35th Regiment, North Carolina Troops
Appearance of the Soldiers in October, 1862
The condition of the Army of Northern Virginia during the Maryland Campaign was particularly bad. The soldiers showed the effects of the hard-fought battles around Richmond, Cedar Mountain, and Second Manassas. Every account of the Maryland Campaign chronicles the dilapidated condition of Lee’s troops, characterizing them as ragged, dirty, and barefoot. While that was clearly the case in many regiments others were in comparatively better condition, although this is probably comparing degrees of poverty.
The 35th NC, and the other regiments of Ransom’s Brigade, was probably a little better off than many units in the ANV going into the campaign. The regiment received a nearly complete resupply of clothing during the last week of April, 1862. It also received large numbers of knapsacks, canteens, and haversacks in late June-early July. Additionally, they had been spared nearly two months of campaigning while manning the defenses of Richmond and Petersburg. The regiment "assist[ed] in the construction of the fortifications around those cities." Clearly, digging earthworks in midsummer was not easy work, but the soldiers would have been able to remove their coats while working, probably had some time to wash their clothing, if only with water, and repair torn or frayed garments.
The condition of soldiers of the 35th NC at the close of the Maryland Campaign was much the same as the rest of Lee’s hungry, dirty, and footsore troops. Overall, their clothing may have been a little less worn, but it was probably not in significantly better condition. David G. Maxwell, William Burgwyn’s company commander at Sharpsburg, described the details of Private William Hood’s exploits at Sharpsburg for the regimental history written in 1900. He noted that Hood "…did not 'take off his shoes in a jiffy', [as Burgwyn had described] from the fact that he had no shoes on this feet, they being so sore he could not wear any. He was not only barefooted but ragged, dirty and lousy. His condition, however, was not an exception, as 'there were others.'" In November 1862, Adjutant Clark described the men: “…they lost most of their blankets at Sharpsburg they lay out at night by the fire and most of them in ragged clothes and without any covering.” On November 26, Clark described the use of rawhide moccasins as substitutes for shoes, estimating that the regiment “would have fifty or seventy stark-barefooted men” without the use of the makeshifts. His comments give some idea of the numbers of barefooted soldiers in the 35th NC after the Maryland Campaign. Still, it is interesting that at no time during the period of August to December 1862 does Burgwyn record in his diary that his men were barefoot or in rags.
The description of the 48th NC given by Lt. Col. Walkup would probably apply to the 35th NC during October 1862. Walkup reminded Vance that the 48th NC “entered the service 1st of April last [1862]” and that the regiment had “…passed six months in the service & you well know we have seen hard service during that time.” Those soldiers received “generally one suit each except socks…one pair of shoes.” This clothing issue occurred within a few weeks of the resupply of clothing to the 35th NC. Walkup’s letter indicates that by October the soldiers’ trousers were ragged and some of their shoes were either badly worn or missing. He lists blankets, shoes, socks, and pants as the items most needed. In this letter and in other contemporary descriptions of ragged North Carolinians, “coats” are not in great demand. This would indicate that the coats were in relatively better condition than other clothing and were still serviceable. Since the clothing on 35th NC soldiers was also issued in April and subjected to the same basic level of wear, it was probably in the same shape as that found on the soldiers of the 48th NC.
The 35th NC did not have access to Federal weapons or equipment captured or salvaged from the 1862 battlefields until Fredericksburg. Unlike many North Carolina regiments, the 35th NC did not participate in many of the Seven Days’ Battles, the battle at Cedar Mountain or any of the Second Manassas actions. It was on the east bank of the Potomac near Loudon Heights during the capture of Harper’s Ferry, and did not enter the town. As result, the regiment did not share in the supplies captured at Manassas Junction or Harper’s Ferry. Additionally, they were not present on any major battlefield after a Confederate victory, so would have had little opportunity to obtain Federal items by capture or salvage. Some individual soldiers could have salvaged a few items from the Federal casualties within the Confederate lines in the West Woods and along the Hagerstown Pike on the evening of September 17, but this supply would have been limited and the search was probably not a priority for most of the men, who must have been exhausted from the day’s fighting.
Once on campaign, the average soldier in the regiment had little opportunity to purchase food, clothing, shoes, or blankets. Lieutenant Clark estimated that the “Valley of Virginia in peace times is I presume the best country (agriculturally) in North America but now it is quite bare. Two Counties having in progress of this war supported two immense Yankee and the same number of Confederate armies…Down here [camp near Culpeper Court House] if anything is worse than the Valley.” The local population was probably hoarding what little food, clothing and bedding they had left. While at Upperville on October 25, Lieutenant Burgwyn added to his diary that he “went through the town but could not succeed in buying anything for a protection against the weather such as blankets, etc.” Since an officer with cash could not buy what he needed, it is unlikely that the local citizens sold or gave away much, if anything, to the individual soldiers. William England of the 25th NCT, tired of the short rations, lamented in December: “We cant get to go into the country to buy anything and if we could we have no money to buy with.” This was no doubt the same situation in the other regiments of Ransom’s Brigade. Prices were high for what was available. Walter Clark noted some prices: “…butter is $1 to 1.25 cts. per pound. Common Apples 50 cts, apiece. Honey $1.50 per pound. Chinese sugar cane molasses 4, 5, 8 & 10 dollars a gallon &c. Sugar and coffee is not to be procured. We use wheat coffee and honey.” Obviously, there would be some theft from careless citizens, but this was not a reliable source of supply.
Homemade clothing was probably not common in the regiment during October. The April-May clothing issue provided the necessary clothing and the events of the Maryland campaign caused the loss of clothing from home contained in knapsacks or blanket rolls. There is no information indicating that boxes of clothing and food sent from families in North Carolina arrived at the October bivouac sites, so the soldiers would not have new homemade clothing in October. As late as December many boxes from home had not reached the soldiers. William England was disappointed when a soldier returned to camp “…without our things. He stored them away in a North Carolina Depot in Richmond because Gen Lee has ordered for no boxes to be transported.” As noted earlier, the arrival of “blankets” and probably some clothing from the families at home did not occur until November.
Items needed to create an impression of the 35th NCT in 1862