John W. H. Porter
Published: 2017-12-06
Total Pages: 378
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Excerpt from A Record of Events in Norfolk County, Virginia, From April 19th, 1861, to May 10th, 1862: With a History of the Soldiers and Sailors of Norfolk County, Norfolk City and Portsmouth Who Served in the Confederate States Army or Navy Stonewall Camp, Confederate Veterans, of Portsmouth, being desirous Of preserving the names of the Confederate soldiers and sailors of this county, appointed various historical committees; but slow progress was made, and each succeeding year rendered the task more difficult Of accomplisl'n'nent. Having been an eye-witness of someof the scenes herein related, and having become pos sessedof many authentic records and personal reminiscences, I have, by request, undertaken the work. I have collected the names of more than thirty - three hundred men who marched under the Southern flag, from their homes in Norfolk county on that memorable l0th of May, 1862, and have followed them through the smoke of battle, in the hospitals, and sometimes through prison walls, recording when and where they were wounded, or when and where they died. In a work of this char acter, the first which ever sought to tell the history of the private soldier in the ranks as well as the doings of the ofiiccr in com mand, and which must depend largely upon recollection, much of necessity, will he left out which should be made to appear; for memory, after a lapse of more than a quarter of a century, will sometimes fail to recall events just as they happened, and com rades who were associated with us then have passed out of mind, but much has heen rescued from oblivion. The mistakes are more those of omission than of commission. 1 have not succeeded in getting the names of the Portsmouth men in the Navy Yard in Richmond who, like the Jews at the rebuilding of King Solo mon'stemple, worked with their tools while their swords were by their sides ready to be taken up at a moment's notice. Those men were in the trenches around Richmond almost as much as they were employed in their workshops, and their names should appear in this hook, but nearly all of the Confederate Navy De partment recmds appear to have heen destroyed. Most of the men were advanced in years and have passed heyond the river. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
