Shortly after the 51st North Carolina organized, Company D was sent down the Cape Fear to construct an ironclad battery. The battery was close to Wilmington’s Lazaretto. Eventually, the fortification would be named Fort Strong.
Private John D. McGeachy, an aspiring poet, composed the verse below while he was laboring on the battery:
[May 18, 1862]
We came to this place tired and sore
We pitched our tents but could do nothing more
Camp Lazaretto is its name
It may yet be noted for its fame
We’ve mounted here cannon large
To give the yankees a desperate charge
And we are fixing to mount two more
To mingle in their constant roar
Affliction’s hand was hard on me
And I have suffered much misery
I had sore eyes for four long days
Which pained me much my eyes to raise
[June 16, 1862]
Still we keep the same old trade
Using the pickaxe and the spade
I’ve had the mumps for some time past
And know not how long they’ll last
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