| Summary |
The purpose of this thesis is to detail the history of the 55th North Carolina State Troops Regiment during the American Civil War, to illuminate the contributions made by this unit in the fight for Southern independence, and describe what it was like to serve with this organization as a soldier. The actions of the regiment are reviewed in chronological order from its organization in May 1862 until Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court. The history and the experiences of the regiment's fighting men are traced through official records, historical documents, soldiers' letters, contemporary newspaper articles and other primary sources. The 55th fought most of the war as a part of Davis's Mississippi Brigade, which was one of four mixed units in the entire Army of Northern Virginia. The regiment participated in some of the war's most horrific battles, including Gettysburg, where it was among the first Confederate troops to engage the Federals and amid those brave Rebel soldiers who charged the Federal line on July 3, 1863. The 55th also saw action during the Overland Campaign and was with the unit entrenched around Petersburg as the war came to a close. The regiment's combat experiences are important from a military view, but the social, religious, and political characteristics exhibited by the unit's members enhance our understanding of the common soldier of the Confederacy. Though it has been asserted that Southern soldiers had little concern for politics the members of the 55th remained involved, especially in state elections. Throughout the war many of the members of the unit remained devoted to their religious convictions and continued to believe in the Southern Cause. |
