Cantwell’s Company, Wilmington and Weldon Railroad Guards On December 10, 1861, John L. Cantwell received a captain’s appointment from the State of North Carolina. He resigned his position as commander of the 30th North Carolina Militia and began recruiting an infantry company. The company, referred to as Catwell’s Company of Wilmington and Weldon Railroad Guards,… Continue reading Power of Attorney for Former Members of the Railroad Guards
Tag: John L. Cantwell
First colonel of the 51st North Carolina
Colonel Cantwell’s Requisition for Rifles
When the 51st North Carolina organized on April 30, 1862, the regiment was almost fully equipped. Training camps had been established the previous year, and the army had adequate supplies of food. The volunteer companies comprising the regiment brought enough clothing with them to make do until the soldiers were issued uniforms. The most critical… Continue reading Colonel Cantwell’s Requisition for Rifles
Chaos in Command, Part 1: Colonel Cantwell Resigns
In an earlier post, “Feuding in the Officers’ Ranks,” I described the squabbling among the Fifty-First’s officers that left the regiment with only one field officer for almost four months. In this three-part series I add further details gleaned from documents contained in the NARA compiled service records of some of the officers involved during… Continue reading Chaos in Command, Part 1: Colonel Cantwell Resigns
Katherine Theodosia Cantwell: One Name, Four Different Women
John Cantwell Colonel John Lucas Paul Cantwell, the first commander of the 51st Regiment North Carolina Troops, was born in Charleston in 1828. He served with South Carolina’s Palmetto Regiment during the Mexican War. After the war, he lived for a while in New Orleans then relocated to Wilmington in 1851. In Wilmington, he worked… Continue reading Katherine Theodosia Cantwell: One Name, Four Different Women
Feuding in the Officers’ Ranks
Background When the 51st Regiment North Carolina Troops organized on April 30, 1862, John L. Cantwell was elected as commander of the regiment. Along with Colonel Cantwell, the company officers elected William Allen as Lieutenant Colonel and Hector McKethan as Major. Colonel Cantwell only commanded the regiment a few months. On October 10, 1862, while… Continue reading Feuding in the Officers’ Ranks