26th North Carolina Infantry

26th North Carolina Infantry Regiment
North Carolina State flag circa 1861
Active	August 27, 1861 to April 19, 1865
Country	Confederate States of America
Allegiance	North Carolina
Branch	Confederate States Army
Type	Infantry
Role	Infantry
Engagements	Seven Days Battles Battle of Gettysburg Battle of Bristoe Station Battle of Wilderness Battle of Spotsylvania Court House Battle of Cold Harbor Siege of Petersburg Battle of Five Forks Battle of Appomattox Court House
Commanders
Colonel	Zebulon Baird Vance
Colonel	Henry K. Burgwyn
Colonel	John Randolph Lane

The 26th North Carolina Regiment was an infantry regiment of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was composed of ten companies that came from various counties across North Carolina and Virginia. It is famous for being the regiment with the largest number of casualties on both sides during the war.

The state of North Carolina seceded from the Union on May 20, 1861 and subsequently joined the Confederate States of America. After seceding, then North Carolina Adjutant General John Hoke called for 30,000 troops to be recruited to support the Confederacy in the war. Congressman Zebulon Baird Vance initially supported the Union but after hearing of the attacks on Ft. Sumter, he then advocated for the Confederacy. In local towns people then tried to form companies who would then enter into state service. To encourage enlistment, the state offered a $10 bounty for any man who enlisted into a company. The soldiers in each of the ten companies that made up the 26th North Carolina came primarily from one county, while a few usually came from neighboring counties.

The first company to form as a part of the 26th North Carolina was from Moore County in May 1861. Nine more companies followed suit with soldiers coming from the following counties in North Carolina: Ashe, Union, Wilkes, Wake, Chatham, Caldwell, and Anson. One company also contained soldiers from Grayson County in Virginia. Each of the ten companies had their own nickname that they chose.