Charleston County, South Carolina in the Civil War

United States South Carolina  Charleston County  Military Records  Civil War

Civil War
Online Records
 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1861-1865 U.S., Confederate Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)
 * 1861-1865 U.S., Union Soldiers Compiled Service Records, 1861-1865 at Ancestry — index (free)

Regiments. Civil War service men from Charleston County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies and regiments that were specifically formed of men from Charleston County.


 * - 1st Battalion, South Carolina Infantry (Charleston) (Gaillard's)
 * - Company A - (also known as the Charleston Riflemen)
 * - Company B - (also known as the Palmetto Guard or the Charleston Light Infantry)
 * - Company C - (also known as the Irish Volunteers)
 * - Company D - (also known as Sumter Guards)
 * - Company E - (also known as the Calhoun Guards)
 * - Company F - (also known as the German Fusiliers and Union Light Infantry Volunteers)
 * - Company G - (also known as the Charleston Light Infantry)


 * - 1st Battalion, South Carolina Sharpshooters
 * - Company A (also known the Union Light Infantry and German Fusiliers)
 * - Company B (also known as the Sumter Guards)
 * - Company C (also known as the Charleston Sharpshooters and Palmetto Guards)


 * - 1st Regiment, South Carolina Artillery
 * - Company A - (also known as Calhoun's Battery; Sumter Light Artillery, Sumter Battery, Preston's Battery, Blake's Battery and other name variations of these


 * - 1st Regiment, South Carolina Infantry (Butler's) (1st Regulars)
 * - Company A - (also called Company B and Beauregard Artillery)


 * - 1st Regiment, South Carolina Infantry (McCreary's) (1st Provisional Army)
 * - Company H - (also known as Haskell's Rifle Corps)
 * - Company I - (also known as Richardson Guards and Carolina Light Infantry)
 * - Company K - (also known as Irish Volunteers)
 * - Company L - ((also known as Carolina Light Infantry)


 * - 1st Battalion, South Carolina Infantry (Charleston) (Gaillard's)
 * - Company A (also known as the Charleston Riflemen)
 * - Company B (also known as the Palmetto Guard or the Charleston Light Infantry)
 * - Company C (also known as the Irish Volunteers)
 * - Company D (also known as Sumter Guards)
 * - Company E (also known as the Calhoun Guards)
 * - Company F (also known as the German Fusiliers and Union Light Infantry Volunteers)


 * - 1st Regiment, Charleston Guard, South Carolina


 * - 1st Regiment, South Carolina Artillery (Militia)
 * - Company A
 * - Company B
 * - Company C


 * - 1st Regiment, South Carolina Rifles (Militia) (Branch's), Charleston Zouave Cadets


 * - 1st Regiment, South Carolina Militia (Charleston Reserves)


 * - 1st Regiment, South Carolina Mounted Militia
 * - Christopher's Company (also known as Parish Mounted Rangers)
 * - G. C. Heyward's Company (also known as Charleston Mounted Guard)
 * - Jefford's Company (also known as South Carolina Rangers)
 * - Simon's Company (also known as Etiwan Rangers)


 * - 2nd Battalion, South Carolina Reserves
 * - Company C (also known as the Spartan Rangers, the Spartanburg Rangers and the Spartan Rangers Independent Cavalry Reserves)


 * - 2nd Regiment, South Carolina Cavalry
 * - Company A (also known as the Boykin Mounted Rangers and Hampton Scouts)
 * - Company B (also known as Beaufort Detachment, Hampton Legion, Beaufort District Troop, Beaufort Dragoons)
 * - Company D (also known as McKewn's Cavalry, Wassamassaw Cavalry, and the Wassa Massaw Rangers)
 * - Company G (also known as Bonham's Light Dragoons and Lipscomb's Troop)


 * - 2nd Regiment, South Carolina Artillery
 * - Company D


 * - 2nd Battalion, South Carolina Cavalry Reserves
 * - Ashley Dragoons or Ashley Rangers (also known as Captain Colcock's Company, South Carolina Cavalry)


 * - 2nd Regiment, South Carolina Cavalry
 * - Company D (also known as McKewn's Cavalry, Wassamassaw Cavalry)


 * - 3rd Battalion, South Carolina Cavalry
 * - Company D (also known as the Wassamassaw Cavalry or Wassa Massaw Rangers)


 * - 3rd Battalion, South Carolina Light Artillery (Palmetto Battalion)
 * - Company D (also known as the Wagner Light Artillery and Captain C.E. Kanapaux's Company and Kanapaux's Light Artillery)
 * - Company F (also known as the Yeadon Light Artillery)
 * - Company G (also known as the DeSaussure Light Artillery and the DePass Light Battery)
 * - Company K (also known as Richardson's Company)


 * - 3rd Regiment, South Carolina Cavalry
 * - Company G (also known as the German Hussars)
 * - Company H (also known as the Ashley Dragoons or Rangers)
 * - Company I (also known as the Rebel Troops)


 * - 4th Regiment, South Carolina Cavalry (Rutledge's)
 * - Company D
 * - Company K


 * - 5th Regiment, South Carolina Cavalry (Ferguson's)
 * - Company B
 * - Company D
 * - Company E
 * - Company G


 * - 5th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry
 * - Company A


 * -6th Battalion, South Carolina Infantry (Byrd's)
 * - Company B


 * - 6th Regiment, South Carolina Cavalry (Aiken's Partisan Rangers) (1st Partisan Rangers)
 * - Company H


 * - 7th Regiment, South Carolina Cavalry ,
 * - Company A
 * - Company G
 * - Company H


 * - 8th Battalion, South Carolina Reserves (Stalling's)
 * - Company A


 * - 10th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry
 * - Company G
 * - Company K


 * - 11th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry (9th Volunteers)
 * - Company C


 * - 12th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry,
 * - Company D
 * - 16th Regiment, South Carolina Militia


 * -23rd Regiment, South Carolina Infantry (Hatch's Coast Rangers)
 * - Company A
 * - Company B
 * - Company C
 * - Company D


 * - 24th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry
 * - Company A


 * - 25th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry (Eutaw Regiment)
 * - Company A
 * - Company B
 * - Company E
 * - Company H


 * - Charleston Arsenal Battalion, South Carolina Local Defense Troops


 * - Charbonnier's Company, South Carolina Militia (Pickens Rifles)


 * - Dotterer's Company South Carolina Ordinance Guards


 * - A. H. Durpe Company (also known as Coast Guards)


 * - Estill's Company, South Carolina Infantry Local Defense (Arsenal )

Other Resources
 * Harris, W.A. The Record of Fort Sumter, from Its Occupation by Major Anderson, To Its Reduction by South Carolina Troops During the Administration of Governor Pickens. Columbia, S.C.: South Carolinian Steam Job Printing Office, 1862. Digital version at Google Books.
 * "Our Women in the War," The Lives They Lived; the Deaths They Died, from The Weekly News and Courier, Charleston, S.C. Charleston, S.C.: The News and Courier Book Presses, 1885. Digital version at Google Books.
 * Manigault, Edward. Siege Train : The Journal of a Confederate Artilleryman in the Defense of Charleston (Columbia, S.C. : Published for the Charleston Library Society by the University of South Carolina Press, ©1986), 364 pages. Book at WorldCat.
 * Wilcox, Arthur M and Warren Ripley.The Civil War at Charleston (Charleston, S.C. : News and Courier : Evening Post, [1980] ©1966), 84 pages. Originally published between 1960 and 1965 in the News and courier and Evening post. "A Post-Courier booklet." Book at WorldCat.
 * Porter, Anthony Toomer.  Led On!: step by step: scenes from clerical, military, educational, and plantation life in the South, 1828-1898: an autobiography ( Charleston, S.C.: Home House Press, ©2010), 462 pages. Autobiography of Anthony Toomer Porter... He was an Episcopal minister in Charleston, South Carolina before, during and after the Civil War...he collected funds and opened a school for colored children, which became the Porter Academy. He also influenced the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina to allow the admission of colored parishes. Digital copies at  and Google Books. Book found at other libraries.
 * South Carolina. Confederate Pension Board. Confederate Veterans and Widows Applications For Pensions, 1916-1959. ( Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1959). Microfilm copy at

Civil War Battles
At least 9 battles were fought in Charleston County, especially in Charleston Harbor. For more information, see Battles in South Carolina.

The following Civil War Battles were fought in Charleston County:


 * April 7, 1863 = Charleston Harbor I also known as Fort Sumter


 * April 12-14, 1861 = Fort Sumter I


 * June 16, 1862 = Secessionville also known as Ft. Lamar, James Island


 * June 21, 1862 = Simmon’s Bluff


 * July 10-11, 1863 = Fort Wagner I also known as First Assault, Morris Island


 * July 16, 1863 = Grimball’s Landing also known as Secessionville, James Island


 * July 18-September 7, 1863 = Fort Wagner II also known as Second Assault, Morris Island


 * August 17-December 31 1863 = Fort Sumter II also known as Charleston Harbor, Morris Island


 * September 7-8, 1863 = Charleston Harbor II also known as Battery Gregg, Fort Wagner, Morris Island, Fort Sumter

Map showing Civil War battles in South Carolina