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New Civil War Book Released by NC Author

June 12, 2011 - Southport, NC - A former resident of Wilmington transplanted to Fayetteville, Dr. Philip Hatfield, recently released his second book, "The Rowan Rifle Guards, a History of Company K, 4th Regiment, North Carolina State Troops 1857-1865" in time for the 2011 sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) of the start of the Civil War.

Tom Belton, curator of military history of the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh, says, "It is a detailed account of the experiences of a North Carolina infantry company in the American Civil War." The Rowan Rifle Guards initially formed in 1857 as a Volunteer infantry company.

Those zealous young men saw membership as more of a social stepping stone than military service. When the Civil War erupted in April of 1861, sixty-five excited volunteers hastily stepped forward to help garrison the North Carolina coast at Fort Caswell and Fort Johnston near modern Southport.

Re-designated as Company K, 4th North Carolina State Troops in July, 1861, the Rowan Rifles ranks swelled with over one hundred men. Company K served in every bloody engagement waged by the Army of Northern Virginia. As in all wars, the harsh realities of active campaign quickly destroyed any naïve misconceptions of finding glory in the war. This epic struggle tested their devotion to principal and to each other.

The shattered company surrendered sixteen survivors at Appomattox on April 9, 1865 as a testament to their faithfulness. The transition of this antebellum era Volunteer militia unit into battle hardened veterans is documented using several previously unpublished soldier accounts and military documents.

The author holds degrees in psychology and history, and has been a member of the Company of Military Historians since 2006. He is a native of West Virginia and moved to North Carolina in 1992. He is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and participated in rescue operations after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Dr. Hatfield has published several articles related to North Carolina and West Virginia in the Civil War and has three other books related to the Civil War available on amazon.com and in many fine independent book stores throughout the southeastern United States.

Copies of the Rowan Rifle Guards, A History of Co. K, 4th NCST retail for $25.00 and are available at several local stores, including Bull Frog Corner in Southport, the Fort Fisher gift shop and the Fort Caswell gift shop.
 


 

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