|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
26th North Carolina State Troops, Confederate States Army
Jeffrey C. Weaver
Nominal roster of the 26th North Carolina Infantry OrganizationThe companies which would eventually compose the 26th North Carolina State Troops were recruited shortly after the spring planting for 1861 was done. The men came from the mountains and western piedmont of the Old North State. These men were not recruited for any specific regiment, but rather as independent companies, who were brought to Raleigh to train and prepare for war. While the men were at North Carolina's Camp of Instruction at Camp Crabtree, (later renamed Camp Carolina) three miles from Raleigh, the Confederates fought the Battle of First Manassas on July 21, 1861 and their was concern the war would end in Confederate independence before they could see the elephant. Their fears and hopes were unfounded. It was at Camp Crabtree that the men first met North Carolina's boy wonder, Henry King Burgwyn, Jr., called Harry. The 18-year old Harry already held the rank of Major in the Confederate Army. Burgwyn was familiar with the basic principles of military operations due to eduction at the United States Military Academy and the Virginia Military Institute. Burgwyn was very adept at the manual of arms and incurred the anger of many members of the regiment by his heavy handed discipline during the time spent at the Camp of Instruction. John Randolph Lane related his first impressions of Burgwyn:
We [Company G] took the train at Company Shops (now Burlington) for Raleigh; arriving at this place, the company marched out to Camp Crab Tree, a Camp of Instruction, and were assigned our position in camp a little after dark. On the next morning when we awoke, we saw the sentiels at their posts and realized that we were indeed in the war. Immediately after roll call--but there was no roll call in our company--Major H. K. Burgwyn, commander of the Camp of Instruction, sent down to Captain W. S. McLean, demanding the reason for failure to report his company.The ten companies, listed below were formally organized into the 26th North Carolina State Troops on Auugust 27, 1861 at Raleigh, North Carolina. Since no individual had led the organization of the regiment, the men were allowed to choose their colonel. The election came off and Captain Zebulon Baird Vance of Company F, "the Rough and Ready Guards" of 14th North Carolina State Troops was selected. Vance had been a prewar Whig Congressman from Asheville, and was one of the most popular antebellum politicians in the state. Major Burgwyn was chosen lieutenant colonel of the newly formed regiment and Wilkes Volunteers Captain Abner B. Carmichael was elected major. Colonel Vance appointed the remainder of the staff, noted below:
Field and Staff and BandThis regimental subelement was organized on August 27, 1861. Officers originally serving with the field and staff appointed by Colonel Vance when he finally reported for duty. They were:
Company A - The Jeff Davis MountaineersCompany A, Captain Andrew N. McMillan's Company was formed at Jefferson, Ashe County North Carolina on May 17, 1861. The company soon traveled to Raleigh and was designated Company D, 22nd North Carolina State Troops but was withdrawn from that regiment before going into the field. The company was subsequently assigned as Company A of the 26th North Carolina State Troops. Officers:
Company B - The Waxhaw-Jackson GuardsThe Waxhaw-Jackson Guards completed their organization on June 5, 1861 but remained in Union County until July 9, 1861 when they left Monroe for Raleigh. The chose a name which heraled Union County's claim, not widely believed to be the birth place of Andrew Jackson. They perhaps felt the name would inspire them to the same glories they perceived Jackson had in the War of 1812, the Second War for American Independence. The march took the company three days, when they entered the camp of instruction. Officers:
Company C - The Wilkes VolunteersThe Wilkes Volunteers left their camp at Wilkesboro, North Carolina on July 8, 1861. The march to Raleigh took four days, where they joined the camp of instruction and remained there until August 31. Officers:
Company D - The Wake GuardsThe Wake Guards mustered into Confederte service on July 11, 1861 and initially camped at Holly Springs, North Carolina. The company was shortly thereafter moved to Raleigh's Camp of Instruction and remained there until the regiment moved out for the Carolina coast. Officers:
Company E - The Independent GuardsThe Independent Guards were organized on Maay 28, 1861 at Cartersville, Chatham County, North Carolina. The company marched to Camp Carolina, on July 17, where they were instructed in the fine art of warfare and remained there until the company left for the Carolina coast on September 2, 1861. Officers:
Company F - The Hibriten GuardsThis company was organized at Lenoir, Caldwell County, North Carolina. The Hibriten Guards entrained on July 31 and arrived in Raleigh on the next day. The company remained at Camp Crabtree until the regiment was reassigned to the Bouge Banks. Officers:
Company G - The Chatham BoysThe Chatham Boys were organized at Matthews, Chatham County, North Carolina on June 21, 1861. The company remained camped at Matthews for four weeks and left for Camp Crabtree on August 7 and arrived there on the 11th. Officers:
Company H - The Moore IndependentsThe Moore Independents were organized at Carthage, North Carolina on May 13, 1861. On June 3, this company marched to Garysburg, North Carolina and remained there until August 6 when moved to Weldon, North Carolina. On August 16 the company was relocated to Camp Crabtree, where it remained until ordered to the coast. Officers:
Company I - The Caldwell GuardsThe Caldwell Guards enlisted for 12 months, and was was accepted into Confederate service on July 26, 1861. They left Lenoir on August 1 and upon reaching Raleigh joined their future comrades at Camp Carolina. Officers:
Company K - The Pee Dee WildcatsThis company was organized in Anson County, North Carolina. The Wildcats left Wadesboro on August 20, 1861 and reached Raleigh on August 22 and joined the regiment in the process of forming at Camp Carolina. Officers:
While the regiment had fought at New Bern in March 1862 and around Richmond in June and July 1862 and in minor skirmishes in the fall of 1862, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania was the first major test for the regiment, led by Colonel Henry King Burgwyn, Jr., one of the youngest regimental commanders in the Southern army. The regiment's performance at Gettysburg was enough to guarantee their place in history, sustaining more casulaties than any other unit of the size on the field. After a period when the regiment feared it would be consoldidated or disbanded due to its losses at Gettysburg, it successfully reorganized itself, and by mid-1864, was again the largest regiment in the Army of Northern Virginia. It fought gallantly at the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor and in the Petersburg siege. The remnant of the once proud regiment surrendered at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865 with 130 men.
Statistical Analysis
Recap of Casualties
Bibliography
ManuscriptsBurgwyn, William Hyslop Sumner Papers, North Carolina State Archives, private papers collection #4, Raleigh, North Carolina. Pettigrew Papers, North Carolina State Archives, private papers collection #13, Raleigh, North Carolina. Vance, Zebulon Baird Papers, North Carolina Archives, private papers collection #15, Raleigh, North Carolina. Albright, Henry Clay Papers, Captain Co. G, 26th North Carolina State Troops, North Carolina State Archives, private papers collection #267, Raleigh, North Carolina. Pearsall, George W. Letters (Co. G, 55th North Carolina State Troops), North Carolina State Archives, private papers collection #832, Raleigh, North Carolina. Perrett, Thomas Letter, North Carolina State Archives, private papers collection #837, Raleigh, North Carolina. Blair Family Letter, North Carolina State Archives, private papers collection #1206, Raleigh, North Carolina. Clark, Henry Toole. Governor's Papers, North Carolina Department of Archives and History, Raleigh, North Carolina. Wright, John Famliy Papers, North Carolina State Archives, private papers collection #1594, Raleigh, North Carolina. Cole, Richard A. Papers, North Carolina State Archives, private papers collection #1609, Raleigh, North Carolina. Lane, John Randolph Papers, The Southern Historical Collection, Manuscript collection #411, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Burgwyn Family Papers, The Southern Historcal Collection, Manuscript collection #1687, includes letters and a daily diary prepared by Henry King Burgwyn, Jr. The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Jones, Edmund Walter Papers, The Southern Historical Collection, Manuscript collection #3543, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Polk, Leonidas Lafayette Papers. The Southern Historical Collection, Manuscript collection #3708, The Univeristy of North Carolinia, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Linebach, Julius A. "Extracts from a Civil War Diary," Published in the Winston-Salem Sentiel, 1914-5, Southern Historical Collection, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Heth, Henry Papers, Museum of the Confederacy, Richmond, Virginia.
Public DocumentsCompiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizationos From the State of North Carolina. Record Group 109, Microcopy 270, Rolls 323 to 332, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C. Inspection Reports, Army of Northern Virginia, 1864-1865. Record Group 109, Microcopy 835, rolls Letters Received, Adjutant and Inspector General's Office, Letters, Record Group 109, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC. Pension Records of Confederates in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, filed under the act of 1912, Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives, Frankfort, Kentucky.
Periodicals
Charlotte Western Democrat. Published SourcesAndrews, J. Cutler. The South Reports the Civil War, The University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, Pa., 1970. Arthur, John Preston. Western North Carolina: A History from 1730 to 1913. Raleigh, North Carolina, 1913. Arthur, John Preston. A History of Watauga County, North Carolina with sketches of prominent families, The Overmountain Press, Johnson City, Tennessee (reprint) 1992. Ashe, Samuel A. History of North Carolina, 2 Volumes, Raleigh, North Carolina, 1925. Beers, Henry Putney. The Confederacy - A Guide to the Archives of the Government of the Confederate States of America, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC 1968. Blackmun, Ora. Western North Carolina Its Mountains and Its People to 1880, Appalachian Consortium Press, Boone, North Carolina, 1977. Boatner, Mark Mayo, III. The Civil War Dictionary, David McKay Company, Inc., New York, 1988 (revised edition). Buell, Clarence Clough, and Robert U. Johnson. Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, 4 Volumes, New York, 1887. Campbell, John C. The Southern Highlander & his Homeland. The University Press of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 1969. Clark, Walter, editor. Histories of the Several Regiments and Battalions from North Carolina in the Great War 1861-65, 5 vols. Broadfoot Publishing, Wilmington, North Carolina, 1987. Davis, Archie K. Boy Colonel of the Confederacy: The Life and Times of Henry King Burgwyn, Jr. The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 1985. Dyer, Frederick H. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, The Press of Morningside Bookshop, Dayton, Ohio, n.d., reprint of 1912 edition. Fletcher, Arthur L. Ashe County (North Carolina) A History, Ashe County Research Association, Inc., Jefferson, N.C. 1963. Fox, William F. Regimental Losses in the American Civil War. Joseph McDonough Co., Albany, New York, 1898. Freeman, Douglas Southall. Lee's Lieutenants: A Study in Command. 3 vols. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, New York, 1943-4. Hall, Harry H. A Johnny Reb Band from Salem, the Pride of Tarhellia. North Carolinia Confederate Centennial Comission, Raleigh, North Carolina, 1963. Heth, Henry. The Memoirs of Henry Heth. Greenwood Press, Westport, Conneticut, 1974. Hill, Daniel Harvey. A History of North Carolina in the War Between the States. 2 vols. Edwards and Broughton, Raleigh, North Carolina, 1926. Johnson, Robert U. and Buel, Clarence C. Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Volume III, New York, 1887. Johnston, Frontis W., editor. The Papers of Zebulon Baird Vance. North Carolina Department of Archives and History, Raleigh, North Carolina, 1963. Krick, Robert K. Lee's Colonel, A Biographical Register of the Field Officers of the Army of Northern Virginia, Morningside Bookshop. Dayton, Ohio, 1991. Longstreet, James. From Manassas to Appomattox, Memoirs of the Civil War in America. Mallard Press, New York, 1991. Lonn, Ella. Desertion During the Civil War, Century Co., New York, 1928. Marshall, W. F. James Daniel Moore. Press of Edwards & Doughton, Raleigh, North Carolina, 1907. Moore, John W. Roster of North Carolina Troops in the War Between the States, Raleigh, 1882. Phifer, Edward W., Jr. Burke County: A Brief History. North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, Division of Archives and History. Raleigh, N.C., 1979. Pollard, Edward A. The Lost Cause. E. B. Treat & Co., New York, 1867. Robertson, James I. General A. P. Hill: The Story of a Confederate Warrior. Viintage Books, New York, 1987. Robertson, James I. Soldiers Blue and Gray. Warner Books, New York, 1988. Sifakis, Stewart. Who Was Who in the Civil War. Facts on File, New York, 1988. Shepherd, Ruth Weaver (editor). The Heritage of Ashe County, North Carolina 1799-1984. The Hunter Publishing Company, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 1984. Smith, Donald L. The Twenty-fourth Michigan of the Iron Brigade. The Stackpole Company. Harrisburg, PA, 1962. Spencer, Cornelia P. The Last Ninety Days of the War in North Carolina, Watchman Publishing Company, New York, 1866. Trotter, William R. Ironclads and Columbiads, The Civil War in North Carolina, Volume III: The Coast. Signal Research, Greensboro, N.C., 1989. Trotter, William R. Silk Flags and Cold Steel, The Civil War in North Carolina, Volume I: The Piedmont. Signal Research, Greensboro, N.C., 1988. Trotter, William R. Bushwhackers, The Civil War in North Carolina, Vol. II: The Mountains. Signal Research, Greensboro, N.C., 1988. Tucker, Glenn. Zeb Vance: Champion of Personal Freedom. The Bobbs- Merrill, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1965. Tucker, Glenn. High Tide at Gettysburg. The Bobbs-Merrill Co., Indianapolis, Indiana, 1958. Underwood, George C. History of the Twenty-sixth Regiment of North Carolina Troops in the Great War, 1861-65. Nash Brothers Printers, Goldsboro, North Carolina, 1901. U.S. War Department. Atlas to Accompany the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Army, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1895. U.S. War Department. A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. 128 vols. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1880-1901. VanNoppen, Ina Woestemyer. Western North Carolina Since the Civil War, Appalachian Consortium Press, Boone, N.C., 1973. Wiley, Bell Irvin. The Life of Johnny Reb, The Common Soldier of the Confederacy, Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge, 1990 printing. Wise, Jennings Cropper. The Long Arm of Lee. Univeristy of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska, 1991. Yearns, W. Buck, and John G. Barrett (editors). North Carolina Civil War Documentary, The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, N.C., 1980.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||