Revision: 1,500 Confederate regiments

I recently found the late Arthur Bergeron's Guide to Louisiana Confederate Military Units, 1861-1865, on my own shelf. Not sure why I did not look at it when I made my initial post a few weeks back. Crute's Units of the Confederate States Army lists 77 infantry, cavalry, and artillery organizations from Louisiana. Bergeron lists 111. So, the new number of Confederate regiments, battalions, and batteries raised during the war stands at 1,500. I image this number will continue to rise.

A couple of days ago, I received this question through my contact form, from Edgar: "I found many union regimental histories/biographies on the Hathi Digital website when I was researching Sherman's march campsites (Goldsboro-Raleigh) last winter, but I can't find much about Confed. regiments there." So, why not more Confederate regimentals? That's a question. The reason that a person cannot find more Confederate regimentals on online databases like HathiTrust is probably because they were not written.

Using North Carolina as a guide, we find in Stewart Sifakis's Compendium 233 Confederate regiments, battalions, and batteries. Of those 233 organizations, only seven had histories written and published by the veterans themselves. Those seven are:

Harris, Historical Sketches of the Seventh Regiment North Carolina Troops, 1861-1865 (1893)

Smith, The Anson Guards: Company C, Fourteenth Regiment North Carolina Volunteers 1861-1865 (1914)

Mills, History of the 16th North Carolina Regiment in the Civil War (1901)

Carr, History of Company E, 20th N. C. Regiment 1861-1865: Confederate Grays. (1905)

Underwood, The 26th Regiment N.C. Troops, Pettigrew's Brigade, Heth's Division, Hill's Corps, A. N. V. 1861-1865 (1901)

Sloan, Reminiscences of the Guilford Grays, Co. B 27th N. C. Regiment (1883)

Day, A True History of Company I, 49th Regiment North Carolina Troops (1893)

If my math is right, that is only 3 percent of North Carolina regiments, battalions, and batteries that had a book written about their service prior to the 1960s. To take this a step further, of the seven, only three are actually regimental histories. The others deal with companies. Now, to North Carolina's credit, the North Carolina Confederate Veterans Association, under the direction of Walter Clark, began to collect essays by veterans about their regiments at the turn of the 20th century. This was later published in 1901 in a five-volume set. To my knowledge, no other state has anything equal to this: a short history of almost every regiment, written by a veteran of that regiment. (By the way, all five of these volumes have been digitized and are online.)

   So to answer the question posed, the reason there is not more information on these regiments is because the veterans did not write down their histories. Union regimentals are plentiful. Confederates, not so much.

The buttons they wore.

I’ll tell you how I got on this topic before we go any further. I ordered and received a new dress jacket the other day for interpretation and re-enacting purposes. It is a Confederate colonel’s jacket that I will use to display, and for warranted occasions, like dress parades and balls. I was trying to decide what buttons to put on the jacket. That is how we arrived at this post.

So which buttons were used on the jackets that North Carolina’s soldiers wore? I did some research, and went through the online catalog of the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh, and through the book ­A Catalog of Uniforms from the Museum of the Confederacy. Most of the jackets I found were officers’ jackets, probably their dress jackets. It seems that most officers had one dress uniform, and then another suit of clothes that they wore every day. After the battle of New Bern in March 1862, Lt. William G. Morris of the 37th NCT wrote home, stating that he had lost everything when the Confederates were forced to retreat. "I have Nothing Except that is on my back. that is My Brown soote. I Did Not have on My uniform" he wrote.

Surprisingly, the majority of officers had United States Staff Eagle and Shield buttons on their coats. These coats came from a variety of sources. Until the end of the war, officers were expected, or required, to purchase their own uniforms. Some were made at home, others were made by tailors. There is no real way to determine where each jacket was manufactured.

So where did the Confederates get all of these yankee buttons? Something in the back of my mind says I know this story, but I cannot seem to place my hand on it. So, I’ll put the question to you: where did the Confederates get these buttons?

By the way, it was just not Tar Heels who had these buttons. The majority of surviving Confederate officer uniforms at the Museum of the Confederacy also have Federal staff buttons, including the jackets of JEB Stuart, Sandie Pendleton, John Hunt Morgan, and Patrick Cleburne

North Carolina Museum of History
William Branch – staff – US Staff
Thomas P. Devereaux – 43rd NCT – VMI buttons.
Alfred May -- 61st NCT – CSA
Charles W. Broadfoot -- Fayetteville Light Infantry – US Infantry
Lawrence Branch – Gen. – US buttons
Robert F. Hoke – Gen. – Confederate staff
James B. Gordon – Gen. – Standard Federal Button
J. Bryan Grimes – Gen. -- NC Sunburst
Rufus Tucker – 41st NCT – NC State seals
John T. Jones – Lt. Col. 26th NCT – US Staff
Henry C. Albright – 26th NCT – US Staff
Junius Daniel – 45th NCT - SC Palmetto Guards (when a major)
William H. Powell – 17th NCT – US Staff
Henry M. Shaw – 8th NCT – US Staff
Thomas Sparrow – 19th NCST – US Staff
James J. Pettigrew – Gen. – US Staff
Edmond Haywood - ? – NC Sunburst

Museum of the Confederacy
NC Drummer – Federal shield with a “R”
William D. Pender – Gen. - US Staff
Eugene Morehead – 3rd NCA- US Staff
John Hughes – 7th NCST – CSA on shield
Robert D. Johnston – Gen. -- US Staff
John A. Gilmer – 27th NCT/ Prisoner commander – Virginia state seal.
Peter G. Evans – 6th NCC – US Staff
David S. Davis – 66th NCT – US Staff

Greensboro
David Gouge – 58th NCT – Script I’s

Lenoir County

I thought this morning we would turn our attention to Lenoir County, over toward the east coast. Lenoir County is named for Gen. William Lenoir (1751-1839). The county was formed in 1791 from Dobbs County. Lenoir was a patriot in the American Revolution. He lived in modern Caldwell County, where the county seat, Lenoir, is also named for William Lenoir. Kinston, which had served as Dobbs County’s seat, was retained as Lenoir County’s seat. Kinston was incorporated in 1762. The name was originally Kingston and named in honor of King George III.

In 1860, Lenoir County had a population of 10,220, including 5,131 slaves and 177 free blacks. And during the 1860 Presidential election, Lenoir County voters cast 533 votes for Breckinridge, 317 for Bell, and 21 for Douglas.

February 1861 found Lenoir County voting 447 for a convention to consider secession, with 195 against the question. Representing the county during the convention of May 1861 was John Cobb Washington, a relative of George Washington. J. C. Washington was born in Kinston in 1801. He was a merchant and a farmer and was opposed to secession.

Numerous companies were recruited from Lenoir County, including Company D, 5th NCST; Company C, 13th Batt. NC Infantry; Companies C and D, 27th NCT; 1st Company K, 32nd NCT; Co. E, 61st NCT; and Companies C and H, 1st Batt. Local Defense Troops.

The county was the site of numerous raids during the war. Lenoir County was between the Federal army at New Bern, and the Confederate-held (and extremely important) Wilmington and Weldon Railroad. We are going to focus our time on the two larger battles in the county, namely, the battle of Kinston, fought December 13-14, 1862, and the battle of Wyse Fork, fought March 8-10, 1865.

The first battle of Kinston was part of a general troop movement by Union forces which extended as far west as Goldsboro, as far north as Fredericksburg, Va. and as far south as Wilmington. Union troops under the command of Brigadier General John G. Foster of New Hampshire had already taken the town of New Bern. Foster’s force consisted of about 10,000 infantry, 640 cavalry, and 40 pieces of artillery, supported by nine small gun boats on the Neuse River. Defending Kinston were a little more than 2,500 Confederates under the command of Brig. Gen. Nathan G. “Shank” Evans. On December 11, 1862, the raid commenced, and on December 13, the two forces collided. Federal cavalry battled Confederate infantry at Southwest Creek, with the North Carolinians being driven back. Evans consolidated his forces about two miles away at a bridge crossing over the Neuse. The next day, the Federals faced stiff resistance but were able to cross a swamp and out- flank the Confederates. Evans, believing all his men were across the bridge, ordered it burned. However, not all of his men were across the river, and he lost 400 captured to the Federals, along with eleven pieces of artillery. The flames on the bridge were extinguished by the Federals, who were able to cross over into Kinston. Evans continued to retreat, and skirmishes were fought at Seven Springs (then Whitehall) in Wayne County. Eventually, the Federals reached Goldsboro, but were unable to capture and destroy the bridge due to Confederate resistance, and were forced to retreat. By Dec. 14, Foster's inland expedition resulted in 90 Union soldiers killed, 478 wounded, and nine missing. On the Confederate side, 71 were killed, 268 wounded, and over 400 captured.

The battle of Wyse Fork, also called the Second Battle of Kinston, was fought March 7-10, 1865. This battle has been called the second largest battle in the state and was a delaying action by Braxton Bragg against forces of John Schofield. Schofield planned to advance inland from Wilmington in February, at the same time assigning Maj. Gen. Jacob Cox to direct Union forces from New Berne toward Goldsboro. On March 7, Cox’s advance was stopped by Hoke’s and Hagood’s divisions under Gen. Braxton Bragg’s command at Southwest Creek below Kinston. On the 8th, the Confederates attempted to seize the initiative by attacking the Union flanks. After initial success, the Confederate attacks stalled because of faulty communications. On March 9, the Union forces were reinforced and beat back Bragg’s renewed attacks on the 10th after heavy fighting. Bragg withdrew across the Neuse River and was unable to prevent the fall of Kinston on March 14. Federal loses were 1,101. Confederate losses were estimated at 1,500.

Also of importance to Lenoir County history is the Confederate ironclad CSS Neuse. “ The CSS Neuse, named after the river on which it was based, was constructed in 1863 amid Confederate hopes that the ironclad could help regain control over the rivers and sounds of eastern North Carolina. In April 1864, the Neuse, not yet fully equipped, left Kinston to help with a planned attack against New Bern. Before it reached its target, the Neuse ran aground and eventually returned to its base. On March 12, 1865, she was burned by her crew to prevent capture. The wreck remained in the river until 1963 when it was raised, then located in its present site. The remains of the Neuse (much of its wooden lower structure and some of its iron plating) are displayed” at the CSS Neuse State Historic Park.

There are numerous things to see in Kinston and Lenoir County pertaining to the war. There is a driving tour available of the battle of Kinston. You can gain information on the tour by visiting the Visitor Center on Hwy. 70 just on the outskirts of town. The Visitor Center has a video and numerous artifacts from the battles. There is also a monument on the Visitor Center grounds. If memory serves me correctly, the Visitor Center is on part of the battlefield. The Historic Preservation Group in Lenoir County has preserved 56 acres of land pertaining to the March 1865 battle at Wyse Fork. There are also several signs and markers detailing this battle. The remains of the CSS Neuse can be visited, along with the “Cat Hole of the Neuse” a spot on the river where construction of the ironclad was finished. Right in the middle of town is the CSS Neuse II, a full-size replica of the original ironclad.

I was in Kinston in August of last year and greatly enjoyed my visit. I encourage you to also drop by.

Veterans of the battle of Kinston. Possibly taken on May 10,1920.

Pitt County

I’ve been undecided about which county to do next in our little study. I was in Rowan and Cabarrus County on Tuesday, and there is a small write-up about Mitchell County in today’s Asheville Citizen. I finally decided to move a little further east and look at Pitt County.

Pitt County is located in the Coastal Plane area of eastern North Carolina. The County was formed in 1760 from portions of Beaufort County and named for the earl of Chatham, William Pitt. Prior to European settlement, the area was inhabited by the Tuscarora Indians. The county seat, chartered in 1771, was originally known as Martinsborough, in honor of North Carolina’s last royal governor, Josiah Martin. In 1786, the name was changed to Greensville in honor of Patriot general Nathanial Greene.

In 1860, the County had a total population of 16, 080 including 3,743 slaves. In the 1860 presidential election, Pitt County was practically tied. The residents cast 731 votes for Breckenridge, 710 for Bell, and eight for Douglass. While their presidential ideas were split, their belief in secession was not. When the vote came in February 1861, they voted 986 for, with 177 against the convention. Their representatives for the convention were Fenner B. Satterwhite and Bryan Grimes. Grimes resigned and was replaced by Pryton Atkinson.

Numerous Confederate companies came from Pitt County. These included Companies E, G, I, and K, 1st Battalion Local Defense; Company G, 8th NCST; Company C, 17th NCST (1st Organization); Company K, 17th NCST (2nd Organization); Companies E and H, 27th NCT; Companies C, D, and I, 44th NCT; Company E, 55th NCT, and Company F, 61st NCT. One of the first Confederate battlefield fatalities, Henry Wyatt (battle of Big Bethel, June 1861), had spent a number of years in Greenville. It was estimated by a local historian that 1,376 Pitt County men served in the Confederate army.

Military action came early in Pitt County. On June 5, 1862, “Col. Robert Potter [US], garrison commander at Washington, North Carolina, ordered a reconnaissance in the direction of Pactolus. The 24th Massachusetts under Lt. Col. F.A. Osborne, advanced to the bridge over Tranter’s Creek, where it encountered the 44th North Carolina, under Col. George Singletary. Unable to force a crossing, Osborne brought his artillery to bear on the mill buildings in which the Confederates were barricaded. Colonel Singletary was killed in the bombardment, and his troops retreated. The Federals did not pursue and returned to their fortifications at Washington.” Total losses on both sides were estimated at 40. You can read a fuller description of the battle here.

Two additional incursions took place in October 1862. The first was a raid toward Haddock’s cross road, resulting in the capture of several Confederates. The other raid was on Greenville itself, and the town was captured with the death of one Federal soldier.

In July 1863, Federal General Edward Potter raided through the area. You can read a full account here. There is also a driving tour, part of the North Carolina Civil War Trail Markers program, that you can view here. The raid was to disrupt Confederate supply routes in the area. Federal soldiers entered Greenville the afternoon of July 19. Local residents said that during their short stay, the Federals looted homes and destroyed Confederate supplies. At Otter Creek Bridge, near Falkland, a group of 150 Confederates, with artillery, stopped a portion of the raiders, and forced them to find another rout. Yet another small skirmish occurred at Scuffletown, on the Pitt/Greene County border.

In November of 1863, another raid took place through the county. The Federals involved were the 1st North Carolina Volunteers (African-American), which captured a portion of the 67th North Carolina Troops near Haddock’s Cross Roads. A fight, involving a portion of the Federal army and North Carolina and Virginia soldiers, took place at Red Banks Church on the night of December 30. Both sides retreated, with the Confederates losing a piece of artillery.

By 1864, most of the county had been raided, looted, and burned, and large-scale military action dropped off.

Following the war, a Confederate monument was erected on the courthouse grounds in 1914. Last year, an individual or two asked that the monument be removed. So far, the county commissioners have been unmoved.

Pitt County is doing a great job of marking and interpreting its Civil war sites. They have seven of the North Carolina Civil War trial markers, including three recently put up. You can learn more about the new markers here.

Pvt. Needham Price - 27th NCT

New Bern

old books

I have come to the conclusion that writing a regimental history is one of the hardest things to do. I’ve written one regimental history (37th NCT), and I’m working on a second (58th NCT). When one writes about a battle (which I’ve also done), one is able to be the master of that battle. A person can collect every scrap of information, can visit the battlefield, can tramp over every inch of ground. One is able (usually) to visualize what took place. When one writes about a regiment, one needs to be able to master not only that regiment, but all of the battles in which it fought. For the 37th NCT, that was over 30 plus engagements. No wonder it took six years of just writing! Yes, I visited all but one of those battlefields. (I did not visit Ox Hill. I have yet to visit Ox Hill). Have I visited every battlefield the 58th fought on? Not yet, but I’m working on it.
Maybe that is why we have so few modern (say, since 1961) regimental histories. To do a good job requires a great deal of time and effort.

Curiosity got the better of me this morning. What was the first attempt at writing about a regiment from North Carolina after the war?

It appears that Charles L. Jones wrote Historical Sketch: the following Historical Sketch of his company, regiment, and brigade, in 1874. This is a history of Company G, 55th North Carolina Troops. Jones was an officer in that company.

I have never seen a copy of Jones’s work. According to WorldCat, the book is 55 pages long, and originally appeared in an issue of D. H. Hill’s Our Living and Our Dead. While there may be a copy in an issue of Our Living and Our Dead, there are only three independent copies in other institutions: two in California and one in Missouri.

Jones’s book was followed in 1876 with W. H. Hall’s Historical Sketches of the Pee Dee Guards (Co. D, 23rd N. C. Regiment), and in 1883 with John A. Sloan’s Reminiscences of the Guilford Grays, Co. B, 27th N. C. Regiment.

The last two I have, albeit the re-releases done in 1989 and 1978.