Alexander P. White
(Pasquotank County)
Featured Character – A Soldier's Life
Alexander P. White
Courtesy of Emily White
Alexander P. White was born in 1834 in Pasquotank County and made a living as a merchant before enlisting in Company A, 17th Regiment North Carolina Troops "Independent Grays" in 1861. The next year, White was appointed Captain of Company C, 56th Regiment assigned to General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. He took part in the assault on Fort Stedman in March 1865 and was accounted for until he was captured near Five Forks, Virginia on April 1, 1865. White spent time in Washington, D.C.’s Capitol Prison and later transferred to Johnson’s Island in Ohio. He was finally released in June after taking the Oath of Allegiance. White returned home to his wife, Christian Bell, and their children, becoming a farmer and court clerk in Pasquotank County. White died on February 20, 1882, and is buried in the Episcopal Church cemetery in Elizabeth City.