50th Georgia Volunteer Infantry
Encyclopedia
The 50th Georgia Volunteer Infantry was an infantry
regiment
raised by the state of Georgia
to fight for the Confederacy
in the American Civil War
.
The regiment was organized on March 4, 1862, at Savannah
, primarily from recruits from southern Georgia. The original commander was Col.
William R. Manning (1817–1871). They were drilled at Camp Davis, just outside of Guyton, Georgia
. Upon being mustered into Confederate
service, the regiment served in the Savannah defenses. On July 17, 1862, Major General
John C. Pemberton
sent the 50th Georgia Volunteers to Richmond
to join the Army of Northern Virginia
under its commanding general, Robert E. Lee
.
For the majority of the war, the 50th Georgia served with the First Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia
. The regiment participated in more than 45 engagements during the war. Some of the early battles in the East
that the regiment took part in included South Mountain
, Sharpsburg
, Chancellorsville
, and Gettysburg
. The regiment went south when James Longstreet
took his corps to Georgia and Tennessee
in the fall of 1863, where it was engaged at the Siege of Knoxville. Returning to Virginia, the 50th Georgia fought in the Siege of Petersburg
, the Battle of Cedar Creek
, and the Battle of Sayler's Creek
.
The remaining men surrendered at Appomattox Court House
on April 9, 1865. After parole, they returned to Georgia and civilian life, holding several reunions over the years.
, the regiment was assigned to Toomb's Brigade
. In the South this battle is known as the battle of Sharpsburg, after the nearby town. Toomb's Georgia troops were credited with defending the bridge over Antietam creek against several ill fated attempts to cross it, until finally being pushed back late in the afternoon. After the battle, the 50th Regiment was permanently assigned to Paul Jones Semmes's
Brigade. The subsequent brigade commanders were Goode Bryan
and James P. Simms.
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 by the state of Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
to fight for the Confederacy
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
in 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...
.
The regiment was organized on March 4, 1862, at Savannah
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
, primarily from recruits from southern Georgia. The original commander was Col.
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
William R. Manning (1817–1871). They were drilled at Camp Davis, just outside of Guyton, Georgia
Guyton, Georgia
Guyton is a city in Effingham County, Georgia, United States. The population was 917 at the 2000 census, although a 2008 estimate by the Census Bureau places the population above 1,900. Guyton is part of the Savannah Metropolitan Statistical Area....
. Upon being mustered into Confederate
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...
service, the regiment served in the Savannah defenses. On July 17, 1862, Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
John C. Pemberton
John C. Pemberton
John Clifford Pemberton , was a career United States Army officer who fought in the Seminole Wars and with distinction during the Mexican–American War. He also served as a Confederate general during the American Civil War, noted for his defeat and surrender in the critical Siege of Vicksburg in...
sent the 50th Georgia Volunteers to Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
to join 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...
under its commanding general, Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
.
For the majority of the war, the 50th Georgia served with the First Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia
First Corps, Army of Northern Virginia
The First Corps, Army of Northern Virginia was a military unit fighting for the Confederate States of America in the American Civil War. It was formed in early 1861 and served until the spring of 1865, mostly in the Eastern Theater. The corps was commanded by James Longstreet for much of its...
. The regiment participated in more than 45 engagements during the war. Some of the early battles in the East
Eastern Theater of the American Civil War
The Eastern Theater of the American Civil War included the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, and the coastal fortifications and seaports of North Carolina...
that the regiment took part in included South Mountain
Battle of South Mountain
The Battle of South Mountain was fought September 14, 1862, as part of the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War. Three pitched battles were fought for possession of three South Mountain passes: Crampton's, Turner's, and Fox's Gaps. Maj. Gen. George B...
, Sharpsburg
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...
, Chancellorsville
Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on...
, and Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
. The regiment went south when James Longstreet
James Longstreet
James Longstreet was one of the foremost Confederate generals of the American Civil War and the principal subordinate to General Robert E. Lee, who called him his "Old War Horse." He served under Lee as a corps commander for many of the famous battles fought by the Army of Northern Virginia in the...
took his corps to Georgia and Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
in the fall of 1863, where it was engaged at the Siege of Knoxville. Returning to Virginia, the 50th Georgia fought in the Siege of Petersburg
Siege of Petersburg
The Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War...
, the Battle of Cedar Creek
Battle of Cedar Creek
The Battle of Cedar Creek, or Battle of Belle Grove, October 19, 1864, was one of the final, and most decisive, battles in the Valley Campaigns of 1864 during the American Civil War. The final Confederate invasion of the North, led by Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early, was effectively ended...
, and the Battle of Sayler's Creek
Battle of Sayler's Creek
-External links:* * : Maps, histories, photos, and preservation news...
.
The remaining men surrendered at Appomattox Court House
Appomattox Court House
The Appomattox Courthouse is the current courthouse in Appomattox, Virginia built in 1892. It is located in the middle of the state about three miles northwest of the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, once known as Clover Hill - home of the original Old Appomattox Court House...
on April 9, 1865. After parole, they returned to Georgia and civilian life, holding several reunions over the years.
Organization
This regiment was formed in March, 1862, in Savannah, Georgia. It served with the Army of Northern Virginia from July 1862 until its surrender at Appomattox Court House, except during Longstreet's 1863 expedition to Georgia and Tennessee. Upon reaching Virginia, it was assigned to Drayton's Brigade. During the Battle of AntietamBattle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...
, the regiment was assigned to Toomb's Brigade
Robert Toombs
Robert Augustus Toombs was an American political leader, United States Senator from Georgia, 1st Secretary of State of the Confederacy, and a Confederate general in the Civil War.-Early life:...
. In the South this battle is known as the battle of Sharpsburg, after the nearby town. Toomb's Georgia troops were credited with defending the bridge over Antietam creek against several ill fated attempts to cross it, until finally being pushed back late in the afternoon. After the battle, the 50th Regiment was permanently assigned to Paul Jones Semmes's
Paul Jones Semmes
Paul Jones Semmes was a banker, businessman, and a Confederate general in the American Civil War, mortally wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg.-Early life:...
Brigade. The subsequent brigade commanders were Goode Bryan
Goode Bryan
Goode Bryan was a planter, politician, military officer, and American Civil War general in the Confederate States Army. His brigade played a prominent role during the Battle of the Wilderness, fighting stubbornly until exhausting its ammunition.-Early life and career:Bryan was born in Hancock...
and James P. Simms.
Colonel
- William R. Manning (March 22, 1862 through July 31, 1863, Resigned)
- Peter Alexander Selkirk McGlashan (July 31, 1863 through end of war [captured at Sayler's Creek, Virginia, April 6, 1865, Released from Johnson's IslandJohnson's IslandJohnson's Island is a island in Sandusky Bay, located on the coast of Lake Erie, 3 miles from the city of Sandusky, Ohio. It was the site of a prisoner-of-war camp for Confederate officers captured during the American Civil War. Johnson's Island was the only Union prison exclusively for Southern...
, Ohio, July 25, 1865])
Lieutenant Colonel
- Francis Kearse (March 22, 1862 through July 2, 1863, Killed at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania)
- William O. Fleming (July 31, 1863 through December 22, 1863, Resigned)
- Pliny Sheffield (December 21, 1863 through November 28, 1864, Resigned [Wounded in right arm necessitating amputation at the Battle of the Wilderness on May 6, 1864])
Major
- Phillip Coleman Pendleton (March 22, 1862 through October 8, 1862, Resigned)
- Duncan Curry (October 8, 1862 through February 24, 1863, Resigned)
- William O. Fleming (February 24, 1863 through July 31, 1863, Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel)
- Pliny Sheffield (July 31, 1863 through December 21, 1863, Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel)
- John M. Spence (December 21, 1863 through February 14, 1865 when granted a leave of absence)
Companies
- Company A - Satilla Rangers (Pierce County)Pierce County, GeorgiaPierce County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 15,636. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 17,881. The county seat is Blackshear....
- Company B - Ware Volunteers (Ware County)Ware County, GeorgiaWare County is a county located in the southeast of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 35,483. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 35,831 The county seat is Waycross....
- Company C - Coffee County Guards (Coffee County)Coffee County, GeorgiaCoffee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 37,413. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 40,085. The county seat is Douglas.-History:...
- Company D - Valdosta Guards (Lowndes County)Lowndes County, GeorgiaLowndes County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia along the Florida border. It was created December 23, 1825. The 2010 Census showed a population of 109,233...
- Company E - Thomas County Rangers (Thomas County)Thomas County, GeorgiaThomas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. The 2010 Census showed a population of 44,720. The county seat is Thomasville.-History:...
- Company F - Decatur Infantry (Decatur County)Decatur County, GeorgiaDecatur County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 28,240. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 28,544. The county seat is Bainbridge.-History:...
- Company G - Clinch Volunteers (ClinchClinch County, GeorgiaClinch County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It was created on February 14, 1850, named in honor of Duncan Lamont Clinch. As of 2000, the population is 6,878. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 6,992...
and EcholsEchols County, GeorgiaEchols County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is part of the Valdosta, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2000, the population is 3,754. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 4,093. The county seat is Statenville...
Counties) - Company H - Colquitt Marksmen (Colquitt County)Colquitt County, GeorgiaColquitt County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It was created on February 25, 1856. As of 2000, the population was 42,053. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 45,744. The county seat is Moultrie...
- Company I - Berrien Light Infantry (Berrien County)Berrien County, GeorgiaBerrien County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population is 16,235. The 2007 Census Estimate placed the population at 16,722. The county seat is Nashville....
- Company K - Brooks Volunteers (Brooks County)Brooks County, GeorgiaBrooks County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is part of the Valdosta, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 16,243. The county seat is Quitman...
Battles
- Second Bull Run (August 28-30, 1862)Second Battle of Bull RunThe Second Battle of Bull Run or Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of an offensive campaign waged by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia against Union Maj. Gen...
- South Mountain (September 14, 1862)Battle of South MountainThe Battle of South Mountain was fought September 14, 1862, as part of the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War. Three pitched battles were fought for possession of three South Mountain passes: Crampton's, Turner's, and Fox's Gaps. Maj. Gen. George B...
- Antietam (September 17, 1862)Battle of AntietamThe Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...
- Fredericksburg (December 13, 1862)Battle of FredericksburgThe Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside...
- Chancellorsville (May 1-4, 1863)Battle of ChancellorsvilleThe Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on...
- Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863)Battle of GettysburgThe Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
- Chickamauga [not engaged] (September 19-20, 1863)Battle of ChickamaugaThe Battle of Chickamauga, fought September 19–20, 1863, marked the end of a Union offensive in southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia called the Chickamauga Campaign...
- Chattanooga Siege (September-November 1863)
- Siege of Knoxville (November-December 1863)
- Battle of Fort Sanders (November 23, 1863)Battle of Fort SandersThe Battle of Fort Sanders was the decisive engagement of the Knoxville Campaign of the American Civil War, fought in Knoxville, Tennessee, on November 29, 1863. Assaults by Confederate Lt. Gen. James Longstreet failed to break through the defensive lines of Union Maj. Gen...
- Battle of Fort Sanders (November 23, 1863)
- The Wilderness (May 5-6, 1864)Battle of the WildernessThe Battle of the Wilderness, fought May 5–7, 1864, was the first battle of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Both armies suffered heavy casualties, a harbinger of a bloody war of attrition by...
- Spotsylvania Court House (May 8-21, 1864)Battle of Spotsylvania Court HouseThe Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, sometimes simply referred to as the Battle of Spotsylvania , was the second major battle in Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Overland Campaign of the American Civil War. Following the bloody but inconclusive Battle of the Wilderness, Grant's army disengaged...
- North Anna (May 23-26, 1864)Battle of North AnnaThe Battle of North Anna was fought May 23–26, 1864, as part of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign against Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. It consisted of a series of small actions near the North Anna River in central Virginia, rather than a...
- Cold Harbor (June 1-3, 1864)Battle of Cold HarborThe Battle of Cold Harbor was fought from May 31 to June 12, 1864 . It was one of the final battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign during the American Civil War, and is remembered as one of American history's bloodiest, most lopsided battles...
- Petersburg Siege (June 1864-April 1865)Siege of PetersburgThe Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War...
- Cedar Creek (October 19, 1864)Battle of Cedar CreekThe Battle of Cedar Creek, or Battle of Belle Grove, October 19, 1864, was one of the final, and most decisive, battles in the Valley Campaigns of 1864 during the American Civil War. The final Confederate invasion of the North, led by Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early, was effectively ended...
- Sayler's Creek (April 6, 1865)Battle of Sayler's Creek-External links:* * : Maps, histories, photos, and preservation news...
- Appomattox Court House (April 9, 1865)Appomattox Court HouseThe Appomattox Courthouse is the current courthouse in Appomattox, Virginia built in 1892. It is located in the middle of the state about three miles northwest of the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, once known as Clover Hill - home of the original Old Appomattox Court House...