South Carolina
State Troops
Seed Corn Units
1864-1865
Under a call of order of
Milledge Luke Bonham,
the Governor of this State, the remaining units of the militia were mustered at
Hamburg, SC, July 1864, and there organized into Companies.
The officers of the 8 Battalions and most of the Company officers were men of
mature years or had been retired from the regular Confederate Army for various
disabilities.
After the muster at Hamburg, SC, units of 17 year old boys and men over 44
were formed into 8 battalions (often referred to as Senior Reserves).
Battalion Information
They were formed into a brigade and placed under the commande of
Brigadier General James Chesnut,
a political officer with no field command experience. Those under that age were
allowed to return to their respective homes.
The numbered battalions were mustered into CSA service and South Carolina was
again left without troops under her direct control. By order of the same said
Governor, the youngest troops were again assembled at Hamburg, 26 November
1864, and were duly armed and equipped, and formed into 4 regiments (often
referred to as Junior Reserves and also State Militia) and ordered into active
service. From Hamburg, they were ordered to Honey Hill, arriving at that place
just after the battle of that name.
Regiment Information
The units served until the end of the war, most ending up in Spartanburg, where
they were disbanded in April 1865.
The following are the articles I have accumulated on these units:
3rd Battalion
Letters from the Front, Thomas J. Eccles, 2d Lieutenant, 3rd Battalion, Co D
PostWar Recollections of Private O. M. Buzhardt , 4th Battalion, Co A
Death of Sergeant Joe King, 7th Battalion, Company A
1st Regiment
1st Regiment, Company H
The Arsenal, Columbia, SC
3rd Regiment, Company F
3rd Regiment, Company F
3rd Regiment, Company I
3rd Regiment, Company K
Note:
The names, units, service and personal information comes from various different
sources. I feel that each man (boy) listed did serve The Cause. What I can not
be positive of is that they served in Senior (Battaliuons) or Junior
(Reserves). These two terms seem to be used interchagable by these troops and
often called them "State Militia".
Before you quote or reference this data for a particular soldier, you should
drop me an email and I will tell you the source of it for your own review.
My Choice:
The boys of the South Carolina Military Academy served thru out the War so they
did not need to be called up in 1864. I have included them on this page because
they were boys led by men:
The Citadel, Charleston, SC
Search Partial Rosters ( 56263 )
Thu., 8 Dec 1864:
The Charleston Daily Courier
We must repeat--and repeat--and continue to repeat--as long as evidences of the
fact appear--our deliberate and well settled conviction in reference to the
various proposals put forth for "grinding our seed corn," and sacrificing our
yearlings, that the great evil and defect has not been want of men so much as
the want of discipline and order and vigor in putting and keeping in active
service the men nominally liable.
If you have any information about these troops or these units, please
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