South Carolina's Military Organizations During the War Between the States:: The Lowcountry & Pee Dee (Civil War Series)

SOUTH CAROLINA'S MILITARY ORGANIZATION DURING THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES-4 VOLUMES: UPSTATE, THE MIDLANDS, THE LOW COUNTRY & PEE DEE, AND STATEWIDE UNITS, MILITIA, AND RESERVES ROBERT S. SEIGLER THE HISTORY PRESS, 2008 QUALITY SOFTCOVER, $34.99, 1,641 PAGES, APPENDICES, CHARTS, NOTES, BIBLIOGRAPHY, INDEX The dedication of the South Carolina soldier who fought for the Confederacy is part of the historical record. One military historian has calculated that South Carolina furnished for the war effort 36 regiments of history, 7 battalions of infantry, 7 cavalry regiments, 1 cavalry squadron, 1 cavalry battalion, , 2 artillery regiments, 3 artillery battalions, and 27 independent artillery batteries. This list doesn't include statewide Militia, Reserves, and Infantry companies, battalions, and regiments with unknown affiliations, Cavalry organizations with unknown regimental and battalion affiliations, and Artillery organizations with unknown regimental or battalion affiliations. South Carolina actually furnished for the service more than her "military population" of 55,046. Casualties are hard to figure; most numbers are only estimates, but a conservative estimate is that she lost 23,000 or almost 1/4 of her entire male population. If this figure holds up, the price paid in the quest for South Carolina's independence was staggering. This 4-volume work presents a history of South Carolina's military organizations in The War Between The States. Within each volume, the order of presentation is infantry, cavalry, and artillery in numeric order. The order generally follows that of the Compiled Service Records, but, for the sake of clarity, there are exceptions. In numeric order, regiments are listed first followed by battalions, squadrons, and finally, independent companies. The presentation of each regiment and battalion follows the same pattern. First, it gives a history of the organization of each unit followed by a brief wartime biography of each field officer (colonels, lieutenant colonels, and majors). Next, it presents a synopsis of the origins and commanding officers (captains) of each company. Finally, it summarizes the brigade affiliation and the major movements and engagements of each regiment or battalion. This set of books are very detailed and meticulously researched. The writing is easy to understand and the books are organized so it isn't hard to locate any unit from South Carolina that participated in America's bloodiest conflict. This set of books should be on any serious student's personal library of that conflict. This book review covers the four volumes. Lt. Colonel Robert A. Lynn, Florida Guard Orlando, Florida

Very detailed, set of four.