… History, With a Roster of Officers".
"As one of North Carolina's "Manassas to Appomattox" regiments, the 21st Infantry forged an impressive Civil War combat record. Equally impressive in the arena of regimental studies is Lee Sherrill's massive The 21st North Carolina Infantry: A Civil War History, with a Roster of Officers, an incredibly detailed history of the unit. An oversize (8.25 x 11 inches) volume with densely packed double-columned print and with a main narrative over 450 pages in length, to say Sherrill's study is exhaustive in content and research is an understatement. One cannot recall another modern North Carolina unit history quite like it.
Recruited from the Piedmont region of the state, the progenitor of the 21st was the 12-month 11th North Carolina, which fought at First Bull Run with Bonham's brigade. During the grand reorganization of the Confederate army in 1862 the unit was redesignated the 21st regiment and it would fight on in that capacity to the Army of Northern Virginia's end at Appomattox. Sherrill briefly covers the recruitment and training periods as well as the officer selection turmoil that plagued so many regiments. The 21st's leadership factionalism, however, went on far longer than most and one marvels at the fighting prowess and unit cohesion demonstrated by the regiment on so many battlefields with so much uncertainty at the top. That said, the regiment was gifted with more than one good colonel, as both William Kirkland and Robert Hoke would perform well and go on to higher commands.
Unlike many other recent regimental studies (especially those authored by professional historians), Sherrill's book does not concern itself with any kind of complex demographic study of the men nor does it directly engage many of the common themes of modern Civil War unit scholarship (e.g. why the men enlisted, their wartime connections to the home front, what happened when they returned home, etc.). Instead, Sherrill sets out to create a definitive military biography of the regiment, one that addresses in equal measure the camp, march, and battlefield experiences of the men. With its uncommonly meticulous handling of the 21st's tragic exposures to the great epidemics of disease that raged through Confederate camps and field hospitals during the many months of inactivity following the victory at First Bull Run, the book's sweeping ambitions are apparent from the start…"
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