Tucker's Confederate Regiment

[35th MA InfRegt]

Does anybody have access to, or have knowledge of, a register of enlistments into this regiment? My understanding is that a number of Union soldiers being held at the Salisbury Prison in North Carolina were recruited by the Confederates into this regiment. My great-grandfather Jean-Jacque Sneyers (*), a French-speaking Belgian (possibly), was a prisoner at Salisbury and if his Compiled Military Service Record is to believed, was serving in the Confederate Army when he was returned to Union military control on April 27th, 1865. Unfortunately, the CMSR is silent on which Confederate unit he was assigned to. Since Tucker's Regiment had been surrendered to the Union Army with the rest of Johnston's forces on April 26th, 1865, I think it is the most likely candidate for my ancestor to have served in. Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated!

(*) Multiple spellings of his name abound in the records. He and his brother Peter were assigned to Company K of the 35th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment.

 

[Stryker65]

There were actually two such units -- this was the First Foreign Legion, under Colonel Tucker. I believe your ancestor may have served in the Second Foreign Legion, under Lt. Col. Robert T. Fouche. The reason, I think, that he was in the Second Foreign Legion is because this unit was captured on April 6 by a Union cavalry division. I find it likely that this cavalry returned with the prisoners to Knoxville or Cumberland Gap and from there figured out what to do with them.

The reason I discount the April 26 surrender date is because while yes, the documents were signed then, it took a few weeks to parole everyone. Johnston's army was roughly twice the size of Lee's, and unless Tucker's regiment was paroled first (which I doubt, being not part of the main infantry army), Sneyers would not have been processed until later.

 

[35th MA InfRegt]

There were actually two such units -- this was the First Foreign Legion, under Colonel Tucker. I believe your ancestor may have served in the Second Foreign Legion, under Lt. Col. Robert T. Fouche. The reason, I think, that he was in the Second Foreign Legion is because this unit was captured on April 6 by a Union cavalry division. I find it likely that this cavalry returned with the prisoners to Knoxville or Cumberland Gap and from there figured out what to do with them.

The reason I discount the April 26 surrender date is because while yes, the documents were signed then, it took a few weeks to parole everyone. Johnston's army was roughly twice the size of Lee's, and unless Tucker's regiment was paroled first (which I doubt, being not part of the main infantry army), Sneyers would not have been processed until later.

Thanks for that helpful reply. I had planned to look into Tucker's Regiment first, but you make a good argument for Fouche's Legion as a better candidate.

 

[DorwinBlack]

Your ancestor's CW pension file may contain more details about his Confederate service. Like my ancestor, he may have had to file an affidavit to avoid being dropped from the pension rolls when it was found he had served in the Confederate army.

Based on my ancestors pension file affidavit, the following is a rough timeline of his capture, imprisonment, recruitment/service in Tucker's regiment, desertion/"escape" from Confederate service, and return to his former Union regiment.
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Oct 2 1864 - As a private in the 8th OVC, he is captured while burning rebel property near Luray VA as part of 2nd Cavalry division's raid on Page County.

Oct-Nov 1864 - POW: He was first taken to Libby in Richmond, later transferred to Salisbury Prison where "by reason of starvation and sickness, at times being almost without food whatever, he became very much emaciated, wasted, and weak". He remained imprisoned at Salisbury until 1 Dec 1864 when he was granted parole for volunteering to serve as Private in Tucker's Regiment CSA.

Dec 1864: Transported by rail to Columbia SC where he and fellow POW recruits joined the encampment of Tucker's Confederate Regiment already in training on the front lawn of Mary Chestnut's residence. He was assigned to Company I commanded by Capt. Charles B Day.

In late December, the regiment was transported by rail to Charleston SC "where we performed no service"

In January, he and much of the regiment were transported to North Carolina, though many of the recruits needed hospital treatment for a variety of ailments. Many, including my ancestor, were treated at Confederate hospital #11 in Charlotte.

Feb 6, 1865 - Feb 23, 1865: Much of the month of February was spent being treated for frostbite at a confederate hospital in Charlotte NC.

March - April 1865: After his release from the hospital, he served on a detail building corduroy roads in Central NC during the final month's of the war. He deserted "at the first opportunity that presented itself" prior to Johnston's surrender at Bennet Place on April 26. "Traveling by night, and hiding by day", he made his way to Union lines where he reported to General Kilpatrick. The General issued him a pass to return to the 8th OVC.

May-August 1865: He rejoined the 8th Ohio Cavalry in West Virginia, and served with them until they were mustered out in August.
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Like my ancestor, yours may simply have deserted when the opportunity presented itself, and made his way back to Union lines. If he had been captured while serving with Confederate troops, I imagine he would have been court martialed rather than being sent back to rejoin his regiment.