- Joined
- Dec 3, 2011
- Location
- Laurinburg NC
This old Confederate Veteran, probably of Thomas' Legion, visiting the Confederate Memorial to commemorate the "last shot fired" east of the Mississippi. The location is Sulphur Springs Rd., near 5th St., Waynesville, North Carolina.
On May 6, 1865, Lieutenant Robert T. Conley and a small company from Thomas' Legion clashed with Federal Lt. Col. William C. Bartlett in White Sulphur Springs (present day Waynesville), N.C. When Conley was passing through the woods, he was unaware of Bartlett's presence and actually stumbled into Bartlett's Regiment. Conley rapidly formed a skirmish line and commenced firing causing the Federals to run in confusion. In the war the last man killed east of the Mississippi River was Federal soldier James Arwood at White Sulphur Springs, North Carolina. After the war, Mr. Conley often stated, "I still have James Arwood's gun as a relic." The Last Shot should also be defined as the last Federal and Confederate forces in combat east of the Mississippi and should not be viewed or confused with the United States Army fighting bushwhackers and outlaws.