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Colonel James Robert Love
Inscription:
Col. J. R. Love - Born Aug. 19, 1831 - Died Nov. 10, 1885.
Photograph is Courtesy of Mr. Randall Cooper
Inscriptions:
(Left) Julia Reagan Love - Dau. of Gen.
James H. Reagan - Wife of Col. James Robert Love - Born Sept. 4, 1843 - Died Jan. 1, 1926. (Right) Col. J. R. Love - Born Aug. 19, 1831 - Died Nov. 10, 1885.
Photograph is Courtesy of Mr. Randall Cooper
Lieutenant Colonel*
James Robert Love II: Infantry Regiment, Thomas' Legion
He was a graduate of Emory and Henry College, studied law, and was a member of the North Carolina Legislature. After
the war, he was a member of the North Carolina Constitutional Convention (1868) and later served in the State Senate. James R. Love was first cousin to Sallie Love, Will Thomas's wife, and Waynesville, North Carolina , was founded by his grandfather Robert Love. Love passed from this earthly life on November 10, 1885.
According to Mr. Randall Cooper, after the war, James Love resided in Sweetwater, Tennessee, and was a successful banker. Julia's father, James Reagan,
although an elderly gentleman, was a Confederate "militia general" during the American Civil War. During the war, General
Reagan was arrested by the Federals, imprisoned at Knoxville,
and died while incarcerated. There are numerous Confederate veterans, including several Loves and some Reagans, interred
in the West View Cemetery on Monroe Street, Sweetwater, TN.
(Courtesy of Mr. Randall Cooper)
*In O.R., 1, 49, part II, p. 669, on May 7, 1865, (almost one month after Gen. Lee surrendered
at Appomattox) James Love was officially recorded as Lieutenant Colonel. In the same report, the writer was precise
in his address by recording COLONEL Thomas and LIEUTENANT COLONEL Love. However, Love was nominated and selected
for COLONEL, but since it occurred in the last month of the Civil War, it never officially occurred.
But, in informal communication, it is acceptable to write or state COLONEL in lieu of LIEUTENANT COLONEL.
Vernon H. Crow, Storm in the Mountains,
states that Love was promoted to COLONEL in March 1865, but Crow's sources are the Charlotte Western Democrat and Lt. Col.
William Stringfield's diary. He was
also recommended for promotion to Brigadier General according to Lt. Col. Stingfield's diary, November
1, 1864. According to Matthew Brown, Editor, North Carolina Troops, 1861-1865: A Roster, Historical
Publications Section, N.C. Office of Archives and History, the only information to
indicate that Love was promoted to full colonel was a notice in the March 21, 1865, Charlotte Western Democrat (this is also
Vernon Crow's source). The date of the supposed promotion was not given, but would have been later than January 17, 1865 (the
last document to reflect Love as Lt. Col.); the accuracy of the notice is unknown. Thomas had mentioned a desire
to promote Love on at least one occasion (a letter dated April 27, 1864). Beyond that is speculation.
In concluding: The Charlotte Western Democrat and Stringfield's diary entry don't supersede official
documents and records. Furthermore, this writer has
not located any official document reflecting Love's mustering out rank as COLONEL. As previously stated, Love was
addressed as Lieutenant Colonel 4 weeks after General Lee's surrender. And the North Carolina Office of Archives and
History: Historical Publications, concurs by reflecting Love's mustering out rank as Lieutenant Colonel. However, according
to rank verses responsibility, Love was well deserving of COLONEL.
Recommended
Reading: Storm in the Mountains: Thomas' Confederate Legion of Cherokee Indians and Mountaineers (Thomas' Legion: The Sixty-ninth North Carolina Regiment). Description:
Vernon H. Crow, Storm in the Mountains, spent 10 years conducting extensive
Thomas Legion's research. Crow was granted access to rare manuscripts, special collections, and privately held diaries
which add great depth to this rarely discussed Civil War legion. He explores and discusses the unit's formation, fighting
history, and life of the legion's commander--Cherokee chief and Confederate colonel--William Holland Thomas. Continued below...
Numerous maps and photographs allow the reader to better
understand and relate to the subjects discussed. It also contains rosters which is an added bonus for researchers and
genealogists. Crow, furthermore, left no stone unturned while examining the many facets of the Thomas Legion and his
research is conveyed on a level that scores with Civil War students and scholars alike.
NEW! North Carolina Troops, 1861-1865: A Roster (Volume XVI: Thomas's Legion) (Hardcover, 537 pages),
North Carolina Office of Archives and History (June
26, 2008). Description:
The volume begins with an authoritative 246-page history of Thomas's Legion. The history, including Civil War battles and
campaigns, is followed by a complete roster and service records of the field officers, staff, and troops that served
in the legion. A thorough index completes the volume. Continued below...
Volume XVI
of North Carolina Troops: A Roster contains the history and roster of the most unusual North Carolina Confederate Civil
War unit, significant because of the large number of Cherokee Indians who served in its ranks. Thomas's Legion was the creation
of William Holland Thomas, an influential businessman, state legislator, and Cherokee chief. He initially raised a small
battalion of Cherokees in April 1862, and gradually expanded his command with companies of white soldiers raised in western
North Carolina,
eastern Tennessee, and Virginia.
By the end of 1862, Thomas's Legion comprised an infantry regiment and a battalion of infantry and cavalry. An artillery battery
was added in April 1863. Furthermore, in General Early's Army of the Valley, the Thomas Legion was well-known for its fighting
prowess. It is also known for its pivotal role in the last Civil War battle east of the Mississippi
River. The Thomas Legion mustered more than 2,500 soldiers and it closely resembled a brigade. With troop roster, muster records, and Compiled Military Service Records (CMSR) this volume
is also a must have for anyone interested in genealogy and researching Civil War ancestors. Simply stated, it is an outstanding
source for genealogists.
Recommended
Reading: The Civil War in the Carolinas (Hardcover). Description: Dan Morrill relates the experience of two quite different states bound together in the defense of the
Confederacy, using letters, diaries, memoirs, and reports. He shows how the innovative
operations of the Union army and navy along the coast and in the bays and rivers of the Carolinas
affected the general course of the war as well as the daily lives of all Carolinians. He demonstrates the "total war" for
North Carolina's vital coastal railroads and ports. In
the latter part of the war, he describes how Sherman's operation
cut out the heart of the last stronghold of the South. Continued below...
The author
offers fascinating sketches of major and minor personalities, including the new president and state governors, Generals Lee,
Beauregard, Pickett, Sherman, D.H. Hill, and Joseph E. Johnston. Rebels and abolitionists, pacifists and unionists, slaves
and freed men and women, all influential, all placed in their context with clear-eyed precision. If he were wielding a needle
instead of a pen, his tapestry would offer us a complete picture of a people at war.
Midwest
Book Review: The Civil War in the Carolinas by civil war expert and historian Dan Morrill (History Department, University
of North Carolina at Charlotte, and Director of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historical Society) is a dramatically presented
and extensively researched survey and analysis of the impact the American Civil War had upon the states of North Carolina
and South Carolina, and the people who called these states their home. A meticulous, scholarly, and thoroughly engaging examination
of the details of history and the sweeping change that the war wrought for everyone, The Civil War In The Carolinas is a welcome
and informative addition to American Civil War Studies reference collections.
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 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."
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