1st (Orr's) South Carolina Rifle Regiment
Flag of South Carolina
ActiveJuly 20, 1861, to April 10, 1865
CountryConfederate States of America
AllegianceCSA Dixie
BranchInfantry
EngagementsAmerican Civil War

Orr's Rifles was a South Carolina infantry regiment that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.

History

Formation

On 20 July 1861, James Lawrence Orr organized the First South Carolina Rifle Regiment at Sandy Springs. He was elected Colonel; J. Foster Marshall was elected Lt. Colonel, and Daniel A. Ledbetter, Major. Ten companies were recruited in the following districts (counties were known as districts between 1800 & 1868)[1]

Company: Nickname District Captain
A: "the Keowee Riflemen"PickensJ.W. Livingston
B: "McDuffie's Guards"AbbevilleJames Perrin
C: "the Mountain Boys"PickensJ.J. Norton
D: "Orr's Rifles"AndersonFrank E. Harrison
E: "the Oconee Riflemen"PickensMiles M. Norton
F: "the Blue Ridge Rifles"PickensRobert A. Hawthorne
G: "the Marshall Riflemen"AbbevilleG. McDuffie Miller
H: "the Pee Dee Guards"MarionGeorge M. Fairlee
I: not created
K: "the Marshall Guards"AndersonGeorge W. Cox
L: "the Calhoun Guards"AndersonJohn B. Moore

The regiment had seen no action by the time Orr left, but the name "Orr's Rifles" stuck throughout the war.

Initial duty

First posted to Sullivan's Island, SC to defend Charleston Harbor, others called them the "Pound Cake Regiment" in reference to their "light" garrison duty.[2] The 20th SC Infantry was referred to as the "Poundcake Brigade" on account of limited engagements and they were so close to home, their families could bring them poundcake or other treats.

Transfer to Army of Northern Virginia

In April 1862, the full-strength 1,000-man unit was transferred to Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia (ANV). In June, it was incorporated into Gregg's Brigade, of A.P. Hill's Light Division, of Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson Corps (often termed the "Left Wing" early in the war).

Surrender

Dr.William_McNeill_Whistler of the 1st S.C.R.R.

Lee surrendered the ANV, including Orr's Rifles, at Appomattox Court House on 9 April 1865. After three years of combat, the regiment comprised 9 officers and 148 enlisted men.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Colonel James Lawrence Orr". South Carolina Genealogical Society. Archived from the original on 30 January 2012.
  2. ↑ Mattison, J. W. (1899). "Orr's South Carolina Rifles". Southern Historical Society Papers. 27: 157–165.

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