Does the 89th NC actually exist?

[TheChronicle]

I live in a little town called Chronicle, on Anderson Mountain (AKA Little Mountain) in Catawba County, North Carolina. I have heard stories of Confederate deserters and Union sympathizers who hid in this mountain, but I didn't believe them... Until one day I was perusing newspaper clippings, and I found this (the relevant portion starts at the top of the right-side column):

Article clipped from The Hickory Press

Clipping found in The Hickory Press published in Hickory, North Carolina on 8/25/1892.

www.newspapers.com

It's a newspaper clipping pertaining to a Colonel Hiram A. Forney, who was bogged down for most of the war tracking deserters- in Little Mountain! I gleefully tracked down which unit was his, hoping to find out more about this story... But that's where my heartache began. He led the 89th NC Militia, a Catawba County-based unit that, as far as most sources seem concerned, does not exist. I could only find five other sources that mention it at all, all of which I will link to the bottom of this post. They include a letter that seems to confirm that the 89th did suffer from desertion, some genealogical data on veterans from that unit, and a couple of confirmations that Hiram A. Forney was in charge of it.

That's the rub. I know you guys are the best at what you do, so I'm hoping you can help me find more information on this. Any information will be helpful!

Thanks,
James

SOURCES:

North Carolina Civil War Veterans Headstone Photos pages

Civil War Military Units Created With Men From Catawba County, NC

https://www.ncgenweb.us/catawba/military/Civil%20War/the2000.txt

North Carolina Officers in the Militia and Home Guard - The Colonels.

Confederate Militia and Home Guard - Union Co, NC and Anson Co, NC

 

[Mississippian1861]

Yes, the unit did exist as per the state militia law. Now how many men it had is open to question, with most able body men being sent into the regular army. The establishment of the Home Guard in 1863 also complicates matters.

 

[lupaglupa]

Militia units are organizations I take pretty much on faith when I come across them. Some have only one document to prove their existence. That you have this many references would make the 89th one of the better documented local partisan militias I've seen!

These militias exist on a spectrum where bands of thieves are on one end and regular army regiments are on the other. Local militias were mostly legal, but often loosely organized. They served several purposes: aiding the war effort, chasing slaves and deserters, providing security in areas where the regular government had ceased to exist, and giving members a way to avoid the draft. Membership waxed and waned. Some can be found in the official records attached to regular army units for scouting and other military activities. Some are identified in Provost Marshal records as local gangs and/or troops. A lot seems to have depended on the leadership. Your Colonel Forney seems to have taken this seriously and run a tighter ship than most.

 

[East Tennessee Roots]

It's my understanding that a good number of the Militias in North Carolina were absorbed by the Home Guard. A four times removed 1st cousin was Lieutenant-Colonel of the 93rd Militia out of Wilkes County. Most of his service involved delivering conscripts to camps of instruction and chasing deserters through the mountains.

 

[East Tennessee Roots]

I live in a little town called Chronicle, on Anderson Mountain (AKA Little Mountain) in Catawba County, North Carolina. I have heard stories of Confederate deserters and Union sympathizers who hid in this mountain, but I didn't believe them... Until one day I was perusing newspaper clippings, and I found this (the relevant portion starts at the top of the right-side column):

Article clipped from The Hickory Press

Clipping found in The Hickory Press published in Hickory, North Carolina on 8/25/1892.

www.newspapers.com

It's a newspaper clipping pertaining to a Colonel Hiram A. Forney, who was bogged down for most of the war tracking deserters- in Little Mountain! I gleefully tracked down which unit was his, hoping to find out more about this story... But that's where my heartache began. He led the 89th NC Militia, a Catawba County-based unit that, as far as most sources seem concerned, does not exist. I could only find five other sources that mention it at all, all of which I will link to the bottom of this post. They include a letter that seems to confirm that the 89th did suffer from desertion, some genealogical data on veterans from that unit, and a couple of confirmations that Hiram A. Forney was in charge of it.

That's the rub. I know you guys are the best at what you do, so I'm hoping you can help me find more information on this. Any information will be helpful!

Thanks,
James

SOURCES:

North Carolina Civil War Veterans Headstone Photos pages

Civil War Military Units Created With Men From Catawba County, NC

https://www.ncgenweb.us/catawba/military/Civil%20War/the2000.txt

North Carolina Officers in the Militia and Home Guard - The Colonels.

Confederate Militia and Home Guard - Union Co, NC and Anson Co, NC

89th NC Regiment of MilitiaCatawba County (15 Companies)(Appointed 2/8/62)Col. Hiram A. Forney, Lt. Col. Robert Helton, Maj. James W. Ward Adjutant Michael L. Cline QM Andrew L. Ramseur Comm., William P. Reinhard Surgeon Otho Campbell Surgeon Henry Conner Surgeon James J. Mott

 

[TheChronicle]

Militia units are organizations I take pretty much on faith when I come across them. Some have only one document to prove their existence. That you have this many references would make the 89th one of the better documented local partisan militias I've seen!

These militias exist on a spectrum where bands of thieves are on one end and regular army regiments are on the other. Local militias were mostly legal, but often loosely organized. They served several purposes: aiding the war effort, chasing slaves and deserters, providing security in areas where the regular government had ceased to exist, and giving members a way to avoid the draft. Membership waxed and waned. Some can be found in the official records attached to regular army units for scouting and other military activities. Some are identified in Provost Marshal records as local gangs and/or troops. A lot seems to have depended on the leadership. Your Colonel Forney seems to have taken this seriously and run a tighter ship than most.

That is both very good and very bad news! It's good because if Forney kept records better than most of the other militia units, it might mean he kept more detailed records somewhere. I might even be able to contact his living relatives if there are any left in the area.

The reason it's bad is, well - I was hoping there was some kind of authoritative source on matters like this. The stories of Confederate troops chasing deserters and unionists through my backyard are something I would most certainly like to have. With any luck, it's not entirely lost to time.

 

[lupaglupa]

If anyone has the records it would be the North Carolina state archives/library. I would contact them and ask.

 

[Mike Serpa]

Col. Forney's name appears in this book a few times

History of Catawba College : Leonard, Jacob Calvin, b. 1867 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

352 p. : 24 cm

archive.org

Also

Col Hiram Asbury Forney (1830-1897) - Find a Grave...

He was the Colonel and Commanding Officer of the 89th No. Carolina Militia. He was the son of Abram Eardardt Forney and Polly (Lineberger) Forney and Married wife Sally Shrum on 10 Feb 1853

www.findagrave.com

 

[TheChronicle]

Col. Forney's name appears in this book a few times
View attachment 554027

History of Catawba College : Leonard, Jacob Calvin, b. 1867 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

352 p. : 24 cm

archive.org

Also

Col Hiram Asbury Forney (1830-1897) - Find a Grave...

He was the Colonel and Commanding Officer of the 89th No. Carolina Militia. He was the son of Abram Eardardt Forney and Polly (Lineberger) Forney and Married wife Sally Shrum on 10 Feb 1853

www.findagrave.com

Whoa, you found a picture! That's amazing! I never thought for a moment that a picture would even exist. This is fantastic, thank you!

 

[lupaglupa]

@Mike Serpa is a master finder of things!

 

[Mike Serpa]

@Mike Serpa is a master finder of things!

I'm not sure. My wife tells me I can't find a gallon of milk on the top shelf in the refrigerator! (She hid it in the back.)

 

[13 IL Cav & 64 GA Inf]

I'm not sure. My wife tells me I can't find a gallon of milk on the top shelf in the refrigerator! (She hid it in the back.)

Hahaha!

 

[Bruce Vail]

Fayetteville Observer had this in 1862:

Fayetteville observer. (Fayetteville, N.C.) 1851-1865, April 24, 1862, Image 3

Fayetteville observer. (Fayetteville, N.C.) 1851-1865, April 24, 1862, Image 3, presented by the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center in partnership with Cumberland County Public Library.

newspapers.digitalnc.org

 

[Story]

I'm thinking Co. P is a reading mistake.

HERMAN, HENRY ADOLPHUS, 2nd Lieutenant, 89th Regiment, N. C. Militia - Enlisted in Catawba or Rowan County at age 24, January 21, 1862. Mustered in as Private in 2nd Co. B, 42nd Regiment, N.C. Troops. Promoted to Corporal in May-June, 1862. Promoted to 3rd Sergeant, November-December, 1862. Present or accounted for through October, 1864. Assigned to Co. P, 89th Regiment, NC Militia as a 2nd Lieutenant. [NC Confederate Militia, Officers Roster As Contained in the Adjutant General's Officer's Roster, Stephen Bradley; Hahn, p. 364]

Catawba County Soldiers Buried at St. Timothy

Looks like possibly the 89th NC Militia was mentioned in his 42nd NC consolidated military record.

Henry Adolphus Herman (1837-1914) - Find a Grave...

His Civil War record shows that he served as a corporal with Company 2nd B North Carolina 42nd Infantry Regiment. (sources: Historical Data Systems, comp.. U.S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles Provo, UT, USA)∼Name: Henry Adolphus Herman Residence: Catawba County, North Carolina Age at...

www.findagrave.com

Also

HERMAN, HENRY ADOLPHUS, 2nd Lieutenant, 89th Regiment, N. C. Militia - Enlisted in Catawba or Rowan County at age 24, January 21, 1862. Mustered in as Private in 2nd Co. B, 42nd Regiment, N.C. Troops. Promoted to Corporal in May-June, 1862. Promoted to 3rd Sergeant, November-December, 1862. Present or accounted for through October, 1864. Assigned to Co. P, 89th Regiment, NC Militia as a 2nd Lieutenant. [NC Confederate Militia, Officers Roster As Contained in the Adjutant General's Officer's Roster, Stephen Bradley; Hahn, p. 364]
via https://sites.rootsweb.com/~wlsetzer/fam_killian/db/pafn23.htm

 

[Story]

Since I'm unaware of an 89th NC Troops, this guy might be worth checking out as well

Catawba County Cemeteries: Vol 2; 115
HOSEA DEAL, 1st Lieutenant. Served in Company D, 89th Regiment, NC Troops

Hosea Deal (1827-1900) - Find a Grave Memorial

Catawba County Cemeteries: Vol 2; 115 HOSEA DEAL, 1st Lieutenant. Served in Company D, 89th Regiment, NC Troops Husband of Annira Fertima Bost; father of John Sidney, Robert Harvey, Eli Pinkney, Carlos Hartville, Noah G., Julius M., William Morris, Elizabeth Eliza Lizzie Annetta, Polycarp &...

www.findagrave.com

 

[Story]

Fayetteville Observer had this in 1862:

Fayetteville observer. (Fayetteville, N.C.) 1851-1865, April 24, 1862, Image 3

Fayetteville observer. (Fayetteville, N.C.) 1851-1865, April 24, 1862, Image 3, presented by the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center in partnership with Cumberland County Public Library.

newspapers.digitalnc.org

Would you be so kind as to articulate what we're looking for and the column number on the page?

 

[Bruce Vail]

Would you be so kind as to articulate what we're looking for and the column number on the page?

Column Three, very bottom of page there is a reference to 89th NC.

Nothing startling here, but as a contemporary newspaper report it answers (at least in part) your original question about whether the 89th was recognized as an active military organization at the time.

 

[Story]

Column Three, very bottom of page there is a reference to 89th NC.

Nothing startling here, but as a contemporary newspaper report it answers (at least in part) your original question about whether the 89th was recognized as an active military organization at the time.

Thanks but.... it wasn't MY question. I'm just trying to help the OP as well.

Savvy?

 

[Story]

Column Three, very bottom of page there is a reference to 89th NC.

pg. 3 col. 3, Fayetteville observer. 24 April 1862

Note: no results for those three names found from a FindAGrave search

Interesting that a militia regiment would be deployed outside of NC.

 

[Bruce Vail]

Thanks but.... it wasn't MY question. I'm just trying to help the OP as well.

Savvy?

My mistake. My bad.