"Confederate 'Reserve' Infantry units" Topic

Hi,
Anyone have any info re these late war units ?
Cheers G

Are you talking States Reserves?

Here's an outline from 3rd VA Reserves (Booker's):
"
3rd Regiment Reserves was organized in September, 1864, with men from Amherst, Campbell, Buckingham, Prince Edward, Cumberland, Appomattox, Nelson, and Botetourt counties. It served under General H.H. Walker at Clover Depot, Richmond and Danville Railroad, and in February, 1865, totalled 372 effectives. Only 6 men were present at the surrender on April 9. Its commanders were Colonel Richard A. Booker, Lieutenant Colonel Joel B. Leftwich, and Major William M. Ewers."

These units were little more than home militia. Mostly old men, discharged wounded, and young boys armed with whatever they had and essentially used as stopgap measures.
My g-grandfather was 16 years old and a member of Co. C 22nd VA, 3rd VA State Reserves. He had the job of guarding the Farmville High Bridge in 1865 and was in the last major victory of the ANV…before hiding out in the woods with the rest of the unit that got left behind on the march to Appomattox..and finally disbanded on April 11th…. which is today…151 years ago….

It was basically the same in Mississippi, but they were called "Mississippi State Troops." Several units got caught inside Vicksburg in 1863. Many were used to guard railroads, bridges, supply depots and manufactories. As Murphy said, made up of the young, old, infirm, and draft exempt men.

Jim

I put together a unit of Virginia reserves for the 150th of Sayler's Creek last year. We did 1st battalion, which was in existence from April of 1864 until Sayler's Creek. I have the research on them if you are interested. The Virginia Regimental series has a volume on the reserves. Based on reports in the late winter of 64, they were reasonably well uniformed and equipped, armed with a 50/50 mix of Enfields and .69 Smoothbores. Their camp discipline and drill were lacking. Units was a mix of boys 16 – 18 and men over 45. Their LTC was an ex-COL of one of Henry Wise's Brigade, and their MAJ was the brother of the first VMI Sentinel, John B. Strange

Hi,
Thanks for the info.
I noticed that at Saylers Creek it mentions a number of 'Reserves'also 'Provisional Army' units,these seem to be about from the Wilderness onwards ?
And yes I would be very interested in the research that GuyG13 mentions.
Regards G

In Alabama the Reserve infantry units of 1863-5, tended to be referred to as battalions (4-5 companies) rather than regiments. Camps of conscription had a local cadre for local response made up of instructors and trainees.
City or county named reserves or home guard were us Ed to guard hospitals, supply dumps and patrol the roads. These were not expected to be deployed out of their local area.
Cavalry reserve units were the most active to responses to raids but never were more than a company, troop in size.

Info on 1st Regiment, NC Junior Reserves:

Regiment: 1st Infantry Battalion North Carolina
•Date of Organization: 25 May 1864
•Muster Date: 4 Jul 1864
•Regiment State: North Carolina
•Regiment Type: Infantry
•Regiment Number: 1st
•Number of Companies in Infantry: 10

1st Regiment Junior Reserves was formed in July, 1864, at Weldon, North Carolina, by consolidating the 1st and 6th Junior Reserves Battalions which had just been organized. It contained men between the ages of fifteen and eighteen, and were drawn from the counties of Warren, Franklin, Nash, Granville, Wake, Randolph, Chatham, Martin, Northampton, and Chowan. Assigned to the Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia, the unit skirmished in the Roanoke River and Kinston areas. Later it served in L.S. Baker's Brigade, saw action at Bentonville, and surrendered with the Army of Tennessee. The field officers were Colonel Frank S. Armistead, Lieutenant Colonel Charles W. Broadfoot, and Major Walter M. Clark

The link below will take you to a page which, at the bottom,
includes a listing of all 'miscellaneous' troops, including
Junior and Senior Reserves, 'homeguard' units, militia and
'detailed men'. All of these served in North Carolina at
some point, many of them late-war.

link

Grognard- guyg13 AT gmail DOT com I will send you what I have.

The Confederate Conscription law was updated in early 1864 to allow the formation of Reserve Units by the states of under and older age men