In many ways the story of John Futch is
typical of the thousands of men who endured
soldiers' hardships during the Civil War. Mar¬
ried, with children, Futch was a New Hanover
County farmer of moderate means. He owned
three slaves. He owned 635 acres of land.
Futch grew corn and a few truck crops, had 20
milk cows, 5 other cattle, 30 swine, 2 working
oxen, and farm equipment that was valued at
only $50.00. Futch belonged to the yeoman
class that composed the largest segment of
society in the antebellum South. Men from this
class formed the core of the Confederate army.
North Carolina joined the Confederacy and
entered the Civil War in May, 1861. In Feb¬
ruary, 1862, Futch left his farm and traveled to
Harnett County, where he enlisted as a private
in Company K, Third North Carolina Regi¬
ment. He was then twenty-six years old.
Futch's brother Charley was already a member
of that infantry unit. Futch accompanied the
Third Regiment, part of the Confederate Army
of Northern Virginia, to the vicinity of Rich¬
mond, Virginia, The regiment soon returned
to North Carolina to defend Goldsboro against
an expected attack by Union troops. Futch
became ill during this period and received a
furlough to return to New Hanover County.
His regiment departed for Virginia without
him and fought in the Battle of Antietam,
Maryland, in September, 1862, and in the
Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia, in De¬
cember, 1862. Private John Futch rejoined his
company in time to fight in the Battle of Chan-
cellorsville, Virginia, in May, 1863.
After its victory at Chancellorsville, the
Army of Northern Virginia invaded the North.
The Confederates engaged in deadly combat
with the northern army at the Battle of Gettys¬
burg, Pennsylvania, in July, 1863. The Union
victory at that battle broke both the Confeder¬
ate war effort and the will of John Futch. The
South's defeat at Gettysburg, coupled with the
fall of Vicksburg and the loss of the Mississippi
River, spelled doom for the Confederacy. For
Futch the disaster in Pennsylvania had a more
personal impact. During the severe fighting
his regiment virtually was destroyed. Worse
’Editor, North Carolina Historical Review, Division ot Archives and History, Raleigh,
17
