- 2nd Regiment South Carolina Volunteer Infantry (African Descent)
Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 2nd Regiment South Carolina Volunteer Infantry (African Descent)
caption=South Carolina state flag
dates=May 22 ,1863 toFebruary 8 ,1864
country=United States
allegiance= Union
branch=Infantry
equipment=Rifled musket s
battles=Raid at Combahee Ferry
Burning of Darien, GeorgiaThe 2nd Regiment South Carolina Volunteer Infantry (African Descent) was an
African-American infantry regiment that served in theUnion Army during theAmerican Civil War . It was among the scores of units raised starting in the middle of the war to augment Federal troop strength by tapping into the large Southern population of former slaves. The regiment and its white commander gained notoriety for its actions during the controversial looting and burning of the pro-Confederate town ofDarien, Georgia . [ [http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/gahistmarkers/burningofdarienhistmarker.htm The University of Georgia, Carl Vining Institute of Government.] ]ervice
In January 1863, Col. James Montgomery of
Kansas was authorized to raise a regiment of troops comprised entirely of free blacks and refugee former slaves, which were to serve under white officers. While many men readily agreed to military service, dozens were compelled by the Army to obeyconscription notices. [ [http://www.sethkaller.net/catalogs/the-civil-war/41-civil-war/86-south-carolina-refugee-slaves Letter of Gen. Wilmot G. DeSaussure to Gov. Bonham of South Carolina. Charleston, S.C., August 7, 1863.] ]Montgomery organized the 2nd South Carolina Volunteer Infantry at Beaufort and Hilton Head,
South Carolina . The new recruits were mustered into Federal service onMay 22 ,1863 . Under Montgomery, discipline was initially lacking, and the regiment was destined to see little actual formal combat. The 2nd was attached initially to the Districts of Hilton Head and Beaufort, S.C., Tenth Army Corps, Department of the South. [ [http://www.civilwararchive.com/unionsc.htm The Civil War Archive] ]Throughout 1863 and part of 1864, Montgomery practiced his
Jayhawker brand of irregular warfare in South Carolina, Georgia, andFlorida . In June 1863, Montgomery's brigade, including the 2nd South Carolina and the54th Massachusetts Infantry under Col.Robert Gould Shaw , participated in operations along theAtlantic Coast resembling his earlier Jayhawking raids in Kansas andMissouri . The 2nd South Carolina was a part of theRaid at Combahee Ferry in which 800 slaves were freed. The regiment later helped loot and burn the coastal town of Darien, Georgia, despite the fact that it was undefended and offered no resistance. [ [http://www.geocities.com/1stdragoon/files/rgs_darien.html Shaw's June 12 description in a letter to his wife, Annie.] ]In July 1863, the 2nd and the rest of Montgomery's brigade moved to
Morris Island off the South Carolina coast. They took part in the expedition to James Island from July 7-17, and skirmished with Confederates at Grimball's Landing onJuly 16 . The 2nd participated in thesiege operations on Morris Island against Forts Wagner and Gregg fromJuly 18 untilSeptember 7 , when the Confederate defenders abandoned the two forts and withdrew. [ [http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/sc007.htm National Park Service battle description] ]The 2nd South Carolina was involved in the subsequent operations against
Fort Sumter and the defenses of Charleston untilJanuary 29 ,1864 . It moved to Hilton Head, and then toJacksonville, Florida , on February 5-7. [ [http://www.civilwararchive.com/unionsc.htm The Civil War Archive] ]While in
Florida , the regiment was disbanded and subsequently reorganized as the 34th Infantry Regiment, U.S. Colored Troops onFebruary 8 ,1864 . Many of the men from the old 2nd South Carolina later participated in theBattle of Honey Hill . They were mustered out of the army onFebruary 28 ,1866 . [ [http://www.lwfaam.net/cw/sc/34usci.htm 34th USCT page.] ]ee also
*
List of Union South Carolina Civil War Units
*South Carolina in the American Civil War Notes
References
* [http://www.civilwararchive.com/unionsc.htm The Civil War Archive]
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