Edenton Bell Battery refers to an

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

unit from

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

that served for the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...

in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, the four named guns the unit served throughout the war, and to an

American Civil War reenactment American Civil War reenactment is an effort to recreate the appearance of a particular battle or other event associated with the American Civil War by hobbyists known (in the United States) as Civil War reenactors, or Living history, living histo ...

group based in

Edenton, North Carolina The town of Edenton is located on the Albemarle Sound in North Carolina's Inner Banks region. It is the county seat of Chowan County. The population was 4,397 at the 2020 census. Edenton served as the second official capital of North Carol ...

inspired by the original unit.

Military formation

The Edenton Bell Battery, 3rd Battalion North Carolina Light Artillery Company B, were originally recruited in March 1862 as the Albemarle Artillery by Edenton lawyer William Badham, Jr., as most of the men were from North Carolina's

Albemarle Sound Albemarle Sound () is a large estuary on the coast of North Carolina in the United States located at the confluence of a group of rivers, including the Chowan River, Chowan and Roanoke River, Roanoke. It is separated from the Atlantic Ocean b ...

area. Drilled as artillery at

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

in April and May, 1862, the unit found themselves in danger of being designated an infantry company, because of the scarcity of cannon available to outfit battery companies. A captain was dispatched back to Edenton for help. Early in the war, Confederate leader

P. G. T. Beauregard Pierre Gustave Toutant-Beauregard (May 28, 1818 – February 20, 1893) was an American military officer known as being the Confederate general who started the American Civil War at the battle of Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. Today, he is comm ...

, recognizing the immediate need for large metal sources for artillery pieces, suggested one expedient would be for local communities to donate bells from churches, courthouses, and other institutions. A song, "Melt the Bells," widely reprinted in southern presses, inspired many in Chowan and surrounding counties to donate bells for recasting. After four bells from the

area were offered, the Albemarle Artillery was renamed the Edenton Bell Battery. The

Tredegar Iron Works The Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Virginia, was the biggest ironworks in the Confederacy during the American Civil War, and a significant factor in the decision to make Richmond the Confederate capital. Tredegar supplied about half the art ...

melted down the bells and recast them into four bronze cannon. The company voted to name the resulting cannon to honor each bell's donation. The ''Edenton'', cast from the bell of the 1731 Edenton courthouse, fired six pound shot, as did the ''Columbia'', named for the capital of nearby

Tyrrell County Tyrrell County ( )Talk Like a Tarheel
, from the North Carolina Co ...

, Columbia. The twelve-pounder ''St. Paul'' was named for the St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Edenton which donated its bell for the purpose. ''Fannie Roulac'' was another twelve-pound weapon, created from the bell once atop the Edenton United Methodist Church, where Miss Roulac was highly regarded and a church leader. The battery served in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

with the

Army of Northern Virginia The Army of Northern Virginia was a field army of the Confederate States Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed agains ...

at the

Seven Days Battles The Seven Days Battles were a series of seven battles over seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. Confederate States Army, Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army ...

and

Battle of Fredericksburg The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. The combat between the Union Army, Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Major general ( ...

. In 1863 the battery was sent to North Carolina and fought in the

Battle of Kinston The Battle of Kinston was fought on December 14, 1862, in Lenoir County, North Carolina, near the town of Kinston, as part of the Goldsborough Expedition of the American Civil War. A Union expedition led by Brig. Gen. John G. Foster left N ...

. On January 15, 1865 after the fall of Fort Fisher the battery engaged in a fighting retreat towards Wilmington, North Carolina. While retreating, the ''St. Paul'' and ''Edenton'' and their gun crews were captured in the Battle of Town Creek after inflicting heavy casualties on Union forces. The remaining battery fought in the

Battle of Bentonville The Battle of Bentonville (March 19–21, 1865) was fought in Johnston County, North Carolina, near the village of Bentonville, as part of the Western Theater of the American Civil War, Western Theater of the American Civil War. It was the last ...

. The ''Edenton'' was surrendered with the surviving men of the battery and

Army of Tennessee The Army of Tennessee was a Field army, field army of the Confederate States Army in the Western theater of the American Civil War, Western Theater of the American Civil War. Named for the Confederate States of America, Confederate state of Tenn ...

under General Johnston on April 26, 1865. The ''Fannie Roulac'' and ''Columbia'' were rumored to have been dumped into the

Eno River The Eno River, named for the Eno Native Americans who once lived along its banks, is the initial tributary of the Neuse River in North Carolina, United States. Descendants of European immigrants settled along the Eno River in the latter 1740s and ...

during the unit's retreat with Confederate forces west of Raleigh after the Battle of Bentonville. The post-war fate of the four cannon was shrouded in mystery until 1990, when an Edenton Civil War re-enactor discovered the ''Edenton'' on display at

Shiloh National Military Park Shiloh National Military Park preserves the American Civil War Shiloh and Corinth battlefields. The main section of the park is in the unincorporated community of Shiloh, about south of Savannah, Tennessee, with additional areas located ...

in Shiloh, Tennessee. When contacted, the National Park Service (NPS) stated the ''Edenton'' could be returned to its hometown only as part of a trade for a similar early Civil War Confederate cannon tube. However, in 1999, the NPS helped put the Edenton Historical Commission in contact with

Fort Niagara Fort Niagara, also known as Old Fort Niagara, is a fortification originally built by New France to protect its interests in North America, specifically control of access between the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, the easternmost of the Great L ...

Youngstown, New York Youngstown is a village in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 1,935 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area. Youngstown is on the western edge of the town of Porter and is at the in ...

, where the ''St. Paul'' was located in storage. In 2001 the Old Fort Niagara Association loaned the ''St. Paul'' to the Commission. From 2006 to 2012, while an accurate reproduction of the gun was being secured, Shiloh National Military Park loaned the original ''Edenton'' for display next to the ''St. Paul'' in Edenton’s waterfront park. [The ''Edenton'' returned to Shiloh NMP in time for the battle's sesquicentennial. Today the ''Edenton'' is one of several original Confederate cannon marking the location of Ruggles' Line on Shiloh Battlefield.] Oral history from Haywood S. Harrell, Superintendent of Shiloh National Military Park, 1990-2012

References

External links

Edenton Bell battery

group based in

Edenton Bell Battery in The Battle of Town Creek
* * * *{{cite book , last1=Stevens , first1=John Austin , title=The Magazine of American history with notes and queries , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pe8OAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA406 , page=406 , year=1892 Units and formations of the Confederate States Army from North Carolina Artillery units and formations of the American Civil War 1862 establishments in North Carolina

Military formation

See also

References

Further reading

External links