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60th North Carolina
Infantry Regiment (Historical Sketch)
The 60th North Carolina organized
at Madison during the summer of 1862; marched to Greenville, and then arrived by rail at Murfreesboro; retreated and went into winter quarters
at Tullahoma in winter of 1862-63, and suffered its highest casualties of the Civil War at Stones River (commonly referred to as Murfreesboro); May 1863 was attached to Stovall's
Brigade in Mississippi; camped near Jackson till July 1863; on July 1, 1863, advanced to assist at Vicksburg, however, it reached the outskirts by July 5 and was informed of Vicksburg’s
fall; fell back towards Jackson and was pursued by federals; engaged and inflicted heavy casualties on the Union army near
Jackson on July 12, and, as a result, Stovall’s Brigade captured 4 Union flags; on Sept. 1, 1863, advanced to near Rome,
GA; suffered severe casualties at the Battles of Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge; went into winter quarters near Dalton, GA, in winter
of 1863-64; fought in and around Atlanta; marched through GA, AL, and crossed the Tennessee River, and then camped at Columbia
adjacent the Duck River; December 1864 fought at Franklin; part of the 60th was detached to engage Union forces near Murfreesboro and
to destroy railroads in that area; it retreated from Murfreesboro and passed through AL and GA; it engaged Gen. Sherman's
pickets near Branchville SC; retreated to Columbia, SC; then passed through Charlotte, Salisbury, Raleigh, Smithfield, and
engaged at the Battle of Bentonville on March 19-21, 1865; retreated through Raleigh on April 12; arrived and
surrendered at Greensboro with 75 soldiers.
Adapted from Walter Clark's N.C.
Regiments, Volume III, pp. 473-502: memoirs of Lt. Col. James M. Ray, 60th North Carolina Regiment, dated 26 April 1901.
Editor's
Recommended Reading: CIVIL WAR IN WEST SLIP CASES: From Stones River to Chattanooga
[BOX SET], by Peter Cozzens (1528 pages) (University of Illinois Press). Description:
This trilogy very competently fills in much needed analysis and detail on the critical Civil War battles of Stones River, Chickamauga
and Chattanooga. Continued below...
"Cozzens' comprehensive study of these three great battles
has set a new standard in Civil War studies....the research, detail and accuracy are first-rate." Mr. Cozzens' has delivered a very valuable, enjoyable work deserving of attention. The
art work by Keith Rocco is also a nice touch, effecting, without sentimentality...historical art which contributes to the
whole.
Recommended
Reading: Six Armies in Tennessee:
The Chickamauga and Chattanooga
Campaigns (Great Campaigns of the Civil War). Description: When Vicksburg fell to Union forces under General Grant in July 1863, the balance turned against
the Confederacy in the trans-Appalachian theater. The Federal success along the river opened the way for advances into central
and eastern Tennessee, which culminated in the bloody battle of Chickamauga
and then a struggle for Chattanooga. Chickamauga is usually counted as a Confederate victory, albeit a costly one. That battle—indeed
the entire campaign—is marked by muddle and blunders occasionally relieved by strokes of brilliant generalship and high
courage. Continued below...
The
campaign ended significant Confederate presence in Tennessee and left the Union poised to advance upon Atlanta
and the Confederacy on the brink of defeat in the western theater.
Recommended Reading:
War at Every Door: Partisan Politics and Guerrilla Violence in East
Tennessee, 1860-1869. Description: One of the most divided regions of the Confederacy, East
Tennessee was the site of fierce Unionist resistance to secession, Confederate rule, and the Southern war effort.
It was also the scene of unrelenting 'irregular,' or guerrilla, warfare between Union and Confederate supporters, a conflict
that permanently altered the region's political, economic, and social landscape. In this study, Noel Fisher examines the military
and political struggle for control of East Tennessee from the secession crisis through the
early years of Reconstruction, focusing particularly on the military and political significance of the region's irregular
activity. Continued below...
Fisher portrays in grim detail the brutality and ruthlessness
employed not only by partisan bands but also by Confederate and Union troops under constant threat of guerrilla attack and government officials frustrated
by unstinting dissent. He demonstrates that, generally, guerrillas were neither the romantic, daring figures of Civil War
legend nor mere thieves and murderers, but rather were ordinary men and women who fought to live under a government of their
choice and to drive out those who did not share their views.
Recommended
Reading: Mountain Rebels: East Tennessee Confederates and the Civil
War, 1860-1870 (240 pages) (University of Tennessee Press). Description:
In this fine study, Groce points out that the Confederates in East Tennessee suffered more for the ‘Southern Cause’
than did most other southerners. From the first rumblings of secession to the redemption of Tennessee
in 1870, Groce introduces his readers to numerous men and women from this region who gave their all for Southern
Independence. He also points out that East Tennesseans were divided in their
loyalties and that slavery played only a small role. Continued below...
Groce goes to great lengths to expose the vile treatment of the Region’s defeated Confederates during
the Reconstruction. Numerous maps, pictures, and tables underscore the research.
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, and, complete with a comprehensive index, this work should be in every Civil War library.
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