Mr. Martin,

I response to your recent letter of 4/18/08 concerning the 60th N.C. Inf. Reg., I am elated and wish to convey my thanks. As I conveyed to Mr. Kelly, I was wrong in my identity of Company I. 60th N.C. Reg. as being a company from Cocke co. Tn. As you know it was Co. H.

I was making an attempt to contact other possible family members and or other parties interested in the N.C. 60th and in particular, possible burial sites concerning members of the 60th.

The "Beautiful Island in the French Broad River" where all 10 companies met and trained was pretty much the birthplace of this Reg. The (Island) now known as Bartley is about as pristine as it was almost 150 years ago. At one time this island was owned by F.M. Lawson a brother to Benjamin Floyd Lawson, wounded and died in a hospital at Greensboro, Ga. 7/21/64, also a brother to George Washington Lawson, died 10/19/1862 at Bridgeport,Ala. and Elijah B. Lawson (nephew) who died 5/1/1864 while working in a government shoe shop while disabled in Columbus, Ga.

The soldiers of Co. H. and Co. B. of the 60th were neighbors, friends, brothers, inlaws and etc. because of the geographical location of their perspective counties of
residence. Even today, residents in Northwestern Madison Co. still travel to Cocke Co. to transact business rather than travel to Asheville N.C.

It is with all the above in mind, my plea is for information as to possible burial sites for the above gentle , farmers, soldiers and fathers.

Thanks and May God Bless
James Harmon

P.S. Do you know of any contacts that might be interested in preserving this wonderful, natural, historical tract of land? On occasion, I can sit on the Banks of the French Broad river at this island with my two grandsons and we will be silent as if we are listening to to all the young men as they prepared to march off to war only never to return to this beautiful place.