TWENTY-THIRD REGIMENT.

BY

CAPTAIN V. E. TURNER, A. Q. M.
H. GC. WALL, Serceant Company A.

Up to the re-arrangement of the regimental numbers follow-
ing the Confederate Conscription Act, which went into effect
17 May, 1862, this regiment had been known as the Thir-
teenth Regiment of North Carolina Volunteers. The reason
of the change is very clearly given by Major Gordon in the
history of the organization. As repetition is, as far as possible,
to be avoided in these sketches we will not give it here.

No North Carolinians were more forward in the cause of
Southern defence than the men who formed the Twenty-
third. They were among the first to respond when the State
called upon her sons to repel invasion. The organization
of most, if not all the companies, ante-date the Ordinance
of Secession, passed 20 May, 1861.

This was only ten days after the act authorizing their en-
listment was passed. Of course in this case, as in many oth-
ers, the action of the State had been foreseen and an-
ticipated, and the raising of companies had begun before.

The act authorizing the enlistment of the ten regiments of
«State Troops” had been passed on 8 May, two days earlier.

The power of appointing all commissioned officers in the
“State Troops” was lodged in the Governor. But the “Vol-
unteers” to which the Twenty-third, then the Thirteenth,
belonged, were empowered to elect their own officers, to be
commissioned by the Governor. The men of each company

TWEN mt 7 nen + ° .

D. Johnston, Colonel oe ee were to elect their respective Line or Company Officers. The
. Hoke, Colo 5 4. ©. C. Blacknall, Colone ° ‘

-H. Christie, Colonel, 5. J. W. Leak, Lisa Gotondl. Line Officers were, by balloting among themselves, ,to

: 6._ E, J. Christi , ; :
7. Rev. Theophilus W. Moore, Chaplain, elect Field or Regimental officers. The enlistment for the
was for twelve months; that of the “State

the war lasted. It is hardly necessaxy to

 

eins gh the OPE TEA ET

Sees

1, Rk
2. J.
3 D

“Volunteers”
Troops” as long as