16th Infantry Regiment South Carolina Volunteers

16th Infantry Regiment South Carolina Volunteers
The 16th Regiment was formed in Columbia, South Carolina in December 1861. They were sent first to Adams Run near Charleston where they remained for most of 1862. In December 1862, the Regiment was sent to Wilmington, North Carolina and then returned to Charleston in February 1863. Sent to Jackson, Mississippi, they arrived too late to participate in the battle at Vicksburg. Likewise, when returning to Tennessee, they did not arrive in time to see action at Chickamauga. However, on 25 November 1863, they were involved in heavy fighting at Missionary Ridge. Sent to aid in the defense of Atlanta, the 16th fought at Dalton, Resaca, Pine Mountain, Kennesaw Mountain, Peachtree Creek, Atlanta as well as a number of other places around Atlanta. In November 1864, they fought at the battle of Franklin, and then moved on to Nashville in December 1864. Early in 1865, they were sent east to Salisbury, North Carolina, and on to Bentonville, North Carolina. Some have said they surrendered at Bentonville, but the 16th Regiment now combined with the 24th Regiment surrendered at Durham Station, Orange County, North Carolina 26 April 1865. The two Regiments had been combined because each had less than 400 men remaining in the respective regiments.
Most of the men who served in the 16th Regiment South Carolina Volunteers (SCV) were from Greenville County, South Carolina. Each company tended to be made up of men from a particular community within the county. For example, Company F which was commanded by Captain George W. Holtzclaw was comprised for the most part of men from the community around Brushy Creek Baptist Church near present day Taylors, South Carolina. The church in the rural upstate area of South Carolina functioned as a community gathering place as well as a place of worship. So it was not at all unusual for an individual regiment to be formed with men from a particular community.