NOTE: Below is a cautionary tale about relying too heavily on service records, or on any one source, for that matter. The Elias Prevatt Mystery The past few months, I’ve been reviewing the 51st North Carolina’s Consolidated Service Records (CSR) on fold3. When I reached Elias Prevatt’s record, I hit a bump. As a prisoner… Continue reading Dead or Alive: What Really Happened to Private Prevatt
Tag: Robeson County
The Court-Martial of Dugald Hammonds (part 1 of 5)
During the early morning of September 6, 1864, Private Dugald Hammonds was on guard duty aboard the steamboat Effie Deans. Hammonds walked up to Corporal Augell and casually said, “If I was you and a man wanted to jump overboard, I would let him, I wouldn’t say a word to him.” Before the end of… Continue reading The Court-Martial of Dugald Hammonds (part 1 of 5)
Rounding Up Deserters in Robeson County
In early February 1863, a Mr. Swann of Lumberton wrote a letter to General Whiting in Wilmington requesting military assistance in Robeson County. Bands of deserters, hiding in the swamps, were terrorizing the county’s citizens. Local militia seemed unable to protect the residents or their property. Whiting ordered General Clingman to send an armed force… Continue reading Rounding Up Deserters in Robeson County