Booknotes: North Carolina Troops, 1861-1865 Vol. XXII

New Arrival:

• North Carolina Troops, 1861-1865: A Roster, Volume XXII - Confederate States Navy, Confederate States Marine Corps, and Charlotte Naval Yard edited by Katelynn A. Hatton & Alex Christopher Meekins (NC Office of Archives and History, 2024).

I've long been curious about the North Carolina Troops, 1861-1865: A Roster series. Having started its journey way back in 1961 during the Centennial, it is still ongoing under the auspices of the North Carolina Office of Archives and History. Previous attempts at getting a review copy to sample were always unsuccessful, but last month current co-editor Christopher Meekins contacted me out of the blue and offered to send me a copy of the latest installment. North Carolina Troops, 1861-1865: A Roster, Volume XXII - Confederate States Navy, Confederate States Marine Corps, and Charlotte Naval Yard is a milestone in that it is the final Confederate volume in the series.

According to the jacket flap text, the mission of the series is "to publish a service record for every man who served in a unit raised in North Carolina during the Civil War, and to publish a history of each of these units." I was not previously aware of the extent of the latter part. In this volume, the "North Carolina and the Confederate Navy" narrative history text runs nearly 250 pages, and that makes me even more curious about how deeply the unit history aspect is handled in the others. I'd always just assumed from the title, wrongly it appears, that the rosters were the predominant feature and anything else included was just supplementary in nature. I've always been interested in the naval and combined operations conducted along NC's bays and rivers, so I am looking forward to reading this.

The roster comprises the second half of the book. As is the case with all of these types of projects, the amount of information available for each individual varies widely. Full name; rank/position; date and place of birth; prewar residence; enlistment/commission, promotion, transfer, capture, and discharge dates; wounds/health remarks; and brief assignment and service commentary are all examples of the types of information that can be found in roster entries.

In fulfillment of the ongoing mission, the editors are now working on the Union series, which will "include service records of North Carolinians who served in the U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine Corps." That doesn't necessarily mean the Confederate series is entirely wrapped up, however, as new information is always being solicited from the public and an addendum is cited as a distinct possibility. Follow the series link in the first paragraph and you'll find submission requirements and suggestions.

Do any of you out there own all the volumes? Feel free to add your impressions in the comments.