Confederate Units from Chatham County, 1861-1865
by Mark R. Terry
All told, over 2,000 Chatham County men joined the military during the war. Of that total, 20 percent (about 400) of the men died in the service of wounds or disease.
Eleven companies were formed in Chatham County. Ten other companies were made up largely from Chatham residents who traveled outside the county to enlist. This was pretty good for a county that was very rural in character. Chatham County at that time had no railroad, so it was a region somewhat sparsely populated and almost totally devoted to agriculture.
But when the call was sounded, the men went to war, some even before any local companies were formed.
About the Chart of Chatham Units
The first chart includes units organized in Chatham County, and is set up with four columns: company/regiment, its nickname, its organization and the date the unit was mustered into service.
The second chart, listing units formed outside the county, substitutes county for unit nickname, indicating where the men mustered. Rather than showing a muster date, the final column includes the number of men from Chatham County joining that company.
"Organization" is a little more complex. It means what brigade, division and corps that unit was assigned to. Every unit on this list belonged to many organizations during the war. Due to space limitations, I only listed the one it belonged to longest. In the two instances where companies switched regiments, I listed the organization it part of the longest when the company was with that regiment.
Conclusions
1. The majority of the "Chathamite" companies listed served with the Army of Northern Virginia during the war. According to the sources, except for the very end of the war, when Sherman's army was invading North Carolina, no companies from Chatham are known to have served with the Army of Tennessee.
2. A good number of the companies served together. Three companies out of the upper section and one from the lower section were members of Pettigrew's Brigade (Co. E and Co. G of the 26th, Co. E of the 44th and Co. G of the 11th North Carolina Troops). Two were in Cooke's Brigade, which served side by side with Pettigrew's (Kirkland's) Brigade of Heth's Division. The two cavalry companies also served in the same brigade.
Units Organized in Chatham County [1]
Listing of Units:
Company/Regiment
Nickname
Organization
Mustered
Co. M / 15th
Chatham Rifles
Cobb's Brig., McLaw's Div., Magruder's Command, Army of Northern Virginia (Apr-Jul 1862)
4/15/1861
transferred to
Co. I / 32nd NCT [2]
Daniels-Grime's Brig., Rodes' Div., 2nd Corps, Army of Northern Virginia (May 1863-June 1864)
Co. E / 26th NCT
Chatham Guards
Pettigrew-Kirkland-MacRae's Brig., Heth's Div., 3rd Corps, Army of Northern Virginia (June 1863- Apr. 1865)
5/28/1861
Co. G / 26th NCT
Chatham Boys
Pettigrew-Kirkland-MacRae's Brig., Heth's Div., 3rd Corps, Army of Northern Virginia (June 1863- Apr. 1865)
6/10/1861
Co. D / 35th NCT
Haw River Boys
Ransom's Brig., Dept. of N.C. (Sept. 1863-May 1864)
9/20/1861
Co. E / 44th NCT
Turtle Paws
Pettigrew-Kirkland-MacRae's Brig., Heth's Div., 3rd Corps, Army of Northern Virginia (July 1863-Apr. 1865)
4/3/1862
Co. G / 48th NCT
Chatham Invincibles
Cooke's Brig., Heth's Div., 3rd Corps, Army of Northern Virginia (Sept. 1863-Apr. 1865)
3/11/1862
Co. B / 49th NCT
Chatham Cossacks
Ransom's Brig., Walker's-Ransom's Div., 1st Corps, Army of Northern Virginia (Aug. 1862-Jan. 1863)
4/21/1862
transferred to
Co. D / 15th NCT
Cooke's Brig., Heth's Div., 3rd Corps, Army of Northern Virginia (Sept. 1863-Apr. 1865)
Co. D / 61st NCT
Vance Guards
Clingman's Brig., Hoke's Div., Dept. of N.C. & Southern Va. (May 1864-Oct. 1864)
9/29/1862
Co. E / 63rd NCT (5th NC Cavalry)
Vance Troop
Gordon-Barringer's Brig., WHF Lee's Div., Cavalry Corps, Army of Northern Virginia (Apr. 1864-Apr. 1865)
8/3/1862
Co. G / 63rd NCT (5th NC Cavalry)
Chatham Rangers
Gordon-Barringer's Brig., WHF Lee's Div., Cavalry Corps, Army of Northern Virginia (Apr. 1864-Apr. 1865)
Summer 1862
Co. H / 70th NCT (1st NC Jr. Reserves)
None or Unknown
2nd Mil. Dist., Dept. of N.C. & Southern Va. (July 1864-Jan. 1865)
May 1864
Enlistments of Chatham Residents in Units Organized Outside Chatham County
Listing of Units:
Company/Regiment
County
Organization
No. of Chatham Men
Co. I / 6th NCT [4]
Wake
Hoke's Brig., Early's Div., 2nd Corps, Army of Northern Virginia (Jan. 1863-Jan. 1864)
62
Co. E / 1st NC Artillery
Wake (?) [5]
Moseley's-Blount's Batt., 4th Corps, Army of Northern Virginia (Oct. 1864-Apr. 1865)
38
Co. D / 41st NCT (3rd NC Cav.)
Harnett & Lenoir
Barringer's Brig., WHF Lee's Div., Cav. Corps, Army of Northern Virginia (May 1864-Apr. 1865)
21
Co. E / 41st NCT (3rd NC Cav.)
Harnett & Lenoir
Barringer's Brig., WHF Lee's Div., Cav. Corps, Army of Northern Virginia (May 1864-Apr. 1865)
14
Co. G / 11th NCT
Orange
Pettigrew-Kirkland-MacRae's Brig., Heth's Div., 3rd Corps, Army of Northern Virginia (June 1863-Apr. 1865)
18
Co. C / 56th NCT
Pasquotank
Ransom's Brig., Dept. of N.C. (Sept. 1863-May 1864)
31
Co. A / 5th NCT
Cumberland & Rowan
Gordon-Iverson-Johnston's Brig., DH Hill-Rodes' Div, 2nd Corps, Army of Northern Virginia (Sept. 1862-May 1864)
66
Co. E / 5th NCT
Cumberland & Rowan
Gordon-Iverson-Johnston's Brig., DH Hill-Rodes' Div, 2nd Corps, Army of Northern Virginia (Sept. 1862-May 1864)
46
Co. C / 53rd NCT
Johnston
Daniels-Grime's Brig., Rodes' Div., 2nd Corps, Army of Northern Virginia (May 1863-June 1864)
12
Co. E / 8th NCT
Cumberland
Clingman's Brig., Hoke's Div., Dept. of N.C. & Southern Va. (May-Oct. 1864)
20
Notes
1. In unit organization listings, abbreviations used include: Batt., Battery; Brig., Brigade; Cav., Cavalry; Dept., Department; Div., Division; and NCT, North Carolina Troops.
2. The Chatham Rifles transferred to Co. I, 32nd Regiment, North Carolina Troops, on July 4, 1862.
3. Co. B, 49th Regiment, North Carolina Troops, transferred to become Co. D, 15th Regiment, North Carolina Troops, on January 9, 1863.
4. Co. I, 6th Regiment North Carolina Troops was known as the ÒNorth Carolina Grays.Ó
5. Co. E, 1st North Carolina Artillery was recruited in Chatham County in June 1862 and mustered in at Wilmington.
