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23rd South Carolina Infantry

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Muster In: Organized on November 11, 1861.1
Muster Out: April 9, 18652

Commander(s):
Colonel Henry L. Benbow
Commander Image

Major Henry H. Lesesne
Commander Image

Captain Edwin R. White
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Captain John C. Evans
Commander Image

Commander 5
Commander Image

First Offensive Order of Battle: Elliott’s Brigade | Johnson’s Division | Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia | Confederate Army3

  • Commander:
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Second Offensive Order of Battle: Elliott’s Brigade | Johnson’s Division | Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia | Confederate Army4

  • Commander:
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Third Offensive Order of Battle: Elliott’s Brigade | Johnson’s Division | Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia | Confederate Army5

  • Commander:
    • Colonel Henry L. Benbow (went on leave July 30, 1864)6
    • Major Henry H. Lesesne (at least July 30, 1864)7
    • Captain Edwin R. White (at least July 30, 1864)(wounded on July 30, 1864)8
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Fourth Offensive Order of Battle: Elliott’s Brigade | Johnson’s Division | Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia | Confederate Army9

  • Commander:
    • Major Henry H. Lesesne (until at least August 10, 1864)10
    • Colonel Henry L. Benbow (went on leave July 30, 1864 and returned some time after August 10, 1864)11
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Fifth Offensive Order of Battle: Wallace’s Brigade | Johnson’s Division | Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia | Confederate Army12,13

  • Commander:
    • Colonel Henry L. Benbow14
    • Major Henry H. Lesesne15
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Sixth Offensive Order of Battle: Wallace’s Brigade | Johnson’s Division | Fourth Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army16

  • Commander:
    • Colonel Henry L. Benbow17
    • Major Henry H. Lesesne18
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Seventh Offensive Order of Battle: Wallace’s Brigade | Johnson’s Division | Fourth Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army19,20

  • Commander:
    • Colonel Henry L. Benbow (no reason given for absence in November)(took leave of absence starting December 24)(November & December 1864)21,22
    • Major Henry H. Lesesne (November & December 1864)23,24
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Eighth Offensive Order of Battle: Wallace’s Brigade | Johnson’s Division | Fourth Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army25,26,27,28,29

  • Commander:
    • Captain John C. Evans (January 1865)30,31
    • Colonel Henry L. Benbow (January & February 1865)32,33
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Ninth Offensive Order of Battle: Wallace’s Brigade | Johnson’s Division | Fourth Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army34,35

  • Commander:
    • None listed. (March 1865)36
    •  Colonel Henry L. Benbow (captured April 1)(April 1, 1865)37
    •  ? (after Benbow was captured)(April 1-2, 1865)38
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

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

  • Petersburg [Company F](June 9, 1864)
  • Petersburg Siege (June 1864-April 1865)
  • Second Battle of Petersburg (June 15-18, 1864)
    • Assault of Ledlie’s Division (June 17, 1864)40
  • The Crater (July 30, 1864)
  • Fort Stedman (March 25, 1865)
  • Five Forks (April 1, 1865)
  • Appomattox Court House (April 9, 1865)

Bibliography:

    Siege of Petersburg Documents Which Mention This Unit:

    Sources:

    1. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: South Carolina and Georgia by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 99-101 ↩
    2. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: South Carolina and Georgia by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 99-101 ↩
    3. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 115 ↩
    4. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., p. 115 ↩
    5. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 124 ↩
    6. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 124 ↩
    7. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 124 ↩
    8. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 124 ↩
    9. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 133 ↩
    10. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 133 ↩
    11. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 133 ↩
    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. 1314. ↩
    14. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 141: No reason is given for Benbow’s absence to cause Lesesne to take over regimental command. ↩
    15. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 141: No reason is given for Benbow’s absence to cause Lesesne to take over regimental command. ↩
    16. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 150 ↩
    17. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 150: No reason is given for Benbow’s absence to cause Lesesne to take over regimental command. ↩
    18. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 150: No reason is given for Benbow’s absence to cause Lesesne to take over regimental command. ↩
    19. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 158 ↩
    20. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 167 ↩
    21. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 158 ↩
    22. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 167 ↩
    23. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 158 ↩
    24. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 167 ↩
    25. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 176 ↩
    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 1174: “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. ↩
    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 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. ↩
    28. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 186 ↩
    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 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. ↩
    30. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 176 ↩
    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 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. ↩
    32. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 176 ↩
    33. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 186 ↩
    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 204 ↩
    36. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 195 ↩
    37. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 204 ↩
    38. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 204 ↩
    39. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: South Carolina and Georgia by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 99-101 ↩
    40. No title. The Daily Confederate (Raleigh, NC). July 18, 1864, p. 2 col. 3-4 ↩

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