Civil War Veterans of Northeastern North Carolina

Brigadier General William Paul Roberts
Gates County, NC
Company C, 19th Regiment, North Carolina Troops (2nd Regiment North Carolina Cavalry)

11 July 1841 - 28 March 1910

"The Youngest Confederate General"

The son of John S. and Jane Roberts and a native of Gates County, North Carolina, William Paul Roberts, at the age of 19, enlisted in 1861 in Company C, 19th Regiment, NC Troops, which would later be designated as 2nd Regiment NC Cavalry. Having served with distinction during regimental operations in North Carolina, but with no formal military training, he was promoted to 3rd Lieutenant on 30 August 1861. On 13 September 1862, Roberts was promoted to 1st Lieutenant. The 2nd Regiment NC Cavalry was transferred to Virginia in the fall of the same year and took part in several major actions, among them: Fredericksburg, Suffolk, and Brandy Station. Roberts was promoted to Captain on 19 November 1863 and then

to Major before the spring of 1864, when he fought in the North Carolina brigade in W. H. F. Lee's division. He was promoted to Colonel in June of 1864 and, during the Petersburg campaign, given command of the 2nd Regiment NC Cavalry. Roberts especially distinguished himself during the fierce fighting at Reams Station on 25 August 1864 when he led a charge against Union breastworks, dismounted, overtaking the rifle pits and capturing several Union soldiers. At the age of 23, on 23 February 1865, William Paul Roberts was promoted to Brigadier General, backdated to the 21st of February. According to tradition, General Robert E. Lee presented Roberts with his personal gauntlets in recognition of Roberts' distinguished service and gallantry. Roberts continued his command of his brigade, avoided capture against numerically superior Union forces at Five Forks, and eventually surrendered with General Robert E. Lee and the rest of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia at the home of Wilma and Virginia McLean at Appomattox Court House, VA on 9 April 1865.

After four years of fighting in a war that saw approximately 630, 000 deaths and over 1 million casualties, Roberts returned home where he married Eliza Ann Roberts, daughter of Mills R. Roberts and Margaret Bond. He entered state politics as the representative for Gates County at the Constitutional Convention in 1875. In 1876, Roberts was elected to the North Carolina legislature. He eventually became a state auditor and served in that capacity from 1880 until 1888.

William Paul Roberts died in Norfolk, Virginia on 28 March 1910. He is buried in his home county at Gatesville, North Carolina.

Private Augustus McDaniel, Sr.
Northampton County, NC
Company B, 1st Regiment North Carolina Cavalry (9th Regiment North Carolina State Troops)

5 January 1841 - 13 November 1919

Son of Peter McDaniel and Dorothy Sauls of Northampton County, NC, Augustus McDaniel, Sr. enlisted as the rank of Private in Company B, 1 North Carolina Cavalry, 9th State Troops (Confederate) 18 June 1861 at the age of 20 in Rich Square, Northampton County, North Carolina by Jonathan H. Whitaker for the period of the war. He was present or accounted from 18 June 1861 to December 1864. According to his war records, he was noted as having been "Sent to hospital Petersburg, Va., April 2, 1862". He was listed as "Absent, left home sick since Aug. 10 (1862)" on the September & October 1862 Company Muster Roll and "Absent without leave" on the November & December 1862 Company Muster Roll. He had returned to duty by 31 December 1862. According to the July & August 1863 Company Muster Roll, He was "Absent, D(etail) service to N. C. after horse 27 Aug. (1863)". He had returned to service by October 1863. The rest of his time in service to the Confederacy (March to December 1864) he spent on "Horse detail" and

"On forage detail." His rate of pay was $12.00 per quarter. He was admitted to the General Hospital at Farmville, VA on 12 November 1862 for rheumatism and was returned to duty on 13 January 1863. His last rank was Private.

Private Isaac Byrum, Jr.
Chowan County, NC
Company M, 1st Regiment NC Infantry (6 months)
Company F, 11th Regiment NC Troops

2 May 1840 - 3 May 1916

Isaac Byrum, Jr. was born on a farm near Ryland, Chowan County, North Carolina to Isaac Birum, Sr. and Clarkey Hollowell on 2 May 1840. According to tradition, he was one of ten children, though only one can be proven, his sister, Lucinda Byrum. The other children enumerated in the household with him may not have necessarily been the children of Isaac Birum, Sr. and Clarkey Hollowell. The 1840 census only recorded the names of the heads of household, all other members being a mark under an age group.

Isaac Byrum enlisted as a Private in Company M, 1st Regiment NC Infantry for a period of 6 months on 15 June 1861 at the age of 21. This company was mustered out of service on November 12th and 13th of 1861. He re-enlisted on 15 February 1862 as a Private in Company F, 11th Regiment NC Troops. He was present or accounted for until wounded in the left leg, which was later amputated, and left for dead at the battle Gettysburg, PA on 3-5 July 1863. Here is his own rather short account, as preserved by his granddaughter, Evelyn Jordan, of the story: "It was a hot day. I tried to drag myself to some shade, but couldn't for all the other wounded and dead

laying around. Flies were beginning to blow it, so I tore a piece of my shirt off and wrapped the wound. It was about sundown when they, the Yanks, picked me up off the field. I thought they could have saved the leg if they had picked me up earlier."

Once captured by the Union, Byrum was transferred between various Federal hospitals before finally being confined at Point Lookout, Maryland. It was from here that he had to make his way home after having been paroled and transferred for exchange. Upon parole, he was retired to the Invalid Corps on 2 June 1864.

After returning home, Isaac Byrum was apparently married (though no record exists of this marriage, nor is the name of his wife known) and had a daughter, Sarah. On 19 January 1870, Byrum married Penelope Elizabeth Taylor of Hertford County, NC. They had nine children; Martha Jane, Penelope Cornelia, William James, John Thomas, Annie Eliza, Sarah Clarkey, Mary Elizabeth, Isaac, and Arthur Eugene.

Penelope Taylor Byrum wife passed away on 1 March 1913, followed by Isaac on 3 May 1916, both at Isaac's childhood home in Ryland where they had brought up their own family. They are both buried in the Isaac Byrum cemetery, currently owned by his grandson, Isaac Byrum, off Ryland Road in Chowan County, NC. His artificial leg, formerly owned by Ms. Evelyn Jordan, is available for viewing at the Museum of the Albemarle and is supposed to become part of a larger exhibit on the Civil War in northeastern NC when the Museum's new location opens.

Brief Biographies of Northeastern North Carolina
Confederate Veterans