20th Battalion, South Carolina Volunteers

Brief History
The 20th Battalion, South Carolina Volunteers is not mentioned in Joseph H. Crute, Jr.'s book, "Units of the Confederate States Army". This regiment most likely transferred into another regiment or was combined with another regiment to create a new regiment, or is another name for an existing regiment. Looking at the service records of the soldiers may give clues to the different regiments they may have served in.

According to "South Carolina Reserve &amp; Miscellaneous Units" internet site (see Source Material below), the 20th Battalion, South Carolina Volunteers was involved with the following units: The 1st Battalion South Carolina Reserves was "organized in mid-1864 with seven companies and served as prison guards in Columbia and Charleston, South Carolina. The unit was moved to North Carolina where it was given leave and then joined active service as cavalry, serving as a detachment in Ferguson's Brigade, Wheeler's Cavalry. The battalion was consolidated with members of the 2nd, 6th, and 7th South Carolina Reserve Infantry Battalions, the 3rd South Carolina Infantry Battalion, plus the 2nd, 3rd, 7th, 8th, and 20th South Carolina Volunteers to form the following new units at Smithfield, North Carolina on 9 April 1865 – the 2nd, 3rd, and 7th South Carolina Volunteers Consolidated.

Units in this Battalion 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.

Buist's Battery: Captain Henry Buist; 6 November 1863

Other Sources

 * Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System can be searched by soldier's name or by regiment; includes regimental rosters and additional history of the regiment. This site uses Joseph H. Crute's book, Units of the Confederate States Army, as their main source for the regiment history. FS Library book 973 M2crua,, WorldCat.


 * "South Carolina Reserve and Miscellaneous Units in the War of the Rebellion". Internet site, accessed 12/16/2010. Lists some of the Troop and Reserve units, a few companies, officers and some dates of service.


 * Ford, Arthur P.; Ford, Marion J. and Confederate States of America. Army. South Carolina Artillery. Buist's Company. Life in the Confederate army : being personal experiences of a private soldier in the Confederate Army, (Bethesda, Maryland : University Publications of America, c1990). Includes a description of activities of Buist's Company in the South Carolina Artillery (Confederate) in some of their battles. Available online at Google Books, (accessed 16 Apr 2011). Also at the Family History Library,