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5th North Carolina Cavalry

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Muster In: Organized on September 30, 1862.1
Muster Out: April 9, 18652

Commander(s):
Colonel James H. McNeill
Commander Image

Lieutenant Colonel Stephen B. Evans
Commander Image

Lieutenant Colonel Elias F. Shaw
Commander Image

Captain John M. Gallaway
Commander Image

Captain John R. Erwin
Commander Image

First Offensive Order of Battle: Barringer’s Brigade | Rooney Lee’s Division | Cavalry Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army3

  • Commander: Lieutenant Colonel Stephen B. Evans4
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Second Offensive Order of Battle: Barringer’s Brigade | Rooney Lee’s Division | Cavalry Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army5

  • Commander:
    • Lieutenant Colonel Stephen B. Evans (until June 23, 1864)6
    • Captain John M. Gallaway (from June 23, 1864 on)7
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Third Offensive Order of Battle:  Barringer’s Brigade | Rooney Lee’s Division | Cavalry Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army8

  • Commander:
    • Lieutenant Colonel Stephen B. Evans (took a leave of absence starting July 16, 1864)9
    • ? (while Evans was on leave)10
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Fourth Offensive Order of Battle: Barringer’s Brigade | Rooney Lee’s Division | Cavalry Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army11

  • Commander:
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Fifth Offensive Order of Battle: Barringer’s Brigade | Rooney Lee’s Division | Cavalry Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army12,13

  • Commander: Major James H. McNeill14
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Sixth Offensive Order of Battle: Barringer’s Brigade | Rooney Lee’s Division | Cavalry Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army15

  • Commander: Major James H. McNeill16
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Seventh Offensive Order of Battle: Barringer’s Brigade | Rooney Lee’s Division | Cavalry Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army17,18

  • Commander:
    • Major (Colonel) James H. McNeill (promoted to Colonel on November 24, 1864)(took leave of absence starting on December 25)(November & December 1864)19,20
    • ? (while Colonel McNeill was on leave in late December)(December 1864)21
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Eighth Offensive Order of Battle: Barringer’s Brigade | Rooney Lee’s Division | Cavalry Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army22,23,24,25,26

  • Commander: Colonel James H. McNeill (January & February 1865)27,28,29
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Ninth Offensive Order of Battle: Barringer’s Brigade | Rooney Lee’s Division | Cavalry Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army30,31

  • Commander:
    • Colonel James H. McNeill (killed March 31)(March 1865)32,33
    • Lieutenant Colonel Elias F. Shaw (after McNeill was killed, but also killed March 31)(March 1865)34
    • Captain John R. Erwin (March & April 1-2, 1865)35,36,37
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:
  • Note: Major M. Gallaway was also present and wounded on March 31, so command devolved upon Captain Erwin, who led the regiment for the rest of the war.

Dyer’s/Sifakis’ Compendium Info:
Siege of Petersburg Battles38:

  • Petersburg Siege (June 1864-April 1865)
  • Peebles’ Farm (September 29-October 2, 1864)
  • Jones’ Farm (September 30, 1864)
  • Harman Road (October 2, 1864)
  • Belfield (December 8, 1864)
  • Dinwiddie Court House (March 31, 1865)
  • Five Forks (April 1, 1865)
  • Namozine Church (April 3, 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. 67-69 ↩
    2. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: North Carolina by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 67-69 ↩
    3. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 114 ↩
    4. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 114 ↩
    5. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 114 ↩
    6. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 114: Evans turned command over to Gallaway on June 23, 1864.  Sibley doesn’t state why.  Once I get the actual sources Sibley used I can fill in this missing piece of information.  More research is needed. ↩
    7. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 114 ↩
    8. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 123 ↩
    9. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 123 ↩
    10. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 123 ↩
    11. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 132 ↩
    12. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 141 ↩
    13. 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. 1310. ↩
    14. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 141 ↩
    15. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 151 ↩
    16. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 151 ↩
    17. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 159 ↩
    18. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 168 ↩
    19. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 159 ↩
    20. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 168 ↩
    21. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 168 ↩
    22. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 176 ↩
    23. 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 1175: “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. ↩
    24. 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 1183: “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. ↩
    25. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 186 ↩
    26. 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 1273: “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. ↩
    27. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 176 ↩
    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 1183: “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 186 ↩
    30. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 195 ↩
    31. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 205 ↩
    32. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 195 ↩
    33. Clark, Walter. Histories of the Several Regiments and Battalions from North Carolina in the Great War 1861-’65, Volume 1 (Nash Brothers: 1901), pp. 430-443 ↩
    34. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 195 ↩
    35. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 195 ↩
    36. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 205 ↩
    37. Clark, Walter. Histories of the Several Regiments and Battalions from North Carolina in the Great War 1861-’65, Volume 1 (Nash Brothers: 1901), pp. 430-443 ↩
    38. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: North Carolina by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 67-69 ↩

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