Infantry Regiment, Thomas' North Carolina Legion

Brief History
Organized with a mixture of white and Cherokee companies at Knoxville, Tennessee, on September 27, 1862. Indian companies detached in September 1863, reducing the regiment to eight companies; Reorganized January 1863; Surrendered by detachments in East Tennessee and western North Carolina in May 1865.

"Units of the Confederate States Army" by Joseph H. Crute, Jr. contains no history for this unit.

Companies in this Regiment with the Counties of Origin
Men often enlisted in a company recruited in the counties where they lived though not always. After many battles, companies might be combined because so many men were killed or wounded. However if you are unsure which company your ancestor was in, try the company recruited in his county first.

1st Company A - many men from Jackson County.

2nd Company A - many men from Jackson County (composed primarily of Cherokee Indians).

Company B - many men from Jackson County and Cherokee County (composed primarily of Cherokee Indians)

Company C - many men from Haywood County.

Company D - raised in Tennessee, many men from Jefferson County, Knox County, Grainger County, and Union County, Tennessee.

Company E - many men from Haywood County.

Company F - many men from Jackson County

Company G - many men from Jackson County

Company H - many men from Cherokee County

Company I - many men from Cherokee County, North Carolina and Sevier County, Tennessee

Company K - many men from Anderson County, Roane County, Morgan County, and Knox County, Tennessee.

Information about the companies and their rosters are in Manarin and Jordan, North Carolina Troops 1861-1865 A Roster.

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database lists 1,770 men on its roster for this unit. Roster.

Other Sources

 * Beginning United States Civil War Research gives steps for finding information about a Civil War soldier. It covers the major records that should be used. Additional records are described in ‘North Carolina in the Civil War’ and ‘United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865’ (see below).


 * National Park Service, The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, is searchable by soldier's name and state. It contains basic facts about soldiers on both sides of the Civil War, a list of regiments, descriptions of significant battles, sources of the information, and suggestions for where to find additional information.


 * North Carolina in the Civil War describes many sources, specifically for North Carolina, and how to find them. These include compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.


 * United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865 describes and explains United States and Confederate States records, rather than state records, and how to find them. These include veterans’ censuses, compiled service records, pension records, rosters, cemetery records, Internet databases, published books, etc.


 * Crow, Vernon H. Storm in the mountains : Thomas' Confederate Legion of Cherokee Indians and mountaineers. (Cherokee, North Carolina : Press of the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, c1982),.