NC State Markers

After the Civil War, as part of a reconstruction plan, William H. Holden was appointed the provisional Governor of North Carolina by President Andrew Johnson.  He was ordered to call for a state convention to restore North Carolina to the Union, and to provide for the election of a new governor, state legislators and US congressmen.  The call for elections was necessary to reestablish civil government in the state.  Other important mandates were included as well, such as the repeal of the 1861 Ordinance of Secession and ratification of the 13^th Amendment.  The convention was scheduled for October 2, 1865.

Several African American ministers and property owners met in New Bern to discuss the idea of having a statewide convention for freedmen.  There were concerns that no African American delegates were chosen to attend the constitutional convention and they wanted to make sure the needs of their population were considered.  The Freedmen’s Convention then was scheduled to take place in Raleigh on September 29, 1865.  James Walker Hood, an African Methodist Episcopal Minister was elected as the presiding officer.  Hood was born in Pennsylvania but moved to New Bern in 1864 as a Church missionary and became prominent locally.  He was the founder of St. Peter’s AME Zion Church.  Craven County provided the largest number of delegates of the over 100 men from 34 counties who were chosen to attend the Freedmen’s Convention.

The convention was an attempt by the leaders to push for full political rights for African Americans, including the rights to testify in court, vote and serve on a jury.  In Hood’s acceptance speech, he called for voting rights for all African American males, but many of the delegates disagreed, including James H. Harris of Raleigh.  Harris and Abraham Galloway, a prominent African American activist in New Bern during the war, decided on a compromise resolution which called for the protection and education of African Americans and the elimination of racial discrimination.  The document also noted the importance of just labor compensation, education for African American children and reunification of families that were separated during the Civil War.  Before the end of the Freedmen’s Convention, the delegates issued a written document to the Constitutional Convention which was to meet three days later.  The document was acknowledged but no action was taken.

Before they adjourned, the Freedmen’s Convention voted to form the North Carolina State Equal Rights League and scheduled a second convention for the following year at the same time and place.  Due to his moderation and leadership, James Harris was elected the first president.  The Freedmen’s Convention of September 1865 was the first statewide assembly of African Americans in North Carolina and it all began in New Bern.

A Formidable Fighting Family

Robert J. “Strawberry” Conderman was the first person in Craven County to be killed in WWII.  He was born August 13, 1918, and upon graduating from New Bern High School, entered the University of North Carolina, receiving a bachelor’s degree in commerce and becoming an aviation cadet at Pensacola.  Upon completion of flight training he was stationed in San Diego and then Hawaii, before being transferred to Wake Island.  On December 8, 1941, (December 7, US time) the squad learned of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.  Japanese bombers soon flew over Wake Island in a surprise attack shortly before noon.  As the alarm sounded, Conderman ran to his F4F-3 “Wildcat” Fighter plane but was cut down by strafing.  Fellow Marines rushed to his aid, but Conderman pointed to other wounded Marines and said “Let me go.  Take Care of them.”  He died of his wounds just hours later at the age of 23.  2^nd Lieutenant Robert Conderman received the Purple Heart and is buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (also known as the Punchbowl) in Honolulu, Hawaii.  His name is inscribed at the top of the WWII Memorial of Craven County located on the grounds of the old county courthouse, which honors the deaths of local soldiers.

Robert’s father, Fred Conderman, was an assistant postmaster for New Bern, and he tried to enlist to avenge his only son’s death.  His age kept him out of the Army and Navy, but Marine officers accepted him as a mail officer with the rank of captain.  He joined the First Marine Division and participated in numerous assaults and campaigns in the Solomon Islands.  He was only supposed to handle the mail, but he took his off-duty time to accompany as many aviators as possible.  He contracted malaria and returned home, retiring from active service in 1946 with the rank of major and returning to his job as postal inspector.  In 1944 he received the silver Eisenhower medal for his award as “Fighting Father of the Year.”  Fred Conderman died at the age of 79 and is buried at the New Bern Memorial Cemetery.

On July 1, 1863, the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, the 26th NC infantry encountered the famed 24th Michigan, known as the “Iron Brigade.” The battle was long and bloody, but the 26th NC defeated their opponent on that day. While their courage will be forever remembered, the unit suffered unparalleled loss.
Prior to Gettysburg, the 26th NC Regiment had their first foray into battle at New Bern during March, 1862. Most of the troops were from the middle and western part of the state and they were commanded by Zebulon Vance who later became the war time Governor of NC. While Confederate forces were defeated at New Bern, the 26th NC later distinguished itself in battle.
Before arriving at Gettysburg, PA, the 26th NC had 843 soldiers, and was the largest regiment in Robert E. Lee’s Army. On the first day of the battle of Gettysburg, the 26th NC advanced at McPherson’s Ridge against the 24th Michigan. Their commander, Henry King Burgwyn Jr., age 21, known as the “boy colonel”, was shot through his lungs and killed while transferring the regimental colors. Another thirteen flag bearers were shot and one by one, every colonel, major, and captain was either killed or wounded. The only remaining officer, Colonel H.C. Albright, took command of the entire regiment. The fight between the 26th NC and 24th Michigan was the bloodiest engagement of the three day battle of Gettysburg. The 26th NC had 558 casualties out of 843 soldiers. Company E was left with twelve men, and Co F consisted of one color bearer.
On July 3, the last day of battle, the regiment again fought, this time at Cemetery Ridge. Eight more color bearers were killed or wounded, including Sgt Robert Hudspeth of Co. F. Ninety-nine men were killed in total. Despite the odds, one color bearer and Sergeant carried the 26th NC colors to the top of the slope and stone wall. The Union troops of the 12th New Jersey, out of respect for their courage, held their fire and helped them over the wall where they surrendered. On this third day, the 26th NC had numbered about 230 men. That night, only three officers and 67 men were able to answer roll call. All twenty men who carried the colors, 81 out of 82 men in Co E and all 93 men in Company F were dead. The 26th NC lost the highest number in any regiment in a single battle during the Civil War.
There are two monuments at Gettysburg in honor of the 26th NC. The monument at the Angle is the smallest, representing the tremendous loss of life from the regiment. The other, at Meredith Avenue, reflects the size of the unit after the first day battle. On March 10, 2007, the Society for the Historical Preservation of the 26th Regiment North Carolina Troops erected a monument at the New Bern Battlefield to honor the unit. It is the largest monument to the 26th NC, representing the unit at full strength.

A small article appeared in the 13 Jan 1897 Daily Journal (New Bern, Wed. p.2) stating “Notice is hereby given that application will be made to the next General Assembly of the State of North Carolina to change and amend the Charter of the city of New Berne.” At the next meeting in 1897, the name of our city was officially changed to its current spelling, New Bern.  But what had been its official name prior and why did it change?

New Bern was founded in 1710 by Baron Christoph von Graffenried of Bern, Switzerland.   The Baron named it New Bern in honor of the city of his birth. In 1723, the General Assembly enacted that the place be “Incorporated into a Township, by the Name of Newbern… with all Privileges which ever have belonged to the said town, or shall hereafter be expressed, forever. (Laws of North Carolina, 1723-pg 204 Section XIII).

Although the official name was Newbern, it was not spelled that way on various maps, newspapers, and official documents, which led to much confusion over the years. On June 6, 1891, Henry Gannett, a famous geographer and mapmaker wrote to the City Clerk, William Oliver, and asked him about the true spelling of the name.

“Dear Sir, I find great uncertainty in spelling the name of your city.  It is spelled Newbern, Newberne, New Bern, New Berne and Newburn.  I take the liberty of appealing to you to inform us as fully as possible what the usage is in the official documents of the city.  In case you have documents at hand, I should be glad to know under what name the city is chartered”.

Oliver’s’ response was that “…up until 1862 the official name was spelled Newbern and it had been chartered as such.”  Oliver sent Gannett a copy of the “Acts of the General Assembly published in 1793” as proof.   Oliver referenced the fact that the town had been captured by Union forces and had been in the hands of Union troops for three years.  “The post office, and every office both town and county, the banks, the newspaper, were all in the hands of those who recently settled here.  The stamps at the post office at this time were changed from Newbern to New Berne as well as the newspaper and county offices.  This change was made by comparative strangers without a scintilla of law or authority.” (State Chronicle, July 23, 1891, p.4) Gannett subsequently settled upon Newbern as the official spelling.

In 1897 local businessman, James Augustus Bryan helped to initiate legislation to officially change the spelling again. The town continued to be referred to as Newberne which Bryan and others blamed upon Union soldiers for adding an “e” at the end. This led to the January 1893 notice in the paper that there was to be an application to change or amend the charter of the city of New Berne. This resulted in the General Assembly of NC action in February 1897 to establish that the “corporation heretofore existing as the city of Newbern shall hereafter be known and designated as the city of New Bern, and all laws in conflict with the above are hereby repealed.” Now you know when our city officially became New Bern.

Sneden, Robert Knox. [Plan of the Battle of Newberne ! North Carolina: fought March 14th 1862]. [to 1865, 1862] Map. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/gvhs01.vhs00079/. (Accessed December 12, 2017.)