As part
of the Conscription Act of April 1862, regiments that re-enlisted for the war
were allowed to re-elect their commanding officers. Most regiments replaced a
handful of officers. The 18th Regiment, replaced almost everyone. You might
think I exaggerate, but I do not. The colonel, lieutenant colonel, and adjutant
were defeated for re-election, while the assistant commissary of substance chose
to resign on the day of the election (April 24, 1862). Seven
of the ten company captains were replaced and in some companies, all the
officers lost their bids for re-election.
My question, however, is this: how did the adjutant,
which is an appointed position, lose his position through an election?
According to Confederate regulation, "The
commander of a regiment will appoint the adjutant from the subalterns of the
regiment...." (Article XII, section 68, Regulations for the Army of the Confederate States, 1862)
Prior to becoming adjutant of the 18th NC, Charles
D. Myers was mustered in as a 1st Sergeant of the Wilmington Light Infantry on
April 15, 1861. Myers was elected 1st Lieutenant on June 21, 1861, and in
August 1861, appointed adjutant and transferred from Company G to the field and
staff. (As an aside, Myers was born in New York City, was a 26-year-old
merchant, and lived in New Hanover County.)
Ah, but wait, there is more. I was simply basing my
assumption on the North Carolina Troop book (Vol. 6, page 306). When I went and
looked up Myers's compiled service record on Fold3, I did find one record that
stated Myers was "Not re-elected at reorganization." The card before
that tells a different story. It reads: "Declined appt. at
reorganization." That makes 1,000 times more sense. Since the colonel
(James D. Radcliff) who gave Myers the job of adjutant was defeated for re-election,
Myers refused to serve as adjutant under the new colonel (Robert H. Cowan). Of
course, I cannot explain the too different entries in the Compiled Service
Records. I also cannot explain why the editor of the troop book chose to go
with "Not reelected at reorganization" and not "Declined appt.
at reorganization." Maybe it is something as simple as the editor's not
knowing adjutants were appointed and not elected....
Well, I believe this one mystery is solved. Only a
million or so more to go now... Thoughts?
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