THE 7th SOUTH CAROLINA VOLUNTEER
BY MAC WYCKOFF
Roll of the 7th South Carolina Volunteer Regiment
The 7th South Carolina is known as "the Bloody Seventh"
because of its bloodshed in numerous Civil War battles as part of Kershaw’s
Brigade. While much of the first year was spent near the front in Northern
Virginia and on the Virginia Peninsula between the York and James Rivers, the
men of the 7th only saw minor skirmishing. It was time well spent learning their
trade as soldiers. The weak died or were sent home as they were of no
to the army. The survivors spent countless hours learning Civil War drills and
maneuvers, suffered the rigors of long marches, witnessed the dangers of combat
and became accustom to a lack of sufficient food and clothing.
serious combat occurred at Savage Station on June 29, 1862 during the Seven Days
Campaign. In this brief but intense fight, the regiment lost 25 killed or
mortally wounded and 59 wounded. Two days later they again came under fire at
While they escaped the worst of the slaughter, an additional 11
died and 19 more were wounded.
Held in the Richmond area to protect the
Confederate capital, the 7th South Carolina
missed the severe fighting of 2nd
Manassas. During the siege of Harpers Ferry, Kershaw’s
Brigade drew the key
assignment of capturing Maryland Heights. On September 13, the 7th bore the
brunt of the fighting in the successful capture of the heights, but paid a high
price losing 28 killed and about 85 wounded. Four days later, they fought near
the Dunker Church at Antietam losing another 39 killed and 137 wounded. The
regiment was beginning to earn its nickname.
Three months later at
Fredericksburg, the 7th South Carolina stood atop Marye’s Heights next to the
Marye House. Lieutenant Colonel Elbert Bland brilliantly used the terrain to his
advantage by having his command load their weapons while protected by the
reverse slope of the hill and exposed themselves to enemy fire only briefly
while they fired. The right wing of the regiment being more exposed by the lay
of the ground suffered the majority of the 7 killed and 62 wounded.
long cold winter allowed time for the exhausted soldiers to regain their
strength and many of the wounded to heal. In the first week of May, 1863, their
brigade held many important positions at Chancellorsville, but were only lightly
engaged suffering 2 killed and 11 wounded. The momentum of back to back
victories along the Rappahannock River propelled the Confederate army north to
the Pennsylvania college town of Gettysburg.
The 7th marched across the Rose
Farm and seized the Stony Hill, only to be forced back by a counter attack from
the Wheatfield. The unit lost 29 killed and 87 wounded in the bloodiest day of
the war for Kershaw’s Brigade.
The Confederates returned to Virginia in
late July for badly needed rest. Six weeks later, Kershaw’s Brigade boarded
trains for northern Georgia. On Snodgrass Hill at Chickamauga the regiment lost
about 100 more men including two of its best officers, Lieutenant Colonel Elbert
Bland and Major John Hard. Beginning in November, the brigade participated in
the East Tennessee campaign. Although not heavily engaged at several smaller
engagements, the casualties continued to mount and morale suffered during the
long cold winter in a section of the South where Union sentiment
In April, the brigade joyfully returned to General Robert E.
Lee’s army in central Virginia.
But joy quickly turned to blood, sweat and
hardwork as Lee tangled with General Grant’s
forces in a series of five
battles that went on for six weeks without a day of rest. The survivors choose
not to remember the bloodiest and toughest campaign in American history. Twice
in 48 hours, Kershaw’s Brigade helped save Lee’s army on May 6th at Wilderness
and then at Spotsylvania.
By the third week in June, the armies had
reached Petersburg. After an Union effort to seize Petersburg failed, Grant
steadily stretched out his lines to the west to seize the roads and railroads
into the city. At the same time, Grant tried a series of quick thrusts to the
northeast to capture Richmond. Kershaw’s Brigade participated in one of these
actions known as 1st Deep Bottom at the end of July. In early August, the
brigade went to the Shenandoah Valley where they fought in several small
engagements as well as the highly
significant action at Cedar Creek on
October 19 in which the Confederate force in the valley was routed after an
early morning success.
The Carolinians returned to the Richmond area for
a few weeks and in early January, 1865 went to their home state in an attempt to
stop General William T. Sherman march. Badly outnumbered and outmaneuvered in
the Palmetto State, the brigade fought their last battles in North Carolina at
Averasboro and Bentonville in an unsuccessful attempt to stop Sherman. On April
26, General Joseph E. Johnston surrendered his Confederate force to Sherman and
on May 2, the survivors were paroled to go
Mitchell’s Ford, Va. July
1st Manassas, Va. July 21, 1861
Held Yorktwon line, Va.
mid-April – May 3, 1862
Williamsburg, Va. May 4-5, 1862
near Fair Oaks, Va. June 27, 1862
Savage Station, Va. June 29, 1862
(First real action and first casualties occurred)
Malvern Hill, Va. July
Maryland Heights, September 13, 1862
September 17, 1862
Fredericksburg,, Va. December 13,
Chancellorsville, Va. May 1-5, 1863
Gettysburg, Pa. July 2,.
Chickamauga, Ga. September 20, 1863
Campbell Station, Tn.
November 16, 1863
Knoxville, Tn. November 18, 1863
Tn. November 29, 1863
Bean Station, Tn. December 14,
Wilderness, Va. May 6, 1864
Spotsylvania, Va. May 8-21,
North Anna, Va. May 23-25, 1864
Cold Harbor, Va. June 1-12,
Petersburg, Va. June 18, 1864
1st Deep Bottom, Va. July
Charlestown, (Halltown) W.V. August 26,
Berryville, Va. September 13, 1864
Hupp’s Hill, Va. October
Cedar Creek, Va. October 19, 1864
Held Salkehatchie River
Line, S.C. January-February, 1865
Averasboro, N.C. March 16,
Bentonville, N.C. March 19-21, 1865
Information about the
officers is sometimes sketchy and contradictory. Acknowledgement
must be made
to Glen Swain who spent many years researching the 7th South Carolina. It is my
hope, that he will someday publish his
Glascock Bacon- Born on 6/24/62. Clerk of the court at the time of the 1860
census. Elected at organization on 4/15/61. Resigned on 5/4/62, failing health.
Died on 9/25/76.
David Wyatt Aiken-Born on 3/17/28. Planter and teacher
before the war. After the war a
newspaperman and Congressman. Elected at
reorganization on 5/13/62. Seriously wounded and captured at Antietam on
9/17/62. His obituary was published. Paroled on 11/8/62. Resigned on 7/14/64.
Died on 4/6/87.
James H. Mitchell- Born on 1/7/35. Farmer at the time of
the 1860 census. Promoted to command regiment on 5/6/64, but records do not
indicate he was promoted from captain.
Wounded at Cedar Creek on 10/19/64.
Surrendered at Augusta on 5/19/65. Died on
Robert Anderson Fair-Born on 12/12/20. Lawyer. Elected at
organization on 4/15/61.
Resigned at re-organization on 5/14/62. Died on
Emmett Seibels- Born on 10/3/21. Lawyer. Promoted 5/9/62.
Resigned at re-organization
on 5/14/62. Died on 12/19/99.
Bland- Born on 4/29/23. Physician. Elected at re-organization on 5/14/62.
Wounded seriously in right leg at Savage Station on 6/29/62. Wounded slightly at
Fredericksburg on 12/13/62. Wounded slightly in thigh at Gettysburg on 7/2/63.
Chickamauga on 9/20/63.
Elijah Jeremiah Goggans- Born on
9/30/34. Wounded slightly in face at Savage Station on
command of regiment at Chickamauga on 9/20/63. Promoted on 1/12/65, backdated to
9/20/63. Wounded in right arm at the Wilderness on 5/6/64. In hospital or on
furlough until 1/6/65 when ordered to rejoin his command, but never
Thomas Allison Hudgens- Born on 6/19/31. Physician. Wounded slightly
at Fredericksburg on 12/13/62. Wounded in the right thigh at the Wilderness on
5/6/64. Takes command of regiment at Cedar Creek on 10/19/64. Promoted at
consolidation on 4/9/65.
Emmett Seibels- Elected at
organization on 4/15/61. Promoted to lieutenant colonel on
5/9/62. See above
for more information on him.
William Caspers White-Born on 11/17/21.
Overseer. Elected at re-organization on 5/14/62. Killed at Antietam on
John Stuart Hard- Born on 12/2/42. Promoted on 9/18/62. Killed
at Chickamauga on 9/20/63.
David Wyatt Aiken-Elected at
organization 4/15/61. Elected colonel at re-organization on
above for more information on him.
Thomas Milton Chilton- Born about
1840. Appointed at re-organization on 5/14/62.
Wounded slightly in the face
at Maryland Heights on 9/13/62. Killed at Antietam on 9/17/62.
Richard Carwile- Detailed on 9/13/62. Appointed aide-de-camp on brigade staff
Amon C. Stallworth- Born about 1839. Overseer. Promoted
Benjamin Franklin Lovelace-Born about
1834. Teacher. Elected at organization on 4/15/61. Promoted to brigade
quartermaster on 11/19/62.
James A. Townsend- Born about 1837. Wounded in
left arm at Maryland Heights on 9/13/62. Acting quartermaster 12/62-4/9/65 when
promoted to captain of Company B.
L. Smith- Manufacturer. Detached to assist in commissary department in
Promoted on 5/15/62. Resigned 2/28/63.
John Edmund Bacon-Retired
Allen Stokes Dozier- Born on 11/9/33. Physician.
Promoted on 4/30/61. Resigned on 6/62.
O.R. Horton-Promoted on 4/13/63
served through unknown date.
Dozier- Elected at organization 4/15/61. Promoted to surgeon on 4/30/61.
above for more information on him.
Richard Coleman Carlisle- Born on
12/5/35. Physician. Promoted on 6/14/62. Resigned on
6/6/64. Died on
J.R. Speahe- promoted on 2/20/64. Paroled at surrender on
John Mason Carlisle- Born on 10/29/26.
Methodist minister. Elected 5/15/61. Resigned 12/61. Served again from some time
in 1863 until 6/6/64. Died on 6/7/05.
Elbert Bland- Elected at organization on 4/13/61.
Elected lieutenant colonel on 5/14/62.
See above for more information on
Stewart Harrison- Born about 1828. Trader before war, clerk of court
after war. Elected at re-organization on 5/14/62. Resigned on
Augustus W. Burt- Born about 1839. Medical student in 1861.
Wounded in right knee,
left ankle and left shoulder at Gettysburg on 7/2/63
and caputured a few days later at Fayetteville during the retreat. Left ankle
amputated. Promoted on 3/18/64 while in prison and probably remained there for
rest of war.
George M. Mattison-
Elected at organization on 4/15/61. Resigned on 5/18/61.
Hodges-Born about 1837. Promoted 5/20/61. Resigned at re-organization on
Thomas Allison Hudgens- Elected at re organization on 5/14/62.
Promoted 10/19/64. See
above for more information him.
Townsend- Elected at consolidation on 4/9/65. Paroled at surrender on
See above for more information him.
Patrick Henry Bradley- Born on 6/28/13. President of
Augusta & Knoxville RR. Elected at organization on 4/15/61. Resigned at
re-organization on 5/13/62. Died on 8/14/87.
Wade Elephare Cothran- Born
on 2/6/37. Elected at re-organization on 5/13/62. Wounded
in both thighs at
Maryland Heights on 9/13/62 & disabled. Resigned on 8/22/63. Died
John Lyons-Born on 3/19/41. Wounded in left knee at North
Anna on 5/23/64. Promoted at consolidation on 4/9/65. Paroled at surrender at
Greensboro 5/2/65. Died on 4/1/06.
Nicholas Hodges Palmer-Born about
1842. Wounded at Fredericksburg on 12/13/62.
Wounded and captured at
Gettysburg on 7/2/63. Promoted on 8/25/63 even though he was at Johnson’s Island
Prison, Ohio and remained in prison for rest of war.
Samuel Jones Hester- Born on 4/18/19. Elected at
organization on 4/15/61. Took leave of absence on 12/20/61 and resigned at
re-organization on 5/13/62.
Thomas Warren Allen- Born about 1831. Lawyer.
Elected at re-organization on 5/13/62.
Admitted to Institute Hospital in
Richmond on 3/31/63 with heart problems. Wounded
slightly at Chickamauga on
9/20/63. Admitted Episcopal Church Hospital in Petersburg on
pneumonia. Resigned in 12/64.
Denny- Born about 1808. Planter. Elected at organization on 4/15/61. Resigned at
re-organization on 5/13/62,
James H. Mitchell- Elected at organization on
5/13/62. Promoted to command regiment on 5/6/64. For more information, see
Company F- Graniteville Volunteers, later changed to Davies
William L. Coleman- Elected at organization on
4/15/61. Resigned on 6/1/61 when the regiment went to Virginia.
Stuart Hard- Promoted on 6/1/61. Promoted to major 9/17/62.
Reardon- Born about 1838. Factory operative. Promoted on 9/17/62.
wounded in leg at Chickamauga on 9/20/63. Leg amputated. Died on
Warren D. Brooks- Factory operative. Promoted on 9/26/63. Killed
at Wilderness 5/6/64.
Benjamin A. McKibben- Born about 1841. Promoted
5/6/64. Wounded in right arm &
disabled at Cold Harbor on 6/1/64 and
apparently did not return.
Hampden Brooks- Born on 9/6/33. Elected at organization on 5/15/61. Promoted to
brigade staff on 5/13/62. Died 11/14/11.
William E. Clark- Born on
3/29/31. Farmer. Elected at re-organization on 5/13/62.
Mortally wounded at
Maryland Heights on 9/13/62. Died on 9/22/62.
Jonathan Wiley Kemp-Born
about 1836. School teacher. Promoted on 9/22/62. Killed at
James Cresswell Williams- Born on 8/7/29. Wounded slightly at
12/13/62. Wounded severely in thigh at the Wilderness on
5/6/64. Elected at consolation
on 4/9/65. Paroled at surrender on 5/2/65.
Died on 8/1/11.
Company H- Joe Johnston’s
Henry W. Addison- Born about 1836. Lawyer.
Elected at re-organization on 5/13/62.
Wounded by canister in thigh at
Antietam on 9/17/62. Detailed as judge advocate for division from
1/31/63-6/10/63. Wounded in left leg at Chickamauga on 9/20/63. Leg amputated.
Resigned on unknown date.
Francis Prescott- Born on 11/26/22. Farmer. Elected at organization on
Resigned at re-organization on 5/13/62. Died on
Benjamin Roper- Born about 1833. Farmer. Elected at
re-organization on 4/13/62.
Wounded in hip at Fredericksburg on 12/13/62.
Wounded at Chickamauga 9/20/63.
Collected tax collector for Edgefield
District on 10/11/64. Resigned on 12/19/64.
Bart M. Talbert- Born about 1841. Farmer. Elected at
organization on 4/15/61. Resigned on at re-organization on
Jonathan F. Burrees- Farmer. Elected at re-organization on
5/13/62. Wounded in left tibia
at Antietam on 9/17/62 and captured. Did not
return to unit and resigned on 9/11/63.
Company L- All Saints
William Caspers White- Promoted on 6/26/61.
Elected major on 5/14/62.
John L. Litchfield- Born about 1836. Elected on
re-organization on 5/14/62. Mortally wounded at Maryland Heights on 9/13/62.
Died on 9/16/62. Brother of George L. Litchfield.
George T. Litchfield-
Born about 1841. Promoted on 9/18/62. Captured at Cedar Creek on 10/19/64 and
spent the rest of the war in prison.
(Elijah) Jeremiah Goggans- Born 9/30/64. Merchant. Elected when
organized on 5/9/62. Wounded slightly in face at Savage Station on
command of regiment at Chickamauga on 9/20/63. For more
information see above.
Anderson Pickney Bouknight- Born on 12/3/37.
Wounded slightly at Fredericksburg on 12/13/62. Wounded in left leg at
Gettysburg on 7/2/63. Wounded slightly in left leg at Cedar Creek on 10/19/64.
Prompted at consolidation on 4/9/65. Paroled at surrender at Greensboro on
5/2/65. Died on
Davis Augustus. A History of Kershaw’s Brigade. Wilmington, N.C.:
Publishing Company, 1990 reprint. This edition includes an
introduction by today’s leading authority on Kershaw’s Brigade, an article on
the author who was a member of Kershaw’s Brigade, maps, errata, and index that
other editions do not contain.
Beach, Richard L., editor. Remember Me:
The Civil War Letters of Lt. George Robinson and his son, Sgt. James F. Robinson
of "The Glenn," Hamburg, South Carolina. Bowie, MD.: Heritage Books, Inc.,
James Robinson was a member of the 7th South Carolina.
best source of manuscript material on the 7th South Carolina exists at the South
Caroliniana Library at the University of South Carolina. Other manuscript
material exists in university libraries. County archives, and in the battlefield
parks especially Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park. The
war-time newspapers contain
letters written by the soldiers, rosters,
casualty lists, obituaries, etc. The University of South Carolina has these
papers on microfilm, see especially the Edgefield Advertiser. The Compiled
Service Records are on microfilm at the National Archives in Washington and the
South Carolina Archives & History in Columbia. A Compilation of the Official
records of the Union and Confederate Armies contain the surviving reports made
at the regimental and higher command levels. Recollections and Reminiscences
1861 – 1865 Through World War I contain much useful
Glen Swain compiled a lengthy roster and
nearly completed a first-rate narrative history of the 7th South Carolina. I
hope that he will finish the book and have it published.
I wrote a
history of the 2nd and 3rd South Carolina which have a similar history. A second
edition of the 3rd South Carolina is available by contacting me
email@example.com I also wrote two essays on the brigade. "Kershaw’s Brigade at
Gettysburg," Gettysburg Magazine, July, 1991 published by Morningside Books,
Dayton, Ohio. "Kershaw’s Brigade at Savage Station," The Peninsula Campaign of
1862: Yorktown to the Seven Days, Volume II, William J. Miller, editor.
Published in 1995 by Savas Woodbury Publishers, Campbell,
FEATURES: CIVIL WAR UNITS: Kershaw's Brigade, CSA