General Holmes on 28 April, 1864, established his headquarters at Raleigh, N. C., and undertook the task of organizing the Reserves of the State. His staff consisted of:—
Lieutenant-Colonel Frank S. Armistead, a graduate of West Point, as Inspector-General. He was later elected Colonel of the First Regiment of Junior Reserves and was afterwards assigned to the command of the Junior Reserves brigade consisting of the first three regiments. He was recommended by General Holmes for the appointment of Brigadier-General in terms of high praise.
Captain John W. Hinsdale, as Assistant Adjutant-General, who had served in this capacity on the staffs of Generals J. Johnston Pettigrew at Seven Pines, and William D. Pender, through the Seven Days’ Fight around Richmond, and also with General Holmes in the Trans-Mississippi.
First Lieutenants Charles W. Broadfoot and Theophilus H. Holmes, Jr., Aides-de-Camp. The latter, a mere boy, soon afterwards gave his young life to his country while gallantly leading a cavalry charge near Ashland, Virginia. The former, a member of the Bethel Regiment, rose from private to Lieutenant-Colonel of the First Junior Reserves, and is now the first lawyer of the upper Cape Fear.
First Lieutenant Graham Daves, appointed Aide-de-Camp after the death of young Holmes and the promotion of Lieutenant Broadfoot. He was a brave and efficient officer of scholarly attainments and high integrity.
A. W. Lawrence, of Raleigh, Ordnance Officer.
Major Charles S. Stringfellow, now one of Richmond’s most distinguished lawyers, succeeded Captain Hinsdale as Assistant Adjutant-General upon the latter’s promotion to the Colonelcy of the Third regiment of Junior Reserves.
A roster in the writer’s possession shows that the Medical Department of the Reserves was organized as follows:
Dr. Thomas Hill, now an eminent physician of Goldsboro, North Carolina, Medical Director.
Dr. G. G. Smith, Assistant Surgeon of the First Regiment of Junior Reserves.