Sgt. Ivy Ritchie-- Part 3: That Fatal Day

Local residents found just how hard it is to  straighten things out in regards to who is buried at the a grave in the National Cemetery at Poplar Grove National Cemetery near Petersburg, Virginia.

It is not easy to get a correction.  

Stanly County, North Carolina, resident Ivy Ritchie is considered to be the last Confederate soldier to die in the Civil War.  James Lawson Wyatt is considered the first North Carolinian to die in the war.

Here's what happened on April 9, 1865, the day that General Robert E. Lee surrendered.

During the early morning hours of that day,  Confederates charged an artillery position at Appomattox in an effort to open a way for Lee to find a way to retreat out of his predicament.  As they moved forward, General William Cox's brigade encountered deadly Union artillery fire.

One member of Cox's brigade wrote:  "The enemy from our left, opened  a battery of artillery upon us, firing right up our line, as we went across the open field ....shells burst  about 12-15 feet to my left, killing  Sgt. Ivy Ritchie and wounding five others."

--Old Secesh

About That 'First at Bethel, Farthest to the Front at Gettysburg and Last At Appomattox' Slogan-- Part 2: A Great Honor

According to the NCpedia this is a traditional  saying honoring the role of  North Carolina soldiers in the Civil War  Editor  Walter Clark, later Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina, encouraged its use as early as 1901

The initial three words "First at Bethel," holds double meaning.  The first regiment of North Carolina  Volunteers was instrumental in winning a Confederate victory at the Battle of Bethel, Virginia, on  10 June 1861, the first land battle of the war.  In this engagement,  Tarboro resident  Henry Lawson Wyatt, became the first Confederate soldier to die in the war.

During the Battle of Gettysburg, North Carolina soldiers advanced the  the greatest distance under the withering Union gunfire on July 3, 1863, in what became known as Pickett's Charge.  Some also credit the 58th North Carolina Regiment had the deepest penetration of enemy lines on Snodgrass Hill at the Battle of Chickamauga on  20 September 1863, although at least one historian contends that battle conditions made the claim impossible to substantiate.

Finally, the men of Company  D, 30th North Carolina Infantry Regiment, fired he last shots at Union forces at Appomattox on 9 April 1865, the day that Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to  Union General Ulysses S. Grant.

I might add now that this was also the death of Ivy (Ivey) Ritchie.

--Old Secesh

Monument to North Carolina's Private Henry L. Wyatt, First Confederate Soldier Killed in the War

In the last post I wrote about the new book "An Illustrated Guide to Virginia's Confederate Monuments" by Timothy S. Sedore.

Sadly, this book will probably eventually have use in locating where these monuments and memorials used to stand.

An interesting memorial in the book is the one to North Carolina Private Henry L. Wyatt, considered to be the first Confederate soldier killed in action in the war.  His monument is located at the Big Bethel Battlefield in York County, Virginia.

He was Richmond-born, but grew up in North Carolina and "was shot and killed during an advance on Union troops."  His monument was placed "by the courtesy of Virginia" and "erected by the Authority of the State of North Carolina."

Pvt. Wyatt is memorialized also in North Carolina's Civil War motto:  "First At Bethel, Farthest at Gettysburg, Last at Appomattox."

The training camp near what became Fort Fisher at Wilmington, North Carolina was named for him as well.

--Old Secesh

NC's First, Farthest and Last-- Part 1: "First At Bethel"

From the Encyclopedia of North Carolina

"First at Bethel, Farthest to the Front at Gettysburg and Chickamauga, and Last at Appomattox" is a traditional saying in North Carolina honoring the gallantry and honor brought to the state by its soldiers. 

Personally, I always heard it as "First at Bethel, Farthest at Gettysburg and Last at Appomattox."

It was coined by Editor Walter Clark, later chief justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina, as early as 1901.

The initial three words "First at Bethel" holds a double meaning. The First Regiment of North Carolina Volunteers was instrumental in winning a Confederate victory at Bethel, Virginia, on June 10, 1861, the first land battle of the war and a Confederate victory.

In addition, Tarboro resident Henry Lawson Wyatt became the first Confederate soldier to die in the war.

The First NC later became the 11th NC which I have been writing a lot about in connection to its colonel, Collett Leventhorpe and its role at Gettysburg.

"Farthest at Gettysburg" Next. ---Old Secesh

North Carolina's Edgecombe Guards: First At Bethel

From the March 2011 Historical News "Civil War Sketches."

In May of 1861, North Carolina became the last southern state to secede and promptly accepted 10,717 volunteers to defend the state. .  One of these group was a company of 133 that became known as the Edgecombe Guards.

They were destined to become the first Confederate troops to engage Union forces in battle (after Fort Sumter).  They marched into history at the Battle of Big Bethel in Virginia.

Tarboro, North Carolina's Henry Lawson Wyatt was a typical Confederate infantryman.  He owned no slaves and was fighting in defense of his state, state's rights and the Southern way of life.  There wasn't much to set him apart from the other men in his company, other than he was about to die for those beliefs on that hot June day in 1861, the first of 258,000 to die as "the Confederacy marched from cause to effect to fated failure."

The nineteen-year-old carpenter met his death as did so many others, following orders.

First At Bethel.  --Old Secesh

Confederate Defense North Carolina Coast August 1861

I came across this in a Google chronology page.

AUGUST 1961Construction on the batteries at New Inlet (which became Fort Fisher) slowed during the summer months as Confederates concentrated on the establishment of Camp Wyatt, a camp of muster and instruction one and a half miles north of Battery Bolles, near present-day Kure Beach. Recruits were sworn in and trained here and it was named after Henry Wyatt, the first Confederate soldier killed in action in the war.

During the same month, Seawell (or Sewall) L. Fremont, colonel of the 1st Corps of NC Volunteer Artillery and Engineers and a Wilmingtonian, was put in charge of coast defense from New River, NC south to the South Carolina line.

This would include the New Inlet defenses.

Never Heard of Him. --Old B-Runner

Henry Lawson Wyatt-- First Confederate Killed in War

There is a statue of Henry Lawson Wyatt on the grounds of the Capitol building in Raleigh, North Carolina. He became the first Confederate soldier to be killed in the war when he was shot at the June 10, 1861, Battle of Bethel near present-day Hampton, Virginia.

His death became the first part of the state's famous Civil War motto: "First at Bethel, Farthest at Gettysburg and Last at Appomattox.

This statue is going to be copies for exhibition at a museum in South Dakota that features the works of sculptor Gutzon Borglum, better known for his work on Mount Rushmore. Wyatt's statue was dedicated June 10, 1912. Borglum also did one of the state's Governor Charles B. Aycock, dedicated in 1924.

The site of Big Bethel essentially no longer exists as it is underwater in a reservoir.

First at Bethel. --Blockade-Runner