for dedication of Confederate Memorial in Windsor.

    Bertie County 250th Anniversary Edition (Sept 28, 1972) Section C pg 5 "Company C of the 11th North Carolina regiment was Bertie County's pride in the War Between the States. The company joined the 11th - successor to the famed 'Bethel Regiment' - at a reorganization in Raleigh in March 1862.

    From then until the end of the war, the Bertie group fought in the Pettigrew Brigade of North Carolina. The Company was commanded by Capt Francis W. Bird; Lieutenants - Thomas Cooper, Edward R. Outlaw and Edward Rhodes.

    The 11st spent its first months in defense of its home state, serving at Wilmington until October, 1862, and then as a guard regiment along the Blackwater River in southeaser Virginia. Even before it went into action with the Army of Northern Virginia, some of its Bertie boys had died of camp diseases, among them Sam Jernigan and Dcotrine Jenkins, John Mizell and James C. Castellow.

    The regiment came under first heavy fire in December, when ordered back to central North Carolina, it fought off a federal attack along the Neuse River at White Hall near Kinston. Then, the regiment headed north, to Blount's Creek to take part in a Confederate demonstration toward Union-held Washington, NC.

    On Blount's Creek, just across the Roanoke River from their home county, the Bertie men fought a sharp engagement with blueclad forces seeking to reinforce the Washington garrison. Early in June, 1863, the regiment joined the Pettigrew Brigade in the Army of Northern Virginia and started a fateful march toward Gettysburg.

    On the slopes of Gettysburg's rolling hills, Co C had its great moment as a key unit in the Confedeate attack late on the 1st day of the ghree-day battle. Pettigrew's North Carolinians charged up the Gettusburg Hills at a position held by the Iron Brigade of the Union Army. Down the line, the famouse 26th N.C. under youthful Col Harry King Burgwyn of Northampton, moved to the attack with men of the 11sth.

    More than a dozen men of the 11th fell dead, among them young Lt. Cooper and Lt. Rhodes, Privates Benjamin Carter, james Castper, J.P. Mitchell, William G. Parker, Thomas Peel and James Pierce.

    The battered regiment and the gallant Bertie men still had more glory and more death, fated for them at Gettysburg. Resting on the 2nd day, the regiment charged federal positions on Cemetery Hill on the 3rd day of the battle as Lee threw the forces of Pettigrew and Pickett up the slopes of the already red-flowing hills.

    In this famous charge, the living men of Co C were reduced to a handful. William Hoggard, 4th Sergeant, was fatally wounded. Tom Holder and Napoleon Rice recived wounds and Rice did not recover. Some Bertie men who lived through the storm were Elisha Todd, Joseph Pritchard, George B. Harrell, adn William T. Cullipher.

    William Madre, ordinance wergeant, also made the charge, as did newly commissioned lieutenants William H. Todd, Glingman Craig, and Patrick H. Winston, a boy in his teens. A single flag of the brigade made it back down the corpse strewn hill. It was a shattered staff in the had of Capt Bird. Co C was the regiment's color guard. Eight Bertie men fell carrying the starred-and-barred flag up the hill. Capt Bird brought it back.

    The battle so battered the regiment that its organization was never completely reshaped afterward. Bird became a major of the 11st. Outlaw became commander of the little Bertie Unit.

    The regiment saw limited action during the remainder of 1863 as Gen Lee's army fell back to lines near Richmond. Then, as spring, 1864, came, the 11th stepped out with other gray clad units to meet the advance of the giant Union Army under Gen Grant. The 11st narrowly escaped disaster when aid failed to show up just as a massive federal attack came. Gen Lee himself rallied the troops.

    For the remainder of the year, the 11th was in the thick of fighting as Grant slowly maneuvered around Richmond, driving the Confederates into trenches around Richmond. On Aug 24, former Capt Bird, not Lt. Col of the regiment, gave his life in an action at Reams Station as the regimetn charged federal lines, one of the more than a dozen times during its career that Co C was called on to move into the face of the enemy.

    During the winter and spring of 1864-65, the 11th battled against federal charges from the trenches around Richmond. And, as spring 1865, came, the regiment, reduced to a corporal's guard, stepped out of the lines and joined the tiny remnants for the Army for the final march to Appomattox courthouse. Captain Outlaw was given the task of saving the famous flag of the Bethel Regiment from surrender. Outlaw and Captain J.M. Young hid the flag in their belongings, and after the surrender, retired to a small woods to burn the flag that had flown over North Carolina's first gathering of men-at-arms.

    The few men of Bertie who had outlived the flag turned their footsteps toward home. ___________________

    For more information Battle of Big Bethel
    Published Resource: Curt Johnson. Civil War Battles

    Bertie Volunteers - Co L - 1st Regiment NC Volunteers Jesse Copeland Jacock, 27, was commissioned captain by Gov. Ellis, and his company of 96 men became known as "Bertie Volunteer" - the first company raised in the county. This company was predominantly young men. On May 29, they marched out of Windsor to Colerain, and traveled up the Chowan to Franklin VA, and from there marched to the camp in Garysburg, Northampton Co.
    In Aug they mustered at Yorktown; then Ship Point and on Sept 6 to Cocklestown; back to Yorktown, and eventually Camp Fayettesville located 9 miles from Bethel Church (6 miles from Yorktown) The Fayettesville ladies had provided them with a regimental flag so they named the camp in their honor. After the battle of Big Bethel on June 10, they became known as Bethel Regiment.
    Roster and details of regiments see: Divided Allegiance by Gerald Thomas and Louis Manarin's North Carolina Troops 1861-1865: A Roster for details.

    3rd Battalion N.C. Light Artillery

    Co. A. (also known as Ellis' Battery, after Capt Andrew J. Ellis. It was sent to Richmond, Mar 28, 1862 and remained there protecting the city until Nov, 1862 when it was ordered to the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad bridge over the North Anna River to protect Lee's communication link during the Fredericksburg Battle Dec. 13, 1862. It remained in the Wilmington area for most of the duration of the war, and was paroled at Greensboro on May 1, 1865.
    Biography of John Powell a member of this regiment contains additional information. It was posted on the Biography Board
    Roster and details of regiments see: Divided Allegiance by Gerald Thomas and Louis Manarin's North Carolina Troops 1861-1865: A Roster for details.

    5th NC Regiment State Troops

    Thomas Miles Garrett, 31, received his captain's commission, and recruited seventy men by July 3rd at "general muster" in Windsor. They were assigned to 5th Regiment NC State Troops, Co. F. Within 16 days it was involved in the 1st Battle of Bull Run (Manassas)VA.
    Roster and details of regiments see: Divided Allegiance by Gerald Thomas and Louis Manarin's North Carolina Troops 1861-1865: A Roster for details.

    19th Regiment NC Troops (2nd Reg NC Cavalry) Co H

     Two Northampton men, John Randolph and Henry B. Hardy, recruited men in Bertie County for a cavalry company. Samuel B. Spruill of Bertie was colonel of this unit.
    Roster and details of regiments see: Divided Allegiance by Gerald Thomas and Louis Manarin's North Carolina Troops 1861-1865: A Roster for details.

    Woman's Relief Corp

    A nursing unit during the Civil War which later became an auxilliary of the G.A.R. (Grand Army of the Republis) Visit their web page

    David Stone and the War of 1812

    David Stone was again elected to the House of Commons and in 1812 for a second term as a Senator. He was opposed to the War of 1812, and this soon made him unpopular with his constituents. He resigned in 1814, and returned to his law practice and farming operations.

    It has been suggested that his opposition to the War may represent the feelings in Bertie County. Many ships were being impressed by the British Navy and that might have had an effect on the local commerce.

    Revolutionary War Published Resources

    Touring North Carolina's Revolutionary War Sites

    Daniel Barefoot includes tours of homes of participants in the war, battlegrounds and graves of men and women who died for what they thought was the right reason. Bertie Co and Edenton is included in the first tour.

    Index to Revolutionary War Service Records

    This set of books contains four volumes with 3107 pages and is priced at $335.00. Index to the military service records of the Revolutionary War Army and Navy personnel as well as for many civilians who performed many different types of service for the military during the Revolutionary War. The entries for the military personnel will vary in the type of data given and may include; unit of service and whether service was in the Continental Line, State Militia or Independent or Volunteer Unit and Navy service records may show whether service was on board US, State or Private vessel, rank and state from which service was performed. The entries for civilians will vary in content with some of the different types of service being; Accountant, Attorney, Auditor, Commissioner, Committeeman, Conductor, Constable, Farmer, Governor, Hired Man, Judge, Justice of the Peace, Labourer, Nurse, Selectman, Storekeeper, Witness and others. This index also includes entries for the Commissary General's Department and the Quarter Master General's Department. There are entries for each tour of service as well as for service under more than one name or variant of name. There are cross-references for service in more than one unit. This index was prepared from records located at the National Archives in Washington, DC. Contains over 390,000 entries. It's available for sale at: http://smtp.tbox.com/natlhist/rw.html

    World War I

     A Compiled List of Bertie County Servicemen in World War I by Gerald Thomas

    WWI Registration Family Search is Free.

    World War II

     SCRAPBOOK of Newspaper Clippings of World War II Servicemen from Bertie County. Index of names included
    Click to see Scrapbook

    Abbreviation: Types of Casualties

    
DNB - Died, non-battle

DOI - Died of injuries

DOW - Wounded and later died

FOD - Under Public Law 490, Finding of Death

KIA - Killed in Action

M - Missing

    Military Marker for Grave of Veteran

    Contact the nearest VA Regional Office, national cemetery, local veterans' organization or library for forms. 
    (Also available on line:  http://www.cem.va.gov/hmorder.htm )
VA Form 40-1330

Office of Memorial Programs (403A)
Department of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20420

Eligible: Any deceased veteran discharged under conditions other than 
dishonorable. Must provide an official document pertaining to military service, 
ie. muster rolls, extracts from State files, pension or land warrant.

There is no cost for marker, but installation must be paid from private funds.

1-800-697-6947 (Department of Memorials) can also supply the form.

Submit ONE form at a time to prevent confusion. Keep copies of it all.

The form does not have the Southern Cross as an available Emblem, but if you 
are getting a stone for a Confederate Soldier and you want the Southern 
Cross, just put in the block.

    ___________________________

    Please send any comments or suggestions to:

    Virginia Crilley     varcsix@hot.rr.com


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