Thomas' Legion (AKA Thomas' Legion of Indians and Highlanders and 69th North Carolina Regiment) was officially organized at Knoxville, Tennessee, during September 1862 by Colonel William Holland Thomas. It was never officially designated the Sixty-ninth North Carolina Regiment. Its soldiers were predominately recruited from the Tar Heel counties of Haywood, Jackson and Cherokee; many were also recruited from East Tennessee. The legion initially totaled 1,125 men and contained an infantry regiment and a cavalry battalion. On September 27, 1862, Thomas was designated as Colonel of the Legion. Unlike a regiment with approximately 1100 soldiers, the legion was a much larger and more comprehensive fighting force. The unit mustered more than two thousand five hundred officers and men, and they were distributed in infantry and cavalry. It added its light artillery battery on April 1, 1863. The size of the legion varied as several companies were transferred, and its service proved invaluable in the defense of the vital and strategic Saltworks and railroads. Together, the 62nd, 64th, and 69th (Thomas' Legion) North Carolina Regiments fought the enemy in East Tennessee and in western North Carolina. In May 1864 it relocated to ole Virginia and participated in General Jubal Early's Shenandoah Valley Campaign. The unit returned to North Carolina and was active at Soco Gap and Mill Creek, and Thomas surrendered at Waynesville, North Carolina, on May 9, 1865. The legion fought skirmishes and battles in East Tennessee, North Carolina, West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland. The infantry regiment was commanded by Colonel William H. Thomas, Lieutenant Colonel James R. Love II, and Major (later Lt. Col.) William W. Stringfield. Its cavalry battalion served in the command of Lieutenant Colonels James A. McKamy and William C. Walker. Major Stringfield initially served as a Captain in Co. E, 39th Tennessee Mounted Infantry, AKA 31st (W. M. Bradford's) Tennessee Infantry Regiment. Lt. Col. William C. Walker had prior service in the 29th North Carolina Regiment, while James R. Love initially served as a Captain in the Sixteenth North Carolina Regiment.

Advance to: Thomas' Legion of Indians and Mountaineers

 

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...

 

Recommended Reading: Bushwhackers, The Civil War in North Carolina: The Mountains (338 pages). Description: Trotter's book (which could have been titled "Murder, Mayhem, and Mountain Madness") is an epic backdrop for the most horrific murdering, plundering and pillaging of the mountain communities of western North Carolina during the state’s darkest hour—the American Civil War. Commonly referred to as Southern Appalachia, the North Carolina and East Tennessee mountains witnessed divided loyalties in its bushwhackers and guerrilla units. These so-called “bushwhackers” even used the conflict to settle old feuds and scores, which, in some cases, continued well after the war ended. Continued below...

Some bushwhackers were highly organized ‘fighting guerrilla units’ while others were a motley group of deserters and outliers, and, since most of them were residents of the region, they were familiar with the terrain and made for a “very formidable foe.” In this work, Trotter does a great job on covering the many facets of the bushwhackers, including their: battles, skirmishes, raids, activities, motives, the outcome, and even the aftermath. This book is also a great source for tracing ancestors during the Civil War; a must have for the family researcher of Southern Appalachia.

 

Recommended Reading: War at Every Door: Partisan Politics and Guerrilla Violence in East Tennessee, 1860-1869. Description: One of the most divided regions of the Confederacy, East Tennessee was the site of fierce Unionist resistance to secession, Confederate rule, and the Southern war effort. It was also the scene of unrelenting 'irregular,' or guerrilla, warfare between Union and Confederate supporters, a conflict that permanently altered the region's political, economic, and social landscape. In this study, Noel Fisher examines the military and political struggle for control of East Tennessee from the secession crisis through the early years of Reconstruction, focusing particularly on the military and political significance of the region's irregular activity. Continued below...

Fisher portrays in grim detail the brutality and ruthlessness employed not only by partisan bands but also by Confederate and Union troops under constant threat of guerrilla attack and government officials frustrated by unstinting dissent. He demonstrates that, generally, guerrillas were neither the romantic, daring figures of Civil War legend nor mere thieves and murderers, but rather were ordinary men and women who fought to live under a government of their choice and to drive out those who did not share their views.