Second (2nd) North Carolina Infantry RegimentUnited States Volunteers, May 9th, 1898, to November 25th, 1898
The following historical information is about the service of both the regiment, and the men, of the Second (2nd) North Carolina Infantry Regiment, U.S. Volunteers, which served in the Spanish American War from May to November of 1898. If you have any corrections, suggestions, or additional information that you wish to contribute, feel free to submit the information to the Webmaster.
Regimental Organization
(Click here to view the Regimental Roster)
| Company A - Cumberland County | Company G - Gordon & Mecklenburg Counties |
| Company B - Rutherford County - Fayetteville Light Infantry | Company H - Buncombe County |
| Company C - Burke & Caldwell Counties | Company I - Edgecombe County - Edgecombe Guards |
| Company D - Guilford County | Company K - Hanover County - Wilmington Light Infantry |
| Company E - Pitt County - Pitt Rifles | Company L - Buncombe County |
| Company F - Robeson County - Lumber Bridge Light Infantry | Company M - Statewide |
The 2nd North Carolina Infantry Regiment formed for inspection in July 1898.
A Brief History of the Regiment
By Bro. Kenneth H. Robison II, Sons of Spanish American War Veterans
On April 23rd, 1898, President William McKinley issued a call for 125,000 volunteers to serve for two years service, unless sooner discharged, and of this number North Carolina was called upon to provide three regiments of infantry (two white and one colored) for service, or around 3,000 officers and men. That same day Adjutant General Andrew D. Cowles of the State issued a telegraphic order to all the commands of the State Guard requesting to know if they would be willing to volunteer for service, this was followed on the 27th by an order calling out the companies and issuing orders for the recruitment of new companies.
As part of this order the companies that would eventually form what would be known as the Second North Carolina Infantry Regiment, United States Volunteers, were instructed to assemble in Raleigh at what would be designated as Camp Dan Russell. The camp itself was situated at the State Fairgrounds, and was named in honor of Governor Daniel Russell; the site is now a residential and business area across from the campus of the North Carolina State University.
The nucleus of the regiment was five companies from the State Guard which arrived at Camp Dan Russell in early May, those companies being the �Fayetteville Light Infantry� of Fayetteville, the �Pitt Rifles� of Greenville, the �Lumber Bridge Light Infantry� of Lumber Bridge, the �Edgecombe Guards� of Tarboro and the �Wilmington Light Infantry� of Wilmington. To this was added seven additional companies, which were recruited for service in the War with Spain, as well as numerous new recruits who joined the regiment from throughout the state, the largest portion coming from those counties in the western portion of North Carolina. Among the first units to arrive at the camp was the �Fayetteville Light Infantry� which marched into camp dressed in Confederate Uniforms, the men marched to their company street where they ceremoniously �doffed the gray and donned the blue,� showing that Southern volunteers would fight just as well for the Union as their fathers had for the Confederacy.
From May 9th to 27th the regiment underwent the necessary medical examinations and were mustered into United States service by companies, by the Mustering Officers. Company D on May 9th, Companies F, G, K & L on the 13th, Companies C & I on the 15th, B on the 16th, H on the 24th, M on the 25th, A on the 26th, and finally Company E on the 27th. Upon completion the regiment was mustered into United States services with a total of 52 officers and 930 enlisted men for a period of two years service, unless sooner discharged, as the Second North Carolina Infantry Regiment, United States Volunteers.
The twelve companies were organized and recruited from the following counties:
- Company A (Fayetteville Light Infantry) from Cumberland County
- Company B from Rutherford County
- Company C from Burke & Caldwell Counties
- Company D from Guilford County
- Company E (Pitt Rifles) from Pitt County
- Company F (Lumber Bridge Light Infantry) from Robeson County
- Company G from Gordon & Mecklenburg Counties
- Company H from Buncombe County
- Company I (Edgecombe Guards) from Edgecombe County
- Company K (Wilmington Light Infantry) from New Hanover County
- Company L from Buncombe County
- Company M from throughout the state
The men comprising the regiment were a diverse and unique set with varying backgrounds, a number of the officers and men coming from the State Guard, to which was added a large number of new recruits with no experience in the soldiering trade. There was also a West Point graduate and regular army officer, William Toliver Wilder [1865-1957] had been appointed as one of three Major�s of the Regiment, at the time he was serving as a First Lieutenant with the 25th United States (Colored) Infantry Regiment in Florida, he would return to the 25th Infantry after the discharged of the 2nd Regiment, and would retire from the service in July of 1920 as a Colonel. To this number were added thirteen men whose services set them apart from the rest; these men had been trained in the most trying school of modern warfare under some of the most well known military leaders of their time, men like General�s Robert E. Lee, Thomas J. Jackson, James Longstreet, and Robert F. Hoke, in that famed Army of Northern Virginia from 1861 to 1865. They were a group of Confederate Veterans from throughout North Carolina who could have remained home, but despite their age still stepped forward for service when the call was made.
At the head of the regiment was fifty-three year old Colonel William Hyslop Sumner Burgwyn of Henderson. He was born on July 23rd, 1845, at Jamaica Plains near Boston, Massachusetts, being raised at the family�s plantation in Northampton County, North Carolina, along with his siblings, including his younger brother Henry King Burgwyn who would later serve as the Colonel of the 26th North Carolina Infantry, being killed at Gettysburg in July of 1863. At the commencement of the Civil War he was attending the University of North Carolina, which school he left to take an active part with the cadets of the Hillsboro Military Academy. In September of 1861 he enlisted and was elected as the Second Lieutenant of Company H of the 35th North Carolina Infantry Regiment, being promoted to First Lieutenant in 1862, and to Captain in 1863, and in January of 1864 was detailed as an Aide-de-camp on the staff of Brigadier General Thomas L. Clingman, commander of a brigade of North Carolinians serving with the Army of Northern Virginia, acting for a time as the brigades Assistant Inspector General. On September 29th, 1864, he took part in the assault upon Fort Harrison near Petersburg, Virginia, in the assault he was cut off with several others of the command and captured, being sent north he was held first at the Old Capital Prison in Washington, D.C., before being transferred to Fort Delaware where he remained from October of 1864 to February of 1865. He was paroled on February 27th, 1865, and returned to his home to await exchange, which was never to come and on May 1st, 1865, he was included in those who were surrendered with the command of General Joseph E. Johnston at Durham Station, North Carolina. Following the war he continued his education, graduating from the Law Department of Harvard University in 1870, as well as from Washington Medical University in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1876 with a Medical Degree. In 1870 he was admitted to the Maryland State Bar and opened a law office in Baltimore, which he operated until 1882, during this time he was married to Miss Margaret Carlisle Dunlop [1848-1941] in November of 1876, and served as the Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel of the 5th Regiment of Infantry, Maryland National Guard. In 1882 he returned to North Carolina, settling in Henderson, and operated several banks, as well as being the President of the Henderson Female College from 1886 to 1891, and at the outbreak of the war with Spain was serving as the National Bank Examiner of the Southern States, having been appointed in 1893.
Among the other Confederate Veterans in the regiment were two of the three Majors, John Whitaker Cotton (sometimes shown as Cotton) [1845-1922] who had served as a Private in Company A of the 3rd North Carolina Artillery Regiment, and after the war was a Brigadier General in the North Carolina State Guard from 1891 to 1896; and Benjamin Franklin Dixon [1846-1910] who had enlisted as a Private in Company G of the 49th North Carolina Infantry Regiment in February of 1863, being promoted to Third Lieutenant in June of 1863, Second Lieutenant in February of 1864, and Captain in January of 1865, having been wounded at Drewry�s Bluff, Virginia, in May of 1864 and was captured on April 1st, 1865, at the Battle of Five Forks, Virginia. Also on the regimental staff was Quartermaster (Captain) Robert Burns Davis [1834-1918] who had served as a Private, and then 1st Lieutenant, in Company G of the 14th Virginia Infantry Regiment from 1861 to 1862, and was the 1st Lieutenant commanding Company C of the 1st Virginia Artillery Regiment, firing his final shots in April of 1865 at the battle of Sailor�s Creek; and Chaplain Edwin Augustus Young Osborne [1837-1926], the military rank of a Chaplain was that of a Captain however Chaplain Osborne had far more experience than that. In May of 1861 he had enlisted as the 2nd Lieutenant of Company C of the 4th North Carolina Infantry Regiment, he was soon promoted to Captain in July of 1861, and in the battle of Seven Pines, Virginia, on May 31st, 1862, he was shot through the thigh. Recovering from this wound he rejoined his regiment and was again wounded in action and captured on September 17th, 1862, at the battle of Sharpsburg, Maryland, being paroled that same month and exchanged in December. Upon rejoining the regiment he was promoted to Major in December of 1862, and was with them throughout their campaigns in Virginia and Pennsylvania, being wounded in the right hand on May 19th, 1864, at the battle of Spotsylvania, he had two of his fingers amputated, and was promoted to Colonel of the regiment on July 18th, 1864. He was transferred on April 1st, 1865, to the Veteran Reserve Corps due the disability related to his wound, however not satisfied he requested a staff assignment that would allow him to continue to serve, but before this request could be granted the fall of Richmond occurred, and on May 13th, 1865, Colonel Osborne was paroled at Charlotte, North Carolina.
Of the twelve company commanders in the regiment four had served in the Confederate Army; William Terrell Reilly Bell [1843-1917] of Company B had enlisted in 1861 as a Private in Company I of the 59th Virginia Infantry Regiment, being elected Third Lieutenant shortly thereafter, and was captured on February 8th, 1862, at Roanoke, Island, North Carolina. Being paroled he rejoined his regiment and was promoted to Second Lieutenant, he was detailed as a Drill Master for a time, and was temporarily assigned to command Company I of the 9th Virginia Infantry January to August of 1864 before being assigned to duty as the Enrolling Officer in Fluvanna County, Virginia, in December of 1864. Edmund Jones [1848-1920] of Company C enlisted in 1864 at the age of sixteen as a Private in Company F of the 3rd North Carolina Cavalry Regiment, then part of Barringers Brigade of Lomax�s Division with the Cavalry Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia, and was part of the forces that broke through the Union lines near Appomattox Courthouse prior to the surrender at that place. James Thomas Smith [1847-1923] of Company E had served as a Private and Sergeant in Company C of the 24th North Carolina Infantry Regiment from 1864 to 1865. And finally Stephen Jorden Cobb [1839-1914] of Company F who had enlisted as a Private in Company D of the 51st North Carolina Infantry Regiment on April 26th, 1862, and was wounded in action on May 31st, 1864, at Cold Harbor, Virginia; the wound was such that it disabled him from further service and on November 29th, 1864, he was transferred to the Invalid Corps, being surrendered as part of the forces of General Joseph E. Johnston at Durham Station, North Carolina, on May 1st, 1865.
Officers were not the only Veterans to enter the service; included among the rank and file were Private Albert G. Freeman of Company B who in October of 1864 he enlisted as a Private in Company I of the 56th North Carolina Infantry Regiment, he was captured on April 2nd, 1865, at Five Forks, Virginia, and was released on June 26th, 1865, from Point Lookout, Maryland. And Musician Henry A. Blow [1848-1910] of Company E, formerly a private in Company K of the 67th North Carolina Infantry Regiment during the War.
After being mustered into service, the regiment settled down to the camp life of the Volunteer soldiers for the next two months at Camp Dan Russell. Drill was begun, and the men were taught the discipline necessary to make them into soldiers, and the School of the Soldier, Company, and Battalion was started, the old Confederate Veterans having to learn the new techniques of modern warfare right alongside of the younger men. The matter of supplying the volunteers with the proper uniforms and equipment plagued the men in the early days, and was an especial problem for Colonel Burgwyn, at the first regimental review held on May 27th showed more than half the men had not yet been issued either uniforms or weapons, and it was not until July 8th that the first regimental target practice was able to be held. An additional issue was the fact that the regiment had still not been assigned to any specific Army Corps, a rather inglorious distinction that was shared with only two other Volunteer regiments at the time, and efforts were made on behalf of the regiment to obtain assignment to one of the commands, however these were to no avail.
On July 17th six companies of the regiment were ordered to move to various points in Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida. Companies A and E under the command of Major Wilder were sent to Tybee Island, Georgia, near Fort Pulaski; Companies D and G under Major Dixon to Land�s End on St. Helena Island near Port Royal, South Carolina; and Companies C and I under Major Cotton to the St. Francis Barracks in St. Augustine, Florida, where they were placed on duty guarding prisoners. Shortly afterwards additional orders were issued detaching Companies F and M to Fort McPherson near Atlanta, Georgia, where they were to serve for a short time as the post garrison, while the Regimental Headquarters, and Companies B, H, K and L remained at Camp Dan Russell.
The Regimental Headquarters, and the four companies in Raleigh remained there until August 7th, when, as a result of a fear that an outbreak of typhoid fever within the camp was about to become epidemic, they were ordered to move to St. Simon�s Island near Brunswick, Georgia, leaving behind on a small camp guard at Camp Dan Russell. At the same time Companies F and M were relived from duty at Fort McPherson and joined the companies at St. Simon�s Island. The camp at this location was described as being pleasant, the men being able to take advantage of sea bathing, fishing, boating, as well as having access to clean drinking water that came from an artesian well nearby. This was a contrast to Camp Dan Russell, which despite the assertions that the camp was healthy, there were several issues regarding the purity of the drinking water, and several of the wells at the camp were closed due to contamination.
The various detachments of the regiment continued in their routine of duties at their respective posts throughout the months of July and August. The only item of note occurred on August 31st, 1898, when a hurricane struck the camp of Companies D and G at Land�s End on St. Helena�s Island, the tents of the command were blown down and ripped apart, while the camp itself was submerged under water, the two companies sustained a fairly severe loss of both personal and company property, but through the efforts of the officers and men no lives were lost. Despite the storm the two companies would remain on duty at the post until September 13th when they were relieved by a detachment of the South Carolina Heavy Battery.
On September 2nd the War Department issued orders for the regiment to prepare to be mustered out of United States service, and to report to camp at Raleigh and begin the process of gathering all regimental arms, equipment, and property; as Captain Stephen J. Cobb of Company F wrote afterwards, �Uncle Sam appeared to have no further use for us.� As such the various detachments of the regiment began to break their respective camps and prepare for the move to Raleigh. Prior to their departure the part of the regiment at St. Simon�s Island were treated to a grand barbecue given them by the city of Brunswick as a token of their appreciation for the conduct and services of the men of the command. At the same time the two companies stationed at the St. Francis Barracks in St. Augustine, Florida, received the praise of the local newspapers that applauded them for their efficiency and good conduct while stationed there.
On September 14th, 1898, the various detachments of the regiment began arriving in Raleigh, North Carolina, and moving to Camp Dan Russell, began the process of preparing to be mustered out of United States service, the work of making out reports, final statements, clothing accounts, collecting equipment, and accounting for the regimental and company property was begun. On September 20th, with the exception of a camp guard, the men of the regiment were furloughed for thirty-days to return to their homes, with instructions to report at the end of that time at the regimental encampment at Raleigh. The designated date for the expiration of the furlough would have placed the regiment in camp during the North Carolina State Fair in Raleigh, enabling many of the men from the western part of the state the chance to attend, and offered a chance for the regiment to be seen by its fellows Carolinians as a body.
However during the furlough the orders were altered and the men instructed to report to their respective home stations to be mustered out of the service. As such from November 3rd to 25th, 1898, the regiment was mustered out of United States by companies throughout the state of North Carolina; Company G on the 3rd at Raleigh, Companies H, L & M on the 7th at Asheville, Companies B & Con the 10th at Morganton, Company D on the 12th at Greensboro, Companies A & F on the 16th at Fayetteville, Company K on the 18th at Wilmington, Companies E & I on the 23rd at Tarboro, and finally on the 25th the Regimental Field & Staff officers were assembled at Raleigh; the final count being a total of 49 officers and 1,213 enlisted men mustered out of service.
After the regiments mustering out the feeling that they could have done better service was present, as with so many of the volunteer regiments who never left the continental United States; but as was written in the brief account of the regiment�s services in the "Roster of North Carolina Volunteers in the Spanish American War, 1898-1899," in 1900, "Should there be occasion for further hostilities with Spain, it will be regretted that so fine a body of soldiers, remarkable for uniformity of size and regularity of height, well drilled and disciplined, should have been disbanded, that they were not given the opportunity of fighting at Santiago or charging over the San Juan Hill, was no fault of theirs, for no one who knows the personnel of officers or men doubts in the least, that all that was wanting to make the record of the Regiment a source of pride to the state and an honor to the command, was the opportunity."
During the regiment�s brief term of service from May to November of 1898, a total 54 officers and 1,342 enlisted men had served in its rank. Of this number 1 officer was transferred and 4 resigned their commissions, 55 enlisted men were discharged due to disability, 1 by a general court-martial, and 26 per orders of the War Department; 27 of the men deserted, and 20 died of disease during their service, a total loss of 5 officers and 129 enlisted men.
The Officers of the 2nd N.C. Infantry Regiment with Governor Daniel Russell in May of 1898.
Regimental Statistics
Mustered Into Service: 52 Officers & 930 Enlisted MenMustered Out of Service: 49 Officers & 1,213 Enlisted MenTotal Number Accounted for on Muster Out Roll: 54 Officers & 1,342 Enlisted Men
Losses While in Service (Officers)
| Promoted or Transferred | .............. 1 | | Resigned or Discharged | .............. 4 | | Dismissed | .............. 0 | | Killed in Action | .............. 0 | | Died of Wounds | .............. 0 | | Died of Disease | .............. 0 | | Died of Accident | .............. 0 | | Drowned | .............. 0 | | Suicide | .............. 0 | | Murdered | .............. 0 | | Total Officer Loses | .............. 5 |
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Loses While in Service (Enlisted Men) | Transferred | ....... 0 | | Discharged due to Disability | ....... 55 | | Discharged by General Court Martial | ....... 1 | | Discharged By Orders | ....... 26 | | Killed in Action | ....... 0 | | Died of Wounds Recieved in Action | ....... 0 | | Died of Disease | ....... 20 | | Died of Accident | ....... 0 | | Drowned | ....... 0 | | Suicide | ....... 0 | | Murdered or Homicide | ....... 0 | | Deserted | ....... 27 | | Total Enlisted Losses | ....... 129 |
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Resources
Books & Published Material
- Page 793, "The Annual Cyclopedia and Register of Important Events of the Year 1898." D. Appleton & Company, New York, 1899.
- �Annual Report of the Adjutant General of the State of North Carolina for the Year 1898." Guy V. Barnes, Printer to Governor�s Council, Raleigh, North Carolina, 1899.
- �Annual Report of the Adjutant General of the State of North Carolina for the Year 1899." Edwards & Broughton & E.M. Uzzell, State Printers, Raleigh, North Carolina, 1900.
- �Annual Report of the Adjutant General of the State of North Carolina for the Year 1900." Edwards & Broughton & E.M. Uzzell, State Printers, Raleigh, North Carolina, 1901.
- �Annual Report of the Adjutant General of the State of North Carolina for the Year 1901." Edwards & Broughton & E.M. Uzzell, State Printers, Raleigh, North Carolina, 1902.
- �Annual Report of the Adjutant General of the State of North Carolina for the Year 1902." Edwards & Broughton, State Printers, Raleigh, North Carolina, 1903.
- Page 609, "Correspondence relating to the War with Spain, and conditions growing out of the same, including the Insurrection in the Philippine Islands, and the China Relief Expedition, between the Adjutant-General of the Army and Military Commanders in the United States, Cuba, Porto Rico, China, and the Philippine Islands, from April 15, 1898, to July 30, 1902." Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1902.
- Volume I, "Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, from its organization, September 29, 1789, to March 2, 1903." Francis B. Heitman, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1903.
- �North Carolinas Role in the Spanish American War." Joseph F. Steelman, 1975.
- "Officers of Volunteer Regiments Organized Under the Act of March 2, 1899." Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1899.
- Pages 213 to 217, "The Organized Militia of the United States." Government Printing Press, Washington, D.C., 1900.
- Volume I, �Report on the Origin and Spread of Typhoid Fever in U.S. Military Camps during the Spanish War of 1898.� Walter Reed, Victor C. Vaughan, Edward O. Shakespeare; Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1904.
- �Roster of North Carolina Volunteers in the Spanish-American War, 1898-1899.� Adjutant General, Raleigh, NC: Broughton and E.M. Uzzell State Printers, 1900.
- "Statistical Exhibit of Strength of Volunteer Forces Called Into Service During the War With Spain; with Losses From All Causes." Adjutant Generals Office, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1899.
Documents, Papers & Non-Published Materials
- General Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers who served During the War with Spain. Microfilm publication M871, 126 rolls. ARC ID: 654543; Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780s-1917, Record Group 94; The National Archives at Washington, D.C.
- Pension applications for service in the US Army between 1861 and 1900, grouped according to the units in which the veterans served. (NARA T289) National Archives & Records Administration, Washington, D.C.
Websites & Online Resources
- North Carolina History Project; The Spanish American War.
- The North Carolina Museum of History.
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