From the book entitled: Memorial, Virginia Military
Institute: Biographical Sketches of the Graduates and Eleves of the
Virginia Military Institute Who Fell During the War Between the States
Author: Charles d: Walker
Publisher: READ BOOKS, 2008
ISBN: 140868733X, 9781408687338
Edward A. Rhodes, of California; lieutenant, 11th North Carolina
infantry.Edward Averett Rhodes was born at Galveston, Texas, on the
15th of June, 1841. His father, the late Colonel E. A. Rhodes, of North
Carolina, was United States Consul at that port. From 1852 until 1858,
Edward's home was with his parents in California. During his boyhood he
evinced peculiarly noble traits of character; of an exceedingly gentle
and affectionate disposition, he was brave, truthful, and earnest alike
in his love for everything pure and good, and in hatred and scorn
towards all that is mean or bad. As a child he evinced remarkable
reverence; saw God in everything; his mother says, " I have seen him
kneel and kiss an opening bud, uncover and examine a grain of sprouting
wheat, and cover it again with glistening eyes ami reverential care;
yet he had no morbid or mawkish sensibilities, his moral nature was
singularly healthy." At twelve years old he was a fearless rider and an
excellent shot His favorite study was mathematics; his favorite author,
Plutarch.
After some preparatory study, from 1855 to 1860, he entered
the Virginia Military Institute, in July of the last mentioned
year. His cadet-life was short, extending only until
the middle of the following April. This time, however, he improved. His
mother says, " In his letters to me while there, he wrote much in
praise of the course of study, in fact, of everything connected with
the Institute, and showed an earnest desire to profit by his
educational advantages to the utmost He also wrote much about the
disturbed state of our country, evincing a remarkably correct view of
the political situation. While aware that though of Northern birth (I
was born and reared in New Hampshire), my sympathies and convictions of
right were wholly on the side of the South, he knew also that in the
event of civil war my relatives would be opposed to those of his father
in the struggle, and this knowledge caused him great unhappiness."
When
the State of Virginia seceded, in April, 1861,and the governor ordered
the corps of cadets to Richmond, Cadet Rhodes went with them, and acted
as drill-master at the camp of instruction there for some months. Was
thence transferred to Raleigh, North Carolina, and finally to Roanoke
Island, in the same capacity. On the 22d of January, 1862, he was
commissioned second lieutenant in the nth North Carolina Infantry. He
was in the battle of White Hall, December 16, 1862, and in fact, in all
active service participated in by his regiment from the time he became
a member of it until the battle of Gettysburg. During a greater portion
of this time he acted as adjutant of the regiment, and was greatly
beloved by his colonel, Leventhorpc. In the great battle of July 1,
1863, he fell. In a charge of his regiment, on the afternoon of that
day, the color-bearer was wounded in the ankle; as he fell, Lieutenant
Rhodes seized the colors, and was in the act of advancing, cheering the
men, when he was struck in the head by a Minie-ball, and fell,
murmuring, "Oh, God !" into the arms of his captain. His two young
friends. Cooper and Lowrie, fell nearly at the same moment, and were
buried that night by the officers on the spot where they fell, near the
" Seminary." Colonel Leventhorpe, in a letter to Mrs. Rhodes, written
soon after her son's death, speaking of this day's battle, says," I saw
Eddie for a moment, just as we were a hearing the enemy, when he
remarked to me, with a smile, "We are marching in excellent line." Even
in the moment of peril of life, the brave young officer could not
repress this feeling of soldierly pride in the troops he had so
patiently and faithfully drilled.
The surgeon of the 11th, a prisoner
at Norfolk, also wrote to Mrs. Rhodes, telling her of her son's death.
Going at once to Gettysburg, she identified the graves of the three
friends, Rhodes, Cooper, and Lowrie, their names being written on a
barrel-stave at the head of the grave, and in the following spring had
their remains removed to " Greenmount," Baltimore.
California was
the chosen home of young Rhodes. Me owned no interest in the South ;
not a foot of land, not a slave. Thoroughly acquainted with the history
of our country, he entered the Southern army, and gave his whole soul
to the cause he believed to be just. To complete this sketch we give a
brief outline of his character, taken from an obituary published in a
North Carolina paper in 1863:" Traits such as his are sure to win
friends, and he soon became a favorite, not only with his commander,
but with the regiment. Possessed of intellect of a high order, with a
keen appreciation of the necessities of the times, and an ambition to
excel in whatever he engaged, by diligent application he rapidly
acquired such a knowledge of military affairs as fully qualified him
for the rugged life of a soldier, and distinguished him at once as
among the most efficient officers of his brigade. He was noble by
nature. Talented and brave, his heart never quailed, nor did his hand
waver in executing what his judgment approved. Unobtrusive in his
manners, generous apd affectionate, his modest merit sought not the
glare of the world, but shone beautifully forth among his many friends
and in the quiet communion of the home circle. As a son, he was an
example well worthy of imitation, for none could surpass him in
affectionate devotion to his widowed mother. As a friend and companion,
he was genial in disposition, devoted and truthful. As a
soldier, he was brave and enthusiastic, and thought no sacrifice too
great for the success of that cause to which he had given his life. He
fell, alas, in a strange land! and sleeps in an unknown grave! but he
has a tomb in the hearts of his loving friends at home, and a monument
in the memory of his country.
