This Month in New Bern – July 2020
By Claudia Houston, New Bern Historical Society
What person from a famous New Bern family was promoted to commodore in the US Navy on 1 July 1870 and had a destroyer in WWII named after him?
Our notable person for July is Fabius Maximus Stanly, the son of John Stanly and Elizabeth Franks 
Stanly, born in New Bern on 15 December 1815. The Stanly family had quite an illustrious history. John Stanly was a merchant, orator, lawyer and representative to Congress. He is probably most notorious for having shot and killed ex-Governor Richard Dobbs Spaight in a duel here in New Bern. John and Elizabeth had fourteen children, five of whom died young. There were eight living sons: Alfred, Frank, Edward, Alexander Hamilton, Fabius Maximus, Marcus Cicero and James Green. The only daughter to reach adulthood was Elizabeth Mary Stanly who, against her father’s wishes, married Captain Walker Keith Armistead, who eventually served as Chief Engineer for the US Army Corps of Engineers. They had one son, Brigadier General Lewis Addison Armistead, who died at Gettysburg, famously leading a Confederate charge at Seminary Ridge.
Fabius Maximus Stanly entered the navy as a midshipman candidate in 1831 and served in naval squadrons from the Mediterranean to Brazil. He passed as a midshipman in 1837 and was commissioned a lieutenant in 1841. Fabius sailed on board the Steamer Princeton for a year and then was sent to the frigate Congress as part of the Pacific Squadron. He served in many places during the Mexican War, taking part in the capture and defense of San Francisco and assisting in the capture of Mazatlán. Stanly received the thanks of two secretaries of the Navy for his service in the Mexican War.
Ironically, Fabius Stanly got in trouble over a duel. His superior officer, Commander Zachariah F. Johnston had agreed to a duel with Stanly, but then backed out. Stanly called him a coward and unfortunately put it in writing in a newspaper. In 1851 Stanly was tried before a general court martial, found guilty and sentenced to be dismissed from the Navy. The court, however, recommended executive clemency and President Millard Fillmore reduced his sentence to twelve months suspension from service.
Stanly sailed on numerous ships in many different areas but found himself in trouble again in 1860 while commanding the steamer Wyandotte. Although he successfully prevented the capture by secessionists of Fort Taylor in Key West, Florida, the administration of James Buchanan relieved him of his command due to “excessive zeal.”
Stanly served the Federal Navy with distinction during the Civil War, and rose through the ranks as captain of the Tuscarora in 1866 in the South Pacific Squadron. He was promoted to commodore in July of 1870 and then rear admiral in February 1874, retiring in June of that year after 49 years of service. He died of heart disease in Washington DC on 5 December 1882 and is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington.
USS Stanly-US Navy
The USS Stanly, a destroyer, was completed at the Charleston Navy Yard in 1942 and named in Stanly’s honor. The Stanly earned nine battle stars and the presidential unit citation for service in WWII for "extraordinary heroism in action against enemy Japanese forces during the Solomon Islands Campaign, from 1 November 1943, to 23 February 1944."
In Salem, North Carolina, the Salem Band was composed of Moravian Pacifists, German Methodists known for their musical prowess. The Captain of the Band, Samuel Timothy Mickey, wanted to enlist with a regiment to assist the Confederate cause. The band was originally recruited by a North Carolina unit, Wheeler’s Battalion, but that unit was captured at Roanoke Island by the Union Army. In March of 1862 Captain Mickey met with Colonel Zebulon Vance at the Gaston Hotel in New Bern and requested that the band join the 26th North Carolina Infantry. Vance agreed and the band became the 26th North Carolina Regimental Band. There were originally eight members of the band, but they eventually became twelve. They were the smallest band in either Army.
In February of 1902 an elderly black man died and his obituary was posted in the local newspaper. He was born a slave and was greatly respected by blacks and whites. Who was this man?
Mr. Watson joined the Confederate Army at New Bern on January 27, 1862. He joined the 2nd Artillery 36th NC Regiment, Company F, also known as the Cape Fear Regiment of Artillery. On January 15, 1865 he was captured by Union troops at Fort Fisher. Mr. Watson was sent to Elmira prison in New York as a prison of war but returned home in July after signing an oath of allegiance. He moved his studio to Fayetteville Street in Raleigh, NC where he remained until his death. On April 4, 1889 Mr. John W. Watson, aged 61, died in Raleigh and his obituary stated, “Mr. Watson was a photographer and was well known not only in Raleigh, but throughout the State. Mr. Watson is buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh.” (Weekly State Chronicle, Raleigh, 05 Apr 1889)
By Claudia Houston, New Bern Historical Society 2019
Born in December 1896, Castillia Henry grew up with his parents and siblings at 90 ½ Queen Street in New Bern. His father, Castillia Henry Sr., had a variety of jobs: as a drayman (wagon driver), porter, and stevedore. His mother, Henrietta Fisher Henry, died prior to 1910 and Castillia continued to reside with his father and siblings. During this period he became a barber, working with his brother Amos.
Henry was buried at the American Cemetery in St. Mihiel, France. On 13 May 1921, his remains were disinterred and sent to Antwerp to be transported aboard the Wheaton to Hoboken, New Jersey. His body was received by his father on 30 July 1921 and Private Castillia Henry was finally laid to rest at New Bern National Cemetery, Section 12, Grave 3434. His name was later engraved on the World War I monument on the grounds of the Craven County Courthouse which honors those who lost their lives in the Great War.
Two Carteret County men who came to New Bern in the 1800’s established lucrative businesses and eventually became partners, leading to a historic event of the Civil War in eastern North Carolina. Who were these men and what was significant about the month of October 1862?
economic legacy in eastern Carolina that lasts to this day. Who was this man and what did he do to benefit this area?
Barden was described in his day as an ultra-conservative. He distrusted bureaucracy in Washington, as well as inflation and corruption and did not want governmental intrusion in the everyday life of his constituents. While not all of his positions were universally popular, he was deeply admired for his devotion to the people and well-being of eastern North Carolina. His most enduring legacy was the acquisition during his tenure as congressman of three major military bases during the 1940’s: Cherry Point Marine Air Station in Havelock, Camp Lejeune Marine Base in Jacksonville, and Seymour Johnson Air Force base in Goldsboro. The eastern Carolina area had suffered huge economic losses in such areas as tobacco, textile and manufacturing. The acquisition of those military bases provided employment for thousands of eastern north Carolinians and a huge economic boon for the area. Thus, New Bernian Hap Barden’s legacy endures to this day.
In the 1930’s, comedian and witty political commentator Will Rogers was quite popular. But during August of 1933, Rogers wrote a newspaper column about New Bern that created a furor. What happened and why?