Krick: "The 14th South Carolina Infantry Regiment, of the Gregg- McGowan Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia"

[The 14th South Carolina Infantry Regiment, of the Gregg- McGowan Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia by Robert K. Krick (Broadfoot Pub. Co., 2009). Cloth, illustrations, roster, bibliography. 311 pages. ISBN: 978-1-56837-408-6 $35]

Robert K. Krick's The 14th South Carolina Infantry Regiment is the first in a hoped for 50 volume regimental roster series¹ from Broadfoot. Readers familiar with the H.E. Howard series for Virginia regiments and batteries will recognize the general format presented here for the South Carolina series -- a unit service sketch/history plus full regimental roster.

Like many units raised in the Carolinas and initially assigned to coastal defense², the 14th South Carolina Infantry was transported to the Virginia theater in response to General McClellan's inexorable advance toward Richmond in June 1862. As part of A.P. Hill's famed Light Division it thereafter fought in all of the Army of Northern Virginia's major battles, from the Seven Days through Sailor's Creek and final surrender at Appomattox.

Krick's unit sketch is only a few dozen pages in length, and is undocumented³. However, it should be mentioned the main thrust of the series is intended to be the rosters. As such, the detailed roster for the 14th regiment comprises the vast bulk of the book's pages and is a complete reproduction of each member's service record, arranged alphabetically. The information from the CSR is also enhanced with information gleaned from other sources. The following is an example of a typical entry:

BAKER, C.C.: Co. A. Enl. Sept 25, 1861 at Lightwood Knot Springs. PVT. Present on all surviving rolls through Feb 28, 1862. d. Nov 7, 1862. Appears on a Registry of Confederate Burial Ground in Cemetery at Winchester, VA in Grave # 933. Death claim filed on Mar 17, 1863 and presented by the soldier's mother, Elizabeth Abigail Baker. CSR⁴

In an era of declining craftmanship, buyers of Broadfoot titles have always been led to expect the best. This series is no different. The binding, paper, and overall material quality of this book certainly meet the publisher's established high standards.

While those readers desirous of a comprehensive regimental history will need to look elsewhere, when viewed in the context of the series's intent, Krick's study is a very useful reference volume for researchers, genealogists, and historians.

Add'l Comments:
1 - The completion of the full 50 volume run is entirely dependent on the success rate of current sales.
2- The 14th's first losses in killed and wounded were suffered at the January 1, 1862 action at Port Royal Ferry (S.C.).
3 - Brett Schulte at TOCWOC has received all four volumes, and has found the brevity of the unit history and lack of notes in volume one to be the exception rather than the rule. See his review of the particularly impressive sounding Hampton Legion book, as well as his review of the Krick study here.
4 - You can view more samples from the publisher here.