Boy Colonel of the Confederacy: The Life and Times of Henry King Burgwyn, Jr.

by Archie K. Davis

Overview

Henry King Burgwyn, Jr. (1841–63), one of the youngest colonels in the Confederate Army, died at the age of twenty-one while leading the twenty-sixth North Carolina regiment into action at the battle of Gettysburg. In this sensitive biography, originally published by UNC Press in 1985, Archie Davis provides a revealing portrait of the young man’s character and a striking example of a soldier who selflessly fulfilled his duty. Drawing on Burgwyn’s own letters and diary, Davis also offers a fascinating glimpse into North Carolina society during the antebellum period and the Civil War.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807866610
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	11/09/2000
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	420
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Archie K. Davis is a retired banker who resides in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. His avocation has long been the study of the Civil War.

Table of Contents

Contents

Acknowledgments / xiii
1. The Irony and the Tragedy / 3
2. The Lady from Boston / 9
3. On the Roanoke / 19
4. Harry Burgwyn—His Formative Years / 30
5. A Cadet at Virginia Military Institute / 40
6. You Can Get No Troops from North Carolina / 58
7. In Dead Earnest / 71
8. The Descent upon New Bern / 91
9. My Command Was the Last to Retreat / 108
10. After New Bern / 127
11. We Literally Hear Nothing or Know Nothing / 139
12. In Defense of Richmond / 153
13. The Boy Becomes a Colonel / 176
14. I am Proud of My Command / 190
15. Skill under Fire / 203
16. Goldsboro under Attack / 213
17. A Winter of Tedious Monotony / 223
18. My Compliments to Miss Annie Devereux / 236
19. Back to Virginia / 249
20. And Now I Must Bid You Good Bye / 265
21. Roads to Gettysburg / 277
22. Gettysburg—Morning of the First / 292
23. Afternoon in McPherson's Grove / 308
24. So Noble & So Glorious / 329
Afterword / 340
Appendix / 349
Notes / 355
Index / 395

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“This superb biography recounts the life and times of 'Harry' Burgwyn en route to his fateful rendezvous with the Iron Brigade in McPherson’s Grove. . . . An excellent contribution to Civil War biography.” — Blue & Gray


“The quality and scope of research is quite admirable, and the writing is carefully crafted.” — American Historical Review


“Davis makes good use of a rich collection of Burgwyn manuscripts and a variety of other sources to fashion this detailed biography. His narrative is interesting . . . for its successful delineation of Burgwyn’s aspirations and attitudes and its evocation of the time and place in which the boy colonel lived. . . . [Readers] will come away with a sense of having known Harry Burgwyn. That is strong praise for any biography.” — North Carolina Historical Review


“One of the very finest Civil War books to appear in recent years. . . . Graced by an unusually poignant and felicitous style of writing, Mr. Davis’s book will readily appeal to the interested lay reader as well as to the military historian and scholar of the Civil War period.” — Warren W. Hassler, Jr.

Editorial Reviews

“This superb biography recounts the life and times of 'Harry' Burgwyn en route to his fateful rendezvous with the Iron Brigade in McPherson’s Grove. . . . An excellent contribution to Civil War biography.” — Blue & Gray

“The quality and scope of research is quite admirable, and the writing is carefully crafted.” — American Historical Review

“Davis makes good use of a rich collection of Burgwyn manuscripts and a variety of other sources to fashion this detailed biography. His narrative is interesting . . . for its successful delineation of Burgwyn’s aspirations and attitudes and its evocation of the time and place in which the boy colonel lived. . . . [Readers] will come away with a sense of having known Harry Burgwyn. That is strong praise for any biography.” — North Carolina Historical Review

“One of the very finest Civil War books to appear in recent years. . . . Graced by an unusually poignant and felicitous style of writing, Mr. Davis’s book will readily appeal to the interested lay reader as well as to the military historian and scholar of the Civil War period.” — Warren W. Hassler, Jr.

From the Publisher

1986 Willie Parker Peace History Book Award, Winner