HISTORY OF
This regiment was organized at Hill's Point, Beaufort County, N.C. on September 19, 1861, for twelve months service. The regiment remained at Hill's Point as a supporting unit for Fort Hill until December 7,1861, when it was ordered to Roanoke Island. The regiment arrived at Plymouth on December 9, boarded transports the next day, and landed at Roanoke Island on December 12. It then went into camp on the northern end of the island. For the next two months the men of the 31st Regiment were kept busy building barracks, constructing fortifications, filling schooners with sand to blockade the channel west of the island, and piling the sound. The island was strategically located and, if properly defended, could block the passage from Pamlico Sound to Albemarle Sound.
Toward the end of 1861 the Federals began making preparations for an expedition against Roanoke Island, and an amphibious force of approximately 7,500 men under General Ambrose F. Burnside was assembled at Fort Monroe, Virginia. The enemy fleet entered Pamlico Sound on January 13, 1862, moved against Roanoke Island on February 6, and, under cover of a heavy bombardment, succeeded in landing troops on the island on February 7. Colonel John V. Jordan reported the activities of the 31st Regiment during February 6 and 7 to Colonel Henry M. Shaw, who was in command of the l, 500-man Confederate defense force, as follows.
The first appearance of the enemy was on the morning of the 6th instant, about 8 o'clock, as seen from Ashby's Landing by the forces stationed there, consisting of two companies (B and F, infantry) of my regiment, under command of Captains Edward R Liles and Charles W. Knight, with two pieces of artillery, one 24-pounder navy howitzer, and one 18-pounder field gun, the whole force, including the artillery, under Captain Liles, he being the senior officer present. Under an order from you to proceed to Ashby's Landing I arrived there at noon on the 6th, and discovered by aid of a glass a large number of the enemy's fleet, consisting of steam and sail vessels, then apparently lying at anchor at a point 10 miles below the southern point of the island. I left Ashby's at 2 p.m. and met you, in company with Captain John S. Taylor, of the Navy, and reported the information I had received.
Upon your return to the camp I received an order from you to prepare one day's rations for all the available forces under my command, with the exception of one company, which was to be left in charge of the camp, and that portion of Captain Condary Godwin's company which was then in quarters and which you ordered to be sent to the western side of the sound, at a point called Fort Forrest, then in charge of Captain Joseph Whitty, with instructions to Captain Godwin to support Captain Whitty in protecting that point. Thc remaining portion of my available men with one day's provisions was ordered to take up the line of march to Ashby's Landing or that vicinity. On arriving at Suple's Hill, about a mile and a half above this landing, the forces were ordered to bivouac for the night.
At a very early hour on the morning of the 7th myself, in company with Major Jesse J.Yeates, proceeded to the landing, leaving Lieutenant-Colonel Daniel G. Fowle in charge of the forces at Suple's Hill, with a view of making further preparation to meet the enemy should a landing be attempted at that About 10 a.m. I perceived that the enemy's fleet was in motion and advancing up the sound, and at about 11:45 o'clock the leading steamer opened fire upon Fort Barlow. At about 3 p. m. the engagement became general upon the part of the enemy's vessels against Fort Barlow. At about 4 p. m. a small boat, containing about 15 men, left one of the transport's of the enemy, apparently with a view of taking sounding at Hammond's Landing, about half a mile above Ashby's. As the boat approached the land I detailed a force of 25, under command of Captain Liles, to intercept it. The party in the boat had effected a landing when Captain Liles ordered the men under his command to fire upon them, by which fire it has since been ascertained that 3 of the enemy were killed and 1 wounded. The remainder immediately retreated to the vessel in the sound. About 5 o'clock a large steamer and a number of smaller boats, carrying 8,000 or 10,000 men, with several pieces of artillery, and under cover of the gunboats in the sound, was approaching Hammond's Landing, between which and the point occupied by my forces lay a large marsh impassable by artillery. Having no horses for our artillery, fearing that we might be cut off, or at least that the shells from enemy's guns in the sound might confuse and disconcert the men under my command and cause the eventual loss of the field pieces, which you enjoined upon me at all hazards to save, I considered retreat. The infantry, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Fowle, was placed in the rear of the artillery to protect it, and all the forces retired in good order to a redoubt thrown across the main road one mile and a quarter above Ashby's, where the guns were placed in battery, the 18 pounder on the left and the howitzer on the right, under the command of Captain Schermerhorn and Lieutenant T.C. Kinney, and a 6 pounder under command of Lieutenant W. B. Selden. The gun detachments were immediately ordered to take position at their pieces. A picket guard was thrown out and a detail ordered form each company present, to mask the battery as effectively as the short time rendered practicable. Soon afterward you arrived and took command.
Late in the afternoon of February 7 the Confederate forces occupied a defensive position across the main road and awaited the Federal attack, which was delivered on the morning of February 8. Colonel Shaw reported that action to General Henry A. Wise, the district commander as follows:
At 7 a. m. the battle commenced, and as soon as the enemy gathered in force, which was in a very few minutes thereafter, our battery opened fire. This battery was composed of three pieces - one 24-pound howitzer, one 18-pounder field piece, and one 6 pounder. For the 18 pounder the only ammunition we had was 12-pounder ammunition. The artillery detachments may be said to have been almost totally uninstructed. Having in my command no officer acquainted with that practice save Major G.H. Hill, whose duties confined him to Pork Point Battery, I applied to Colonel J. H. Richardson, upon his arrival at Hag's Head, for some officer's to instruct the men. He had none. Upon your reaching that place I made a like application to you. Captain Schermerhorn and Lieutenant Kinney were sent. The former disclaimed any particular knowledge upon the subject. They were immediately sent to Ashby's; but the enemy made his appearance so soon, little time was allowed them to drill the men.
Captain Schermerhorn was placed in charge of the l8~pounder, Lieutenant Kinney of the 24-pounder, and Lieut. W. B. Selden, Engineer department, who had patriotically volunteered his services in the line, was assigned to the 6-pounder, and, notwithstanding the men had received so little instruction, these pieces were handled in such a way as to produce immense havoc in the enemy's ranks; especially that of Lieutenant Selden, whose conduct elicited the unbounded admiration of all who witnessed it. Unhappily at about 11 o'clock that gallant officer received a rifle-ball in his head, and he fell without a groan, a willing sacrifice to a cause which he had espoused with all the ardor of his generous nature.
In the mean time the fire of the musketry had been kept up from the commencement of the action with unabated vigor by the following companies under cover of the breastwork: Company B, Captain J.M. Whitson, Eighth Regiment North Carolina State troops; Company B, Captain E. R. Liles, and Company F, Captain C. W. Knight, Thirty-first Regiment North Carolina troops; Company E, Captain Hiram B. Dickinson, and Company K, Lieutenant Christopher C. Roy, Fifty-ninth Virginia Volunteers; and Company E, Lieut. JR Murchison, Eighth Regiment North Carolina State troops, whose second lieutenant, N. G. Munro [Monroe], a promising young officer, fell on his approach near the redoubt.
By the gallant officers and brave men of the above-named companies an unceasing and effective fire was kept up from 7 a. m. until 12:20, when, our artillery ammunition having been exhausted and our right flank having been turned by an overwhelming force of the enemy, I was compelled to yield the place.
The entire available force of my command, exclusive of the companies on duty at the several batteries, amounted to 1,434, rank and file. Of these 568 were of the Eighth North Carolina State troops, 456 of the Thirty-first North Carolina troops, and the balance of the Forty-sixth and Fifty-ninth Virginia Volunteers, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel F. P. Anderson, who, together with Major John Lawson, was at the redoubt during the most part of the action, and rendered efficient service. The enemy's force amounted to 15,000 men, with several pieces of artillery. With the very great disparity of forces, the moment the redoubt was flanked I considered the island lost. The struggle could have been protracted, and the small body of brave men which had been held in reserve might have been brought up into the open space to receive the fire of the overwhelming force on our flank, which was under cover of trees; but they would have been sacrificed without the smallest hope of a successful result.
The mules and horses attached to the artillery had been killed during the action; the pieces had to be abandoned, and believing it utterly impossible to make a successful stand against such an overwhelming force, I deemed it my duty to surrender.
During the Battle of Roanoke Island the 31st Regiment lost 2 men killed, 8 wounded, and 76 missing. Most of the members of the regiment, except those belonging to Companies A and H, were captured. The captives were transported to Elizabeth City, where they were paroled and sent home. Under the parole agreement, the men could not return to duty until they were exchanged man-for-man for Federal prisoners or parolees.
The men of Company A blew up Fort Forrest on the evening of February 8 and made their escape, as did the men of Company H, who had been stationed at a battery at Midgett's Hommock. Members of other companies who evaded capture or were absent from the Island during the battle were ordered to organize into two provisional companies until their comrades were exchanged.
The Roanoke Island captives remained on parole until August 21, 1862, when they were exchanged. They were then ordered to report to Camp Mangum, near Raleigh, where the 31st Regiment was reorganized on September 17 to serve for the duration of the war. The regiment remained at Camp Mangum until October 23, when it moved to Kinston. Thc activities of the regiment during the next three weeks were reported on the North Carolina Roll of Honor as follows:
The Regiment left Camp Mangum Oct.23. 1862 for Kinston N.C. and arrived at that place Oct.24: established our encampment on the plantation of John Tull Esq. one Mile North of Kinston and called it Camp Martin. Left Camp Martin Nov. 4th. In light marching order in company with the whole force in and about Kinston under Command of Col. H. M. Shaw of the 8th N. C. T. for Greenville N. C., it being reported that the Enemy were advancing in that direction. Arrived at Greenville on the 5th, distance twenty-five miles marched in twenty-two hours, no enemy there or in its vicinity. On the 6th received orders to return to Kinston. This march was accomplished under a pitiless storm of snow and rain; the most of the men were without blankets or shoes and suffered terribly. On the evening of the 8th arrived at our Old Camp. On the morning of the 9th received orders to take up line of march for the vicinity of New Bern N. C. On the night of the 9th bivouacked at Shady Grove Church, Jones County N.C. On the night of the 10th we bivouacked opposite Trenton, Jones County N. C. On the 11th we marched to Rocky Run six miles from New Bern. Here we meet a Yankee force of Cavalry and Infantry supposed to be One Thousand strong. They were across the Run destroying the bridge in their retreat. On the night of the 11th we entered and encamped on Darden's Farm two miles west of Rocky Run. Returned to the Run on the morning of the 12th finding no Enemy we received orders to move towards Kinston. Arrived at that place on the evening of the 13th.
The Regiment returned to Camp Martin shortly thereafter, and towards the end of November it was assigned to General Thomas L. Clingman's brigade. On December 7 the regiment left its camp near Kinston and traveled by train to Wilmington, where it joined the brigade the next day. In addition to this regiment the brigade was composed of the 8th Regiment N.C. State Troops, 51st Regiment N.C. Troops, and 61st Regiment N.C. Troops.
The regiment left Wilmington on December 15 to reinforce the Confederate troops opposing an advancing Federal force under General John G. Foster.
At Falling Creek, seven miles west of Kinston, orders were received to retire to White Hall (now called Seven Springs) on the Neuse River. After arriving within one mile of White Hall at 4:00 A.M. on December 16, the regiment was halted. At 8:00 A.M. General Beverly H. Robertson, commander of the Confederate force, ordered the 31st Regiment to take a position on the north side of the Neuse about a hundred yards from the riverbank, on the road leading from the burnt-out White Hall bridge to Goldsboro. General Roberts6n reported the ensuing engagement at White Hall as:
About 9 a. m. on the 16th a brisk picket skirmish commenced. I visited the bridge, and after giving the necessary instructions went back to order up the Thirty-first North Carolina Regiment, Col. John V. Jordan, which had arrived during the night, and which I placed in position as much sheltered as circumstances would permit. I then posted the artillery as well as the nature of the ground would admit and ordered both shell and solid shot to be fired. For some time previous the enemy had been firing from 12 to 18 pounders, some of immense caliber. Owing to a range of hills on the White Hall side the enemy had the advantage of position. The point occupied by his troops being narrow not more than one regiment at a time could advantageously engage him. I therefore held Colonels Collett Leventhorpe, Dennis D. Ferebee, and Peter G. Evans in reserve, leaving the artillery, Thirty-first Regiment, and two picket companies in front. The cannonading from the enemy's batteries became so terrific that the Thirty-first Regiment withdrew from their position without instructions but in good order. I immediately ordered Colonel Leventhorpe forward with the 11th Regiment N.C. Troops. The alacrity with which the order was obeyed by his men gave ample proof of their gallant bearing, which they so nobly sustained during the entire fight, which raged with intensity for several hours after they became engaged. No veteran soldiers ever fought better or inflicted more terrible loss upon an enemy considering the numbers engaged. It was with difficulty that they could be withdrawn from the field. Three times did they drive the Yankee cannoneers from their guns and as often prevent their infantry regiments from forming line in their front. In spite of the four hostile regiments whose standards waved from the opposite bank, did these brave men continue to hold their ground, and finally drove the enemy in confusion from the field.
During the fight the 31st Regiment lost two men killed and twenty-two wounded.
The engagement at White Hall, contrary to General Robertson's report, was something less than a Confederate victory, and Foster's force continued to advance up the south bank of the Neuse toward Goldsboro. The 31st Regiment was ordered to picket the north bank of the river, but those orders were canceled on the morning of December 17, and the regiment, minus a 200-man detail, was sent to Best Station. From there it moved to Spring Bank, eight miles from Goldsboro, where it arrived on the morning of December 18. In the meantime, the other three regiments of Clingman's brigade had been engaged on the previous day in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent Foster's men from burning the important railroad bridge at Goldsboro. Foster, regarding as accomplished his mission to disrupt Confederate communications in eastern North Carolina, then retired to the defenses of New Bern.
The 31st Regiment remained on picket until it was relieved on December 19, 1862, it then went into camp one forth of a mile from Spring Bank. On the morning of December 20 the 200 man detail left behind on December 17 rejoined the regiment, and that evening orders were received to proceed to Goldsboro. The regiment bivouacked one mile from the town of Little River on December 20, and on December 21 it rejoined Clingman's brigade in the vicinity of the railroad bridge. The brigade remained in camp until December 29, when it departed for long Wilmington. After a long and tedious march Clingman's men arrived in Wilmington on January 2, 1863, and the 31st Regiment went into camp at Camp Whiting.
In January 1863, Federal naval activity along the coast of South Carolina and Georgia necessitated a call for Reinforcements to that area, and on February 16 General Clingman's brigade was ordered to Charleston, South Carolina. Where it arrived the next day, the 31st Regiment encamped in woods near the Savannah & Charleston Railroad two miles from Charleston. On March 2 the brigade moved to Savannah, where it arrived on March 3; on March 8 it began the return trip to Charleston. At Charleston the 31st Regiment encamped on James Island until April 10, when in moved to Mt. Pleasant; it returned to James Island on April 19. Early in May the brigade was ordered back to Wilmington. Alter a brief respite at Camp Ashe, located near Old Topsail Sound about twelve miles form Wilmington, the brigade received order on July 10 to return to Charleston.
On that date a combined naval and ground attack was launched by the Federals against the Confederate fortifications on Morris Island in Charleston Harbor. Federal Ironclads under Admiral John A. Dahlgren began bombarding Fort Wagner, a key defensive work which controlled access to the northern tip of Morris Island (called Cumming's Point) and whose capture would provide the Federals with a platform from which to bombard Fort Sumter, a mile to the north in the mouth of the harbor. At the same time, General Q. A. Gillmore's Federal artillery on Folly Island, southwest of Morris Island, opened fire on the Confederate infantry occupying the sand hills on the southern end of Morris Island. The Confederates in the sand hills retired to Fort Wagner, and Gillmore, having crossed his infantry to Morris Island on the heels of the retreating defenders, unsuccessfully attacked Fort Wagner on July.
Clingman's brigade arrived at Charleston the same day and was sent to James Island, west of Morris Island, on July 13. The 31st and 51st Regiments were then sent to reinforce the garrison at Fort Wagner. On July 18 the fort was subjected to an all-out attack by a combined force of infantry and artillery, supported by the Federal fleet. General William B. Taliaferro, commander of the garrison, reported the successful Confederate defense as follow:
On Saturday, the 18th instant, at 8:15 a.m., the enemy having disclosed his land batteries, brought up to their support his entire fleet, consisting of the Ironsides, flag-ship, five monitors, and a large number of wooden steam gunships. With this immense circle of fire by land and sea, he poured for eleven hours, without cessation or intermission; a storm of shot and shell fell upon Fort Wagner, which is perhaps unequaled in history. My estimate is that not less than 9,000 solid shot and shell of all sizes, from 15-inch downward were hurled this period at the work. The estimate of others is very much greater.
The garrison of the fort on this day consisted of the Charleston Battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel P. C. Gaillard, whose position extended from the sally-port in Light-House Inlet Creek, on the right, to the left, until it rested on Colonel Hector McKethan's regiment, Fifty-first North Carolina Troops, which extended to the gun chamber position opposite the bomb-proof door, at which point and extending along the face of the work to the left to the sally-port next Fort Gregg, the Thirty-first North Carolina Troops, Lieutenant-Colonel C. W. Knight, occupied-the work. These positions for the infantry were verified by frequent inspections, and the several commands were required to sleep in position, and each man was instructed as to the exact point which he should occupy, and which in any moment of confusion he would be required to gain and hold. In addition to this, a small portion of the Thirty-first North Carolina Troops was held as a reserve in the parade, and a part occupied the parapet just to the right of the sally-port.
On the outside of the fort, two companies of the Charleston Battalion held the sand-hills along the beach and the face extending from the sally-port to the sea beach. The artillerists occupied the several gun-chambers and two light field pieces were placed in battery outside of the fort, on the traverse near the sally-port. The artillery command consisted of Captains W. T. Tatom and Warren Adams, First South Carolina Regular Infantry Third Artillery; J. T. Buckner and W. J. Dixon, Sixty-third Georgia Heavy Artillery, and Captain W. L De Pass, commanding light artillery, all under the general command of Lieutenant-Colonel J.C. Simkins, chief of artillery.
The infantry, excepting the Charleston Battalion, and the artillery, excepting the gun detachments, were placed, shortly after the shelling commenced, under cover of the bomb-proofs. The first-named battalion, with a heroic intrepidity never surpassed, animated by the splendid example of their field officers Lieutenant-Colonel Gaillard and Major David Ramsay, had no protection except such as the parapet afforded them, yet maintained their position without flinching during the entire day. The 10-inch gun was fired at intervals of ten to fifteen minutes against the iron-dads, and the heavy guns on the land face whenever the working parties or cannoneers of the enemy on the land showed themselves within range. The mortar, in charge of Captain Tatom, was fired every half-hour.
The casualties during the day of the bombardment did not exceed 8 killed and 20 wounded.
About 2 o'clock, the flag halyards were cut and the Confederate flag blew over into the fort. Instantly Major Ramsay, Charleston Battalion; Lieutenant William E. Readick, Sixty-third Georgia (artillery); Sergeant William Shelton and Private Flinn, Charleston Battalion, sprang forward and replaced it on the ramparts, while at the same time Captain R. H. Barnwell, of the engineers, dashed out, seized a battle-flag, and erected it by the side of the garrison flag. This flag was subsequently shot away, and replaced by Private A. Gilliland, Charleston Battalion.
As night approached, the increased severity of the bombardment plainly indicated that an assault would be made, and orders were issued to the commands to prepare the ramparts. At 7.45 o'clock the lines the enemy were seen advancing, and the bombardment slackened to an occasional shell from the ships and the land batteries. As the enemy advanced, they were met by a shower of grape and canister from our guns, and a terrible fire of musketry from the Charleston Battalion and the Fifty-first North Carolina. These two commands gallantly maintained their position and drove the enemy back guickly form their front, with immense slaughter.
In the meantime, on the left of the work, the 31st North Carolina could not be induced to occupy their position, and ingloriously deserted the ramparts, when, no resistance being offered at this point, the advance of the enemy, pushing forward, entered the ditch and ascended the work at the extreme left of the land face, and occupied it. I at once directed Lieutenant-Colonel Gaillard to keep up a severe enfilading fire to his left, and directed the field pieces on the left of the fort outside of the sally-port to direct their fire to the right, so as to sweep the ditch and the exterior slope of that part of the work thus occupied, and thus, at the same time, prevented the enemy from being supported at that point, and cut off all hope of his escape. The main body of the enemy, after a brief attempt to pass over the field of fire, retreated under the fire of our artillery and the shells of Fort Sumter, and must have suffered heavily as long as they were within the range of our guns.
Lieutenant Colonel Charles W. Knight reported the 31st Regiments part in the battle as follows:
The line occupied by my regiment extended from the second gun from the bombproof to where the gun was dismounted, part of the line from the sally-port on the right of Colonel McKethan's command (5lst Regiment N.C. Troops). The working parties from Cumming's Point were engaged outside the sally-port main entrance.
Owing to not being able to get my men in position where the bursted gun was, we were repulsed; afterwards made a charge upon them and were again repulsed. The number of men that made the charge was 20. The working party from Gumming's Point got in position in time to repulse the enemy at the main entrance.
During the battle of July 18 the 31st Regiment lost 7 men killed, and 31 wounded, and 1 missing.
Following the attack the regiment was moved to Sullivan's Island, whose fortifications guarded the northeastern (left) flank of Fort Sumter as those of Morris Island guarded the southern (right) flank. As the siege of Fort Wagner continued, its guns were silenced one by one, and the fort was evacuated on September 6. On September 7 the batteries on Sullivan's Island were shelled. After a Federal attempt to capture Fort Sumter was repulsed on September 8, relative quiet settled in as both strengthened their positions. Clingman's brigade in the Charleston area until late November, when it was moved to Petersburg, Virginia.
At Petersburg the regiment went into camp on the outskirts of the city and set up winter quarters. On January 23, 1864, the regiment left Petersburg for Ivor Station, where it arrived the same day. Three companies of the regiment moved to the James River town of Smithfield on February I and engaged a party of Federals landing from a gunboat. After a sharp skirmish the Federals surrendered and their gunboat was destroyed. The three companies then returned to Ivor Station and rejoined the regiment. On February 29 the regiment marched to Suffolk; it arrived there on March I and remained until March 6, when it returned to Ivor Station. On March 25 the regiment left Ivor Station for its old camp at Petersburg, arriving on March 26, There the regiment remained through the month of April.
On May 5, 1864, a Federal force of 30,000 men under the command of General Benjamin Butler began landing at City Point, Virginia, on the James River southeast of Richmond and northeast of Petersburg. After skirmishing with Federal pickets on the City Point road on May 9, Clingman's brigade was ordered to reinforce the Confederate defenders at Drewry's Bluff, a key position on the James whose loss would sever communications between Richmond and Petersburg and expose the Confederate capital to attack from the south. Clingman's brigade arrived during the night of May 10-11 and went into a reserve position behind the brigade of General Bushrod Johnson. After seeing action as skirmishers on May 13, 14, and I5, Clingman's men took part in driving Butler back toward Bermuda Hundred, a neck of land surrounded on three sides by the James River, on May 16. Skirmishing continued on May I7, 18, and 19 as Butler completed his withdrawal. On May 20 the Confederates attacked and captured a line of Federal entrenchment, thereby "sealing" Butler in the famous Bermuda Hundred "bottle." Clingman's brigade, as a part of General Robert F. Hoke's division, remained on the Bermuda Hundred line until the division was ordered to Richmond, where the Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert F. Lee, was confronting the Army of the Potomac, under the strategic direction of General U. S. Grant. Hoke's division was ordered to Cold Harbor, on the Confederate right, and Clingman's brigade occupied the crossroads there on May 31. Late in the day Clingman's men were attacked on their left flank and driven from the field. The brigade then took up position with Hoke's division on the right of Lee's line. On June 1 an enemy force slipped into a gap between Clingman's brigade and the command to its left and moved against Clingman's left flank. The brigade was faced about to receive the attack, and a seesaw battle raged until the arrival of Confederate reinforcements forced the Federals to retire. June 2 was spent in fortifying the Confederate line. On June 3 Grant launched a massive but ill-conceived attack against the six-mile-long Confederate position and was repulsed with heavy losses.
The two armies settled down into defensive positions, where they remained until Grant began moving south toward the James River on June 12. Lee followed on June 13, and Hoke's division marched to Chaffin's Bluff. It moved to Drewry's Bluff on June 15, to Bermuda Hundred on June 16, and to Petersburg that same evening. Hoke's brigades were sent into the trenches east and south of the city, where they repulsed Federal attackers after heavy fighting on June 17 and 18. Both Lee and Grant then began extending their lines westward around Petersburg, and Clingman's brigade was ordered into the trenches next to the Appomattox River. After taking part in an unsuccessful attack on a Federal position near Globe Tavern, on the Petersburg & Weldon Railroad, on August 19, the brigade returned to the trenches; it remained there until it was ordered to Richmond, with the remainder of Hoke's division, on September 29.
North of the James River the Federals captured Fort Harrison, a key redoubt in the Richmond defense system, on September 29, and after the arrival of Hoke's division and other troops from Petersburg, the Confederates attempted to recapture the fort the next day. Three successive attacks on Fort Harrison on September 30 were repulsed with heavy casualties, and the 3lst Regiment was almost annihilated. On the night of September 30 regiment was under the command of a 1st Lieutenant, and approximately sixty men were present for duty. Following the unsuccessful Confederate assaults on Fort Harrison a new line was established, and Hoke's division was ordered to remain north of the James. On October 7 the regiment was in reserve and was not engaged in an attack on the enemy on the Darbytown road. The brigade then moved into position between the Darbytown and Charles City roads and was involved in frequent skirmishes with Federal pickets. The regiment remained north of the James until Hoke's division was ordered to Wilmington in late December to meet an anticipated Federal amphibious assault on Fort Fisher. The division entrained at Richmond on December 22 and moved to Danville. It then marched to Greensboro and proceeded by rail to Wilmington. The 31st regiment arrived there on December 28, three days after a somewhat irresolute Federal attack on Fort Fisher had been repulsed.
On January 12, 1865, the Federal fleet returned, and the next day an assault force landed unopposed. Hoke's division was sent immediately to the Sugar Loaf defensive position just above Fort Fisher, but Hoke's superior, General Braxton Bragg, refused to authorize any effort by Hoke to go to the aid of the fort's garrison, and on January 15 Fort Fisher was stormed and captured. Hoke's division held the line below Wilmington until February 19, when it was pulled back in the face of a Federal advance up the west bank of thc Cape Fear River. The division then withdrew to Wilmington, crossed the Northeast Cape Fear River, and cut the bridges in an effort to slow the Federal advance. During the retreat the 31st Regiment served as rear guard and was frequently engaged in skirmishes with the Federals. After the fall of Wilmington on February 22, Bragg ordered Hoke's troops to Kinston to oppose a Federal column advancing on Goldsboro from New Bern. The two forces met at Wise's Forks on March 7, and Bragg brought up a division commander by General D.H. Hill to reinforce Hoke. On March 8 Hoke's men crossed Southwest Creek and, after successfully flanking the Federal defenders, captured about 1,000 prisoners; however, the enemy refused to yield the field. Confederate attacks on March 8 and 9 were repulsed, and Bragg withdrew his command to Goldsboro and then to Smithfield, where it was united with General Joseph E. Johnston's Army of the Tennessee.
From Smithfield, Johnston moved his army to Bentonville, where he hoped to ambush and defeat on of General William T. Sherman's two advancing columns. Hoke's division held the left of the Confederate line during the battle of March 19 and was actively engaged; however, the Federal army, although halted momentarily, was too powerful to be defeated. Sherman arrived with reinforcements the next day and Johnston retired to Smithfield on March 21. During the next three weeks the army remained in camp at Smithfield, and Hoke's division was assigned to the corps of General William J. Hardee.
Johnston retreated from Smithfield on April 10 in the face of a new advance by Sherman. Raleigh was captured by the Federal on April 13, and the Confederates fell back to Chapel Hill and then to Bush Hill in Randolph County. While there, Johnston negotiated the surrender of his army, which occurred on April 26. The few survivors of the 31st Regiment were paroled at that point.
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