The modern National Guard stems directly from the militia of the thirteen original English colonies making it the oldest component of the armed forces of the United States. In the beginning, the greatest cultural influence on the early colonies came from Great Britain. English settlers brought with them English military ideas. Until very late in its own history, England had no full-time professional Army. Englishmen believed that every free, able-bodied man had the obligation to help defend the country. Citizen-soldiers were the militia. During the French and Indian War which began in 1754, much of the fighting was being done by militia regiments, frequently referred to as "Provincials" by the British. Provincials had little tolerance for European style warfare which was ill suited to combat in the colonies against Indians. Colonial militia, which often fought in small numbers and emphasized individual initiative, contributed badly needed skills in frontier warfare to the British Army. During this time, the militia in Hyde County and neighboring counties was called up to help protect our coastal area, such as Ocracoke Inlet, from French warships and privateers.

Militia List for Arromaskeet - October 1755
Henry Gibbs, Jur., Captain

Privates:
[ torn ] STUCKBURY - Carbine
[Probably John STUCKBURY]

Each militiaman was listed with the type of weapon he carried. Since they provided their own weapons, the variety was large, from carbines, fowling pieces, buckanneers, musketts and fuzees. A carbine was any short-barreled, lightweight rifle.

War of 1812

July 12/16, 1813 : A British force under Admiral Cockburn occupied Portsmouth and Ocracoke 30 miles acoss Pamlico Sound from mainland Hyde County.

Lt. Col. William Watson's Hyde Co., NC Regiment of Militia

Stotesberry, John - Private

Note: This unit was called up by the Governor of NC when British landed on the Outer Banks, occupying Ocracoke and Portsmouth Islands on the North and South of Ocracoke Inlet. Ocracoke Inlet was then and still is the main outlet for all shipping from the northeastern section of North Carolina. (Hatteras Inlet wasn’t opened, by a hurricane, until 1845. The regiment mustered at New Bern, NC, but the British were preparing to attack Virginia and departed before NC Militia arrived. It is doubtful that they ever saw combat. Nonetheless, these men were eligible for pensions or bounty land warrants.

Civil War
Company B, 1st Regimentt, North Carolina Uioin Volunteers, U.S. Army

Name: Stokesbury, David Rank: Private Enlisted: Oct. 24, 1862 Where: Washington, NC Age: 18 Born: Hyde Co., NC Remarks: Died of disease on Mar. 20, 1864 at Washington, NC.

Name: Stokesbury, Thomas Rank: Private Enlisted: Jan. 16, 1864 Where: Washington, NC Age: 21 Born: Hyde Co., NC Remarks: Mustered out with regiment on June 27, 1865 at New Bern, NC.

Note: David W. Stokesbury and Thomas M. Stokesbury were sons of James Bradish Stokesbury and grandsons of John Prior Stokesbury / Stotesbury. They both served in Company B of the 1st NC Uioin Volunteers, the first regiment of Union infantry to be raised in North Carolina after the occupation of eastern NC by the Union Army under General Ambrose Burnsides in the Spring or 1862.

World War I
Stotesbury, Reubin Bennett (1895-1971) - U.S. Army

Sources:

N. C. Department of Archives & History, Hyde County Miscellaneous Records (1735-1908), Militia Papers, 1755, 1853 and no date. C.R. 053.928.3;
High Tides Article, Volume XV, Number 1, Spring, 1994, p. 41; "Henry Gibbs, Jur. Militia List of Arrowmaskeet, 1755."

War of 1812 Service Records, Record Group 94, Records of the Adjutant General's Office, Microfilm Publication M602 (234 rolls).

[Microfilm] (Record Group 94) Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served During the Civil War From the State of North Carolina. M401, Rolls 1-13, National Archives, Washington, D.C.

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