3rd South Carolina Infantry Regiment

Confederate Regiments & Batteries > South Carolina

1861
April Organized at Columbia under the command of Colonel James H. Williams, Lieutenant Colonel Barham B. Foster, and Major James M. Baxter
  • Company A — “State Guards” – Laurens District – Captain B. Conway Garlington
  • Company B —  “Williams Guards” – Newberry District – Captain S. Newton Davidson
  • Company C — “Pickens Guards” – Newberry District – Captain R. C. Maffett
  • Company D — “Cross Anchor Volunteers” – Spartanburg and Union Districts – Captain T. B. Furgerson
  • Company E — “Quitman Rifles” – Newberry District – Captain James D. Nance
  • Company F — “Wadsworth Guards” – Newberry and Laurens District – Captain T. Walker
  • Company G — “Laurens Briars” – Laurens District – Captain R. P. Todd
  • Company H — “Brooks Guards” and “Dutch Fork Boys” – Lexington District – Captain D. Nunamaker
  • Company I — “Musgrove Volunteers” – Laurens District – Captain Smith L. Jones
  • Company K — “Blackstock Volunteers” – Spartanburg District – Captain Benjamin Kennedy
June Moved to Virginia and assigned to Bonham’s Brigade, Army of the Potomac
July 21

First Battle of Manassas

July-October Assigned to Bonham’s Brigade, 1st Corps, Army of the Potomac
October-November Assigned to Bonham’s Brigade, 3rd Division, 1st Corps, Potomac District, Department of Northern Virginia
November-January Assigned to Bonham’s Brigade, Van Dorn’s Division, 1st Corps, Potomac District, Department of Northern Virginia
1862
January-March Assigned to Kershaw’s Brigade, Early’s Division, Potomac District, Department of Northern Virginia
January 30 Lieutenant Colonel Foster resigned due to health.
March 1 Lieutenant Colonel Barham B. Foster resigned due to ill health.
April The regiment mustered 550 effectives. Major James M. Baxter was promoted to lieutenant colonel and Captain Benjamin C. Garlington of Company A was prmoted to major. Assigned to Kershaw’s Brigade, McLaws’ Division, Magruder’s Command, Army of Northern Virginia.
April-May

Siege of Yorktown
May 4

Battle of Williamsburg
May 13 The regiment reorganized. Colonel Williams and Lieutenant Colonel Baxter were dropped. James D. Nance was elected colonel, Major Benjamin C. Garlington was elected lieutenant colonel and Adjutant William Drayton Rutherford was elected major. John K. Nance was elected captain.
June 15-16

Secessionville
June 25-July 1

Seven Days Battles
June 29

Savage’s Station

The regiment lost 23 men killed, 108 wounded, and 4 missing. Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Garlington was killed and Captain Robert Maffett was wounded.
July 1

Malvern Hill

Major William Drayton Rutherford was promoted to lieutenant colonel and Captain Robert C. Maffett of Company C was promoted to major.
July 18 Nine Mile Road
August 29-30

Second Battle of Manassas
September 1

Battle of Ox Hill (Chantilly)
September 12-15

Harpers Ferry

The Regiment captured Maryland Heights overlooking Harpers Ferry.
September 17

Battle of Sharpsburg (Antietam)

The 3rd South Carolina lost 11 men killed, 71 wounded and 2 men missing of the 266 men engaged (a large detail had been left in Harpers Ferry) in severe fighting around the West Woods.

From the first of two War Department tablets on Kershaw’s Brigade at Antietam:

September 17, 1862.

Kershaw’s Brigade crossed the Potomac at Blackford’s Ford about daybreak of the 17th and halted in the western suburbs of Sharpsburg until nearly 9 A.M., when it crossed the fields and took position in the open ground southwest of the Dunkard Church from which, supported by Walker’s Division and Early’s Brigade, it moved to the attack of the 34th New York Infantry of Sedgwick’s Division, Second Corps, and the 125th Pennsylvania of the Twelfth Corps, just west of the church, causing them to retire. Efforts to drive Greene’s Division and the Federal Artillery from the ridge east of the Hagerstown Pike were repulsed and the Brigade fell back beyond the western limits of the West Woods.

Later in the day it moved to the northern part of the West Woods, where it remained until the night of the 18th, when it was withdrawn and recrossed the Potomac.

From the second tablet:

About 9:45 A.M., the 2d, 7th and 8th South Carolina of Kershaw’s Brigade charged out of the woods and across this road upon Tompkins’ Rhode Island Battery on the ridge about 220 yards east of this. The charge was repulsed by the Battery and Greene’s Division of Infantry, and the Brigade fell back beyond the western limits of the West Woods. Nearly one half of the officers and men of the Brigade were killed and wounded in less than fifteen minutes.

This tablet marks where the center of the Brigade crossed the road, its left reached nearly to the church.
September 22 At Opequon Creek
December 13

Fredericksburg

The regiment lost 163 casualties. Colonel Nance was badly wounded. Captain John C. Sumner was killed and Lieutenant Colonel William D. Rutherford , Major Maffett, Adjutant Young J. Pope and Captains William W. Nance, John K.G. Nance and Rutherford Todd were wounded.

1863
May 1-4

Battle of Chancellorsville

The regiment lost 12 men casualties
July 1-3

Battle of Gettysburg

Lieutenant Colonel David Langston commanded the 406 men of the regiment. It lost 22 men killed, 59 wounded, and 6 missing in fighting on the Rose farm. Lieutenant Colonel Langston was killed and Major Robert C. Maffett took command until Colonel Nance caught up with the army on July 3 returning from recovering from his Fredericksburg wound. Lieutanent William R. Thomas was mortally wounded and Adjutant Pope was wounded on July 2.
July 10

Antietam Creek
July 14

Falling Waters
September Transferred to the west with Longstreet
September 19-20

Battle of Chickamauga

Adjutant Pope and Captain Todd were wounded
September-November

Siege of Chattanooga
November-December

Siege of Knoxville
November 16

Campbell’s Station
November 30

Fort Sanders
December 15

Beane’s Station
1864
March Returned to Virginia
May 5-6

Battle of The WIlderness

Colonel Nance was killed on May 6, “pierced by 5 balls.” Lieutenant Colonel William D. Rutherford was promoted to colonel, Major Robert C. Maffett to lieutenant colonel and Captain Rutherford Todd of Company G was promoted to major.
May 8-21

Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
May 23-26
North Anna
June 1-3

Second Cold Harbor
June-August

Siege of Petersburg
August Sent to the Shenandoah Valley. Lieutenant Colonel Robert Maffett was temporarilty transferred to command the 7th South Carolina, which had lost all of its field officers and most of its captains.
August 26

Halltown

Lieutenant Colonel Robert Maffett was captured while commanding the 7th South Carolina, and would die in Union captivity.
September 3-4

Battle of Berryville

Adjutant Pope was shot through the mouth
October 7 Port Reublic
October 14

Battle of Strasburg

Colonel William D. Rutherford was killed. Major Rutherford P. Todd took command of the regiment.
October 19

Battle of Cedar Creek

Major Rutherford P. Todd was wounded. Adjutant Pope was wounded in the eye, his seventh wound and the one which finally incapacitated him.
Late October Returned to Richmond defenses
Winter Captain John Nance was promoted to major
1865
February Transferred to South Caroina
February 14 Lieutenant Colonel Maffett died in Union captivity at Fort Delaware, having been a prisoner since August of 1864.
February-April

North Carolina Campaign
March 16

Battle of Averasborough

March 19-21

Battle of Bentonville

The regiment lost 1 killed and 15 wounded
March 23 The regiment mustered 184 men
April 9 The regiment consolidated with the 8th South Carolina Infantry Regiment, the 3rd South Carolina Infantry Battalion and part of Blanchard’s South Carolina Reserves, under the command of Colonel Eli Thomas Stackhouse.
April 26 Surrendered with the Army of Tennessee