James Hinton
(Pasquotank County)
Featured Character – The Home Front
Handwritten Poem, or Perhaps a Song, Written about Elizabeth City and Captain James Hinton
Courtesy of Lemuel S. Blades, III
James Hinton was born in 1827 and resided in Pasquotank County prior to the Civil War. Hinton had been a prominent slaveholder who, with his wife and four children, owned $31,600 in real estate and property in 1860. He practiced law and was heavily involved in the community before enlisting at the age of 34 on May 16, 1861, in Company A, 8th Regiment North Carolina Troops. While he was away in Virginia with this regiment, his wife and children were driven from their home and their house and property were burned. Hinton was captured at Roanoke Island on February 8, 1862, and kept in Elizabeth City until exchanged in August of that year. After his exchange, Hinton urged the governor and wrote to Jefferson Davis himself asking for permission to rally men for a regiment of guerilla troops to defend the area against Union forces. The group of men he recruited finally became the 68th North Carolina Infantry (Partisan Rangers) and Hinton was appointed colonel in July 1862. He led that regiment until he was captured near Hamilton, North Carolina in December of that year. However, he escaped at dawn the day after his capture to rejoin his troops. He was furloughed on February 2, 1865, for twenty days. After the war, Hinton and his family moved to Norfolk.