North Carolina Troops 1861-1865:
Illustrated, maps, roster, footnotes, index, 537 pp., 2008. North Carolina Office of Archives and History. Order from: Historical Publications Section, 4622 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-4622. $50 plus shipping. Volume XVI of the highly acclaimed and outstanding roster project, North Carolina Troops, 1861-1865: A Roster, is one volume closer to ending. This volume covers only one unit this time, Thomas’s Legion. This highly unorthodox Confederate unit was made up of the usual infantry, cavalry and artillery companies, but it was very seldom they operated together. It was organized as a small battalion in April 1862 by William Holland Thomas, an influential businessman and state legislator with strong ties to the Cherokee Indian community. They made up much of the initial battalion, but when Thomas decided to expanded his unit he drew in mostly white soldiers from western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee and Virginia. By the end of 1862, Thomas’s Legion had grown into a formidable force comprised of a full infantry regiment and a battalion of infantry and cavalry. The artillery battery was added a year later in April 1863. The Legion was initially stationed in eastern Tennessee. In September 1863 Thomas and two of his infantry companies departed for North Carolina and began forming another battalion of infantry. The remainder of his unit in east Tennessee saw some action in southwest Virginia and they participated in the 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign. The entire unit came together in early 1865 and saw some action in western North Carolina during the last days of the war. The North Carolina roster project began in 1961, sponsored by the North Carolina Centennial Commission. They expected to print 20 volumes which will, when completed, be right on the mark. The remaining volumes will include Federal North Carolina units along with Confederate navy and marines. It will end with a massive comprehensive index. Past volumes were edited by the outstanding editor and researcher Weymouth T. Jordan Jr. As the new editors point out, “It would clearly be impossible for any one man to fill Mr. Jordan’s shoes, we decided that two men could make a better attempt.” This is possibly true, but the new editors, Matthew M. Brown and Michael W. Coffey, have, I believe, filled Mr. Jordan’s shoes without missing a beat. The new editors have maintained the same quality and exhaustive research that was the standard for North Carolina Troops in the past. The main text is well-written and contains detailed footnotes. There are two excellent maps (one a foldout) and several rare photographs. It is, as usual, the roster that is so impressive. Two hundred and sixty pages contain the names of members of each unit in Thomas’s Legion. Many of the entries are good-sized paragraphs containing such information as age, place of birth, enlistment date, occupation, other units served with in the Confederate army, if a POW, desertion, and date of death and burial place. Initial information comes from the usual federal and state records. Historical societies and libraries from all over the country have supplied information. Cemetery records, private institutions and interested parties have supplied material. Information from descendents of North Carolina soldiers are especially welcome. All of this is only a small portion of the sources tapped for information. Requests for information are ongoing even though the corresponding volume may have already been published. There is a form inside the back of the dust jacket that a person can use to relay information they may have on a North Carolina soldier. North Carolina Troops 1861-1865: A Roster stands as a monument to the men who served that great state. Researchers and genealogists, of course, will find these volumes a treasure trove of information. Every public and school library in the country should have a set in their collection. Reviewer: Michael A. Cavanaugh is the former editor and publisher of the Civil War Book Exchange, now Civil War News. He has authored and co-authored five books on the war and is writing a biography on Maj. Gen. William Mahone, CSA.
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