Collection (1863-1865) including correspondence, company returns, clothing reports, equipment reports, orders, invoices, ordance reports, etc.
The 1st Regiment of North Carolina Union Volunteers, an infantry unit, was authorized by General A. E. Burnside in May, 1862, and organized June 27, 1862. The regiment was mustered out at New Bern June 27, 1865. Company H, to which most of these records pertain, was stationed at Hatteras Inlet on the North Carolina Outer Banks. Apparently an artillery unit, it was commanded by Captain Edward C. Manning.
The scope of documents is significant, even though they deal with the routine functioning of a military unit. These records cast interesting light on war and its accompanying bureaucracy. Invoices, receipts, and lists of clothing, camp, and garrison equipage exist randomly from November 30, 1863, to June 27, 1865. Material received included snare drums, canteens, flags, and blankets. Such supplies were obtained from Union Headquarters in New Bern, N.C. There are a few copies of monthly returns of clothing, camp, and garrison equipage reports (Dec., 1963 - June, 1965). Returns of this type indicate quantities and descriptions of basic supplies received and issued to CompanyH at their garrison at Hatteras Inlet. Also pertaining to these returns is an inventory and inspection report noting equipment in disrepair or poor condition.
Supplies received into a military unit were lodged with the quartermaster. A small number of lists of quartermaster stores (Dec. 26, 1863 - June 22, 1865) cover such types of supplies as lanterns, knapsacks, blankets, and horses. The collection also contains monthly returns for quartermaster stores (Feb., Apr., May, and June, 1865).
Numerous invoices and receipts pertaining to ordnance and ordnance stores (Aug. 26, 1863 - June, 1865) reflect the use of such items as sabres, mortars, and gunners' calipers. Ordnance returns indicate the type and quantity of weapons issued and the persons to whom they were issued. Documents pertaining to ordnance also include abstracts of ammunition expended in practice firing and inventory and inspection reports of unserviceable weapons, which reflect the rate of breakdown of equipment in the field. There are also accompanying regulations concerning the disposition of ordnance forms.
Orders from headquarters in New Bern (Jan.-June, 1865) include authorization of the resumption of target practice and several announcements of promotions. Of interest are two orders from the War Department announcing the death of President Abraham Lincoln and directing the disposition of all United States troops.
A small quantity of official correspondence (1864-1865) concerns a discrepancy between some ordnance shipped and received (Sept. 16, 1864) and the impending "muster-out" of forces (May 24, 1865), as well as routine operations of the unit. Also in the collection are minors' certificates granting permission to induct youth into the army (undated), a list of minors in "Company A," a small number of final statements of deceased soldiers, and two instruction manuals: Instructions to Mustering Officers & Other Kindred Duties, 1863; Instructions for Making Muster-Rolls, Mustering into Service, Periodical Payments, and Discharging from Service of Volunteers of Militia, 1863.
Miscellany includes receipts; a settlement of the estate of Joseph C. Jennett (1865); proceedings of a "Board of Survey; " blank forms used by the army; and an account of the wreck of the cruiser EMPIRE, which struck a shoal off Cape Hatteras on June 12, 1865. The EMPIRE had a cargo of sugar and was en route from Cuba to New York.
Oversize materials include muster and pay rolls (Dec., 1863 - Apr., 1865) and the company's final muster-out roll (June, 1865). Other oversize personnel records include a volunteer descriptive list and an account of pay and clothing (undated) and several master lists of clothing and equipment issued to individuals in Company H.
Of particular significance is a volume maintained by Lt. Edward R. Haight of the 107th Regiment of New York Volunteers. The volume, a register of ships entering andleaving the ports of Savannah, Georgia (Dec. 31, 1864 - Mar. 2, 1865) and Morehead City, N.C. (Mar. 13 - Apr. 30, 1865), pertains directly to the logistics of supplying William T. Sherman's forces from the coast during his march through the Carolinas. The register lists names of ships and captains, cargoes, and dates and times of arrival and departure. Also in the volume are rolls of civilian employees (Jan., 1865) at the coal dock, Lamar's Cotton Press, and White's Cotton Press, probably in Savannah. The lists indicate occupations, rate of compensation, and length of service.
Official correspondence and orders (1863-1864) for the blockade of Wilmington, N.C., include letters from officers on the scene as well as orders and instructions from Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles, President Lincoln, and others. Also included is a detailed description of the deployment of the Union blockaders off the Cape Fear River (1863).
Gift of Dr. Charles V. Peery
Processed by T. McDustrell; C. Bentley, October 1985
Encoded by Apex Data Services
Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.