The Breakthrough – Octavius Wiggins

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The Breakthrough - Augustus Wiggins wayside marker

Text from the marker

The Breakthrough

Wiggins was wounded near here during the Breakthrough on April 2, 1865: “I received a scalp wound, the muzzle of the gun being in such close proximity to my head as to blow powder into my face, nearly destroying my eyes and knocking me senseless upon the ground. Of course, I was captured.” Wiggins escaped while being taken to a prison at Johnson’s Island, Ohio, and made his way back home.

1st Lieutenant Octavius Augustus Wiggins

Company E, 37th North Carolina
Infantry, Lane’s Brigade,
Wilcox’s Division, Third Corps

Resident: Halifax County, North Carolina

Enlisted: June 1862

The Breakthrough - Augustus Wiggins wayside marker

Location of the marker

The Breakthrough – Octavius Wiggins is on the Breakthrough trail at Pamplin Historical Park near Petersburg, Virginia. (37° 10.861′ N, 77° 28.478′ W)