Collins, William A., 1841-1862

Private William A. Collins of Statesville, N.C., served in Company C of the 48th North Carolina Infantry Regiment from March 1862 until his death in December 1862.

William A. Collins of Statesville, N.C., was born into a family of farmers on 21 August 1841. Although little is known about his education beyond the fact that he pursued a course of religious studies with his friend and pastor, Reverend J. M. Smith of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, it is worth noting that Collins had fine handwriting.

Like many of the young men from Iredell County, Collins enlisted on 26 February 1862 and his term of service parallels the early and, indeed, even the pre-history of North Carolina's 48th Infantry Regiment. While serving in Company C, he participated in a series of engagements in and around northern Virginia. He was wounded in the leg and captured by Union forces at the Battle of Antietam on 17 September 1862. After being paroled, he was confined to Chimborazo Hospital No. 4 in Richmond, Va., where he died of gangrene on 14 December 1862.