1st Regiment, South Carolina Infantry (McCreary's) (1st Provisional Army)

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      1st Regiment, South Carolina Infantry (McCreary's) (1st Provisional Army)

Brief History
"1st South Carolina Regiment is also known as The 1st Provisional Army, Gregg's Regiment and McGowan's Regiment. "Col. Gregg was technically over a brigade, and after his death, command of the brigade went to Gen. McGowan. Command of this regiment was for a time under Col. Cormillus McCreary, hence the names". (From SC 1st Infantry Regiment (Gregg's),Internet site)

1st Infantry Regiment, Provisional Army completed its organization at Richmond, Virginia, in August, 1861. Most of the officers and men had served in the 1st South Carolina Volunteers, a six-month command, which was mustered out of service in late July. The men were from Charleston and Columbia, and the counties of Darlington, Marrion, Horry, Edgefield (now Aiken), and Florence. On April 9, 1865, it surrendered. (Ibid)

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. In 1862 there was a reorganization of many military units which affected these companies.

Two Internet sites list different company names and some different counties of origin.

South Carolina's Service in the War Between the States- "Gregg's (McCreary's) First South Carolina Regiment:


 * Company A (also known as Gregg's Guards) -  Barnwell County
 * Company B (also known as Rhett's Guards) -  Newberry County
 * Company C (also known as Richland Guard or Richland Rifles) -  Comumbia County
 * Company D (also known as Pee Dee Rifles), (also known as Abbeville Volunteers) -  Darlington County
 * Company E (also known as Marion Volunteers) - Marion County
 * Company F (also known as Horry Rebels) -  Conwayboro County
 * Company G (also known as Butler Sentinels) -  Edgefield County
 * Company H - Statewide
 * Company I (alsos known as Richardson Guards) - Charleston County
 * Company K (also known as Irish Volunteers) - Charleston County
 * Company L (also known as Carolina Light Infantry) - Charleston County
 * William H. Campbell's Company - Greenville County

The War for Southern Independence In South Carolina - SC 1st Infantry Regiment (Gregg's):


 * Company A - Richland Rifles - Roster
 * Company B - Darlington Guards - Roster
 * Company C - Edgefield Rifles -Roster
 * Company D - Abbeville Volunteers -Roster
 * Company E - Union Volunteers - (after the reorganization) Roster
 * Company F - Wee Nee Volunteers - Williamsburg County
 * Company F - Horry Rebels - Roster
 * Company G - (before the reorganization) Roster (see Aiken County Source listed below)
 * Company H - Cherokee Ponds Guards (First Company Roster)
 * Company H - Cherokee Pond Volunteers - Roster
 * Company I - Monticello Guards - Roster
 * Company K - Marion Volunteers - Roster
 * Company L - Rhett Guards - Newberry County - Roster
 * William H. Campbell's Company - Roster

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).
 * SC 1st Infantry Regiment (Gregg's)from The War for Southern Independence in South Carolina. Eastern Digital Resources, accessed 11/15/2010. Lists Company Rosters and a brief Regiment History.
 * Gregg's (McCreary's) First South Carolina Regiment from South Carolina's Service in the War Between the States; Internet site, accessed 11/29/2010. This website also lists officers of the regiment and companies; and battles the regiment was involved in.
 * 1st Regiment South Carolina Volunteer Infantry (Gregg's). Internet site, accessed 11/29/2010. States the following: "The original 1st Regiment South Carolina Volunteer Infantry unit mustered in at Columbia, South Carolina, as part of the army of the sovereign state of South Carolina. They were sent to Charleston, and were part of the forces that bombarded Fort Sumter. After formation of the Confederate States of America, they were transferred to Virginia, the first regiment from outside of Virginia to do so. They became part of the Provisional Army of the Confederate States as Maxcy Gregg's Brigade of the Army of Northern Virginia. The regiment was made up of 11 companies, one too many, so Company D was converted to an artillery unit known as McIntosh's Battery, or the Pee Dee Light Artillery. The Pee Dee Artillery supported the Gregg's brigade for much of its service."
 * "History of Mcintosh's Battery-The PeeDee Light Artillery". Internet site, accessed 11/29/2010. This site gives a history of Company D.
 * "Thundering Glory: A History of the Pee Dee Rifles/Pee Dee Light Artillery". Pee Dee Rifles Camp #1419, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Internet site, accessed 11/30/2010. This site gives a history of the Pee Dee Light Artillery.
 * 1st South carolina Infantry Regiment (Provisional Army) Descendants Association. Internet site, accessed 11/29/2010. This site gives a very brief history of this regiment and links.  One can also connect to other descendants of this regiment.
 * Caldwell, James F. J. The history of a brigade of South Carolinians, known first as Gregg's brigade and subsequently as McGowan's brigade. Microfiche of original published: Philadelphia : King &amp; Baird, Printers, 1866. 247 p., Bethesda, Maryland : University Publications of America, c1990. Google Books,, . The regiments which composed Gregg's Brigade of South Carolina Infantry, as it was commonly known, and which always composed McGowan's Brigade, were the following: the First South Carolina Volunteers, the Twelfth South Carolina Volunteers, the Thirteenth South Carolina Volunteers, the Fourteenth South Carolina Volunteers, and Orr's regiment of rifles, also from South Carolina.
 * 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 12 Companies (A-I, K-L) listed.
 * Vandervelde, Isabel. Aiken County. Spartanburg, South Carolina : Reprint Co., c1999., book 975.775 F2v, pp. 323-24. This county history lists some information about Company G, also known as Cherokee Ponds Guards. The Cherokee Pond Guards were from the Little Horse Creek area in Aiken County.
 * Salley, Alexander Samuel. South Carolina Troops in Confederate Service, Vol 1 (The State Co., Columbia, SC 1913), 783 pages. Volume 1 covers the 3 regiments known as the First Infantry Regiment (Butler's, Gregg's, Hagood's). It includes brief regimental histories, rosters of the various companies, and compiled service records of the members. A total of 4,542 men are detailed. Digital Copy at Google.com