Francis M. Wishart

Francis Marion Wishart (April 13, 1837 – May 1872) was an American military officer. He served with the 46th North Carolina Infantry Regiment of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Wounded in combat, he left the war with rank of captain before returning to Robeson County, North Carolina to marry and open a store. He thereafter became involved in the Lowry War and in 1871 was made a colonel in charge of a county militia tasked with suppressing a gang of outlaws in the area. He was killed under disputed circumstances in a meeting with some of the outlaws in May 1872.

Early life Francis Marion Wishart was born on April 13, 1837. He was the third son of Eli and Marry Ann Strong Wishart. Dubbed "Frank" by his friends, Wishart was raised in an impoverished white community in eastern Robeson County, North Carolina, United States. His father was an appointed squire on the county court and at one time led the county militia.

Military career Civil War Following the outbreak of the American Civil War, Wishart joined the 12th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry, Confederate States Army. He later served with the 46th North Carolina Infantry Regiment. Wishart rose to the rank of first lieutenant with Company A and frequently led the regiment's skirmishing line. On May 5, 1864, during the Battle of the Wilderness, he was severely wounded by gunfire while leading skirmishers through a thicket. Following the battle he was promoted to the rank of captain and given charge of Company B to replace a fallen officer, a capacity in which he served until the end of the war. Wishart subsequently returned to Robeson County and, like many other poor whites in the area during the Reconstruction era, he joined the Republican Party. He married Lydia Pittman on January 11, 1866 in Lumberton and fathered three children with her. The couple established a store in Shoe Heel in 1870.

Lowry War At the time Wishart returned to Robeson County, the area was wracked by the Lowry War, a conflict between a gang of mostly-Lumbee outlaws led by Henry Berry Lowry and local authorities.

Wishart's death led to renewed efforts to suppress the outlaws; Aladon Strong Wishart and Robert Evander Wishart—the late colonel's respective younger brother and half-brother—reorganized the remnants of the county militia to launch a new search for the outlaws. They successfully killed Tom Lowry, while Strong was shot by a storekeeper and Steve was tracked down and killed by bounty hunters in 1874.