News | New Bern Historical Society

This Month in New Bern History – October 2020

Posted by Mickey

· October 21, 2020

by Claudia Houston, Historian, New Bern Historical Society

Appleton Oaksmith, one of the most eccentric characters in New Bern history, died this month in 1887. While he did not reside in New Bern, he was known here primarily due to his purchase and reconstruction of the Simpson house at 226 East Front Street. Later known as the Simpson-Oaksmith-Patterson House, this unique house has been the focus of more stories and traditional history than any other structure in New Bern.

Per the National Register of Historic Places, in 1810, Samuel Simpson purchased the original portion of the house which stood at the southeast corner of Pollock and East Front Streets. In 1843 a huge fire destroyed a good portion of the homes on Pollock Street and it appears that Simpson’s federal style brick house was rebuilt between 1843-1846. (Sandbeck, Peter, The Historic Architecture of New Bern and Craven County, NC Architecture pgs.108-109, Tryon Palace Commission 1988). The house remained in the Simpson family until 1860 when it changed hands. During the Civil War, the house served as a Provost Marshal’s office and jail. Appleton and Augusta Oaksmith purchased the home sometime in 1874 and after 1884 began operating the Vance Academy, a boarding and day school, in the house.

Advertisement for the Vance Academy in the Simpson-Oaksmith House after house was renovated (NBHS files)

Between 1884 and 1887, Appleton Oaksmith began remodeling this house in a perplexing – if not bizarre – style. In 1888 George Nowitzky visited New Bern and described the house in this manner:

“The Greatest Architectural Curiosity in the South. It is formed by one of New Bern’s oldest brick buildings (one has done duty as a jail), transformed into such a remarkable combination and blending of dormers, balconies, pinnacles, fantastic-looking tower, railings, human, griffin and dog heads as to make it a veritable architectural puzzle. No one knows what it was intended for, and the owner, apparently believing it is nobody’s business, has failed to enlighten them.”
(Green, John III, A New Bern Album, The Tryon Palace Commission, 1985 pg. 137)

The house was referred to by many as “Blackbeard’s House” as there were rumors of a secret tunnel allowing the pirate to smuggle treasure. Blackbeard died long before the house was built, but the rumors persisted. Many speculated that Appleton Oaksmith used the secret tunnel for smuggling purposes. Some said that the house was fashioned after Morro Castle in Havana, but why, no one knew.

The storied house reflected Oaksmith’s unconventional character. Appleton Oaksmith was an ambitious man, with vision, boldness and daring -- yet his ethics were questionable. He was a sea captain, writer, munitions supplier, soldier of fortune, slave trader, politician, blockade runner, entrepreneur, railroad speculator, and some said, a pirate.

Oaksmith was born in Portland, Maine in 1827 to literary and accomplished parents. Armed with fluency in four languages and a passion for arts and science, at the age of 16 Oaksmith set sail for China. Over the next few years he ventured to South America, the Caribbean and Africa while trading goods. He heavily financed military expeditions in Cuba and Nicaragua from 1855-1856 and lost a great deal of money. He dabbled in the magazine business, railroad speculation, paper mill ownership, and even Tammany Hall politics.

In 1861, Oaksmith was arrested, imprisoned, and convicted of slave trading. He was jailed in Boston but escaped from prison in 1862 with the help of friends who bribed the guards. He hid in his grandmother’s home in Maine for a year where he fell in love with his cousin, Augusta Mason. This was problematic as he was married since 1855 to Isotta Rebecchini, an Italian musician who bore him four children.

Oaksmith sailed to England where he spent years in exile. Despite his fugitive status, he became a sea captain and blockade runner for the Confederacy, sailing from England to Texas. He was almost captured in 1864 when his ship was boarded by the Union Navy, but he managed to escape and return to England.

Oaksmith’s personal life was as tumultuous as his checkered career. He filed for and obtained a divorce from his wife Isotta in 1866 without her knowledge. He then coerced her into giving up custody of their four children, vowing she would never see them again if she did not sign papers. Isotta reluctantly complied, but Appleton still allowed no contact with the children. He then married his cousin Augusta in Canada in 1867, with whom he had an additional eight children.

On a trip back to the US, Oaksmith landed in Beaufort, NC to make repairs to his ship. While there, he attended an auction and successfully bid $11.25 for property west of Morehead City, known as Becton Place. Oaksmith sailed back to England but finally in 1873 returned with his wife and children to make Carteret County their home. He hired locals to reconstruct a home from a building that had been a Union Army barracks. He purchased another 300 prime acres which includes nearly all of present-day Atlantic Beach and a portion of Pine Knoll Shores. He put all the property in the name of his wife and her sister, calling his vast estate Hollywood.

With the stigma of the slave-trading affair hanging over him, Oaksmith resolved to clear his name. Using an alias, he met with President Ulysses Grant. Oral history has it that after a short meeting, Grant was swayed to sign the pardon. When the President asked why his visitor pleaded so earnestly for this man, the audacious Oaksmith smugly replied, "Because I am Appleton Oaksmith."

In 1874 Oaksmith ran for the state House of Representatives from Carteret County which he won, serving one term. While in office, the visionary Oaksmith hatched many development plans for the county. He recommended dredging Beaufort Harbor and the Neuse River. He tried to acquire Fort Macon to serve as a resort hotel but when that failed, he then planned to develop the Atlantic Beach area into a seaside resort. Oaksmith was not able to obtain backing for his ambitious plans.

Business failures, sickness, and personal tragedy mark Oaksmith’s last years. On July 4, 1879 he set sail for Beaufort on an outing in the family boat with six of his children, four girls and two boys ranging in age from 5-21. The boat capsized. None of the children could swim and the four girls tragically drowned. Son Ralph, age 17, told the Sheriff that his father had tried to drown them all, an accusation which Oaksmith vehemently denied. Authorities believed Oaksmith’s account and Ralph left home, never to return.

After the loss, Oaksmith became reclusive; his mental and physical health declined. Suffering from unbearably painful malaria attacks, seizures, and even paralysis, he spent several years between home and NY hospitals. On October 29, 1887, in NY, Appleton Oaksmith died. His body was returned to Carteret County by train.

The New Bern Daily Journal of October 30, 1887 wrote:

“… In many respects Captain Oaksmith was a remarkable man. A true history of his life would doubtless make an interesting little volume.”

Photo of Simpson-Oaksmith House taken by photographer William Garrison Reed shortly before renovations by Oaksmiths (photo NBHS).

His widow Augusta Oaksmith sold the whimsical brick home in New Bern and it changed owners many times thereafter. In 1974, “The Greatest Architectural Curiosity in the South” was unceremoniously demolished, leaving today a gravel parking lot across from the Galley Stores and Marina gas pumps. Thus ends a very fanciful chapter in New Bern history.

Categories : Announcements

This Month in New Bern History – September 2020

Posted by NBHS OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR

· September 1, 2020

by Claudia Houston, Historian, New Bern Historical Society

Photo from Wikipedia

On September 19, 1889, a young professional, educated couple were married in New Bern. Together they were to have a profound effect in establishing an African American middle class and promoting gender and racial equality in 19^th century New Bern. This is their story.

Meet Sarah Dudley, born in New Bern in 1869, the first free woman born into a family whose members had been slaves since the Revolutionary War. After attending local schools, Sarah entered Scotia Seminary, a progressive Presbyterian women’s school in Concord, NC, where she studied classics, Latin, and other subjects traditionally reserved for male students. Sarah graduated with distinction and returned to New Bern to teach. As the daughter of a black state representative, Sarah was taught the importance of civic engagement at an early age.

Charles Pettey was born into slavery; after emancipation he learned to read, worked tirelessly at multiple crafts, and saved every penny for his education. In 1872 he walked ninety miles to Charlotte to enter Biddle Memorial Institute where he studied the classics, Latin and Greek. After graduation he quickly became an elder in the growing African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AME Zion) Church. He started a school in South Carolina as well as founding a monthly newspaper for the AME Zion Church, the Star of Zion, which soon became one of the most influential black newspapers in the country. He married Lula Pickenpack, Sarah’s roommate at Scotia, and moved to California where he established the town of Petteyville and several new AME Zion churches. Lula died in 1887, leaving Charles a widower with two young girls. Charles and Sarah reconnected in New Bern and were married in September 1889.

In New Bern, the Petteys were one of many successful middle-class black families of leaders and businessmen. Well educated professionals, they were active community volunteers who fought for racial and gender equality. While many members of AME Zion were uncomfortable with women taking on a prominent role, Charles was his wife's most steadfast supporter. He encouraged her to write a column for the Star of Zion and urged her to follow his sermons with her own. Sarah’s influential sermons included “Woman, the Equal of Man” and “Women’s Suffrage.” Among her most powerful quotes: “Some would say that a woman was good in her place. This reminds me of what some white people say about the Negro, that “’he is good in his place.’”

Charles demonstrated his belief in women’s equality when, in 1898, he allowed the ordination of a

woman as an elder in the AME Zion Church -- the first ordination of a woman in any denominational church and highly controversial at the time.

Charles became the Bishop of the Church District of Texas, Louisiana, and Alabama and the couple traveled extensively. Fueled by their ideals and hopes for a new south, they worked together to fulfill their vision of a future of racial and gender equality. Their belief in progress, however, was thwarted by the growth of the white supremacy movement, culminating in 1898 when more than ten black Wilmington city leaders were killed at the hands of white vigilantes. By 1900, the North Carolina legislature had effectively revoked the right of blacks to vote by enacting literacy tests and poll taxes. Jim Crow had come to roost in the south.

Photo from New York Public Library Digital Collection

Charles died suddenly in 1900 and Sarah, disheartened by the oppression of Jim Crow laws, moved north with her family. Six years later, at the age of 37, Sarah Dudley Pettey died. Both Charles and Sarah are buried at Greenwood Cemetery in New Bern. Ironically, it would be another 15 years before women would be allowed to vote and another 60 years before African American men and women in North Carolina would experience the freedom that Charles and Sarah had known in the progressive New Bern of the late 19^th century.

Note – you can hear Sarah Dudley Pettey tell her story in the New Bern Historical Society’s online presentation Ordinary Women, Extraordinary Deeds at www.newbernhistorical.org.

Categories : Events, Newsletter, This Month

This Month in New Bern History – August 2020

Posted by NBHS OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR

· July 16, 2020

by Claudia Houston, Historian, New Bern Historical Society

North Carolina Highway Marker at Broad and Craven Street, New Bern, NC

New Bern is well known for its many significant “firsts” – North Carolina’s first capital, first printing press, first newspaper, first published book, and first postal service, among others. But one “famous first” in August of 1774 had a tremendous impact upon the future formation of the state of North Carolina as well as the United States of America. What was this historic event?

To set the stage, the colonial resistance movement against the British government culminated with the Boston Tea Party in December of 1773, which greatly angered Great Britain. By June of 1774, Parliament passed a series of punitive laws in retaliation that became known as “The Intolerable Acts”. North Carolinians joined the other colonies to support opposition to Parliament’s retaliatory measures against Massachusetts. North Carolina’s colonial leaders agreed to meet in New Bern, the colonial capital, to outline their concerns, plan further opposition to Great Britain and choose delegates to the Continental Congress to be held in Philadelphia. Several men were elected to represent Craven County: Richard Cogdell, Joseph Leech, and Lemuel Hatch. Isaac Edwards and Abner Nash were elected to represent New Bern.

On August 25, 1774, North Carolina’s First Provincial Congress met at the County Courthouse in New Bern with seventy-one delegates present at roll call. It was the first such meeting held in any of the thirteen colonies. The meeting took place near Tryon Palace, the residence of Royal Governor Josiah Martin, who was not invited to attend. Although he received daily reports about what transpired during the assembly, he made no attempt to stop the meeting. The moderator of the First Provincial Congress was John Harvey, who presided over delegates from thirty of the then thirty-six counties, as well as additional members from six towns.

The New Bern Resolves issued by the First Provincial Congress declared that, while they remained loyal to the King, they repudiated the Intolerable Acts, deeming British taxation “highly illegal and oppressive”. To protest Parliament’s actions against New England, the provincial congress approved a trade boycott of all British goods. It then endorsed a general congress for the provinces and nominated Richard Caswell, William Hooper, and Joseph Hewes to represent North Carolina in the First Continental Congress scheduled in Philadelphia for September 1774. The provincial congress also recommended the formation of local committees of safety which would better enable communication.

The First Provincial Congress was the first of five congresses held in North Carolina from 1774-1776 to create the revolutionary government structure. Among many things, they organized an army for defense and wrote a constitution and bill of rights which eventually led to the establishment of the state of North Carolina. In the fifth and final provincial congress that met in Halifax in 1776, they approved the Constitution of North Carolina and elected Richard Caswell of Kinston as the first Governor of the State of North Carolina.

These first five congresses were a testament to the North Carolina colonists’ determination to become self-governing and to their readiness to achieve that goal. The First Provincial Congress was a “first” not only for New Bern, but directly led to the formation of our current state government, the first meeting of the North Carolina state Legislature on April 7, 1777 also in New Bern, and ultimately, the establishment of the new nation.

Categories : Events, This Month

This Month in New Bern History – July 2020

Posted by NBHS OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR

· June 24, 2020

by Claudia Houston, Historian, 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."

Categories : Announcements, This Month

This Month in New Bern History – June 2020

Posted by Mickey

· June 20, 2020

by Claudia Houston, Historian, New Bern Historical Society

New Bern is the site of many significant “firsts” – first provincial convention in America held in defiance of British orders, North Carolina’s first capital, first postal service, first free public school, and first black-owned bank. During the month of June in the year 1749, New Bern was the site of a major new institution that had a profound cultural and political impact on the future of the Old North State.

Prior to the mid-eighteenth century, information and news in North Carolina were passed through word of mouth and handwritten records. As the population grew and towns formed from rural areas, the provincial government found the handwritten, incomplete and error-filled colonial laws inadequate. After voting to revise the laws, the Assembly hired James Davis of Williamsburg, Virginia, and on June 24, 1749, Davis arrived in New Bern to become North Carolina’s first public printer.

Davis had likely apprenticed under William Parks, at that time Virginia’s first and only printer. The printing press Davis brought with him to New Bern from Williamsburg was the first to be used in North Carolina. He initially set up shop on Pollock Street, but later moved to the southwest corner of Broad and East Front Streets. In 1749, Davis printed the first official publication for the colony entitled The Journal of the House of Burgesses of the Province of North Carolina.

Davis was also responsible for printing the colony’s first currency. In 1751 he finally completed the revisal of the colonial laws. While completing his public printer duties, out of financial necessity he supplemented his income by private printing. In 1751, Davis began publishing the first newspaper in the colony, the North-Carolina Gazette, with the motto, "With the freshest advices, foreign and domestick," which he produced until 1760. Davis started another newspaper in 1764, called The North Carolina Magazine; or, Universal Intelligencer, but it only lasted four years. In 1768, he resumed publication of The North-Carolina Gazette, which continued to be printed until 1778.

In 1753, Davis published a book, A Collection of Many Christian Experiences, Sentences, and Several Places of Scripture Improved, written by Reverend Clement Hall. This book was a first in several categories: the first book written by a native of North Carolina and the first privately printed, non-legal book published in the colony. Davis served as North Carolina’s public printer for almost thirty-three years and published over one hundred documents in that time.

While he was a prolific printer, Davis also wore many other public hats. In 1753 he became a member of the county court, an office he held for over 25 years. In 1754 he was elected Sheriff of Craven County, leaving that position after ten months upon his election to the Assembly. He was later appointed New Bern Postmaster and served as a justice of the peace from 1768-1778. Davis was a supporter of the American Revolution and during this period was appointed to numerous influential political positions representing New Bern and Craven County. He reached the zenith of his political career with his 1781 appointment to the Council of State, North Carolina’s powerful executive branch.

James Davis’ appointment in New Bern as the state’s first public printer ushered North Carolina into a new world of information sharing between the state and the rest of the world, brought its citizens unprecedented access to news and ideas, and bound together the colony’s patchwork of isolated rural areas into a single political entity. He died in New Bern in 1785 and is buried at Christ Episcopal Church. Inscribed on his gravestone is the following:

Established the art of printing in the Colony of North Carolina,1749
Public printer to the Colony and the State
Published first book, first newspaper and first magazine in North Carolina
Member of the Council of State
Of the General Assembly
Of the Provincial Convention
Of the Provincial Congress
And of the Committee of Safety for the County of Craven and Town of New Bern
Judge of the Admiralty Court
Justice of the County Court
Sheriff of Craven County
Postmaster and Contractor to convey the public mails from Suffolk to Wilmington
Printed currency for the colony

Categories : Announcements, This Month

American Dream Leads to New Bern

Posted by Mickey

· May 22, 2020

by Jim Hodges
Curator, New Bern Historical Society

“Boston Millionaire to Locate Here,” read the headline in the New Bern Weekly Journal on this day in May 1914, declaring that Dr. Earl S. Sloan was planning to build a winter home in the area. Today this announcement would probably not attract much attention, but in 1914 – obviously worthy of note. This is a life journey personifying the American dream, where a motivated individual with natural entrepreneurial and marketing skills as well as keen business savvy can accumulate great success and wealth. This is the story of Dr. Earl Sawyer Sloan.

The Andrew Sloan family emigrated from Ireland after the American Revolution and eventually settled in Zanesfield, Ohio. Andrew Sloan was a horse harness maker who had a certain ability with horses which allowed him to pursue this skill and become a self-taught veterinarian. Doc Sloan was also known for his strong-smelling brown formula that was effective in reducing joint pain and inflammation for overworked horses.

Earl Sawyer Sloan, the third of five children, was born September 8, 1848, in Zanesfield, Ohio. Although he did not attend more than the elementary grades, he learned to read and write and developed a great appreciation for books. He was apprenticed as a harness maker at the age of fifteen, but in 1871 joined his brother Foreman in St. Louis, Missouri. Earl carried with him a supply of his father’s horse liniment and with Foreman, who was engaged in the buying and selling of horses, they peddled the concoction throughout the area. This time period marking the heyday of the horse in American life, the Sloan liniment was in great demand.

Sloan's 1898, courtesy baybottles.com

As the story goes, by accident it was discovered that the liniment was beneficial not only for the horses but humans as well – consequently it was advertised as “good for man and beast.” The essential ingredient is chili pepper (capsicum, a topical analgesic) and its external use was once recommended for everything from a stiff neck to bruises, sprains, strains and mosquito bites. The formula was refined and patented about 1885 and the business grew rapidly due to Earl Sloan’s fondness for newspaper advertising. In 1900 Earl, who was now married, moved his manufacturing operations to Boston in 1904. The business was incorporated in 1904 as “Dr. Earl S. Sloan, Incorporated.” Apparently the title “Doctor,” although never formally or academically achieved, gave him and his product more credibility and increased sales. By 1907, sales were reported throughout the United States as well as South America, Australia, Europe and Canada. In 1913 Dr. Sloan sold his company - including offices in Ontario, England, Australia, and Amsterdam - to William R. Warner & Co. Of interest, W. R. Warner & Co. merged into Warner-Lambert Pharmaceutical in 1955, which was eventually acquired by Pfizer in 2000.

In the late 19^th and early 20^th century, it was a practice of wealthy northerners to build substantial residences in North Carolina and other more climate friendly areas to serve as second homes. Although Dr. Sloan considered several locations including Asheville and Pinehurst, he eventually selected New Bern. He acquired 440 acres of land from John W. Stewart and an additional 25 acres from the Craven County Commissioners, located on the north side of the Trent River about 2 miles from downtown New Bern. The Stewart property was known as the Colonel Ransom estate, thus Sloan called his plantation Ransom Farm. New Bern native Robert F. Smallwood was hired as the architect and local contractor John F. Rhodes was hired to supervise construction.

Sloan Estate ca. 1929. From "A New Bern Album," John B. Green III

Built in 1914, the Dr. Earl S. Sloan House was a “large and well appointed example of Colonial Revival residential construction with Mediterranean and Tudor Revival influence. The two and a half-story brick building has a main block and flanking pavilions under low, hipped slate roofs. The long axis of the home runs parallel to the Trent River. The interior of the house exhibits carefully crafted cypress and hardwood woodwork with chestnut trim and mahogany varnished hardwood veneer doors.” Not too bad for a man who started his career hawking horse liniment door to door.

It is not clear how much time Dr. and Mrs. Sloan actually spent at Ransom Farm. He died in 1923 leaving the property to his widow, who sold Ransom Farm in 1928 to the New Bern realty firm of N. E. Mohn and Company. In 1933 the property transferred to U.S. Senator O. F. Glenn of Illinois, who renamed it Trent Pines. Senator and Mrs. Glenn intended to use Trent Pines as a winter home; however, their plans never materialized. From 1942 to 1968, the property was operated as the Trent Pines Club, a popular inn and yacht club. It was then purchased by Robert P. Holding, Jr., Chairman of First Citizens Bank, who renamed the estate Miles Away. Mr. Holding died in 1979 and the property passed to his son Frank R. Holding who continued the restoration of the house.

Sloan's Liniment, early 20th century. Still available today

The house is recorded on the National Register of Historic Places and is a standing tribute to the success of Dr. Sloan and the vibrant history of New Bern and Craven County.

Sloan’s liniment is still sold today. Over 135 years later, the packaging still carries Earl Sloan’s likeness on the label.

Categories : Announcements, This Month

This Month in New Bern History – May 2020

Posted by Mickey

· May 19, 2020

U.S. Colored Troops Recruiting Poster, Wikipedia

At the Vanguard of History
by Bernard George

One hundred fifty-seven years ago this month, New Bern, North Carolina was the site of an event that would dramatically impact the conduct of the Civil War and provoke a major societal shift across our young nation. In 1863, the United States War Department created the Bureau of Colored Troops, organized to oversee and direct the historic incorporation of black troops into the Union army. On May 17 of that year, thirteen Union officers and a civilian recruiter arrived in New Bern to organize the “African Brigade,” the country’s first official major military unit largely made up of African American escaped slaves, then known as contraband.

This daunting military and social experiment would settle once and for all the unanswered question of the time, “Can the slave be trained to intelligently and heroically fight as well as his white counterparts?” By the end of the Civil War the answer was a resounding “yes,” as United States Colored Troops (USCT) fought and died in every major campaign of 1864-1865 except Sherman's invasion of Georgia. As further evidence of the military value of black troops to the war efforts, on March 13, 1865 the Congress of the Confederate States of America passed and President Jefferson Davis signed into law General Order 14 allowing the enlistment of slaves with the promise of freedom.

Brigadier General Edward A. Wild

After being captured by Union forces in March 1862, New Bern became the headquarters for more than 14,000 Union soldiers. According to an early 1863 census, there were at least 8,500 black refugees or contraband seeking freedom in New Bern and three outlying camps. Many of the refugees became the original residents of James City, a planned freedmen community on the south shores of the Trent River. Due to the area’s large number of contraband, Col. Frank Lee, commander of the 44^th Massachusetts, predicted that “a brigade of colored men could be easily raised in North Carolina.”

When charismatic General Edward A. Wild arrived in New Bern in mid-May of 1863, he was accompanied by one of the most experienced and competent staffs of officers that would lead any of the 139 black regiments formed during the Civil War. Fresh from successful efforts to organize and recruit the famous black Massachusetts 54^th and 55^th Regiments, Gen. Wild was charged with raising four regiments of an “African Brigade” of 4,000 soldiers in the Department of North Carolina. With New Bern serving as the recruitment headquarters for this historic military undertaking, more than 6,000 African Americans enlisted in the Union army.

Colonel James Beecher

The first regiment raised by Gen. Wild was the 1^st North Carolina Colored Volunteers, commanded by Col. James C. Beecher, brother of author Harriet Beecher Stowe of Uncle Tom’s Cabin fame. Lt. Col. William N. Reed, the Regiment’s second in command, was a seasoned German-trained officer. Some sources describe Reed as a mulatto, although the army had an official policy prohibiting the appointment of black officers in command positions. Col. Beecher’s original staff also included Major John De Grasse, the first black surgeon admitted to a Medical Society in this country and one of only a few black surgeons in a Union regiment. An additional black officer, the Rev. John N. Mars, was selected to be the 1^st NCCV Regiment’s chaplain. Undoubtedly, the presence of black officers inspired many of New Bern’s young black men to enlist in the 1^st NCCV.

Dr. John Van Surly DeGrasse, courtesy Bay State Banner

By the end of the Civil War, over 190,000 black men served in the Army and Navy. Nearly 40,000 black soldiers died over the course of the war—30,000 of infection or disease. Black soldiers served in infantry and artillery and performed all noncombat support functions as well. Black carpenters, chaplains, cooks, guards, laborers, nurses, scouts, spies, steamboat pilots, surgeons, and teamsters also contributed to the war cause.

The flames of racial prejudice cut short the majority of the heroic military careers of our nation’s first black Civil War leaders. Nevertheless, this grand experiment in New Bern helped sow the seeds of change that would one day allow all Americans to reap the benefits of full civil rights, and pave the way for the election of our nation’s first African American president.

Categories : This Month

New Bern’s Oldest House?

Posted by Mickey

· May 8, 2020

New Bern’s Oldest House?
by Jim Hodges, Curator

I have always been puzzled as to the oldest surviving residential structure in downtown New Bern. When asked from time to time as to which house has the acclaim, my response has routinely been inconclusive. A few months ago, armed with Peter Sandbeck’s authoritative book The Historic Architecture of New Bern and Craven County, North Carolina¹, I set forth to determine the absolute ‘Title Holder ‘.

While this may not seem like a difficult task, it proved more challenging than anticipated for two reasons. First, over 250 years have lapsed since these structures were built, and, if detailed records ever existed, they have for the most part been lost, altered, or forgotten. Second, most of these structures were built over a period spanning several years, if not several decades.

After my initial research, I narrowed the search to seven structures presumed to be built prior to 1769. Let’s first look at two of them:

1. The Haslen Dependency, home of the New Bern Preservation Foundation, is currently located behind the Attmore-Oliver House on the Historical Society’s downtown campus. The brick structure predating 1761 was originally situated on the west side of the 300 block of East Front Street. To prevent demolition, it was relocated in 1980 to its present location. By 1985, it had been completely disassembled brick by brick and recreated based on its original dimensions with a concrete block infrastructure and faced with the old bricks. In the spirit of accuracy, the fact that the structure is a recreation and not a bona fide residence, in my opinion, would disqualify it from title consideration.

Haslen Dependency ca 1905

Haslen Dependency today

2. The Tryon Palace complex consisting of the Georgian manor house connected by a curved colonnade to the East ( Kitchen ) Wing and the West ( Stable ) Wing was constructed 1767-1770. Destroyed by fire in 1798, only the West Wing survives today after undergoing extensive restoration during the 1950s. Although converted for residential use in the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries, it is important to remember that its original purpose, as well as the major restoration, was as a stable and not a residence. Therefore, on this basis, I don’t consider the West Wing a contender for the oldest downtown residence.

West Wing, late 19th century

West Wing ca 1930

West Wing today

That leaves the following five residences as viable candidates for the distinction of being the oldest residence in downtown New Bern:

1. Alston-Charlotte House

Based on Sandbeck's research findings, this Georgian gambrel-roofed house was built possibly by 1747 and was definitely standing by 1774. The house underwent a major rehabilitation in the late 20th century by Ben Parrish and Newsom Williams. No verified construction dates and related information are available. You can see it still standing today at 823 Pollock Street.

Alston-Charlotte House today

2. Francis Hawks House

Constructed circa 1760-1769, this Georgian gambrel-roofed house was originally located on the East side of the 300 block of Hancock Street and moved in 1975 to its current site at 517 New Street. Deed records indicate that the house or a portion of the house was on its original site when it was purchased by New Bern merchant John Green in 1763. It was later owned by Francis Hawks who was the son of Tryon Palace architect John Hawks.

Hawks House ca 1864

Hawks House today

3. Forbes House

Located at 715-717 Pollock Street, the earliest portion of the present day house was built 1760-1770 for a member of the Carruthers family. This picturesque house demonstrates both Georgian and Federal style influences and was inherited in 1860 by Edward Forbes, rector of Christ Episcopal Church.

Forbes House today

4. Elijah Clark House

Another gambrel-roofed house located at 616 Middle Street has encountered numerous alterations over time. Deed records indicate that at least part of this house was constructed as early as 1760-1780. Later acquired by Elijah Clark, a successful merchant and civic leader, who is recognized as one of the three founding members of First Baptist Church.

E. Clark House ca 1900

E. Clark House ca 1940s

E. Clark House today

5. Palmer-Tisdale House

This elegant Georgian style house was built 1767-1769 for Robert Palmer, a local jurist. The house is seen at its location on Sauthier’s 1769 map of New Bern. Another owner of note was William Tisdale, a successful gold & silversmith, who designed the North Carolina great seal in 1778. The house still stands proudly today at 520 New Street.

There you have it – the results of my efforts to determine undeniably the oldest residence in downtown New Bern. Cases have been presented for multiple bona fide candidates. In conclusion, it is my opinion that due to the absence of absolute fact, the jury is still out and I cannot in confidence cast my vote for one single ‘Title Holder’.

What do you think? I would enjoy hearing any constructive information or comments you may have.

Jim Hodges, Curator

¹The Historic Architecture of New Bern and Craven County, North Carolina, published in 1988, is the result of a seven year project by architectural historian Peter Sandbeck, then Restoration Specialist for the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office, to inventory and research Craven County’s historic buildings. Construction dates were established through study of research findings in conjunction with analysis of architectural and technological details, including nail types, molding profiles, saw and plane marks, and construction techniques.

Categories : Announcements, This Month

This Month in New Bern History – March 2020

Posted by NBHS OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR

· March 1, 2020

by Claudia Houston-New Bern Historical Society

During March of 1862 a meeting took place in New Bern which would have historical significance well after the end of the Civil War. What was this meeting about and who were the participants?

When the Civil War began in 1861, regiments were formed in villages and towns. As local and State militia were mustered into service, they were accompanied by their bands. Bands were highly valued as they not only participated in ceremonies and parades but were helpful in recruiting soldiers and raising money.

Members of the Salem Band in 1862 on furlough. Courtesy of the Moravian Music Foundation. 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 26^th North Carolina Infantry. Vance agreed and the band became the 26^th 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.

The band departed Salem on March 5, 1862 and headed for Camp Branch at New Bern. The band was one of the best uniformed as they had non-regulation uniforms of Cadet jeans, brass buttons and capes. The first engagement for the 26^thNorth Carolina Infantry was at the Battle of New Bern on March 14, 1862. The band was drilling and almost captured during this Confederate defeat, but the band evacuated to Goldsboro, later joined by the rest of the regiment.

Band members did not fight; they served as musicians or medical aides. Their military duties included calls that announced the hours and duties of the day and transmitted orders while in camp or on the battlefield; and assisting surgeons by acting as stretcher bearers, clearing the field of wounded, acting as medics and burying the dead.

The 26^th North Carolina Infantry and band initially stayed primarily in North Carolina but as the war progressed, found themselves engaged in battles at Malvern Hill, Gettysburg, the Wilderness and the defense of Petersburg, Virginia. At Gettysburg, after the assault on Cemetery Ridge known as Pickett’s Charge, the 26^th North Carolina Infantry was decimated and suffered the greatest loss of any Confederate or Federal regiment on any day of the war. As the survivors of the assault returned, the band played “Nearer my God to Thee.”

After the evacuation of Petersburg, the band was captured near Amelia Courthouse, Virginia in the closing week of the war there. They were imprisoned at Point Lookout, Maryland for three months. They were released without their instruments and returned home to Salem on July 2, 1865. However, they returned home with their band books -the only known complete set of band books from any Civil War Regiment. This set of band books has great historical significance as a source of southern music and band history and is proudly owned by the Moravian Music Foundation, located in Winston-Salem, NC.

Categories : This Month

This Month in New Bern, February 2020

Posted by NBHS OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR

· February 1, 2020

by Claudia Houston, Historian, New Bern Historical Society

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?

On February 2, 1902, The Daily Journal, New Bern, page 4 announced:

Thomas C. Battle an old and respected colored citizen died here yesterday and his funeral will be held at St. Peter’s AME Zion Church, tomorrow at 9pm. Battle was one of the founders of St. Peter’s church after the war, and before the war was a member of Centenary Church of this city when whites and bl

acks both attended, he joining Centenary in 1848. Battle was a brick mason, and has assisted in the construction of many buildings in this city. He was about 78 years old.

Thomas Custis Battle Sr. was born into slavery in 1825. Although enslaved, he was able to earn a living as a brick layer whose skills, like many other black artisans of the time, were in constant demand. Thomas had twenty-six children from three relationships. His last wife, Anna Vashti Velmar, also born into slavery, married him in 1869 while she was 19 and he was 45 and she would bear fifteen children. As was custom among many artisans, Thomas passed many of his trade skills to his children, but he also encouraged their education.

Thomas saved his masonry income and purchased his emancipation as well as a home at 8 Primrose Street. Thomas was self-educated and devoted to his Church. In the 1800’s the majority of blacks, whether free or enslaved, attended the Methodist meeting house on Hancock Street known as Andrew Chapel. In 1843 there was a split in the church between northern and southern congregations due to the issue of slavery. The whites in New Bern constructed a new sanctuary and the blacks retained the old one. After the Union occupation of New Bern, the church was renamed Andrews Chapel. James Walker Hood was appointed missionary to North Carolina and led the movement which united Andrews Chapel with the AME Zion Church. The black congregation focused on building a new church in the early 1870’s when the whites informed the blacks they wanted to reclaim the Hancock Street building. The church was completed and dedicated in 1886 as the St. Peter’s AME Zion Church. Bricklayer Thomas C. Battle Sr. was one of a number of artisan activists who became leaders in this new church and he soon became a Minister at St. Peter’s.

Unfortunately, oppressive Jim Crow laws led many blacks to leave New Bern during the Great Migration north, including many of the Battle children. One of Thomas’ sons, Samuel Jesse Battle, broke the color barrier in New York City by becoming the first black police officer, Sergeant, Lieutenant and Parole Commissioner.

Skilled artisan, minister, respected political activist, proud father - Thomas Battle left an impressive and lasting legacy in New Bern.

Categories : Events, This Month

New Bern Historical Society

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