2nd Battalion, South Carolina Sharpshooters

United States   U.S. Military    South Carolina    South Carolina Military    South Carolina in the Civil War    South Carolina Civil War Confederate Units 1st through 4th      2nd Battalion, South Carolina Sharpshooters

Brief History
Field Officer: Major Benjamin Burgh Smith, Junior. Organized 22 June 1862; disbanded on 28 December 1862.

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

In the soldier service records located on Footnote.com it states that the 2nd Battalion South Carolina Sharp Shooters, Companies A to C appears to have been organized in the summer of 1862 of men transferred from various organizations. It was disbanded about December 28, 1862. The enlisted men were ordered to be returned to their former commands and the commissioned officers to report to the Commandant of Conscripts of South Carolina.

Information from Eastern Digital Resouces state the the 2nd Infantry Battalion Sharpshooters was originally Company B of the South Carolina 9th Infantry Regiment. Rivers Account of the Raising of the Troops for State and Confederate Service in South Carolina states that 300 men were originally enrolled. Most of the men in this battalion were from Beaufort and Colleton Counties.

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.


 * A Company
 * B Company
 * C Company
 * D Company

Source Material

 * 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. Family History Library book 973 M2crua,, WorldCat.
 * Footnote.com (A subscription website, but is available for use at the Family History Library and some Family History Centers). It has digital Civil War soldier service records and brief regiment histories (located at the bottom of some of the muster rolls).
 * Hewett, Janet B., ed. Supplement to the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Wilmington, North Carolina: Broadfoot Pub. Co., c1994-2001. . Lists officers, companies, some nicknames for the companies and dates involving the company and places where they were stationed. There are 3 Companies (A-C) listed.
 * Rivers, William J.. Rivers' account of the raising of troops in South Carolina for state and Confederate service, 1861-1865. Bethesda, Maryland : University Publications of America, c1990. FHL fiche 6082599 (1 fiche).