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ORATION 
 
 DELIYEKED BEFORE 
 
 -ox THEIK- 
 
 TWENTY-FOURTH ANNIVERSARY, 
 
 MAY aOtli, 1877, 
 
 ■BY- 
 
 Edward Cantwell 
 
 Published by P. HEINSBERGER. 
 
 WILMINGTON, N. C: 
 
 S. G. HALL, BOOK AND JOB PRINTER, 
 
 1877. 
 
George Washington Flowers 
 Memorial Collection 
 
 DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 
 ESTABLISHED BY THE 
 FAMILY OF 
 COLONEL FLOWERS 
 
 ':> 
 
 PaaipLlet Collection 
 Dake Univeraity Library 
 
ORATION 
 
 DELIVERED BEFORE 
 
 -ON THEIR- 
 
 TWENTY-FOURTH ANNIVERSARY, 
 
 JVIAY 20tli, 1877. 
 
 -BY- 
 
 Edward Cantwell. 
 
 WILMINGTON, N. C.: 
 
 S. G. HALL, BOOK AND JOB PRINTER, 
 
 1877. 
 
WITH THE HIGHEST REGAED 
 AND BEST WISHES 
 FOR THIER PROSPERITY AND SUCCESS, 
 
 I DEDICATE THIS ORATION 
 ^ TO THE 
 
 j^ISTOr\ICAL AND ^CIENTIFIC jSoCIETY, 
 
 
 OF WILMINGTON, N. C. 
 
 EDWARD CANTWELL. 
 
THE WILMINGTON LIGHT INFANTRY.* 
 
 This being the auniversary of the day when a bold and 
 brave band of patriotic North Carohnians assembled one 
 hundred and t\YO years ago in the county of old Mecklenburg 
 to declare against the oppression of the mother country, and 
 to proclaim to the world their willingness to throw off the 
 yoke, and in doing so pledged themselves to defend their 
 principles with their lives, their fortunes and their sacred 
 honor, it is but fitting that such a glorious day in the history 
 ot our dear old mother state should be kept ahve and per- 
 petuated by succeeding generaiions for all time to come. It 
 was with this view, no doubt, that the original members of 
 Wilmington Light Infantry first organized this gallant 
 company, twenty-tour years ago, on the 20th day of May, 
 1853. The not uneventful history of this splendid company 
 has been well and truly told in the fine address here published 
 by the Hon. Edward Oantweil, who was the first officer that 
 ever commanded it. Many there are who participated in that 
 first organization whose familiar faces have long since passed 
 from us and many there are who doffed the handsome blue 
 uniform to don the glorious gray and marched out with buoy- 
 ant hopes and lofty aspirations, who, now alas, ^ 'sleep their 
 last sleep, and have fought their last battle." 
 
 But there are still some of the old veterans left to tell the 
 tale of woe, of carnage, and of slaughter, of brilliant \^ctories 
 and disastrous retreats, of hardships and privations, without 
 
 * An oration delivered at the Opera House, Wilmington, N. C, before the mili- 
 tarv and civil organizations of that city, on the 20th of May, 1877, that being the 
 anniversary of the Wilmington Light Infantry Company. 
 
6 
 
 number, of sufferings that no human tongue can express or 
 portray. All of which were borne with a fortitude and courage 
 unsurpassed by soldiers in any land at any time. 
 
 The fine looking Cape Fear Light Artillery Company, under 
 command of Capt. Flanner, headed the procession to-day, pre- 
 ceded by the drum corps of the Wilmington Light Infantry. 
 Next to the Artillery Company came the Veteran Corps of 
 the Wilmingtmi Light Infantry, numbering sonip. twenty odd 
 men under command of Col. Wm. L. DeRosset, who was 
 their last captain prior to the war. The soldierly bearing of 
 these old veterans attracted much attention and was the oc- 
 cassion of much favorable comment from the citizens generally. 
 The gray caps they wore added very much to their military 
 appearance, but their good marching was the chief cause of 
 the complimentary remarks that were made. 
 
 At the Dawson Bank, on Front street, the Produce Ex- 
 change filed into the procession and at the corner of Front 
 and Princess the column was joined by the old Mexican 
 veterans carrying the flag which was planted on the bights of the 
 National Bridge, Mexico, on the 12th day ot August, 1847, by 
 Lieutenant Edward Oantwell, of the 12th Eegt. tJ. S. Infantry. 
 
 Atthe Northwest corner of Princess and Front,the Chamber 
 of Commerce joined in the procession and further on up Prin- 
 cess, the Historical and Scientific Society took the place in 
 the line which had been assigned them. The whole column 
 under command of Maj. M. P. Taylor, with Lieut. N. H. 
 Sprunt, of the W. L. L, acting as Adjutant, then moved on 
 up Princess street to the Opera House. Arriving there a 
 halt was made, the military came to a front and presented 
 arms, when the civil organizations passed on up in front of 
 the line and preceded the military into the building. The 
 military passed in and brought up the rear. 
 
 The Opera House, which is very spacious, was well filled, 
 many ladies and gentlemen having assembled there before the 
 procession arrived, availing themselves of the opportunity to 
 secure good seats. 
 
The orator of the daj^, Hon. Edward Oantweh, the Chap- 
 lain, Rev. Mr. Patterson, the Choir consisting of Messrs. Har- 
 grave, Metts, Eobinson and Northrop, together with the Com- 
 mittee of Arrangements and the reader of the Mecklenburg 
 Declaration took seats on the stage. Capt. Armand L. 
 DeRosset, Master of Ceremonies, then introduced Rev. Dr., 
 Patterson, Chaplain of the Wilmington Light Infantry, who 
 opened the ceremonies with prayer, after which Capt. DeRosset 
 read from the programme that the "Old North State" would 
 be sung by the Choir, Prof. YanLaer as Musical Director, at 
 the piano. At the close of the last verse the audience rose 
 to their feet and joined in the chorus. Amid the utmost enthu- 
 siasm, and the waving of hats and handkerchiefs, Mr. Joseph 
 Cronly read the Mecklenburg Declaration in a clear,distinct and 
 pleasant manner, after which Capt. DeRosset, in a very 
 graceful manner, introduced Judge Cantwell, who spoke as 
 follows : 
 
 ORATION. 
 
 Ladies and Gextlembx : — I thank you for this kind 
 and cordial greeting, and that I may not be supposed insensi- 
 ble to such a compliment from a Wilmington audience, you 
 will permit me to say, that my subject this afternoon depends 
 so much on my own recollections, that I feel that I should not 
 detain you with acknowledgments of a merely personal 
 character. 
 
 The study of our North Carolina history is one of the must 
 interesting and profitable employments in which North Caro- 
 linians can engage. I am aware of the embarrasments by 
 w^hich you are at present surrounded, and the difficulty you 
 find of fixing your attention upon matters not connected with 
 business, but you will permit me to say that no people will 
 long be free, who are unacquainted with the virtues of their 
 
8 
 
 ancestors or insensible to the sacrifices liberty requires : who 
 are not constantly inspired with a vehement rage, the infirm- 
 ity of noble minds; which counts life as valueless, without just 
 and equal laws and a free government. So long, gentlemen, 
 as civil liberty shall endure, this day, the 20th of May, will 
 be a sacred and a holy day in North Carolina. 
 
 One hundred and two years ago, thirteen and a half months 
 before the now celebrated Declaration of the Fourth day of 
 July, 1776, at Philadelphia, the Scotch-Irish settled in the 
 western part of North Carolina, assembled at Charlotte Court 
 House,Mecklenburg,surrounded by their wives and mothers and 
 irritated by the arbitrary proceedings of the English Governor, 
 who on the night of the 24th of April had fled from Newbern 
 to Fort Johnston, having previously dissolved or attempted 
 to dissolve their local legislature. Then came the news of 
 the conflict at Lexington, on the 19th of April. News traveled 
 slowly in those days; the proclamation of the British King, 
 declaring the Massachusetts rebels and all who sympathized 
 with them, out of his protection, was well calculated to rouse 
 their apprehensions of the future. Inspired moreover by the 
 patriotic appeals of their leading men; William Kennon, the 
 lawyer, Ephraim Brevard, their doctor, and Hezekiah Balch, 
 their pastor, these men at the Court House cried out unani- 
 mously, as if with one voice, "Let us have done with this 
 nonsense, let us be independent. Yes,let us declare indepen- 
 dence and defend it with our fortunes and our lives." 
 
 They called Abraham Alexander, the school master, to 
 the chair. Doctor Brevard read them some resolutions he 
 had drawn up for some friends at a meeting held at Queen's 
 Museum, Charlotte, a few days previously. These resolutions 
 were referred to a committee consisting of the doctor himself, 
 Mr. Kennon and the Rev. H. J. Bal(3h, and the committee 
 retired for consultation. The rest remained in the Court 
 House until midnight of that day and all the next until 
 high noon. The question in debate was Independence. The 
 excitement continually increased until at last every man's 
 
9 
 
 mind being fully made up, and Brevard's resolutions amended 
 and revised by the committee thoroughly understood, the. 
 question upon them was put by the chairman in the midst of 
 a profound stillness, made solemn, by the magnitude of the 
 issues it presented and the character of the men by whom 
 those issues were to be resolved. "Are you all agreed to these 
 resolutions," he asked. The response was an universal aye. 
 It was then moved that the resolutions should be read at the 
 Court House door,and proclamation being made, Colonel Thos, 
 Polk, from the steps of the Court House read then to a listening 
 and approving auditory, the now famous resolutions known 
 as the Mecklenburg Declaration; they formally proclaimed 
 Independence of the British Crown; abjured allegiance to the 
 English Government, and established in IS'orth Carolina a 
 seperate and self-existing pohtical community. The . authors 
 of those resolutions were the descendants of a people who in 
 Scotland and Ireland had for centuries been engaged* in the 
 same struggle they that day inaugurated in America. The 
 language of these resolutions was their habitual form of 
 speech, whenever aroused by similar occasions. These were 
 the people who settled our western villages. They were he- 
 reditary opponents of royal misrule. Blood will tell ! The 
 men came from generations of Scotch and Irish rebels. They 
 went to Charlotte that day with their mothers and wives; and 
 these wives and mothers came from women who fought side 
 by side with the defenders of Limerick and Derry. There 
 they stood in the imminent breach with such weapons as they 
 could snatch from the. bodies of the slain, and there they w- on 
 triumphs w^hich illumine the pages of history, and shed such 
 radiance on posterity, we need no other lamp to light us to 
 glory or the grave. Originally settled in Delaware and pass- 
 ing through Penns^dvania and Virginia, from the head springs 
 of the Opequon and Cub Creek in that State, they emigrated 
 to North Carolina between 1736 and 1750. Scattering them-, 
 selves along the banks of the Hico, the Eno and the Haw, 
 they built their rude cabins of fragrant cedars and pine. The; 
 
10 
 
 blue smoke dotting the verdant landscape here and there 
 marked their advance westward through the wilderness. At 
 night they made their evening prayer^ and laid them down 
 between their bibles and their rifles; lulled to sleep and waked 
 to labor by the tinkhng floods of the Yadkin and the Catawba. 
 
 * * Driven from their homes across the deep, 
 Founded a state that grew so strong and grand, 
 
 That in their day its shadow did expand, 
 And climb the tryant's throne ! Did History bind 
 
 Their glory round her brow, until her hand 
 Weary with search, on record failed to find 
 
 Minds tempered with such power to benefit their kind? 
 
 And while they sleep, she tells their deeds sublime, 
 The everlasting base from which shall spring 
 
 New empires, like their own, till every clime 
 Shall bless the breeze that bears the eagle's wing. 
 
 And tongues in every language learn to sing 
 Freedom's sweet song. * ^ * 
 
 The 20th of May is also the anniversary of our North Caro- 
 lina secession in 1861. After exhausting every other means of 
 redress we, this day sixteen years ago, solemnly declared the 
 compact broken which was established in 1789. The Union 
 had been dissolved by others, and thereupon we immediately 
 attempted to re-establish another in its place and failed. 
 
 One day history will do justice to this movement of a Union 
 loving people. 
 
 The 20th of May is also the anniversary of the Historical 
 and Scientific Society, of this city. 
 
 Gentlemen, we are glad to see you here to-day. We con- 
 gratulate you upon your successful efforts to organize the 
 scholars and gentlemen of Wilmington into a society which 
 has already acquired reputation at home and abroad. 
 
 The Cape Fear Light Artillery also celebrate to-day, their 
 anniversary. We welcome too, around the altar of Mecklen- 
 burg, the Produce Exchange, the surviving veterans of the 
 Mexican war, the Cornet Concert Club and the young cadets 
 of the Whiting Eifles. You, young gentlemen, unite Meck- 
 lenburg and Fort Fisher; your company is the link between 
 
11 
 
 proud memories and growing hopes. 0 dulce et decorum est 
 pro patria mori. You perpetuate the name ot a man* who, 
 perished in the defence of North Carohna, and in obedience to 
 her laws. Let us hope the day will come when North 
 Carolina shall lovingly rescue his remains and enclose themi in 
 her own bosom. We know the day is not far distant when the 
 German Volunteers will meet us here again. Fellow Citizens: 
 These organizations are necessary to the development of the 
 noble qualities among us. The manly virtues never flourish 
 where military prowess is disregarded and when chivalry shall 
 cease to be known among men, gentleness and refinement will 
 disappear among women. I look upon the revival of the 
 military spirit and the organization of our militia, which will 
 immediately follow it, as the most auspicious signs of a lasting 
 peace and the best hope of a true reconciliation. The prompt 
 withdrawal of the army from its post, so called, at Raleigh, the 
 evacuation of the State Houses at Columbia and New Orleans, 
 indicate the purpose of President Hayes to restore the su- 
 premacy of the civil power, to confine the use of the army to 
 our foreign defence; absolute reliance on the protection of the 
 whole people for the maintenance of order here, the restora- 
 tion of the South to its fair and equal apportionment of federal 
 patronage and control, and its equality in the Union. These 
 are the legitimate objects of all political combinations, and for 
 these acts and purposes, the President is entitled to the 
 gratitude and respect of every American citizen. 
 
 Gentlemen of the Wilmington Light Infantry, you have the 
 honor to be the first military organization to adopt the 20th 
 of May as an anniversary. Your first meeting was called at 
 the Court House, in January 1858. The original certificate 
 of your enrollment by virtue of an act of the Legislature, 
 passed in 1849, is dated the 22d of February. This certificate 
 is equivalent to a special charter, and renders one unnecessary. 
 From the original founders the company selected the following 
 
 Gen. W. H. C. Whiting, died in the hospital, New York, of wounds received at 
 Fort Fislier, N. C. 
 
12 
 
 officers, VIZ. : Washington 0. Fergus, First Lieut.; E. 
 Bowden, Second Lieut. ; W. A. M. YanBokkelen, Third 
 Lieut. ; Geo. E. Pritchett, Ensign. Edward Cant well was 
 elected the first captain oi the company. 
 
 The following wert^ the original founders of the company : 
 Theodore Ambrose, Edward N. Atkins, J. Frank Bishop, 
 James A. Burch, Dickson Brown, Kobert R. Bowden, Thomas 
 ^5". Bishop, Joseph L. Barlow, Archibald N^. Burch, Samuel H. 
 Bingham, WiUiam K. Bowden, Christopher Burns, Edward 
 Cantwell, John L. Cantwell, Edward Cason, Lill. Corbin^ 
 Jesse W. Dixey, Robert H. Drysdale, Louis B, Erambert. 
 Wash, C. Fergus, Joseph M. Foy, W. H. Hardee, Cambyses 
 Hunter, Joseph S. Ives, Thomas H. Johnson, Oliver Kelly^ 
 William H. King, John R. London, John D. Love, William 
 N. Lewis, Frederick I. Moore, Alexander E. Mott, Charles 
 W. Morris, Charles D. Myers, William M. Murrill, J. R. 
 Murray, Andrew J. Mashburne, William H. Northrop, Sam- 
 uel G. ISTorthrop, Joseph H. Neff, John J. Poisson, James T. 
 Petteway, George E. Pritchett, Oscar G. Parsley, Jr., Wil- 
 liam H Petteway, Samuel W. Roberts, Edward Ryan, Wil- 
 liam L. Robinson, Henry Savage, Samuel ..^ . Swann, William 
 H. Shaw, William B. Shaw, William JN . Swann, Richard H. 
 Selby, Robert C. Strong, Christopher W. Styron, Hiram B. 
 Sholar, Henry Sholar, John Sholar, William H. Turlington, 
 Wash. Taylor, J. C. Thomas, Wilham R. Utley, John R. 
 Utley, William A. M. YanBokkelen, George O. Van- 
 Amringe, Jr., William A. Wilson, Louis H. Wilson, William 
 
 A. Walker, Wilham L. White, William E. Wright, John S. 
 Wilson, Walter S. Williamson, David G. White and Hardy 
 
 B. Wilhs. 
 
 Your first uniform was green trimmed with orange cloth 
 and gold, ofiicers and men wore white plumes, trimmed 
 with green. The first and second platoon were divided 
 into several squads, and each in charge of an officer. 
 Your first drills were had at Wells' old carriage shop, on 
 the corner of Seventh and Market streets. I hope to 
 
13 
 
 be pardoned for saying that no company ever started into 
 existence under more favwable auspices. I doubt indeed if 
 there existed in America, a more high-toned, select and chiv- 
 alrous organization. I mean no empty compliment to the 
 ladies of Wilmington when I declare however that its success 
 is mainly due to them, and I believe their active sympathy 
 and cordial co-operation to be still necessary. For nearly a 
 quarter of a century, their influence has been constantly 
 observable. During this period events have occurred which 
 have not been surpassed in magnitude by any in history. 
 Conspicuous among the actors in them the Wihiiington Light 
 Infantry has always borne a distinguished part. Indeed, the 
 history of this particular company is the history of Wilming- 
 ton and J^orth Carolina. 
 
 To some extent, also, it has been the history of the romantic 
 Confederacy^ of which this State was once an active member. 
 Inspired at first by the spirit awakened upon a foreign soil, 
 in the campaigns of Scott and Taylor, your laurels were 
 reaped in the harvest of service at home; beneath the flag of 
 1853 and around it; beneath the tears and glances of those 
 who presented it; your sweethearts and wives; amidst clash- 
 ing thunders which proclaimed the presence of an enemy 
 near where " your thoughtful evening fires were wont to 
 glow on their bright and happy faces." 
 
 In the year 1853, the militia of the United States was armed 
 only with flint and steel muskets. Percussion guns were 
 rarely seen except in the regular army. It became necessary 
 to secure a sufiicient number of the new weapons to arm the 
 company. How to do this, when there were none issued to 
 the State, was the problem, but Mr. Jefferson Da^fis was 
 Secretary of War, and it was understood there were a few in 
 the Arsenal at Fayetteville. It was of course useless to apply 
 for them in the usual way through the Governor, and hence 
 some other base of operations had to be selected. Under 
 these circumstances the company resorted to a stratagem; 
 they improvised a ruse de guerre which I will now endeavor 
 
14 
 
 to relate for your amusement. A meeting was called at which 
 the name of Mr. Davis, the Secretary of War, was offered for 
 admission as a member of the company; he was of course 
 unanimously elected. By another resolution the captain was 
 authorised to issue to Mr. Davis a formal leave of absence 
 during his term of office as Secretary of War, and to exempt 
 him from all fines for non-attendance on company and squad 
 drills. By the third resolution a committee was appointed 
 to inform Mr. Davis of these pioceedings, solicit the honor of 
 his acceptance and request his influence at Washington in 
 obtaining seventy guns and equipments in time for the ceremo- 
 nies of the great and glorious anniversary of American Indepen- 
 dence. The Fourth of July, 1853, was celebrated in Wilmington 
 with unusual spirit. A joint committee was appointed, con- 
 sisting of Dr. W. W. Harriss acting for the town authorities, 
 Oapt. Jacob Wessel for the German Volunteers and the 
 captain of the Wilmington Light Infantry for that body. 
 Eobt. H. Cowan, Esq., accepted the position of orator. 
 
 Just a few days before the Fourth a letter was received from 
 Mr. Davis cordially accepting these compliments. In the most 
 graceful and patriotic terms ; he thanked the captain especi- 
 ally for the indulgence and leave of absence extended him 
 from "squad driUs" during the time he was acting as Sec- 
 retary of War for the United States. Mr. Davis closed his 
 letter with the information that he found no difficulty in 
 persuading the Secretary of War into a compliance with the 
 wishes of the company. Orders, he said had already been 
 issued for the delivery of the guns and equipments. In fact 
 the next day, they arrived by special express from Fayette- 
 ville, to the wonderment and delight of the entire community. 
 
 Will you pardon me for adding that ten years afterwards 
 the captain, having become a field officer of the Confederate 
 States, was admitted to the presence of the President : Mr. 
 Davis received the colonel with a gracious smile, but address- 
 ing him as "captain" requested him to be seated for a moment. 
 After a while he turned to him and said, "Well, captain. 
 
15 
 
 and now what can I do for you?" That there should be no 
 misunderstanding or mistake on the '^captain's" part, after 
 granting the request for which the colonel asked he said : 
 *^Well, captain, what has become of the squad drills and our 
 company; I mean the Wilmington Light Infantry?" The 
 captain felt some pride in being able to tell Mr. Davis, the 
 President, that his squad and the company were both actively 
 engaged in the service of the Confederacy, and some sixty-five 
 of them, T> ere commissioned officers in the array. 
 
 In November, ls53, the company was honored by the pre- 
 sentation to them of their first flag from the ladies of Wil- 
 mington. The ceremony took place on the steps of the Cape 
 Fear Bank and was witnessed by a large and brilliant con- 
 course. Among the strangers present was the late Abram W. 
 Yenable. Col. Robert Strange, alas ! that he is not with 
 us to-day, delivered the speech. 
 
 At dinner the company sat down to a sumptuous enter- 
 tainment, prepared by Wood & Vincent at the Carolina 
 Hotel. Speeches were made by Messrs. Eobt. H. Cowan, 
 Robt. Strange, Samuel J. Person, Eli Hall and others. Alas! 
 these men are no longer among us to receive the evidences we 
 would so gladly offer them of the public respect and our 
 individual devotion. They have passed away for ever. ^'Like 
 the bubbles that swim on the breakers brim, and break on the 
 lips while meeting " 
 
 The first captain was succeeded in 1854, by Edward 
 Savage, Esq., one of the honorary members of the company. 
 Capt. Savage resigned in May, and was succeeded by First 
 Lieut. Washington C. Fergus. He resigned in May, 1855. 
 and was succeeded by John L. Oantwell, Esq. Capt. J ohn 
 Cantwell resigned in July, and WilUam L. DeRosset became 
 the fifth on the list of captains. Capt. DeRosset resigned 
 in 1857, and was succeeded by Ed. D. Hall. Capt. Hall 
 resigned in May, 1860, and Capt. DeRosset was again elected 
 to the command which he retained until May, 1861, when 
 
16 
 
 being appointed Major of the M Infantiy, he was sncceeded 
 by Robt. B. McRae. 
 
 For seven years prior to the war, with the exception of an 
 occasional tour of duty as fire gu ird, the operations of the 
 Light Infantry were confined to social and festive occasions; 
 composed of the young cadets of the town,carefully culled from 
 the best families, its history was an uninterrupted festivity. It^ 
 occasionally disorder arose, at the sight of the flag presented 
 by the ladieSy it immediately disappeared. In March, 1856^ 
 the company pieseuted Capt. DeRosset with a massive silver 
 pitch(.T and salver, in testimony of their appreciation of him 
 as a commander^ his character as a gentleman and his lofty 
 bearing as a soldier. Mr. Ohas. D. Myers, one of the founders 
 of the company, was the spokesman on tha-t occasion. The 
 20th of May, 1856, was enlivened by the visit and presence 
 of the "Oak City Guards," of Raleigh, and the Fayetteville 
 Light Infantry, Besides the usual festivities, songs, parades 
 and dancing, tliere was a sharp competition for a prize and 
 target firing. The day closed with a diimer at Browne's 
 Hotel and a grand excursion to Fort Caswell and Bald Head. 
 The visit of the Oak City Guards w^as returned next year, 
 1857. Early in the bonny month of May, the company, 
 under command of Capt. DeEiosset, and a full band of music, 
 took the boat for Raleigh via Fayetteville. Upon their arrival 
 at the capital of the State they were met by the Oak City 
 Guards, Capt. Harrison, and the Raleigh Cadets, and es- 
 corted to the reception ground, in front of the residence of 
 Dr. F. J. Haywood. 
 
 The following answered to roll call on this occasion : W. L. 
 DeRossetj Captain ; L. B. Erambert, First Lieut. ; J. R. 
 Loudon, Second Lieut. ; A. B. Wright, Surgeon ; John J. 
 Poisson, Ensign; A. M. Waddell, Quarter Master. Sergeants : 
 CD. Myers, G. E. Pritchett and J. D. McPeake. J. C. Mc- 
 Ilhennyj Color Bearer. Corporals : Latta, Wright, Savage, 
 Davis, Daniel and Burr. Privates : Cassidey, Cazaux, Gum- 
 ming, Curtis, Darby, Flanner, Haller, Hyde, Ivey, Mendenhail^ 
 
17 
 
 Moore, McDuffie, McKoy, McKae, M. Quince, E. Quince, 
 ' Eoberts, ShaAV, Smith, Swanuand White. 
 
 Business that day in Ealeigh was entirely suspended. 
 The streets presented a hoUdav appearance; amidst the boom- 
 ing of cannon, the cheers of the assembled multitude, and a 
 vast concourse of ladies and gentlemen. His Excellency, 
 Thomas Bragg, Governor of North Carohna, welcomed them 
 to the hospitalities of the city and the state. "No duty," he 
 said, "could his fellow-citizens have asked him to perform, 
 which would be undertaken. with more alacrity. "Soldiers," 
 said he, "you come to us from our chief commercial town. 
 We have heard of the industry, the enterprise, the intelli- 
 gence of your people. Should your country ever call you to 
 avenge her wrongs, or protect her rights, I have heard too 
 much of your gallantry to believe that one of you could be 
 found who is not willing and ready at the first tap of the 
 drum to fall into ranks and march where duty called." 
 
 Alfred Moore Waddell, a member of the corps, replied to 
 the Governor in a fervid and eloquent speech. (See Appendix.) 
 
 The company then proceeded to the Executive Mansion, 
 where they were received and hospitably entertained by the 
 accomplished wife of the Chief Magistrate. For two days 
 the city was given up to festivities and the rest of their visit 
 was a perfect ovation. They were invited to the hospitalities 
 of the leading citizens, and, finally, found themselyes captured 
 and captive, but willing prisoners to the garrison at St. 
 Mary's. They found their new percussion guns no better 
 defence against such arms as were there arrayed, than the 
 old dint and steel had proved themselves. Among the 
 happiest incidents of this visit was the speech of the late 
 venerable rector, the Eev. Dr. Smedes. The weather w^as 
 balmy and beautiful. The sun wore his brightest smile and 
 the gladdened earth looked up to him with joy. The last 
 day at Ealeigh was devoted to target firing. Anthony D. 
 Gazaux, Esq., a member of the company, won the highest 
 prize and distinction. It was delivered to him in the House 
 
18 
 
 of Commons by ex-Goveroor Manly. All the ladies of the 
 city wei'e there gazing on the victor ; so was Senator Badger, 
 Jno. H. Bryan, and Sion H. Eogers, with other distinguished 
 Carolinians. My impression is that private Cazaux did not 
 finish the speech he prepared for that occasion. He had to 
 face a battery only less kindling than that the same veteran 
 tries to face to-day, one which appalls the true soldier more 
 than grape and canister. Gov. Manly, however, said tor him : 
 "If yoii want the battles of your country tought and won ; 
 your raih^oads built, and rivers opened, or the bull's eye 
 of the target shot out, these are the boys to do it." 
 
 One ot the flags of the company, held by Ensign J. C. Mc- 
 Ilhenny, on that occasion, is carried to-day by Wm. Martin, 
 a survivor of the 12th Infantry of the U. S. Army in the war 
 with Mexico. 
 
 In May, 1857, the Wilmington Light Infantry, under 
 the special appointment of the Governor of the State, 
 proceeded to Weldon with their tents and camp equipage and 
 became the Sj^ecial escort of President Buchanan, who was 
 then on a visit to the University at Chapel Hill. This service 
 was acknowledged by Gov. Ellis, in a letter dated 25th of 
 June, 1859, in terms of the warmest commendation. "I 
 shall ever feel grateful to the Wilmington Light Infantry," 
 said he, "for the important aid they rendered me on this 
 occasion and I will know on whom to call when gallantry, 
 military skill and discipline are required by the State." 
 President Buchanan's acknowledgments were even more 
 flattering. On taking leave of his escort he said : "I have 
 not met in the United States, a company of gpntlemen more 
 correct in their conduct, more exact in their discipline, or 
 more deserving of the grateful commendation of the Chief 
 Magistrate of the Union. If, gentlemen, you should ever 
 come to Washington, let me only know that a member of the 
 Wilmington Light Infantry is near me and I shah need no 
 other introduction." 
 
 Upon the acceptance of the ladies' flag in 1853, your first 
 
19 
 
 captain pledged you to attain the highest standard of your 
 proud ancestry. Addressing the company and describing 
 the then threatening aspect of pubhc affairs, he said : 
 ^'Comrades, it ever the day should come in our time, 
 and I think it will, when you will be called to assert 
 upon these sandy hills, already stained with your fore- 
 fathers' blood, the principles they proclaimed at Meck- 
 lenburg, let the memories of this day float around your 
 beautiful banner, and its glorious inscription. Let them 
 nerve vour arm, minoie in vour shouts of victorv or assuage 
 the bitterness of your defeat." 
 
 That time did come. These bold, brave words were tested 
 to their utmost, and I stand here to-day to say these promises 
 were redeemed at Bentonsville and Fort Fisher with your 
 blood and a whole people's tears. 
 
 At midnight on the 15th of April, 1861, Gov. Ellis was 
 aroused from his bed, and told of the bombardment of Sumter 
 and the President's proclamation of war. He instantly de- 
 termined to seize Forts Gaswell and Johnston, and appointing 
 your first captain. Adjutant General of the State ad interim^ 
 directed Graham Daves, his private Secretary, to draw and 
 place in his hands for execution the proper orders. They 
 were carried at once on a special car to Goldsboro, and thence 
 telegraphed to John L. Gantwell, Colonel of the 30th militia 
 regiment of the State. That officer was commanded to 
 order the Wilmington Light Infantry, Gapt. DeEosset, the 
 German Volunteers, Gapt. Gornelson, and the Wilmington 
 Eifle Guards, Gapt. Meares, to accompany him to the mouth 
 of the river, and with them to seize and occupy the forts 
 there, in the name of the State of North Carolina. 
 
 A revolutionary body, organized in Wilmington, in Decem- 
 ber, 1860, called the "The Cape Fear Minute Men," com- 
 manded by John J. Hedrick, Stephen D. Thruston, George 
 Wortham and others, had some days previous to this time 
 occupied these same forts without authority. A council of 
 
20 
 
 safety, of which Stephen D. Wallace was Secretary, had also 
 appeared in Wilmmgton. 
 
 On the 16th of April, the United States steamer '^Uncle 
 Ben," was seized at Wilmington by Adjntant General Cant- 
 well, and her captain, (Greenwood,) an«l twelve men im- 
 prisoned at the Marine Hospital. S. L. Fremont, being 
 assigned to her command, carried down to Fort Caswell snp- 
 plies of powder, shot, shell, and gun carriages, received by 
 rail road from Charleston. Upon the arrival of Fremont at 
 Caswell, the Adjutant General resigned his appointment 
 under the Governor, and re-entered the ranks of his company, 
 the Wilmington Light Infantry, as a private. On the 15th 
 of June, the company was united with nine others and formed 
 the 18th Regiment of North Carolina Troops. James D. 
 Eadcliffe was elected Colonel, Oliver P. Meares, Lieutenant 
 Colonel and George Tait, Major. The Wilmington Light 
 Infemtry now ceased to be known by that name. As 
 company G of the 18th Regiment, its former organization 
 was necessarily suspended during the war. On the 17th of 
 March, 1875, the company was, by the survivors, formally 
 re-organized, with the following officers : Matthew P. Taylor, 
 Captain ; A. L. DeRosset, First Lieutenant ; Jno. C. James, 
 Second Lieutenant; H. C. McQueen, Third Lieutenant ; 
 J. M. Cazaux, Ensign ; Dr. G. G. Thomas, Surgeon ; Rev. 
 Geo. Patterson, Chaplain. 
 
 Capt. Taylor served until April 10th, 1877, when, by a 
 singular coincidence, he was elected Major of the 3d Batta- 
 lion State Guards ; the same rank of his predecessor, Capt. 
 DeRosset; but a new organization created by Act of the 
 last General Assembly ; upon which Mr. Walter Coney was 
 elected captain, being the tenth in the line of succession to 
 that rank since the foundation of the company. And this 
 completes the history of the Wilmington Light Infantry to 
 the present period. 
 
 . I congratulate you, Capt. Coney, on the fine appearance 
 and discipline of your command. I trust you will never find 
 
21 
 
 the merchants and people of Wilmington, and especially the 
 ladies, any less generous in their courtesy or less cordial in 
 their attachment to your company than they were accustomed 
 to be in your predecessors' days. 
 
 Brother soldiers, of the Veteran Corps, I have performed 
 the duty assigned me, but I cannot conclude this address 
 without acknowledging my own sense of its imperfections 
 and omissions and regretting the necessity I am under of 
 invoking your indulgence. I have not drawn upon your 
 patience, however, I hope, without rewarding it by the 
 recital of incidents I am sure you will not willingly suffer to 
 pass with me into oblivion. I am constrained to omit many 
 which are even mure interesting. At the risk of being 
 tedious, I shall now ask your attention while I detain you 
 with an attempt to recall the brightest vision of our ante- 
 bellum days. The blue eyed Dora Bro^^Tl, the vivandiere of 
 the Wilmington Light Infantry, as she appeared at the head 
 of the company some years before the war, in her gay costume 
 of green and gold — not yet entered on her teens — graceful as 
 an homi ; beaming with the vivacity of her age and family ; 
 the child of beaut}- and ot song ; a golden sunlight stream- 
 ing in her hair and flashing fi^om her eyes ; she marched with 
 the swinging gait and cadence of a veteran and the grace of 
 a sylph. La FUJe dii Regiment still lives, but happier now, 
 in the achievement of her destiny and the fulfilment of the 
 duties of a more exalted station.* " 
 
 Yet how often, on the tented fields of Virginia, fluttering 
 above the white winged canvas, or tojing in the breeze with 
 the Stars and Bars ; through the silent watches of the starlit 
 night ; pacing with the solitary sentinel, when that sentinePs 
 beat marked the boundary lines of a Confederacy; on the 
 prison floors and the bitter cold of Lake Erie ; gleaming on 
 the unsheathed bayonets of hostile columns moving to the 
 fray ; in long and cruel marches by the dark Potomac ; over 
 the sloppy roads ; above ramparts crowned with cannon ; . 
 
 * Now Mrs. Gregory. 
 
22 
 
 wreattied with the battle smoke or sheeted in its fiame, that 
 guileless little maiden^s face has risea on the soldier^s eje 
 like some exhalation of the mist. 
 
 "As on the driving cloud the shiny bow, 
 That gracious thing made up of tears and light. 
 
 Mid' the wild rack and rain that slants below, 
 Stands smiling forth unmoved and freshly bright I 
 
 As though the spirits of all lovely flowers, 
 In weaving each its wreath and dewy crown, 
 
 Or e'er they sank to earth in vernal showers. 
 Had built a bridge to tempt the angels down. ' ' 
 
 Gentlemen of the Veteran Corps, I am glad to see these 
 recollections touch your sensibilities. 
 
 "These moistened eyes, these trembling lips 
 Are not the signs of doubt or fear !" 
 
 Survivors of more than fortj- battle fields, the memory of 
 which will last while history shall last ; the pages which re- 
 cord the conflicts of which they were the theatre make you the 
 actors, and flame with the dauntless spirit of your ancestors. 
 They register in your deeds the transmission of the heroism 
 they inherited. That spirit still lives amidst the corruptions 
 of this day and the degeneracy of the republic. Nay, more, 
 it has the power even to reanimate its corpse. 
 
 Down amid the tropics, beneath the fervid skies of the 
 equator, the aqueducts of Mexico arch her thirsty vales. From 
 the mountains to the city, they carry on their shoulders to 
 the humblest dwellings of the people the pure life-giving waters 
 of the Sierra Madre. And so we should learn to regard this 
 company and this organization. It comes down to us from 
 the historic past ; it links the present generation of our young 
 men to their predecessors ; our living heroes and our 
 dead ; our lowliest needs and our loftiest aspirations. Across 
 a desert slough and a dark valley, crowded with shadows and 
 death, it brings to Wilmington, through clouds and mists, 
 fringed with the rainbow hues of morning and fed with 
 heaven's own sunshine, over leaping cascades and difficult 
 hills, the fresh pure air and the immortal breath of patriot- 
 
23 
 
 ism. Soldiers, I do not ask yoii to-day to maintain your 
 reputation, nor shall I repeat promises for your future con- 
 iluet ; your past history is the best guarantee of your future. 
 
 Fellow citizens, I make you no appeal in behalf of this 
 company. It is as though a man should plead to a mother 
 in behalf of her own oifspring. Its sun will never set ; its 
 natural forc« will not abate until freedom itself shall expire. 
 We shall not see it die until that living public spirit, which 
 has characterized this community in every emergency of its 
 existence, shall also disappear and forever. 
 
 At the conclusion of the oration, which was loudly ap- 
 plauded, the exercises were brought to a close by the choir 
 singing ^^Oarolina's Sons are Ready," composed by the Hon. 
 Geo. Davis, and dedicated by him to the Wilmington Light 
 Infantry, who were then on duty at Bolles' battery near Fort 
 Fisher, in May, 1861. 
 
 [For this sketch and the preliminary account of the celebration our ac- 
 knowledgments are due to Mr. J. T. James of the Daily Eeview," in 
 which paper it originally appeared. We present the oration with the 
 author's last corrections.] 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 MR. WADDELL's speech. 
 
 Mr. Waddellj addressing Oapt. Harrison^ of the Oak City 
 Guards, said : 
 
 I tender you, on behall of tne Wilmington Light Infantry, 
 their sincere acknowledgments for the hearty welcome which 
 has greeted their arrival in your beautiful city. The oppor- 
 tunity which your visit to Wilmington on the 20th of May 
 last afforded them of forming an estimate of your characters, 
 justified them in anticipating a warm reception and a gener- 
 ous hospitality, but they were scarcely prepared for such a 
 greeting as this, conveyed too, through so distinguished a rep- 
 resentative, and in such kind and flattering terms. The 
 character of the man whose name your city bears, was alone 
 a suthcieot guarantee to us for the belief that in her citizen 
 soldiers might be found a happy combination of the attributes 
 of the soldier and the gentleman, — -your visit to Wilmington 
 confirmed that belief, — our welcome here to-day is a delight- 
 ful realization of it. 
 
 In conierriug upon her capital the name " Raleigh," North 
 Carolina has not only performed an act of justice and grati- 
 tude to the illustrious man who planted the first colony of 
 Englishmen in America on her coast, but she is perpetuating 
 the memory of one of the most gallant soldiers, most accom- 
 phshed gentlemen, and most gifted scholars of the brightest 
 
25 
 
 period of English history. 'Tis a name with which are asso- 
 ciated the highest and noblest qualities of our nature ; a name 
 indissolubly connected with the history of our state, and 
 which, until illumined by the pen of that distinguished son of 
 IN'orth Carolina, (Dr. Hawks,) who is now weaving the web of 
 her history, had never occupied its proper page in the records 
 of our race. You, fellow soldiers, since your organization, have 
 proved yourselves not unworthy "guards " to the City of Oaks; 
 and emulation of the virtues and gallantry of the great man 
 whose name it bears will be the best assurance you can give of 
 your determination to maintain your present position. 
 
 Devoted as we profess ourselves as citizens to be to the 
 cause of our whole country — to whatever concerns our nation- 
 al interest — our most entire loyalty is still due to our native 
 state ; and owing to the peculiar institutions among which we 
 live, greater necessity is felt for the diftusion of military 
 knowledge here at the South than elsewhere in America. 
 All that is dear to us socially and politically, may depend upon 
 our readiness and efficiency, at a moment's warning, to take 
 the field. 
 
 The spirit which prompts these reciprocal visits of milita- 
 ry companies is generous, manly and wise. While they ex- 
 pand our hearts beyond our immediate circles and teach us to 
 embrace as brothers those who were strangers before, they 
 have the greater and more salutary effect of stimulating mili- 
 tary pride in our respective companies, and cultivating the 
 science of tactics by devotion to the severe discipline of the 
 camp. A nd I trust I may be pardoned here for doing an act 
 of simple justice in ascribing to a gentleman of this city (Mr. 
 Edward Cantwell) this meed of praise. On his return from a 
 gallant and honorable career in Mexico, he organized the 
 Wilmington Light Infantry— the only other corps then exist- 
 ing in North Carolina being that proud relic of Eevolutionary 
 times, the Independent Light Infantry of Fayetteville. To 
 him are we indebted for a revival of the military spirit in North 
 Carohna, and for the pleasures of this occasion. Long may 
 
26 
 
 hig services and patriotism continue a source of pride to his 
 fellow citizens. 
 
 I should but poorly represent my comrades of the Wilming- 
 ton Light Infantry, and do but scant justice to my own leel- 
 ings of gallantry, were I to omit an allusion to the fairer por- 
 tion of your community, of whom the Governor has spoken 
 in such playful and handsome terms. Do not be shocked, 
 gentlemen, when I say that the inclement weather which has 
 driven them to the capitol yonder ought to be a source of 
 gratitude to our captain. It is nevertheless true. The ex- 
 haustion which his men have suffered from the broadsides of 
 the batteries in Fayetteville render it utterly impossible that 
 they could stand another attack so soon. With one day's rest 
 however they are willing to encounter the fire again, and if 
 any should fall we only ask that they may be carried from the 
 field in the arms of their foes. 
 
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