When Capt. Alexander McRae, Class of 1851, saw his cause was lost beyond hope, he "drew out his pistol and, calmly seating himself on one of his guns, defended it until he was shot to death."
That's how a lieutenant who witnessed the Battle of Valverde in February 1862 described the death of McRae, who was raised in a prominent Fayetteville family and died a Civil War hero.
But unlike his brothers and neighbors, McRae did not fight for the Confederacy. Despite the pleas of his father and the pull of his Southern homeland, the West Point graduate remained loyal to the Union.
"Alexander was a West Point graduate," Daws said. "As an officer, you take an oath of allegiance, and that oath of allegiance weighs heavy. Swearing on the holy Bible that you will remain loyal, that carried a lot of weight back then."
The family has bought a paver for Alexander at Fayetteville's Airborne & Special Operations Museum.
"It's going to be interesting to see how it's perceived by the Southerners," James McRae said. "My experience growing up and talking to folks from the North, they don't seem to remember the Civil War like the Southerners do."
Fayetteville city historian Bruce Daws plans to incorporate the marker into the downtown tours he gives to hundreds of schoolchildren each year.
The marker will include a citation from McRae's commanding officer, Col. Edwin Canby: "Pure in character, upright in conduct, devoted to his profession, and of a loyalty that was deaf to the seduction of family and friends, Capt. McRae died as he lived, an example of the best and highest qualities a man can possess."