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2nd North Carolina Mounted Infantry Regiment, U.S.
A.K.A. Union 2nd North Carolina Mounted Infantry Regiment; 2nd North Carolina (Federal) Mounted
Infantry; 2nd North Carolina Mounted, U.S.A. United States Army
ORGANIZED: Knoxville, Tenn., October 1863. Attached to 1st Brigade, Willcox's Division, 9th Army Corps, Left
Wing Forces, Dept. Ohio, to April 1864. 1st Brigade, 4th Division, 23rd Army Corps, Dept. Ohio, to February 1865. 1st Brigade,
4th Division, District of East Tennessee, Dept. of the Cumberland, to August 1865.
SERVICE: Ordered to Greenville,
Tenn., to October 16, 1863, and assigned there till November 6. Moved to Bull's Gap November 6, and duty there till December.
March across Clinch Mountains to Clinch River. Action at Walker's Ford on December 2. Gibson's and Wyerman's, Miss.,
February 22, 1864. Duty at Cumberland Gap and patrol duty in East Tennessee till April 1865. Scout from Cumberland Gap January 23-27, 1865. Expedition from East Tennessee into Western North Carolina March 21-April 25, 1865. Moved to Boone, N.C., April 6, and to Asheville, N.C., April 27-30. Duty in North Carolina and East
Tennessee till August. Mustered out August 16, 1865.
"Swarms of [North Carolina] men liable to conscription are gone to the tories or
to the Yankees." Brigadier General J. W. McElroy, First Brigade North Carolina Home Guard, April 12, 1864
| Route of Union General George Stoneman's Raid |
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| (Stoneman's Raid Map) |
OVERVIEW: The Union Army recruited two mounted infantry regiments within North Carolina, and both units
were principally raised from Western North Carolina
counties: 2nd North Carolina Mounted Infantry Regiment and 3rd North Carolina Mounted Infantry Regiment. The men that comprised the 2nd North Carolina Mounted Infantry were recruited
from Western North Carolina and East Tennessee. Confederate deserters also formed a fraction of this unit. Recruitment
of these regiments epitomized the "Brother's War" and the men serving in the two Union mounted
infantry regiments were commonly referred to as Home Yankees. Union Major
General George Stoneman's command as it concerns Western North Carolina in 1865: Second North Carolina Mounted Infantry
Regiment, Lieut. Colonel William C. Bartlett; Third North Carolina Mounted Infantry Regiment, Colonel George W. Kirk; First
Brigade, Commanding Colonel Chauncey G. Hawley; Fourth Division, Department of the Cumberland, Brig. General Davis Tillson;
District of East Tennessee, Major General George Stoneman (to view entire Union District of East Tennessee, including 1st
and 2nd Brigades, and Brig. Gen. Gillem's Cavalry Division, see Stoneman's Cavalry Raid and O.R., 1, 49, pt. II, pp. 538-539*).
*Official
Records of the Union and Confederate Armies
Sources: National Park Service: Soldiers and Sailors System; Official Records of the Union
and Confederate Armies; North Carolina Museum of History.
Recommended
Reading:
Kirk's Raiders. Description: The mountains of East Tennessee & Western North Carolina
were deeply divided in their loyalties between Union and Confederate causes during the War
of the Rebellion. Colonel George Kirk of Tennessee led nearly 2000 southern boys against
their brethren from 1862 until 1865, fighting at Warm Springs, Burnsville,
Morganton, Erwin, Waynesville, Blowing Rock, and Lenoir. Continued below...
After the war in 1870, he returned to central North Carolina to suppress a KKK insurrection in Alamance and Caswell Counties. Mayhem, bloodshed, and controversy
followed George Kirk wherever he went. This is his story. Complete rosters of the 2nd & 3rd NC Mounted
Infantries are included, as well as nearly 50 never-before published photographs, letters, and maps. This
is the definitive George Kirk study.
Recommended
Reading: The Loyal Mountaineers Of Tennessee (1888) (Hardcover: 426 pages) (Kessinger Publishing, LLC) (June
2, 2008). Description: This book defines
the importance of East
Tennessee and its residents to the Union cause during the Civil War. The author begins with early history of East Tennessee and the events which led to the War Between the States. He continues by describing local
people and events that contributed to the decision to remain loyal to the United
States. The events of the War as they involve East Tennessee are detailed, including important
meetings and battles such as Carter's Raid and the siege of Knoxville.
Continued below...
The
text is enhanced with illustrated portraits of East Tennessee individuals who contributed to the Civil War effort. Originally written
and published in 1888, this reprinted edition is accompanied by a complete index. This book is a valuable addition to both
the Tennessee historian and the Civil War buff.
Recommended
Reading: East
Tennessee and the Civil War (Hardcover: 588 pages). Description:
A solid social, political, and military history, this work gives light to the rise of the pro-Union and pro-Confederacy factions.
It explores the political developments and recounts in fine detail the military maneuvering and conflicts that occurred. Beginning
with a history of the state's first settlers, the author lays a strong foundation for understanding the values and beliefs
of East Tennesseans. He examines the rise of abolition and secession, and then advances into
the Civil War. Continued below...
Early in the
conflict, Union sympathizers burned a number of railroad bridges, resulting in occupation by Confederate troops and abuses
upon the Unionists and their families. The author also documents in detail the ‘siege and relief’ of Knoxville.
Although authored by a Unionist, the work is objective in nature and fair in its treatment of the South and the Confederate
cause, complete with a comprehensive index, this work should be in every Civil War library.
Recommended
Reading: Bridge Burners: A True Adventure of East Tennessee Underground
Civil War. Description: When
the East Tennessee and Virginia Railway line was completed, dignitaries gathered in celebration as the final spike was hammered
into the last tie in Greene County.
Opening new doors of growth and economic development in the Region, the railroad would become a point of conflict only three
years later. When the Civil War began, the line became a vital link in transporting Confederate troops and supplies into Virginia. The railroad was vulnerable since many hostile Unionists
remained in the region. Continued below...
Confederate authorities were understandably worried about the rail lines and how to protect them. Inevitably
the stage was set and on a cold Friday night, November 8, 1861, the Unionists proceeded with plans to burn the key railroad
bridges of East Tennessee;
President Abraham Lincoln had approved the plan. This thoroughly researched, easy-to-read narrative tells the incredible
true story of the people and events in the ‘insurrection gone wrong’.
Recommended Reading: Bushwhackers, The Civil War in North Carolina: The Mountains (338 pages). Description: Trotter's book (which could have been titled "Murder, Mayhem, and Mountain Madness") is an epic backdrop
for the most horrific murdering, plundering and pillaging of the mountain communities of western North Carolina during the
state’s darkest hour—the American Civil War. Commonly referred to as Southern Appalachia, the North
Carolina and East Tennessee mountains witnessed divided loyalties in its bushwhackers
and guerrilla units. These so-called “bushwhackers” even used the conflict to settle old feuds and scores, which,
in some cases, continued well after the war ended. Continued below...
Some bushwhackers
were highly organized ‘fighting guerrilla units’ while others were a motley group of deserters and outliers,
and, since most of them were residents of the region, they were familiar with the terrain and made for a “very formidable
foe.” In this work, Trotter does a great job on covering the many facets of the bushwhackers, including their: battles,
skirmishes, raids, activities, motives, the outcome, and even the aftermath. This book is also a great source for tracing
ancestors during the Civil War; a must have for the family researcher of Southern Appalachia.
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