Charles --

There are a number of elements that have to work together in order for the story to have a factual basis.

1) A soldier named Henry Dixon separated from his wife and child by the war.
2) A battle which involving the soldier in coastal North Carolina.
3) The soldier's wife and child happen to be living near the battlefield.
4) The soldier doesn't know his wife and child are there.
5) The soldier attempt to rescue his wife and child during the battle, but recognize them.
6) The wife is killed during the fighting, her body being disfigured beyond recognition.
7) The soldier carries the child to safety, but doesn't recognize it as his own.
8) The soldier later learns that the wife and child he attempted to rescue are his own.

Let me know if I missed anything here.

I confess to having great difficulty tying all these elements together in a way that makes any sense, but I will leave it to yourself and others to sort it out.