Sgt. Ivy Ritchie- Part 5: About That Grave

Ivy's  body was later exhumed and reinterred  in Poplar Grove National Cemetery near Petersburg.  His tombstone read:  "J. Richie, Sgt. Co. H 14th N.Y. Inf. Died April  9, 1865."  Well, they got the sergeant part right, the 14th and the date of death right, but that was it

Close, but no cigar.  Someone made a mistake somewhere.

Since he first learned about Ivy Ritchie's life ten years ago, Albemarle businessman Jim Harwood, a Wake Forest history major and self-proclaimed history buff, has led  efforts to form the Ivy Ritchie Camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

He says:  "Our unit is interested in the history of the Civil War.  We put Southern Crosses of Honor on the graves of those who served in that war.  We started with seven members and have grown to over  180 members today."

Oops.  --Old Secesh

Sgt. Ivy Ritchie-- Part 4: His Death and Grave Found By His Brother

Sgt. Ivy Ritchie was killed on early April 9, 1865, in one of the final offensive moves by what was left of the vaunted Army of Northern Virginia.  Later that day, Robert E. Lee surrendered.  Imagine participation in most of the major battles of the war with ANV and then being killed on the last day?

As the sun set on Appomattox that April 9, Stanly County native Ivy Ritchie, a member of the 14th N.C. Regiment,  became the last of about 40,000 North Carolinians  to give their lives to this horrific war.

Days later, the 14th N.C.'s chaplain and two soldiers from the unit told Ivy's younger brother, Marvel, a member of the 28th N.C. Infantry Regiment, that Ivy had been killed.

In 1923, Marvel wrote in  a letter about we he did when he found out the news:  "We went to the freshly dug grave, opened the grave, and found it was Ivy....  It has been 58 years since and no one has ever disputed this statement."

--Old Secesh

Sgt. Ivy Ritchie-- Part 2: Battles, Captured, Wounded, Promotions, Death and Burials

**  Captured at Sharpsburg, Maryland, September  17, 1862.  (Battle of Antietam)  Confined at Fort Delaware until exchanged at Aiken's Landing, Virginia, Nov. 10, 1862.

**  Married Clara Sophia Christina Ridenhour in Stanly County while on leave December  14, 1862.

**  Wounded at Chancellorsville, May 10, 1863, and promoted to corporal  two days later.

**  Rejoined Company H, 14th N.C. in August 1863.

**  Participated in every major battle of the Army of Northern Virginia in 1864, including the Battles of Wilderness, Spotsylvania and Cold Harbor.

**  Promoted to sergeant in July 1, 1864.

**  Killed at Appomattox on April 9, 1865.

**  Buried at Appomattox Station.

**  Body moved to Poplar Grove National Cemetery and interred in Grave 4824 as Ivy Ritchie from New York state.

Oops.  --Old Secesh

Tell Me Some More About Sgt. Ivy Ritchie-- Part 1: Killed On Last Day of the Army of Northern Virginia, April 9, 1865

From Military History Online 14th North Carolina Infantry.

See what Frank started.

Sgt. Ivy Ritchie has  the distinction of being the last Confederate soldier killed on the day of Robert E. Lee surrendered on April 9, 1865.  Imagine fighting the entire war and being killed on the last day of it for your unit.  That is hard to take.

About the sergeant:

**  Born 1839 to Charles and Margaret Ritchie in Montgomery County, N.C., (now Stanly County) and was a framer prior to 1861.

**  Enlisted as a private in the Stanly Marksmen, the first unit from Stanly County,  on May 5, 1861.  Marched out of Albemarle as young women stood on the second floor hotel balcony singing the state song, "The Old North State."

**  Assigned to the 14th North Carolina Infantry Regiment, Company H and remained in that unit for the duration of the war.

--Old Secesh

Answers to the 'Frank' Questions-- Part 3: Who was Sgt. Ivy Ritchie?

And I should have known this because I had written about him back in 2008.  My excuse?  That was a real long time ago.

He was a member of the 14th North Carolina Infantry Regiment and is considered the last member of the Army of Northern Virginia to be killed at Appomattox.

That would have to be rough to go through most of the war and then get killed on the very last day for your army.

Is he the one the North Carolina traditional saying that honors the state's Confederate soldiers with the words "First at Bethel, Farthest at Gettysburg and Last at Appomattox" was referring to?

Can't Remember Much and Forgot the Rest.  --Old Secesh