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37th North Carolina Infantry Regiment
37th Infantry Regiment was organized by Colonel C. C. Lee
and assembled at High Point, North Carolina, in November 1861. The men were recruited in the counties of Buncombe, Watauga,
Ashe, Mecklenburg, Wake, Alexander, and Gaston. The unit fought at New Bern and then relocated to Virginia in the
spring of 1862. It was assigned to General Branch's and Lane's Brigade in the Army of Northern Virginia, fought at Hanover Court House and Mechanicsville, and participated in many campaigns of the army from the Seven Days Battles to Cold Harbor. It continued the fight in the Siege of Petersburg and around Appomattox. This regiment reported 125 casualties during the Seven Days Battles, 15 at Cedar Mountain, 81 at Second Manassas, 93 at Fredericksburg, and 235 at Chancellorsville. Of the 379 engaged at Gettysburg, more than thirty percent were disabled. It surrendered 10 officers and 98 men.
The field officers were Colonels William M. Barbour and Charles C. Lee; Lieutenant Colonel John B. Ashcraft, Charles N. Hickerson,
and William G. Morris; and Majors Jackson L. Bost, Owen N. Brown, John G. Bryan, Rufus M. Rankin, and William R. Rankin. Colonel
Charles C. Lee was killed at the Battle of Mechanicsville, Virginia.
| 37th North Carolina Infantry Regiment |
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| 37th North Carolina Infantry Regiment |
Recommended
Reading: The Thirty-seventh North Carolina Troops: Tar Heels in the Army of Northern Virginia, by
Michael C. Hardy. Description: It vividly reflects the unit’s four years’ service, told largely in
the soldiers’ own words. Drawn from letters, diaries, and postwar articles and interviews, this history of the 37th
North Carolina follows the unit from its organization in November 1861 until its surrender at Appomattox. Continued below...
The
book includes photographs of the key players in the 37th’s story as well as maps illustrating the unit’s position
at several engagements. Appendices include a complete roster of the unit and a listing of individuals buried in large sites
such as prison cemeteries. (Great for genealogy, too.) A bibliography and index are also included.
Recommended
Reading: The 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. John Barrett presents the
complete story of military engagements 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. Also available in hardcover: The Civil War in North Carolina .
Recommended Reading: Confederate
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 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
Reading:
The Flags of Civil War North Carolina.
Description: Compiled and written by educator and Civil War expert Glenn Dedmondt,
The Flags Of Civil War North Carolina is a very straightforward reference presenting photographs,
color illustrations, descriptions and history of the titular flags that flew over North Carolina
when it seceded from the Union. Each page or two-page spread features the different flags
of the various North Carolina regiments. A meticulously
detailed resource offering very specific information for history and civil war buffs, The Flags Of Civil War North Carolina
is a welcome contribution to the growing library of Civil War Studies and could well serve as a template for similar volumes
for the other Confederate as well as Union states. Great photos and illustrations! Continued below...
Flags stir powerful emotions,
and few objects evoke such a sense of duty and love for the homeland. In April 1861, the first flag of a new republic flew
over North
Carolina. The state had just seceded from the union, and its citizens would soon have to fight for
their homes, their families, and their way of life. Each flag is meticulously detailed and scaled to perfection. The Flags of Civil
War North Carolina is the history of this short-lived republic
(which later joined the Confederacy), told through the banners that flew over its government, cavalry, and navy. From the
hand-painted flag of the Guilford Greys to the flag of the Buncombe Riflemen--made from the dresses of the
ladies of Asheville--this collection is an exceptional tribute
to the valiant men who bore these banners and to their ill-fated crusade for independence. About the Author:
Glenn Dedmondt, a lifelong resident of the Carolinas and member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, shares his passion for
the past as a teacher of South Carolina history. Dedmondt
has also been published in Confederate Veteran magazine.
Sources: 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; D. H. Hill, Confederate Military History Of North Carolina: North Carolina In The Civil War, 1861-1865; Auburn
University Archives & Manuscripts Department.
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