Researching Home Guard units?

[Bruce Vail]

I recently learned that a family relative was a member of a "Home Guard" unit in North Carolina during the war.

How does one go about researching the documentation for something like this? Would it be in the National Archives, or in some state or local records?

 

[East Tennessee Roots]

I recently learned that a family relative was a member of a "Home Guard" unit in North Carolina during the war.

How does one go about researching the documentation for something like this? Would it be in the National Archives, or in some state or local records?

In Tennessee the Confederate "Home-Guard" was referred to as "Reserves". North Carolina had "Senior" and "Junior" Reserves. The prewar Militia were also incorporated. I had a Wilkes County relative that was ranked Lieutenant-Colonel in that County's Militia, but from what I've gathered he apparently operated individually, mostly delivering conscripts and chasing down deserters.

http://www.archive.org/stream/cu31924092908569#page/n673/mode/2up

 

[East Tennessee Roots]

I recently learned that a family relative was a member of a "Home Guard" unit in North Carolina during the war.

How does one go about researching the documentation for something like this? Would it be in the National Archives, or in some state or local records?

http://www.ncpedia.org/home-guard

 

[leftyhunter]

I recently learned that a family relative was a member of a "Home Guard" unit in North Carolina during the war.

How does one go about researching the documentation for something like this? Would it be in the National Archives, or in some state or local records?

Two books definitely have homeguard history. " Bitterly divided the South's inner Civil War" David Williams thenewpress.com . "Savage Conflict the decisive role of guerrilla warfare during the Civil War" Daniel Sutherland . Professor Sutherland afterwards wrote a book about Unionist guerrillas something like " War on the homefront" that should include a lot about Confederate homeguards. Their is a book about the Unionist and Confederate guerrilla warfare in Western North Carolina " war in the mountains".We do have some threads on homeguards on both sides. Keep in mind their were indeed Unionist home guards deep in Confederate territory as well has those formed after Union Army liberation.
I would check with local county histories written immediate post Civil War up to say 1920.
Leftyhunter