For ten months the Federals have laid siege to Petersburg, facing off against Confederate General Robert E. Lee‘s Army of Northern Virginia. The trenches are all that separate Union forces from the Confederate capital of Richmond, with the siege lines now stretching northward some 25 miles to the edge of Richmond. Defending Confederate forces are so thinned as to place Richmond in great danger.
Today in the Battle of White Oak Road the Confederates at Petersburg, desperately needing to break the siege, make what proves to be a final offensive against Union forces. The fighting is fierce and initially the Rebels gain the advantage, only to be driven back by the end of the day.
The stage is now set for the breaking of the siege, but not in a way the Confederates are hoping.
The soldiers of the South, although near to losing the long-fought war, are, according to Southern Baptist missionaries, winning a great spiritual battle. Indicative is one missionary’s report from South Carolina:
A very fine state of feeling exists in almost every command I have visited. The congregations are large and attentive, and manifest considerable interest in religion. I feel greatly encouraged in my work, and only regret that I cannot respond more fully to the constant and earnest appeals that come up from every quarter for more preaching.
The disconnect between battlefield reality and religious revivals in Confederate army camps could hardly be more stark. At the greatest hour of desperation for the Confederacy, the lone remaining hope for white Southerners appears to be spiritual victory.
Sources: The Battle of White Oak Road (link) and (link); “Army Missions–The Domestic Board,” Christian Index, March 30, 1865
Magazine. Edited here for modern spelling. Footnotes added by Jim Pierce are service records of men mentioned.[The following narrative is an eyewitness to the “Fort Hamby Affair” an irrefutable a posteriori testimony–of the base
character of the home enemy. This narrative, a thrilling record of two Northern deserters, Wade and Simmons, guerrilla
terrorists of Wilkes County, N.C., and the capture and destruction of their armed rendezvous, “Fort Hamby,” was published
by my father’s1 old Chaplain Rev. W. R. Gwaltney2 , chaplain of the 1st North Carolina Regiment of Infantry in the News and
Observer, Raleigh, May 17, 1903. The author has been dead for some five or six years. He was an upright, honest, and
withal a real man, having at his death served fifty years as a minister in the Baptist Church. The News and Observer
containing his interesting narrative is a gift from my aunt, Miss Mattie Gertrude Curtis, and the story is reproduced complete,
with an occasional correction — Finley Paul Curtis, Jr.]In March 1865, General [George] Stoneman, left East Tennessee, moving on from Taylorsville, Tenn., through Watauga
County to Deep Gap in the Blue Ridge. On the 26th of March he entered Boone, N.C., and on the following day the column
was divided, one division under General Stoneman, marching toward Wilkesboro, while the other, under General [Averill]
Gilliam, crossed the Blue Ridge at Blowing Rock and went to Patterson in Caldwell County, whence he joined General
Stoneman at Wilkesboro. On the 31st of March General Stoneman moved over into Surry County in the direction of Mount
Airy. During Stoneman’s march through this section of the State his men committed many depredations. After leaving
Stoneman’s army and, with other worthless characters led by two desperate men, Wade and Simmons, completely
terrorized Wilkes and portions of other counties by their frequent raids. They organized two bands.These bands would ride into a yard, dismount, place their guards, and enter the house, covering the cowering occupants
with loaded pistols and warning them with oaths that “if you open your mouths, we will drop you in your tracks.” Some of the
band would seize all the horses and cows, while others would search the house, rifling trunks, and drawers and taking
anything they wanted. It must be remembered that at that time every man fit for military service was in the army, and the
country was almost completely at the mercy of the robbers. Even after Lee’s surrender and the soldiers began to return
home this state of affairs continued. These marauders then divided into two bands, one with headquarters in the Brushy
Mountain, led by Simmons13 ; the other with headquarters in the Yadkin Valley, in Wilkes County, led by Wade, the writer
had to deal with Wade’s band and with it had a most lively experience, this article will be principally devoted to him and his
fiendish work. Wade3 came from Michigan and claimed the rank of major in Stoneman’s army. The house in which he was
fortified (his headquarters) stood on the road leading from Wilkesboro to Lenoir and nearly a mile from Holman’s Ford,
where the Valley Road crosses the Yadkin River. The house was situated on a high hill commanding a fine view of the
Yadkin Valley and of the Valley Road for a distance of a mile above and mile below the ford. The house fronted the river on
the south. On the west Lewis’s Fork, a stream smaller than the Yadkin, empited into it. On the north and east lay a wide belt
of thick woods. In this section were many sympathizers, if not aiders and abettors, of the band. From this position the Yadkin
Valley and the surrounding country for half a mile in every direction could be swept and controlled by Wade’s guns. There is
a legend that on this very hill Daniel Boone was fortified against the Indians. It would have been difficult to find a stronger
location, both offensive and defensive, than this. The house was built of logs two stories high. The robbers had cut portholes
for their rifles in the upper story. They had army guns of the best type and could command the approach to the house from all
directions. Nothing could be more hazardous than to attempt to reach it. This house belonged to some disreputable woman
by the name of Hamby, and after Wade had occupied and fortified it its name became “Fort Hamby.”NOTE: This article was written by Finely P. Curtis, Jr., and was published in April 1919 in the Confederate VeteranMagazine. Edited here for modern spelling. Footnotes added by Jim Pierce are service records of men mentioned.
[The following narrative is an eyewitness to the “Fort Hamby Affair” an irrefutable a posteriori testimony–of the base
character of the home enemy. This narrative, a thrilling record of two Northern deserters, Wade and Simmons, guerrilla
terrorists of Wilkes County, N.C., and the capture and destruction of their armed rendezvous, “Fort Hamby,” was published
by my father’s1 old Chaplain Rev. W. R. Gwaltney2 , chaplain of the 1st North Carolina Regiment of Infantry in the News and
Observer, Raleigh, May 17, 1903. The author has been dead for some five or six years. He was an upright, honest, and
withal a real man, having at his death served fifty years as a minister in the Baptist Church. The News and Observer
containing his interesting narrative is a gift from my aunt, Miss Mattie Gertrude Curtis, and the story is reproduced complete,
with an occasional correction — Finley Paul Curtis, Jr.]
In March 1865, General [George] Stoneman, left East Tennessee, moving on from Taylorsville, Tenn., through Watauga
County to Deep Gap in the Blue Ridge. On the 26th of March he entered Boone, N.C., and on the following day the column
was divided, one division under General Stoneman, marching toward Wilkesboro, while the other, under General [Averill]
Gilliam, crossed the Blue Ridge at Blowing Rock and went to Patterson in Caldwell County, whence he joined General
Stoneman at Wilkesboro. On the 31st of March General Stoneman moved over into Surry County in the direction of Mount
Airy. During Stoneman’s march through this section of the State his men committed many depredations. After leaving
Stoneman’s army and, with other worthless characters led by two desperate men, Wade and Simmons, completely
terrorized Wilkes and portions of other counties by their frequent raids. They organized two bands.
These bands would ride into a yard, dismount, place their guards, and enter the house, covering the cowering occupants
with loaded pistols and warning them with oaths that “if you open your mouths, we will drop you in your tracks.” Some of the
band would seize all the horses and cows, while others would search the house, rifling trunks, and drawers and taking
anything they wanted. It must be remembered that at that time every man fit for military service was in the army, and the
country was almost completely at the mercy of the robbers. Even after Lee’s surrender and the soldiers began to return
home this state of affairs continued. These marauders then divided into two bands, one with headquarters in the Brushy
Mountain, led by Simmons13 ; the other with headquarters in the Yadkin Valley, in Wilkes County, led by Wade, the writer
had to deal with Wade’s band and with it had a most lively experience, this article will be principally devoted to him and his
fiendish work. Wade3 came from Michigan and claimed the rank of major in Stoneman’s army. The house in which he was
fortified (his headquarters) stood on the road leading from Wilkesboro to Lenoir and nearly a mile from Holman’s Ford,
where the Valley Road crosses the Yadkin River. The house was situated on a high hill commanding a fine view of the
Yadkin Valley and of the Valley Road for a distance of a mile above and mile below the ford. The house fronted the river on
the south. On the west Lewis’s Fork, a stream smaller than the Yadkin, empited into it. On the north and east lay a wide belt
of thick woods. In this section were many sympathizers, if not aiders and abettors, of the band. From this position the Yadkin
Valley and the surrounding country for half a mile in every direction could be swept and controlled by Wade’s guns. There is
a legend that on this very hill Daniel Boone was fortified against the Indians. It would have been difficult to find a stronger
location, both offensive and defensive, than this. The house was built of logs two stories high. The robbers had cut portholes
for their rifles in the upper story. They had army guns of the best type and could command the approach to the house from all
directions. Nothing could be more hazardous than to attempt to reach it. This house belonged to some disreputable woman
by the name of Hamby, and after Wade had occupied and fortified it its name became “Fort Hamby.”
