THE SEVENTH BATTALION.
The Seventh Battalion, 300 strong, was organized at Camp Lamb, near Wilmington, in June, 1864, by the election of W. F. French, of Lumberton, Major, and E. F. McDaniel, of Fayetteville, was appointed Adjutant. This battalion was composed of the following companies:
Company A—From Cumberland, Robeson and Harnett Counties—T. G. Hybart, Captain; D. S. Byrd, First Lieutenant; C. C. McLellan and C. S. Love, Jr., Second Lieutenants.
Upon the death of Captain Hybert, on 9 September, D. S. Byrd was promoted to the Captaincy.
Company B—From New Hanover, Brunswick and Columbus Counties—John D. Kerr, Captain; J. B. Williams, First Lieutenant; E. H. Moore and B. F. Gore, Second Lieutenants.
Company C—From Richmond County—Donald McQueen, Captain; A. B. McCollum, First Lieutenant; A. C. McFadyen and S. A. Barfield, Second Lieutenants.
The battalion did guard duty at Wilmington until the middle of July. Here Captain Donald McQueen died of typhoid fever on 25 June. He was a fine soldier, an honor to his name and his cause. Lieutenant McCollum succeeded him in command of the company.
On the night of 3 July, 1864, Lieutenant Cushing, of the Federal Navy (the same who blew up the Confederate ram “Albemarle” at Plymouth), with a few detailed men, entered the Confederate headquarters at Smithville (now Southport) and carried off General Paul O. Hebert’s Adjutant-General to the Federal fleet. Thereafter the Seventh Battalion was ordered from Wilmington to Smithville for its protection. It camped in a beautiful grove of live oaks back of the town. Here it did its full share of guard and picket duty under the command of General Hebert, an old officer who had served with distinction in Mexico and had been Governor of Louisiana. It was here that Captain T. G. Hybart, of Fayetteville, was stricken with typhoid fever and died 9 September, 1864. He was one of the best officers in the command, and had he lived and the war continued, would have made his mark. The battalion remained at Smithville until 9 December when, with the Fourth and Eighth Battalions, all under Colonel Jackson, it moved to Belfield, Virginia, to repel a Federal raid.