Colonel Cantwell’s Requestion 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 Requestion for Rifles

Colonel McKethan’s Dispatches from Charleston, July 1863

On July 10, 1863, Union troops seized the southern tip of Morris Island. The island was crucial to the defense of Charleston Harbor. General Beauregard, commanding the port city’s defenses, made a frantic call for reinforcements. Clingman’s Brigade was ordered to proceed to Charleston immediately. The 51st North Carolina was the first of Clingman’s regiments… Continue reading Colonel McKethan’s Dispatches from Charleston, July 1863

Chaos in Command, Part 3: The New Field Officers

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 3: The New Field Officers

Chaos in Command, Part 2: Lt. Col. Allen 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 2: Lt. Col. Allen Resigns

This Week’s Find: A Confederate Pay Voucher

Private William H. Adams, Company I, was not with his company when they were paid for January and February 1864. His service record does not indicate that he was detached or absent from the company, but he certainly wasn’t on hand to receive his pay. The regiment was in Petersburg when he applied for his… Continue reading This Week’s Find: A Confederate Pay Voucher