1st Regiment Rifles, known as Orr's Rifles, was organized at Sandy Springs, South Carolina, in July, 1861. Its members were recruited in the counties of Abbeville, Pickens, Anderson, and Marion. The unit was first stationed on Sullivan's Island and called by the other troops "The Pound Cake Regiment" because of its light duty. Then in April, 1862, it moved to Virginia with 1,000 men. Assigned to General Gregg's and McGowan's Brigade, it fought with the army from the Seven Days' Battles to Cold Harbor . Later the regiment endured the hardships of the Petersburg trenches and the Appomattox operations. Of the 537 engaged at Gaines' Mill , fifty-nine percent were killed, wounded or missing. The unit reported 116 casualties at Second Manassas and 170 at Fredericksburg , then lost forty-nine percent of the 233 at Chancellorsville and three percent of the 366 at Gettysburg . There were 12 killed and 81 wounded at The Wilderness , 15 killed, 36 wounded, and 44 missing at Spotsylvania , 3 killed and 34 wounded at Deep Bottom , and 9 killed and 37 wounded at Poplar Springs Church . It surrendered 9 officers and 148 men.

Colonels Daniel A. Ledbetter, James W. Livingston, J. Foster Marshall, George M. Miller, James L. Orr, and James M. Perrin; Lieutenant Colonels William M. Hadden, F.E. Harrison, Joseph J. Norton, and James T. Robertson; and Majors John B. Moore and Leonard Rogers.

Seven Days Battles VA (25 JUN - 1 JUL 1862)
2nd Bull Run VA (28 - 30 AUG 1862)
Chantilly VA (1 SEP 1862)
Antietam VA (17 SEP 1862)
Shepherdstown Ford (20 SEP 1862)
Castleman's Ferry (3 NOV 1862)
Fredericksburg VA (13 DEC 1862)
Chancellorsville (1-4 MAY 1863)
Gettysburg PA (1-3 JUL 1863)
Falling Waters (14 JUL 1863)
Bristoe Campaign (9 - 22 OCT 1863)
Mine Run Campaign VA (NOV - DEC 1863)
The Wilderness VA (5 - 6 MAY 1864)
Spotsylvania Court House VA (8 - 21 MAY 1864)
North Anna VA (23 - 26 MAY 1864)
Cold Harbor VA (1 - 3 JUN 1864)
Petersburg Siege VA (JUN 1864 - APR 1865)
First Squirrel Level Road VA (30 SEP 1864)
Jones Farm VA (30 SEP 1864)
First Pegram's Farm VA (1 OCT 1864)
Five Forks VA (1 APR 1865)
Appomattox Court House VA (9 APR 1865)

Company C

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

REFERENCES:

Crute Units of the Confederate States Army
Rivers, William J. Col. Rivers Account of the Raising of the Troops for State and Confederate Service.
Sifakis, Stewart Compendium of the Cofederate Armies

Researching this unit? Here's what's available.
Rigdon, John C. - The Civil War in South Carolina		CD-ROM $35.00
Rigdon, John C. - The South Carolina Civil War Soldiers Index		CD-ROM $15.00
Rivers, Col. William J. - Rivers Account of the Raising of the Troops for State and Confederate Service	Paperback $10.00	CD-ROM $15.00
Capers, Major Ellison. - Confederate Military History - South Carolina Volume - 424 pgs.	Paperback $45.00	CD-ROM $15.00
Caldwell, J. F. J. - The History of a Brigade of South Carolinians	Hardback $35.00 Paperback $25.00	CD-ROM $15.00
Rigdon, John C. - Historical Sketch & Roster of the SC 1st Infantry Regiment Rifles	Ebookk $12.95 Paperback $19.95	CD-ROM $15.00