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1st South Carolina Rifles

Editor’s Note: Do you have information on this unit’s role at the Siege of Petersburg?  Please contact us using the Contact button in the menu at the top of the screen.  We are happy to exchange information with other researchers.

Muster In: Organized July 20, 18611
Muster Out: April 9, 18652

Commander(s):
Colonel George McD. Miller
Commander Image

Lieutenant Colonel William M. Hadden
Image of William Hadden 1st Orr's SC Rifles3

Lieutenant Colonel James T. Robertson
Commander Image

Captain William H. Holcombe
Commander Image

Commander 5
Commander Image

First Offensive Order of Battle: McGowan’s Brigade | Wilcox’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army4

  • Commander:
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Second Offensive Order of Battle: McGowan’s Brigade | Wilcox’s Division | Third Corps| Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army5

  • Commander:
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Third Offensive Order of Battle: McGowan’s Brigade | Wilcox’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army6

  • Commander:
    • Lieutenant Colonel William M. Hadden (killed on July 28, 1864)7
    • Major (Lieutenant Colonel) James T. Robertson (promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on July 28, 1864)8
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Fourth Offensive Order of Battle: McGowan’s Brigade | Wilcox’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army9

  • Commander: Lieutenant Colonel James T. Robertson10
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Fifth Offensive Order of Battle: McGowan’s Brigade | Wilcox’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army11,12

  • Commander:
    • Colonel George McD. Miller (at least September 27, 1864)13,14
    • Major (Lieutenant Colonel?) James T. Robertson (at least September 1, 1864)15,16
  • Unit Strength:
    • 263 officers and men PFD (September 1, 1864)17
    • 240 officers and men PFD (September 27, 1864)18
  • Weapons: .58 caliber rifles (presumably a mix of Enfields and Springfields)19,20

Sixth Offensive Order of Battle: McGowan’s Brigade | Wilcox’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army21

  • Commander:
    • Colonel George McD. Miller22
    • Lieutenant Colonel James T. Robertson23
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Seventh Offensive Order of Battle: McGowan’s Brigade | Wilcox’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army24,25

  • Commander:
    • Colonel George McD. Miller (no indication of absence is given for December)(November & December 1864)26,27
    • Lieutenant Colonel James T. Robertson (no indication of absence is given for December)(November & December 1864)28,29
    • Captain William H. Holcombe (December 1864)30
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Eighth Offensive Order of Battle: McGowan’s Brigade | Wilcox’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army31,32,33,34,35

  • Commander:
    • Colonel George McD. Miller (took a leave of absence starting February 10)(January & February 1865)36,37,38
    • Lieutenant Colonel James T. Robertson (February 1865)39
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Ninth Offensive Order of Battle: McGowan’s Brigade | Wilcox’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army40,41

  • Commander:
    • None listed. (March 1865)42
    • Colonel George McD. Miller (captured April 1)(April 1, 1865)43
    • ? (after Col. Miller was captured)(April 1-2, 1865)44
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Dyer’s/Sifakis’ Compendium Info:
Siege of Petersburg Battles45:

  • Petersburg Siege (June 1864-April 1865)
  • Squirrel Level Road (September 30, 1864)
  • Jones’ Farm (September 30, 1864)
  • Pegram’s Farm (October 1, 1864)
  • Five Forks (April 1, 1865)
  • Appomattox Court House (April 9, 1865)

Bibliography:

    Siege of Petersburg Documents Which Mention This Unit:

    Sources:

    1. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: South Carolina and Georgia by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 56-57
    2. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: South Carolina and Georgia by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 56-57
    3. Bigham, John Mills. “The 1st South Carolina Rifles: An Album of Officers in Orr’s Regiment.” Military Images, vol. 10, no. 3, 1988, pp. 23–27. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44033375. Accessed 10 May 2023.
    4. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 112
    5. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 112
    6. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 122
    7. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 122
    8. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 122
    9. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 130
    10. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 130
    11. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 139
    12. Sommers, Richard J. “Grant’s Fifth Offensive at Petersburg: A Study in Strategy, Tactics, and Generalship.  The Battle of Poplar Spring Church, the First Battle of the Darbytown Road, the Second Battle of the Squirrel Level Road, the Second Battle of the Darbytown Road (Ulysses S. Grant, Virginia).” Doctoral Thesis. Rice University, 1970. Print. p. 1312.
    13. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 139
    14. Confederate Inspection Report 8-P-24: McGowan’s Brigade, September 27, 1864Inspection Reports and Related Records Received By the Inspection Branch in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M935, Roll 10: Inspection Reports P-12 – 39-P-24); War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C.
    15. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 139: Robertson is listed as a Lt. Col. in Sibley’s book, but see the September 1 inspection report for McGowan’s Brigade for a reference to Major Robertson.
    16. Confederate Inspection Report 24-P-17: McGowan’s Brigade, September 1, 1864Inspection Reports and Related Records Received By the Inspection Branch in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M935, Roll 10: Inspection Reports P-12 – 39-P-24); War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C.
    17. Confederate Inspection Report 24-P-17: McGowan’s Brigade, September 1, 1864Inspection Reports and Related Records Received By the Inspection Branch in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M935, Roll 10: Inspection Reports P-12 – 39-P-24); War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C.
    18. Confederate Inspection Report 8-P-24: McGowan’s Brigade, September 27, 1864Inspection Reports and Related Records Received By the Inspection Branch in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M935, Roll 10: Inspection Reports P-12 – 39-P-24); War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C.
    19. Confederate Inspection Report 24-P-17: McGowan’s Brigade, September 1, 1864Inspection Reports and Related Records Received By the Inspection Branch in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M935, Roll 10: Inspection Reports P-12 – 39-P-24); War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C.
    20. Confederate Inspection Report 8-P-24: McGowan’s Brigade, September 27, 1864Inspection Reports and Related Records Received By the Inspection Branch in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M935, Roll 10: Inspection Reports P-12 – 39-P-24); War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C.
    21. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 148
    22. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 148
    23. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 148
    24. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 157
    25. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 165
    26. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 157
    27. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 165
    28. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 157
    29. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 165
    30. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 165
    31. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 174
    32. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 2 (Serial Number 96), page 1173: “Organization of the Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General R. E. Lee, January 31, 1865”; This list contains many commanders who were not there.  They were the “official” commanders but may have been gone on leave.  I have used none of the leaders from this list as a result.
    33. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 2 (Serial Number 96), page 1182: “Organization of the Army of Northern Virginia, General R. E. Lee, C. S. Army, commanding, January 31, 1865”; This order of battle was based off of inspection reports from January 26-31, 1865, and the leaders should be accurate for this time frame.
    34. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 184
    35. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 2 (Serial Number 96), page 1272: “Organization of the Infantry and Cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia, General R. E. Lee, C. S. Army, commanding, February 28, 1865”; This order of battle was based off of inspection reports from February 28, 1865.  However, leaders listed are from January.  I’ve chosen to ignore the leaders and just use this source for the organization of the order of battle.
    36. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 174
    37. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 2 (Serial Number 96), page 1182: “Organization of the Army of Northern Virginia, General R. E. Lee, C. S. Army, commanding, January 31, 1865”; This order of battle was based off of inspection reports from January 26-31, 1865, and the leaders should be accurate for this time frame.
    38. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 184
    39. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 184
    40. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 193
    41. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 203
    42. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 193
    43. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 203
    44. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 203
    45. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: South Carolina and Georgia by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 56-57
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