The story of two soldiers united in death on the Gettysburg battlefield
By Frederick E. Walton, Historian of the Sixth North Carolina State Troops
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Photograph of Colonel I. E. Avery note taken by Frederick E Walton on October 25, 2017 during a private tour of the N. C. State Archives. |
The final words of Colonel I. E. Avery, once displayed in North Carolina’s “Hall of History”, have been viewed by hundreds of thousands of visitors over the years. “Major, tell my father I died with my face to the enemy” would be recognized by any 19th century North Carolina schoolboy. It was printed and reprinted in newspapers year after year as the story of North Carolina at Gettysburg was retold again and again. But, sadly, today in the 21st century the memories have faded or worse, become politically incorrect. As the historian of the Sixth North Carolina State Troops, this quote has been burned into my brain!
Imagine my surprise then, when I recently read an almost identical quote attributed to someone else.
“Tell my father I died for my Country”, were the dying words of Gettysburg native, Sergeant Frederick Huber, serving with the 23rd Pennsylvania Volunteers, as he lay mortally wounded, surrounded by his friends and fellow soldiers, the result of Confederate bullets on the battlefield of Fair Oaks in Virginia on May 31, 1862.
Fourteen months later and 87 miles away from Fair Oaks, Colonel I. E. Avery lay dying at the foot of East Cemetery Hill, in Gettysburg, only 870 yards from Sergeant Huber’s grave, writing nearly the same sentiments. “Major, tell my father I died with my face to the enemy”, wrote Avery, after being shot from his horse by a Yankee bullet that pierced his neck, while leading a charge that could have turned the tide at Gettysburg.
Avery’s dying message, written in pencil on blood-stained notepaper, is well know to students of Confederate history. That piece of paper is so revered that today it remains locked deep in the vaults of the North Carolina Archives1.
These two American soldiers, who came from very different walks of life and fought on opposite sides during the War between the States…shared an uncanny similarity in their final words.
I first became aware of this other quote when reading ”When the smoke cleared at Gettysburg: The tragic aftermath of the bloodiest battle of the Civil War” By George Sheldon2. It tells the story of Gettysburg after the battle and describes the destruction, death, and stench of tens of thousands of dead and dying soldiers and horses littered across many miles surrounding the little town, nearly destroyed during the battle. Sheldon describes the best and worst of local citizens and farmers. Some townspeople, filling their houses with the wounded, were repaid for their kindness by permanent stains on their floors and upholstered furniture with the blood of the wounded. Others, like some area farmers, charged the very soldiers who defended their town for a drink of well water or a wagon ride to the nearest field hospital. The main story is about the flood of volunteers who came from throughout the northeast to give aid and comfort to the soldiers. Doctors brought their medical skills, while ordinary citizens, many of them women, came looking for a loved one and stayed to help bind wounds and feed thousands of the helpless casualties. But along with people giving aid came reporters, tourists, and souvenir hunters gawking at the unfortunate towns disaster.
One passage jumped off the page as I read it. A newspaperman reporting about the calamity that befell Gettysburg as he toured the battlefield mentioned a “young soldiers” final words: “Tell my Father I have died for my Country." I instantly thought of the note written by Colonel Isaac Irwin Avery, commander of Hoke’s Brigade, who died leading his troops on East Cemetery Hill in Gettysburg. But this was a different message, inscribed a year before the battle, on a Gettysburg gravestone.
“Next morning after the assault a man might have walked from the muddy stream below [East Cemetery Hill], up to the very muzzles of the cannon above, on dead and bleeding bodies. All this occurred just outside the gates of the [Evergreen] Cemetery. It seemed as if War in cruel mockery of death, had flung a thousand victims at his door.
We walked back through the [Evergreen] Cemetery, and on all sides were traces of this most sanguine conflict. Artillery horses had trampled the flowers which the hand of affection had planted over the dead ; monuments were overturned, and the green sod of graves torn by bursting shells. We noticed one monument shattered by a cannon ball. It was marking the grave of a young soldier who fell, at the battle of Fair Oaks. His last words, “Tell my father I died, for my country” were chiseled on the marble, and it, seemed, as if for these words, the bitterness of rebellion would disturb his last resting place. But, he sleeps on a field of victory after all.”3
How bizarre! Was this an amazing coincidence or was this simply a romantic catchphrase that all heroes uttered as they lay dying. Curious, I asked the knower of all things- Google. I tried a number of variations of the phrase and was surprised by how many references to Avery’s note exist on the internet, but no others popped up, which makes the “young soldier” uttering this noble statement even more mysterious and extraordinary. Who was this soldier, I wondered? It took a little genealogical sleuthing to discover his identity, and, when I did, I discovered a sad story of devotion and death. The young soldier’s name was Sergeant Frederick A. Huber.
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Frederick A. Huber, 1st Sgt. Co F 23rd PA Regt. |
Who was Frederick A. Huber?
Frederick A. Huber was born in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on February 12th 1842 to Dr. Henry S. Huber (1814-1873) and Priscilla Jane McCurdy Huber (1818-1882). Frederick shares his birthday with Abraham Lincoln who turned 35 in 1842. Dr. Huber was the town physician in Gettysburg. Frederick grew up in the small market town and attended school there. As a teenager he decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a doctor. In 1860, Frederick left Gettysburg to attend medical school in Philadelphia. On December 20, 1860 South Carolina seceded, an event that would forever change the direction of Frederick’s short life.4
In the Patriotic spirit sweeping the northern states, Nineteen year old Frederick put his medical career on hold. He enlisted as a Sergeant5 in Company F, 23rd Pennsylvania Infantry on August 2, 1861. Commanded by Colonel David B. Birney, “Birney's Zouaves" was a colorfully attired Zouave Regiment headed by the son of avid abolitionist James Gillespie Birney (1792–1857). A college chum later recalled that Fred was offered a comparably safe position as a hospital steward to which he replied “I am able-bodied, strong, young, and fit to carry a musket; my place is in the ranks.”6
Sergeant Frederick Huber at the Battle of Fair Oaks/Seven Pines
May 31, 1862 found Sergeant Huber in front of a smoky fire in a muddy camp along the Nine Mile road near Fair Oaks Station. Along with his fellow members of the 23rd Pennsylvania, he was trying his best to cook a noon-time meal of boiled rice, all they had left to eat, while waiting for the wagons to catch up and deliver the promised rations of meat. Suddenly, without warning, a shell exploded in a clearing in front of their camp. Casey’s Division, posted a quarter mile away, was under attack. The hungry soldiers immediately grabbed their muskets and fell into line. Brig. Gen. Erasmus D. Keyes, Commanding the IV corps, came galloping down the road and, seeing the 23rd already in line, ordered them to the support of Casey’s right.7
Maj. Gen. D. H. Hill’s Confederates launched an uncoordinated attack directly into Brig. Gen. Silas Casey's Federal line, who were blocking the Williamsburg road, at the crossroads village of Seven Pines, a mile away from Fair Oaks station. Hill was supposed to wait for Maj. Gen. James Longstreet and Maj. Gen. Benjamin Huger to spring a complicated three pronged attack but impatiently began the battle alone about 1:00 PM on Saturday, May 31, 1862.
The battle hardened Confederates easily rolled over the unprepared green troops of Federal Third division commander Brig. Gen. Silas Casey causing some initial panic, but the soldiers in blue quickly reorganized and fought fiercely to hold their earthworks, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides. The 23rd Pennsylvania, part of Brig. Gen John Abercrombie's second brigade under 1st Division Brig. Gen. D. N. Couch were detailed to support the guns of Miller’s battery: Battery E, 1st Pennsylvania Light Artillery. The battery was positioned in the center of the line under attack and doing a splendid job of keeping the enemy at bay with grape and canister. General Erasmus Keye’s, IV Corp Commander, said “The conduct of Miller's battery was admirable. Having a central position in the forepart of the action it threw shells over the heads of our own troops, which fell and burst with unusual precision among the enemy's masses.”8 As the battle see-sawed back and forth, the 23rd Pennsylvania regiment desperately struggled to hold their line against the overwhelming numbers of Confederate attackers and artillery zeroing in on the Federal battery’s position. At one point the 23rd made a desperate bayonet charge temporarily dislodging the Confederate attackers from a position they had secured.
Driven back to their starting point along the Nine Mile Road, as the battery they were supporting depleted their ammunition, the 23rd PA. observed Confederates troops passing down the York River railroad on their right flank. Beyond their left flank, more Confederate troops had worked their way around, attempting to envelope them. Lying down to preserve themselves in their isolation, they continued firing to the front and both flanks with no support in sight. They had been fighting for four hours when their Colonel, Thomas H. Neill, ordered an orderly retreat through the abatis along the Nine Mile Road. It was here that Sargent Frederick Huber fell while rallying his men.
Frederick’s Biography on Find-A-Grave describes his final hours:
“Around 4 PM, Frederick received his first wound, being shot in the arm. Ten minutes later he was wounded again in the thigh and then at 5 PM the fatal blow was delivered. While urging the rally to the Colors, Sgt. Huber was shot in the right breast and died 30 minutes later. As he lay dying on the field, several men of the regiment surrounded him and attempted to remove him to a nearby field hospital. Knowing the wound was mortal, and the unit was in danger of capture, he begged the men to leave him to die and save themselves. His friends refused to leave him. Just a few seconds before his passing, the regimental chaplain, James G. Shinn, prayed with him and then Frederick exclaimed, "Tell my father I have died for my country." He passed away that evening of May 31st 1862 at 5:03 p.m. The Surgeon of the Regiment, Albert Owen Stille, buried him on the field of battle and marked the grave as his friends returned to the Ranks.”9
Frederick Huber died gallantly, surrounded by his comrades. Ironically, about the very time of his death, the other principle of this story, Captain Isaac Erwin Avery, entered the battlefield not far from where Huber had just perished.
Captain Isaac Erwin Avery at The Battle of Fair Oaks/Seven Pines
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Colonel Isaac Erwin Avery, commander of Hoke’s Brigade |
About 4:00, Brig. Gen. W. H. C. Whiting, commanding Smith’s Division, accompanied by Confederate commander Joseph E. Johnson, led his left wing down the Nine Mile road. Stationed near Old Tavern, only a couple of miles away, they had been waiting for the battle to start, but due to an acoustic shadow did not hear the battle raging fiercely close by. D. H. Hill sent a request through Longstreet to Johnston for reinforcements. The Sixth North Carolina State Troops, commanded by Colonel Dorsey Pender, was Smith’s division’s lead regiment advancing down the Nine Mile Road. As they neared the railroad crossing at Fair Oaks Station they were ordered to advance and charge the enemy. A member of the Sixth North Carolina recalled the day in his journal:
“We marched down toward Chicahominy and about three o'clock in the eavning we was led in to the battle field by Colonel Pender, And we had a wright nice time of it from then tell dark”10
There was, of course, more to the story, much more. There is no one better suited to tell the story than Isaac Erwin Avery’s brother, 1st Lt. Alphonso C. Avery, who was there in command of the color company which literally placed him in the very middle of the action that day.
“The first regiment put in motion on the Confederate left, was the Sixth [North Carolina State Troops], under [Colonel Dorsey] Pender. He was ordered to press forward rapidly, with the assurance that he would be supported, but were led to believe that the enemy was not very near to his front. Hence he moved into the dense woods, a short distance from us, by the flank, until the head of the column reached a road, when the enemy’s picket fired into him. The regiment was halted instantly and ordered forward into line at the double quick. Though the movement was executed in dense woods, the regiment had, in a few seconds, formed a perfect line along the road, and in the shortest possible time thereafter, Company K, Captain Lea, was thrown out as skirmishers, and was advancing at a quick–step, followed by the regiment at supporting distance. Though a number of men in the line of battle were killed and wounded, the company of skirmishers was not driven back upon the main line until the regiment reached the woods, where a part of Couches command was said to have been in camp, near Fair Oaks Station. The advance of the regiment was not, however, checked for a moment there, though wistful eyes were cast at the full haversacks and boiling pots as it passed through the deserted camp of Couch.“11
Colonel Pender picks up the story in his official report to the North Carolina Governor:
“We met with no check until we had proceeded about one mile, mostly through the woods, but on emerging from a small wood I was delayed sufficiently long by another regiment which had obliqued while passing through a field, getting in my front--to enable me to discover three regiments making an effort to take us in flank; changing my front, the regiment went at them at the double quick. They about faced, filing behind a wood and unmasking a masked battery which opened upon us when about 150 yards from it.”12
This action created a new battle front, different from the one Huber and his comrades were engaged in against Hill’s forces almost a mile away. Private Henry W. Wedding, a member of the Sixth North Carolina State Troops, Co. B, reported what happened next in a letter to the local newspaper:
“Our regiment was ordered to charge, which was done immediately. After advancing very near the enemy we found they were supported by a strong battery, which sent shell and grape among us and over us in great profusion. We retired back to a piece of woods near by, when we were reinforced by other regiments and again attempted to charge and take the enemy's battery.”13
Colonel Pender had come upon an unexpected and stubborn enemy and was faced with a tough decision:
“Having partially rallied the right -still under a heavy fire of shell and grape shot, I was ordered to advance and again attack the battery in conjunction with other regiments. This the men did in force, still approaching to within about 75 yards of the guns, but here the fire from the battery and supporting infantry became so terrible, that it was impossible to go forward; but unwilling again to retreat, the regiment maintained its ground, being, partially sheltered by some rising ground, for some time. Here there was considerable confusion in consequence of several regiments having been thrown upon the same ground.14
As the lines pushed back and forth, Wedding summed it up succinctly:
“We found that the battery was supported by a large force of infantry, and we again retired. We failed in taking the battery, but we held the field and slept in a Yankee camp that night.”15
It is uncertain exactly where the camp of the 23rd Pennsylvania from that morning lay, but, in another irony of time and place, this fight, while not against the 23rd, was certainly against the division they belonged to! Avery may well have walked past the very campfire where Sergeant Huger was cooking his last meal earlier that day.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis, witnessing this action, promoted Colonel Pender, on the spot, to Brig. General. Avery’s brother proudly concluded his observations saying:
“The attack on the left was not a success…The Sixth North Carolina won the proud of distinction of being the first to engage the enemy, and the last to leave the field.”16
Where was Captain Avery that day? He was leading the men of Company E and shortly after the battle he was promoted to Lt. Colonel. Pender mentioned Avery, as he did his fellow officers, saying they are entitled to great credit. But Avery was singled out:
“The coolness of Capt., now Lieut. Colonel Avery [Co. E], was also very conspicuous.”17
Colonel Isaac Erwin Avery, like Sergeant Huber, would die gallantly, but it would not be here and not until another year had passed.
After the battle, Frederick Huber’s father left Gettysburg for Richmond to retrieve his son’s remains, arriving on June 5th. He was taken to the burial site on the battlefield by the regimental surgeon. The remains were placed in a box and taken back to Gettysburg arriving on June 11th 1862. On June 13th 1862 Frederick was buried in Gettysburg’s Evergreen cemetery. His final words, "Tell my father I have died for my country." , were forever etched in stone upon his grave marker.18
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Sergeant Frederick A. Huber’s Gettysburg headstone. "Tell my father I have died for my country." is circled in red |
Who was Isaac Erwin Avery
Isaac Erwin Avery was born at his family home, Swan Ponds, in Morganton, Burke County, North Carolina on December 20, 1828. He was the fourth son of Isaac Thomas Avery (22 Sept. 1785–31 Dec. 1864) & Harriet Eloise Erwin (3 May 1795-4 Aug 1858). He had 16 brothers and sisters, including six siblings that died in childbirth or infancy. Three of his brothers died serving the Confederacy. His grandfather, Waightstill Avery, a fiery Revolutionary War hero, was a noted North Carolina barrister in the 18th century who served as the first attorney general of North Carolina. Legend says that in 1788, Avery fought Andrew Jackson in a duel over a point of honor. They intentionally missed each other when firing, and left the duel as fast friends.19
In 1847, when Isaac turned 18, he attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel hill for one year. He is listed there on the plaque for Civil War Veterans at UNC. He decided academics wasn’t his calling and returned home in 1848 to help his father operate the plantation. He became interested in breeding and raising cattle and horses, eventually managing a family owned farm in Yancey county that dealt in cattle.
In 1854, when Avery was 25, the Western North Carolina Railroad was chartered. A plan was established to build a line between Salisbury and Morganton. Avery entered into a business relationship with Samuel McDowell Tate of Morganton and Charles F. Fisher of Salisbury who were building the road. As the clouds of was began appearing on the horizon, Fisher, President of the North Carolina Railroad, began thinking of raising a legion to defend his beloved state. Traveling among the men building the railroad, he realized he had the skeleton of an army already in place. His managers and foremen, already skilled leaders, would make his corps of officers, while the workman, both laborers and skilled tradesman, would create the soldiers needed to fill the ranks. By 1861 when North Carolina seceded, work ceased on the railroad within 3 miles of Morganton. Fisher was authorized by Governor Ellis to raise a regiment. Avery enlisted the largest company, from among his loyal men, which became company E, of the Sixth North Carolina State Troops, with himself as Captain at the head…War had arrived in North Carolina.
Avery led company E in the first great battle at Manassas, leading a charge against a battery that arguably saved the Confederate line. Although wounded, he never left the field. In 1862 the regiment held back invading Federals during the Peninsular Campaign fighting at Yorktown and Eltham’s Landing. Like young Sergeant Frederick Huber, Captain Avery was at Seven Pines. Whiting’s Division next took a train to the Shenandoah Valley to join Stonewall Jackson. It was a feint, to baffle the Federal high command, which it did, but resulted in a long and difficult march back to the peninsula for Whiting and his men. They arrived at Gaines Mill just in time to keep the embattled Confederate line from collapsing. It was here that Colonel Avery was severely wounded, keeping him out of action for the rest of the peninsular campaign. The regiment fought on without Avery through the summer of 1862 pushing the Federals away from Richmond during fighting on the peninsula. They sustained high casualties at Malvern Hill and later at Second Manassas, earning the sobriquet the “Bloody Sixth”. Avery was still recovering, missing the battle of Sharpsburg and returning to the regiment in October, leading the Sixth at Fredericksburg. At Chancellorsville he took command of the brigade when General Hoke was injured.20
July 1863- The Battle of Gettysburg
By mid afternoon of July 1st 1863, the first day of the battle, Hoke’s Brigade under the command of Colonel Issac E. Avery pushed General Oliver Otis Howard's 11th Corps through the streets of the village and onto Cemetery Hill. Ironically this action sealed Avery’s fate. As night was falling, the Confederates stopped to regroup and passed the evening below the hillside. The sounds of picks and shovels should have warned them that the beleaguered Federal soldiers were digging in and fortifying their position into an impregnable stronghold.21 In nearby Evergreen Cemetery, back from the crest of the hill, The men were ordered to place the headstones on the ground to prevent them from being struck and becoming deadly projectiles themselves. Frederick A. Huber’s headstone was the only one not lowered to the ground, due to a small sapling growing in front of it. As cannon balls flew back and forth during the next days battle, Huber’s stone was struck by Confederate artillery shearing off his name on the top of the stone. Though dead for just over a a year, in this weird circumstance he was once again a casualty at the hands of the Confederates. Struck down in life, at Fair Oaks in 1862, he was again stuck down, in death, at Gettysburg.22
As the sun set on the evening of July 2nd, the Confederates at the base of East Cemetery Hill were ordered to attack. Knowing the danger a mounted officer would face, Avery ordered his officers to send their horses to the rear. He was the sole mounted Confederate on that part of the field and his white charger made him a conspicuous target. As his men raced forward, up the hill into the destructive fire of the tenacious defenders, Avery fell, struck by a Yankee bullet to the neck. As his life blood flowed out onto the dark and lonely battlefield. Avery wrote the immortal words for his friend Major Tate to deliver to his father: “Major, Tell Me Father I Died With My Face To The Enemy”
The attack had failed. Federal reinforcements drove Avery’s men off the hill after desperate hand to hand fighting for control of the artillery on the hilltop. It was late that evening that the remnant’s in gray returned to their lines, carrying with them captured colors and prisoners. But the Federals had firmly held their position, and Avery was no where to be seen. When he was later discovered on the field, he was carried to a field hospital. Like Frederick Huber, Avery was surrounded by his friends. Unlike Huber, he spoke no final words when he died, leaving behind only the message he had written while alone on the battlefield.23
The Yankee soldier who died on a Rebel battlefield was taken home to be buried with honor in the Evergreen Cemetery in Gettysburg. The Rebel soldier who was killed on a Yankee battlefield at Gettysburg was removed from the battlefield with reverence by his men for the long journey home, but never made it. Mother Nature saw to that. The suffocating rains and humidity after the battle, followed by the burning sun, made it impossible to carry the purifying body beyond Williamsport where it lay in a marked grave for retrieval later under better circumstances. But it didn’t matter because the soldier had long ago departed the body.
Two brave men. Two different backgrounds. Brothers serving two nations, but in the end sharing the same final thoughts of home and honor. Both men cut down in the prime of their life. Both had the promise of a great future in their respective fields. Both died leading their men into battle. One lies under a well known grave in Gettysburg visited by thousands of people every year. The other lay in an unknown grave, which has only recently been rediscovered in Hagerstown Maryland.
Colonel Avery’s words, burned into my mind years ago from my research, are now joined by Sergeant Huber’s similar words. I was stuck by the similarity. My curiosity led me to discover who said them. His story is now united to that of Colonel Avery.
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| Evergreen Cemetery Gatehouse in Gettysburg. Photo (c) 2015 by Frederick Walton Photography |
I can imagine the rebel Colonel, upon his death, seeing his final destiny at the top of nearby East Cemetery Hill. He had failed to conquer it in life, but would now be drawn to the light, framed by the famous gateway to the Evergreen Cemetery, in death. Waiting to greet him on other side was his former foe, Sergeant Frederick Huber, rudely awoken from his eternal slumber by rebel cannon balls. On the other side of the cemetery gate they are no longer enemies, but simply two brave soldiers who gave their lives for the cause they believed in. Turning their backs on the carnage surrounding the cemetery, they joined the long line of soldiers making their final march together.
Isaac Thomas Avery, the Colonel’s father, died a year and a half later. Dr. Henry S. Huber, Frederick’s father, died in 1873. Both fathers, now reunited with their brave soldier sons, could finally be told in person, “Father I died… with honor”.
Notes:
1- Avery, Isaac E., State Archives of North Carolina-Digital Archives Collection, Identifier: VC_8_Isaac_Avery, https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/isaac-e.-avery-paper/418327
2- Sheldon, George. 2003. When the Smoke Cleared at Gettysburg. Cumberland House Publishing.
3- The Franklin Repository, Chambersburg, PA., July 29, 1863, Page 2. via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-franklin-repository-franklin-reposit/201528533/ : accessed July 13, 2026), clip page for Franklin Repository 29Jul1863 "tell my father i died for my country" by user Frederickwalton https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-franklin-repository-franklin-reposit/201528533/
Note: Although part of this story was quoted in the book, I searched for and found the original complete article, not cited in the book.
4- The Adams Sentinal and General Advertiser, June 17, 1862 “Death of Sergeant Huber”;”https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=700mAAAAIBAJ&sjid=G_8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=7138%2C6310507“; Sgt Frederick A Huber (1842-1862) - Find a Grave MEMORIAL ID 6629956 , BURIAL Evergreen Cemetery, Gettysburg, Adams County, Pennsylvania, GPS-Latitude: 39.8193142, Longitude: -77.2305943, PLOT, Section G , Lot 8, Grave 1, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6629956/frederick_a-huber, accessed by Frederick Walton 7/4/2026
5- US, Civil War Service Index (CMSR) - Union - Pennsylvania, 1861-1865, Publication Number M554 Record Group 4; Fold3, US, Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldier Who Served in Organizations from the State of Pennsylvania, 1861-1865 (https://www.fold3.com/publication/793/us-civil-war-service-index-cmsr-union-pennsylvania-1861-1865 : accessed Jul 28, 2026), database and images, https://www.fold3.com/publication/793/us-civil-war-service-index-cmsr-union-pennsylvania-1861-1865
6- Weekly Plain Dealer, December 16, 1863, Page 1. via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/weekly-plain-dealer-18631216-wkly-plain/202663876/ : accessed July 29, 2026), clip page for 18631216 Wkly Plain Dealer Frederick Huber Death by user Frederickwalton
7- Survivors association Twenty Third Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, History of the Twenty third Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry; Birney's Zouaves(1904); Internet Archive-https://archive.org/details/cu31924030914091/mode/2up;pp ;pp 43-48
8- The War of the Rebellion : a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies. / Pub. under the direction of the ... Secretary of War ser.1:v.11:pt.1:Reports; The following reports were consulted to better understand the action at Gaines Mill/Seven Pines as experienced by the principle of this story:
No. 70. Report of Brig. Gen. Erasmus D. Keyes, U.S. Army, commanding Fourth Corps.
No. 71. Report of Brig. Gen. Darius N. Couch, U. S. Army, commanding First Division.
*(see Couch’s report, “War Records,” Series, one, Vol XI, part I, page 880.)
No. 72. Report of Maj. Robert M. West, Chief of Artillery.
No. 75. Report of Capt. Theodore Miller, Battery E, First Pennsylvania Light Artillery.
No. 81; Reports of Brig. Gen. John J. Abercrombie, U.S. Army, commanding Second Brigade.
No. 84. Report of Col. Thomas H. Neill,twenty-third Pennsylvania Infantry.
No. 101. Report of General Joseph E. Johnston, C. S. Army, commanding Army of Northern Virginia, and resulting correspondence.
No. 122. — Maj. Gen. Gustavus W. Smith, C. S. Army, commanding left wing.
9- Sgt Frederick A Huber (1842-1862) - Find a Grave MEMORIAL ID 6629956 , BURIAL Evergreen Cemetery, Gettysburg, Adams County, Pennsylvania, GPS-Latitude: 39.8193142, Longitude: -77.2305943, PLOT, Section G , Lot 8, Grave 1, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6629956/frederick_a-huber, accessed by Frederick Walton 7/4/2026
10- Bartlett Yancy Malone, “Whipt ‘em Everytime”, McCowat-Mercer Press, Inc, 1960
11- Walter Clark, Histories of the Several Regiments and Battalions from North Carolina in the Great War 1861-1865 (Raleigh: E.M. Uzzell, 1901-1905).
12-The Hillsborough Recorder, June 18, 1862, Page 2. via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-hillsborough-recorder-18620618-hboro/205157310/ : accessed September 2, 2026), clip page for 18620618 HboroRec- Gen Penders report on the Battle of Seven Pines by user Frederickwalton
13- The Hillsborough Recorder, June 11, 1862, Page 3. via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-hillsborough-recorder-18620611-hboro/205163716/ : accessed September 2, 2026), clip page for 18620611 HBoroRec the 6th North Carolina State Troops at the battle of Seven Pines by user Frederickwalton
14-The Hillsborough Recorder, June 18, 1862, Page 2. via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-hillsborough-recorder-18620618-hboro/205157310/ : accessed September 2, 2026), clip page for 18620618 HboroRec- Gen Penders report on the Battle of Seven Pines by user Frederickwalton
15- The Hillsborough Recorder, June 11, 1862, Page 3. via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-hillsborough-recorder-18620611-hboro/205163716/ : accessed September 2, 2026), clip page for 18620611 HBoroRec the 6th North Carolina State Troops at the battle of Seven Pines by user Frederickwalton
16-Walter Clark, Histories of the Several Regiments and Battalions from North Carolina in the Great War 1861-1865 (Raleigh: E.M. Uzzell, 1901-1905).
17- The Hillsborough Recorder, June 18, 1862, Page 2. via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-hillsborough-recorder-18620618-hboro/205157310/ : accessed September 2, 2026), clip page for 18620618 HboroRec- Gen Penders report on the Battle of Seven Pines by user Frederickwalton
18- Sgt Frederick A Huber (1842-1862) - Find a Grave MEMORIAL ID 6629956 , BURIAL Evergreen Cemetery, Gettysburg, Adams County, Pennsylvania, GPS-Latitude: 39.8193142, Longitude: -77.2305943, PLOT, Section G , Lot 8, Grave 1, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6629956/frederick_a-huber, accessed by Frederick Walton 7/4/2026
19- Avery, Isaac Thomas, Jr. "Avery, Isaac Erwin." NCpedia. Library of NC. February 2025.; Avery, Isaac Thomas, Jr. "Avery, Waightstill." NCpedia. Library of NC. May 2023.
20- Iobst, Richard W.(1965), Bloody Sixth The Sixth North Carolina Regiment Confederate States of America, North Carolina Confederate Centennial Commission.
21- Ibid
22- Sgt Frederick A Huber (1842-1862) - Find a Grave MEMORIAL ID 6629956 , BURIAL Evergreen Cemetery, Gettysburg, Adams County, Pennsylvania, GPS-Latitude: 39.8193142, Longitude: -77.2305943, PLOT, Section G , Lot 8, Grave 1, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6629956/frederick_a-huber, accessed by Frederick Walton 7/4/2026
23-Iobst, Richard W.(1965), Bloody Sixth The Sixth North Carolina Regiment Confederate States of America, North Carolina Confederate Centennial Commission.
The following are some of the books consulted for general knowledge about the battles mentioned:
Steven H. Newton, Joseph E, Johnston and the defense of Richmond (University Press of Kanas, 1998), Seven Pines Chapter Pg 172-198 including large scale Map on Pg 176 showing Whiting engaged against Sedgwick and Hill engaged against Casey with Couch in reserve.
Webb, A. S., & Sales, B. (2002). The peninsula McClellan’s campaign of 1862. Castle Books.
Stephen W Sears, To the Gates of Richmond; The Peninsula Campaign(Ticknor & Fields, 1992)
Schipke, Norman Carrington, “We Can hear the Yankee Drums Beating” (Shipke, 2001)
Longacre, Edward G. “General William Dorsey Pender: A military biography”. Conshohocken, Pa: Combined, 2001.
War Department (Wash. (1861). United States Infantry and rifle tactics.
