11th North Carolina Infantry Regiment

Confederate Regiments & Batteries * North Carolina

1862
March 31 The 11th North Carolina Infantry Regiment was organized near Raleigh at Camp Mangum. It was under the command of Colonel Collett Leventhorpe, a native of Great Britain who had been an officer in the British army; and Lieutenant Colonel William J. Martin, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Many of the men had served in Colonel D.H. Hill’s 1st (Bethel) North Carolina Volunteer Regiment, a six months regiment that had mustered out in November 1861.

  • Company A – “Edgecombe Guards” – Mecklenburg and Gaston Counties
  • Company B – “Hornets Nest Rifles” – Burke, Wilkes and Caldwell Counties
  • Company C – “Charlotte Greys” – Bertie County
  • Company D – “Orange Light Infantry” – Burke County
  • Company E – “Buncombe Riflemen” – Mecklenburg and Iredell Counties
  • Company F – “Lafayette Light Infantry” – Chowan, Perquimans and Hertford Counties
  • Company G – “Burke Rifles” – Orange and Chatham Counties
  • Company H – “Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry” – Mecklenburg County
  • Company I – “Enfield Blues” – Lincoln and Gaston Counties
  • Company K – “Southern Stars” – Buncombe County

Assigned to the Department of North Carolina.
May-September Assigned to District of Cape Fear, Department of North Carolina.
September-October Assigned to District of Cape Fear, Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia.
October-December Assigned to District of North Carolina, Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia.
December 16
Battle of White Hall
1863
March-April
New Bern and Washington Campaign

Assigned to Pettigrew’s Brigade, D.H. Hill’s Command, Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia.
April-May Assigned to Pettigrew’s Brigade, Department of North Carolina.
May-June Moved to Virginia and assigned to Pettigrew’s Brigade, Department of Richmond.
June Assigned to Pettigrew’s-Kirkland’s-MacRae’s Brigade, Heth’s Division, 3rd Corps, Army of Northern Virginia.
July 1-4

Battle of Gettysburg

The 11th North Carolina was commanded at Gettysburg by Colonel Collett Leventhorpe. He was badly wounded in the left arm and hip on July 1. Major Egbert A. Ross took command until he was killed in the fighting for Seminary Ridge. Captain Francis W. Bird then took over the regiment as senior officer.

LieutenantsThomas Watson Cooper and James B. Lowrie were killed, and are buried in Greemount Cemetery in Baltimore.

The regiment brought 617 men to the field and lost over half in fighting on both the first day on Seminary Ridge, when the regiment suffered 200 casualties, and on the third day in Pickett’s Charge. During the charge Captain Francis Bird of Company C took up the regimental flag when the last of the eight men of the color guard where killed or wounded, carried it through the rest of the charge, and brought it back to safety despite the staff having been twice shot out of his hands.

From the monument to Pettigrew’s Brigade at Gettysburg on West Confederate Avenue:

July 1. Crossing Willoughby Run at 2 P. M. met the 1st Brigade 1st Division First Corps in Reynolds Woods and drove it back after a bloody struggle. Advancing to the summit of the ridge encountered and broke a second Union line and was then relieved by troops of Pender’s Division.

July 2. Lay in woods west of the Run. In evening took position near here.

July 3. In Longstreet’s assault the Brigade occupied the right center of the Division and the course of the charge brought it in front of the high stone wall north of the Angle and 80 yards farther east, it advanced very nearly to that wall. A few reached it but were captured. The skeleton regiments retired led by Lieutenants and the Brigade by a Major the only field officer left.

July 4. After night withdrew and began the march to Hagerstown.
July 5 Colonel Collett Leventhorpe was captured by Union Cavalry during the retreat of Imboden’s train of wounded to Virginia on July 5 near Greencastle, Pennsylvania. Gangrene had developed in his shattered arm but he resisted attempts to have it amputated, and survived the cauterizing of the arm with nitric acid, refusing anethesia.
July 10

Falling Waters
October-November

Bristoe Campaign

The regiment lost 4 men killed and 11 wounded.
October 14

Bristoe Station
November-December

Mine Run Campaign
1864
April Colonel Leventhorpe was exchanged in early 1864 but resigned his commission due to his wounds to command a home guard brigade. Lieutenant Colonel William Martin was promoted to colonel.
May 5-6
Battle of the Wilderness
May 8-11
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
May 22-26
Battle of North Anna
June 1-3
Battle of Cold Harbor
June
Siege of Petersburg
August 18-21
Globe Tavern
August 25
Reams’ Station

Lieutenant Colonel Francis W. Bird was mortally wounded, and died the following day.
September 30
Jones’ Farm and Squirrel Level Road
October 1
Pegram’s Farm
October 2
Harman Road
1865
February 5-7
Hatcher’s Run
April 2
Final Assault on Petersburg
April 9
Appomattox Court House

The 11th North Carolina Infantry regiment surrendered 8 officers and 74 enlisted men under the command of Colonel William Joseph Martin.