I am seeking obituaries of North Carolina soldiers who died in the war and of veterans who survived the war, for compilation in upcoming volumes.  If you have a copy of such, I would appreciate your sharing a transcription of it.  I would need the source (newspaper and date of publication) and your name and relation to the soldier, if any. An acknowledgement of your contribution will be listed in the text.    -- Barry Munson

Please contact me:

Confederate Correspondent:
The Civil War Reports of Jacob Nathaniel Raymer,
Fourth North Carolina
McFarland Publishing Company, Jefferson, NC
$45.00
Click here to order from the company

Soon after North Carolina seceded from the Union in May 1861, Jacob Nathaniel Raymer enlisted in the Confederate Army as a private and musician and was mustered in on June 7, 1861, pledged to serve the duration of the war. A young man with a talent for keen observation who had pledged to keep those back home informed of the movements of Company C and the Fourth Regiment, he faithfully wrote letters—often signed simply as "Nat"—to the Carolina Watchman and the Iredell Express, newspapers published in Statesville, NC.

In his capacity as an embedded journalist, Raymer witnessed and chronicled the great battles of the Civil War, including Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg and, finally, Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. Unlike other contemporary correspondence, rather than being directed to an individual, Nat’s letters were intended for the broader audience of area newspapers readers and portrayed the dogged determination of the southern soldiers in a descriptive style whose sense of immediacy functioned to bring the war and all its harsh realities home to his readers. The collection is transcribed primarily from the two newspapers and is complemented by brief narratives that place the letters within the Fourth Regiment’s movements. Raymer’s postwar experience is also documented through his personal correspondence, which follows him back home and to his eventual settlement in Texas, where he died in 1909 at age 72. REVIEW:          -- R. Lee Hadden, Historian 4th Regiment NCST -- Sterling, VA     This is an excellent work on the writings of Nat Raymer. Private Raymer was mustered in to Company C of the 4th Regiment, North Carolina State Troops (NCST), in 1861, and stayed with the regiment until the very end at the surrender at Appomattox in 1865. He later transferred from the front line troops to the regimental band, where he also acted as a litter carrier and hospital aid during the battles.     Nat Raymer would periodically write long letters to the newspapers in North Carolina about life in the regiment. Some of the letters were funny, some were sad, and all are interesting. They reveal some of the everyday life in the Army of Northern Virginia, especially in George B. Anderson's Brigade, then in Stephen D. Ramseur's Brigade, then William Cox's Brigade of the 4th NCST, 2nd NCST, the 14th NCST and the 30th NCST.     Sometimes, he would list the wounded and dead from the battles, with accounts of how or where they were wounded. Other times he would tell tales of life in the camp, how they lived, and what they ate (or didn't eat). In any case, this is a good resource of the human interest stories of the Civil War, and a fine addition to the literature of this part of American History.

Far From Home:
Letters From North Carolina's Civil War Soldiers
Volume 1
67 pages, name index
$12.00 + $1.50 shipping

This volume is a compilation of letters written in 1861 by North Carolina soldiers to the Spirit of the Age, a newspaper published in Raleigh, North Carolina. These letters depict the Civil War as seen at ground level by the men who endured the tedium of camp life and the terror of the battlefield. The letters were not written to a particular individual but to a wider audience of readers of a particular newspaper. The writers often comment that they are writing to let friends and relatives back home know how their boys in the regiment are doing, where they have traveled, what they have seen, how the health of the regiment is, and what the Yankees are up to.

There are no annotations or editing in this compilation; letters were compiled as they were originally published with no corrections for spelling, grammar, or punctuation.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Far From Home:
Letters From North Carolina's Civil War Soldiers
Volume 2
100 pp., name index
$20.00 + $2.00 shipping

This volume finishes the compilation of letters from the Spirit of the Age, a newspaper published in Raleigh, North Carolina, during the Civil War. Almost all of the soldiers, letters are from 1862 and 1863. Only a few issues for the years 1864 and 1865 survived, and none of them contained any soldiers' correspondence. These letters depict the Civil War as seen at ground level by the men who endured the tedium of camp life and the terror of the battlefield. The letters were not written to a particular individual but to a wider audience of readers of a particular newspaper. The writers often comment that they are writing to let friends and relatives back home know how their boys in the regiment are doing, where they have traveled, what they have seen, how the health of the regiment is, and what the Yankees are up to. Others describe the battles they fought in. One by John Gorman covers five pages as he describes his field position during the battle at South Mountain and Sharpsburg. Not all of the writers survived the war - one was killed one month after his letter appeared in the newspaper. The letters are unedited and were compiled as they were originally published with no corrections for spelling, grammar, or punctuation. Biographical information is included on many of the letter writers.

 

North Carolina's Civil War Soldiers, Volume 1
116 pp., name index
$25.00 + $2.50 shipping

Material for this volume was taken from W. W. Holden’s Raleigh newspaper, the North Carolina Standard. These articles from the year 1861 are the raw material of history, presented without an historian’s comments or revisions. In compiling, I chose to select mostly those articles containing the names of soldiers and names of civilians who had performed some service for the soldiers. Articles record the organizations of companies from various counties; elections of officers; regimental movements; and the many things that go into preparing for war. The Standard received a number of letters from soldiers stationed in North Carolina and Virginia. Readers unfamiliar with Civil War camp life will find many interesting, especially those telling of the plight of the 14th North Carolina Regiment. Letters writers describe the battles of Manassas and Hatteras. The paper reported a number of deaths. One report contains over 60 names from the 14th North Carolina Regiment. Another lists over 20 deaths of prisoners of war taken at the Battle of Hatteras and incarcerated in New York and Boston.

-----------------------------------------------------------

North Carolina's Civil War Soldiers, Volume 2
186 pp., name index
$30.00 + $2.50 shipping

Material for this volume was taken from W. W. Holden's Raleigh newspaper, the North Carolina Standard. These articles from the year 1862 are the raw material of history, presented without an historian's comments or revisions. In compiling, I chose to select mostly those articles containing the names of soldiers and names of civilians who had performed some service for the soldiers. Articles record battles and skirmishes; names of soldiers, deserters, and those killed in service; soldiers' letters; appeals for shoes and clothing for soldiers; needs of the sick and wounded; and the countless images that portray a nation at war. Over 1,300 names are indexed.

Obituaries: North Carolina Civil War
Soldiers and Veterans
Volume 1
133 pp., full-name index
$25.00 + $2.50 shipping

Obituaries were transcribed from newspapers across the state. Volume 1 contains approximately 240 soldiers – the Soldiers being those killed during the war, or succumbing to disease or dying by accident; the Veterans being those who served and survived and returned home, either whole or maimed for life in mind or body, to pick up the threads of their lives and go forward. In addition to the obituaries, there are memorial addresses about a particular soldier, sketches of individual soldiers, and letters to loved ones describing how a soldier died. Some obituaries cover several pages and detail the soldier’s life during and after the war. Others are short, often containing a single sentence about the individual’s war service—“He was a brave Confederate soldier.” Five newspapers were used. Four contain obituaries on the Veterans; the Western Democrat (Charlotte) covers the years 1861-1865.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Obituaries: North Carolina Civil War
Soldiers and Veterans
Volume 2
159 pp., full-name index
$25.00 + $2.50 shipping

Obituaries were transcribed from the Hillsborough Recorder and Fayetteville Observer and cover the war years 1861 – 1865. Almost 900 names are listed in Volume 2. Many were written shortly after a soldier died; regiment and company are given. Often the departed’s home county is given and sometimes personal information.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Obituaries: North Carolina Civil War
Soldiers and Veterans
Volume 3
136 pp., full-name index
$25.00 + $2.50 shipping

Obituaries were transcribed from the Fayetteville Observer for the year 1863, a year in which many North Carolinians were killed or wounded in battles including Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and Bristow Station. Soldiers’ deaths are reported through Tributes of Respect or contributed obituaries. Names found in “Death of Soldiers” columns are more a short notice of death – a sentence or two with some facts that usually include name, cause of death, place of death, and regiment. Over 800 names are listed in Volume 3.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Obituaries: North Carolina Civil War
Soldiers and Veterans
Volume 4
125 pp., full-name index
$25.00 + $2.50 shipping

Volume 4 contains obituaries from the Fayetteville Observer, Fayetteville, North Carolina, for the years 1864 and 1865; only a few newspapers could be found for microfilming from 1865.

In 1864, North Carolina soldiers fought and died in memorable battles at the Wilderness, Cold Harbor, Spotsylvania Court House, Reams Station, and Petersburg, as well as lesser known ones, including Ground Squirrel Church, White Oak Swamp, and Burgess Mill in Virginia. Many of the obituaries begin with the words “Killed” or “Died,” devastating words to family and friends at home awaiting word of loved ones. Many are written by those who were there when a boyhood friend or comrade-in-arms or brother fell in battle, creating a sense of immediacy that conventional narrative cannot duplicate. Others are written by family members or communicated to the newspaper by unknown individuals. In one, a father writing in the form of a poem tells of the loss of his three sons in the war. Many of the obituaries have religious feelings expressed, such as “we bow in humble submission to the will of an Allwise Providence who doeth all things well,” “our loss is his eternal gain,” or “he is now basking in the sunlight of a Savior’s love, where the shock of battle never comes and where the tread of armies is never heard.”. There are around 450 names listed in Volume 4.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Obituaries: North Carolina Civil War
Soldiers and Veterans
Volume 5
121 pp., full-name index
$25.00 + $2.50 shipping

In Volume 5 a number of obituaries come from Western North Carolina newspapers. The obituaries are divided between the war and post-war years. There are approximately 240 obituaries listed.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Obituaries: North Carolina Civil War
Soldiers and Veterans
Volume 6
107 pages, full-name index
$20.00 + $2.00 shipping

Obituaries and tributes of respect in this volume are compiled from the Wilmington Daily Journal, Wilmington, North Carolina, and cover the years 1861-1863. The names of approximately 240 soldiers are listed.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Obituaries: North Carolina Civil War
Soldiers and Veterans
Volume 7
124 pages, full-name index
$20.00 + $2.00 shipping

Obituaries and tributes of respect in this volume are compiled from newspapers from Eastern andPiedmont cities, including Raleigh, Wadesboro, Tarboro, and Wilmington, and cover the war and post-war years. The names of over 300 soldiers are listed.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Obituaries: North Carolina Civil War
Soldiers and Veterans
Volume 8
157 pages, full-name index
$25.00 + $2.50 shipping

An interesting feature of Volume 8 is a series of biographical sketches written by Harry Hall for the Greensborough Patriot. Hall titled his series “Martyrs of Southern Independence.” These appeared during 1863 and comprise approximately half of the material in this volume. Issues of the Patriot for 1864 and 1865 are scarce. None of the surviving papers contained any of Hall’s writings; therefore, I cannot say if the series was continued in these years.

Hall saw action during the Civil War as a company commander from the Guilford County, North Carolina area, and personally knew many of the officers and men he wrote about. All of his subjects were either killed on the battlefield, died from their wounds, or succumbed to disease. Some were soldiers from surrounding counties, but the largest number of sketches is for men from a company known as the “Guilford Dixie Boys.’

Material was transcribed from the Greensborough, North Carolina, Patriot for the years 1862-1865. Material was compiled as originally published.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Obituaries: North Carolina Civil War
Soldiers and Veterans
Volume 9
141 pp., full-name index
$25.00 + $2.50 shipping

Volume 9 contains obituaries from the North Carolina Standard, published in Raleigh, North Carolina, during the war years, 1861-1865. There are over 400 obituaries in this volume.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Obituaries: North Carolina Civil War
Soldiers and Veterans
Volume 10
200 pp., full-name index
$25.00 + $2.50 shipping

Volume 10 contains a compilation of obituaries from the years 1880–1909, of the men who left their homes, families, and friends and went off to war, fought and survived the conflict, and returned. Among the soldiers who came home, three became Governors of North Carolina; one became the state’s first Commissioner of Agriculture; another was State Superintendent of Public Instruction; and one became Dean of the Law School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Several were United States Senators, Congressmen, or members of the North Carolina General Assembly. Others were railroad presidents and officials, solicitors, newspapermen, farmers, merchants, judges, preachers, educators, physicians, and manufacturers. A number of photographs and drawings accompany the text.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Obituaries: North Carolina Civil War
Soldiers and Veterans
Volume 11
198 pp., full-name index
$25.00 + $2.50 shipping

Volume 11 is a compilation of obituaries from the years 1883–1938, of the men who left their homes, families, and friends and went off to war, fought and survived the conflict, and returned. Some returned to lead lives that led to greatness. Some returned to continue the lives they had left. Some returned with lifelong wounds. All returned to lead lives that continued to aid in the growth of North Carolina. A number of photographs and drawings accompany the text.