The Civil War Roster Of Davie County North Carolina

It could be said that Davie County, North Carolina, entered the Civil War only reluctantly. As late as February of 1861, a statewide ballot calling for a convention on secession had been defeated by a relatively small margin of votes. In Davie County, however, some 754 people voted against the convention, with only 263 in favor. Yet despite the initial opposition, an enormous number of Davie County men signed up to fight. Out of a population of 6,000, more than 1,200 men served in the Confederate forces, three-fourths of them volunteers. This book seeks to identify every man who either served in a Davie County company or left Davie County to enlist in another county and to provide as much information as possible concerning each man's military and genealogical history.

Located in the western piedmont of North Carolina, Yadkin County was hardly a hotbed of rebellion at the start of the Civil War. Many of the 1,200 men from Yadkin who served in the Confederate Army did so with distinction, but a number deserted. Some of these holed up in the Bond School House, and when the militia attempted to arrest them, four were killed and several others were wounded. This is a comprehensive accounting of how the county responded to the Civil War and the effect it had on Yadkin’s citizens, civilian and military alike.

During the War Between the States, Davidson County, North Carolina, sent nearly 2,000 men into service with the infantry, cavalry, artillery, navy, militia, and home guard. Each of these men left behind home, family, and occupation in order to serve; some would never return; others would return wounded in body and in spirit; 47 served in the Union Army. This is a roster with full biographies of each one of them. (Their lives were far more than just their service records. ) The data were researched for years in four census records (18401870), marriage records, land transfers, cemetery records, family file folders, books, journals, obituaries. Each man's entry includes rank, unit(s), and personal and military history. Birth, death, marriage dates, parents, spouses, children; letters, journals, news articles: all are set forth in each entry, edited only for overall length. Photographs are included for many of the men. Also included is an overview of Davidson County's involvement in the conflict, and a bibliography.

“I think that we can hold our position here against any force that the enemy can bring against us, as we have an admirable position & are all ready. I can give you no idea when the general attack will take place. It may be this evening, tomorrow or at any moment as both parties are apparently ready & we have nothing to do but pitch in.”—Captain Charles C. Blacknall, “Granville Rifles,” Company G, 23rd North Carolina Troops, Yorktown, Virginia, April 22, 1862 This work is a compilation of letters and diary entries (and a few other documents) that tell the Civil War experiences of soldiers and citizens from 29 North Carolina counties: Alamance, Alexander, Anson, Cabarrus, Caswell, Catawba, Chatham, Cleveland, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Gaston, Granville, Guilford, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Moore, Orange, Person, Randolph, Richmond, Rockingham, Rowan, Stanly, Stokes, Union, and Yadkin. The book is arranged chronologically, 1861 through 1865, and a chart at the beginning of each chapter tells the date, subject, document type (letter, diary entry, or other), author, recipient, and the home county and unit of soldiers.

Shallow Ford, the natural rock path across the Yadkin River, served as the gateway for pioneers to the western North Carolina frontier and as a stage for history. The ford was the site of the Battle of Shallow Ford in the Revolutionary War and Stoneman's Raid during the Civil War. The eye of the needle for General Cornwallis in the Race to the Dan, it was also the silent witness to the Great Wagon Road and the trans-Appalachian migration led by local son Daniel Boone. Bypassed for the last hundred years, Shallow Ford faded from view but remains a landmark of another era. Local historian Marcia D. Phillips recounts the history of a time when safe passage across the river provided the way to reach the American future that lay beyond.

The 21st North Carolina Troops (11th North Carolina Volunteers) was one of only two Tar Heel Confederate regiments that in 1865 could boast "From Manassas to Appomattox." The 21st was the only North Carolina regiment with Stonewall Jackson during his 1862 Valley Campaign and remained with the same division throughout the war. It participated in every major battle fought by the Army of Northern Virginia except the 1864 Overland Campaign, when General Lee sent it to fight its own intense battles near New Bern and Plymouth. This book is written from the perspective of the 1,942 men who served in the regiment and is filled with anecdotal material gleaned from more than 700 letters and memoirs. In several cases it sheds new light on accepted but often incorrect interpretations of events. Names such as Lee, Jackson, Hoke, Trimble, Hill, Early, Ramseur and Gordon charge through the pages as the Carolina regiment gains a name for itself. Suffering a 50 percent casualty rate over the four years, only 67 of the 920 young men and boys who began the war surrendered to Grant at its end.