54th Infantry Regiment was organized at Camp Mangum, near Raleigh, North Carolina, in May 1862. The men were from the counties of Rowan, Burke, Cumberland, Northampton, Iredell, Guilford, Polk, Wilkes, Yadkin, Columbus, and Granville. It was assigned to General Law's, Hoke's, Godwin's, and W. G. Lewis' Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia. It engaged at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville and then guarded prisoners captured at Winchester during the Pennsylvania Campaign. The regiment participated in the Bristoe and Mine Run campaigns, the conflicts at Plymouth and Drewry's Bluff, Early's Shenandoah Valley Campaigns, and the Appomattox Campaign. This regiment lost 6 killed and 40 wounded at Fredericksburg, 3 killed and 38 wounded at Chancellorsville, and 2 wounded and 306 missing at the Rappahannock River. It totaled about 700 men in July 1864, and surrendered with 4 officers and 53 men of which 23 were armed. The field officers were Colonels James C. S. McDowell, Kenneth M. Murchison, and John Wimbish; Lieutenant Colonel Anderson Ellis; and Major James A. Rogers.

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. 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: Shades of Blue and Gray: An Introductory Military History of the Civil War (Hardcover: 281 pages) (University of Missouri Press). Description: Herman Hattaway analyzes the Civil War with an emphasis on contemporary advances in military technology and their effects on behavior in the field. Ulysses Grant was speaking nearly literally when he wrote, "the iron gauntlet must be used more than the silken glove to destroy the Confederacy." Continued below...

In the end, Hattaway demonstrates that it was superior iron and steel that won the Union cause. He examines the development and use of submarines, mines, automatic weapons, balloons, and especially rifles and artillery, which became so accurate that contending armies took to trench warfare. Battle by battle, Hattaway retraces the grim course of the war, yielding a helpful introduction to its history, complete with abundant notes and suggested readings.