19th Virginia Infantry
Encyclopedia
The 19th Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry
regiment
raised in Virginia
for service in the Confederate States Army
during the American Civil War
. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia
.
The 19th Virginia, organized at Manassas Junction, Virginia, in May, 1861, contained men recruited at Charlottesville and in the counties of Albemarle, Nelson, and Amherst.
It fought at First Manassas under General Cocke, then was assigned to General Pickett's, Garnett's, and Hunton's Brigade. The 19th participated in the campaigns of the Army of Northern Virginia from Williamsburg to Gettysburg except when it was with Longstreet at Suffolk. Later it served in North Carolina, returned to Virginia, and was active at Drewry's Bluff and Cold Harbor. Continuing the fight, it was engaged in the Petersburg siege north of the James River and the Appomattox Campaign.
It reported 6 casualties at First Manassas and in April, 1862, totalled 650 effectives. The regiment had 138 casualties during the Seven Days' Battles and lost forty-two percent of the 150 in the Maryland Campaign and more than forty-five percent of the 328 engaged at Gettysburg. Many were captured at Sayler's Creek, and only 1 officer and 29 men surrendered.
The field officers were Colonels Philip St. George Cocke
, Henry Gantt, Armistead T.M. Rust, and John B. Strange; Lieutenant Colonels John T. Ellis, Charles S. Peyton, and Bennett Taylor; and Majors Waller M. Boyd and William Watts.
K Company of the 19th was known as "The Blue Ridge Rifles"
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
raised in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
for service in the Confederate States Army
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia
Army of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...
.
The 19th Virginia, organized at Manassas Junction, Virginia, in May, 1861, contained men recruited at Charlottesville and in the counties of Albemarle, Nelson, and Amherst.
It fought at First Manassas under General Cocke, then was assigned to General Pickett's, Garnett's, and Hunton's Brigade. The 19th participated in the campaigns of the Army of Northern Virginia from Williamsburg to Gettysburg except when it was with Longstreet at Suffolk. Later it served in North Carolina, returned to Virginia, and was active at Drewry's Bluff and Cold Harbor. Continuing the fight, it was engaged in the Petersburg siege north of the James River and the Appomattox Campaign.
It reported 6 casualties at First Manassas and in April, 1862, totalled 650 effectives. The regiment had 138 casualties during the Seven Days' Battles and lost forty-two percent of the 150 in the Maryland Campaign and more than forty-five percent of the 328 engaged at Gettysburg. Many were captured at Sayler's Creek, and only 1 officer and 29 men surrendered.
The field officers were Colonels Philip St. George Cocke
Philip St. George Cocke
Philip St. George Cocke was a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the first year of the American Civil War. He is best known for organizing the defense of Virginia along the Potomac River soon after the state's secession from the Union...
, Henry Gantt, Armistead T.M. Rust, and John B. Strange; Lieutenant Colonels John T. Ellis, Charles S. Peyton, and Bennett Taylor; and Majors Waller M. Boyd and William Watts.
K Company of the 19th was known as "The Blue Ridge Rifles"