Pvt. Henry Vines, the luckiest Fort Fisher man

SUBMITTED BY:  Tom Fagart

The luckiest Fort Fisher man just may be Pvt. Henry Vines, 3^rd Co G, 36^th Regiment, 2^nd NC Artillery.  Pvt. Vines was born 5 July 1843, enlisted 30 Apr 1862, Brunswick County, Wilmington, NC at age 20.  He is listed as prisoner #597 arriving in Elmira on  1 Feb 1865.  He had both legs amputated to the knees because of frostbite.  He survived all the other conditions in Elmira.  When the Elmira Prison closed on 11 July 1865, he was transferred on 13 July 1865 to the Union Army Hospital also located in Elmira.  On 26 July 1865 he was paroled and released after taking the Oath of Allegiance and returned to North Carolina.  On 5 February 1911, Pvt. Vines died.  He is buried in the Vines Cemetery, Delco, Columbus County, NC.  His headstone reads, “He was a faithful soldier in the Confederate war and served under Carl Lamb and Capt. Daniel Russel Company G, 36^th NC”,  The other side of his headstone reads “Make the perfect man & behold the upright for the end of that man is peace” and “Gone but not forgotten”.

A news article from the North Carolina Star News, Wilmington, NC 1 March 1911 reads:

February 28, 1911

“Henry Vines of Newberlin (NC) in Columbus County died at age 67. He was 20 when the war broke out and left his young wife to enlist in Co G, 36^th North Carolina Infantry”.

“He was captured at the Second Battle of Fort Fisher and sent to Elmira Prison in New York where he, with other Fort Fisher defenders suffered terrible hardship.  There, he had both legs amputated at the knees for frostbite.”

“His family had not heard from him in months at the war’s closing and had given him up for dead when fellow Fort Fisher veteran Edward Wells spotted him in Wilmington and he was reunited with his family in Newberlin (which is in the Delco area).”

“The area is now called New Berlin and is a short distance northwest of Wilmington.”

Note:  36^th North Carolina Infantry is mentioned in Henry Vines’ obituary.  The 36^th NC was originally designated the 36^th Regiment North Carolina Volunteers.  After the fall of Fort Fisher, any remaining men of the 36^th would later serve as infantry and referred to as “Red Leg Infantry”.  The color red is the designated color for artillery as light blue is for infantry.  Elements of the 36^th NC Regiment, 2^nd NC Artillery would later serve as infantry in the Battle of Bentonville, NC.  The last major land battle of the war.

Pvt. Henry Vines was much luckier than five other compatriots who were also captured at Fort Fisher.  These five men died of Gangrene of the feet caused by frostbite and are buried in the Woodlawn National Cemetery, Elmira, NY.

Cpl. Joseph Carroll From Elizabethtown, Bladen County, NC , 2^nd Co K, 40^th Reg., 3^rd NC Artillery, Plot #296

Pvt. John A. Folks from Whiteville, Columbus County, NC., 2^nd Co A, 36^th Reg., 2^nd NC Artillery, Plot #1672

Pvt. Pipkin Galloway from Darlington, SC , Co H, 21^st South Carolina Volunteers, Plot #2397

Sgt. Samuel Joyner from Whiteville, Columbus County, NC, Co E, 36^th Regiment, 2^nd NC Artillery, Plot #2148

Pvt. Chancy G. Mercer from Brunswick County, NC.  2^nd Co A, 36^th Regiment, 2^nd NC Artillery, Plot #1839