Lumberton Guards
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Lumberton Guards is the working title for a historical novel set in the American Civil War, a work of fiction springing from the events that led to the enlistment of my great-grandfather Henry Taylor and his brothers John and Willis in the Lumberton Guards, later designated as A Company, 46th Regiment, North Carolina Troops.

Please help me research the events surrounding their enlistment and service, and the families they left behind. Click HERE to add your thoughts.

This site will eventually include:

  • A summary of the battles in which the Lumberton Guards and other relatives and friends participated;
  • Maps showing the progress of the Lumberton Guards over the course of the War
  • A correlation of the real events and the fictitious events of the novel in progress.

The Taylors of North Carolina page is the gateway for the Taylor family genealogical records along with the Hardins, Graingers, Andrews, Owens, Mears, Pittman and many more of our cousins scattered originally across the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama, and now all across the world.

Now, more about the Lumberton Guards - a short historical summary of the real events:

Two of Lemuel Taylor’s sons, John and Henry, enlisted in the Lumberton Guards on February 8, 1862. Brothers John Pickney Wishart and Francis Marion Wishard, cousins to John, Henry and Willis through their aunt Lucia Taylor Mears, also joined on the same day.

John Taylor died in the military hospital at Front Royal on November 4, 1862, leaving behind nine children. Henry, Sr. was discharged for deafness after a prolonged illness in November 7, 1863.

Battle accounts of the 46th trace some of the most vicious battles of the Civil War as the Army of Northern Virginia fought a series of engagements from the Virginia coast all the way up to Washington, Harpers Ferry and Gettysburg.

Willis Taylor enlisted in Richmond Virginia the year after his youngest brother died in the hospital at Front Royal, Virginia. Willis’ unit, the 51st Regiment, fought in the campaigns along the Virginia and Carolina coast and rivers for control of the ports and access to shipping lanes. The Regiment suffered a crippling blow in the battles around Petersburg and Fort Harrison, losing about half of the men as casualties.

Willis joined the Regiment as it was assigned to defend along the Cape Fear River, Wilmington and then to Fort Fisher to defend against an amphibious assault. In the closing months of the war Sherman’s forces fought the 51st for control of eastern Carolina, and eventually accepted their surrender just outside of Durham.

Of the several thousand men in the Regiment, only thirty-six members remained to be paroled at Greensboro in April, 1865.

The information above and on the attached pages is all I have, along with pay records that simply prove the individuals were present for duty in certain units each month. The remainder of the novel is going to be pure fiction. If any descendants of any of the individuals or any members of the Lumberton Guards have any anecdotal information that they would like to see reflected in the novel, please contact me.

J. M. Taylor