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Charles Frederick Fisher, President of the
North Carolina Railroad
Company and stominent resident of Salisbury, the county seat of
Rowan Countv
Fisher, a tall, slender man with a scraggiy bronze beard, had long been a controversial figure in state business circles,
and was the onlv son of
Charles Fisher and his wife,
Christina Beard.
He had been born in Salisbury on December 26, 1816, in an
atmosphere of comparative wealth. Young
Fisher attended classical
schools in Salisbury and entered Yale University in 1835, but left
college in his freshman year for reasons which are not quite clear.
He later engaged in agriculture and mining and was for several
years associated with Dr. Austin in the publication of the
Western
Carolinian in Salisbury.
"
In 1854,
Fisher represented Rowan County as a Democrat in the
North Carolina Senate. He was elected President of the
North Carolina Railroad in 1855
Unfortunately, we know little of
Fisher's private life except the
fact that he was happily married to
Elizabeth R. Caldwell, a daughter of David F. Caldwell. One daughter,
Frances Christine, later a
famous writer under the name of
Christian Reid, was born to this
union
Shortly after the Sixth had taken Ricketts' battery, Colonel William Smith stumbled across the body of
Fisher Later, other Confederates, hurrying to the battlefield from Manassas Junction, passed
a lone rider on horseback carrying
Fisher's body,
"cold and stiff in
death." The colonel's remains were carried in front of the saddle
in the direction of the junction Captain York of Company I, Sixth
Regiment, sent a telegram to Governor Clark on the 22nd:
Col. Chas. F. Fisher was killed in battle today. Send notice
to family. His body on the way.
The body reached Raleigh on the morning of July 2-1 on the mail
train from Petersburg An escort of the Twelfth Regiment North
Carolina Troops under Colonel James J. Pettigrew accompanied the
remains.
Fisher's death created a deep impression on the minds of
the people of North Carolina. When the train carrying the body
reached Raleigh, crowds filed into the car which contained
Fisher's
coffin, on top of which were
"placed the sword and hat of the deceased
patriot." People saw that there were two bullet holes in the hat,
revealing the fact that the fatal bullet had passed entirely through
Fisher's head. The train carrying the body was draped in mourning,
while the flag on the State Capitol was lowered to halt-mast.The
Raleigh Register exclaimed:
A braver man than Colonel
Fisher never lived. He carried
his life in his hand for the service of his country, and at the hour
of need freely offered it upon its altar.
On the afternoon of July 24
Fisher's body arrived at Salisbury, his
home town. Almost the entire population of the town was at the
station to meet the remains which were escorted by "Capt. Cole's
Company of Guilford men." Eight pallbearers bore the coffin
through the streets to the Episcopal Church followed by a "very
long procession of citizens. . . ." The funeral services were very
solemn. The Salisbury Brass Band played for the occasion with
'measured music." It was evening when
Fisher's body was lowered
into the grave. According to the Salisbiny
Carolina Watchman.
The exercises there were deeply solemn, though brief. It
was indeed a touching moment. Manly bosoms heaved with
emotion . . . soon the mound of yellow clay rose to mark the
resting place of an intrepid patriot of the revolution of 1861. . . .
He is gone. Peace to his ashes, and forever green be the laurels
of his memory..
As the thunderous crashes of the military salute echoed in the evening
stillness all Salisbury wept.
Burial: Old Lutheran Church Cemetery, Salisbury, Rowan County, North Carolina
Author. This information was taken from the Regimental History, of the Bloody Sixth North Carolina, State Troops.
