Marching to Greensboro

Having learned that Union Gen. William T. Sherman's army was marching toward Raleigh, on today's date in 1865, Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston ordered his 3 corps to fall back from their encampment at Smithfield and march toward Greensboro.

Lt. Gen. Alexander P. Stewart's Corps headed out first, followed by Lt. Gen. Stephen D. Lee's Corps, in which Great Grandfather Nathan Oakes was now serving in the newly established 8th Mississippi Battalion. They were assigned the Louisburg Road, and they followed it east of the Neuse River until crossing the river at Battle's Bridge, about 10 miles southeast of Raleigh. Gen. Joseph Wheeler's cavalry guarded the rear. William Hardee marched with one of his divisions through Smithfield, crossed the Neuse River, then marched northwest on the Raleigh Road along the North Carolina Railroad. His other 2 divisions followed Stewart's and Lee's Corps, ahead of the advancing Federal army.

In camp that night near Battle's Bridge, Johnston learned of Robert E. Lee's surrender the day before at Appomattox Courthouse. He clearly understood that the end was at hand.

The next morning, army continued its westward march, camping outside of Raleigh. On the morning of the 12th, they marched through Raleigh and continued on the Hillsborough and Chapel Hill roads. Stewart's and Lee's men bivouacked that night in the woods near the railroad tracks, about 9 miles beyond the city. Hardee's Corps bivouacked 3 miles east of Raleigh.

Overnight at Raleigh, Johnston received a telegram from President Jefferson Davis with instructions to meet him at Greensboro. Having evacuated Richmond with his cabinet on April 2nd, Davis was making his way south by rail. Leaving Gen. Hardee in command, Johnston left to meet with the president and there to learn from him that, incredibly, Davis intended to continue the war.

In the meantime on the 13th, Lee's Corps continued its march, camping that night at Hillsborough. On the 14th, Good Friday, the men marched to Haw River and camped near the bridge east of Graham, their crossing delayed by rains and the swollen river. Taking the Greensboro Road the next day through Graham and Company Shops, the troops marched another 15 miles before finally reaching their campsite. Marching another 12 miles along the New Salem road on Easter Sunday, April 16th, they reached their final destination about 15 miles outside of Greensboro.

Two days day before Great Grandfather's arrival near Greensboro, Gen. Johnston sent an offer of peace to Gen. Sherman. It was also the same day Union President Abraham Lincoln was fatally shot.

Sources: This Astounding Close, Mark L. Bradley; General Joseph E. Johnston, Gilbert Govan & James Livingwood; Narrative of Military Operations During the Civil War, Joseph E. Johnston; The Confederate Surrender at Greensboro, Robert M. Dunkerly; Official Records, Vol. 47, Pt. 1

Consolidated within the 8th Mississippi Battalion

On March 31st, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston reorganized the Army of Tennessee near Smithfield, North Carolina. The remnants of Mark P. Lowrey’s Brigade, which then was commanded by Lt. Col. J.F. Smith, was consolidated with the 8th Mississippi Regiment and placed under the command of Capt. H.W. Crook. Capt. Joshua Y. Carmack, former captain of Co. H of the 32nd, was given command of Co. D of the consolidated regiment, in which Great Grandfather Nathan R. Oakes still served.

On today's date in 1865, the entire Confederate army under Johnston underwent a major reorganization. The new consolidation of regiments effectively marked the end of Great Grandfather's 32nd Mississippi Infantry Regiment, in existence since since its formation at the start of the war. There were too many understrength regiments and too many general officers to command them. These facts were already apparent to brigadiers like the valiant Gen. Lowrey, who earlier felt comipelled to resigned his commission.

In the reorganization, 3 regiments—the 5th, 8th, and 32nd Mississippi—along with the 3rd Mississippi Battalion, were consolidated into a single and much reduced unit, renamed the 8th Mississippi Battalion. Capt. Carmack was placed in command. The new 8th Mississippi Battalion was far smaller than any of its combined regiments had been separately. Together with other consolidated regiments, the newly formed 8th Mississippi Battalion was placed in Brig. Gen. Jacob H. Sharp's Brigade, in Maj. Gen. D.H. Hill’s Division, of Lt. Gen. Stephen D. Lee’s Corps. The 32nd Regiment remained consolidated in the 8th Mississippi Battalion through the army's surrender on April 26th.

The few surviving volunteers from the once proud 32nd Mississippi Regiment now served in a single battalion. No doubt it affected the morale of the troops. Where once the regiment had been comprised of men who were neighbors back home and who had fought together for years, now they were assigned with soldiers they did not know personally.

As it turned out however, the reorganization hardly mattered. On this same date in 1865, Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. By the end of the month, the war finally will be over for the dedicated and long-suffering survivors of the old 32nd Mississippi Regiment, too.

Sources: Military History of Mississippi, 1833-1898, Dunbar Rowland; Official Records, Vol. 47, Pts. 1 & 3; Capt. Joshua Y. Carmack's Service Records