This regiment was organized at Camp Mangum on September 26, 1861, by the election of:

Francis M. Parker, Colonel, of Halifax County.
Walter F. Draughan, Lieutenant Colonel, of Cumberland County.
James T. Kell, Major, of Mecklenburg County.

The Staff were as follows:

Buckner D. Williams, Acting Quartermaster, of Warren County.
John Collins, Assistant Commissary of Subsistence, of Warren County.
Henry Joyner, Surgeon, of Halifax County.
Charles G. Gregory, Assistant Surgeon, of Halifax County.
Rev. Alexander D. Betts, Chaplain, of Harnett County.
Robert M. Carter, Adjutant, of Davidson County.

The Captains during the war were
:
Company A—From Sampson County; Franklin J. Faison, James C. Holmes, Gary F. Williams. Enlisted men, 140.
Company B—From Warren County; William C. Drake, Weldon E. Davis. Enlisted men, 120.
Company C—From Brunswick County; Joseph Green, David C. Allen. Enlisted men, 143.
Company D—From Wake and Granville Counties; Eugene Grissom, Charles N. Allen. Enlisted men, 139.
Company E—From Duplin County; John C. McMillan. Enlisted men, 75.
Company F—From Edgecombe County; Franklin G. Pitt, William M. B. Moore, Samuel R. Moore. Enlisted men, 140.
Company G—From Granville County; Richard P. Taylor, James A. Barnett, James W. Badgett. Enlisted men, 128.
Company H—From Moore County; William M. Swann, Jesse J. Wicker. Enlisted men, 146.
Company I—From Nash County; William T. Arrington, James J. Harris. Enlisted men, 167.
Company K—From Mecklenburg County; James T. Kell, Benjamin F. Morrow, John G. Witherspoon, William E. Ardrey. Enlisted men, 144.

The above numbers are the total enlisted during the war as appears by Moore's Roster, though that cannot be deemed entirely accurate.

The First Lieutenants were:

Company A—Robert A. Moseley, William W. Sillers, Lallister M. White.
Company B—Weldon E. Davis, John M. Brame, John H. Nicholson, Buckner D. Williams.
Company C—David C. Allen, Ephraim J. Greer, Solomon W. Bennett.
Company D—Solomon J. Allen, Charles N. Allen, Sidney S. Abernathy.
Company E—Cornelius Johnson, Ira J. Johnson.
Company F—William M. B. Moore, George K. Harrell.
Company G—Rush J. Mitchell, James W. Badgett.
Company H—Archibald A. McIntosh, Henry J. McNeill.
Company I—Elias Bunn, James J. Harris, Burton B. Williford, Kearney W. Arrington.
Company K—Benjamin F. Morrow, Charles E. Bell, Nathan D. Orr, William E. Ardrey.

The Second and Third Lieutenants were:

Company A—George W. Marsh, Cornelius Patrick, Charles T. Stevens, Lallister M. White.
Company B—Weldon E. Davis, John M. Brame, John H. Nicholson, James J. Laughlin, James S. Foote.
Company C—Samuel P. Tharp, Lorenzo D. Cain, James H. Doshier, Solomon W. Bennett, John R. Swain, Jr., Edward R. Ruark.
Company D—Sidney S. Abernathy, Allen Bailey, Charles N. Allen, Charles M. Rogers, William J. Gill, James E. Ferrell, Martin L. V. Rogers.
Company E—William J. Boney, Daniel Teachey, Jr., Ira J. Johnson, Daniel T. McMillan, Jacob O. Carr, John W. Ellis, Samuel B. Newton.
Company F—James W. Pitt, Charles Vines, Lorenzo D. Eagles, Samuel R. Moore, James W.J. House.
Company G—James A. Barnett, William A. Brooks, Robert F. Cliborne, Alexander Crews, Ira T. Connell, John T. Fulford.
Company H—Daniel W. McIntosh, Francis M. Moore, Jesse J. Wicker, Louis H. McLeod, Archibald A. Jackson, Alexander H. Brown.
Company I—James J. Harris, Coleman W. W. Woodward, Thomas B. Tisdale, Jr., Burton B. Williford, Kearney W. Arrington, Sidney R. Perry.
Company K—James T. Downs, Charles E. Bell, John G. Witherspoon, William E. Ardery, John T. Downs, Nathan D. Orr.

After the organization the regiment was ordered to Fort Johnston, District of the Cape Fear, commanded by Brig. Gen. Joseph R. Anderson (VA). The time at this camp was occupied in drilling and instructing the men in the duties of the soldier. After a few weeks the 30th NC Regiment was ordered to occupy Camp Wyatt, near Fort Fisher. Remaining in this camp the entire winter, the 30th NC Regiment was ordered to Wilmington to be forwarded to reinforce the troops at New Bern, but that place having fallen, the 30th NC Regiment was held at Wilmington, and occupied different camps in the vicinity

Brig. Gen. Samuel G. French (MS), having succeeded Brig. Gen. Anderson, ordered the 30th NC Regiment to Onslow and Jones counties, with instructions to check the raids and depredations of Federal Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside's cavalry, then occupying New Bern. The force detailed for this work was the 30th NC Regiment, Capt. A. D. Moore's battery of light artillery, the Scotland Neck Mounted Rifles, Capt. A. B. Hill and Capt. Newkirk's companies of cavalry, the whole under command of the Colonel of the 30th NC Regiment. The two companies of cavalry had preceded the other troops, and were picketing within a few miles of New Bern, at Maj. Gen. Burnside's headquarters. This movement was of benefit to our people in that section by keeping the enemy confined to a narrow limit.

While in Onslow County, on May 1, 1862, by Act of the CSA Congress, the 30th NC Regiment, with all other troops, was re-organized. This brought many changes to the regiment. Maj. James T. Kell was elected Lieutenant Colonel in place of Walter F. Draughan. First Lieutenant William W. Sillers was elected Major. The 30th NC Regiment lost a worthy officer in the person of Lt. Col. Draughan.

Soon after the re-organization the 30th NC Regiment was ordered back to Wilmington, and from thence to Richmond, VA.

The 30th NC Regiment was actively engaged in the battle of Seven Pines on May 31, 1862. While the loss in numbers was not great, yet the disabling, for the balance of the war of Eugene Grissom, Captain of Company D, was a serious loss to the regiment. Captain Grissom was an officer of superior ability.

Soon after this, the troops were brigaded by States. The 2nd, 4th, 14th, and 30th NC Regiments constituted a brigade, commanded by Brig. Gen. George B. Anderson, of North Carolina, and was placed in the division of Maj. Gen. Daniel H. Hill, also of North Carolina—truly a North Carolina command and they never forgot it.

Brig. Gen. Anderson's brigade was actively engaged in the Seven Days' Battles around Richmond, from Mechanicsville to Malvern Hill. This battle was badly managed; the troops were sent in by detail of brigades. When Brig. Gen. Anderson's brigade had driven the Yankee infantry from their front, on which a battery of twenty-one (21) guns was playing, Sergeant Major Archie F. Lawhon, of the 30th NC Regiment, informed his Colonel that his own and a part of the 14th NC Regiment, were the only troops engaged in that charge. The Sergeant Major was directed to proceed down the line and ascertain this fact fully and report. Soon he returned and verified his first statement.

Thereupon the 30th NC Regiment was withdrawn in good order to avoid the murderous fire of the battery alluded to, and not more than 300 yards from our position. We remained on the same ground where we had formed for the charge. On this field the lamented William T. Arrington, Captain of Company I, was killed. The loss of the regiment was severe.

It is seldom that a cooler piece of impudence is witnessed than was on this charge. Corporal Pipkin, of Company A, the color company, a most excellent soldier, while advancing at charge bayonets, with his right hand, scooped up a pair of new cavalry boots, which were tied together, threw them across his left arm, without taking his eye from the point of his bayonet, or without breaking his alignment. Gallant fellow, he neither brought out his boots or his life. He fell before advancing ten (10) paces farther.

At the battle of Gaines's Mill, Lt. Col. James T. Kell was disabled by wounds from a fragment of shell to such an extent as to render him unfit for active duty for the rest of the war, thus losing the services of a gallant, meritorious officer. Adjutant R.M. Carter having resigned, Frederick Phillips, of Edgecombe County, was appointed Adjutant, and commissioned on July 5, 1862. Dr. Francis M. Garrett, of Edgecombe County, was commissioned Surgeon of the 30th NC Regiment, on August 23, 1862, in place of Surgeon Henry Joyner, resigned.

After remaining in camp near Richmond, Maj. Gen. Daniel H. Hill's (NC) division marched to join the army in Northern Virginia, and reached the field of Second Manassas the day after that battle had been won.

With the Army of Northern Virginia, we crossed into Maryland. At the battle of Boonsboro Gap (aka South Mountain) on September 14, 1862, the division did the hardest service of any one day of the war. Maj. Gen. Hill's small division kept at bay the entire army of Federal Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan until nightfall, when we moved in the direction of Sharpsburg.

Brig. Gen. George B. Anderson's (NC) Brigade occupied different positions on the field of Sharpsburg, on September 15 and 16, 1862. On the night of the 16th, we occupied the historic "bloody lane," and held it during the battle of September 17th, until driven by a direct and cross fire from either flank. The terrible slaughter of the enemy in our immediate front, as witnessed by our own men, who were taken prisoners when we changed front, tells of the good work done by our brigade. The 30th NC Regiment held the right of the brigade, and was much exposed by reason of our position on the crest of the hill.

While the firing was very hot, Courier Baggarly, from brigade headquarters, reported to me that Brig. Gen. Anderson was wounded and had left the field; that he was unable to find Col. Charles C. Tew, of the 2nd NC Regiment, the Senior Colonel of the brigade, and that he made this report to me, being next in command. I then instructed my Adjutant, Lieutenant Frederick Phillips, to proceed cautiously down the line, observe what was going on, and if possible, to find Col. Tew, and carry to him Baggarly's report.

Lt. Philips undertook this perilous duty, receiving several shots through his clothing, came in hailing distance of Col. Tew and reported to that officer. And to be sure that his message was understood, asked Col. Tew to give him some intimation that he was heard. Col. Tew, who was standing erect, lifted his hat and made Lt. Philips a polite bow, and fell immediately from a wound in the head.

While Lt. Philips was returning, he received a severe wound on the head, which caused him to leave the field, much to the loss of the command. I at once attempted to go to the left of the brigade, and had not proceeded ten (10) paces, when I was struck by a minie ball on the head and was taken from the field. In a recent correspondence with an officer of the 64th New York Regiment, he says "I remember very well what a warm reception you gave us, when you left the Bloody Lane, and we moved in."

I have never witnessed more deliberate nor more destructive firing. I cautioned my men to hold their fire until I should give the command, and then to take deliberate, cool aim; that I would not give the command to fire until I could see the belt of the cartridge boxes of the enemy, and to aim at these. They obeyed my orders, gave a fine volley, which brought down the enemy as grain falls before a reaper.

It was from a wound received on this field, that North Carolina suffered a great loss in the death of Brig. Gen. George B. Anderson. The State gave no finer soldier to our cause.

Before the campaign of 1863 opened Stephen Dodson Ramseur, Colonel of the 49th NC Regiment, was promoted to Brigadier General [November 1, 1862], and assigned to the brigade of the lamented Brig. Gen. George B. Anderson.

Though the skirmishers of the 30th NC Regiment were actively engaged at Fredericksburg and the regiment itself was under a heavy shelling, Chancellorsville was the next field upon which the prowess of the regiment was shown. The two days preceding the battle of May 3, 1863, Brig. Gen. Stephen D. Ramseur's (NC) Brigade was very actively engaged in heavy skirmishing. The movements, where the ground would allow it, were made by regular brigade drill.

The brigade was in the famous flank movement of Lt. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson (VA), striking Maj. Gen. Oliver O.Howard's Corps of Dutchmen in reverse, and enjoyed the sight of their tumbling over their works running for dear life and repeating that ominous word "Shackson! Shackson!"

While in line of battle on the early morning of May 3, 1863, Brig. Gen. Ramseur rode up to the Colonel of the 30th NC Regiment and instructed him to take his regiment to the support of Maj. Pegram's battery, which was then threatened, and with orders to remain with the battery as long as there seemed to be any danger; then to rejoin the brigade, or act upon his own responsibility, at the same time furnishing him with a courier.

After remaining in support of Maj. Pegram until that officer thought the danger had passed, the 30th NC Regiment was moved in the direction of heavy firing, suppposed to be Brig. Gen. Ramseur's. Proceeding about half a mile the regiment received the fire of the enemy from behind breastworks constructed of heavy timber, which we charged and captured Moving in the same direction, we struck another force of the enemy, which was attacking Brig. Gen. Ramseur's flank. These we drove from the field, capturing many prisoners, thus relieving our comrades who had distinguished themselves so gallantly on that part of the field. In this advance the 30th NC Regiment reached a point very near Federal Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker's headquarters.

Being so far in advance of our troops. Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart (VA), who then commanded the Second Corps, opened two (2) pieces on us, which made it very uncomfortable until Captain Randolph, of Maj. Gen. Stuart's staff, rode near enough to our position to distinguish us and so reported to his chief. We were glad to rejoin our brigade. They, as well as the 30th NC Regiment, had suffered terribly in killed and wounded.

Among the many promotions which Chancellorsville gave, not one was more worthily bestowed than that which fell upon Brig. Gen. Robert E. Rodes (AL). By request of Lt. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, Rodes' commission as Major General, was dated from the field upon which he had won it. He was assigned to take over Maj. Gen. Daniel H. Hill's (NC) division.

We cannot part with our old division commander, Maj. Gen. Daniel H. Hill, without, indorsing his high standing as a soldier and a Christian gentleman. He had endeared himself to his command very warmly. [Daniel H. Hill was promoted to Lt. General on July 11, 1863].

The advance of the Army of Northern Virginia into Pennsylvania was made not long after the battle of Chancellorsville. Brig. Gen. Stephen D. Ramseur's (NC) Brigade occupied Carlisle barracks. In moving to the field of Gettysburg we constituted the rear guard of Maj. Gen. Robert E. Rodes' (AL) division train, which threw us on that field in the afternoon of the first day. Our position was on the left of Maj. Gen. Rodes' line. We found the enemy behind stone walls, from which we drove them into and beyond the town of Gettysburg. The fighting was of a desperate character, and our losses were heavy. On the second and third days Brig. Gen. Ramseur's Brigade was not seriously engaged and recrossed the Potomac River with the army.

[Website Author notes that several officers of the 30th NC Regiment were killed on July 3rd, so the statement that they were not seriously engaged is somewhat incorrect.]

During the winter of 1863-64 the following changes in the staff of the 30th NC Regiment were made: Adjutant Frederick Philips, who had received a disabling wound at 2nd Kellysville (aka 2nd Kelly's Ford) in November of 1863, was appointed Captain and assigned to duty in the spring of 1864 as Assistant Quartermaster (AQM) in place of AQM Buckner D. Williams, who was promoted to Brigade QM. The regiment thus lost an excellent Adjutant, but duplicated a No. 1 Assistant Quartermaster. P. W Arrington, of Northampton County, was appointed Adjutant in place of Frederick Phillips, promoted.

No regiment was more fortunate in the efficiency of its staff than was the 30th NC Regiment.

The Winter was spent on the Rapidan River, the line of the two opposing armies.

On May 4, 1864, movements began which brought on the battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and others. In all of these, the 30th NC Regiment shared the fate of Brig. Gen. Stephen D. Ramseur's (NC) Brigade, which was hard marching and hard fighting. The charge of the brigade on May 12th, driving the Yankees from three (3) lines of works, is historic. The loss of the 30th NC Regiment in this charge was heavy, both in officers and men. The losses on May 10th, as also at Second Cold Harbor were serious. On May 19th, the Colonel of the regiment received a wound which disqualified him for active field service. The regiment was subsequently commanded by the Senior Captain present, generally by that fine soldier, Capt. David C. Allen, of Company C.

In the pursuit of the Federal Maj. Gen. David Hunter down the Valley of the Shenandoah, Capt. Allen being absent from indisposition, the 30th NC Regiment was ably commanded by Captain F. M. Fitts, who had been recently promoted on account of gallant conduct on the field. No braver nor more dashing an officer ever led men than was Capt. Fitts.

An irreparable loss to the regiment should have been noticed sooner. In an engagement at 2nd Kellysville (aka 2nd Kelly's Ford) on November 7, 1863, the regiment was commanded by Lt. Col. William W. Sillers, who acted with his wonted coolness and courage, but being outnumbered and exposed to a plunging fire of artillery from the high banks of the Rappahannock River, the regiment was badly cut to pieces. On this field Lt. Col. Sillers offered his young life on the altar of his country. As gentle as a lovely woman, as brave as the bravest, his loss was a sad one to his State, to the army, and particularly to his own regiment. He commanded the respect and love of the entire command.

During the campaign of 1864, Brig. Gen. Stephen D. Ramseur (NC) was promoted to Major General [June 1, 1864]. His old brigade was, after that, commanded by that accomplished, chivalrous soldier, Brig. Gen. William Ruffin Cox, formerly Colonel of the 2nd NC Regiment. Brig. Gen. Coox's Brigade constituted a part of Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early's (VA) command in the Shenandoah Valley, and in the movement on Washington, DC. In this campaign the loss of the 30th NC Regiment was very heavy. Among the officers who were killed in battle was Capt. William M.B. Moore, of Company F. When Capt. Moore fell, there was not a more gallant soldier left in the Army of Northern Virginia.

The history of a brigade is generally the history of the regiments composing it. The reports of the general officers of the army bear evidence of the efficiency of Brig. Gen. Stephen D. Ramseur's (NC) Brigade. A prominent writer of our State, himself an accomplished gentleman and soldier, in writing of this brigade, speaks of it as the "Ironsides of the army." The lamented Brig. Gen. Ramseur in parting with his old Brigade to assume a higher command, appealed to his immediate superiors "to tell our countrymen how we did our duty "

Our Great Captain, the spotless General Robert E. Lee, emphasized this appreciation of our services on the last day at Appomattox. As Brig. Gen. William R. Cox's (NC) Brigade swept by him to the charge, with steady step and unbroken line, he voluntarily exclaimed: "God bless old North Carolina." This is glory enough for any body of troops.

ADDENDUM.

The 30th North Carolina was not actively engaged in the battle of Fredericksburg on the day of December 13, 1862. Maj. Gen. Daniel H. Hill's (NC) Division was guarding the Rappahannock River near Port Royal, some twenty-five (25) miles below Fredericksburg. It was moved by a forced march on the night of December 12th, so as be in position when the battle was joined. After occupying respectively, the third, second, and first lines, without an opportunity of drawing trigger, the brigade petitioned Lt. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson (VA) to be allowed to remain one (1) day longer on the first line. The request was granted, but Federal Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside had been so terribly beaten on December 13th that he recrossed the river at night. Our brigade furnished 100 sharpshooters which did fine work in the battle of December 13th. The brigade was ably commanded by that gallant soldier, Col. Bryan Grimes, of the 4th NC Regiment, later one of the distinguished, and justly so, Major Generals of the Army of Northern Virginia.

The 30th NC Regiment was commanded by Lt. Col. James T. Kell, an officer of gallantry and force, whose previous wounds caused this to be his last service during the war.

LETTER FROM CAPTAIN DAVID C. ALLEN:

Much has been written about what command fired the last gun at Appomattox.

In a recent letter Capt. David C. Allen, who was Senior Captain commanding the 30th NC Regiment for the last few months of the war, and who is as gallant a man as ever drew a blade, and who is entitled to the fullest credit for any statement he may make, writes: "I have seen several pieces in the papers about the last guns fired at the surrender.

"I remember that at Raleigh during the session of the Legislature right after the war, Governor Vance delivered his lecture 'All About It,' and stated that Grimes' Division fired the last gun. General Grimes was present, also General Cox. I was seated between them. General Cox contended that it was his Brigade that had the honor, and asked me to decide the matter, and go with him and tell Vance to correct it. I told Cox that it was our old Regiment and Company D from Wake that fired the last guns, and also explained the same to Vance. His reply was that it made no difference, as we all belonged to Grimes' Division. General Cox wrote a long article in a Northern paper claiming the honor for his brigade, sent me a copy and said it looked too small to give the credit to a regiment or a company, though the fact remains that under Cox's order to take my regiment and support a battery then firing. General Cox took the rest of the brigade from the field of action while I remained and fired on the enemy advancing in my front; they halted and lay down, and immediately another line advanced on my flank, when I changed front and fired another round, the enemy halting and laying down flat.

"Neither line returned my fire. Then I received orders to join my command. I think the Federals were informed of the surrender, or they would have wiped us from the earth.

"I heard the late D. K. MacRae in his lecture during the time he was gathering facts for President Davis' book, give our command the credit of the last fire."

Company D was from Wake and Granville counties. Always ready, always willing to do any duty, and they always did it well.