AUTHOR: Durin Naylor
The Year was 1840 when Ransom Naylor was born to Washington and Amy Naylor in the Mingo Township district of Sampson County, North Carolina. Ransom had 9 siblings, 4 brothers and 5 sisters. As a young boy Ransom worked the family farm. By 1850 Ransom was 11 years old living in the Northern District of Sampson County. Ransom being the oldest boy would help his father keep the farm going. This was their source of income and family supplies. Ransom starting working as a turpentine gaither by 1858. This occupation was a hard and dangerous job. By the late 1850’s Ransom started courting Amy Ann Baggett daughter of Silas and Ursula Baggett. In 1860 after July 4th they united in marriage. During the early years of 1860 the Nation was going through turmoil. As many young men of the South Ransom and his younger Brother Orrell C Naylor was in the beginning of their young adult lives, Ransom being newly wed. The Nation broke out in war, South vs North. Ransom enlisted in the Confederacy September 1, 1861 in Company A, North Carolina 30th Infantry Regiment. His younger brother Orrell C Naylor enlisted in Company I, North Carolina 46th Infantry Regiment on 16 Apr 1862. The 30th North Carolina Troops was first assigned to the District of the Cape Fear, Department of North Carolina from September of 1861 until it was moved to the Army of Northern Virginia (D.H. Hills Division) and assigned to George B. Anderson’s Brigade in June 1862. Later in the month Ranson was on leave sick back home with his family. After recovery from being sick Ransom returned to duty in Wilmington, North Carolina. In early 1862 the 30th North Carolina made its way up to Richmond, Virginia. In late June of 1862 the 30th North Carolina engaged the Union Army in on June 22, 1862. Over the next week they had many battles. The battle of Gaines’s Mill known as the first Battle of Cold Harbour. The 30th North Carolina was in formation southeast of Cold Harbour at around 4:30 P.M. Shortly after 7:00 the 30th moved towards Buchanan’s line. As muskets fire and cannons blasting the Ransom and 30th fought with intense bravery.
Gaines’s Mill battle map June 27, 1862 7:00-8:00pm
The 30th North Carolina reported 30 killed and 137 wounded during the Seven Days’ Battles. Through next few months Ransom and 30th saw battles throughout Virginia and Maryland. In the Spring of 1863 the 30th moved towards Chancellorsville, Virginia. In May of 1863 the 30th was preparing for battle in Chancellorsville. The May 3, 1863, fighting at Chancellorsville ranks among the bloodiest of the Civil War. In just over four hours of fighting, some 18,000 soldiers were killed, wounded, or missing–one for every second of combat. Shortly after the fighting erupted at dawn on May 3, Ramseur’s men waded into the battle a short distance south of the Orange Plank Road (modern Route 3), where they engaged the Union Army in a fierce struggle, losing about 600 men. The 30th North Carolina contributed 123 casualties to that total, 25 of them killed and the rest wounded. Most Confederate soldiers who died at Chancellorsville were buried on the battlefield. Only after the war ended were they gathered up and given a proper burial at Fredericksburg Confederate Cemetery. Many soldiers died without any identification. Even those who could be identified at the time of their deaths were no longer identifiable at the time of their interment at Fredericksburg. Consequently, the identities of most of the 3,000 Confederate soldiers now buried in that cemetery are unknown. During this assault Ransom was killed in battle.
Confederate Cemetery, Fredericksburg, Virginia
Ransom Naylor along with many of the 30th North Carolina are buried at the Confederate Cemetery in Fredericksburg, Virginia in unmarked graves.