Willis J. Dance
Encyclopedia
Pre-War
Willis Jefferson Dance was born in Virginia on June 21, 1821. In 1860, Dance lived in Eggleston's District in Powhatan County, VirginiaPowhatan County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 22,377 people, 7,258 households, and 5,900 families residing in the county. The population density was 86 people per square mile . There were 7,509 housing units at an average density of 29 per square mile...
, using the Post Office at Powhatan Court House. Age 38, he was married to Margaret C. Dance, age 37. (Their only child died young.) Dance had real estate valued at $3,500 and personal property valued a $10,000. He was an attorney and a slave owner.
Civil War
After the outbreak of war, Willis Dance was commissioned captain of the Powhatan Light Artillery on July 16, 1861. He commanded his battery in the Army of Northern VirginiaArmy 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...
. His battery served in the First Virginia Light Artillery under J. Thompson Brown
J. Thompson Brown
John Thompson Brown was a Confederate artillerist in the American Civil War. He was killed by a sharpshooter in the Battle of the Wilderness.-Civil War:...
in the Maryland Campaign
Maryland Campaign
The Maryland Campaign, or the Antietam Campaign is widely considered one of the major turning points of the American Civil War. Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's first invasion of the North was repulsed by Maj. Gen. George B...
at the time of the Battle of Antietam
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...
, when the battery guarded a ford near Shepherdstown, West Virginia
Shepherdstown, West Virginia
Shepherdstown is a town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States, located along the Potomac River. It is the oldest town in the state, having been chartered in 1762 by Colonial Virginia's General Assembly. Since 1863, Shepherdstown has been in West Virginia, and is the oldest town in...
, and the Battle of Fredericksburg
Battle of Fredericksburg
The 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...
in BG William N. Pendleton
William N. Pendleton
William Nelson Pendleton was an American teacher, Episcopal priest, and soldier. He served as a Confederate general during the American Civil War, noted for his position as Gen. Robert E. Lee's chief of artillery for most of the conflict...
’s artillery reserve. At Fredericksburg, Dance’s battery sent guns to help Major John Pelham protect the far right of Stonewall Jackson
Stonewall Jackson
ຄຽשת״ׇׂׂׂׂ֣|birth_place= Clarksburg, Virginia |death_place=Guinea Station, Virginia|placeofburial=Stonewall Jackson Memorial CemeteryLexington, Virginia|placeofburial_label= Place of burial|image=...
’s corps.http://www.civilwarhome.com/jackson.htm
Brown’s command served in the artillery reserve of Jackson’s corps, under Col Stapleton Crutchfield
Stapleton Crutchfield
Stapleton Crutchfield served as a Confederate artillerist in the American Civil War. He was closely associated with Stonewall Jackson until the latter's death. Crutchfield lost a leg in battle, removing him from service in the field...
at the Battle of 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...
. With the death of Jackson, his corps was reorganized with Ltg Richard S. Ewell
Richard S. Ewell
Richard Stoddert Ewell was a career United States Army officer and a Confederate general during the American Civil War. He achieved fame as a senior commander under Stonewall Jackson and Robert E...
as commander. Col Brown was promoted to command of the artillery reserve of Ewell’s Corps. Dance became acting commander of Brown's artillery battalion in the Gettysburg Campaign
Gettysburg Campaign
The Gettysburg Campaign was a series of battles fought in June and July 1863, during the American Civil War. After his victory in the Battle of Chancellorsville, Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia moved north for offensive operations in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The...
. Guns from his battalion were engaged on Seminary Ridge on July 2 and 3, 1863 during the Battle of 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...
. These batteries were engaged against federal batteries on Cemetery Hill.http://www.civilwarhome.com/browngettysburgor.htm
Dance returned to battery command after Gettysburg. He was in BG Armistead L. Long’s artillery command in Ewell’s corps. The battalion was led by Brown and then by Ltc Robert A. Hardaway
Robert A. Hardaway
-Pre-War:Robert Archelaus Hardaway was a native of Georgia – born there B. Feb. 2, 1829; but he was raised in Alabama. His parents were Robert Stanfield Hardaway and his second wife, Martha Bibb Jarratt. Hardaway was educated at St. Joseph's College , and Emory College, later Emory University, in...
in the Bristoe Campaign
Bristoe Campaign
The Bristoe Campaign was a series of minor battles fought in Virginia during October and November 1863, in the American Civil War. Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, commanding the Union Army of the Potomac, began to maneuver in an unsuccessful attempt to defeat Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern...
. In the absence of both officers, Dance briefly led the battalion in the Mine Run Campaign.
Dance commanded his battery in the Overland Campaign
Overland Campaign
The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, in the American Civil War. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, general-in-chief of all Union armies, directed the actions of the Army of the...
and early 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...
. At the Battle of Spotsylvania, Dance's battery, with much of Hardaway's battalion, was in the second line of Ewell's corps when the federal II Corps
II Corps (ACW)
There were five corps in the Union Army designated as II Corps during the American Civil War.* Army of the Cumberland, II Corps commanded by Thomas L. Crittenden , later renumbered XX Corps...
broke through the Confederate defenses. Dance's guns were moved up to stall the Union advance while southern infantry was brought to plug the gap.
Capt Dance served in the Richmond defenses with Hardway as his battalion leader. Capt Dance was wounded at the Battle of Chaffin's Farm
Battle of Chaffin's Farm
The Battle of Chaffin's Farm and New Market Heights, also known as Laurel Hill and combats at Forts Harrison, Johnson, and Gilmer, was fought September 29–30, 1864, as part of the Siege of Petersburg in the American Civil War.-Background:...
in September 1864 shortly after the fall of Fort Harrison. His battery was instrumental in preventing the Union Army of the James
Army of the James
The Army of the James was a Union Army that was composed of units from the Department of Virginia and North Carolina and served along the James River during the final operations of the American Civil War in Virginia.-History:...
from expanding its breakthrough of the Confederate defenses. When wounded, Dance was acting commander of Hardaway's battalion. Capt Dance continued with his battery to the end of 1864.
Capt Dance went on sick leave in early 1865. He was promoted to the rank of major on March 1, 1865 while convalescing.
Post war
Maj Dance resumed law practice after the war. His nephew Thomas Maurice Miller became a law partner in 1870. Willis Dance died on February 13, 1887. Some of letters from his sister can be found in the Virginia Eppes (Dance) Campbell, Papers, 1858–1865, of the Virginia Historical SocietyVirginia Historical Society
The Virginia Historical Society , founded in 1831 as the Virginia Historical and Philosophical Society and headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, is a major repository, research, and teaching center for Virginia history...
.http://www.vahistorical.org/cwg/c.htm