The Revenge Raid on Lake Mattamuskeet

By Donald E. Collins · Originally published February 2021 · pp. 26–27

Following reassignment of most Federal occupation forces in North Carolina to join General George McClellan’s Peninsular Campaign in Virginia, effective Union control of the Tar Heel state consisted of a few sound and riverside towns and the Outer Banks. With North Carolina’s regular Confederate troops largely fighting in other theaters, defense against the occupying Northerners was left to a very few state units or local partisan rangers, “guerillas,” as the irregular Southern soldiers were commonly called. When Federal troops ventured more than five miles from their occupied towns, they entered a “No Man’s Land” controlled by neither side, but regularly patrolled by local partisans. Captain Colin Richardson and his men hated the guerillas. A time would come when that hate turned to revenge. The men of Richardson’s Company G, 3rd New York Cavalry, kept constant vigilance on the irregular Confederate militia that patrolled the swamps and woods surrounding federally occupied eastern North Carolina. Since the partisans wore civilian clothing they identified themselves as Unionists or neutrals when Union cavalrymen came across a group, but never as Southern partisans. It was even believed, with some occasional truth, that guerrillas disguised themselves in women’s clothing. Difficult to detect, they “murdered” camp guards and pickets “in cold blood.” In Richardson’s estimation, such men were not soldiers and should be shown no quarter. For Richardson and the Third, the issue came to a head during a raid into the Lake Mattamuskeet region of rural Hyde County. On March 1, 1863, he led an expedition comprised of his company and Company G, 1st North Carolina (Union) Volunteer Infantry under Lieutenant George Joy. Over a three-day period, the expedition circled the 15 by 6 mile lake. They found bridges had been burned by slaves under orders from Henry Cradle, a local resident who possessed a written protection from North Carolina’s Union governor Edward Stanly. Despite the governor’s protection, Cradle was taken back to New Bern as a prisoner. On the second day, the Yankees drove back enemy pickets belonging to local partisan ranger units. Near Fairfield, they defeated more enemy guerillas. That night, they camped nine miles from Lake Landing on the Lake’s eastern end. The next morning, local guerillas fired on the Federal column from houses near the road. The rebels were driven into the woods by a combination of howitzer fire, cavalry, and North Carolina Union infantrymen. Leaving several cavalrymen to burn a “rebel headquarters,” Richardson’s force continued its march, meeting mounted pickets along the way. At a point about nine miles from Swan Quarter, a force of about eighty guerillas, operating from the cover of a swamp, attacked the Federals. In the fighting that followed, Richardson’s New York cavalry lost two officers, a sergeant, twelve enlisted men, and several horses. Only one man from the Carolina Union company was killed. The expedition returned to New Bern via boat the following day carrying its dead and wounded. Bitter over the loss of so many men, the cavalrymen pushed a prisoner, bound hand and foot, over the side to drown. Upon arrival in New Bern, another prisoner, probably Henry Cradle, was paraded through town wearing a dress and with a sign on his back reading “Guerilla caught fighting in women’s clothing, and protected by Governor Stanly.” Lieutenant Joy, who commanded the North Carolina Union company in the raid, would be brought up on charges, but pardoned by the governor who knew him as the editor of the Union army newspaper in New Bern. Captain Richardson, enraged over the loss of so many officers and enlisted men from his company, requested and received permission from headquarters to return to Mattamuskeet with a much larger force. This time the expedition included the 101st and 103rd Pennsylvania Infantry, Richardson’s cavalry company, and two howitzers, under Colonel David Morris of the 101st Pennsylvania. Before embarking, Richardson addressed the men and officers in terms that would encourage excesses and left no doubt in the men’s minds that the mission’s purpose was revenge. Within three days, this much larger expedition was aboard transports returning to the Mattamuskeet region intent on punishing the local guerilla bands. The expedition arrived off the Hyde County coast the evening of March 7. As the Pamlico Sound waters were shallow, the transports unloaded the troops 13 miles off shore; they were ferried to land by shallow-draft gunboats. Once on land, the troops marched inland a half-mile to Swan Quarter, where Captain Richardson again addressed the troops on the nature of the expedition. Using the same inflammatory language, he reminded the men that their purpose was to seek vengeance on the guerrillas who had killed and wounded his men. According to his reasoning, guerillas were undeserving of being treated as regular soldiers. Orders were given to show no quarter. Unfortunately for Richardson, the effort to seek retribution on the guerilla force that had killed his men during the earlier raid was unsuccessful. The offending enemy force was not to be seen; they were operating in groups of six to eight men, too small a unit to challenge the much larger Federal force. Thus no guerrillas attacked; the raiders did take 13 suspected guerrillas into custody, including a wounded Confederate lieutenant who had returned home after being paroled by a Union officer. The single reported “attack” on the expedition may actually have been by an elderly hunter unaware of the soldiers’ presence. On the first day, nine miles from Swan Quarter, the troops encamped near an abandoned rebel earthwork. A gunshot awakened them. The guilty party turned out to be elderly, one-eyed Thomas Voliva, who told the Federals he had been hunting bears with his son and was unaware of the soldiers. He wasn’t believed and was sent to New Bern as a prisoner. To protect themselves from further guerrilla attacks, every male along the route was taken into custody to prevent their joining any attack on the column. In addition to Voliva and the 13 other suspected guerrillas, the Yankees forced an additional 60 civilians to accompany the expedition. Unable to take revenge on any guerillas, Yankee retribution fell solely on local civilians. This took the form of pillage, plunder, burning, theft, and excessive foraging beyond that needed for food. From the time the raiders left Swan Quarter on March 9 until they re-embarked four days later, officers made no attempt to maintain discipline. The Yankee soldiers, prompted by Richardson’s angry words, turned into undisciplined looters operating beyond control of their officers. Corporal Luther Dickey, who was present and recorded the events in his regimental history, placed the primary blame for misconduct on the intemperate words

This 1865 U.S. Coast Survey map of eastern N.C. identifies the lake as “Mattamuskeet.” North Carolina Division of Archives and History.

Federal soldiers plundering and looting civilian property. Harper’s Weekly.

Federal soldiers plundering and looting civilian livestock. Harper’s Weekly. of Richardson. Captain John Donaghy, commanding Company F, 101st Pennsylvania, wrote that blame had to be shared by Colonel Morris, who at no point confronted his officers in regard to the men’s conduct. The colonel himself, in his official report, admitted to a lack of discipline in his own regiment, but placed greater blame on the company officers in the 103rd Pennsylvania. Captain Donaghy wrote: “I would also call attention to a lack of proper discipline among the line officers of the 103d Regiment Penna. Vols. They seem to have little or no control over their commands, and lack energy to enforce proper discipline.” A contributing factor appears to have been the “fine vintage” of Hyde County, which was freely available to both officers and men without cost. Historian Mark Grimsley, in his book “The Hard Hand of War,”

argued that conduct such as that exhibited by the troops during the Mattamuskeet raid was seldom seen prior to mid-1863. As the Union troops moved along the roads circling the lake, it took time to forage for items to be taken to New Bern. While doing so, they also took time to burn and plunder local citizens. Little regard was shown for whether the owner was Unionist, neutral, or Confederate. The expedition encamped on two separate nights at the farm of Sylvester McGowan, a local Unionist who had enlisted in the First North Carolina (Union) and was then stationed in New Bern. He left his home in the care of James Mason and his family. When told that the property belonged to a Union soldier serving in New Bern, Colonel Morris ordered his men to leave it undisturbed. His soldiers ignored orders and warmed themselves by burning McGowan’s cook house and a thousand cypress rails, while killing his poultry and hogs for food. Though no receipts were left for the property taken and destroyed, in 1872 McGowan received $144.50 recompense from the Southern Claims Commission. On March 12, the column visited the 6,000 acre plantation of Judge Donald, the largest slaveholder in the area. After filling their wagons with cotton, corn, and bacon to be carried to New Bern and burning stacks of fodder, the Federals moved on, followed by some of Donald’s slaves. Thus far, the expedition already had been joined by approximately 60 escaping slaves who brought horses, mules, oxen, donkeys, buggies, carts, and an assortment of household goods with them. It is noteworthy that, of Donald’s 400 slaves, no more than 60 took this chance at freedom. The fleeing slaves proved to be a hindrance for the Yankees, as they slowed their progress. The decision to flee with the army proved tragic for the slaves who would be left to the mercy of their masters when the expedition boarded transports for the return to New Bern. Confiscation and plundering of local property began as soon as the troops left Swan Quarter on March 9. As the expedition’s various elements moved along the rutted wagon roads surrounding the lake, they emptied all meat houses and cellars they passed. Every farm lost its hams, chickens, and everything edible, or even what struck the interest of an individual soldier. Sergeant Justus Barr Clark Jr. of the 101st wrote in his diary, “The country was the richest we have yet seen in the Southern state … and having captured large quantities of hams, chickens, etc. [sic] during the day, (we) began cooking them. All the pots, pans, and kettles in the neighborhood were pressed into service.” At one farmhouse, the soldiers entered and removed a roast beef that had been freshly prepared for the family’s meal. As Captain Donaghy, who partook in the misappropriated food, remarked, “so much for the feelings of chivalry.” Captain Donaghy, whose company traveled behind the main column, described the devastation left by the army. “Plundering seemed to have been extensively indulged in by the main force ahead of us, to judge from the debris we saw on the road as we followed after. Books, papers, wearing apparel [sic] and household articles were strewn about. We passed by the burning ruins of a family mansion, which we were told afterwards, belonged to the captain of the guerrillas.” Escaping slaves were put to good use in the enterprise. When bees stung several soldiers trying to lift bee hives with their bayonets, they turned the task over to the escaping slaves. The plunder was such that Donaghy feared that the wanton devastation was so great bushwhackers might try to wreak vengeance on the column. On March 11, the Federals completed their march around the lake and headed toward Swan Quarter. It had rained incessantly for two days so the wagon road was muddy. Any citizens watching the caravan pass might have been amused at its appearance, had they not been witnessing a parade of their own possessions pass by in enemy hands. The two Pennsylvania regiments that began the march as infantry became a comic “cavalry”; a majority of the force was riding, mounted on horses, mules, donkeys, oxen, and cows, or was carried in a variety of vehicles ranging from stylish family carriages to homemade wagons with wheels constructed of boards nailed together crosswise. Infantry Captain Donaghy commandeered a small donkey and rode along with his feet dangling near the ground until the mule tired of its rider and evicted him by running under a wagon. Donaghy was both greatly amused and highly disgusted at the sight presented by the Yankees. “Such a collection of animals and vehicles never before or since marched in procession on this continent … Every vehicle that had been in vogue in that part of the country during the 18th and 19th centuries must have been brought into requisition on this raid.” He conjectured that the lack of order and discipline was so great that the column could be have been annihilated by an enemy force one-quarter its size. Fortunately, no enemy had attacked and no Federal soldier was killed or wounded as the expedition came to an end at Swan Quarter that evening. The troops bivouacked in town that night and all the next day. During that time, they burned a small mill against orders, perhaps a final act of revenge before departing. Although the mission had been a failure in terms of visiting retribution on the guerillas, Colonel Morris’ official report put the best face on it, noting that it had been successful in capturing a large amount of forage and other property. The expedition returned to New Bern with 17 horses, 13 buggies, a yoke of oxen, the 35 ton schooner Snow Squall, 8 cartloads of cotton, 1,500 pounds of bacon, and 400 bushels of corn. He failed to note that the escaped slaves were left behind to the mercy of their masters. The expedition departed Swan Quarter on March 13, 1863. The disregard for orders and lack of discipline that had characterized the mission on land continued as the troops boarded the transports. In order to reach the heavier draft transport Northerner anchored thirteen miles offshore in deeper water, the lighter draft gunboat Escort ferried the men from shore to ship. When the first transfers from the 103rd reached the Northerner, they tended to remain on the loading side of the ship, awaiting the next group, and causing the vessel to list dangerously to one side. When the Pennsylvanians ignored repeated orders from both the boat’s and expedition’s commanders, an exasperated Colonel Morris recalled, “Having repeated the order for the men to remain in their places and await orders, and all to no effect, I seized a gun and fired down the side of the boat for the purpose of deterring the men, but with no intention of injuring anyone. At the moment of firing a man rushed forward and was slightly injured.” The expedition arrived back at New Bern on the following day to the sound of cannon fire. It was at first believed to be a celebration as it was the first anniversary of the Union capture of the city. On landing, it was learned to be the last shots of a Confederate attack on Fort Anderson by Confederate General James J. Pettigrew. The final word on the failed revenge raid came from outgoing Union Governor Edward Stanly. Two weeks after the raid, the governor, who was widely unpopular with the Union military in the state, asked to protect North Carolinians against abuses such as those perpetrated against during the Hyde County raid. “In numerous instances, all well authenticated,” he wrote, the soldiers “entered and robbed the houses of loyal men, destroyed furniture, insulted women, and treated them with scorn.” His protest was forwarded to Colonel Morris, who, in his own report on the raid, acknowledged that excesses occurred, but blamed them on the absence of discipline among the two Pennsylvania regiments, while absolving himself of blame for disobedience to his orders. There was little more that Governor Stanly could do in the way of protest. Unpopular with the army, and in disagreement with President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, he resigned as governor and was soon on his way out of North Carolina. There can be no doubt that the Mattamuskeet raid of March 1863 violated acceptable conduct of Civil War warfare. General William T. Sherman, noted for bringing the hard hand of war to the South’s civilians, presented his views on the limitations of foraging in enemy territory in his Special Field Order 120, issued on November 9, 1864. As a general principle, he wrote, “in districts and neighborhoods where the army is unmolested, no destruction of such property should be permitted ….As for [taking] horses, mules, wagons, &c., belonging to the inhabitants,” this was permitted, while “discriminating between the rich, who are usually hostile, and the poor or industrious, usually neutral or friendly.” While applicable only in principle to the Mattamuskeet raid, the actions of the troops were, according to the conscientious John Donaghy, “the most discreditable affair in which the 103d Regiment participated during the nearly four years of its service.” Thanks to the honesty of his memoirs and the determination of Luther Dickey to accurately record the history of his regiment, the raid is remembered in history. Sources: History of the 103d Regiment Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteer Infantry, 1861– 1865, by Luther S. Dickey, Corporal of Company C, With Sergeant Samuel M. Evans as Collaborator. Chicago, L.S. Dickey, 1910. • OR Sec. I, Vol. XVIII, pp. 157-158, 181-182. •

Don Collins was born and raised in Miami, Florida. He earned a BA at Florida State University, and then the MA and PhD at the University of Georgia. He is now an East Carolina University retired Associate Professor He specialized in the history of Internment of Japanese Americans during WWII. His Civil War interests are the post war life of Jefferson Davis, and the First and Second North Carolina (Union) Volunteer Infantry regiments.