A History of the 13th South Carolina Infantry
Illustrated, maps, selected bibliography, endnotes, 333 pp., 2008. Broadfoot Publishing Co., 1907 Buena Vista Circle, Wilmington, NC 28411-7892, $35 plus shipping. According to the publisher, this is one volume of a proposed 50-volume set, The South Carolina Regimental-Roster Set, which will include all South Carolina Civil War units from 1861-1865. Much like the Virginia Regimental set by H.E. Howard, this regimental covers every major engagement in which the 13th South Carolina Volunteer Infantry participated. Its 13 chapters begin with the regiment’s organization in 1861 and go through its surrender at Appomattox Court House in 1865 — 79 pages later. As stated by the publisher, this is a unit sketch not a full-blown regimental history. The author has filled the book with extended quotes from the traditional published sources: the unit history by J.F.J. Caldwell, the Official Records, and the writings of Surgeon Spencer Glasgow Welch. Wadsworth also cites a source with which this reviewer was not familiar — W.R. Tanner Sr., Reminiscences of the War Between the States. The author also culled quite a bit of biographical information from J. B.O. Landrum, History of Spartanburg County. The book contains a few of the officers’ photos and three professionally done battle maps — of a much better quality than those in the Virginia Regimental series. As with all of Broadfoot Publishing books, this work is a very well bound and attractive volume. I wish the publisher had included an index, at least for the regimental history part of the text, as well as a table of contents. The roster, which comprises the bulk of the work, is very thoroughly researched. It is an invaluable resource for the genealogist and the military historian. I can only compare it to Weymouth T. Jordan’s monumental series, North Carolina Troops. Detailed and heavily documented, it alone makes the book worth adding to one’s library. If the rest of this series contains rosters of this quality, it will make the set well worth the investment. Reviewer: John Michael Priest John Michael Priest is a 30-year Civil War and U.S. history teacher in Washington County, Maryland, high schools. A member of Historical Miniature Wargaming Society, he is an avid 54mm wargamer--French and Indian War through the U. S. Civil War. He has written four Civil War books and has a manuscript under consideration at the University of Kentucky Press.
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