[Several errors are included in "Histories of the Several Regiments and Battalions from North Carolina in the Great War 1861-'65, Volume III and Volume IV," by Walter Clark, as cited below. In Volume III, the 69th NC Regiment is mis-identified and the writeup is actually about Thomas's Legion. In Volume IV, the actual 69th NC Regiment is mis-identified as the 79th NC Regiment (8th Cavalry). How these errors happened are never explained by anyone. However, the correspondence in the Adjutant General's records and Col. George Tait's personal papers (in the NC State Archives) clearly demonstrate that the 14th NC Battalion - Cavalry was expanded into a regiment and truly designated as the 69th NC Regiment (7th Cavalry).]

[The narrative below provides information on Woodfin's Battalion and the 14th NC Battalion - Cavalry.]

WOODFIN'S BATTALION OF CAVALRY.

In order to give a connected history of this command it is not amiss to write something of a sketch, at the outset of Company G of the 9th NC Regiment (1st Cavalry), for this was, in a sense, and to a limited degree, the nucleus of said battalion. It was one of the earliest organizations in the State for the Confederate service, made up of men and boys from Buncombe, Henderson, and Rutherford counties, with a few from other western counties, aggregating in numbers one hundred and twenty (120) men. Many of them were from the very best families of the country, some of them attaining distinction in the long and bloody war which followed. The commander, Capt. John Woods Woodfin (commissioned May 16, 1861), a born horseman and as chivalrous as any knight of the olden time and full of patriotism and devotion to the dear Southland, was an inspiration to this gallant band he had gathered around him, and it is not surprising that they were so early and so eager to go forth to meet in mortal combat the horde of invaders that in 1861 threatened on every hand the peace and quiet of our whole country. The company was organized with the following officers, to-wit: John Woods Woodfin, Captain; William Riley West, 1st Lieutenant; John G. Blasingame, 2nd Lieutenant; James L. Gaines, 3rd Lieutenant. Leven Edney, Orderly Sergeant, succeeded very soon by Henry Coleman.

The company was quartered for a short time at the Jesse Smith house, corner of West College and Haywood streets (now the "villa" property), it then went into camp of instruction north of Asheville, about one and a half miles out, near the foot of Woodfin Mountain (now called "Lookout"), the horses being temporarily stabled in the barns at the negro quarters of Capt. John W. Woodfin. This camp, the first in Western North Carolina, was named in honor of the commanding officer and his elder brother Nicholas, a true and most thorough Southerner, giving liberally of his ample means to the advancement of the South's interests. After the lapse of a month or two Camp Woodfin was vacated, the company removing to Ridgeway, NC, leaving Asheville on August 9, 1861.

At Ridgeway the company was assigned to Col. Robert Ransom, Jr.'s 9th NC Regiment (1st Cavalry), and the men were engaged in perfecting their drill until late in the Fall, when they were ordered to Manassas, VA. Here they were put on outpost duty, scouting and skirmishing almost daily, eventually going into winter quarters and remaining until Spring, when, about March, they were returned to North Carolina, first stopping at Goldsborough, thence to Pollocksville, near New Bern, and there put on picket duty, remaining in that locality until some time in May, when they were again sent back to Virginia, this time to Richmond, thence to Culpeper, and Brandy Station, doing picket duty and scouting on both the Rapidan and Rappahannock rivers. On June 9, 1863, the company was engaged in the heavy cavalry fight at Brandy Station.

On September 23, 1861, Capt. John Woods Woodfin was promoted to Major and transferred to the 9th NC Volunteers, which evolved into the 19th NC Regiment (2nd Cavalry) on April 30, 1862, commanded at the time by Col. Samuel B. Spruill, of Bertie County, and later by Lt. Col. James L. Gaines, of Asheville, who lost an arm at Five Forks in April of 1865. Henry S. Coleman, also a Buncombe County man, having succeeded to the Captaincy of Company G, of which as I have noted, he was orderly, was killed at same time and place. Although but little more than a boy, he had established a reputation for cool courage and daring.

1st Lt. William Riley West and others mentioned as leaving Company G, returned to Western North Carolina and set to work to organize another command and very soon the former had a company and with two (2) others, Capt. Isaac Arthur Harris and Capt. William P. Fortune, formed a battalion, the composition of which was as follows:

First Company—Buncombe County—William R. West, Captain; William L. Henry, 1st Lieutenant; A. Erwin Posey, 2nd Lieutenant; Francis M. Corn, Junior 2nd Lieutenant.

Second Company —Transylvania County—Isaac A. Harris, Captain; Ben G. Brittain, 1st Lieutenant; Branch Johnston, 2nd Lieutenant; Thomas Haskins, Junior 2nd Lieutenant.

Third Company—Buncombe County—William P. Fortune, Captain; William Gilliam, 1st Lieutenant; James Wilson, 2nd Lieutenant; Benjamin F. Fortune, John Step, Junior 2nd Lieutenants.

On account of ill health Maj. John W. Woodfin had resigned his position in the 19th NC Regiment (2nd Cavalry) and on returning to Asheville, impelled by that same spirit that prompted him to offer himself as a sacrifice upon his country's altar in the early days of 1861, he accepted the leadership of this battalion in late September or early October of 1863.

The Federal army having taken possession of Knoxville and occupying other sections of East Tennessee, it became necessary for Western North Carolina, and more especially the town of Asheville, having taken so early and active a part in furnishing troops and giving aid in every possible way to the Confederate forces as to embitter all in sympathy with the other side, to defend its own borders from invasion, pillage and robbery. Hence this newly organized battalion was the nucleus of a small, "defensive army" and was actively engaged in repelling demonstrations made along the border lines of North Carolina and Tennessee principally by a band of marauders under the command of the notorious Col. George W. Kirk, made rnore bold and aggressive by the nearness of the regular army at Knoxville and less distant points. Ever on the alert and guarding with zealous care all invasions of this territory, when his scouts on or about October 20, 1863, reported a small force as having crossed the Tennessee line into North Carolina and advancing in the direction of Warm Springs, Maj. Woodfin, with a hastily gotten together detachment of his battalion, then at Marshall, sixteen (16) miles from Warm Springs, dashed with that impetuosity characteristic of the man, down the French Broad River, hoping to reach that point before the invaders.

But in this he failed, and in turning an abrupt angle in the road not far from "Lover's Leap" and in close proximity to the bridge across the river leading to the hotel, he found himself confronted by a larger force than he expected. Being several paces in advance of his "troop," he waved it to hold up, presumably with the purpose of allowing him to take in more fully the situation, so as to intelligently direct further movements, but unfortunately he had gotten into the outer circle of an ambuscade, and was ruthlessly shot from his horse by a party hidden under a small building near the road side. A young man of Capt. William R. West's company named Jake Davis was at the same time wounded, and afterwards died. J. J. Ramsay, of same company, and _____ Smith, of Capt. Isaac A. Harris' company, were also wounded. The detachment being outnumbered and having lost its leader, fell back to Marshall. A committee of citizens, headed by Esquire Albert T. Summey, of Asheville, went down under flag of truce to recover the body of the much lamented citizen and soldier. They found it stripped of all valuables, but glad to get the lifeless remains they brought it to his bereaved family and friends, and with all the honors that could be paid a martyred hero, he was laid to rest in the Methodist cemetery on Church Street and later removed to Riverside. In the funeral cortege was his favorite charger "Prince Hal," upon which he was killed, fully caparisoned, being led by his trusted camp servant.

FOURTEENTH BATTALION.

The battalion, after the death of Maj. Woodfin, continued in this defensive work for a time, acting rather independently as companies; not a great while elapsed however, until there united with these three (3) companies four (4) others, making what was afterwards known as the 14th NC Battalion - Cavalry. The additional companies were as follows:

James M. Ray, Captain (commissioned October 15, 1863), of Madison County; Whitfield Morgan, Lieutenant, killed in 1865, by band of marauders; _____ Boone, Lieutenant; Nathan Y. Horton, 2nd Lieutenant; William M. Keith, 1st Lieutenant; Hiram A. Ray, 2nd Lieutenant; William Woodard, 2nd Lieutenant.

Joseph A. Russell, Captain (commissioned December 13, 1863), of Haywood County; Frank A.M. Boyd, 1st Lieutenant; Robert P. Henry, 2nd Lieutenant.

Wiley F. Parker, Captain (commissioned January 4, 1864), of Buncombe County; G.W. Morgan, 1st Lieutenant; Joseph Hale Smith, 2nd Lieutenant, of Buncombe County, killed in 1865 by a band of marauders; William E. Eller, 2nd Lieutenant, of Buncombe County.

A.E. Posey, Captain (commissioned in January 1864), of Henderson County; James P. Deaver, 1st Lieutenant; Ben Brittain, Lieutenant; F.M. Corn, Lieutenant.

Of this battalion, James L. Henry was made Lieutenant Colonel, and Charles M. Roberts Major. Lt. Col. Henry had been Adjutant of the 9th NC Regiment (1st Cavalry) under Col. Robert Ransom, Jr., and when the latter had been promoted Brigadier General, had become Captain and Assistant Adjutant General of his brigade. After the war he was judge of the Superior Courts from 1868-1874. Maj. Charles M. Roberts had also seen previous service in the 25th NC Regiment. The staff were Alfred M. Alexander, Quartermaster; Robert Farnsworth. Commissary; Washington Morrison, Surgeon; William H. Murdock, Assistant Surgeon; Sydney V. Pickens, Acting Adjutant; Aaron Wright, Quartermaster Sergeant, and W. L. Norwood, Sergeant Major. The last has since been judge of the Superior Court.

The writer, who had from May 20, 1861, served as a private in Company G, 9th NC Regiment (1st Cavalry), about March 1, 1864, transferred to this battalion and became its Adjutant. He found the command, officered as above stated, encamped at Webster, Jackson County. The services of Woodfin's Battalion and of this larger battalion had been manifold in guarding this section, picketing roads, fighting bushwhackers, with occasional brushes with the enemy, but the details are now irrevocably lost.

Maj. Charles M. Roberts was fatally wounded in September of 1864, in an engagement on Laurel, in Madison County, with Col. George W. Kirk's men, and other bushwhackers. He was a true and brave soldier, beloved while living by the entire command, and lamented when dead. His remains were taken by a military escort, in command of the writer, and buried in his own yard with military honors. All his assailants were slain on the spot and houses burned from which they fired. Capt. Isaac A. Harris then became Major, and Capt. James P. Deaver of Company G also took command of Company A in early October 1864.

3rd Lt. Whitfield Morgan and Sgt. Robert Wells, of Company D, were shot down in cold blood near Asheville by some of Col. Kirk's men in April of 1865, pending the armistice agreed upon by Federal Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman and General Joseph E. Johnston (VA). 2nd Lt. Joseph Hale Smith, of Company F, died or was killed, near the same date.

This command had much good material among the men and officers, many of whom had been long in active service in Virginia, or the Army of Tennessee, and had been sent here to defend their immediate homes against the ravages and outrages of men who were true to neither side.

The 14th NC Battalion - Cavalry was kept in that part of North Carolina near to, and west of the Blue Ridge, with frequent raids into East Tennessee.

The service was a peculiar service and a particularly hard and dangerous one. Men who had grown fat in General Robert E. Lee's (VA) army wasted away to skin and bones amidst the hardships of these mountain campaigns, having no assurance of safety in the day or night, in camp or on the march, these mountain gorges serving as cities of refuge for deserters and bushwhackers. Truly the men of this command needed to be always on the alert and wide awake.

If time, space and memory would allow, it would be a great pleasure for me to enroll the names of more than five hundred (500) of the noble men who served in the ranks of the 14th NC Battalion - Cavalry (sometimes called the "One Eyed Battalion" from the fact that Lt. Col. James L. Henry had lost one of his eyes) who marched over these mountains through heat and cold, and fearlessly met and fought foes who forced guerrilla war upon them in and around their homes and firesides; and foes, too, who had lived in this section and were familiar with the roads, rivers and locations of houses, and very many of them deserters from the Confederate Army and of the cause they had sworn to support. In April of 1864, the battalion was at the mouth of Ivy Creek in Madison County and reported 221 present out of a total of 510. 59 Off. Rec. Union and Confed. Armies, 865.

This command had several engagements with the enemy on the Laurel River in Madison County, on Indian Creek, Red Banks, and other points in Tennessee during the years 1864 and 1865. It was in its last line of battle in the city of Asheville, about four hundred (400) yards to the north of Asheville Female College, about April 15, 1865.

This battalion was with Col. John B. Palmer (NC), who commanded the Western District of North Carolina, at Greeneville, TN, on the day after that brave soldier, Brig. Gen. John H. Morgan (KY), was betrayed and killed in Mrs. Williams' garden, or vineyard; the writer saw the spot, marked by two (2) rude stakes, placed at his head and feet where he died, and it was shown to me by Mrs. Williams.

In the Fall of 1864, James E. Rankin was made Adjutant. He was for many years, since the war, chairman of the Board of County Commissioners for Buncombe County and is now a prominent banker of Asheville.

ORGANIZATION OF THE REGIMENT.

On January 11, 1865 three (3) Independent Companies were added as follows:

Thomas C. Galloway, Captain (commissioned September 1, 1864); William Ducker, 2nd Lieutenant; Dick Owens, Lieutenant; all of Transylvania County.

William Gilliam, Captain (commissioned November 1, 1864); William A. Fox, 1st Lieutenant; Erasmus H. Morrison, 2nd Lieutenant; John Step, Lieutenant; all of Buncombe County.

Job D. Barnard, Captain (commissioned November 1, 1864); Hezekiah E. Barnard, 1st Lieutenant; Taylor Buckner, 2nd Lieutenant; all of Buncombe County.

This made us a full regiment, being the 7th Cavalry, or 69th NC Regiment. Of this regiment Lt. Col. George Tait, of the 40th NC Regiment (3rd Artillery) was first appointed Colonel, but not liking the service for some reason, soon thereafter resigned, and Robert L. Coleman, who had been a Commissary (ACS) with rank of Captain in the 60th NC Regiment, and later the Chief Commissary of the Department of Western North Carolina, was made Colonel on March 2, 1865. He was a splendid soldier and a most excellent man.

In one of the darkest hours towards the last, Capt. James M. Ray, with part of his company (Company D) and part of another, deserted to the enemy.

The last service of the command was around Asheville. On April 6, 1865, the regiment aided to repel Col. George W. Kirby's raid coming in from Greeneville, TN, and as news travelled slowly then, there being no railroad or telegraph station nearer than the then terminus of the Western North Carolina Railroad, six (6) miles below Morganton, a part of the command was in a skirmish as late as May 10th. On being made certain of General Joseph E. Johnston's (VA) surrender, on April 26, 1865, the regiment quietly dissolved and the men went home without being paroled.

I am much indebted to Lt. Col. James M. Ray, formerly of the 60th NC Regiment, for aid in preparing this sketch of the 69th NC Regiment (7th Cavalry).

Incidentally it may here be noted that the seven (7) cavalry regiments from this State were all odd numbers, i.e., 9th, 19th, 41st, 59th, 63rd, 65th, and 69th NC Regiments, while the three (3) artillery regiments were all even numbers—10th, 36th, and 40th NC Regiments.

Though in no great battles the experience of the command was, in many respects, perhaps more trying and it performed faithfully and well the duties assigned to it. It well merits its place in the Military History of North Carolina in the Great War of 1861-'65.

S.V. Pickens,
Hendersonville, N.C.,
30 May, 1901.