After the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, South Carolina formally exercised her right as a sovereign state, to withdraw from the Union on December 20, 1860. Soon, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana, Georgia and Florida joined her.

The states of the upper south, Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, and North Carolina, remained in the Union, and hoped that an agreement could be worked out. However, Mr. Lincoln was able to provoke the new nation into firing on the "Old Flag" at Fort Sumter, in Charleston Harbor, S.C., in April, 1861. He then called on the States still in the Union to supply troops to "put down the rebellion."

The states of Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, and North Carolina refused to fight their Sisters, and cast their lots with the other seven Southern states.

Those remaining states went through great turmoil before reaching this decision. North Carolina was the last to secede, but once the decision was made, she put her everything into the effort. On May 20, 1861, she officially left the Union.

Very rapidly, her sons began to answer the call to arms, to repel the invader from her shores and borders. Companies were formed in many local communities, men of all ages, and from every station of society and profession began to pour into receiving camps across the state. The "Dry Pond Dixies" were one of these companies.

Lincoln County, North Carolina, sent more than 1300 of its sons to the armies of the Confederacy. Three of these local men rose to [the] rank of General. Robert F. Hoke, and Steven Dodson Ramseur, to the rank of Major General, and Robert D. Johnston to Brigadier, all in the Army of Northern Virginia. Several others who obtained this rank also had Lincoln County connections -- the Forney brothers of Alabama, Lt. Generals Daniel Harvey Hill, and Thomas J. Jackson, perhaps better known as "Stonewall".

Some of the other companies from Lincoln County were the Southern Stars of the 1st NC Volunteers, later known as the "Bethel Regiment", and the "Beattie’s Ford Riflemen", which later became Company K, 23rd NC State Troops, and the "Spring Hill Guards" Co. H, 52nd NC. Later in the war, many of the youths of the county would enlist in the Junior Reserves companies and fight very well at Bentonville, North Carolina, in March, 1865, under the command of General Robert F. Hoke.

Both the "Beattie’s Ford Company" and the "Dry Pond Dixies" were composed primarily of men from East Lincoln County. A review of the rosters of these companies have many men with the same family names, Dellinger, Howard, Cherry, Nixon, Goodson, Hager, Munday, Hoyle, to mention a few -- good Scotch Irish stock that first settled this area in the late 1700’s. Many of their descendants live in the same areas today. Today, this section of East Lincoln is known as "Denver" and the Catawba Springs Township, and "Triangle" is still a community, but prior to 1873, Denver was known as "Dry Pond".

The company was raised in Lincoln County, and enlisted in Lincoln County during March of 1862. The numbers for a company were usually 100 to 125 men and Officers. A review of the rosters shows about 142 men served in this company from start to finish.

A ceremony to honor the men who joined these companies upon completion of the enlistment activities was usually held shortly before the men left home.

Bell Irvin Wylie, in "The Life Of Johnny Reb", describes several accounts from newspaper files that were probably similar to what may have preceded the departure of the "Dry Pond Dixies". A battle flag was presented to the Officers of the company. Many times these banners would be prepared by the wives and mothers, and sisters of the men in the company. Speeches were written, and a time was set for the presentations. It may have been preceded by a dress parade, a banquet, or a mass meeting called especially for the purpose. After being assembled the volunteers listened to the tributes to their courage, and patriotism, and then watched as the appointed Officer stepped up to receive the beautiful banner, and make his comments to the crowd of spectators and volunteers. Then with hearts full of pride and emotion, and probably with a tear in the eyes of many of the men at the thought of leaving their loved ones, they departed for the nearest train stop to take them away to war. Many, gathered that day, could hardly conceive that they would never see home and loved ones again. This may well have been true for the "Dry Pond Dixies".

At any rate, it was on to Camp Mangum, near the Capital City of Raleigh, for the "Dry Pond Dixies".

By April 28, 1862, the "Dry Pond Dixies" had become Company G, of the 52nd North Carolina State Troops. The men elected their Officers; usually the Officers were the men who had been most active in raising the company. They may or may not have been men who had any formal military training at all.

The first Captain was Joseph B. Shelton; he was appointed Captain on March 25, 1862. He had to resign due to illness in August of 1862. He was replaced by James M. Kincaid, on August 28, 1862. He was wounded in the left thigh at the battle of Gettysburg Pennsylvania, and captured on July 3, 1863. He died from these wounds on August 27, 1863 in a hospital there. The last Captain was James Daniel Wells, promoted after the wounding and capture of Captain Kincaid. He was captured at the battle of the Wilderness in May of 1864, and was released in June of 1865 at Fort Delaware, Delaware. The records do not state who may have filled in for him until the end of the war.

The first Colonel of the regiment was James K. Marshall, a Virginia born resident of Chowan County in eastern North Carolina. He was a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, class of 1860. He would lead the Regiment until July 3, 1863, when he gave up his life trying to secure Southern Independence, during "Longstreet’s Grand Assault" at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. He was replaced by Marcus A. Parks. Parks was also wounded and captured on July 3, 1863.

The men of the 52nd were recruited from Cabarrus, Forsyth, Gates, Lincoln, Randolph, Richmond, Stanly, Stokes, and Wilkes Counties. Lincoln County also was represented by Company H, "The Spring Hill Guards". The 52nd along with the 44th and 47th NC regiments were assigned to a brigade commanded by Gen. James G. Martin.

The regiment saw its first action in Goldsboro, NC, and then eventually, went to Virginia, in the brigade of Gen. James Johnston Pettigrew, a most gallant, and intelligent son of the "Old North State".

A number of letters from Archibald Nixon, a member of the "Dry Pond Dixies" have survived the war, and copies of the transcribed originals are in the Lincoln County Library in the Lincoln County Room. We can follow some of the activities of Company G, and the 52nd NC through the letters of this soldier.