69th North Carolina Regiment

Thomas' Legion
American Civil War HOMEPAGE
American Civil War
Causes of the Civil War : What Caused the Civil War
Organization of Union and Confederate Armies: Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery
Civil War Navy: Union Navy and Confederate Navy
American Civil War: The Soldier's Life
Civil War Turning Points
American Civil War: Casualties, Battles and Battlefields
Civil War Casualties, Fatalities & Statistics
Civil War Generals
American Civil War Desertion and Deserters: Union and Confederate
Civil War Prisoner of War: Union and Confederate Prison History
Civil War Reconstruction Era and Aftermath
American Civil War Genealogy and Research
Civil War
American Civil War Pictures - Photographs
African Americans and American Civil War History
American Civil War Store
American Civil War Polls
NORTH CAROLINA HISTORY
North Carolina Civil War History
North Carolina American Civil War Statistics, Battles, History
North Carolina Civil War History and Battles
North Carolina Civil War Regiments and Battles
North Carolina Coast: American Civil War
HISTORY OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA
Western North Carolina and the American Civil War
Western North Carolina: Civil War Troops, Regiments, Units
North Carolina: American Civil War Photos
Cherokee Chief William Holland Thomas
HISTORY OF THE CHEROKEE INDIANS
Cherokee Indian Heritage, History, Culture, Customs, Ceremonies, and Religion
Cherokee Indians: American Civil War
History of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian Nation
Cherokee War Rituals, Culture, Festivals, Government, and Beliefs
Researching your Cherokee Heritage
Civil War Diary, Memoirs, Letters, and Newspapers

A North Carolina Civil War Regiment?

69th North Carolina Regiment and 80th North Carolina Regiment

North Carolina Civil War History
North Carolina regiments.jpg
North Carolina regiments fought in numerous battles on the homefront

Thomas' Legion of Indians and Highlanders
Thomas' Legion of Indians and Highlanders.jpg
Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series 1, Volume 32, part 2, p. 642

What's in a Name?
 
Thomas’ Legion of Indians and Highlanders, or Thomas' North Carolina Legion as it was often called during the Civil War, was the largest single unit raised in North Carolina during the rebellion. Thomas’ Legion was a single unit consisting of infantry, cavalry, and artillery, and, on occasion during the war, was known unofficially as Love's Regiment. Whereas Thomas would conclude his recruitment of the Cherokee Battalion in early 1865, it should not be confused with Walker's Battalion of the Thomas Legion, which had formed earlier in the fight. (See Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series 1, Volume 49, part 2, p. 754.)
 
(Right) Thomas' Legion composed Jackson's entire brigade as stated in this return for the Organization of troops in the Department of East Tennessee, dated January 31, 1864. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series 1, Volume 32, part 2, p. 642.
 
The Thomas Legion was scattered in numerous locations as it constantly shifted and moved its companies to meet the exigencies of war. Members of the various elements of this legion would also unofficially adopt numerical designations to preserve their identities postwar, but no official document or correspondence exists showing that this had ever occurred during the war. The uniqueness of this organization, however, was compounded by the fact that its components were known by many names. The infantry of Thomas' Legion, for example, was often referred to as infantry regiment or Love's Regiment in honor of James R. Love II, its commanding colonel. Its companies, which were usually raised in the same county, would also assign their own nom de guerres or names.
 
From research it is the writer's opinion that, at the very least, some wartime discussions included separating the infantry regiment from the Thomas Legion and then designating it as the 69th North Carolina Infantry Regiment. Perhaps it was a fireside chat during the Civil War and nothing more, because while Love, Stringfield, D. H. Hill, Walter Clark, Byron G. McDowell and many others would refer to the infantry regiment as the 69th North Carolina Regiment and then interchange it with the Thomas Legion, it would only occur after the war. Whereas no numerical designation was ever assigned to any element or portion of this unit, it would exit the four year conflict by its official designation of Thomas' Legion.
 
During the Civil War there were 75 references to "Thomas' Legion" that were later transcribed for the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. This unit would also subsequently be recorded as Thomas' Legion by the National Archives. During the grueling four year rebellion, the Congress of the Confederate States, Secretary of War James A. Seddon, Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office, North Carolina Governor Zebulon B. Vance, Confederate President Jefferson Davis, numerous commanding generals and the Thomas Legion's field officers all referred to the unit as "Thomas' Legion."

 

In January 1865, the 14th North Carolina Cavalry Battalion was enlarged to 10 companies (a regiment) and was officially designated the 69th North Carolina Regiment-7th Cavalry, Lt. Col. James L. Henry, commanding. There were only two references to the "Sixty-ninth North Carolina Regiment" in the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (popularly known as ORs) and both were to Lt. Col. Henry and the cavalry regiment (O.R., 1, 49, 1, pp. 1034-1035). The other references to Henry's Cavalry were the Sixty-ninth North Carolina and Sixty-ninth North Carolina State Troops. Officially one 69th, Henry's, but unofficially there were two 69ths that were recorded and referenced by many soldiers and historians for decades after the conflict, meaning one cavalry and the other infantry. The infantry of course refers to James Love's Regiment of Thomas’ Legion. Walker's Battalion, William C. Walker, commanding, would be known postwar as the 80th North Carolina Regiment.
 
In wartime communication most units shortened their designations, so in lieu of “Infantry Regiment” one would often write either regiment or infantry. After the Civil War, while many a soldier turned writer would unofficially adopt the 69th North Carolina Regiment for the Thomas Legion, many would also make Walker's Battalion the 80th North Carolina Regiment. Thomas' Legion, nonetheless, was found 75 times in the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, while William C. Walker and Battalion were mentioned just once. Walker’s Regiment, 69th North Carolina (Infantry) Regiment, and 80th Regiment (from North Carolina) were never indicated in said records. In addition, the National ArchivesA Comprehensive List of Confederate Units, catalogued this unit as Thomas’ Legion. There was no honorary mention of the 69th North Carolina Regiment, 80th North Carolina, or Walker’s Regiment, period.


Whereas James R. Love was attached to Thomas' Legion, William C. Walker, who out ranked Love, was officially assigned to Walker's Battalion. When the Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office (A.&I.G.O) in Richmond, Virginia, received the muster rolls in June 1863, Love’s Regiment was commissioned “Infantry Regiment, Thomas’ Legion” and the battalion became “Walker’s Battalion, Thomas’ Legion." All available official records show William C. Walker with the rank of lieutenant colonel prior to the battalion commander's murder in 1864, but in some correspondence and communication, he was addressed with the abbreviation of Col. Walker. During the course of the war, Walker's Battalion was never elevated to a regiment, nor did it ever meet regimental qualifications. If it had been re-designated or reorganized as a regiment, it would have also been assigned a colonel, which too never happened. In Clark's Regiments, page 117, the historian of Walker's Battalion, Captain Robert A. Aiken, wrote that "when it was raised to ten companies in the spring of 1864, W. C. Walker became colonel." While Aiken made the statement 35 years after hostilities had ended, it just never happened. Over the span of the conflict the battalion would never raise nor field ten companies on any given date. Whereas Walker had been murdered on January 3, 1864, Aiken (who also noted the death on page 122) would then posthumously promote him to colonel of the regiment the following springtime. The Official Records, nonetheless, further show that on May 13, 1865, which was one month after Lee surrendered to Grant, it was still listed as a battalion when it surrendered as part of the Thomas Legion.

North Carolina Facts
Some facts about William Holland Thomas.jpg
Some facts about William Holland Thomas

In Vernon H. Crow's exhaustive study of the Thomas Legion, Storm in the Mountains: Thomas' Confederate Legion of Cherokee Indians and Mountaineers, he stated on page 146 that Love's Regiment and 69th Regiment were often interchanged by Lt. Col. W.W. Stringfield in his writings many years after the war. Crow also said that it was only after the conflict when Captain Robert A. Aiken  (also spelled Akins, Aikins, and Aikens) interchanged Walker's Battalion with 80th Regiment. These are only a few references showing that some of the soldiers believed that numerical designations had been given to both the infantry regiment and Walker's Battalion, which Aiken now called the 80th Regiment. But these kind of statements only circulated years later when they appeared in writings such as personal memoirs and unit histories. Crow would continue to affirm and reaffirm throughout his fine work that during his 10 year research of the Thomas Legion, he had never seen a single wartime document or record indicating that Walker's Battalion was also the 80th or that it was increased to regimental strength.

The Thomas Legion.jpg
Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series 1, Volume 32, part 3, p. 802.

On page 147, Storm in the Mountains, Crow further states that in papers, letters, diaries—official and unofficial records—in public and private collections, at universities and specialized archives, this author has not uncovered one single document to alter the position that, during the war, "the Regiment was never called the Sixty-ninth, nor was the Battalion ever called the Eightieth Regiment." Crow's "key words" were "during the war."

 

(Right) As part of a statewide effort to preserve its history of the Great Civil War, North Carolina would publish the five volume Histories of the Several Regiments and Battalions from North Carolina, in the Great War 1861-'65, edited by Walter Clark and published in 1901. Captain Robert A. Aiken, who had commanded Company H, Walker's Battalion, would write the official history of Walker's Battalion for this grand collaborative effort now known by the masses as Clark's Regiments. On page 121, Volume IVCaptain Aiken said, "In April, 1864, it [Walker's Battalion] was still in Jackson's Brigade and at Carter's Depot, but was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel McKamy, 59 Off. Rec. Union and Confed. Armies, 802, having been raised to a regiment." According to Official Records, however, the unit would continue to be recorded as a battalion.

 

On page 518, Clark's Regiments, Volume III, Lt. Col. B. G. McDowell of the Sixty-second North Carolina Regiment recorded, "Major W. W. Stringfield with 150 Cherokee Indians and whites of the Sixty-ninth North Carolina." On page 736, Clark's Regiments, Vol. III, Lt. Col. W.W. Stringfield, who recorded the history of the elusive Sixty-ninth for the Tar Heel State, wrote, "[S]everal companies of Walker's Battalion (of our Legion)." Stringfield continued, "Part of the Sixty-ninth and most of the Eightieth (Walker's Battalion which had been raised to a regiment)." And on page 662, Clark's Regiments, Vol. III, Captain B. T. Morris of the 64th North Carolina recorded that "Colonel Walker of the Eightieth North Carolina Regiment." And on pp. 662, 664 and 671, he stated, "Sixty-ninth and Eightieth." While Morris believed, as did many other soldiers postwar, that Walker's Battalion had been raised to a regiment, he further applied the designation 80th North Carolina Regiment.

 

On pp. 114 and 161 in Confederate Military History of North Carolina, D. H. Hill, Jr. mentions 80th Battalion twice. On page 220, Hill writes, Sixty-ninth (?) North Carolina Regiment. Hill clarifies his (?) by stating the believed that General James Martin counted Thomas' Legion twice in Palmer's Brigade. In 1899, D. H. Hill, however, was unaware that the Fourteenth North Carolina Battalion had been increased to a regiment and designated the 69th North Carolina Regiment. Martin did not count the 69th twice, the 69th North Carolina Regiment was referring to the cavalry regiment, and Thomas' Legion was correctly included in the report (O.R., 1, 49, 1, 1048). Hill makes no reference to the 80th Regiment; he does mention on page 114, Lt. Col. Walker's cavalry battalion, and on page 161, he wrote Walker's Battalion.

 

In Clark's Regiments, An Extended Index to the Histories of the Several Regiments and Battalions from North Carolina in the Great War 1861-65, p. 468, he documented "Walker's Battalion, Thomas' Legion; Col, 80th North Carolina State Troops." Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series 1, Volume 32, part II, p. 642 recorded, "Thomas' (North Carolina) Regiment, Lieut. Col. James R. Love. Walker's (North Carolina) Battalion, Lieut. Col. William C. Walker." The National Park Service Index Of Civil War Units recorded, "Walker's Battalion, Thomas Legion," and it never mentioned Walker’s Regiment or 80th Regiment.

 

Moreover, during the last months of the Civil War, both Confederate General Martin (O.R., 1, 49, 1, 1048) and Union General Stanley (O.R.,1, 49, 2, 309) referred to the command as Thomas' Legion. This reinforces the fact that at the end of the war the legion was documented as being intact, meaning the regiment and battalion were not viewed as separate and distinct units. When its components were detached, as emphasized, they were called by names such as Love's Regiment, Thomas' Regiment, and Walker's Battalion. And in 1865, in Jefferson Davis' Letter of Confidence in Thomas' Legion, Davis recognized the entire unit as Thomas' Legion.

The Thomas Legion Surrenders.jpg
O.R., 1, 49, 2, pp. 669-670

(Right) Although Lt. Col. James R. Love was selected for the rank of colonel (equal to that of Thomas) during the final month of the war, the conflict would conclude prior to the promotion. Love was also recommended for promotion to brigadier general, according to Lt. Col. Stingfield's diary, November 1, 1864. But in a telegram dated May 8, 1865, (O.R., 1, 49, 2, 669), and nearly one month after Lee had capitulated to Grant, Love and Thomas had surrendered to Union forces and been officially recorded as Colonel Thomas and Lieutenant Colonel Love. In this report the writer was precise when he documented COLONEL Thomas and LEIUTENANT COLONEL Love. Whereas Thomas had previously employed his personal Life Guard of Indians, he would conclude the recruitment of the Cherokee Battalion (O.R., 1, 49, 2, 754) in early 1865.

 

The Battalion and Regiment of Thomas' Legion were both recorded many times in the ORs. For authenticity, original spelling remains in the following examples. 

Report of Lieut. C. H. Taylor: Thomas’ Legion C. S. Army.

Murphy, N.C.

November 1, 1863.

 

Sir: on October 27, General Vaughn, with a detachment of his mounted men, overtook Goldman Bryson, with his company of mounted robbers, in Cherokee County, N.C., attacked him, killing 2 and capturing 17 men and 30 horses.

 

On the 28th, I left Murphy with 19 men, taking Bryson’s trail through the mountains; followed him 25 miles, when I came upon him and fired on him, killing him, and capturing 1 man with him. I found in his possession his orders from General Burnside and his roll and other papers.

My men acted nobly; marched two days, and without anything to eat.

Yours Respectfully,

C. H. Taylor

Lieutenant, Comdg, Co. B, Infantry Regt., Thomas’ Legion

Lieutenant Colonel Walker

Commanding Battalion, Thomas’ Legion

 

General Bragg:

 

Permit me, General, to recommend to your notice C. H. Taylor, lieutenant, who commanded the Indians at the killing of Captain Bryson. You will pardon me, General, in not sending this through the proper channel, we have no mails.

W. C. Walker,

Lieutenant-Colonel, Comdg. Battalion, Thomas’ Legion

 

Quallatown, N.C., February 28, 1864.
TO THE GOVERNOR AND COUNCIL OF SOUTH CAROLINA:
    SIRS: At the commencement of the present war I urged the Carolinians to make preparations for defending the passes in the Smoky Mountain for their common protection, and to aid as far as I could in keeping back the Northern vandals, by the express permission of President Davis, I raised a Legion of Indians and Highlanders. Last fall when East Tennessee was unfortunately surrendered to the enemy, I, with the Indians, was ordered to fall back on the Smoky Mountains to check the progress of the enemy.
Your obedient servant,
WM. H. Thomas
Colonel Thomas’ Legion Indians and Highlanders
O.R., 53, pp. 313-314
 
In the above letter, the winter of 1864 was said by many to be one of the severest in the region's history. In the dispatch, Thomas, donning both Confederate colonel and Cherokee chief hats, also emphasized that his Indians were starving as he pleaded with South Carolina officials to immediately send the Cherokee Indians provisions of corn, flour, rice, beans, grain, and cotton for clothes. He then offered to pay for these provisions at his own expense. Should food fail to arrive, Thomas continued, the Indians will certainly die and Thomas’ Legion will lack sufficient force to protect South Carolina’s northwestern region. He next warned that without immediate aid, the legion will be forced retreat across the “Blue Ridge Line” and Lincoln will have access to subjugate South Carolina. The neighboring South Carolinians would meet his requests, thus, for many, bringing relief.

Final Civil War Surrender Marker
Final Civil War Surrender.jpg
Thomas Legion and the final surrender during the Civil War

Thomas' Legion.jpg
Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series 1, Volume 49, part 2, p. 309.

(Right) The day following Lee's surrender to Grant, the largest single unit organized in the Old North State was still known as Thomas' Legion, and, with its faithful components, it was poised for battle.

 

In October 1863, Brig. Gen. A. E. Jackson's Brigade consisted of Thomas' Legion only. (See also O.R., 1, 29, 2, 812 and O.R., 1, 33, 1137.) Was the unit now a Legion or a Brigade? This confusing command structure was highly contested by Col. Thomas and members of his field and staff. The situation was extremely tense between Jackson and Thomas, insomuch that Jackson had Thomas arrested in June of 1863 and charged with "disobedience of orders."

 

In the following report, O.R., 1, 32, 3, 802, it stated that Lieut. Col. James R. Love was commanding the regiment of Thomas' Legion while Lieut. Col. James A. Mckamy was commanding Walker's Battalion. It is followed by a footnote showing, "Otherwise known as the Thomas (North Carolina) Legion." Earlier in the war, the ORs recorded Col. William H. Thomas in command of the regiment, but beyond the winter of 1863-64, Thomas would, until the legion reunited a few months prior to its surrender, lead only the Cherokee Battalion as it generally performed thankless provost and guard duties in East Tennessee and North Carolina. The following includes original text, spelling, and footnotes.

 

Organization of Buckner’s Division, Brig. Gen. Bushrod R. Johnson, C. S. Army, commanding, April 20, 1864.*

 

Jackson’s Brigade.

Brig. Gen. Alfred E. Jackson.

Thomas’ regiment,++ Lieut. Col. James R. Love.

Walker’s battalion,++ Lieut. Col. James A. Mckamy.

Levi’s (Virginia) battery.

Burroughs’ (Tennessee) battery.

McClung’s (Tennessee) battery.

 

Johnson’s Brigade.

Col. John S. Fulton.

17th Tennessee, Col. R. H. Keeble.

23rd Tennessee, Col. R. H. Keeble.

25th Tennessee, Lieut. Col. John L. McEwen, jr.

44th Tennessee, Lieut. Col. John L. McEwen, jr.

63d Tennessee, Col. Abraham Folkerson.

Detachments, + Capt. Nathan Dodd.

 

Gracie’s Brigade

Brig. Gen. Archibald Gracie, Jr.

41st Alabama, Col. Martin L. Stansel.

43rd Alabama, Lieut. Col. John J. Jolly.

59th Alabama, Col. Bolling Hall, jr.

60th Alabama, Maj. Hatch Cook.

23rd Alabama, Battalion Sharpshooters, Maj. Nicholas Stallworth.

 

++ Otherwise known as the Thomas (North Carolina) Legion

+ From the Sixteenth Georgia Battalion and the Third, Thirty-first, Forty-third, Sixtieth, Sixty-first, and Sixty-second Tennessee Regiments.

• As shown by inspection reports of Lieu. Col. Archer Anderson, assistant adjutant-general. Jackson’s brigade at Carter’s Depot, the others near Zollicoffer.

 

There were some wartime records showing Thomas’ regiment, North Carolina and Thomas’ regiment, North Carolina Volunteers. Notice that the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies added a footnote when it recorded Thomas’ regiment, North CarolinaThis evidence also served to reinforce the command rivalry between Brig. Gen. A. E. Jackson and Col. William H. Thomas. Lt. Col. William Stringfield later wrote, “It appears that Jackson broke up the Legion in order to make it a brigade and call it his Brigade.” This had given a strong impression that the organization had demoted the "legion” by stating “regiment and battalion.” When you view the brigade it includes Thomas' Legion and Thomas' entire Legion. While in this report the regiment, battalion and artillery battery formed the core of Jackson's Brigade, in other accounts the brigade consisted of merely the regiment and battalion of the Thomas Legion. So when Jackson's command was formed only with Thomas' Legion, what were the soldiers supposed to call the unit and to whom do they report? Who commanded this monster or freak with two heads? If Brig. Gen. Jackson had otherwise called it a legion, the brigade designation would not have existed and Jackson would have found himself without a command. While it served as the genesis of the heated arguments between Thomas and Jackson, as well as the poor morale in the ranks, the blame for this odd formation must be placed squarely on the shoulders of the Confederate Army, which had not only allowed its creation, but sat idly by as this beast continued to exist. 

Thomas Legion of Cherokee Indians.jpg
Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series 1, Volume 49, part 1, p. 1048

(Right) In this March 10, 1865, report, Thomas' Legion of Indians and Highlanders, which included Love's Regiment, McKamy's Battalion, Indian Battalion, and Barr's Light Artillery Battery, was now attached to the District of Western North Carolina, under Brig. Gen. James G. Martin. The 69th North Carolina Cavalry Regiment was also listed in the report as part of Palmer's Brigade. Barr's Battery has the footnote "a" for No report. Not included.

 

In November 1864, the Congress of the Confederate States of America affirmed the organization as Thomas' Legion. The following, from Library of Congress, includes original spelling and footnotes.

 

Journal of the Congress of the Confederate States of America, 1861-1865 [Volume 4]

 

MONDAY, November 21, 1864.

To His Excellency Jefferson Davis,

President, etc.

Executive Department, Confederate States of America,

Richmond, November 21, 1864.

 

To the Senate of the Confederate States:

 

Agreeably to the recommendation of the Secretary of War, I nominate James W. Terrell, of North Carolina, to be an assistant quartermaster, with the rank of captain in the Provisional Army of the Confederate States of America.

JEFFERSON DAVIS.

 

No. 11.] War Department, Confederate States of America,

Richmond, November 19, 1864.

 

Sir: I have the honor to recommend the nomination of James W. Terrell, of North Carolina, to be an assistant quartermaster, with rank of captain in the Provisional Army of the Confederate States of America, for duty with Thomas' Legion (an original vacancy), to date from November 12, 1864.

 

I am, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant,

JAMES A. SEDDON, Secretary of War.

 

EXECUTIVE SESSION.

 

The following message was received from the President of the Confederate orates, by Mr. B. N. Harrison, his Secretary:

 

Executive Department, Confederate States of America,

Richmond, November 24, 1864.

 

To the Senate of the Confederate States:

 

Agreeably to the recommendation of the Secretary of War, I nominate Thomas D. Johnston, of North Carolina, to be assistant commissary, with rank of captain in the Provisional Army of the Confederate States of America.

JEFFERSON DAVIS.

 

No. 16.] War Department, Confederate States of America,

Richmond, November 22, 1864.

 

Sir: I have the honor to recommend the nomination of Thomas D. Johnston, of North Carolina, to be assistant commissary, with rank of captain in the Provisional Army of the Confederate States of America, for duty with Thomas' Legion (an original vacancy), to date from November 21, 1864.

Thomas' Legion Civil War Service.jpg
Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series 1, Volume 49, part 2, pp. 754-755.

I am, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant,

JAMES A. SEDDON,

Secretary of War.

To His Excellency Jefferson Davis,

President, etc.

 

The message was read.

 

Ordered, That it be referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.

 

On motion by Mr. Sparrow,

The Senate resolved rate open legislative session.

 

In early 1864 the Congress of the Confederate States of America recorded:

 

Journal of the Congress of the Confederate States of America, 1861-1865 [Volume 3]

FRIDAY, January 15, 1864.

 

To His Excellency Jefferson Davis,

President, etc.

 

The message was read.

 

Ordered, That it be referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.

 

(Right) Lt. Col. William C. Bartlett, commanding 2nd N.C. (Federal) Mounted Infantry, submitted his report to headquarters dated May 13, 1865, which was more than one month after Lee's surrender at Appomattox, and he said that "Martin's command consisted of Thomas' Legion only, which comprised one regiment and two battalions, one of which battalions was an Indian one. These were surrendered to me and paroled." Bartlett reported that Thomas also had with him what he styled his Life Guard, about 20 men, Indians, whom he said were constantly with him for protection against robbers. They were not, however, employed by the Confederate government. Bartlett, a Union officer, had just recorded the last word for the battle-hardened men who had served in the Thomas Legion. Although a determined lot, they had now surrendered to and were paroled by the officer who had been their antagonist during the deadliest conflict in American history. And Bartlett recorded that there was just one regiment, meaning infantry, and two battalions that had formed the ole Thomas Legion. The Federal commander had not attached a single numerical designation to any portion of this unit, because there were not any numbers to document before the men disbanded and then returned to their homes to enter the next chapter of their lives.

 

The following message was received from the President of the Confederate States, by Mr. B. N. Harrison, his Secretary:

 

Executive Department, Confederate States of America,

Richmond, January 14, 1864.

 

To the Senate of the Confederate States:

 

Agreeably to the recommendation of the Secretary of War, I nominate the officers on the accompanying list to the rank affixed to their names, respectively.

JEFFERSON DAVIS.

 

War Department, Confederate States of America,

Richmond, January 6, 1864.

 

Sir: I have the honor to recommend the following nominations for appointment in the Provisional Army of the Confederate States of America:

 

Adjutants--first lieutenants.

 

• E. S. Hammond, of Tennessee, to be adjutant Fourteenth Tennessee Cavalry Regiment, to rank from July 1, 1863.

• John L. Barksdale, of Tennessee, to be adjutant Fifteenth Tennessee Cavalry Regiment, to rank from August 27, 1863.

• W. B. Jones, of Tennessee, to be adjutant Sixteenth Tennessee Cavalry Regiment, to rank from August 29, 1863.

• W. G. Williams, of North Carolina, to be adjutant Sixty-sixth North Carolina Regiment, to rank from November 30, 1863.

• P. C. Gaston, of North Carolina, to be adjutant Walker's Battalion, Thomas' Legion, to rank from May 20, 1863.

• D. H. Halsey, of Alabama, to be adjutant Fourth Alabama Cavalry Regiment, to rank from October 1, 1863.

• C. Wick. Gue, of Alabama, to be adjutant Twenty-fourth Alabama Battalion, to rank from December 16, 1863.

• W. L. Pike, of Missouri, to be adjutant Seventh Missouri Cavalry Regiment, to rank from December 12, 1863.

• G. E. Manigault, of South Carolina, to be adjutant Fourth South Carolina Cavalry Regiment, to rank from December 1, 1863.

• John McRae, of Mississippi, to be adjutant Forty-sixth Mississippi Regiment, to rank from November 17, 1863.

• C. V. Thompson, of Tennessee, to be adjutant Thirteenth Tennessee Regiment, to rank from December 4, 1863.

• C. E. Kimball, of Virginia, to be adjutant Sixth Virginia Cavalry Regiment, to rank from October 1, 1863.

• John Fennelly, of Louisiana, to be adjutant Fourteenth Louisiana Regiment, to rank from December 12, 1863.

• O. R. Funsten, of Virginia, to be adjutant Eleventh Virginia Cavalry Regiment, to rank from December 7, 1863.

• A. J. Brooks, of Alabama, to be adjutant Forty-sixth Alabama Regiment, to rank from November 17, 1863.

• John Law, of Georgia, to be adjutant Thirty-eighth Georgia Regiment, to rank from November 21, 1863.

• D. A. Hinton, of Virginia, to be adjutant Forty-fourth Virginia Battalion, to rank from December 15, 1863.

• J. E. H. Post, of Maryland, to be adjutant First Maryland Battalion Cavalry, to rank from December 1, 1863.

 

I am, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant,

JAMES A. SEDDON,

Secretary of War.

 

To His Excellency Jefferson Davis,

President, etc.

 

The message was read.

 

Ordered, That it be referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.

 

On motion by Mr. Johnson of Arkansas,

 

The Senate resolved into open legislative session.

(Additional sources and related reading below.)
 
Recommended Reading: 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.

Site search Web search

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, dedicated an unprecedented 10 years of his life to this first yet detailed history of the Thomas Legion. But it must be said that this priceless addition has placed into our hands the rich story of an otherwise forgotten era of the Eastern Cherokee Indians and the mountain men of both East Tennessee and western North Carolina who would fill the ranks of the Thomas Legion during the four year Civil War. Crow sought out every available primary and secondary source by traveling to several states and visiting from ancestors of the Thomas Legion to special collections, libraries, universities, museums, including the Museum of the Cherokee, to various state archives and a host of other locales for any material on the unit in order to preserve and present the most accurate and thorough record of the legion. Crow, during his exhaustive fact-finding, was granted access to rare manuscripts, special collections, privately held diaries, and never before seen nor published photos and facts of this only legion from North Carolina. Crow remains absent from the text as he gives a readable account of each unit within the legion's organization, and he includes a full-length roster detailing each of the men who served in its ranks, including dates of service to some interesting lesser known facts.

Storm in the Mountains, Thomas' Confederate Legion of Cherokee Indians and Mountaineers is presented in a readable manner that is attractive to any student and reader of American history, Civil War, North Carolina studies, Cherokee Indians, ideologies and sectionalism, and I would be remiss without including the lay and professional genealogist since the work contains facts from ancestors, including grandchildren, some of which Crow spent days and overnights with, that further complement the legion's roster with the many names, dates, commendations, transfers, battle reports, with those wounded, captured, and killed, to lesser yet interesting facts for some of the men. Crow was motivated with the desire to preserve history that had long since been overlooked and forgotten and by each passing decade it only sank deeper into the annals of obscurity. Crow had spent and dedicated a 10 year span of his life to full-time research of the Thomas Legion, and this fine work discusses much more than the unit's formation, its Cherokee Indians, fighting history, and staff member narratives, including the legion's commander, Cherokee chief and Confederate colonel, William Holland Thomas. Numerous maps and photos also allow the reader to better understand and relate to the subjects. Storm in the Mountains, Thomas' Confederate Legion of Cherokee Indians and Mountaineers is highly commended, absolutely recommended, and to think that over the span of a decade Crow, for us, would meticulously research the unit and present the most factual and precise story of the men, the soldiers who formed, served, and died in the famed Thomas Legion.

 
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."
 
Recommended ReadingConfederate 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 ReadingThe 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 and battles 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. "Includes cavalry battles, Union Navy operations, Confederate Navy expeditions, Naval bombardments, the land battles... [A]n indispensable edition." Also available in hardcover: The Civil War in North Carolina.

 Sources: Vernon H. Crow, Storm in the Mountains: Thomas' Confederate Legion of Cherokee Indians and Mountaineers; 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 Archives and Records Administration; North Carolina Office of Archives and History; 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; D. H. Hill, Confederate Military History Of North Carolina: North Carolina In The Civil War, 1861-1865; Christopher M. Watford, The Civil War in North Carolina: Soldiers' and Civilians' Letters and Diaries, 1861-1865. Volume 2: The Mountains; Library of Congress; William F. Fox, Regimental Losses in the American Civil War; William Stringfield, Unpublished Memoirs of the Civil War.

Return to American Civil War Homepage

Best viewed with Internet Explorer or Google Chrome

google.com, pub-2111954512596717, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0