Palmetto Sharpshooters

Last updated

The South Carolina Palmetto Sharpshooters were a Confederate infantry unit in the American Civil War. The regiment served with the Army of Northern Virginia from 1862 to 1865. The unit would fight in most of the major campaigns in the eastern theater, including the Peninsula Campaign, the Overland Campaign, and the Siege of Petersburg.

Contents

1862

Colonel Joseph Walker of the Palmetto Sharpshooters. Colonel Joseph Walker of Co. K, 5th South Carolina Infantry Regiment, and Field and Staff, Palmetto South Carolina Sharpshooters Regiment, in uniform, two-piece belt buckle with palmetto, LCCN2013650223.jpg
Colonel Joseph Walker of the Palmetto Sharpshooters.
Micah Jenkins; the original Colonel of the regiment. Micah Jenkins.jpg
Micah Jenkins; the original Colonel of the regiment.

The Palmetto Sharpshooters was organized and mustered into service in 1862, near Richmond, Virginia. The regiment was comprised mostly of men who had originally served in the 4th, 5th, and 9th South Carolina Infantry Regiments who were now re-enlisting after the experiment of their previous enlistment term. The regiment was commanded by Colonel Micah Jenkins, and was assigned to Richard Anderson's South Carolina Brigade. After mustering, the regiment was shipped to Yorktown, Virginia to join the Confederate army stationed there. Following the abandonment of Yorktown to George B. McClellan's Federal army, the Confederates withdrew to Williamsburg. There the Palmetto Sharpshooters experienced their first battle during the Battle of Williamsburg in May 1862. The regiment would hold Fort Magruder against repeated Federal attacks, losing 29 men. [1] During the Battle of Seven Pines, May 31-June 1, the Palmetto Sharpshooters assaulted the right flank of Union General Darius Couch's division, capturing numerous prisoners. According to Jenkins, the South Carolina brigade, now under his command, broke five successive Union lines and advanced more than two miles before halting their charge. The charge of the Palmetto Sharpshooters drew special attention from Confederate General Daniel Harvey Hill, who, according to Jenkins, praised the efforts of the South Carolinians and referred to Jenkins' command as "his salvation." [2] A few days prior to the battle General James Longstreet had presented the Palmetto Sharpshooters with a battle flag, which the regiment carried into battle on May 31. The color bearer would be shot during the assault, and as Colonel Jenkins rode past him the color bearer propped himself up on his elbows and exclaimed: "For God's sake, Colonel, take care of my flag!" [3]

During the Seven Days Battles, the South Carolina Brigade assaulted Northern positions at the Battle of Gaines' Mill, capturing the colors of the 16th Michigan. Three days after Gaines' Mill, Jenkins' brigade was ordered by General Longstreet to open the Confederate assaults during the Battle of Glendale, June 30, 1862. General Longstreet claimed after the war that he had intended for Jenkins to utilize his sharpshooters to silence Federal batteries positioned along the New Market Road, but the overeager Jenkins' misinterpreted the order and instead initiated a frontal assault across an open field against the batteries. [4] Despite receiving a galling volume of fire in their front, the South Carolinians briefly overran the Union artillery. However, Jenkins was forced to retreat in the face of Northern counterattacks. [5] The brigade suffered harrowing loss during their charge at Glendale, with half of its number becoming casualties. [6] The Palmetto Sharpshooters lost 254 men out of 375 on the field, a casualty loss of 68%. [7] Company "E" of the regiment would be devastated at Glendale, most of the company becoming casualties, with only a few survivors. [8] During the battle, all of the officers and non-commissioned officers in Company "L" would become casualties, prompting the company to be led for a time by a Private. [9] The brigade would play majors roles in the Second Bull Run campaign and the Maryland campaign, repulsing Ambrose Burnside's attack south of Sharpsburg during the Battle of Antietam in September 1862. The Palmetto Sharpshooters and the South Carolina brigade were transferred to George Pickett's division, Longstreet's Corps shortly before the Battle of Fredericksburg.

1863

Micah Jenkins' brigade participated in James Longstreet's Suffolk Campaign during the spring of 1863, and would be retained in Richmond during the Gettysburg campaign, thus missing the infamous charge made by George Pickett's division during the Battle of Gettysburg. In September 1863, Longstreet's Corps was sent to the western theater of the war, joining Braxton Braggs's Confederate Army of Tennessee. Upon arrival in Tennessee, Micah Jenkins' brigade was assigned to John Bell Hood's division. The brigade would fight in the subsequent Battle of Wauhatchie and Knoxville Campaign.

1864

The regiment would be sent back east to Virginia as Union General Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign went underway. During the Battle of the Wilderness Jenkin's brigade arrived on the field with the rest of Longstreet's Corps early on the morning of May 6. Shortly after arrival the brigade would be ordered to support an attack being made by General William Mahone's Virginia brigade up the Orange Plank Road. The Virginians, who were disoriented from their attack through the dense undergrowth of the Wilderness, mistook the South Carolinian brigade advancing up the Orange Plank Road for Union troops, and opened fire, wounding General Longstreet and killing Jenkins. [10] An assault would be attempted again during the afternoon. Jenkins' Brigade, now under the command of Colonel John Bratton of the 6th South Carolina, led the attack against Federal log fortifications and entrenchments lining the Brock Road. The Confederate attack would see initial success, but Union counterattacks quickly sealed the breach in the Northern line. The next few weeks would see heavy fighting for the brigade during the battles at Spotsylvania Courthouse, North Anna, Totopotomy Creek, and Cold Harbor.

Casualties for the Palmetto Sharpshooters during the Overland Campaign numbered: [11]

Throughout the Siege of Petersburg the Palmetto Sharpshooters would fight in such battles as Second Deep Bottom, Second Reams Station, and Darbytown Road.

1865

After the breakthrough at Petersburg and the fall of Richmond, the South Carolina Palmetto Sharpshooters surrendered at Appomattox Court House with the rest of the Army of Northern Virginia on April 9, 1865. The regiment was one of the largest in the Confederate army at the time of the surrender, numbering 29 officers and 356 men. [12] Ironically, during the surrender the South Carolinians shared rations and shook hands with the 16th Michigan, whose colors they had captured at Gaines' Mill two years ago. [13]

Further reading

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Palmetto (South Carolina) Regiment Sharpshooters". The Civil War in the East. Retrieved 2022-11-26.
  2. ↑ Thomas, John Peyre (1903). Career and character of General Micah Jenkins ... Columbia, S.C.: The State Company. p. 14.
  3. ↑ "Longstreet's Aide: The Civil War Letters of Major Thomas J Goree (A Nation Divided: Studies in the Civil War Era): 9780813915746 - AbeBooks". www.abebooks.com. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
  4. ↑ Longstreet, James (1896). From Manassas to Appomattox: Memoirs of the Civil War in America. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company. p. 135.
  5. ↑ "StackPath". www.essentialcivilwarcurriculum.com. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  6. ↑ "Longstreet's Aide: The Civil War Letters of Major Thomas J Goree (A Nation Divided: Studies in the Civil War Era): 9780813915746 - AbeBooks". www.abebooks.com. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
  7. ↑ "William F. Fox, Lt. Col. U. S. V., Regimental Losses in the American Civil War, 1861-1865: A Treatise on the extent and nature of the mortuary losses in the Union regiments, with full and exhaustive statistics compiled from the official records on file in the state military bureaus and at Washington, Chapter 15: Confederate losses — strength of the Confederate Armies--casualties in Confederate regiments — list of Confederate Generals killed — losses in the Confederate Navy., page 556". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
  8. ↑ "The Watchman and Southron 01 Jul 1884, page Page 1". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
  9. ↑ "The weekly telegraph. (Macon, Ga.) 1885-1899, February 14, 1888, Image 11 « Georgia Historic Newspapers". gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu. 1888. Retrieved 2023-08-30.
  10. ↑ United States (1880–1901). The War of the Rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies. Also known as:Official records of the Union and Confederate armies. Washington: Government Printing Office. p. 1055. ISBN   978-0-918678-07-2.{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  11. ↑ United States (1880–1901). The War of the Rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies. Washington: Govt. Print. Off.
  12. ↑ "Battle Unit Details". National Park Service.
  13. ↑ "The Watchman and Southron 01 Jul 1884, page Page 1". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
  14. ↑ "9781572490178: The Struck Eagle: A Biography of Brigadier General Micah Jenkins, and a History of the Fifth South Carolina Volunteers and the Palmetto Sharpshooters - Baldwin, James J., III: 1572490179 - AbeBooks". www.abebooks.com. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  15. ↑ "9781096427964: Historical Sketch And Roster Of The South Carolina Palmetto Sharpshooters (South Carolina Regimental History Series) - Rigdon, John C.: 1096427966 - AbeBooks". www.abebooks.com. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  16. ↑ Nicely, Brocky A. (2013). Sharpshooters Forward: The Regimental History of the Palmetto SharpShooter Regiment, South Carolina Volunteers, 1861-1865. Broadfoot Publishing Company. ISBN   978-1-56837-431-4.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.