The Big Move
A logistic foal that saved General
Bragg and astonished the entire na¬
tion.
By OKA L. JONES
people use light tackle and small hooks,
baiting them with pieces of shrimp or
mullet. Often, the hungry fish don't
seem to care what bait is offered to
them — they’ll take it with gusto. These
arc scrappy little fish and they will put
up a good fight if they are given half
a chance. So light spinning rods and
reels arc popular. They offer much
more sport than heavier tackle. Many
fishermen even use plain old cane poles
and lines, and it must be admitted that
these work about as well as any other
kind of tackle.
Last fall spots were plentiful in the
Southeastern part of the state all along
the Intracoastal Waterway and in most
of the creeks and inlets connecting with
it. During the peak of the season almost
everyone scented to be catching quanti¬
ties of them, as well as good numbers of
flounders, pigfish and trout.
“The Spot Capital"
All of this fishing activity each fall
has resulted in a fairly natural develop¬
ment- the annual fall Spot Festival at
Hampstead, the “Spot Capital of the
World.” I he festival is an annual event
during which a queen is selected and
Other entertainment is scheduled. Also
high on the list of important events is
the fish fry at which, unfortunately for
the honorcc, he becomes the piece tie
resistance.' Visitors to Hampstead at
this time of year can enjoy some de-
Icctible seafood, and good fishing as
well.
So. fishermen who want some action
but don’t have the time or the inclina¬
tion to go out after the big ones can
head for the Spot Capital, or any other
favorite point along the coast. They’ll
need only some light tackle and a small
boat, or they can fish off of one of many
good fishing piers. In any case, they
should not forget to take along an ice
chest because the chances arc good
that they’ll have plenty of tasty spots to
take home and freeze for future use.
HATH QUIZ
By (). F. McCrary
Problem Number 345
A circular race-track is 5 yards wide;
how much farther will a horse run along
the outer edge than the one along the
inner edge?
( Solution on page 3 1 >
1 2
After the Battle of Fair Oaks. Vir¬
ginia (May 21. 1X62). in which Briga¬
dier General Albert Sidney Johnston,
its commander, was wounded the
Army of Northern Virginia was under
the direct command of General Rob¬
ert E. Lee until it surrendered at Ap¬
pomattox ( J une 9. 1 865 ) .
About one-half of the enlisted per¬
sonnel of this army were from North
Carolina. From a distance of more
than one hundred years it would ap¬
pear that there was some rank dis¬
crimination in the matter of assigning
the more important line officers. Colo¬
nel Zcbulon B. Vance, North Caro¬
lina's war lime Governor, certainly
thought there was. He maintained an
almost constant stream of protests
against sending Tar Heel soldiers into
battle under officers from other states.
Little if any relief was effected.
In the greatest battle of all time one-
half of the Confederates who fought at
Gettysburg were from North Carolina.
More than one-half of the Southern
casualties there — killed and wounded
— were Tar Heels. It is reasonable to
assume that the state was equally well
represented in all other activities of
the army. When 15,000 men of the
Army of Northern Virginia were trans¬
ported by rail from their home bases
in Virginia to Chattanooga it is quite
reasonable to believe that at least one-
half of them were men from North
Carolina.
General Bragg Outsmarted
Following the crushing defeats suf¬
fered by the Confederates at Gettys¬
burg and Vicksburg the eyes of the
warring factions were turned toward
Chattanooga, Tennessee. Some of the
most complex military maneuvers and
hardest fighting of the Civil War oc¬
curred in and around the town, which
bad a population of 2.545 at the time.
Its strategic importance was out of
proportion to its size.
After about two months of prodding
and insistence upon speedy action by
Henry W. Hallcck, General - in - Chief
of the Union Armies. Major General
William Rosccrans was finally stirred
into action. His first move was to out¬
smart General Braxton Bragg, who
held the city of Chattanooga, by pre¬
tending to cross the Tennessee River
with his army north of the city when
the bulk of his men were crossing at
undefended fords south of town. 'Ihis
move utterly destroyed the Confeder¬
ates’ advantage, forced them to evacu¬
ate Chattanooga and placed Bragg's
army in a dangerous position. The Con¬
federates’ greatest fear was that the
armies of Rosccrans and Major Gen¬
eral Ambrose E. Burnside would unite
and come after Bragg's army.
16 Different Railroads
To relieve the situation and save
Chattanooga. Lieutenant General
James Longstrcct’s corps was detached
from the Army of Northern Virginia
and sent to aid the endangered Con¬
federates at Chattanooga. The move¬
ment of this army of 15.000 men with
their light and heavy artillery, ammu¬
nition. hundreds of supply wagons,
horses and mules more than 900 miles
in nine days was hailed as an outstand¬
ing achievement of logistics.
The route taken by Longstrcet's
army led through Virginia. North and
South Carolina and Georgia. Sixteen
different railroad lines were involved
in the movement. Most of the lines
were comparatively short. Many were
not connected at their junctions, nearly
all lacked bridges across major streams
and were built on different gauges.
This necessitated the unloading and re¬
loading of all the army equipment at
many junctions and the use of ferries
to cross several streams. Every avail¬
able type of rolling stock, all in bad
condition, was pressed into service.
Most of the food the men received was
THE STATE. SEPTEMBER 15. 1972
