The Fifty Eighth North Carolina Troops

North Carolina contributed more than 70 regiments to Confederate service during the Civil War, but only four of those regiments were permanently assigned to service in the Army of Tennessee. The Fifty-Eighth North Carolina Troops, hailing primarily from western North Carolina, fought in battles such as Chickamauga, Resaca and Bentonville. This account follows the soldiers from antebellum life, to conscription, to battlefield, to post-war life.

This is a first hand account by a member of Company H of the North Carolina 58th Infantry Regiment. The North Carolina 58th Infantry Regiment was organized in Mitchell County, North Carolina, in July, 1862. Its twelve companies were recruited in the counties of Mitchell, Yancey, Watauga, Caldwell, McDowell, and Ashe. In September it moved to Cumberland Gap and spent the winter of 1862-1863 at Big Creek Gap, near Jacksboro, Tennessee. The 58th participated in the campaigns of the Army of Tennessee from Chickamauga to Atlanta, guarded prisoners at Columbia, Tennessee, during Hood's operations, then moved to South Carolina and skirmished along the Edisto River. Later it returned to North Carolina and saw action at Bentonville . It lost 46 killed and 114 wounded at Chickamauga, totalled 327 men and 186 arms in December, 1863, and took about 300 effectives to Bentonville. The unit was included in the surrender on April 26, 1865.The narrative primarily focuses on the events from the battle of Chickamauga to the end of the war. Harper describes the events at Bentonville: "The 58th, in this, its last battle, numbered about 300 effectives. The Brigade (Palmer's) was selected as the directing column for the Army of Tennessee in the assault on the enemy's line. The charge was made with great spirit and dash, and the enemy entrenched and with a high fence built in their front, gave way before inflicting great loss on their assailants. In the pursuit which followed, two pieces of artillery, limbering with all haste to the rear, were captured and driven back into our lines with their teams complete. In running down and taking the guns some of the artillerymen were shot while on the chests, and the old pine field was strewn with blankets, provisions and plunder of all sorts thrown away by the flying foe." We have added biographical sketches of the officers with photos and an index to the soldiers of the regiment. Also included is an extensive bibliography of resources for researching this regiment.

Acclaimed as "the finest state roster ever published" and a "magnificent achievement," North Carolina Troops is an invaluable resource for scholars, local historians, genealogists, and Civil War enthusiasts. Each indexed volume contains unit histories and the names and service records of approximately 7,000 North Carolinians who served in the Civil War.

Though always an important North Carolina city, Charlotte truly helped to make history during the Civil War. The city's factories produced gunpowder, percussion caps, and medicine for the Confederate cause. Perhaps most importantly, Charlotte housed the Confederate Naval Ordnance Depot and Naval Works, manufacturing iron for ironclad vessels and artillery projectiles, and providing valuable ammunition for the South. Charlotte also sent over 2,500 men into the Confederate army, and played home to a military hospital, a Ladies Aid Society, a prison and even the mysterious Confederate gold. When Richmond fell, Jefferson Davis set up his headquarters in Charlotte, making it the unofficial capital. Join historian Michael C. Hardy as he recounts the triumphs and struggles of Queen City civilians and soldiers in the Civil War.

During the Civil War, Confederate military courts sentenced to death more soldiers from North Carolina than from any other state. This study offers the first exploration of the service records of 450 of these wayward Confederates, most often deserters. Arranged by army, corps, division and brigade, it chronicles their military trials and frequent executions and offers explanations of how the lucky and the clever were able to avoid their fate. Focus on court activity by company allows for comparisons that emphasize the wide disparity in discipline within a regiment and brigade. By stressing the effectiveness of these deadly decisions as deterrents to others, this work maintains that an earlier and wider reliance on execution would have strengthened the Confederacy sufficiently to force a negotiated end to the war, thus saving many Confederate and Federal lives.

North Carolina contributed more of her sons to the Confederate cause than any other state. The 37th North Carolina, made up of men from the western part of the state, served in famous battles like Chancellorsville and Gettysburg as well as in lesser known engagements like Hanover Courthouse and New Bern. This is the account of the unit's four years' service, told largely in the soldiers' own words. Drawn from letters, diaries, and postwar articles and interviews, this history of the 37th North Carolina follows the unit from its organization in November 1861 until its surrender at Appomattox. The book includes photographs of the key players in the 37th's story as well as maps illustrating the unit's position at several engagements. Appendices include a complete roster of the unit and a listing of individuals buried in large sites such as prison cemeteries. A bibliography and index are also included.

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.