Preface

I was born and grew up in Jackson, N.C. so I have been familiar with Boon’s Mill all my life. It is a beautiful old pond. Cypress trees abound. I went by Boon’s Mill yesterday. The state of North Carolina has now installed picnic tables for the public to use. If you want to enjoy a quiet and reflective lunch, pack a sandwich and apple and eat them on the banks of this very tranquil place.

No grist mill has stood at the site in my memory, Boon’s Mill has been owned and operated by a private fishing club since I was a child. As a boy, I enjoyed fishing for bream among the cypress trees and along the shady banks. The bream in this pond were enormous. In fact, the term "Boon’s Mill Bream" has entered my lexicon to refer to a really big bream, regardless of where it’s caught.

What ever happened to the grist mill itself? I recently got an answer to that question. I saw my friend, Bart Burgwyn, a few days ago. Hart is 88 years old and tells me he is the oldest man in Jackson. I asked him if he remembered when Boon’s Mill actually ground grain and operated as a business. His answer was quick and almost automatic -

"I remember when it burned up" he said.

The exact date of this fire is unknown to me, but a good guess would be sometime between 1920 and 1925. As we shall later read, Boon’s Mill was in existence as early as 1777. Grain was therefore milled on the site for about 150 years.

Boon’s Mill was the site of a minor Civil War battle that took place there on July 28, 1863. My great grandfather, Jeremiah Gay, was tangentially involved in this engagement.

As I am currently writing a genealogy of my family, I decided to write a history of The Battle of Boon’s Mill and show Jeremiah’s role in the overall Yankee incursion. That effort follows and I hope it will be instructive.

Archie Gay Jr.

August, 1997

Forward

Having grown up in Jackson and listening to the local folk—lore and legends, it was only natural that sooner or later I would become interested in a Civil War battle which was fought on the outskirts of my hometown. I have passed many times the "old tree" circled by a rusting fence, closely guarded by an historical marker informing all who passed that the "Battle of Boon’s Mill" was fought here, and that the local hero General Matt Ransom used this tree for protection. As a child, I was often told this tale, and a scar, supposedly made by a Yankee cannon ball, still remained visible, all of which made a lasting impression.

Although I am too young to remember the old mill house, I can remember the many happy hours I have spent searching for bream and that big bass in the cypress shaded waters of Boon’s Mill Pond.

Youthful memories of tales of local history are often taken for granted, and with the everyday battle for survival fade, so it was of great interest when my longtime friend Archie Gay informed me that he was going to write a new version of the "Battle of Boon’s Mill". He told me that after having read several versions of the battle, that he had found inconsistencies, such as the time of the battle, the number casualties, what was General Ranson doing in Jackson?

Knowing that I am a computer nut and have access to the internet, Archie asked if I would help him get certain information from various libraries. I quickly agreed and had my interest in a boyhood legend rekindled.

Archie has done extensive research, paying close attention to dates times, and other details previously overlooked. He has done a difficult task well resulting in a version of the "Battle of Boon’s Mill" which I feel more closely describes the actual events.

Paul A. Whitehurst

Introduction

Napoleon Bonaparte said that history is: "Fables agreed upon?’ Mark Twain put the same sentiment in the American vernacular: ‘History ain’t nothing but lies agreed upon by historians?’

My view of history is not quite this extreme. I believe that history, like the truth, is an extremely elusive entity. Written eye witness reports of the same event often conflict. Historians, writing about the same event years later, pick the eye witness reports they believe the most reliable when building the framework of their report. Understanding this fact leads us to an inescapable conclusion: two reputable historians, researching the same event, can vary significantly because of differences based on how they use the research material they discover.

Compressing a great deal of history into a simple sentence also leads to inaccurate statements. I have heard all my life: "Christopher Columbus discovered America and proved the world is round." Is this statement true?

No!! It is not even mostly true.

Christopher Columbus did not discover America. He never saw or set foot on any of the forty-eight contiguous states. On his first voyage, he is believed to have made his first landfall at Watling Island.

Columbus, in fact, made four voyages in all. He went to many places. He even went to South America, The problem is: He never came to what is now the U.S.A.

What, then, did Columbus discover?

If we discount the Vikings in Canada, we can reasonably state that Columbus discovered what became known as "The New World."

Did Columbus prove the world is round?

Not a chance!!

Aristotle proved the world to be round eighteen hundred years before Columbus was born. By Columbus’s time, every educated person knew the world was a sphere and not flat. Columbus sailed west to get to the east because he knew this fact. On the other hand, Columbus did not, know that the North American, South American land mass would block his voyage.

With the above information in mind, I will now try to restate the original statement the way I see it, as based on my researches.

"Christopher Columbus discovered Watling Island and added further proof to the eighteen hundred year old theory that the world is round."

Please don’t get the wrong impression from my reasonings. Christopher Columbus was a great mars His discovery and opening up of the "New World" is one of mankind’s most significant happenings in all of recorded history. He just did not discover America not prove the world to be round.

The following history is my perception and use of all the original research I was able to gather. I know the genealogy is correct and believe The Battle of Boon’s Mill information to be the best of what I have collected from over fifty sources. Please remember this fact when you realize that my version of the truth varies from any other renditions of this battle that you have ever seen.

I will probably collect information on The Battle of Boon’s Mill for the rest of my life. I therefore invite readers who have evidence that contradicts my researches to please contact me. I will definitely change this article if better evidence is located.

Finally, I am always looking for pictures of Boon’s Mill taken before 1900, and letters and journals written firsthand soon after July 28, 1863 which refer to the battle. Diaries are not reliable unless the writer was actually an eye witness.

I now invite you to read about two of my favorite subjects: Jeremiah Gay and The Battle of Boon’s Mill.

I hope you enjoy it.

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