43rd North Carolina Infantry


The 43rd North Carolina Regiment, also known as the 43rd Regiment, North Carolina State Troops or 43rd N.C.S.T., was organized at Camp Mangum, about four miles west of Raleigh, North Carolina, on March 18, 1862.

Officers

was elected colonel of this regiment in March 1862, but declined the appointment. He was later elected colonel of the 45th North Carolina Infantry. Thomas S. Kenan was elected Lieutenant colonel of the 43rd regiment in March 1862, and promoted to colonel in April 1862. Wounded in action on July 3, 1863, at Gettysburg, PA, he was later captured during the retreat. Confined at Johnson's Island, Ohio, until exchanged on March 22, 1865. Photo at . Hampton Beverly served as acting commander of the 43rd Regiment from January–February 1863. William Gaston Lewis transferred as Lieutenant colonel from the 33rd North Carolina Infantry on April 25, 1862, and appointed acting commander on July 3, 1863. He was promoted to Brigadier General on May 31, 1864.

History

43rd Regiment, North Carolina Infantry: 43rd Infantry Regiment was assembled at Camp Mangum, near Raleigh, North Carolina, in March, 1862. Its members were from counties in Mecklenburg, Wilson, Halifax, Edgecombe, Warren, Union, and Anson
. During the war the 43rd was assigned to General Junius Daniel's, Robert F. Hoke's, and Bryan Grimes' Brigade. It fought in the Seven Days' Battles and saw action at Goldsboro, Gettysburg, Plymouth, Drewry's Bluff, and Cold Harbor. The regiment was then involved in Early's Shenandoah Valley operations and the Appomattox Campaign. It was organized with 1,066 officers and men, lost twenty-six percent of the 572 engaged at Gettysburg, and had 4 killed and 13 wounded at Plymouth. On April 9, 1865, it surrendered 9 officers and 164 men.

Malvern Hill

In the Battle of Malvern Hill the 43rd was ordered to occupy a road near the James River, where it was exposed to galling fire from the Federal gunboats, and from the Union artillery batteries on Malvern Hill in front. However, the regiment was not actively engaged.
The 43rd remained at Drewry's Bluff protecting Richmond during the Sharpsburg Campaign, and was later sent to Kinston, NC in the spring of 1863 in order to help relieve Washington, NC from the federal occupation.

Gettysburg

From the public monument at Gettysburg: Forty-third North Carolina Regiment, Daniel's Brigade Rodes's Division, Ewell's Corps, Army of Northern Virginia. Thomas Stephen Kenan, Colonel; William Gaston Lewis, Lieutenant Colonel; Walter Jones Boggan, Major. As they approached the field of battle on the morning of July 1, the 43rd North Carolina, along with the rest of Daniel's Brigade, heard the distant booming of cannon. Early in the afternoon the regiment moved to the right and onto open ground where they were met by a furious fire. Their steady progress was checked by the deep railroad cut, but subsequent assaults were successful in breaking the Union line. Having suffered heavily, the regiment rested for the night west of town. The next morning the 43rd supported a battery just north of the Seminary. Shelling from guns on the nearby heights inflicted some losses. Toward evening the Regiment took up a position on the southern edge of town. Before daybreak on July 3, the 43d moved to the extreme left of the Confederate line to take part in an assault on Culp's Hill. Passing this point and advancing under heavy fire, they occupied earthworks abandoned by Union troops. Attempting to push beyond the works, the regiment was exposed to a most severe fire of canister, shrapnel and shell at short range. During the attack Col. Kenan was wounded and taken from the field and command passed to Lt. Col. Lewis. The Regiment retired to this point an remained exposed and under fire until ordered to recross Rock Creek in the early evening. "All that men could do, was done nobly"

Plymouth, NC

In the spring of 1864, the 43rd Infantry took part in the Battle of Plymouth, where the regiment helped take the town, with the Union garrison and a great deal of supplies were captured. The command was given "The Thanks of the Confederate Congress" for their success. The regiment then aided in the attacks on New Bern, NC and Washington, NC. They returned to Virginia in May 1864.

Snicker's Gap

The 43rd North Carolina Infantry was part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864, which included Battle of Cool Spring or Snicker's Gap. As Jubal Early's Confederate troops were leaving the area around Washington, DC, pursuing Federal forces caused a battle in a small gap in the Blue Ridge mountains. "The troops then moved toward the Valley of Virginia, and crossed the Blue Ridge at Snicker’s Gap on 17 July, the Union troops slowly following and an additional force threatening the flank of the Confederate right. On the afternoon of that day Rodes’s Division attacked the enemy at Snicker’s Gap, driving them into the Shenandoah River, where the loss in killed and drowned was very heavy."
Another soldier recorded the costs of the battle in his diary: "We succeeded in driving the enemy back across the river and to that instant the victory remained with us but I doubt whether we won an advantage by the fight. Our casualties were quite heavy as heavy probably as that of the enemy. From the best information I can gather we had about three and the Yankees about seven thousand men engaged. In this Engagement my Regiment counted three hundred and twenty-nine muskets. My flag received six bullet holes in it. The color bearer was wounded through the arm..."

Appomattox Courthouse

The 43rd Regiment, North Carolina State Troops, participated in the Battle of Appomattox Court House, and surrendered on April 9, 1865, with 9 officers and 164 men. General Bryan Grimes' Division was composed of four brigades, and on April 10, 1865, there were present for duty 1,659 officers and men, with 722.58 calibre muskets among the men, 11 more muskets in the brigade trains, and 30 more muskets in the division trains. There were thus twenty regiments with 722 muskets in their hands, an average of 36 muskets to each regiment and less than four to each company, with 32 rounds of ammunition for each musket with the troops, and forty in the brigade ordnance wagons and another fifteen rounds per musket in the division trains, a total of about 87 rounds per musket, enough to put up a pretty stiff fight. 722 muskets among 1,659 men represents the fighting strength of Grimes’ division at Appomattox Court House at the time of the surrender.

Commendations

In the after-action report following the battle of Gettysburg, the regimental commander wrote: "With but one exception–and that an officer–the officers and men behaved remarkably well. There was no straggling from this regiment. Where all acted so well, it is difficult to particularize for good conduct; but Lieutenant Macon, Company F, and Lieutenant Stitt, Company B, showed such marked coolness and bravery on the field, that it is just that they should be mentioned. Sergeants Grier, Company B, and Wills, Company D, behaved remarkably well."
Following the Battle of Plymouth, the government "Resolved by Congress of the Confederate States of America, that the thanks of Congress and the country are due and are tendered to Major-General Robert F. Hoke and Commander James W. Cooke, and the officers and men under their command, for the brilliant victory over the enemy at Plymouth, NC. Joint Resolution Approved May 17, 1864."

Regimental Organization

Many of the companies in North Carolina military units were from the same county or area, but not all men in these companies are from those counties. Many were recent immigrants, married into local families, purchased land or had occupations that would take them from another place into North Carolina.
Company A - "The Duplin Rifles" - many men from Duplin County, NC. The company entered service in April, 1861, as Company C of the 2nd North Carolina Volunteers, stationed near Norfolk, Va. At the end of their six months service, they were transferred to Company A, 43rd NC. 117 enlisted men. "From a roster kept by Sergeant B.F. Hall, it appears that there were fifty-six men on the rolls at the close of the war, thirty-five who were either in prison, on parole or detail, and no deserter from the company during the entire war."
Company B - "Union Farmers" - many men from Mecklenburg County, NC. 73 enlisted men.
Company C - many men from Wilson County, NC. 102 enlisted men.
Company D - many men from Halifax County, NC. 93 enlisted men.
Company E - "Edgecombe Boys" - many men from Edgecombe County, NC. 96 enlisted men.
Company F - many men from Halifax County, NC. 101 enlisted men.
Company G - "Warren Defenders" - many men from Warren County, NC. 110 enlisted men.
Company H - "Fisher's Light Infantry" - many men from Anson County, NC. 112 enlisted men.
Company I - "Anson Regulators" - many men from Anson County. 139 enlisted men.
Company K - "Anson Independent" - meny men from Anson County. 120 enlisted men.