The Battle of Fort Fisher, N.C.

Wednesday, November 18, 2020

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


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