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A most uncivil war |
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Camden County endured a most uncivil war from 1861-1865.
Residents of all races fought for either the Union or the Confederacy in artillery,
cavalry, infantry, navy, and partisan ranger units. Buffaloes and guerillas
roamed the area. Both sides foraged the area heavily. Deprecations on both
sides reached such a fevered pitch in 1863 that local leaders petitioned
both the Governor of North Carolina and the Union military commander in
Norfolk to remove all their troops from the area. The State of North Carolina
passed a law in 1863 that granted the governor the
authority to have records boxed and removed from potential harm, especially from
the occupied region, because the state had insufficient forces to keep the
Union forces from raiding into the interior |
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795 white males between the ages of 15
and 45 were listed on the 1860 Census for Camden County. Within 3 months of
North Carolina’s secession, over 200 of them were enlisted in Confederate or
State forces. By the end of the war,
over half of them had served either the Confederacy or the Union. The earliest company to join, the 12th
NC State Troops Company M, enlisted on 30 May 1861. Captain W.A. Duke’s
Independent Company enlisted at Camden Courthouse on 30-31 May 1861. Captain
G.G. Luke’s Independent Company enlisted afterwards. Smaller numbers joined
the 8th and 56th NC during 1861. Others joined the 32nd
NC or the 59th NC (4th Cavalry) in early 1862. The
final major military force, the 68th NC, formed in mid-1863. Many
of its members had served previously in other area regiments. A significant number of black men
enlisted in navy and USCT units.
Forty-five white men from the lower end of the county joined the Union
forces as well. By the end of the war, over 100 men from Camden had fought
for the Union. Numerous others were involved in irregular “buffalo” groups.
The “buffaloes” and the “guerillas” matched each other atrocity for atrocity
in a very personal civil war. |
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