Charles Frederick Fisher (December 26, 1816 – July 21, 1861) was an American attorney,

legislator A legislator (also known as a deputy or lawmaker) is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people of the state. Legislatures may be supra-national (for ex ...

, engineer, and soldier from

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

, the county seat of

Rowan County, North Carolina Rowan County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina that was formed in 1753, as part of the British Province of North Carolina. It was originally a vast territory with unlimited western boundaries, but its size was reduced to 524 sq mi ...

. He served as President of the

North Carolina Railroad The North Carolina Railroad is a state-owned rail corridor extending from Morehead City, North Carolina to Charlotte, North Carolina. The railroad carries over seventy freight trains offered by the Norfolk Southern Railway and eight passenger ...

and died in battle as an officer leading the 6th North Carolina regiment of the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

Early and family life

Fisher was born in Salisbury in 1816 to Christine Beard Fisher and her husband, legislator and plantation owner Charles Fisher. His paternal grandfather, Frederick Fisher, had migrated to western North Carolina from Shenandoah County, Virginia, and had served as an officer in the local militia during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. His maternal grandparents were Lewis Beard and Susan Dunn, and his maternal great-grandfather, lawyer John Dunn, was an ardent Tory during that war. After a local private education, Fisher entered

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

in 1835, but failed to complete his freshman year. Fisher married Ruth Caldwell (daughter of businessman and legislator from Greensboro County, North Carolina, David Caldwell), and they had three children who were reared by relatives after Fisher's death. Although the Fishers were Lutheran or Episcopalian, their orphaned eldest daughter

Christine Christine may refer to: People * Christine (name), a female given name Film * ''Christine'' (1958 film), based on Schnitzler's play ''Liebelei'' * ''Christine'' (1983 film), based on King's novel of the same name * ''Christine'' (1987 fil ...

was raised by a Catholic aunt and converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and later become an author of many novels, some supporting the

Lost Cause The Lost Cause of the Confederacy (or simply Lost Cause) is an American pseudohistorical negationist mythology that claims the cause of the Confederate States during the American Civil War was just, heroic, and not centered on slavery. Firs ...

Career

Although he never received a formal educational degree, Fisher became farmer, miner, and journalist in his home Rowan County. His father was a politician for 28 years, much of which time Fisher supported him as copublisher of the ''Western Carolinian.'' A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, Fisher won his first political office in 1854, when Rowan County voters elected him as a state senator. The following year, Fisher became president of the

, succeeding former governor John Morehead. While still the railroad's president, he was also selected as its principal contractor to build a line to Morganton, North Carolina. Slow construction progress and high costs produced considerable criticism, particularly from Jonathan Worth (businessman, lawyer, Whig legislator and president of the competing

Fayetteville and Western Plank Road The Fayetteville and Western Plank Road was a plank road from Fayetteville, NC to the Moravian settlement at Bethania, NC. The road was constructed from 1851-1852 using funds raised by boosters and accompanying funds provided by the state of N ...

Company). In 1859, despite Worth's continued criticism, the railroad's stockholders (including Whigs) re-elected Fisher as its president. Fisher became friends with Vermont-born Sewall Lawrence Fremont (née Fish, 1816–1886), a former U.S. Army artilleryman who had become chief engineer and superintendent of the

Wilmington and Weldon Railroad The Wilmington and Weldon Railroad (W&W) name began use in 1855, having been originally chartered as the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad in 1834. At the time of its completion in 1840, the line was the longest railroad in the world with of track ...

in eastern North Carolina in 1854.

American Civil War

During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

Fisher and Fremont both joined the

. Fisher became a

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

commanding the 6th North Carolina Infantry Regiment. He died leading a charge on a

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

battery at the

First Battle of Bull Run The First Battle of Bull Run (the name used by Union forces), also known as the Battle of First Manassas

, supporting North Carolina General Thomas Lanier Clingman as well as Fisher's cousin (who became General after that battle)

Jubal Early Jubal Anderson Early (November 3, 1816 – March 2, 1894) was a Virginia lawyer and politician who became a Confederate States of America, Confederate general during the American Civil War. Trained at the United States Military Academy, Early r ...

. Whether the fatal bullet was from friendly fire of the Fourth Alabama or Second or Eleventh Mississippi, or from the New York Zouaves or other Union soldiers from the Sudley Road will never be known.

Legacy

Fisher was buried at the Old Lutheran Cemetery in Salisbury. Propaganda made Fisher an early hero of the Confederacy and later of the

. His troops erected a marker where he fell, which was later damaged by souvenir hunters and is now replaced by a U.S. flagpole. His friend S.L. Fremont came to command North Carolina's coastal defense and named

Fort Fisher Fort Fisher was a Confederate fort during the American Civil War. It protected the vital trading routes of the port at Wilmington, North Carolina, from 1861 until its capture by the Union in 1865. The fort was located on one of Cape Fear Rive ...

at the mouth of the

Cape Fear River The Cape Fear River is a long blackwater river in east central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River (North Carol ...

for his gallantry. Later, the

United Confederate Veterans The United Confederate Veterans (UCV, or simply Confederate Veterans) was an American Civil War veterans' organization headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was organized on June 10, 1889, by ex-soldiers and sailors of the Confederate Sta ...

and Daughters of the Confederacy established memorial markers. North Carolina chief justice Benjamin Franklin White, formerly a Confederate Captain, published a laudatory account of Fisher's death in 1901. His hat is at the North Carolina Museum of History.

References

Exhibits
relating to the subject at the North Carolina Museum of History

of presidents of North Carolina Railroad *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, Charles Frederick 1816 births 1861 deaths Confederate States Army officers People of North Carolina in the American Civil War Confederate States of America military personnel killed in the American Civil War People from Salisbury, North Carolina