Explorations |Humanities and Fine Arts “Grinding up the Seed Corn of the Confederacy”:The North Carolina Junior Reserves Jordan Pearce East Carolina University Faculty Mentor: Wade Dudley East Carolina University ABSTRACT On February 17, 1864, the Confederate Congress placed white males, aged seventeen to eigh- teen, in the Reserves: “a robbing of the cradle” by President Jefferson Davis’s standards. By June, North Carolina had organized eight battalions of Junior Reserves. Throughout 1864, the Reserves mostly did guard duty throughout the state, freeing other soldiers for feld ser- vice. Although poorly equipped and not required to fght outside of North Carolina, the Junior Reserves unanimously volunteered to fght in Belfeld, Virginia. For their service at Belfeld, the North Carolina Legislature passed a vote of thanks to the Reserves. The Junior Reserves saw real action March 19-21, 1865 in the Battle of Bentonville in Johnston County. The battle took the lives of many soldiers, including some of the brave youths in the Junior Reserves. Major Walter Clark of the First Brigade Junior Reserves of Hoke’s Division described Bentonville as being “a good wood for skirmishing” and noted that “we had a regular Indian fght of it from behind trees.” Both primary and secondary source information on the North Carolina Junior Reserves are scarce. Most information comes from Clark’s Histories or The Walter Clark Papers, both of which were produced by Walter Clark. There are not many other accounts given, but William F. Beasley of the North Carolina Junior Reserves wrote to the Charlotte Observer that Clark’s claims were false and that he embellished his stories to glorify himself. Beasley wrote that he was particularly bothered by the fact that Clark claimed the title of the youngest commanding offcer in the Confederacy, depriving Beasley of a title that was rightfully his. The purpose of this paper is to shed additional light on the Junior Reserves. 30 Jordan Pearce n a desperate attempt to regain ground near who fought in the Civil War. Thus out of Ithe end of the Civil War, the Confederate 115,369 total North Carolina troops, the Congress passed a law on February 17, 1864 Junior Reserves constituted one-ninth of all which placed males, aged seventeen to eigh- North Carolina soldiers who fought in the teen, in reserves. This resulted in the forma- war.5 The Junior Reserves’ experiences in the tion of the North Carolina Junior Reserves, war resembled the exploits of the men with a unique group of youthful soldiers who whom they served much more than those fought as a last resort for the Confederacy of the children and youths who remained at in North Carolina and Virginia, most nota- home.6 The experience of combat tends to bly in the Battle of Bentonville. Jefferson strip the veneer of civilization from young Davis, President of the Confederate States of warriors. These youths carried the horrors of America, described the formation of Junior war with them for the remainder of their life. Reserves as “a robbing of the cradle,” and Thirty-fve years later, they and their chil- North Carolina Governor Zebulon Vance dren, strove to return North Carolina to as referred to risking these young men in close to the “Old South” as possible with the battle as “grinding up the seed corn of the establishment of de jure segregation. Thus, Confederacy.”1 their experiences in war (and confusion exist- It was to no one’s delight that seventeen- ing about those experiences) are well worth year-olds would be stripped from their homes consolidation and a scholarly examination. to fght and die in the war, but leaders of the The eight battalions of Junior Reserves Confederacy believed that this time of des- were stationed across North Carolina, mostly peration had left them with few alternatives. to conduct picket and guard duty. On June Lieutenant General Theophilus H. Holmes, 27, 1864, the 6th Battalion was ordered to an 1829 graduate of West Point, was ap- Gaston, near the Virginia border, to protect a pointed to command the North Carolina railroad bridge, while most others were sent Reserves. Holmes felt that activating the to Wilmington and surrounding areas to guard Junior Reserves would “take but little from Fort Fisher. At Wilmington, the last remain- the agricultural interests” and that “little ing Confederate port city, the North Carolina would be more than counterbalanced by the Junior Reserves did picket and guard duty quiet and confdence incident to the security on the beach to prevent the landing of en- it will give to those that remain.”2 However, emies, escape of slaves, and communica- as the forlorn state of the Confederacy beck- tion amongst passing vessels. Employing the oned more males to military action, the agri- Junior Reserves in this capacity relieved the cultural burden fell to the hands of both white more experienced soldiers for feld service. women and their female slaves.3 On December 23-25, 1864, the Junior Many parents of these youths did not be- Reserves defended Fort Fisher when General lieve that sending their children into battle B.F. Butler and Admiral D.D. Porter of the would improve the war effort. In fact, many Union attacked it. During this skirmish, parents sent in formal requests for their sons “quite a number” of Junior Reserves were to be alleviated of their duties in the Junior killed or captured.7 The Junior Reserves’ Reserves, most stating that the former needed conduct at Battle at Fort Fisher was not con- the latter’s help on the farm.4 In total, there sidered heroic in the eyes of many generals. were 4,217 North Carolina Junior Reserves However, it was the frst time any of these 1 Walter Clark, Histories of the Several Regiments and Battalions of 4 Brown and Coffey, 42. the Great War 1861-65 (Wendell, NC: Broadfoot’s Bookmark, 5 North Carolina Literary and Historical Association, Five Points in 1982), 2. the Record of North Carolina in the Great War of 1861-5 (Golds 2 Matthew M. Brown and Michael W. Coffey, North Carolina Troops boro, NC: Nash Brothers Printers, 1904), 74. 1861-1865, Vol. XVII. (Wilmington: Broadfoot Publishing, 2009), 6 James Marten, The Children’s Civil War (Chapel Hill and London: 6-8. University of North Carolina Press, 1988), 2. 3 Jaime Amanda Martinez, Confederate Slave Impressment in the 7 Clark, 39, 45. Upper South (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2013), 157. 31 Explorations |Humanities and Fine Arts young men had seen military action. In some itch” were among some of the most signif- cases, their inexperience proved to be a hin- cant ailments the young men experienced.10 drance. In a letter to General Lee, Brigadier- In addition to being fraught with disease, General Louis Herbert wrote: the Junior Reserves suffered from meager The accessions of the Junior Reserves to my food rations. Colonel John Hinsdale stated command cannot be said to have added to that the rations at Kinston consisted of a mere my strength. They are as yet totally ignorant half a pint of black sorghum soup, a pint of of all military knowledge, and many are so husky meal every other day, one-third pound weakly that they can perform but very little of Nassau bacon, and occasionally, a few po- duty… Their offcers are nearly as unexperi- tatoes.11 Colonel Charles Broadfoot disclosed enced and untaught as themselves.8 In a letter to Secretary of War James Seddon, that the youths lacked shoes, underclothing, Major-General W.H.C. Whiting wrote that knapsacks, and cooking utensils. Moreover, 12 the Junior Reserves “would rather interfere the youth soldiers were “ragged and dirty.” than aid.” He went on to say that the youths While the Junior Reserves were lacking were “prostrate with the diseases of chil- in clothing and food, they were fairly well- dren and too weak to bear arms” and “their armed. They had diffculties fnding arms offcers, made by election, are entirely ig- in the beginning, but they were eventually norant.”9 After their initial performance, it equipped with Enfeld muskets (Figure 1), was apparent that the reality of the Reserves’ a British-made musket that was usually in abilities to aid the Confederacy differed from ample supply despite scarcity of weapons in 13 the expectations of their leaders. the south. Colonel Broadfoot wrote that the Disease constituted a major problem for young men of the 1st Battalion later received the North Carolina Junior Reserves, particu- the “better” guns that had been captured in larly those from western and central counties; Virginia and then given to the North Carolina 14 many of these individuals lost their lives to Junior Reserves. On a somewhat comical measles. Others fell ill to the chills and di- note, Adolphus W. Mangum noted that some arrhea, while Lieutenant Colonel Charles of the Junior Reserves “were exceedingly Broadfoot, commander of the 1st North small and presented quite a grotesque picture Carolina Junior Reserves, cited lice and “the as they lugged a huge musket around their Figure 1. Enfeld musket carried by D.F. Denton of the 3rd NC Junior Reserves. (Source: author’s photo) 8 Offcial Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of 12 Brown and Coffey, 97. the Rebellion (Washington, 1864), Ser. I, 5: 716. 13 William B. Edwards, Civil War Guns. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: The 9 The War of Rebellion: a Compilation of the Offcial Records of the Stackpole Company, 1962.. Union and Confederate Armies. US War Dept, 1864. Ser. I, 42: 14 Clark, 10. 1240-41. 10 Brown and Coffey, 97.