Dear Editor:

Approximately 13 years ago, your newspaper published a letter explaining my intention to research and publish a book about the men from your area of South Carolina who served in the 15th South Carolina Infantry regiment during the American Civil War. In this letter, I requested that your readers who are descendants or relatives of these men share copies with me of any letters, diaries, photographs, etc., they have in their possession or know about.

I can report that the response to my request was excellent. Your readers generously shared many letters, diaries and photographs of men in uniform and other family information. I am now pleased to report to you and your readers that this project has been successfully completed.

What I learned during my many years of research is that the men of the 15th South Carolina Infantry were mostly farmers while a few were lawyers, newspaper publishers and doctors. In large part, they came from Union, Lexington, Fairfield, Richland, Edgefield, Abbeville, Kershaw and Williamsburg districts.

From the personal information your readers shared, plus official Civil War information, I learned that the men of the 15th South Carolina Infantry were mustered-in for Confederate service in the Fall of 1861 near Columbia and that they had fought in 21 major Civil War battles across seven states until they were surrendered to General William T. Sherman in the late Spring of 1865 in Greensboro, N.C.

During this time, a very large percentage of the 1,442 men who served in this regiment were killed or wounded in action, captured or died of disease. Their initial battle occurred defending the coast of South Carolina against Northern invasion on Nov. 7, 1861, at Hilton Head Island during the battle of Port Royal Sound.

The regiment went on to serve under Generals Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet and Joseph B. Kershaw in famous Civil War battles that included 2nd Manassas, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, Knoxville, The Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Cedar Creek and Bentonville.

At the end of the war in 1865, only 159 men of the 15th South Carolina Infantry regiment were left to be surrendered to Sherman.

I want to express my sincere appreciation to your readers who made documenting the history of these brave South Carolinians possible by sharing information that was only available from them. This and additional information is available to be read and studied in my recently published book, A History of the 15th South Carolina Infantry: 1861-1865. The 600-page book describes the regiment's battles, marches, camps, etc., on an almost day-by-day basis and contains over 140 maps and photographs.

In addition, the book presents biographical sketches of each of the 1,442 men who served in the regiment, including the family information your readers shared plus their Confederate army service records.

For questions or to share further information about family members whose history is documented in the book, your readers may contact me by mail at 232 Beachers Brook Lane, Cary, N.C., 27511; or by telephone at (919) 467-2108; or by e-mail at jclary@mi-corporation.com.

For those who wish to know more about the 15th South Carolina Infantry, including how to purchase a copy of the book, log on to www.15thscinfantry.com on the Internet.

Thank you again for making this project known to your readers and to your readers for making this book possible. James B. Clary Cary, N.C.