See You In The Field

Yesterday morning  my friend, Woody Ragan, and I were at the The City of Raleigh Museum, in our Federal uniforms, where we had been invited to present a  program for children who had just read " Emma and the Civil Warrior ". In attendance were about half a dozen enthusiastic children and their supportive parents. Our role was to try to give them a little background on the causes of the Civil War, perform a "show and tell" of our uniforms, weapons and equipment and then take a walk down the street to the North Carolina State Capitol , where we both volunteer as docents, and point out some of the places mentioned in the story. Why did we have a Civil War? I have been studying this period of history for over a quarter of a century and have only concluded that there is NO simple answer. Having experience leading tours and speaking in public on this topic, I am well aware of the "simple" answer that comes to most peoples minds...Slavery. I do not deny that

  Copyright (C) 2013 by Frederick Walton, Historian of the 6th  North Carolina State Troops Confederate Graves to Raleigh's Oakwood Confederate Cemetery As we begin the Labor day weekend, the Sesequntinial anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg has already been relegated to the far recesses of our minds. Only two short months ago the climax of years of planning and anticipation exploded in, not one, but two reenactments that received national attention for two weeks around the July 1-3 anniversary. But that is ancient history now.  And yet, 150 years ago, the battle was far from over in late August and early September. It wasn’t until July 22, 1863 that the first casualty reports for the 6th North Carolina were published in the “ Raleigh State Journal ”(1). Can you imagine being a worried parent, spouse or sibling, waiting to hear if your loved one was killed or wounded, or worse yet, captured, during the horrible battles that took place in far off Pennsylvania? Among the 178 name

 Copyright (C) 2013 by Frederick Walton Fresh Fish ready for the Battle of Gettysburg Gettysburg is often called a "Mecca" for reenactors. It's a magical place that has a strong pull for anyone interested in the war between states. I have visited there many times...as a tourist, as a research historian and as a reenactor. I generally stop for a few hours whenever I'm passing through the area. I once spent a week there with my wife seriously contemplating the purchase of a B&B. I have led tours there, acted in the movie "Gettysburg" there, participated in a battlefield monument identification project, taken tours, marched in parades, fought & camped on the ACTUAL battlefield under the auspices of the National park service...Wow! now that I think about it, I've has lots of great memories and experiences there. Every experience I have ever had in Gettysburg has been memorable, but today I am thinking about my first visit as a reenactor. When I becam

By Rick Walton  Copyright (C) 2013 Today I am  Honoring  the men of the 6th North Carolina State troops who were casualties of the battles around Fredericksburg, as part of the Chancellorsville Campaign, 150 years ago on May 4, 1863. Sergeant Bartlett Yancey Malone One of the 6th North Carolina State Troops members, Sergeant Bartlett Yancey Malone of Company H,  left his impressions of that day in his diary: " ...we was marching about first from one plais to nother a watching the Yankees untell about a hour by sun and the fight was opend our bregaid went in and charged about half of a mile and just befour we got to the Yankee Battery I was slightly wounded above the eye with a peas of a bumb[.] non was kild in our company. Lieutenant Walker was slitley wounded in the side. I. R. Allred was wounded in the arm hat to have it cut off. I. E. Calmond was slitly wounded in the arm. I. L. Evans had his finger shot off--- " This action took place in front of their position on the ext

Copyright 2013 By Frederick Walton, Associate member of the L. L. Polk SCV Camp Saturday April 20, 2013 was a beautiful spring day, although still a little chilly. It was bright and sunny...one of those days when you can't wait to get outside. It was a beautiful day to work in the yard among the blooming trees of spring. It was a day we chose to meet at the Oakwood Confederate Cemetery for our annual Spring cleanup. Members of the Colonel Leonidas L. Polk SCV camp 1486 from Garner, NC converged on Oakwood Confederate Cemetery at 9 AM armed with buckets, brushes, hoses and bleach. There are many ways to honor our Confederate ancestors...or Union if thats all you have. In my case, I have neither, but have adopted members of the 6th North Carolina State Troops as my substitute, since my ancestors were still in Europe at the time of the American war between the states. We honor their memory with ceremonies and speeches, reenactments and blogs, but sometimes it requires more. Sometimes

 (c) 2013 by Frederick Walton, Historian of the 6th North Carolina State Troops Sailor's Creek Visitors Center My buddy, Richard Otero and I took a Sunday drive to the Sailor’s Creek Battlefield on April 7, 2013. It was one day past the 148th Anniversary of the battle and a good opportunity to see what the battlefield looked like at the time of year the battle was actually fought. I had been to Sailor’s Creek a couple times before, one being as a participant at the 130th anniversary reenactment in 1995. Confederate Troops at the 1995 130th Anniversary Reenactment The trip took us about two and a half hours from Wendell, N. C. The weather was sunny and pleasant with highs in the mid and upper 60’s. The drive through rural North Carolina and Virginia was pretty. The blue sky was filled with puffy white clouds and roadside fields tended to be that brilliant, early spring green. I thought we would be treated to more flowering shrubs and trees, but this was the first warm day after a wi

  Members of the Sixth North Carolina State Troops proudly display the authentic Battle flag they worked so hard to raise over $6,000 to conserve in honor of the men of North Carolina who fought under this banner Published: April 7, 2013 in the Raleigh News and Observer (section B, page 1) "Bloody 6th" Battle Flag at Home N. C. Regiment lost it in Virginia; Museum brings it home to Raleigh By Renee Elder — relder@newsobserver.com RALEIGH — A Confederate battle flag lost in the final months of the Civil War was handed over again Saturday – this time back into the collection of the N.C. Museum of History following a $6,500 restoration. The flag was carried by the 6th Regiment of North Carolina [State Troops] at the Battle of Sailor’s Creek in Virginia when it was captured by a Union soldier on April 6, 1865. Forty years later, the federal government returned the flag to North Carolina, but it remained hidden in storage because the torn and dirty fabric was not suitable for di

  Copyright (C) 2013 By Frederick Walton, Historian of the 6th North Carolina State Troops On Saturday April 6, 2013, the anniversary of the battle of Sailors creek, I presented the following program at the North Carolina Museum of History as the keynote speaker to dedicate a newly conserved battle flag that was captured at Sailor’s creek 148 years ago, Author presenting the keynote address at the North Carolin Museum of History on April 6, 2013 An Address for the Dedication of a Newly Conserved Battle Flag  The Confederate Battle Flag…    That familiar flag….  With a bright red field…., Crossed by the blue bars of the saint Andrews Cross…. Five pointed white stars represent the states of the Confederacy... We all recognize this flag. It is the thing that brought us together today. It is a flag that proudly symbolized the unity of Southern communities in the 1860’s, who were sending husbands and brothers and son’s off to fight for their vision of a new government… one that more closely