On May 3rd, I blogged about the unknown person who decorates the grave of Lt. Walsh, Raleigh's last defender, every April 13th, the anniversary of his execution. This continues the story.
WHAT DID LT. WALSH DO?
Raleigh surrendered to General Kilpatrick on April 13th, who accepted it and said it would be a peaceful occasion unless there was resistance.
As the last Confederate troops fled, Walsh remained, drew his pistol and waited until Kilpatrick's advance guard was 100 yards away. He fired three times and galloped up Morgan Street with the Union cavalry in hot pursuit. His horse fell turning the corner, Walsh remounted, but was overtaken.
He was brought back to Capitol Square where General Kilpatrick ordered his immediate execution. Walsh requested five minutes to write his wife and was refused.
THE EXECUTION
He was hung at a grove of trees (the corner of Lane and Bloodworth streets) and the body was buried immediately but in a shallow grave so that the feet were left sticking out. Miss Nannie Lovejoy asked Kilpatrick if her family could rebury Walsh.
He agreed and the grave reopened, dug deeper, and the body re-interred.
It remained at the base of what became known as the "Hanging Tree" near the Lovejoy home until the spring of 1867 when the body was exhumed and re-interred in the Confederate Section at Oakwood Cemetery.
From Carolina Confederate Vol. XII No. 3, May/June 1997.
Very Interesting Story. --Blockade-R
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