The Georgia in the Civil War Message Board

Re: 36th Georgia /G.W. Ezzard
In Response To: Re: 36th Georgia /G.W. Ezzard ()

Mr. Ezzard,

I do not understand what you are referring to as a "Roster of the reorganized troops (Army of Tennessee)." Referring to my second message board posting, those records did not survive the final days of the war. As far as the orders for the reorganization, you can refer below. On what regiment was consolidate with which regiment, you can refer to the Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Georgia, M266, Record Group 94, Washington, D.C.: National Archives and they will have notes on consolidation or you can refer to Stewart Sifakis's book "Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Georgia Volume. New York: Facts on File, 1995. pages 243-244 for the 34th Georgia, pages 246-247 for the 36th Georgia, pages 253-255 for the 42nd Georgia, and pages 270-271 for the 56th Georgia.

The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Washington, D. C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1880-1901, Series I, Volume XLVII/3.

Page 770.
HEADQUARTERS,
April 8, 1865--11.45 a.m.
Lieutenant-General STEWART,
Commanding, &c. :
GENERAL: I am instructed by the commanding general to say that he wishes you to commence the reorganization of your troops (the Army of Tennessee proper) immediately. Consult with your corps commanders, and consolidate without delay. He is informed that the last of the troops brought by Lieutenant-General Lee from Augusta reached here this morning.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
E. J. HARVIE,
Colonel and Inspector-General.

Page 773-774.
GENERAL ORDERS No. 13.
HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF TENNESSEE,
Near Smithfield, N C., April 9, 1865.
I. The Army of Tennessee will be organized as follows:
Hardee's corps: Cheatham's division, Brown's (late Cleburne's) division, Hoke's division.
Stewart's corps: Loring's division, Walthall's (late McLaws')division, Anderson's (late Taliaferro's) division.
Lee's corps: Hill's division, Steven son's division.
II. Brown's division will be composed of the reorganized brigades of Govan and J. A. Smith.
Loring's division will be composed of the following brigades, constituted as indicated:
Featherstons' brigade: The regiments now under Brigadier-General Featherston; the new Arkansas regiment formed of Reynolds' brigade, Thirty-seventh Mississippi Regiment.
Lowry's brigade: The troops now in Adams' brigade, Twelfth Louisiana Regiment of Scott's brigade.
Shelley's brigade: The Alabama regiments now in Scott's brigade; First Alabama Regiment, now in Quarles' brigade; Forty-fifth, Thirty-third, and Sixteenth Regiments, now in Lowry's brigade; Seventeenth, Twenty-sixth, and Twenty-ninth Alabama Regiments, now with Brigadier-General Shelley.
Walthall's division will consist of the following brigades:
Conner's brigade: Second South Carolina Regiment, made up of Second and Twentieth South Carolina Regiments; Third South Carolina Regiment, made up of Third Battalion and the Third and Eighth South Carolina Regiments; Seventh South Carolina Regiment, made up of Seventh and Fifteenth South Carolina Regiments.
Harrison's brigade: Composed of the regiments which constituted Harrison's and Fiser's brigades, viz, Thirty-second Georgia, Fifth Georgia, First Georgia Regulars (reorganized), and Fifth Georgia Reserves. Hill's division will comprise Sharp's and Brantly's brigades. Stevenson's division: Pettus' and Henderson's brigades. III. A more complete announcement will shortly be made. By command of General Johnston.
ARCHER ANDERSON,
Assistant Adjutant-General.
-----

Units at all echelons were scattered out during this time period so the exact location would be quite impossible to verify. The location for the army was given as Smithfield.

There are two basic reasons for discharge during the reorganization. The first is incompetence and the second is that the positions that they were filling were no longer necessary or eliminated. Stevenson's Division on April 17, 1865 had the following strength:

Officers Present: 56.
Men Present: 666.
Effective total Present: 627.
Aggregate Present: 885.
Aggregate Present and Absent: 4,743.

The total present should be something around 12,000 for a division so as you can see, the division like the regimental example given in the second message board posting, is a mere shell of its former self.

Copies of the pensions can be purchased through this message board. See the red bordered banner at the top center of the page.

You have to remember that your ancestor was 85 years old at the time of his filing and he was using someone else to fill out his paperwork. He was blind and could not review his paperwork or even sign it (he signed by his mark). It is very likely that he was confused about dates and events at this point in his life.

In addition, men that surrendered at Kingston, Georgia were looked upon with question because many, many of them were deserters and had hidden in the mountains and affiliated themselves with nefarious organizations (criminal, unsanctioned military, etc). Wofford's whole purpose was to bring the region under control and relieve some of the suffering that they were causing.

I hope this helps.

Respectfully,

Gerald D. Hodge, Jr.
M.A. Military History - Civl War Concentration
War Between the States Historian
Research - Preservation
Historian: 39th Georgia Volunteer Infantry Regiment

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