≡ Menu

47th North Carolina Infantry

Editor’s Note: Do you have information on this unit’s role at the Siege of Petersburg?  Please contact us using the Contact button in the menu at the top of the screen.  We are happy to exchange information with other researchers.

Muster In: Organized on March 24, 18621
Muster Out: April 9, 18652

Commander(s):
Colonel George H. Faribault
Commander Image

Major William C. Lankford
William C. Lankford 47th NC3

Captain Sidney W. Mitchell
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: Colonel George H. Faribault7
  • 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 1864.8

Fourth Offensive Order of Battle: MacRae’s Brigade | Heth’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army9

  • Commander:
    • Colonel George H. Faribault (went on leave August 11, 1864 and was admitted to the hospital on August 22, 1864)10
    • Major William C. Lankford (at least August 11 and 16, 1864)11,12
  • Unit Strength:
    • 356 officers and men PFD (August 16, 1864)13
  • Weapons: Springfield and/or Enfield Rifles14

Fifth Offensive Order of Battle: MacRae’s Brigade | Heth’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army15,16

  • Commander: Major William C. Lankford (at least September 30 & October 1, 1864)17,18,19
  • Unit Strength: 302 officers and men PFD (September 30, 1864)20
  • Weapons: .58 caliber (presumably mix of Springfields and Enfields)(September 30, 1864)21

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

  • Commander:
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Seventh Offensive Order of Battle: MacRae’s Brigade | Heth’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army23,24

  • Commander: Captain Sidney W. Mitchell (November & December 1864)25,26
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Eighth Offensive Order of Battle: MacRae’s Brigade | Heth’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army27,28,29,30,31

  • Commander: Major William C. Lankford (January & February 1865)32,33,34
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Ninth Offensive Order of Battle: MacRae’s Brigade | Heth’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army35,36

  • Commander: None listed. (March & April 1-2, 1865)37,38
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Dyer’s/Sifakis’ Compendium Info:
Siege of Petersburg Battles39:

  • 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. 146-147
    2. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: North Carolina by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 146-147
    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. 82-83
    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. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 121
    8. 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.”
    9. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 131
    10. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 131
    11. Confederate Inspection Report 17-P-17: Kirkland’s Brigade, August 16, 1864Inspection 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.
    12. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 131
    13. Confederate Inspection Report 17-P-17: Kirkland’s Brigade, August 16, 1864Inspection 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. Confederate Inspection Report 17-P-17: Kirkland’s Brigade, August 16, 1864Inspection 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.
    15. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 139
    16. 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.
    17. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 139
    18. 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.
    19. Venner, William T. The 11th North Carolina Infantry in the Civil War: A History and Roster. McFarland, 2015, p. 180
    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. 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.
    22. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 148
    23. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 156
    24. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 165
    25. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 156
    26. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 165
    27. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 174
    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 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.
    29. 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.
    30. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 184
    31. 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.
    32. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 174
    33. 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.
    34. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 184
    35. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 193
    36. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 202
    37. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 193
    38. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 202
    39. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: North Carolina by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 146-147
    { 0 comments… add one }

    Leave a Reply