"[The] Army of Northern Virginia was not much to look at; yet it was something special to meet. Lacking all else, it still had those cartridge boxes and muskets, it knew how to use them, and extreme hardship had swept away everybody except the men who could stand anything."

Bruce Catton in Terrible Swift Sword, describing the Confederate army at Sharpsburg 

MAJOR BATTLES & LINKS

NEW BERN - March 14, 1862

"The 10th Connecticut . . . dug in about 200 yards from the Confederate breastworks and fought an intense rifle duel with the 27th and 37th North Carolina Regiments."

William R. Trotter

Ironclads and Columbiads

SEVEN DAYS - June 25–July 1, 1862

"On the 27th of June, 1862, the memorable 'Seven Days Fight' around Richmond began. The Grays formed a portion of the reserve under Gen. Holmes, and were marched from battle field to battle field, receiving the shells of the enemy, and acting as targets for their sharp shooters."

Captain John A. Sloan

Reminiscences of the Guilford Grays

SHARPSBURG - September 17, 1862

"At one critical juncture during the battle, the 27th North Carolina, the 3rd Arkansas, and 250 men from Cobb's Brigade of McLaws's Division, under the command of the 27th's Colonel John Rogers Cooke, held their position for two-and-a-half hours without a single cartridge. At one point, Longstreet sent Moxley Sorrell to remind Cooke that his men must hold their position at all costs. Cooke replied, 'Major, thank General Longstreet for his good words, but say, by God Almighty, he needn't doubt me! We will stay here, by J.C., if we must go to hell together!'"

"Six weeks later, Cooke was promoted to Brigadier General and Cooke's North Carolina Brigade, consisting of the 15th, 27th, 46th, and 48th NC regiments, was organized."

Stephen W. Sears,

A Landscape Turned Red 

FREDERICKSBURG - December 11-15, 1862

"The 27th North Carolina hesitated only a moment, 'in the midst of a terrific fire,' before it surged down the hillside to the Sunken Road. Gunners 'began to throw up their hats and cheer' the charging regiment. The Carolinians responded with a yell and set off for the bottom of the hill. Cobb's Georgia units met the incoming Confederates with more shouts and cheers. The 27th North Carolina lost a dozen soldiers while descending Willis Hill, among them their commander. Colonel John A. Gilmer hobbled into the road with a painful wound to his knee. Major Joseph C. Webb sustained a glancing shot to his wrist, which, he wryly noted, 'hurt my coat worse than it did my hide.' The reinforcements [from the 27th N.C.] mingled with Cobb's troops, making the men roughly four files deep."

Francis Augustin O'Reilly

The Fredericksburg Campaign

JANUARY - OCTOBER 1863

"During the battle at Fredericksburg the regiment lost three men killed and twelve wounded.

"Cooke's brigade was ordered to South Carolina on January 3, 1863, and moved via Richmond, Goldsboro, and Burgaw to Wilmington. From Wilmington it was sent by rail to Charleston and then to Coosawhatchie. At Coosawhatchie the brigade was placed under the command of General P. G. T. Beauregard, commander of the Third Military District, Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

"In the late winter and early spring of 1863 the Federals were applying pressure at a number of points along the Atlantic coast and were preparing to launch an attack against Charleston. The latter, which took place on April 7, was exclusively naval and was beaten off by the Confederate defenders without undue difficulty. During the engagement Cooke's brigade was in a supporting position but did not see any action.

"On April 23 the brigade left Coosawhatchie for Wilmington, where it arrived on April 26. Five days later the brigade moved to Kinston to reinforce General D. H. Hill's command, which had just failed in attempts to recapture New Bern and Washington, North Carolina. On May 22 Cooke's brigade was sent to the support of the 56th Regiment N.C. Troops, which was being severely handled by a superior force at Gum Swamp. After forcing the enemy to withdraw, Cooke's brigade returned to Kinston. Shortly thereafter it was ordered to Richmond, where it arrived on June 8.

"During the Gettysburg campaign in late June and early July, 1863, Cooke's brigade remained in the defenses around Richmond under the command of General Arnold Elzey. One regiment, the 46th Regiment N.C. Troops, was sent to Hanover Junction while the remainder of the brigade was stationed on the Meadow Bridge Road, north of Richmond. Two regiments were later sent to New Bridge, on the South Anna River, and when a Federal force advanced against that position, General Cooke was dispatched there with the remainder of his brigade on July 4. After halting the Federals, Cooke's men remained on the South Anna until ordered to Fredericksburg when the Army of Northern Virginia returned to Virginia in mid-July after the Gettysburg campaign. In early September the brigade was relieved and returned to Hanover Junction, where it remained until ordered to Gordonsville on or about September 27. At Gordonsville it rejoined the Army of Northern Virginia and was assigned to Henry Heth's division of A. P. Hill's corps . . . on or about October 3, 1863."

North Carolina Troops, 1861–1865: A Roster

Volume 8, Pg. 4

Infantry (27th-31st Regiments)

Edited by Weymouth T. Jordan Jr.

BRISTOE STATION - October 14, 1863

"Cooke's Brigade was slaughtered. . . . The magnificent Twenty-seventh North Carolina, which had earned immortality at Sharpsburg, sacrificed thirty-three of its officers and 290 of its 416 men."

Douglas Southall Freeman,

Lee's Lieutenants

"One incident of this fight I will mention, which shows the coolness of some men under all circumstances. We had just drawn new clothing -- gray jackets and blue pants -- and our men, anxious to keep their clothing bright and new, had most of them put on their old clothes during the march and had them on at this fight. As we were falling back up the hill, Private Laughinghouse, of Company E, from Pitt county, finding his knapsack too heavy, determined to throw it away, but as he did not wish to lose his new clothes -- having his old ones on -- stopped, changed clothes under heavy fire, and then picking up his blanket and gun, made his way up the hill unhurt."

James A. Graham, Captain, Co. A

Twenty Seventh Regiment

Clark's North Carolina Regiments

Vol. II, Page 444

THE WILDERNESS - (May 5-7),

SPOTSYLVANIA COURTHOUSE - (May 8-21),

NORTH ANNA - (May 23-26)  

"After dark (on May 5), we were relieved by Kirkland's brigade. As we were retiring from our position, we got into a country-road, parallel to the 'Plank-Road,' and had proceeded but a short distance, when my attention was directed to a similar body of troops, marching quietly in the road with us; the night was very dark, and it was difficult to distinguish friend from foe. I felt some anxiety, as they seemed to possess uniform knapsacks and were of better appearance than our men, to know who they were. I therefore approached their column, and found to my utter astonishment that they were 'blue-coats.' . . . The surprise was so great . . . a hasty retreat was made on both sides and each soon lost the other in the darkness. They were evidently on the wrong road 'to get out of the Wilderness.'"

Captain John A. Sloan

Reminiscences of the Guilford Grays

COLD HARBOR - May 31 - June 12, 1864

"On the 3d of June the two armies were brought face to face at Cold Harbor . . . about 8 o'clock they began to attack, and kept up their assaults until late in the evening. Brigade after brigade was hurled against us until the ground in our front was literally covered with their dead and wounded. . . . The prisoners we captured denounced and cursed Grant for this slaughter, and dubbed him the 'champion butcher.'"

Captain John A. Sloan

Reminiscences of the Guilford Grays

SIEGE OF PETERSBURG - June 15, 1864 - April 2, 1865

"I feel as ever, confident of our success. Gen'l Lee's Army is numerically stronger now than when we opened the Campaign of '64, while in experience it is twofold stronger. That Grant has an inferior Army, to the one we fought last year, no one doubts."

Lt. Col. Joseph Webb, 27th N.C., in a letter dated January 24, 1865

APPOMATTOX CAMPAIGN - March 29 - April 9, 1865 

     At Appomattox, the 27th North Carolina Regiment surrendered 9 officers and 103 men.

    Of this number, the Guilford Greys surrendered 2 officers and 11 men: Capt. John A. Sloan, Lt. Rufus B. Gibson, 1st Sgt. John Rhodes, Ordnance Sgt. Andrew David Lindsay, Sgt. Joel J. Thom, and Privates Peter M. Brown, Lewis N. Isley, James M. Hardin, Walter Green (courier for General Cooke), E. Tonkey Sharpe, W. A. McBride, George W. Lemons, Silas C. Dodson, and Musician Samuel M. Lipscomb.