27th Regiment at Sharpsburg








A Brief History of the 27th NC at Sharpsburg taken from a manuscript by H.Z.Bogue III. 

On September 28, 1861 by the direction of the govenor, ten companies of militia were 
organized at New Bern into a military organization officially designated the 27th North 
Carolina Troops. 

The regiment first served as security forces, with companies located in several newly 
constructed fortifications along the south banks of the Neuse River, below New Bern and 
at Fort Macon. In August 1861 war came to North Carolina. 

On August 27, as Federal General Ambrose E.Burnside captured Fort Hatteras on the 
Outer Banks, Confederate troops were reinforcing their defensive works at New Bern, 
bracing themselves for a fight that would determine who controlled the coastline north of 
Wilmington. 

On March 14, Burnside landed thirteen seasoned regiments below New Bern and quickly 
engaged six poorly equipped North Carolina regiments. With support from artillery and naval 
gunboats, the Federals broke the Confederate line in the center and won a decisive victory. 

The 27th NC had been located on the far left of the line, their flank resting on the Neuse River. 
When the center collapsed, it was reported that many in the regiment never fired a shot, but 
bolted to the rear in panic. The disorganized retreat did not stop until the spooked regiments 
reached the outskirts of Kinston. New Bern remained in Yankee hands until the end of the war. 

The 27th had been humiliated in it's first action. The defeat had occured on native soil and 
frightfully close to the homes of many of the regiment's soldiers. The regiment was disgraced 
as was the Old North State. 

By May 31, the Army of the Potomac had landed at Fort Monroe, Virginia and was pressing 
up the peninsula on the north side of the James River, within sight of the church spires of 
Richmond. Confederate President Jefferson Davis appealed to all governors for reinforcements. 
In response, the 27th boarded cars in Kinston and went to Richmond, where it was integrated 
into the Army of Northern Virginia. 

The regiment saw this as an opportunity to avenge the result of their first battle. This was not to 
be. Now in a veteran army of great acclaim, the 27th was a regiment of poor reputation. 
Confederate generals , many of whom had never lost a battle, thought little of the men who had 
panicked at New Bern. Morale was again dashed when the men were turned away from the 
sound of battle and marched south toward Petersburg where they were relegated to picket 
duty along the James River. 

Yet again on August 26th, the morale of the 27th was crashed when they were told that they 
would not be called upon, so they waited and only heard the glowing reports of the great victory 
at Second Manassas. 

General Robert E.Lee was now beginning his movement to the northwest, the Maryland 
campaign was underway. A week of hard marching brought them to Fredrick, Maryland where 
they were assigned to Manning's Brigade, Walker's Division, of Longstreet's Corp. 

On September 12th, the 27th marched to Harpers Ferry where it occupied Loudon Heights, 
supporting General Jackson's seige of the Federal garrison there. From there they were 
ordered to the town of Sharpsburg, Maryland. 

I won't go into great detail setting up the battlefield, we all know the story. This narrative will 
focus only on the 27th and it's involvement in that the bloodiest single day in American history. 

About 3:00am on September 17th, the regiment as a part of Walker's Division, was marched 
from just west of the town of Sharpsburg, in a light rain, southeast where they took up defensive 
positions close to Antietam Creek. They were postioned as the last regiment on the far right 
flank of the army. 

At 9:00am, after the disaster of Miller's cornfield and the continued momentum of the Federal 
troops through the North and East Woods, General Lee gambled by stripping his right to save 
his left. He dispatched urgent orders for Walker's Division to displace from the right with all 
deliberate speed and move to Jackson's support. 

In their haste to Jackson, Walker was informed, by a staff officer, that a gap existed in the army 
line between the southern point of the West Wood, near Dunker Church, and D.H. Hill's men. 

Walker detached the 27th NC and the 3rd Arkansas of Mannings Brigade and placed them under 
the orders of Colonel John R. Cooke, of the 27th. 

Colonel Cooke ordered his newly created light brigade, about 700 men, forward to fill the gap 
where S.D. Lee was withdrawing his artillery. He brought them to a halt, behind a wooden rail 
fence about 50 yards from the Hagerstown Pike which offered little protection from the musket 
and cannister fire from the pickets if the Union XII Corps. 

To Cooke's left was the south point of the West Woods, which was held by Jackson, and 
Dunker Church. About 200 yards on his right were the regiments of D.H. Hill's Division that 
made up the center line of the army. In front lay more wooden fences and open ground that rose 
to a gentle crest. 

Cooke's light brigade assisted Jackson against several charges made by Union Generals 
Tyndall, Sedgewick, and Greene who were assaulting Jackson's position in the West Woods. 

During a lull in the fighting, Cooke moved his troops twenty paces to the rear, into a cornfield 
where they were ordered to lie down. 

Hill's Division was heavily engaged in battle with with two fresh divisions of the Union II Corps 
from his position in the sunken road or what is known as "Bloody Lane" General Lee saw his 
army crumbling. 

General Longstreet surveyed the the line and deduced that Cooke's command was strong 
enough to mount a charge at the Federal center, and sent the much awaited order for him to 
advance. 

Around noon, Cooke pointed his sword and gave the order, "Forrr Warrrrd!" and with high 
pitched rebel yells, approximately 650 men scrambled over the rail fences and advanced 
toward the Federal center. 

Clouds of smoke spread over the high ground as they endured volley after volley of musket fire 
from Tyndall's skirmshers. The Confederates advanced straight and true over pasture land 
littered with hundreds of bodies that had fallen earlier from both sides. Cooke's men never took 
time to realize that they were outnumbered and took four volleys for every one they delivered 
while on the move. The Yankee skirmishers were driven into their main line; then elements of 
the Federal brigade began to falter, and finally fragment into standing and retreating groups. 

Cooke's charge carried over the crest and through two guns that had been brought up moments 
earlier. The attack wheeled to the right on the reverse slope and swept away the Union soldiers 
who remained. Tyndall tried twice to form a defensive line, but both crumbled as the Confederates 
pressed their advantage. 

At one point Colonel Cooke called to 18 year old color bearer, Private William Campbell to 
slow the pace so the remainder of the command could keep up. With the 3rd Arkansas on the 
right, Campbell replied, "Colonel, I cant let that Arkansas fella get ahead a me." 

General Walker observed the attack and commented. "The 27th North Carolina and 3rd 
Arkansas obeyed the order to charge in the face of such fire as troops have seldom encountered 
without running away, and with steadiness and unfaltering gallantry seldom equalled. Battery 
after battery, regiment after regiment, opened fire on them, hurling a torrent of missles through
their ranks, but nothing could arrest there progress, and three times the enemy broke and fled 
before their impetuious charge." 

Seven regiments of Tyndall's command were so battered they were withdrawn from action. 
Scores of Union soldiers who could not keep pace with the retreat ran to the adjacent field and 
hid behind haystacks, waving white handkercheifs. No one took time to organise those trying to 
surrender. The charge had assumed the character of a runaway locomotive, and now the 
Confederates were clearly getting too far into the Federal center. 

To the right of the 3rd Arkansas stood the 1st Delaware. Now Cooke would be up against the II 
Corps infantry. At twenty paces the front rank of the Deleware delivered a volley. Then the 
regiment was ordered to attack. Their charge broke in confusion when their rear rank fired into 
the charging front rank. The inexperienced men lost their composure and stampeded from the 
field along with Battery G, 1st Rhode Island Artillery. 

The valiant charge lost momentum after covering 850 yards. They had penetrated McClellan's 
line by 450 yards, an extroidinary accomplishment. Longstreet and Jackson had been 
hammering the federals all day - but only Cooke had broken through. 
The charge had several profound effects on the events of the day. Among them 12,500 fresh 
troops of the Union VI Corps were sent in and 5 regiments under the command of William Irwin, 
about 2000 men were detached and ordered to drive Cooke from his advanced position and 
restore the Union center. Cooke's light brigade could muster about 550 effectives in a position 
that was clearly untenable. 

Colonel Cooke ordered a parting volley at Irwin's advance, and a rapid withdrawal toward the gap. 
Suddenly, the light brigade was subjected to galling fire. There was no cover for the men during 
the retreat, and no supporting regiments or artillery to retard Irwin's pursuit. Some of Tyndall's 
men who had been bypassed and tried to surrender now leveled muskets and were shooting 
the Confederates down as they ran past. Cooke's men were forced to go through a blistering 
crossfire that took a terrible toll. The movement soon lost all semblance of order and 
disintegrated into a desperate run to save life and limb. A dreadful semblance to the panic of 
New Bern. 

With Cooke's command streaming back in disorder, the prime question for all concerned was 
if the routed troops could be halted and reformed at the gap. To the observer's amazement, 
man by man, as if by heroic instinct, they quit their lively run at the same rail fence where it 
had begun. Here, fatigue and emotion forgotten. the soldiers stopped and faced about. Their 
practiced fingers snatched cartridges from the pouch, tore, rammed, capped and fired at the 
pursuing Yankees.Soon Cooke had his survivors, perhaps no more than 425, in line and 
delivering a disciplined fire. For fifteen minutes commencing at noon the gallantry of Cooke's 
small command had held the spectators of both armies spellbound. Now they were in a fierce 
struggle to hold their ground .......and keep their newly won pride. 

Irwin's five regiments began to falter at the Hagerstown Pike. They fell back to the reverse slope 
of the highground that Tyndall had defended earlier. 

General Longstreet determined that Cooke's position held the greatest jeopardy. He sent Cooke 
repeated dispatches telling him that his command held the key to the whole line and he must 
hold at all hazard. 

At about 1:00pm the 15th N.C. came upon the light brigade and their comander William McRae 
asked Cooke to share ammunition. It quickly became apparent that all cartridge boxes were 
empty! Disregaring this critical factor, Cooke invited McRae to stand with him at the gap. 
McRae accepted. No honor greater, no bond stronger than fighting men who willingly stand 
together with almost no hope of surviving the challenge. 

Another courier arrived from Longstreet telling Cooke to hold on. Cooke shouted back "Tell 
Longstreet to send ammunition. I have not a cartridge in my command, but will hold my 
position at the point of bayonet." The rider galloped off leaving Cooke little promise. 

Federal bullets took their deadly toll on the gray infantry. Soldier after soldier slumped to the 
ground clutching bleeding wounds. Nevertheless, the North Carolina and Arkansas soldiers, 
in the face of a greatly surperior force, obeyed Longstreet's order. Displaying their colors, they 
cooly remained in line armed only with empty, bayoneted guns. 

Longstreet, hearing of Cooke's predicament, saw two unmanned pieces of artillery of Miller's 
Louisiana Battery. He put his staff officers to the guns while he held the horses. It was easy to 
see that if the Federals broke through Cooke's line , the Confederate army would be cut to 
pieces and probably destroyed. He had the guns loaded and sent a rattle of hail into the 
Federals as they came over the crest of the hill. 

As the Federals would come up they would see the colors of the North Carolina regiment 
waving placidly and they would receive a shower of cannister fire. 

Once a regiment was out of ammunition, it was standard procedure for the regmient to be 
disengaged and replaced by a regiment from the reserve or second line. However there was 
not a single regiment available to relieve him. The Light Brigade stood well into the afternoon, 
costantly submitted to Irwin's volleys. All the defiant Southerners could do was wave their 
tattered flags and show the bayonet in a rash attempt to make the Union generals believe the 
troops in the gap were in strength and anxious to have another go. 

Union musket and cannon fire inflicted appalling losses on the regiment, but the North 
Carolinians vowed to hold the gap or go down together. For two painful hours, the troops 
stood to their line, empty cartridge boxes at their feet, and blood red battle flags flying 
defiantly above them. 

Around three o'clock, Captain James A. Graham, of the Orange Guards at the side of Colonel 
Cooke, beheld the terrible sacrifice of life. "The rail fence, which was our only protection, was 
riddled with bullets and torn with shot and shell and our men were falling fast, but still the 
27th NC and the 3rd Arkansas flinched not. Endued with the courage of their commander, 
they stood firm to their post." 

Longstreet along with the two newly arrived 12 pounder guns of Captain M.O. Miller, 
continued to fire double cannister over the heads of the ragged Confederates and cruelly 
scored in the regiments from Maine and New York. Irwin found it a pointless waste to continue 
to expose his brigade to such fire. 

The hostilities ceased about 3pm as the two armies lay panting and licking their wounds. The 
27th NC and the 3rd Arkansas had held Lee's left- center from the time they were committed, 
about 10 am,until all infantry action was completed. They had over- run Tyndall's reinforced 
brigade and penetrated deep into McClellan's center. This gallant Confederate assault, the 
most significant of the day, destroyed the momentun of II Corps which had shattered the 
Confederate center and nearly destroyed the Southern army. 

The regiment that had disgraced itself at New Bern; that was relegated to picket duty during 
the Peninsula Campaign; that was shunted to the rear guard during Second Manassas, had 
won unprecedented fame. Stephen Southall Douglas, in his second volume of Lee's Lieutenants 
refers to the 27th NC more than any other unit, describing them as "gallant", "great", 
"magnificent", "earned immortality at Sharpsburg"' and crowns their great success by naming 
them "the rock of Sharpsburg." 

Among the most gallant events in recorded military history is the stand made by a distinguished 
British regiment, the Coldstream Guards, at the Battle of Waterloo. They along with the famed 
Scots Guards held Wellington's right against determined attacks by superior French forces. in 
doing so they suffered a 27% loss. Their feat was eclipsed by the 27th NC at Sharpsburg. They 
held a vital position against a vastly superior enemy and refused to give ground despite a 61% loss. 



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