FROM NEW BERN TO BENNETT PLACE WITH "COOKE'S FOOT" CAVALRY: A HISTORY OF THE TWENTY-SEVENTH REGIMENT OF NORTH CAROLINA TROOPS, 1861-1865

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the history of the Twenty-Seventh North Carolina regiment and the actions of its officers and men during the American Civil War. This regiment was often in the forefront of Confederate military operations in the eastern theater of the conflict, especially those involving General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. In addition, the experiences, motivations, wishes, and fears of this particular group of soldiers offer something of a microcosmic view into the life of all Civil War regiments, Union or Confederate. The chronological examination uses both primary and secondary source materials, including several previously unpublished manuscript collections, in order to discover the often-overlooked history of these men, their regiment, and its important role in the American Civil War.