Thursday, September 27, 2012

Company I, North Carolina 68th Infantry Regiment: Captain Richard Henry Lee Bond, my 1st cousin 5x removed



The 68th North Carolina Infantry Regiment was organized in July of 1863 for the purpose of protection of the State.  This unit was mustered but was never officially turned over to the Confederacy.  Although the 68th was under the orders of Confederate commanders, the unit was not supposed to be ordered beyond the State border.   This held true with one minor exception, a slight incursion of this regiment into eastern Tennessee.  

My 1st cousin 5x removed, Richard Henry Lee Bond, was Captain of Company I.  R. H. L. Bond was born in Gates County, North Carolina on October 6, 1830.  His exact date of enlistment is unknown. 


Cover Sheet for R.H.L. Bond

Because this unit was never officially turned over to the Confederacy, official records are hard to come by.  The 68th was assigned to the Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia and served in North Carolina and East Tennessee. Later it guarded prisoners at Salisbury and confronted the Federals in the Kinston area. In April, 1865, the men were ordered to return home and acquire mounts so that the unit could be converted to cavalry.  While these orders were being carried out, the war ended.  There was no official parole for the unit, rather the men just disbanded and returned home. 

I have been able to locate a few "special requisitions" made by Captain Bond.   On November 7, 1862.  Bond received 5 Horses, 1 Wagon & Harness, and 1 Set Wagon from the Confederate Government. 




On August 18, 1863, Captain Bond was the recipient of 573 pounds of bacon at the going rate of $1/lb. 



The most severe engagement in which this Regiment participated was the Battle of South West Creek or Wise Forks, just south of Kinston, North Carolina.  The 68th was assigned to reinforce General Robert Hoke's command.  The battle took place on March 8-9, 1865.  After the initial skirmish, the men of the 68th were ordered to defend a bridge that crossed the Neuse River, near the town of Goldsborough.  Federal Forces started arriving from nearby Kinston.  A light skirmish ensued and the men of the 68th effectively burned the bridge to delay any pursuit from the advancing Federals.   Shortly after this engagement, orders were given to the officers to return with their men to their respective communities where they were originally mustered.   Here the men would procure horses from any neighbor owning more than one.   The men were then to return to their command with the horses and re-enlist into service in the Cavalry.   While these orders were being carried out, the news of General Lee's surrender started making it's way to the men.  Well armed, able bodied men were now sent home to await further instruction.  By the end of April 1865, the career of the 68th North Carolina and it's troops was over. 

Bond only lived an additional two years following the Civil War.   He died in Gates County, North Carolina on June 25, 1867.   He is buried in the Bond Family Cemetery in Gatesville, North Carolina.

Here's my relation to Captain R. H. L. Bond:

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