Volume XVI of North Carolina Troops: A Roster contains the history and roster of the most unusual North Carolina Confederate Civil War unit, significant because of the large number of Cherokee Indians who served in its ranks. Thomas's Legion was the creation of William Holland Thomas, an influential businessman and state legislator with strong ties to the Cherokee Indians of western North Carolina. He raised a small battalion of Cherokees in April 1862. He gradually expanded his command with companies of white soldiers raised in western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and Virginia. By the end of 1862, Thomas s Legion comprised an infantry regiment and a battalion of infantry and cavalry. An artillery battery was added in April 1863. The legion was originally stationed in eastern Tennessee. However, in September 1863, Thomas and two companies departed for western North Carolina and organized a new battalion. The remainder of the legion saw action in eastern Tennessee, southwestern Virginia, and the Shenandoah Valley, before rejoining Thomas in early 1865 for the final military operations in western North Carolina.
The volume begins with an authoritative 246-page history of Thomas's Legion. The history is followed by a complete roster and service records of the field officers, staff, and troops that served in the legion. A thorough index completes the volume.
