H. G. Worsley's Civil War Experiences
(Two newspaper clippings from the Evening Telegram in Rocky Mount, NC)
Defending Eastern North Carolina
Among the Confederate soldiers who were engaged in the battle to defend
Little Washington, at the time of its capture by the Yankees in the Civil
War, was H. G. Worsley, who in a letter written after the close of the
war, have some very interesting accounts of his part in the conflict. Mr.
Worsley whose relatives still reside in Rocky Mount, was born on July the
5th, 1833 and joined the Confederate Army in July of 1861. His entry into
the army took place at Old Sparta, in Edgecombe County where a company
was organized under Captain Frank Pitt. The first lieutenant of the group
was V. B. Thorp and Bennett Jenkins was second lieutenant. M. B. Pitt served
the company as third lieutenant. The company, according to Mr. Worsley's
letter, was organized as a sort of independent cavalry, and training was
done at Old Sparta. From there they moved to Camp Hardy and began picket
duty above Little Washington. According to Mr. Worsley "when the attack
was made on Little Washington our company took part in the engagement by
guarding the bridge across Tar River on the west end. The federal troops
were driven out of the town, but the gun boats coming up, the town was
evacuated." This, follows closely the account as given by Stephen F. Blanding,
who was on the opposite side in the fray, and whose story tells of the
Conderates evacuating Washington, in the general direction of "Kingston."
The company was known as the Edgecombe Partisan Rangers and subsequently
became Company I, 7th Regiment Confederate Cavalry. Much of the history
of the Civil war would be more complete if other far-thinking soldiers
had had the foresight of Mr. Worsley, and had written down for posterity,
at least a part of their activities during the war. Much can be gained
from records in Washington, but it is often the personal reminisces of
such soldiers as Mr. Worsley that gives us the real insight into the lives
of our forefathers, and much of the general life of the men who fought
so bravely to defend what they thought was right. We have written before
in this column of the account of the siege of Little Washington, after
its capture by the Yankees, and were interested to find in Mr. Worsley's
letter the following paragraph: "Then we were ordered on picket duty on
the Ablemarle Sound and had a good many skirmishes with the Federal cavalry,
and some with gun boats. I was on a scout to Little Washington while the
Federal troops were in possession of that place. Under Captain Myers I
was the sergeant in command to carry the prisoners to Goldsborough." Mr.
Worsley's letter was closed with the following paragraph: "We fought for
a lost cause, and ended the great career of our great general who surrendered
his sword to the conqueror U. S. Grant at Appamattox Court House on the
9th day of April, 1865 and settled a question of long standing and great
agitation that disturbed the nation."
The Surrender of Lee at Appamattox
We have written of a photostatic copy of a letter written after the Civil
War by the late H. G. Worsley, whose relatives still reside in Rocky Mount.
Much that was interesting was found in the letter, but one of the things
that made the letter unique was the author's account of the close of the
war, and his reaction to the surrender. According to Mr. Worsley he "was
with the army (Confederate) on the retreat from Petersburg to Appammatox
Court House. I took part in the last day's fight with General Lee at his
surrender. I can at (to) the rear and told Capt. Pitt that General Lee
had surrendered. He told me he did not intend to surrender. I told him
I should follow him. He told me to stay and surrender, but I told him I
volunteered to follow him and if he went out I would follow him. We forded
the James River and by circuitous route went around the Federal Army and
came into North Carolina in Granville County." He writes further that as
he remembered it, it took him about nine days to reach home (Edgecombe
County). We have read many instances of deserters from the Confederate
ranks during the course of the Civil War, some leaving at the height of
the conflict to come home and raise that year's crop, some just being fed
up with the fighting, wanting to see home, etc., but this is one of the
rare instances that we have ever heard, of a Confederate soldier A. W.
O. L. because of his determination "not to surrender."
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