North Carolina in the American Civil War - Maj. Lawson P. Erwin's Battalion




North Carolina in the American Civil War

Maj. Lawson P. Erwin's Battalion - Senior Reserves
Date Battalion Organized	Mustered In	Date Battalion Ended	Mustered Out	Comments
July 1864	Asheville, NC	Unknown	Unknown	Probably served until the end of the war.
Field Officers
-	-	Major	-	-
-	-	Lawson Pinkney Erwin	-	-
Companies / Captains
Company A	Company B	-	Company C	Company D
Unknown	Unknown	-	Unknown	Capt. J.A. Patton
Brief History of Battalion*
[Walter Clark admitted that he numbered most battalions "for convenience," and he unilaterally called this unit the "Twenty-First Battalion" in his compilation named below. Walter Clark also asserts that this unit was also known as the 1st NC Battalion-Senior Reserves, however, contemporary evidence indicates it was actually also known as the 2nd NC Battalion-Senior Reserves.] This Battalion was organized at Asheville in July of 1864, and was composed of Senior Reserves from the counties of Polk, Rutherford, McDowell, Henderson, and Transylvania. It elected as Major, Lawson P. Erwin, who had been Captain of Company G, of the 16th NC Regiment, and had been disabled by wounds at the battle of Fredericksburg, VA on December 13, 1862, having been previously wounded at the battle of Mechanicsville, VA, but who now patriotically returned to aid his State in this hour of direst need. He has in the last few days died at his residence in Rutherfordton. On September 1, 1864, the battalion then in Asheville reported 200 men present. On November 1st, Lt. Gen. Theophilus H. Holmes (NC) telegraphed General Braxton Bragg (LA) that he had sent him Millard's Battalion (Junior Reserves), Erwin's Battalion (Senior Reserves), Shober's Regiment (7th NC Regiment Senior Reserves), and thirteen (13) other companies of Senior Reserves. If, as is probable, Maj. Lawson P. Erwin's Battalion - Senior Reserves went to Wilmington, one company probably remained at Asheville, for on December 18, 1864, Brig. Gen. James G. Martin (NC) reports 43 men of Maj. Lawson P. Erwin's Battalion - Senior Reserves at that point, 89 Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 1279, and on March 10, 1865, there were 88 reported present, at that point. Vol. 103 of above work at page 1048. * The above was written by Editor Walter Clark, and provided as Page 397, in the compilation known as "Histories of the Several Regiments and Battalions from North Carolina in the Great War 1861-'65 - Volume IV," edited by Walter Clark, and published by E. M. Uzzell, Printer and Binder, in 1901. Minor edits, additions and deletions were provided by this Author for clarity and consistency.
Known Battles / Skirmishes
Date(s)		Battle / Skirmish
NONE KNOWN