The 4th Infantry Regiment State Troops completed its organization in May, 1862, at Camp Hill, near Garysburg, North Carolina. It recruited its members in Iredell, Rowan, Wayne, Beaufort, Wilson, and Davie counties. Ordered to Virginia, the unit served in General Featherston's, G.B. Anderson's, Ramseur's, and Cox's Brigade. It was active at Williamsburg , Seven Pines , and the Seven Days' Battles, then shared in the campaigns of the army from South Mountain to Cold Harbor . Later the 4th was involved in Early's Shenandoah Valley operations and the Appomattox Campaign. It lost 77 killed, 241 wounded, and 6 missing of the 678 engaged at Seven Pines , sustained 58 casualties during the Maryland Campaign, and had 45 killed and 110 wounded at Chancellorsville . At Gettysburg the unit lost thirty-one percent of the 196 engaged, and 18 were disabled at Bristoe. The records show 8 officers and 101 men present on April 9, 1865.

Excerpt from Confederate Military History:


Another regiment which was raised in the Northeastern section of the state was the 4th Regiment NCST. It was organized at Camp Hill near Garysburg and Weldon, accepted into Confederate service in June of '61 and was sent to Richmond and then on to Manses Junction, where it was garrisoned with the 27th and 28th Georgia Infantry, and the 49th Regiment Virginia Calvary -- all under the command of Col. George Anderson of the 4th NC.

On 25 March 1862, the regiment under General Winder in D.H. Hill's Division was at Orange Court House and then at Yorktown by the 8th of April. When the brigade containing the 4th NC got to Seven Pines on 31 May 1862 they found themselves in the lead attacking the Federal positions and now under the command of Major Bryan Grimes. Here the 4th Regiment suffered greatly, having 77 killed, 286 wounded and 6 missing -- 369 out of 678 making the attack --- 54% casualties.

A new brigade was formed on June 9, 1862 by the combination of the 2nd and 4th Regiments NCST, the 14th NC Volunteers and the 30th NCST, again all under Col. Anderson, General D.H. Hill's Division. Soon the 4th was at Mechanicsville and succeeded in flanking the Federal troops there in a sharp engagement. The entire Division was then moved to Cold Harbor and the brigade held the Confederate left in very hard fighting but managed to finally drive the Federals from the woods. The regiment lost another 11 killed and 54 wounded and now had less than 150 men under arms.

On the 30th of June the 4th Regiment was detached to guard 1,000 prisoners and a huge amount of supplies captured at Salvage's Station. They were not engaged in any further battles until after 2nd Manassas on 2 September '62. The regiment was then deployed guarding the South Mountain gaps and saw very heavy action on September 14th. D.H. Hill's Division was then moved to Sharpsburg and put in line between Jackson's and Longstreet's men. The brigade occupied the sunken road, which was to be later named "Bloody Lane," and were assaulted and flanked when a mistake in orders took Rode's Brigade from supporting the brigade of Gen'l. Anderson. Anderson was mortally wounded in the assault and the brigade routed from their position. The attack was so severe that the brigade lost all its officers and was commanded by a sergeant as they withdrew. General Anderson died of his wounds on October 16th and Stephen Ramseur of the 49th was promoted to Brigadier General and assumed command on November 7th. Col. Bryan Grimes held command in the interim. During the Maryland campaign the 4th Regiment had six men killed and 52 wounded.

The brigade, along with the 4th Regiment was at Fredericksburg in December and saw little action but had 4 killed and 21 wounded by Federal artillery. By May first Ramseur's Brigade was on the right of Jackson and pushed the Federals several miles toward Chancellorsville before they were relieved. The brigade was just reassembled in time to join Jackson's flank march and were in the first line of Confederate troops to charge Howard's Corps of Hooker's Union Army.

On May the third, Col. Grimes led the 4th Regiment in advance against the Federal soldiers, and the Confederates moved so far ahead of supporting brigades that they were nearly cut off and captured. The entire color guard of the 4th Regiment was either killed or wounded and part of the regiment, not hearing the order to retire, was captured. The 2nd Regiment suffered a similar fate. As the brigade moved into Chancellorsville, the 4th Regiment had lost 47 killed, 165 wounded and 58 captured.

As now organized after the death of Jackson, the 4th Regiment was under Col. Grimes, Ramseur's Brigade, Rode's Division, Ewell's 2nd Corp. Ramseur's Brigade drove the enemy from Martinsburg on 14 June '63, were in Hagerstown, Maryland, on the 19th and at Carlisle, Pennsylvania on the 27th.

As the two armies converged on Gettysburg, the 2nd and 4th Regiments NCST supported Col. O'Neal in an attack on the city, captured 800 to 900 prisoners and 4th was the first regiment to enter Gettysburg. When the Army of Northern Virginia began pulling out of Pennsylvania, Rode's Division became the rear guard for the entire army, and by July 6th had last eight killed, 24 wounded and 23 missing or captured.

The 4th Regiment NCST was not engaged at Bristoe Station but saw action at Warrenton and suffered another eight casualties. During the Mine Run Campaign the 4th Regiment was responsible for capturing about 60 Federals attempting to make their retreat.

As the campaign season opened in 1864, the 4th Regiment found itself on the extreme left of the Confederate line on the 6th of May at the Wilderness. On the 7th they were moved to reserve and checked Union General Burnside's movement between Ewell and A.P. Hill's Corp. Ramsuer's Brigade saw heavy fighting at Spotsylvania on May the 11th and 12th and drove the enemy from the captured Mule Shoe on the 12th. After the battle most of the 1st and 3rd Regiments NCST were captured, so the remnants of these were assigned to the 4th Regiment. Col. William D. Cox was promoted to Brigadier General and took command of the Brigade, which was not engaged at North Anna.

Colonels George B. Anderson, Bryan Grimes, Edwin A. Osborne, and James H. Wood; Lieutenant Colonels David M. Carter and John A. Young; and Majors Edward S. Marsh and Absalom K. Simonton

General Featherston's, George B. Anderson's, Ramseur's, and Cox's Brigade

Williamsburg
Seven Days Battles
South Mountain
Cold Harbor
Maryland Campaign
Chancellorsville
Gettysburg
Bristoe
Appomattox

The roster of this regiment contains 2,307 names.


Company E - Southern Guards - Beaufort County
Company I - Pamlico Rifles - Beaufort County

REFERENCES:

REF: Crute - Units of the Confederate States Army
Moore - Roster of North Carolina Troops in the War Between the States

Researching this unit? Here's what's available.
Battle, Laura Elizabeth Forget Me Nots of the Civil War - 355 pgs.	Paperback $25.00	CD-ROM $15.00
Hill, Daniel H. - Confederate Military History - North Carolina Volume	2 vols. Hardback 863 pgs. $90.00 2 vols. Paperback 863 pgs. $60.00	CD-ROM $15.00
Rigdon, John C. Historical Sketch and Roster of the 4th Regiment North Carolina Infantry	Paperback $19.95	CD-ROM $15.00
Rigdon, John C. The Civil War in North Carolina		CD-ROM $35.00
Rigdon, John C. North Carolina Civil War Soldiers Index		CD-ROM $15.00
The Southern Historical Society Papers		CD-ROM $69.95

The Civil War in North Carolina © - 2001 Eastern Digital Resources

The Civil War in North Carolina
Index