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52nd North Carolina Infantry

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Muster In: Organized on April 22, 18621
Muster Out: April 9, 18652

Commander(s):
Lieutenant Colonel Eric Erson
Commander Image

Lieutenant William W. Carmichael
William W. Carmichael 52nd NC3

Captain John M. Alexander
Commander Image

Commander 4
Commander Image

First Offensive Order of Battle: MacRae’s Brigade | Heth’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army4

  • Commander:
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Second Offensive Order of Battle: MacRae’s Brigade | Heth’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army5

  • Commander:
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Third Offensive Order of Battle: MacRae’s Brigade | Heth’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army6

  • Commander:
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:
  • Note: All of MacRae’s Brigade, including this regiment, seems to have been at Stony Creek Station during the latter part of July 1864 and possibly into early August 1864.7

Fourth Offensive Order of Battle: MacRae’s Brigade | Heth’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army8

  • Commander:
    • Major (Lt. Col.) Eric Erson (at least August 16, 1864)(wounded on August 25, 1864)(promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on August 30, 1864)9,10
    • ? (August 25-31, 1864)11
  • Unit Strength:
    • 212 officers and men PFD (August 16, 1864)12
  • Weapons: Springfield and/or Enfield Rifles13

Fifth Offensive Order of Battle: MacRae’s Brigade | Heth’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army14,15

  • Commander: Lieutenant William W. Carmichael (at least September 30 & October 1, 1864)16,17,18
  • Unit Strength: 161 officers and men PFD (September 30, 1864)19
  • Weapons: .58 caliber (presumably mix of Springfields and Enfields)(September 30, 1864)20

Sixth Offensive Order of Battle: MacRae’s Brigade | Heth’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army21

  • Commander:
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Seventh Offensive Order of Battle: MacRae’s Brigade | Heth’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army22,23

  • Commander:
    • Captain William W. Carmichael (November 1864)24
    • Captain John M. Alexander (December 1864)25
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Eighth Offensive Order of Battle: MacRae’s Brigade | Heth’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army26,27,28,29,30

  • Commander:
    • Captain John M. Alexander (January 1865)31,32
    • Lieutenant Colonel Eric Erson (February 1865)33
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Ninth Offensive Order of Battle: MacRae’s Brigade | Heth’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army34,35

  • Commander:
    • None listed. (March 1865)36,37
    • Lieutenant Colonel Eric Erson (April 2, 1865)38
  • Unit Strength: 280 officers and men PFD (April 2, 1865)39
  • Weapons:

Dyer’s/Sifakis’ Compendium Info:
Siege of Petersburg Battles40:

  • Petersburg Siege (June 1864-April 1865)
  • Reams’ Station (August 25, 1864)
  • Jones’ Farm (September 30, 1864)
  • Squirrel Level Road (September 30, 1864)
  • Pegram’s Farm (October 1, 1864)
  • Harman Road (October 2, 1864)
  • Burgess’ Mill (October 27, 1864)
  • Hatcher’s Run (February 5-7, 1865)
  • Petersburg Final Assault (April 2, 1865)
  • Appomattox Court House (April 9, 1865)

Bibliography:

    Siege of Petersburg Documents Which Mention This Unit:

    Sources:

    1. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: North Carolina by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 152-153 ↩
    2. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: North Carolina by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 152-153 ↩
    3. Clark, Walter. Histories of the Several Regiments and Battalions from North Carolina in the Great War 1861-’65, Volume 3 (Nash Brothers: 1901), pp. 221-222 ↩
    4. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 112 ↩
    5. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 112 ↩
    6. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 121 ↩
    7. Clark, Walter. Histories of the Several Regiments and Battalions from North Carolina in the Great War 1861-’65, Volume 3 (Nash Brothers: 1901), pp. 29-34: “During the latter part of July, 1864, the (44th NC) regiment left Petersburg for Stoney Creek, and whilst on the march Colonel William MacRae, of the Fifteenth North Carolina Regiment, joined the brigade and assumed command under orders. This gallant officer was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General in November, 1864, and from that time never left the brigade, of which the Forty-fourth was a part, until the last day at Appomattox. From Stoney Creek the regiment returned to Petersburg.” ↩
    8. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 131 ↩
    9. Confederate Inspection Report 17-P-17: Kirkland’s Brigade, August 16, 1864; Inspection Reports and Related Records Received By the Inspection Branch in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M935, Roll 10: Inspection Reports P-12 – 39-P-24); War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C. ↩
    10. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 131 ↩
    11. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 131 ↩
    12. Confederate Inspection Report 17-P-17: Kirkland’s Brigade, August 16, 1864; Inspection Reports and Related Records Received By the Inspection Branch in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M935, Roll 10: Inspection Reports P-12 – 39-P-24); War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C. ↩
    13. Confederate Inspection Report 17-P-17: Kirkland’s Brigade, August 16, 1864; Inspection Reports and Related Records Received By the Inspection Branch in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M935, Roll 10: Inspection Reports P-12 – 39-P-24); War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C. ↩
    14. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 139 ↩
    15. Sommers, Richard J. “Grant’s Fifth Offensive at Petersburg: A Study in Strategy, Tactics, and Generalship.  The Battle of Poplar Spring Church, the First Battle of the Darbytown Road, the Second Battle of the Squirrel Level Road, the Second Battle of the Darbytown Road (Ulysses S. Grant, Virginia).” Doctoral Thesis. Rice University, 1970. Print. p. 1312. ↩
    16. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 139 ↩
    17. Confederate Inspection Report 18-P-24: MacRae’s Brigade, September 30, 1864; Inspection Reports and Related Records Received By the Inspection Branch in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M935, Roll 10: Inspection Reports P-12 – 39-P-24); War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C. ↩
    18. Venner, William T. The 11th North Carolina Infantry in the Civil War: A History and Roster. McFarland, 2015, p. 180 ↩
    19. Confederate Inspection Report 18-P-24: MacRae’s Brigade, September 30, 1864; Inspection Reports and Related Records Received By the Inspection Branch in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M935, Roll 10: Inspection Reports P-12 – 39-P-24); War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C. ↩
    20. Confederate Inspection Report 18-P-24: MacRae’s Brigade, September 30, 1864; Inspection Reports and Related Records Received By the Inspection Branch in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M935, Roll 10: Inspection Reports P-12 – 39-P-24); War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C. ↩
    21. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 148 ↩
    22. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 156 ↩
    23. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 165 ↩
    24. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 156 ↩
    25. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 165 ↩
    26. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 174 ↩
    27. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 2 (Serial Number 96), page 1173: “Organization of the Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General R. E. Lee, January 31, 1865”; This list contains many commanders who were not there.  They were the “official” commanders but may have been gone on leave.  I have used none of the leaders from this list as a result. ↩
    28. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 2 (Serial Number 96), page 1182: “Organization of the Army of Northern Virginia, General R. E. Lee, C. S. Army, commanding, January 31, 1865”; This order of battle was based off of inspection reports from January 26-31, 1865, and the leaders should be accurate for this time frame. ↩
    29. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 184 ↩
    30. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 2 (Serial Number 96), page 1271: “Organization of the Infantry and Cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia, General R. E. Lee, C. S. Army, commanding, February 28, 1865”; This order of battle was based off of inspection reports from February 28, 1865.  However, leaders listed are from January.  I’ve chosen to ignore the leaders and just use this source for the organization of the order of battle. ↩
    31. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 174 ↩
    32. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 2 (Serial Number 96), page 1182: “Organization of the Army of Northern Virginia, General R. E. Lee, C. S. Army, commanding, January 31, 1865”; This order of battle was based off of inspection reports from January 26-31, 1865, and the leaders should be accurate for this time frame. ↩
    33. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 184 ↩
    34. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 193 ↩
    35. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 202 ↩
    36. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 193 ↩
    37. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 202: No commander listed for April either, but see below for Erson. ↩
    38. Venner, William T. The 11th North Carolina Infantry in the Civil War: A History and Roster. McFarland, 2015, p. 204 ↩
    39. Venner, William T. The 11th North Carolina Infantry in the Civil War: A History and Roster. McFarland, 2015, p. 204 ↩
    40. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: North Carolina by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 152-153 ↩

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