Names of men from NC who fought in the civil war?

Answer 1

There were about 125,000 Confederate soldiers from North Carolina, and 40,000 died, more than from any other southern state, including Virginia.

The state's first effort to preserve the names of all of its Confederate soldiers was "Moore's Roster", published in the early 1880s. It is very inaccurate and incomplete.

Since the early 1960s the North Carolina Division of Archives and History has been publishing a series of volumes called "North Carolina Troops". There are about 15 thick volumes now, and they are almost done. North Carolina had around 70 regiments in the Confederate service, plus several battalions, and Junior Reserve units and artillery batteries. This series started at the beginning, with the first volume covering the first four or five NC regiments, and each subsequent volume covering about that many more. The state's effort has been careful and exhaustive and has made use of every source available, both in the state and National Archives. There is a good history of each regiment, followed by a complete roster, by companies, of every man known to have served in that regiment. This series is in the reference section of every decent sized public library in North Carolina. No other southern state has done anything like it.

There was another effort around 1900, called "Clark's Regiments". This was an effort to find the highest ranking man from every NC unit still alive, and have him write a regimental history of his unit. Some are very good, some not so detailed. This series was published in five fat volumes, and should also be in the reference section of any good public library in NC.

To track down an ancestor who served in the Civil War in an NC unit, you will want to know where he was living when the war started. Most men enlisted in a company raised in their home town or county. Most counties, even the thinly populated mountain counties, gave at least three or four full companies of men to the effort. A company had 100 men. When ten companies were gathered at a central location, they could form a regiment.

Another approach, if you know the name of the man you are looking for, is to use the National Park Service Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System. This is a searchable online database, purporting to list the names of every man who served in the Civil War on both sides. Be sure to try just initials, or omit middle names or initials, especially if the last name is common. See related link below for a link tot he NPSCWSS system. This will tell you what unit he was in, and there is a VERY brief history of each unit. You could then consult "Clark's Regiments" or "NC Troops" at the library to find out where that unit was and what they were doing.