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50th North Carolina Infantry Regiment
50th Infantry Regiment completed its organization in April 1862 at Camp Mangum, near Raleigh, North Carolina.
Men of this unit were recruited in the counties of Person, Robeson, Johnston, Wayne, Rutherford, Moore, and Harnett. Ordered
to Virginia, it fought under General Daniel at Malvern Cliff and then returned to North Carolina. The 50th engaged at
New Bern and Washington, transferred to General James Green Martin's Brigade, and for a time served at Wilmington. Subsequently, elements of the regiment
were stationed at Plymouth and Washington. In November 1864 it relocated south and shared in the defense of Savannah
and skirmished along the Rivers' Bridge. It returned to North Carolina and was placed in General Kirkland's Brigade. The unit continued
the fight at Averasborough and fought its last battle at Bentonville. It totaled about 900 effectives in November 1864 and mustered less than half that number in March 1865.
It surrendered a force of nearly 250 on April 26. The field officers were Colonels Marshall D. Craton, James A. Washington,
and George Wortham; Lieutenant Colonel John C. Van Hook; and Major Henry J. Ryals.
| NC Civil War History Map |
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| NC Civil War Battlefield Map |
Recommended
Reading: The Civil War in North Carolina. Description:
Numerous battles and skirmishes were fought in North Carolina
during the Civil War, and the campaigns and battles themselves were crucial in the grand strategy of the conflict and involved
some of the most famous generals of the war. Continued below...
John Barrett presents the complete story of military engagements
across the state, including the classical pitched battle of Bentonville--involving Generals Joe Johnston and William Sherman--the
siege of Fort Fisher, the amphibious campaigns on the
coast, and cavalry sweeps such as General George Stoneman's Raid. Also available
in hardcover: The Civil War in North Carolina .
Recommended Reading: The Life of Johnny Reb: The Common
Soldier of the Confederacy (444 pages) (Louisiana State University Press) (Updated edition: November 2007) Description: The
Life of Johnny Reb does not merely describe the battles and skirmishes fought by the Confederate foot soldier. Rather,
it provides an intimate history of a soldier's daily life--the songs he sang, the foods he ate, the hopes and fears he experienced,
the reasons he fought. Wiley examined countless letters, diaries, newspaper accounts, and official records to construct this
frequently poignant, sometimes humorous account of the life of Johnny Reb. In a new foreword for this updated edition, Civil
War expert James I. Robertson, Jr., explores the exemplary career of Bell Irvin Wiley, who championed the common folk, whom
he saw as ensnared in the great conflict of the 1860s. Continued below...
About Johnny Reb:
"A Civil War classic."--Florida Historical Quarterly
"This book deserves to be on the shelf of every Civil War modeler and enthusiast."--Model
Retailer
"[Wiley] has painted with skill a picture of the life of the Confederate
private. . . . It is a picture that is not only by far the most complete we have ever had but perhaps the best of its kind
we ever shall have."--Saturday Review of Literature
Recommended Reading: Confederate
Military History Of North Carolina: North Carolina
In The Civil War, 1861-1865. Description:
The author, Prof. D. H. Hill, Jr., was the son of Lieutenant General Daniel Harvey Hill (North
Carolina produced only two lieutenant generals and it was the second highest rank in the army)
and his mother was General “Stonewall” Jackson’s wife's sister. In Confederate
Military History Of North Carolina, Hill discusses North Carolina’s massive task of preparing and mobilizing
for the conflict; the many regiments and battalions recruited from the Old North State; as well as the state's numerous
contributions during the war. Continued below...
During Hill's Tar Heel State
study, the reader begins with interesting and thought-provoking statistical data regarding the 125,000 "Old North State"
soldiers that fought during the course of the war and the 40,000 that perished. Hill advances with the
Fighting Tar Heels to the first battle at Bethel, through numerous bloody campaigns
and battles--including North Carolina’s contributions at the "High Watermark" at Gettysburg--and concludes with Lee's surrender at Appomattox.
Highly recommended!
Recommended
Reading:
The Flags of Civil War North Carolina.
Description: Compiled and written by educator and Civil War expert Glenn Dedmondt,
The Flags Of Civil War North Carolina is a very straightforward reference presenting photographs,
color illustrations, descriptions and history of the titular flags that flew over North Carolina
when it seceded from the Union. Each page or two-page spread features the different flags
of the various North Carolina regiments. A meticulously
detailed resource offering very specific information for history and civil war buffs, The Flags Of Civil War North Carolina
is a welcome contribution to the growing library of Civil War Studies and could well serve as a template for similar volumes
for the other Confederate as well as Union states. Great photos and illustrations! Continued below...
Flags stir powerful emotions,
and few objects evoke such a sense of duty and love for the homeland. In April 1861, the first flag of a new republic flew
over North
Carolina. The state had just seceded from the union, and its citizens would soon have to fight for
their homes, their families, and their way of life. Each flag is meticulously detailed and scaled to perfection. The Flags of Civil
War North Carolina is the history of this short-lived republic
(which later joined the Confederacy), told through the banners that flew over its government, cavalry, and navy. From the
hand-painted flag of the Guilford Greys to the flag of the Buncombe Riflemen--made from the dresses of the
ladies of Asheville--this collection is an exceptional tribute
to the valiant men who bore these banners and to their ill-fated crusade for independence. About the Author:
Glenn Dedmondt, a lifelong resident of the Carolinas and member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, shares his passion for
the past as a teacher of South Carolina history. Dedmondt
has also been published in Confederate Veteran magazine.
Recommended Viewing: The Civil War - A Film by Ken Burns. Review: The
Civil War - A Film by Ken Burns is the most successful public-television miniseries in American history. The 11-hour Civil War didn't just captivate a nation,
reteaching to us our history in narrative terms; it actually also invented a new film language taken from its creator. When
people describe documentaries using the "Ken Burns approach," its style is understood: voice-over narrators reading letters
and documents dramatically and stating the writer's name at their conclusion, fresh live footage of places juxtaposed with
still images (photographs, paintings, maps, prints), anecdotal interviews, and romantic musical scores taken from the era
he depicts. Continued below...
The Civil War uses all of these devices to evoke atmosphere and resurrect an event that many knew
only from stale history books. While Burns is a historian, a researcher, and a documentarian, he's above all a gifted storyteller,
and it's his narrative powers that give this chronicle its beauty, overwhelming emotion, and devastating horror. Using the
words of old letters, eloquently read by a variety of celebrities, the stories of historians like Shelby Foote and rare, stained
photos, Burns allows us not only to relearn and finally understand our history, but also to feel and experience it. "Hailed
as a film masterpiece and landmark in historical storytelling." "[S]hould be a requirement for every
student."
Sources: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies; Walter Clark,
Histories of the Several Regiments and Battalions from North Carolina in the Great War 1861-1865; National Park Service: American
Civil War; National Park Service: Soldiers and Sailors System; Weymouth T. Jordan and Louis H. Manarin, North Carolina Troops,
1861-1865; and D. H. Hill, Confederate Military History Of North Carolina: North Carolina In The Civil War, 1861-1865.
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