Burnside's North Carolina Expedition
Encyclopedia
Burnside’s North Carolina Expedition (also known as the Burnside Expedition) was a series of engagements fought along the North Carolina Coast between February and June 1862. The expedition was part of Winfield Scott
’s overall Anaconda Plan
, which aimed at closing blockade-running ports inside the Outer Banks
. The amphibious operation was carried out primarily by New England
troops under Brig. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside and assisted by the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron under Captain Louis M. Goldsborough
.
guarding and entry point into Pamlico Sound
. It took several months before the Union high command would capitalize on this success. Butler and Stringham were able to persuade the Secretary of Navy Gideon Welles
to maintain a force at Hatteras Inlet to keep the possibility of further operations open. The Lincoln Administration did not agree with invading North Carolina from the sea, but General-in-Chief George B. McClellan
was in favor of such an operation. McClellan was able to persuade President Lincoln to authorize the operation and choose Brigadier General Ambrose E. Burnside to lead the expedition.
Being careful not to ask for reinforcements from McClellan’s own Army of the Potomac
, Burnside set about recruiting regiments from states along the North Atlantic sea coast intending to make use of their familiarity with the sea. Burnside’s army, known as the Coast Division, was divided into three brigades, each commanded by a friend of Burnside’s from his days at West Point. The first brigade was commanded by Brig. Gen. John G. Foster
, the second by Brig. Gen. Jesse L. Reno
and the third by Brig. Gen. John G. Parke. In January, 1862 Burnside set out from Fort Monroe
and rendezvoused with Goldsborough at recently captured Hatteras Inlet where the two assembled their forces. Burnside’s first objective was the Confederate fortifications on Roanoke Island
guarding Albemarle Sound
.
Brigadier General Henry A. Wise
commanded the District of Roanoke and had a mere 1,400 men and few artillery pieces to defend his district. Besides a lack of infantry and artillery, the Confederates also lacked a significant naval force. A group of 8 work boats were converted into gunboats commanded by William F. Lynch
. Wise contemptuously referred to the boats as the “mosquito fleet”. Wise pleaded with his superior, Benjamin Huger in Virginia to send reinforcements. Huger declined to give aid but eventually Wise’ reserves and a battalion of the 2nd North Carolina from Norfolk bolstered the defenses. The Union expedition was having problems of its own. Severe weather hampered progress so much at times it seemed as if the whole mission would have to be scrapped. The expedition, accompanied by 63 navy vessels, finally arrived off the coast of Roanoke Island.
By the time Burnside arrived, Roanoke Island was guarded by 3,000 Confederate troops under the commanded of Colonel Henry M. Shaw. District commander Henry Wise remained in overall command of the forces but was confined to his sickbed at Nag’s Head. Burnside and Goldsborough defeated the Confederate force and took roughly 2,500 prisoners. A few days later, the Federal navy destroyed the remnants of the Confederate “Mosquito Fleet” which had escaped from Roanoke Island.
Burnside then returned to Hatteras Inlet and was reinforced by more ships from the navy for his next objective, the railroad town of New Bern
along the Neuse River
. New Bern would also serve the Union Army as a base for any further movement into the interior of North Carolina. Brigadier General Lawrence O'Bryan Branch
commanded the Confederate forces at New Bern. Once Roanoke Island fell, Branch braced himself for the inevitable attack upon his command. Branch had about 4,500 green troops from North Carolina. The Confederates prepared a line of breastworks straddling the Atlantic & North Carolina Railroad south of the town. Fort Thompson anchored the defenses along the Neuse River. Believing the main attack would come from the water, Branch’s men faced most of Fort Thompson’s guns toward the river.
Burnside’s main attack did not come from water. Instead he marched his three brigades up along the railroad and attacked New Bern from the south. After fighting along his breastworks, Branch’s defeated Confederates fled into New Bern. Hundreds of troops continued on to the railroad depot in town and boarded an outbound train. Branch ordered the rest of his troops to fall back to Kinston to regroup.
Burnside’s next objective after New Bern was the terminus of the Atlantic & North Carolina Railroad at Morehead City and Beaufort along the southern end of Pamlico Sound. Fort Macon
guarded both cities. Burnside dispatched John G. Parke’s brigade to capture the fort. Using handcar
s as a communications link between New Bern and Fort Macon, Parke’s forces invested
the fort’s 500 man garrison under Lt. Col. Moses J. White. While Fort Macon was besieged the Union forces in North Carolina received additional infantry reinforcements, enough for Burnside to organize 6 brigades. Now in command of two brigades, Jesse L. Reno
was dispatched to destroy the Dismal Swamp Canal
locks to prevent Confederate ironclads from moving down from Norfolk. Reno’s division was halted by Colonel Ambrose Wright’s Confederates near Camden
. Although the fighting was inconclusive, Reno abandoned the expedition. It was the first setback at the hands of the Confederates during Burnside’s whole campaign. On April 26 Fort Macon surrendered.
By June 1862, Burnside had occupied Roanoke Island, New Bern, Morehead City, Beaufort and Washington, North Carolina. Colonel Robert Brown Potter
was placed in command of the Union garrison at Washington. Potter ordered a reconnaissance from the garrison under Lt. Col. Francis A. Osborne. Osborne’s men ran into the 44th North Carolina under Col. George Singletary. After a brief fight, the Confederates retreated and Osborne returned to Washington. It was a small fight with no far reaching consequences but it was to be the last battle of Burnside's expedition. Confederate President Jefferson Davis
’s new military adviser, Robert E. Lee
, saw the importance of North Carolina and now Confederate reinforcements were pouring into the region. Burnside was preparing for a drive against Goldsborough, his next major objective, when he received orders to return to Virginia with any reinforcements he could spare to aid in the withdrawal of General McClellan’s forces after being defeated attempting to capture the Confederate capital
. Burnside departed on July 6, 1862 with 7,000 troops and returned to Virginia. These troops would become the nucleus of the IX Corps
. Burnside left behind General Foster in command of 8,000 troops. Foster mounted an expedition against the railroad at Goldsborough, which he destroyed at the end of 1862. The fighting in North Carolina would then devolve into a series of raids and skirmishes. Not until the capture of Fort Fisher
and the march of William T. Sherman’s armies in 1865 would there be another major campaign in North Carolina.
Coast Division – BG Ambrose E. Burnside
North Atlantic Blockading Squadron – Flag Officer Louis M. Goldsborough
After April 2, 1862
Coast Division – BG Ambrose E. Burnside
North Atlantic Blockading Squadron – Flag Officer Louis M. Goldsborough
BG Richard C. Gatlin
(19 Aug 1861-15 Mar 1862)
BG Joseph R. Anderson
(15 Mar 1862-24 Mar 1862)
MG Theophilus H. Holmes
(24 Mar 1862-17 July 1862)
Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott was a United States Army general, and unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Whig Party in 1852....
’s overall Anaconda Plan
Anaconda Plan
The Anaconda Plan or Scott's Great Snake is the name widely applied to an outline strategy for subduing the seceding states in the American Civil War. Proposed by General-in-Chief Winfield Scott, the plan emphasized the blockade of the Southern ports, and called for an advance down the Mississippi...
, which aimed at closing blockade-running ports inside the Outer Banks
Outer Banks
The Outer Banks is a 200-mile long string of narrow barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina, beginning in the southeastern corner of Virginia Beach on the east coast of the United States....
. The amphibious operation was carried out primarily by New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
troops under Brig. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside and assisted by the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron under Captain Louis M. Goldsborough
Louis M. Goldsborough
Louis Malesherbes Goldsborough was a rear admiral in the United States Navy during the Civil War. He held several sea commands during the Civil War, including the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron...
.
Expedition
In August 1861, Major General Benjamin F. Butler and Flag Officer Silas H. Stringham captured Forts Hatteras and ClarkBattle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries
The Battle of Hatteras Inlet Batteries, sometimes known as the Battle of Forts Hatteras and Clark, was a small but significant engagement in the early days of the American Civil War. Two Confederate forts on the North Carolina Outer Banks were subjected to an amphibious assault by Union forces that...
guarding and entry point into Pamlico Sound
Pamlico Sound
Pamlico Sound in North Carolina, is the largest lagoon along the U.S. East Coast, being long and 24 to 48 km wide. It is a body of water separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Outer Banks, a row of low, sandy barrier islands, including Cape Hatteras. The Neuse and Pamlico rivers flow in...
. It took several months before the Union high command would capitalize on this success. Butler and Stringham were able to persuade the Secretary of Navy Gideon Welles
Gideon Welles
Gideon Welles was the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1861 to 1869. His buildup of the Navy to successfully execute blockades of Southern ports was a key component of Northern victory of the Civil War...
to maintain a force at Hatteras Inlet to keep the possibility of further operations open. The Lincoln Administration did not agree with invading North Carolina from the sea, but General-in-Chief George B. McClellan
George B. McClellan
George Brinton McClellan was a major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army. Early in the war, McClellan played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army for the Union...
was in favor of such an operation. McClellan was able to persuade President Lincoln to authorize the operation and choose Brigadier General Ambrose E. Burnside to lead the expedition.
Being careful not to ask for reinforcements from McClellan’s own Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
, Burnside set about recruiting regiments from states along the North Atlantic sea coast intending to make use of their familiarity with the sea. Burnside’s army, known as the Coast Division, was divided into three brigades, each commanded by a friend of Burnside’s from his days at West Point. The first brigade was commanded by Brig. Gen. John G. Foster
John G. Foster
John Gray Foster was a career military officer in the United States Army and a Union general during the American Civil War whose most distinguished services were in North and South Carolina. A postbellum expert in underwater demolition, he wrote the definitive treatise on the subject.-Early...
, the second by Brig. Gen. Jesse L. Reno
Jesse L. Reno
Jesse Lee Reno was a career United States Army officer who served in the Mexican-American War, the western frontier, and as a Union General during the American Civil War...
and the third by Brig. Gen. John G. Parke. In January, 1862 Burnside set out from Fort Monroe
Fort Monroe
Fort Monroe was a military installation in Hampton, Virginia—at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula...
and rendezvoused with Goldsborough at recently captured Hatteras Inlet where the two assembled their forces. Burnside’s first objective was the Confederate fortifications on Roanoke Island
Roanoke Island
Roanoke Island is an island in Dare County near the coast of North Carolina, United States. It was named after the historical Roanoke Carolina Algonquian people who inhabited the area in the 16th century at the time of English exploration....
guarding Albemarle Sound
Albemarle Sound
Albemarle Sound is a large estuary on the coast of North Carolina in the United States located at the confluence of a group of rivers, including the Chowan and Roanoke. It is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Outer Banks, a long barrier peninsula upon which the town of Kitty Hawk is located,...
.
Brigadier General Henry A. Wise
Henry A. Wise
Henry Alexander Wise was an American politician and governor of Virginia, as well as a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.-Early life:...
commanded the District of Roanoke and had a mere 1,400 men and few artillery pieces to defend his district. Besides a lack of infantry and artillery, the Confederates also lacked a significant naval force. A group of 8 work boats were converted into gunboats commanded by William F. Lynch
William F. Lynch
William Francis Lynch , was an American naval officer.-Personal life:On June 2, 1828 Lieutenant William Francis Lynch, USN, married Virginia Shaw, the youngest daughter of a senior navy officer and sister-in-law of another. They were married in New Haven, Connecticut...
. Wise contemptuously referred to the boats as the “mosquito fleet”. Wise pleaded with his superior, Benjamin Huger in Virginia to send reinforcements. Huger declined to give aid but eventually Wise’ reserves and a battalion of the 2nd North Carolina from Norfolk bolstered the defenses. The Union expedition was having problems of its own. Severe weather hampered progress so much at times it seemed as if the whole mission would have to be scrapped. The expedition, accompanied by 63 navy vessels, finally arrived off the coast of Roanoke Island.
By the time Burnside arrived, Roanoke Island was guarded by 3,000 Confederate troops under the commanded of Colonel Henry M. Shaw. District commander Henry Wise remained in overall command of the forces but was confined to his sickbed at Nag’s Head. Burnside and Goldsborough defeated the Confederate force and took roughly 2,500 prisoners. A few days later, the Federal navy destroyed the remnants of the Confederate “Mosquito Fleet” which had escaped from Roanoke Island.
Burnside then returned to Hatteras Inlet and was reinforced by more ships from the navy for his next objective, the railroad town of New Bern
New Bern, North Carolina
New Bern is a city in Craven County, North Carolina with a population of 29,524 as of the 2010 census.. It is located at the confluence of the Trent and the Neuse rivers...
along the Neuse River
Neuse River
The Neuse River is a river rising in the Piedmont of North Carolina and emptying into Pamlico Sound below New Bern. Its total length is approximately , making it the longest river entirely contained in North Carolina. The Trent River joins it at New Bern. Its drainage basin, measuring in area,...
. New Bern would also serve the Union Army as a base for any further movement into the interior of North Carolina. Brigadier General Lawrence O'Bryan Branch
Lawrence O'Bryan Branch
Lawrence O'Bryan Branch was a North Carolina representative in the U.S. Congress and a Confederate brigadier general in the American Civil War, killed at the Battle of Antietam.-Early life and career:...
commanded the Confederate forces at New Bern. Once Roanoke Island fell, Branch braced himself for the inevitable attack upon his command. Branch had about 4,500 green troops from North Carolina. The Confederates prepared a line of breastworks straddling the Atlantic & North Carolina Railroad south of the town. Fort Thompson anchored the defenses along the Neuse River. Believing the main attack would come from the water, Branch’s men faced most of Fort Thompson’s guns toward the river.
Burnside’s main attack did not come from water. Instead he marched his three brigades up along the railroad and attacked New Bern from the south. After fighting along his breastworks, Branch’s defeated Confederates fled into New Bern. Hundreds of troops continued on to the railroad depot in town and boarded an outbound train. Branch ordered the rest of his troops to fall back to Kinston to regroup.
Burnside’s next objective after New Bern was the terminus of the Atlantic & North Carolina Railroad at Morehead City and Beaufort along the southern end of Pamlico Sound. Fort Macon
Fort Macon State Park
Fort Macon State Park is a North Carolina state park in Carteret County, North Carolina, in the United States. Located on Bogue Banks near Atlantic Beach, the park opened in 1936...
guarded both cities. Burnside dispatched John G. Parke’s brigade to capture the fort. Using handcar
Handcar
A handcar is a railroad car powered by its passengers, or by people pushing the car from behind. It is mostly used as a maintenance of way or mining car, but it was also used for passenger service in some cases...
s as a communications link between New Bern and Fort Macon, Parke’s forces invested
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...
the fort’s 500 man garrison under Lt. Col. Moses J. White. While Fort Macon was besieged the Union forces in North Carolina received additional infantry reinforcements, enough for Burnside to organize 6 brigades. Now in command of two brigades, Jesse L. Reno
Jesse L. Reno
Jesse Lee Reno was a career United States Army officer who served in the Mexican-American War, the western frontier, and as a Union General during the American Civil War...
was dispatched to destroy the Dismal Swamp Canal
Dismal Swamp Canal
The Dismal Swamp Canal is located along the eastern edge of the Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia and North Carolina in the United States. It is the oldest continually operating man-made canal in the United States, opened in 1805...
locks to prevent Confederate ironclads from moving down from Norfolk. Reno’s division was halted by Colonel Ambrose Wright’s Confederates near Camden
Camden, North Carolina
Camden is the county seat of the consolidated city-county of Camden County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is located on the eastern banks of the Pasquotank River, across from which lies Elizabeth City. It currently has two traffic lights, and is centered at the intersection of U.S....
. Although the fighting was inconclusive, Reno abandoned the expedition. It was the first setback at the hands of the Confederates during Burnside’s whole campaign. On April 26 Fort Macon surrendered.
By June 1862, Burnside had occupied Roanoke Island, New Bern, Morehead City, Beaufort and Washington, North Carolina. Colonel Robert Brown Potter
Robert Brown Potter
Robert Brown Potter was a United States lawyer and a Union Army general in the American Civil War.-Early life:...
was placed in command of the Union garrison at Washington. Potter ordered a reconnaissance from the garrison under Lt. Col. Francis A. Osborne. Osborne’s men ran into the 44th North Carolina under Col. George Singletary. After a brief fight, the Confederates retreated and Osborne returned to Washington. It was a small fight with no far reaching consequences but it was to be the last battle of Burnside's expedition. Confederate President Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...
’s new military adviser, Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
, saw the importance of North Carolina and now Confederate reinforcements were pouring into the region. Burnside was preparing for a drive against Goldsborough, his next major objective, when he received orders to return to Virginia with any reinforcements he could spare to aid in the withdrawal of General McClellan’s forces after being defeated attempting to capture the Confederate capital
Peninsula Campaign
The Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The operation, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B...
. Burnside departed on July 6, 1862 with 7,000 troops and returned to Virginia. These troops would become the nucleus of the IX Corps
IX Corps (ACW)
IX Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War that distinguished itself in combat in multiple theaters: the Carolinas, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi.-Formation, Second Bull Run, and Antietam:...
. Burnside left behind General Foster in command of 8,000 troops. Foster mounted an expedition against the railroad at Goldsborough, which he destroyed at the end of 1862. The fighting in North Carolina would then devolve into a series of raids and skirmishes. Not until the capture of Fort Fisher
Fort Fisher
Fort Fisher was a Confederate fort during the American Civil War. It protected the vital trading routes of the port at Wilmington, North Carolina, from 1861 until its capture by the Union in 1865....
and the march of William T. Sherman’s armies in 1865 would there be another major campaign in North Carolina.
Battles
- Battle of Roanoke IslandBattle of Roanoke IslandThe opening phase of what came to be called the Burnside Expedition, the Battle of Roanoke Island was an amphibious operation of the American Civil War, fought on February 7–8, 1862, in the North Carolina Sounds a short distance south of the Virginia border...
(February 7–8, 1862); See also Roanoke Island order of battle - Battle of Elizabeth CityBattle of Elizabeth CityThe Battle of Elizabeth City of the American Civil War was fought in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Roanoke Island. It took place on February 10, 1862, on the Pasquotank River near Elizabeth City, North Carolina. The participants were vessels of the U.S...
(February 10, 1862) - Battle of New BernBattle of New BernThe Battle of New Bern was fought on 14 March 1862, near the city of New Bern, North Carolina, as part of the Burnside Expedition of the American Civil War. The US Army's Coast Division, led by Brigadier General Ambrose E...
(March 14, 1862); See also New Bern order of battleNew Bern order of battleOrders of battle of the Union and Confederate forces at the Battle of New Bern, 14 March 1862.-Military Rank Abbreviations Used:* BG = Brigadier General* Col = Colonel* Ltc = Lieutenant Colonel* Maj = mMjor* Cpt = Captain... - Battle of South MillsBattle of South MillsThe Battle of South Mills, also known as the Battle of Camden, took place on April 19, 1862 in Camden County, North Carolina as part of Union Army General Ambrose E...
(April 19, 1862) - Battle of Fort MaconBattle of Fort MaconThe Siege of Fort Macon took place from March 23 to April 26, 1862, on the Outer Banks of Carteret County, North Carolina. It was part of Union Army General Ambrose E...
(March 23-April 26, 1862) - Battle of Tranter's CreekBattle of Tranter's CreekThe Battle of Tranter's Creek was fought on June 5, 1862, in Pitt County, North Carolina, as part of Union Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside's North Carolina expedition during the American Civil War....
(June 5, 1862)
Union
Before April 2, 1862Coast Division – BG Ambrose E. Burnside
- 1st Brigade – BG John G. FosterJohn G. FosterJohn Gray Foster was a career military officer in the United States Army and a Union general during the American Civil War whose most distinguished services were in North and South Carolina. A postbellum expert in underwater demolition, he wrote the definitive treatise on the subject.-Early...
- 2nd Brigade – BG Jesse L. RenoJesse L. RenoJesse Lee Reno was a career United States Army officer who served in the Mexican-American War, the western frontier, and as a Union General during the American Civil War...
- 3rd Brigade – BG John G. Parke
North Atlantic Blockading Squadron – Flag Officer Louis M. Goldsborough
Louis M. Goldsborough
Louis Malesherbes Goldsborough was a rear admiral in the United States Navy during the Civil War. He held several sea commands during the Civil War, including the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron...
- Naval Forces in Pamlico Sound — Commander Stephen C. Rowan
After April 2, 1862
Coast Division – BG Ambrose E. Burnside
- 1st Division – BG John G. FosterJohn G. FosterJohn Gray Foster was a career military officer in the United States Army and a Union general during the American Civil War whose most distinguished services were in North and South Carolina. A postbellum expert in underwater demolition, he wrote the definitive treatise on the subject.-Early...
- 1st Brigade – Col Thomas I. C. Amory
- 2nd Brigade – Col Thomas G. StevensonThomas G. StevensonThomas G. Stevenson was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was killed in action during the battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse.-Biography:...
- 2nd Division – BG Jesse L. RenoJesse L. RenoJesse Lee Reno was a career United States Army officer who served in the Mexican-American War, the western frontier, and as a Union General during the American Civil War...
- 1st Brigade – Col James NagleJames NagleJames Nagle was an officer in the United States Army in both the Mexican War and the Civil War. During the latter conflict, he recruited and commanded four infantry regiments from the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and led two different brigades in the Eastern Theater...
- 2nd Brigade – Col Edward FerreroEdward FerreroEdward Ferrero was one of the leading dance instructors, choreographers, and ballroom operators in the United States. He also served as a Union Army general in the American Civil War, best remembered for his role in the Battle of the Crater in 1864.-Early life and career:Ferrero was born in...
- 1st Brigade – Col James Nagle
- 3rd Division – BG John G. Parke
- 1st Brigade – Col Charles A. Heckman
- 4th Brigade – Col Rush C. HawkinsRush HawkinsRush Christopher Hawkins was a lawyer, Union general in the American Civil War, politician, book collector, and art patron.-Early life:...
North Atlantic Blockading Squadron – Flag Officer Louis M. Goldsborough
Louis M. Goldsborough
Louis Malesherbes Goldsborough was a rear admiral in the United States Navy during the Civil War. He held several sea commands during the Civil War, including the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron...
- Naval Forces in Pamlico Sound — Commander Stephen C. Rowan
Confederate
Department of North CarolinaBG Richard C. Gatlin
Richard C. Gatlin
Richard Caswell Gatlin was a Confederate general during the American Civil War.-Early life:Gatlin was born in Kinston, Lenoir County, North Carolina, the son of John Slade Gatlin and Susannah Caswell Gatlin. His mother was the daughter of Richard Caswell, first governor of North Carolina...
(19 Aug 1861-15 Mar 1862)
BG Joseph R. Anderson
Joseph R. Anderson
Joseph Reid Anderson was an American civil engineer, industrialist, and soldier. During the American Civil War he served as a Confederate general, and his Tredegar Iron Company was a major source of munitions and ordnance for the Confederate States Army.-Early life and career:Joseph Reid Anderson...
(15 Mar 1862-24 Mar 1862)
MG Theophilus H. Holmes
Theophilus H. Holmes
Theophilus Hunter Holmes was a career United States Army officer and a Confederate Lieutenant General in the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...
(24 Mar 1862-17 July 1862)
- District of Roanoke – BG Henry A. WiseHenry A. WiseHenry Alexander Wise was an American politician and governor of Virginia, as well as a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.-Early life:...
(22 Jan 1862-9 Feb 1862); Col Henry M. Shaw (9 Feb 1862-18 Aug 1862) - District of Albemarle — BG Henry A. WiseHenry A. WiseHenry Alexander Wise was an American politician and governor of Virginia, as well as a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.-Early life:...
(district abolished 23 Feb 1862) - District of Pamlico – BG Lawrence O. Branch