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58th North Carolina Infantry, Confederate States Army
© Jeffrey Craig Weaver, 1995, 1997, Arlington, Virginia
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements and Foreward
Background of the 58th North Carolina State
Troops
Regimental Organization March - July 1862
First Assignments August 1862 - August 1863-
Chickamauga and Chattanooga September - November
1863
December 1863 - September 1864 The Atlanta Cam-
paign
November 1864 - January 1865 - Playing Hell in Tennes-
see
February - April 1865 Capitulation in Carolina
Bibliography
Roster File
Please NoteThis is a draft manuscript of a book I hope to publish one day. There may be errors, although it is sincerely hoped that the information is accurate. If you have corrections, additions, or more information, please contact - Jeff Weaver.
Acknowledgements and Foreword
It takes much time to gather information on the soldiers and activities of a regiment, all dead for at least 50 years. I am in fortunate in that I live in the vicinity of Washington, DC, and have all the sources available to one in the capital region. A special thanks to the staffs at the Lloyd House, 220 N. Washington Street, Alexandria, Virginia, and to Bryan Spencer, of Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, my kinsman, who has collected memorabilia of his family as well as oral tradition to make the lives of some of the men come alive for me and hopefully for you.
Thanks also to my wife, Patti for her patience and assistance in copying information at the National Archives and during the preparation of the manuscript and to Lieutenant Colonel George Sherwood, United States Army Reserve for his comments on the manuscript. A special thanks to my grandmother, the late Fannie Blevins Weaver of Grassy Creek, NC, who related many stories about this regiment to me when a child. Ms. Sanna Gaffney of the Watauga County Historical Society provided some valuable information. The staff of the Lloyd House, Alexandria City Library, Alexandria, Virginia patiently tolerated my terrorization of their fine Civil War collection as well.
It will be noted that a large number of quotes from those involved in their official reports have been used in the preparation of this work. This seems to be appropriate in determining what the opinions of the principals were. Please note some of the official reports were fiction, designed to protect the career of the writer and are unreliable. It is the job of the historian to document and decipher this information.
History is an amalgam of information, who, what, where, when, why and how. Added to this properly should be an interpretation of the events. Objectivity about events which become an obsession is difficult, however, every effort has been made to remain objective. I am not sure it is possible for an American, Northerner or Southerner to be objective about events which have become so much of our culture.
A note to be considered when reading this history. Many battles of the American Civil War have two names, the one given by Northern soldiers and press, the other by the Southern soldiers and press. Southern names for battles have been used throughout this work. Your comments and addi- tional information are solicited and this information will be considered for subsequent editions of this work.
Background of the 58th North Carolina State Troops
It may seem inappropriate to begin the chronicle of the 58th North
Carolina in 1861, since it was not formed until July 1862. However, some
key incidents occurred in 1861 which influenced the regiment after it
mustered into service.
In 1861 North Carolina called on her sons to defend what she per-
ceived to be her inalienable rights--states rights. Leaving the Union was not
an easy decision for Tar Heels, and the dye was not cast until Lincoln called
for volunteers to suppress the rebellion in the deep South. Young mountain
farm boys left the nest for the first time, left to put on a gray uniform.
Many families supplied more than one son to a company or regiment, some
families gave all their sons to the cause. The 58th North Carolina was no
different, and soon became a family itself, bound together by a common
heritage, experience, philosophy, and blood. Despite the commonalities,
their were some significant differences in the recruitment region. Caldwell
and McDowell counties, for example, were considered foothills, and not
mountains, and were perhaps more cosmopolitan than their comrades
across the Blue Ridge.
The 58th North Carolina Infantry was recruited on the eastern rim
of the Appalachian Mountains in early 1862. The area was largely in the
Mississippi River drainage basin, and the men were more akin to their
brethren in Tennessee and Kentucky than other Carolinians in the Piedmont
or Coastal Plain. The geography of their mountains made small farms, of
200 acres, the norm rather than the exception. Small farmers had few if
any slaves and little or no need for them. The mountaineers had little
vested interest in the economic reasons for the War for Southern Indepen-
dence. Most of the men who enlisted in the 58th North Carolina shared
General Robert E. Lee's feelings that they did not want a civil war, but they
also could not, in good faith, shed the blood of their fellow Tar Heels.
Despite the litany of reasons these mountaineers had for remaining Unionist
or neutral, they were not and in 1861 embraced secession.
In 1861, the Southern Army was made up of volunteers, by men
who wanted to be there. When the ordinance of secession passed in May
1861, there was a flood of volunteers from the Tar Heel State into the new
Southern Armies. The prevailing mood at the time was that these volun-
teers would be enough to secure independence. The idea that one South-
erner could whip three to ten Yankees was common in early 1861 as well.
The fact that the war was not over in 90 days dispelled this myth, and
other Southern boys knew what they had to do in the early 1862--join the
Army! Many North Carolinians were so anxious they joined the Confederate
Army before North Carolina seceded. This enthusiasm was even found in
Appalachian Carolina!
Another contingent of men who eventually made up the 58th North
Carolina, were Union men and had no intention of ever joining a rebel army.
In 1862 however, a draft law was passed and many felt it was inevitable
that they would have to join, and did so voluntarily rather than stuck with
the stigma conscripts would suffer. Some joined the 58th in hopes of
getting close enough to Federal lines to desert and go north. The Confeder-
ate Congress also extended the terms of enlistment from 12 months to 3
years. It had also enacted the first draft in North America, and required all
men aged 18 to 35 to register, and by default, almost all would be called.
Many of these men did wait and were conscripted in 1863 and sent to join
the 58th North Carolina. Many of these late joiners had served in local
militia and had some, if limited and ineffectual military training, and could
be sent to join the unit, without further instruction.
It would appear that this unit had desertions at about the same rate
as other Appalachian units. Many captured soldiers claimed to have been
loyal and deserted to avail themselves of the amnesty proclamation. Some
were stragglers and wanted to make their rendezvous with the Yankees as
simple as possible. Some were believed by the Federal military and were
released North of the Ohio. Some were not believed and sent to prisoner
of war camps in the North.
Some of the Churches would deal with deserters after the War was
over. Many of the churches divided over the issue of slavery prior to the
outbreak of the war into Northern and Southern Factions. The Primitive
Baptist Church did not so divide, but in the period 1866 - 1868, excommu-
nicated their members who deserted from the Confederate Army or who
joined the Union League also called the "Red Stringers," which was
synonymous with the Heroes of America. The result was the formation of
Northern or "Mountain Union" Baptist Churches after the war, at Fox Creek
Church in Grayson County, Virginia in 1867. Calvinists had a inclination to
be bold in battle. They did not and do not think it possible to die before it
is one's time to die, and when that time arrived, it matters not what the
person is doing, he will die. This theological viewpoint is evidenced in
articles of faith adopted by sects in the South, and were derived from the
1683 London Confession of Faith.
Edward Pollard, author of The Lost Cause wrote:
A burning desire to aid helpless families from the likes of George
Kirk caused others to return to the Carolina mountains, without permission.
Bushwhackers, known as outliers in the mountains, were rampant in
Western North Carolina during and immediately following the war. Any able
bodied horse was stolen from 1863 onward by Union partisans or Confeder-
ate quartermaster agents. These men came through the region and took
produce at prices much below the market value. The Confederate tithe law
also burdened farmers in the hills. Despite this, the women of the area
increased production the best they could and in some cases, increased
production over prewar levels. What food there was had to be buried to be
saved from these bushwhackers and Confederate agents.
Regimental Organization March - July 1862
In late 1861 John B. Palmer conceived a notion to recruit a legion
of cavalry, infantry and artillery from the North Carolina mountains near his
Mitchell County home. This effort was partially successful and by the next
summer Palmer had recruited 10 companies of infantry and three of cavalry,
but no known artillery unit. The legion concept, however, had fallen into
disfavor with Confederate Officials and most of those already formed were
broken down into smaller units. Palmer's was no exception. The three
cavalry companies Palmer recruited became the core of the 5th North Caro-
lina Cavalry Battalion, which was later consolidated with the 7th North
Carolina Cavalry Battalion to form the 65th North Carolina State Troops or
6th North Carolina Cavalry. The 10 infantry companies were joined by an
11th company, which became Company H of the 58th, was recruited for
another Legion beginning raised by Zebulon Vance of the 26th North Caro-
lina. Vance was later elected governor of the Tar Heel State. Company H
joined the 58th at Johnson City, Tennessee in August 1862. The 58th
North Carolina was originally known as the 58th North Carolina Partisan
Rangers and was redesignated 58th North Carolina State Troops after the
unit assumed a more regular role in the war.
The 58th was mustered into the service of the State of North
Carolina on July 24, 1862, with a complement of 10 companies, and began
active service. Company M, formed in September, 1862 joined and brought
the total to an even dozen companies.
Subelements were organized as follows:
Field and Staff
John B. Palmer, Colonel
Company A
Company A, Captain Martin Wiseman's Company, was organized on
June 10, 1862 in Mitchell County, North Carolina. After Wiseman's 1862
resignation, the captaincy of Company A passed to F. A. Tobey.
Company B
Company B, Captain Jacob W. Bowman's Company, was organized
on May 17, 1862 in Yancey County, North Carolina. Bowman's resignation
of 1862 passed the company command to Isaac H. Bailey, who was
severely wounded at Chickamauga on September 20, 1863.
Company C
Company C, Captain J. P. Horton's Company, was organized on
May 29, 1862 in Yancey County, North Carolina. Horton resigned in 1862
and was followed by S. B. Briggs.
Company D
Company D, Captain D. C. Harmon's Company, was organized on
June 27, 1862 in Watauga County, North Carolina. Harmon, like his
previous four peers, resigned in 1862 and was succeeded by Benjamin
Franklin Baird.
Company E
Company E, Captain Alfred T. Stewart's Company, was organized
on July 29, 1862 in Caldwell County, North Carolina. Stewart was
promoted to Major opening the command of the company. Thomas J.
Coffey was chosen for the vacancy.
Company F
Company F, Captain W. Conley's Company, was organized on July
14, 1863 in McDowell County, North Carolina. Conley died in November
1862 and was followed by C. O. Conley, who served until he was killed in
action at New Hope Church, Georgia in June 1864. C. O. Conley was
succeeded by H. C. Long.
Company G
Company G, Captain Jonathan L. Phillips' Company, was organized
on July 11, 1862 in Yancey County, North Carolina. When Phillips was
wounded and permanently disabled at Chickamauga on September 20,
1863, John R. Norris was promoted to fill the vacancy.
Company H
Company H, Captain Thomas Dula's Company, was organized on
March 15, 1862 in Caldwell County, North Carolina. Dula was promoted
to Major and was succeeded by George Washington Finley Harper,
regimental historian. Harper was promoted to Major in November 1864 and
was succeeded by L. W. Gilbert.
Company I
Company I, Captain John A. Miller's Company, was organized on
July 15, 1862 in Watauga County, North Carolina. Miller was followed by
William R. Hodges and J. C. McGhee in the captaincy of Company I.
Company K
Company K, Captain S. M. Silver's Company, was organized on May
17, 1862 in Mitchell County, North Carolina. When S. M. Silver was
promoted to Major he was succeeded by D. R. Silver in command of the
company.
Company L
Company L, Captain W. Gentry's Company, was organized on July
20, 1862 in Ashe County, North Carolina. Gentry was succeeded by Calvin
Eller and L. Hurley.
Company M
Company M, Captain J. L. Phillips' Company was organized on
September 26, 1862 in Watauga and Ashe County, North Carolina. This
company merged with Company G in 1863.
First Assignments August 1862 - August 1863
In late July and in early August 1862 the 58th North Carolina State
Troops moved out of their mountain homes to their first post at Johnson
City, (then Johnson's Depot) Tennessee. At Johnson City the command
drilled briefly before being sent out to man various posts in Upper East
Tennessee. J. W. Dugger recorded that the first camp near Johnson Depot
was called Camp Stokes.
On August 23, 1862, J. F. Belton, Assistant Adjutant-General at
Knoxville, Tennessee, wrote to General Caarter Littlepage Stevenson, that
the 58th North Carolina was divided up, with one company at Carter's
Depot, two companies at Zollicoffer and some at Johnson's Depot. On
August 25th, Palmer was ordered:
J. W. Dugger recorded that the 58th moved up to Cumberland Gap
on September 16 and remained there until October 25, 1862. Communi-
cations between H. S. Bradford, Assistant Adjutant-General and Brigadier
General Stevenson on September 18, 1862, gave the order for the 58th
North Carolina, which had been left at Cumberland Gap, Tennessee to clear
the road, removing all obstructions.
On September 19, 1862 the was 58th mentioned in the dispatch
from Major General J. P. McCown to General Stevenson. McCown ordered
Stevenson to pursue the Federals under General George Washington Morgan
if he should retreat toward Lexington, Kentucky. Stevenson was ordered
to leave one regiment of Palmer's Command in place in order to guard the
salt-works at Saltville, Smyth County, Virginia. Major George Washington
Finley Harper in his history of the regiment noted:
Captain Isaac H. Bailey wrote in 1901:
we followed the Federals to near Perryville, where we joined
General Bragg. Shortly after we returned to Tennessee with
the army. After this we were stationed for a short time in
the winter of 1862 at Big Creek Gap, Clinton, London and
still later at Chattanooga, Tenn.
An organizational table for the Army of East Tennessee troops under
Kirby Smith, placed the 58th in the Second Brigade under command of Brig-
adier General Archibald Gracie, Jr. The brigade consisted of:
Second Brigade - Brigadier General Archibald Gracie, Jr.
An organizational table for troops in the Department of East Tennes-
see, commanded by Lieutenant General E. Kirby Smith on November 20,
1862 the 58th North Carolina was in the Second Brigade of Third Division
under the Command of General Henry Heth. Heth's Division, located on the
line of the Virginia-Tennessee railroad was constituted as follows:
First Brigade, commanded by Brigadier General W. G. M. Davis
Second Brigade - Brigadier General Archibald Gracie, Jr.
Third Brigade - Colonel Sumner J. Smith
Fourth Brigade - Colonel Alexander Welch Reynolds
Fifth Brigade - Colonel Alsey H. Bradford
A brief glimpse of life in camp was found in a letter from George
McGuire to McCajah and Nancy Tugman. This letter was written in the
camp of the 58th North Carolina at Big Creek Gap in Campbell County,
Tennessee on December 18, 1862, a week before Christmas. The letter
reads in part:
A December 27, 1862 organizational table for troops in the
Department of East Tennessee, commanded by Lieutenant General Edmund
Kirby Smith, headquartered at Knoxville made the following change in the
Brigade of which the 58th North Carolina was part. Palmer's Brigade, under
command of Colonel J. B. Palmer, was stationed at Big Creek Gap.
Hilliard's Alabama Legion, 1st Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel J.
Thorington
A February 20, 1863 field return for the Department of East Tennes-
see gives Palmer's Command's Strength, located at Big Creek Gap, as 125
officers and 1526 enlisted men. Palmer's Brigade continued the following
units:
Hilliard's Alabama Legion, 1st Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel J.
Thorington
A March 19, 1863 Organization Order for the Department of East
Tennessee constituted Palmer's Brigade as found below. The brigade was
still stationed at Big Creek Gap.
Hilliard's Alabama Legion, 1st Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel J.
Thorington
The 58th North Carolina finally left Big Creek Gap on March 29,
with instructions to proceed to Clinton, in Anderson County, Tennessee.
The regiment reached their new positions on the Clinch River on the 30th.
An organizational table dated April 25, 1863, showed that Palmer's com-
mand was considerably reduced in size and was headquartered at Clinton,
Anderson County, Tennessee.
55th Georgia - Major Daniel S. Printup
J. W. Dugger noted that the 58th left Clinton on May 6 and march-
ed two miles. The next day the regiment marched 23 miles, and on the 8th
they continued on to Wartburg, Tennessee where they stopped. On the
14th Palmer's men moved to Montgomery, Tennessee, 15 miles away. The
next day the 58th's men cooked rations all night and then marched 20 mil-
es. On the 16th, the men marched 20 more miles and reached Wolf River
in Kentucky where they camped. The following morning at 4 a.m. the regi-
ment moved toward Monticello, Kentucky which was reached on the 18th.
After remaining at Monticello for a week, the 58th returned to Wolf River
on May 25 and then on the 27th started out for Clinton, Tennessee once
more, where the men made camp on May 30.
On May 22, 1863 Federal Major General J. G. Foster reported from
New Berne, North Carolina that in the demonstrations against Kingston,
North Carolina that his forces had surrounded the 58th North Carolina on
four sides and captured 200-300 of that regiment. This report was in error,
as the 58th did not leave the mountains during this period.
The 58th remained at Clinton for three weeks, when they fell back
10 miles. On the 21st, they fell back another 10 miles and lay in a line of
battle all night. There was considerable marching and countermarching
during late June and early July 1863. Federals were putting considerable
pressure on middle Tennessee and emergencies were cropping in many
places. Southern commanders rushed troops from place to place to meet
the possible contingencies. The 58th North Carolina reached Louden,
Tennessee on June 28 to meet an expected Federal push on Knoxville from
the South. Confederates had moved the garrison at Knoxville to Tullahoma,
and the 58th was moved South to replace the troops who moved out. The
58th remained at Louden for two weeks.
Palmer's regiment marched for Bell's Bridge on July 11 and reached
it on the 12th. The regiment remained there until August 4. On July 31,
1863 the organization of the Army of Tennessee, commanded by Major
General Simon Bolivar Buckner placed the 58th in Frazer's Brigade head-
quartered at Bell's Bridge. The brigade was organized as follows:
Fifth Brigade - Brigadier General John W. Frazer
On August 3, 1863, Bucker ordered Frazer's command to move to
various locations from Bell's Bridge. Frazer's headquarters was to be
located at Cumberland Gap:
The 58th North Carolina left Bell's Bridge on August 4 and returned
to Big Creek Gap, which was reached on the 6th. After two weeks at Big
Creek Gap, the regiment began a retrograde movement on the 22nd and ar-
rived in Jacksborough that evening. About 4 a.m. on the 23rd, Palmer
moved his men to Campbell Station, which was reached about 10 p.m., and
during the night rations were cooked for the anticipated movements over
the next few days. On the morning of the 24th Dugger noted that "took up
their line of march for Lenoir's Station arriving the same day." Dugger
continued:
In armies thus recruited [by conscription], desertions were
the events of every day. There were other causes of
desertion. Owing to the gross mismanagement of the
commissariat, and a proper effort to mobilize the subsis-
tence of the Confederacy, the armies were almost constant-
ly on short rations, sometimes without a scrap of meat, and
frequently in a condition bordering on absolute starvation.
The Confederate soldier, almost starving himself, heard
constantly of destitution at home, and was distressed with
the suffering of his family, and was constantly plied with
temptation to go to their protection and relief.
In the case of the 58th North Carolina's butternuts many felt
compelled to go home to escape being "cannon fodder" for the Gallant
Hood of Texas.
Thomas J. Dula, Major, Lieutenant Colonel
John C. Keener, Major, Lieutenant Colonel
Edmund Kirby, Lieutenant Colonel
William W. Proffitt, Lieutenant Colonel
Samuel M. Silver, Lieutenant Colonel
Alfred T. Stewart, Major
B. T. Perry, Adjutant
Edmund Kreley, Adjutant
E. J. Bearden, AQM
W. H. Harris, Surgeon
W. A. Collett, Surgeon
T. J. Mitchell, Assistant Surgeon
Q. M. Lewis, Assistant Surgeon
Alonzo White, Assistant Surgeon
John W. Robey, Chaplain
Harrison Herndon, Sergeant Major
L. D. Cuffey, Sergeant Major
James Conley, QM Sergeant
John W. Meadows, QM Sergeant
John A. Hensley, Ordnance Sergeant
H. Esleg, Drum-Major
John C. Blair, Chief Musician
James M. Riddle, Hospital Steward
Your regiment having been ordered to report to Brig. Gen.
C. L. Stevenson, you will see that it is not encumbered with
any superfluous or unnecessary baggage, the soldier taking
only his proper kit. But 5 wagons will be allowed to a
regiment and not more than one tent to each company. All
other property, including the trunks of the officers, must be
left at the railroad or turned over to the proper department
for storage. The men were supplied with three days' rations
and 40 rounds of cartridges. Twenty rounds extra per man
should be carried with the baggage.
On August 26, 1862, Belton noted in a dispatch to Stevenson that
the 58th had been ordered up as reinforcements. The 58th left Camp
Stokes on the 27th and reached Camp Reynolds, near Cumberland Gap on
the 30th. The regiment was assigned to General Stevenson's division of E.
Kirby Smith's Army of East Tennessee. Smith was coordinating with
Braxton Bragg for a full-scale invasion of Kentucky--the untested 58th North
Carolina would soon get their chance. Stevenson's command, which was
investing Cumberland Gap, held by Federal forces under the command of
General George Washington Morgan of Pennsylvania. Morgan's position,
made untenable by Confederate pressure all over Kentucky, and to the
banks of the Ohio opposite Cincinnati, forced him to withdraw, leaving the
Confederates in control of the vital communication link at Cumberland Gap.
The 58th North Carolina was assigned duties paroling captured prisoners
and repairing damage the fleeing Yankees had done for a few days.
On the retreat of the Federal Garrison, Colonel Palmer was
placed in command of the "Gap" with his regiment, Caper's
Georgia Battalion and a battery of artillery until the prisoners
could be paroled and the captured stores secured, after
which it moved into Kentucky, but unexpectedly met
Bragg's army on its retreat.
This scenario is not corroborated by J. W. Dugger's diary. Dugger
noted that the 58th North Carolina remained in camp at Cumberland Gap
until October 25. On that date the regiment marched 11 miles, 16 more on
the 26th in the snow and finally camped in "a nice grove." On the 27th,
Palmer's men marched five miles and pitched their tents at Big Creek
Gap.
43d Alabama - Colonel Y. M. Moody
55th Georgia - Colonel C. B. Harkie
58th North Carolina - Colonel John B. Palmer
62d North Carolina - Colonel Robert G. A. Love
64th North Carolina - Colonel Lawrence M. Allen
Newman Georgia Artillery - Capt. G. M. Hanvey
1st Florida Cavalry - Colonel George Troup Maxwell
6th Florida - Colonel Jesse Johnson Finley
7th Florida - Colonel Madison Starke Perry
63rd Tennessee - Colonel Richard Gammon Fain
Marion (Florida) Artillery - Captain J. M. Martin
43rd Alabama - Colonel Y. M. Moody
55th Georgia - Colonel C. B. Harkie
58th North Carolina - Colonel John B. Palmer
62nd North Carolina - Colonel Robert G. A. Love
64th North Carolina - Colonel Lawrence M. Allen
Newman Georgia Artillery - Captain G. M. Hanvey
Georgia Battalion - Lieutenant Colonel John S. Fain
Georgia Cavalry Battalion - Lieutenant Colonel John R. Hart
39th North Carolina - Colonel David Coleman
3rd Tennessee - Colonel Newton Jackson Lillard
31st Tennessee - Colonel William M. Bradford
43rd Tennessee - Colonel James Wendell Gillespie
59th Tennessee - Colonel James Burch Cooke
3rd Maryland Battery - Captain H. B. Latrobe
1st Alabama Battalion - Lieutenant Colonel Jack Thorington
2nd Alabama Battalion - Lieutenant Colonel Bolling Hall, Jr.
3rd Alabama Battalion - Lieutenant Colonel John
William Augustine Sanford
4th Alabama Artillery Battalion - Lieutenant Colonel
W. N. Reeves
Barbour Alabama Artillery - Captain R. F. Kolb.
Dear brother and sister it is with pleasur that i seat myself
this morning to write a few lines to you in token of my best
respects to you i can say to you that i am in tollerable helth
at this time hoping these few lines will find you all well and
doping well i can in form you that i receid a very fond[?]
leter from you yester day which gave me great satisfaction
to hear from you and to hear that you was all well i have bin
vey bad of with a cough and cold and stopt up in my head
and lungs but i am a getting beter there's a head of sickness
here in camp is not half of our compny that is able for duty.
Moses Greer and Solomon Greer is both dead and six others
in our company we dont no how long we will stay hear now
how soon we will be atacked by the Yanks but if tha come
we will give them the best we have got in our shop i am in
a bad fix to write to day for i expected to get to go home a
bout this time and have got noked out of it and it hert me
a sit bad i receid a letter from home a few days a go and
tha is was all well....
Part of the 58th was apparently detached just before Christmas
1862. J. W. Dugger noted that his company marched to Jacksborough on
December 22 and remained there until January 16, when they returned to
Big Creek Gap.
Hilliard's Alabama Legion, 4th Battalion, Major W. N. Reeves
Smith's Georgia Legion, Cavalry Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel John
R. Hart
5th North Carolina Cavalry Battalion, Captain S. W. English
58th North Carolina Regiment, Colonel John B. Palmer
Hilliard's Alabama Legion, 4th Battalion, Major William N.
Reeves
Smith's Georgia Legion, Cavalry Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel John
R. Hart
5th North Carolina Cavalry Battalion, Captain S. W. English
58th North Carolina Regiment, Colonel John B. Palmer
64th North Carolina Regiment, Colonel Lawrence M. Allen
5th Tennessee Regiment, Colonel George Washington McKenzie-
Kolb's Alabama Battery, Captain R. F. Kolb
Hilliard's Alabama Legion, 4th Battalion, Major William N.
Reeves
Smith's Georgia Legion, Cavalry Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel John
R. Hart
5th North Carolina Cavalry Battalion, Captain S. W. English
58th North Carolina Regiment, Colonel John B. Palmer
64th North Carolina Regiment, Colonel Lawrence M. Allen
5th Tennessee Regiment Colonel George Washington McKenzie-
Barbour Alabama Artillery - Captain R. F. Kolb
58th North Carolina - Major John C. Keener
64th North Carolina - Lieutenant Colonel James A. Keith
Barbour Alabama Artillery - Captain R. F. Kolb
55th Georgia - Lieutenant Colonel Alexander W. Persons
58th North Carolina - Colonel John B. Palmer
64th North Carolina - Major Thomas P. Jones
Kolb's Battery - Captain R. F. Kolb.
...the 58th North Carolina was ordered to Big Creek Gap to
relieve the infantry garrison there; the 65th Georgia, now at
Knoxville, will march to Jacksborough as soon as relieved
by the 6th Florida; The 55th Georgia to be relieved by the
58th North Carolina, to move to Cumberland Gap; The 64th
North Carolina ordered from Strawberry Plains to Cumber-
land Gap via Bell's Bridge.
This rearrangement of assignments was in some ways was a fortun-
ate turn of events for the men of the 58th - Cumberland Gap fell on
September 9, 1863 and the men captured there were sent to Camp Douglas
where more died than they would likely take in battle deaths in battle. The
58th North Carolina's place was assumed by the 64th Virginia Mounted In-
fantry which lost 425 men captured at the Gap, 150 of whom died in Yan-
kee prisons.
Stayed at Lenoir's 4 days lay in line of battle 2 days.
Retired from Lenoir's Station the 29th of Aug. at 4 o'clock
in the after-noon and arrived at Louden that night at 11
o'clock. Started next morning at 5 o'clock and marched 12
miles and took up camp near Sweet Water, Tenn. About 8
o'clock, were ordered to fall in line in ten minutes. Marched
4 miles and took up camp in a field. Starting next morning
at 4 o'clock marched 11 miles to Riceville, Tenn., and
camped about 5 o'clock. Before day next morning started
and marched past Charlestown 6 miles and camped at a
large spring about 2 o'clock. Remained there and went on
picket that night. Next day, Sept. the 3rd, started at 12
and marched until 1 that night and camped at Georgetown,
Tennessee.