On Saturday's entry, I began telling about the 18th NC Infantry regiment.
The regiment was then sent to South Carolina on March 14, 1862, and returned to Wilmington, then Kinston, NC. At a reorganization, Robert Cowan was elected colonel and Thomas Purdie Lt.-Colonel.
It was Purdie that gave the order to fire at the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863 that resulted in the wounding of General Jackson.
The following day, May 3rd, Colonel Purdie was shot in the head and died on the spot. After the battle, First Sergeant Evander Roberson escorted Purdie's remains to Wilmington and then up the Cape Fear River on the steamer A. P. Hurt to his home in Bladen County near Tarheel. He was buried in the family cemetery on the same day Jackson died, May 10, 1863.
The steamer A. P. Hurt was a steel hull, 118 foot long, 6 foot draft, sidewheel ship.
Don't Shoot. --B-Runner
The Battle of Fort Fisher, N.C.
