A Tribute to a Christopher Gilbert Ray, One of the ‘Carolina Boys’

Born in 1841, Christopher Gilbert Ray was the son of Neill and Ann (Ray) Ray. During the Civil War, Gilbert enlisted in the Confederate Army, serving as one of the ‘Carolina Boys’ of Company K, 38^th Regiment, North Carolina Troops. Gilbert died “of disease” on February 5, 1863, and he was so well liked by his fellow ‘Carolina Boys’ that they gathered together to create a “Tribute of Respect” for him and the other deceased members of their group at Camp Gregg, Virginia in March of that year. The group resolved that Gilbert, and the other deceased soldiers, “never forsook us in the hour of danger, [were] ever ready to administer to the necessities of their sick comrades, and [were] lovers of liberty.” Furthermore, they promised to “tender [their] sympathies to the families of the deceased.”

1. Gilbert Ray is buried at the Confederate Honor Site at Cross Creek Cemetery in Fayetteville, North Carolina.