The Invincible Twelfth

The 12th South Carolina Infantry of the Gregg-McGowan Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia

By: Benjamin L. Cwayna

Narrated by: Bob Neufeld

At a regimental reunion in 1880, former Confederate Brig. Gen. Samuel McGowan lauded the 12th South Carolina as “The finest of that immortal army,” “foremost in the charge,” and “the invincible Twelfth.” The regiment, along with four others, served under McGowan from early 1863 through the end of the war. The aging brigadier, wounded four times in combat, was an authority on the regiment’s reputation. “It would be impossible on an occasion of this kind, to give anything like a history of the Twelfth Regiment, or tell half of its gallant deeds. That,” he declared, “would require a volume.” With Benjamin L. Cwayna’s new The Invincible Twelfth: The 12th South Carolina Infantry of the Gregg-McGowan Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia, that volume has finally arrived.

The regiment’s career commenced with an ignominious defeat in its initial engagement on the South Carolina coast at Port Royal Sound in 1861. This demoralizing event could have set the regiment on a trajectory of self-fulfilling failure and catastrophe. A change in leadership from a perpetually absent political appointee to a tenacious legislator born and bred in the upcountry, however, altered its course. Dixon Barnes instilled discipline and robust leadership in the unit, initiating a transformational process that molded the raw recruits into some of the Confederacy’s most dependable soldiers.

The 12th was transferred to what would become Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia and was brigaded with four other regiments from the Palmetto State. Together, they participated in nearly every major engagement of the war in the Eastern Theater. The 12th earned a sterling reputation within the army for its drill and discipline and was renowned for its impetuous, devastating, and occasionally reckless attacks and counterattacks.

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Not another boring History book

Well thought out format to the book going through the entire timeline of the 12th SC from before official mustering to after the war and how they remembered their personal experiences. Not just another boring historical book, it peppers in first hand accounts where available that truly gives you an idea how these men fought and lived during those years. Narrator was a bit slow for my taste so listened at 1.2x which was perfect. Overall wonderful listen about a important part of confederate military history. For Dixie!

My newfound interest

Prior to Benjamin Cwayna’s book I had never been a reader of civil war history. I decided to try something new, and I’m glad I did! I was finding myself brought into the story. I also discovered I wanted to learn more on the civil war! This was very well written book, one that I would recommend!