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Thomas' Legion of Cherokee
Indians and Highlanders
Photo is Courtesy of the North Carolina Division of Archives and History
Photos 5 thru 8 are officers from Company F or "Conley's Sharpshooters."
When General Jubal Early aborted the campaign to sack Washington during the Shenandoah Valley Campaigns, Union cavalry approached the rear of the Confederate army. "Old Jube" ordered sharpshooters from Thomas' Legion to engage
the cavalry. Lt. Robert T. Conley (number 5 in the above photograph) and twenty-five marksmen from Company "F" of Love's Regiment were instrumental
in forcing the enemy across the river. General Gabriel C. Wharton wrote to James R. Love, December 8, 1864, and complimented Lt. Conley and Thomas' Legion for their "coolness and bravery in the
fight." East of the Mississippi River, Lt. Robert T. Conley fired "The Last Shot" of the American Civil War. Company F was in the thick of the fight during
the Battle of Piedmont, Virginia, and it lost several good men, including Lt. James Conley, number 7 in above photograph.
Lt. Robert T. Conley previously served in Company L*, Sixteenth North Carolina Infantry Regiment; transferred to Company A, Sixteenth North Carolina, Mar-May 1862; wounded and captured at Seven Pines, VA,
31 May 1862; confined Fort Delaware, DE, until paroled; transferred to Aiken’s Landing, James River, VA; exchanged 5
Aug 1862; Appointed 2nd Lieutenant, Company F, Infantry Regiment, Thomas' Legion, 19 Jul 1862; residence, Jackson County,
North Carolina. Company F was also known as "Conley's Sharpshooters," and it was initially commanded by Captain
James M. McConnell, who enlisted on 19 July 1862, and was wounded in June 1864. Then, in June 1864, the command transferred to
Lt. Robert T. Conley. And, perhaps, because in 1864 it only numbered about 30 troops, Conley was never promoted to captain.
In 1870 Robert T. Conley resided in Talladega, Alabama. He died on December 18, 1892, at Munford, Alabama, and
his widow and 6 children survived him.
* In May 1862 Companies
A and L of the 16th North Carolina Infantry Regiment reorganized into Thomas’ Legion, however, they transferred to the legion after they fought in the Battle of Antietam. Soldiers from the Sixteenth North Carolina had fought in the battles of Seven Pines, Antietam, Seven Days Battles around
Richmond, and Second Bull Run. Thomas' Legion warmly welcomed these battle-hardened soldiers.
Highly Recommended Reading:
Storm in the Mountains (Thomas' Legion: The Sixty-ninth North Carolina Regiment). Vernon H. Crow, Storm in the Mountains,
spent 10 years conducting extensive Thomas Legion's research. In addition, Mr. Crow was granted access to rare manuscripts
and privately held diaries, which adds great depth to this rarely discussed Civil War legion. It also contains rosters which
is an added bonus for researchers and genealogists. Mr. Crow, furthermore, left no stone unturned while examining the many
facets of the Thomas Legion. Crow's research is conveyed on a level that scores with Civil War students and scholars alike.
Sources: Jackson County Genealogical Society; 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; National
Archives and Records Administration; Moore's Roster.
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