Some Brief Regimental Histories

It fought under D.R. Jones at First Manassas and in April, 1862 contained 692 effectives. During the remainder of the war it served under Generals H. Cobb, Griffith, Barksdale, and Humphreys. After fighting at Leesburg, the 17th was active in the difficult campaigns of the Army of Northern Virginia from Seven Pines to Cold Harbor, except when detached to Chickamauga and Knoxville. It was involved in Early's Shenandoah Valley operations and later the Appomattox Campaign. This regiment took 600 men to Leesburg and lost 2 killed and 9 wounded. It reported 15 killed and 92 wounded during the Seven Days' Battles, 9 killed and 77 wounded of the 270 at Sharpsburg, 13 wounded at Fredericksburg, and 10 killed and 70 wounded at Chancellorsville. Of the 469 engaged at Gettysburg, forty-three percent were disabled. Many were lost at Sayler's Creek , and only 3 officers and 62 men surrendered.

The field officers were Colonels Winfield S. Featherston, John C. Fixer, and William D. Holder; Lieutenant Colonel John McGuirk; and Majors William L. Duff, John M. Lyles, and Edward W. Upshaw.

49th North Carolina Infantry CSA (King's Mountain Tigers)

49th Infantry Regiment was organized in March, 1862, at Garysburg, North Carolina. Its companies were recruited in the following counties: McDowell, Cleveland, Iredell, Moore, Mecklenburg, Gaston, Catawba, and Lincoln.

Assigned to General R. Ransom's and M.W. Ransom's Brigade, the unit fought with the Army of Northern Virginia from the Seven Days' Battles to Fredericksburg. It then served in the New Bern area and near the Chowan River in North Carolina. Returning to Virginia, it was active at Drewry's Bluff and Cold Harbor, took its place in the Petersburg trenches south of the James River, and saw action around Appomattox. This regiment lost 14 killed, 75 wounded, and 16 missing at Malvern Hill, had 16 killed and 61 wounded during the Maryland Campaign, and had 9 wounded at Fredericksburg. Many were disabled at Sayler's Creek, and it surrendered 11 officers and 95 men on April 9, 1865.

The field officers were Colonels Lee M. McAfee and Stephen D. Ramseur; Lieutenant Colonels James T. David, William A. Eliason, and John A. Flemming; and Majors Pinckney B. Chambers and Charles Q. Petty.

13th Georgia Infantry Regiment (Meriwether Volunteers)

13th Regiment Georgia Volunteer Infantry (Evan's Brigade, Gordon's Division, Army of Northern Virginia,CSA). This unit was also known as the "Meriwether Volunteers."

Thomas's Company, under the command of Stonewall Jackson, fought in the June 1862 battles for the relief of Richmond (Gains' Mill on the 27th, Savage Station on the 29th, Glendale on the 30th, and Malvern Hill on July 1). His unit later fought at Cedar Mountain (August 9th), the second battle of Manassas (29th & 30th of August), at Harper's Ferry (September 15th), and the battle of Sharpsburg or Antietam Creek (September 17).

37th Mississippi Infantry Regiment

37th Infantry Regiment was organized during the spring of 1862 with men recruited in the counties of Clarke, Lowndes, Greene, De Soto, Jasper, and Claiborne.

After participating in numerous battles in Mississippi the unit was assigned to General Hebert's Brigade in the Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana. It was captured when Vicksburg fell and during the siege it lost 17 killed, 56 wounded, and 7 missing. Exchanged, the regiment contained 26 officers and 442 men in December, 1863. It then served under Generals Mackall, Cantey, and Featherston in the Army of Tennessee. The 37th fought in the Atlanta Campaign, endured Hood's winter operations in Tennessee, and ended the war in North Carolina. It reported 5 killed and 27 wounded of the 453 engaged at Iuka , had 19 killed and 62 wounded at Corinth, and sustained 81 casualties at Hatchie's Bridge. Many were disabled in Tennessee, and early in 1865 its ten companies were reduced to three and the unit was redesignated the 37th Battalion. It surrendered in April.

The field officers were Colonels Orlando S. Holland and Robert McLain; Lieutenant Colonels William S. Patton, Samuel H. Terral, and William W. Wier; and Major John McGee.

46th North Carolina Infantry Regiment

46th Infantry Regiment, organized in March, 1862, at Camp Magnum, near Raleigh, North Carolina, contained men recruited in the counties of Robeson, Rowan, Burke, Warren, Richmond, Granville, Moore, Randolph, Sampson, and Catawba.

The regiment served in General J.G. Walker's and Cooke's Brigade and was active in various conflicts of Army of Northern Virginia from the Seven Days' Battles to Fredericksburg. It was later sent to Pocataligo, South Carolina, where it was stationed until June, 1863. Returning to Virginia, the 46th fought at Bristoe, The Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor, then endured the hardships of the Petersburg trenches south of the James River. It ended the war at Appomattox. This regiment reported 5 killed and 60 wounded during the Maryland Campaign, had 11 killed and 57 wounded at Fredericksburg, and had fifty-four percent disabled of the 540 engaged at The Wilderness. In April, 1865, it surrendered 15 officers and 102 men.

The field officers were Colonels Edward D. Hall and William L. Saunders; Lieutenant Colonels William A. Jenkins and Alexander C. McAlister; and Majors Neill M. McNeill, Rush J. Mitchell, and Richard M. Norment.

Thomas' Legion (69th North Carolina Regiment)

Thomas' Legion, also known as Thomas' Legion of Indians and Highlanders (commonly referred to as the 69th North Carolina Regiment), was the largest single military unit raised in North Carolina during the American Civil War (1861-1865). Thomas' Legion was officially organized by William Holland Thomas on September 27, 1862, at Knoxville, Tennessee. While its members were recruited predominantly from the Western North Carolina counties of Haywood, Jackson, and Cherokee, East Tennessee also supplied men for the unit. Legion-level organizations were rare and few rose to prominence. In addition to Thomas' Legion, others to find success were Phillip's Georgia Legion, Wade Hampton's Legion of South Carolina, and William Thomas' Legion of the Old North State.

This organization initially totaled 1,125 men, but would soon consist of an infantry regiment,two battalions, one of white and the other of Cherokee, two companies of miners and sappers, and an artillery battery, which would be added on April 1, 1863. Levi's Light Artillery Battery, aka Louisiana Tigers or Barr's Battery, formerly served in the Virginia State Line Artillery before joining the ranks of the Thomas Legion. During the conflict, the unit would muster more than 2,500 officers and men, including the 400 Indians which formed the Cherokee Battalion. The size of this command varied however, as some of its companies were transferred to other units to meet the exigencies of war. But the legion would gain Companies A and L of the battle-hardened 16th North Carolina, a regiment that had served under the likes of Lee and Jackson. Unlike any given regiment consisting of some 1100 soldiers, the Thomas Legion, which on a few occasions fielded some 2,500 strong, was a much larger fighting force and it resembled a brigade. While this unit was never officially designated the 69th North Carolina Regiment, there are 75 references to Thomas' Legion in the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies.

This independent command initially reported directly to Brig. Gen. Henry Heth and provided service in the defense of vital and strategic railroads, bridges and depots. The Legion spent a significant part of the conflict defending the sole railroad in East Tennessee, and it often found itself engaged with guerrillas and bushwhackers as well as the Union forces. In May 1864, the regiment of the legion was detached and moved to Virginia to participate in Lt. Gen. Jubal Early's Shenandoah Valley Campaigns before returning to North Carolina. The legion would fight skirmishes and battles in Tennessee, North Carolina, West Virginia, Virginia, and as far north as Maryland, and would surrender at Waynesville, North Carolina, on May 9, 1865.

2nd Regiment Mississippi Cavalry

2nd Cavalry Regiment [also called 4th and 42nd Regiment] was organized for state service on April 1863 and transferred to confederate service April 30, 1864. It was consolidated March 20, 1865 with Ashcroft's, Ham's, and Lowry's Cavalry Regiment. It was formerly the 47th Mississippi Infantry Regiment, which never completed its organization. Its members were from the counties of Adams, Choctaw, Newton, Lee, Lauderdale, Pontotoc, Kemper, and Hinds.

Some of the officer's were Colonels J.P. Smith of State troops, William L. Lowry, of Confederate States troops,Lieutenant-Colonels William L. Lowry, Joseph A.Johnson, and Major L.L.Marshallspring.The field officers were Colonels Edward Dillon and J.L. McCarty, Lieutenant Colonel James Gordon, and Majors J.L. Harris and John J. Perry.

Some of the men were captured in the fight at Selma, and only a remnant surrendered with the Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana.

24th Mississippi Infantry Regiment

The 24th Infantry Regiment was organized at Meridian, Mississippi, during the fall of 1861 with eleven companies. Its members were recruited in the counties of Hancock, Clay, Lowndes, Chickasaw (Buena Vista Hornets), Kemper, Choctaw, and Monroe.

ItmovedtoFlorida,returned to Mississippi, and took part in the siege of Corinth. After serving in Kentucky, it was assigned to General Walthall's and Brantly's Brigade, Army of Tennessee. The 24th participated in many battles from Murfreesboro to Atlanta, endured Hood's winter operations in Tennessee, and saw action in North Carolina. It sustained 116 casualties at Murfreesboro, 132 at Chickamauga, and 189 at Chattanooga. For a time it was consolidated with the 27th Regiment and in December, 1863, totalled 491 men and 354 arms. At Resaca the unit lost 24 killed and 28 wounded, and at Ezra Church the 24th/27th had 11 killed and 67 wounded and missing of the 430 engaged. About 25 men were present at the surrender.

The field officers were Colonels William F. Dowd, Robert P. McKelvaie, and R.W. Williamson; Lieutenant Colonels Clifton Dancy and William L. Lyles; and Majors George M. Govan and William C. Staples.

Confederate States Marine Corps

On March 16, 1861 the provisional Confederate government authorized a Confederate States Marine Corps. It's leadership for a great majority of the war consisted of the following: Commandant - Colonel Lloyd J. Beall; Asst Commandant - Lt. Col Henry B. Tyler; Quartermaster - Maj Algernon S. Taylor; Paymaster - Maj. Richard T. Allison; Adjutant - Maj. Israel Greene; and SgtMaj of C.S.M.C. - SgtMaj Edwin Wallace.

There were 6 companies of Marines (A,B,C,D,E, & F) and the HQ staff. None of the companies ever reached full strength and the entire C.S.M.C. never numbered more than size of a standard regiment. However they did serve the length of the war and in a number of engagements from 1861 through 1865.