[O] State Records of N. C., Vol. XI., p. 733.
[P] State Records of N. C., Vol. XI., pp. 562, 750.
[Q] State Records of N. C., Vol. XI. page 621.
[R] Moore’s History (I., 248, NOTE) states upon the authority of my father, the late Dr. Richard B. Haywood, that Col. William Polk said that Gen. Nash received his mortal wound from a shot through the eyes. That Col. Polk also made this statement to persons other than Dr. Haywood appears in Dr. W. M. Polk’s biography of Bishop Polk (I. 27), which quotes Col. Polk as saying Nash “was blind,” and almost in syncope from loss of blood. Yet, strange as it may seem, though official records show he was himself present and severely wounded at Germantown, Col. Polk was mistaken in this, as will now be shown. John Penn, writing from near the battlefield (on Oct. 10th) only three days after Nash’s death, says: “Poor General Nash was killed by a cannon ball, with his horse.” An obituary published in the North Carolina Gazette, less than a month later (Oct. 31st), states: “The winged Messenger of Death, a cannon ball, * * * * struck him on the thigh, tore his body in a most dreadful manner, and killed his horse under him.” In the legislative proceedings in honor of Gen. Nash (Nov. 19th), less than six weeks after his death, it appears that he “received a wound from a cannon ball; and, after languishing some days * * * * closed his useful life.” See State Records of North Carolina, Vol. XI., pp. 649, 789; Ibid., Vol. XII., p. 279. Pennsylvania accounts also say Nash was killed by a cannon ball which struck him on the thigh. The statement by Col. Polk was made when he was a very old man, fifty years or more after the battle; hence his mistake may have been caused by confusing Gen. Nash with some other wounded officer at Germantown who may have been shot through the eyes. Col. Polk’s second wife was a sister of Dr. Haywood’s mother.
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE:
Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.