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John Barrett, "Two Old Men And A White Flag" (1956)




Barrett described a skirmish outside Pikeville on April 11, 1865 between Union medical officers and "bushwhackers" of the town. It was of no military significance in the grand scheme of militant battles, but proved to be a sense of revolt against the Union occupation of Goldsboro. These "bushwhackers" of 15-20 men attacked the small Union group . It was important because it further advances the argument that even while Sherman and his forces sought to destroy morale in the South and in Goldsboro, there were still those who would not go down without a fight, and would put their lives on the line to preserve the Confederate cause. The incident was recorded in the Official Records, and was later investigated and closed once all men returned back to the city of Goldsboro days later.


Barrett, John


John G. Barrett, Sherman's March through the Carolinas (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1996), 205-206




Stafford, Scott




Pikeville, North Carolina

Original Format



Near Pikeville on April 11, a very minor skirmish took place which certainly has little, if any, military significance but it is interesting because of the two reports turned in to General Logan by S.C. Rogers, medical officer of the Thirtieth Iowa. Rogers was in charge of a party of twenty-three hospital attendants and convalescents who were on their way from Goldsboro to rejoin their commands in the Fifteenth Corps. This party was attacked by a force of "bushwhackers," as Rogers called them. Since only nine of the Federals were armed, they all fled into the woods. Four days later, having seen only one of the twenty-three, Rogers reported to Logan: "I have been informed by a soldier who was in the vicinity at the time of attack (which was about 4:00 P.M.) that just before dark he heard a volley of fifteen or twenty guns. I fear they have all been shot."


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Barrett, John, John Barrett, "Two Old Men And A White Flag" (1956), Civil War Era NC, accessed January 25, 2020,