William Lord DeRosset

A merchant from Wilmington, he was appointed Major, 3rd North Carolina Infantry on 16 May 1861. He was promoted Lieutenant on 26 April 1862. Colonel At Savage's Station (29 June 1862) during the Seven Days battles, Colonel Gaston Meares of the 3rd North Carolina was killed, and Lieutenant Colonel DeRosset took command of the regiment. He was promoted to Colonel on 1 July.

"Colonel [W. L.] DeRosset, Third North Carolina, received a severe wound [in the hip or thigh] at Sharpsburg, which I fear will forever deprive the South of his most valuable services."
(from Gen DH Hill's report).

He was relieved in command by Major Thruston. De Rosset later wrote of Sharpsburg to the Century Magazine:

"I carried into action, the morning of the 17th of September, 520 men, and the loss on that and the following day was 330 men, and 23 out of 27 officers, of which latter 7 were killed or died from their wounds within a few days. Most of the loss was sustained in less than two hours of fighting on the first day. We were in position near the 'East Wood,' having gone into action through the yard of the Mumma house (which was set fire to by my orders), and for an hour were fighting three lines of Federals, when a division, in column of battalion, came up, and, halting within one hundred yards of my right company, the right of the brigade, opened fire, enfilading my command and causing the heavy loss sustained in so short a time. This necessitated a prompt change of front on my part, and while this was being done I was disabled and carried off the field, not, however, before I had the satisfaction of seeing my brave men held well in hand by my senior captain, S. D. Thruston, who was soon after promoted."

He resigned his commission 3 October 1863, being "unfit for field service".

In 1902, the Wilmington (NC) Chamber of Commerce guide said: "The Navassa Guano Co. was established in 1869 [at Wilmington, NC]... executive officers of the company are: H. W. Malloy, president; S. T. Morgan, of Richmond, Va., vice-president, and Wm. L. DeRosset, secretary and treasurer; gentlemen requiring no personal comment at our hands."

Source: Wilmington Up to Date, WE De Rosset, Jr., printer, Wilmington Chamber of Commerce, 1902 - posted online by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The battle quote is from The Century Magazine, Volume 33, Issue 2 - December 1886, which is online in Cornell's Making of America collection.

The photograph above is from the UDC Collection at the Cape Fear Museum, Wilmington, NC, as published in Voices1. Service dates from Moore.2 His gravesite is on Findagrave.

10/25/1832; Wilmington, NC

08/14/1910; Wilmington, NC; burial in Oakdale Cemetery, Wilmington, NC