The 19th Virginia became part of a brigade alongside the
8th,
18th, and
28th Virginia infantry regiments. The
56th Virginia Infantry later joined the brigade as well. The brigade later became known as the "Gamecock Brigade" for its fierce fighting and extreme bravery. Much of what is known of the 19th Virginia's experiences during the war is based on the reports of its commanders as found in the
Official Records. Another source is the memoirs of one of its members, William Nathaniel Wood, who wrote
Reminiscences of Big I, which describes Wood's personal experiences with the regiment during the War.
First Manassas The 19th Virginia's trial by fire was at the
First Battle of Manassas (First Battle of Bull Run) on July 21, 1861. As part of the Fifth Brigade under the command of Colonel
Philip St. George Cocke, they fought in the
Confederate Army of the Potomac under the overall command of Brigadier General
P. G. T. Beauregard. The Fifth Brigade, stationed along the banks of the
Bull Run, was tasked with "...guarding Island, Ball's, and Lewis' Fords, to the right of Evans' demi-brigade, near the stone bridge, also under General Cooke's command. The latter held the stone bridge, and its left covered a farm ford about one mile above the bridge," according to Beauregard's official after-battle report. Although Cocke was a West Point graduate and wealthy planter, the regiment had long been under the practical command of Lieutenant Colonel John Bowie Strange, a VMI graduate who had founded the Albemarle Military Academy and who would die on campaign in 1862. Col. Strange had his men dig trenches to fortify their position the previous night. According to William Wood's reminiscences, the 19th came under artillery fire on the morning of the 21st while waiting in the trenches for orders. Colonel Strange called out to his sergeant major during the fire "Lipop! I am without orders, What shall I do?" to which Sergeant Major Lipop replied "Retreat to Manassas as quickly as possible." Colonel Strange ignored the recommendation, and soon enough orders arrived saying that the 19th was to move out. As the regiment moved into position, a stray bullet killed a man in one of the Amherst companies, Private George Thompson, the 19th's first battle death. Thompson had been a farmer before the war, and the bullet entered his head. He was 21 years old. Five more men were wounded as the 19th deployed in time to see the Federal Army routed from the field. Although few, if any, men of the 19th actually fired their weapons during the battle, the regiment would forever say that First Manassas was their official trial by fire. As the Federals retreated, the 19th chased them, advancing up a road to Sudley Ford, and there crossed the Bull Run. Afterwards, the chase ended, and the 19th returned to Lewis Ford by the way of the Federal retreat, covered by blankets, oilclothes, overcoats, haversacks, and muskets abandoned by Federal troops.
August 1861 – April 1862 Like much of the Confederate Army after First Manassas, the 19th spent the rest of the year and part of the next in a stationary position around Cub Run. There the men learned how to drill and live like soldiers. They took their turn on the picket line and were occasionally involved in skirmishes. Camplife became the order of business, as they set up winter camp near Fairfax Court House, Virginia, in October, 1861. Companies and battalion drill were frequent, as were inspections and parades. The soldiers enjoyed the uneventful days of winter camp. Along with card playing and sport playing, they enjoyed the sermons of Reverend John H. Griffin of Company H. Griffin soon became the regimental chaplain. Along with picket duty and drill, the 19th also built entrenchments on the high points around Fairfax. Private Z.L. Gilmer of Company described the 19th positions as "impenentrable to the enemy," and noted in his diary that the slaves who also took part were paid the same as the soldiers (11.00 dollars). In January, 1862, the 19th performed picket duty every 16 days, with each wing alternating on the eighth day. While on picket duty,
Philip St. George Cocke was given leave on December 16, and went home to his father's home at Bremo Bluff, in
Fluvanna County. He never returned to his command, as on December 26, 1861, he committed suicide by a single shot from a pistol into his mouth. John Strange was sick in the hospital, so Colonel Armistead Rust took command of the regiment, but soon, he was given leave home, so Captain James Mallory of Company A took command of the regiment until Strange's return. On April 6, the 19th moved out, marching south to Louisa. They pass through Louisa Court House, on April 10, where some new recruits joined Company C. On April 16, the regiment arrived on the
Richmond line for the purpose of defending the Confederate capitol against the advance of Federal Major General
George B. McClellan's
Army of the Potomac, which was preparing for its advance up the York Peninsula. After First Manassas, the Confederate Army of the Potomac was reorganized and renamed the
Army of Northern Virginia under the command of General
Joseph E. Johnston. After the suicide of General Cocke on December 26, 1861, the 19th Virginia was brigaded with the 8th, 18th, and 28th Virginia Infantry Regiments and the brigade was placed under the command of Brigadier General
George Pickett and designated the Third Brigade of the Second Division, which was commanded by Major General
James Longstreet. The 19th loaded "three schooners" and were shipped to Yorktown
Williamsburg On May 5, the 19th Virginia was positioned near
Fort Magruder, the strongest point on the Confederate defensive line intended to slow the advance of McClellan's army east of Williamsburg, Virginia. At 10:30 am, General George Pickett's brigade was ordered to relieve General
Cadmus Wilcox brigade's right. The objective of Pickett's brigade was to extend the line well to the right of the Federal's flank and turn it. The brigade, including the 19th, drove the Federals to a pine thicket. The 19th then faced to the east, with the 18th Virginia to the left, and the 19th Mississippi and 17th Virginia to the left, and the 28th Virginia came up in reserve The 19th then came under heavy fire from the Federals in the pine thicket. The 19th began to fall back, but General Pickett and Lieutenant Colonel Gantt rallied the men and ordered them up. Later in the day, the 19th fixed bayonets and charged the Federal position. The Federal troops were driven by Pickett's men for a mile. During the charge, the 19th captured a battery of seven guns and over 200 Federals. One of the men to reach the guns first, Sergeant Alexander Hoffman of Company A, was killed beside the guns. During the battle, the 19th was attacked by another Federal force. A Union officer walked in front of the units, and shouted to the Confederates, "Who are you all!" "Virginians, Virginians," they answered. "Don't worry, they will surrender", the Union officer said to his men. The 19th, insulted by this comment, rose up and fired a volley into the Federals, killing the officer, who is believed to be Colonel James Miller of the
81st Pennsylvania Volunteers. At 1 pm, Pickett's brigade withdrew back to the previous night's encampment. The 19th lost 20 percent of its strength.
Gaines' Mill At 7:00 PM on June 27, Longstreet's division advanced on the far right of the Confederate line against
Fitz John Porter's
V Federal Corps. The 19th was in the front line of Longstreet's attack and on the left flank of the brigade. As it advanced, elements of the regiment temporarily stopped due to the viciousness of the Federal fire, but were quickly rallied and sent forward again. The regiment helped break the strong Federal line and drive it back in considerable confusion. A counter-charge by Federal cavalry was met by the 19th at bayonet point and driven back by point-blank rifle-fire delivered by Longstreet's division. Losses were heavy, but again the 19th and the rest of Pickett's brigade had performed admirably, with General Longstreet later taking note of the courage of Pickett's brigade in his memoirs,
From Manassas to Appomattox. General Pickett was wounded in the attack, and Colonel Eppa Hunton of the 8th Virginia took control of the brigade (though some reports indicate Colonel Strange of the 19th Virginia took temporary command).
Frayser's Farm (Fraiser's Farm/Glendale) The 19th advanced with the rest of Pickett's (now Hunton's) brigade on June 30, until it made contact with Federal infantry to its front. After a short fire-fight, the Federals were driven back. Colonel Strange apparently took temporary command of the brigade during this advance.
Second Manassas After the threat to Richmond was repulsed with the withdrawal of McClellan's army from the Peninsula, Confederate General
Robert E. Lee, who had since replaced Joseph Johnston after the latter's wounding at
Seven Pines, reorganized his Army of Northern Virginia into two "wings" or "commands," under the command of Major General Longstreet
(right wing) and Major General
Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson (left wing). Hunton's brigade was placed in Longstreet's Command in the division commanded by Brigadier General
James Kemper. Kemper's division participated in Longstreet's march through
Thoroughfare Gap which united Jackson's Command with Longstreet's on the battlefield of July 21, 1861, north of Manassas Junction. On August 30, at 4:00 PM, Longstreet's Command descended on
Union Army of Virginia commander
John Pope's exposed left flank. Hunton's brigade participated in the attack which virtually annihilated Union Colonel
G. K. Warren's New York Brigade. The brigade then drove on, and helped drive Union reinforcements off Chinn Ridge. About 100 men were killed or wounded, among them was Lieutenant Colonel Henry Gantt.
Boonsborough Hunton's brigade crossed the Potomac and participated in the
Maryland Campaign of 1862. Soon after the crossing, Brigadier General
Richard Brooke Garnett received command of the brigade from Colonel Hunton near Monocacy, Maryland. The 19th Virginia began the campaign with 150 men and officers, a substantially smaller number than the 800 they had taken to First Manassas hardly 15 months earlier. This smaller figure was due to battle casualties as well as disease and heavy rates of desertion prior to crossing the Potomac into Maryland. The brigade took position on the east side of South Mountain near Turner's Gap on September 14, 1862, and was suddenly attacked by infantry and artillery from
Joseph Hooker's
I Corps. After a fight that lasted for over an hour, the 19th fell back with the rest of Garnett's brigade. Of the 150 men of the 19th who had begun the battle, 63 had fallen by nightfall, including the regiment's commander, Colonel Strange. Captain John L. Cochrane took command of the battered regiment, which retreated to Sharpsburg with the rest of Longstreet's Command.
Antietam/Sharpsburg Garnet's brigade was posted on Cemetery Hill, just east of the town of Sharpsburg, Maryland, on the morning of September 17. Garnett's entire brigade could boast a mere 250 men, the 19th making up one-fifth of that figure. Throughout the day the regiment and Garnett's brigade received a steady bombardment from Federal artillery across Antietam Creek, until elements of
George Sykes' Division crossed the creek and attacked the hill. The regiment, commanded by Captain B. Brown and Lieutenant William N. Wood (the author of
Reminiscences of Big I) held its position for 2 hours, even though its men were spread out in a
skirmish line formation. At about 3:30 PM, the brigade was ordered to retreat, which was done rapidly, as Federals had nearly surrounded Garnett's position. The brigade re-formed at the western base of the hill and prepared for a final stand, but Confederate reinforcements under
A. P. Hill arrived in time to stall the Federal advance in other quarters, distracting the Federals from advancing on Garnett's weak line. The 19th Virginia suffered 8 casualties during its defense of Cemetery Hill out of a total strength of 50 men. The day after the battle, so many stragglers returned to the brigade that it marched back atop Cemetery Hill with nearly twice as many men as it had the previous day. The command withdrew with the rest of the army on September 18 through 19 back into Virginia.
Fredericksburg After Sharpsburg, George Pickett had sufficiently recovered from his Gaines' Mill wounding to take command of Kemper's division. The division was posted in the center of the Confederate lines during the
Battle of Fredericksburg from December 11–14, 1862, but did not participate in the fighting.
Suffolk In early April, 1863, Pickett's division was detached from the Army of Northern Virginia and sent with General Longstreet on a three-fold mission in south-eastern Virginia. The first purpose: to gather supplies and forage from the area. Two: to protect Richmond from Federal forces threatening the city. Three: to capture the Federal garrison at
Suffolk, Virginia. Longstreet succeeded in the first two purposes, but ultimately failed to destroy or capture the Federal army in the area. On the division's return through Richmond, many of its men were reissued clothing and supplies, such as belts, shoes, socks, and coats. Since military woolen blankets were in short supply, many men were issued sections of carpet or rug that the quartermaster had in plenty. Thus Pickett's division, and the 19th Virginia, marched into Pennsylvania better clothed than many men in Lee's Army.
Gettysburg Pickett's division marched with Longstreet's First Army Corps into Pennsylvania with the rest of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia in June 1863. At the rear of Longstreet's column of march, Pickett's division was marching toward the battlefield on July 1, and arrived in the afternoon of
July 2 on the field of battle, where Pickett was told to rest his men as they would not be needed that day.
Pickett's Charge On July 3, as the Confederate artillery prepared for the bombardment of the Federal lines in preparation for an assault by the infantry, the 19th Virginia took positions on
Seminary Ridge just north of the Spangler House along with the rest of Garnett's brigade. Pickett's division, one of three that would participate in the assault, was deployed with Garnett's brigade in the front line on the left of the division, Kemper's brigade on the right of the division, and Armistead's brigade in the second line supporting Garnett. The 19th was deployed in the center of Garnett's brigade, considered a position of honor. As the artillery bombardment commenced and the fire returned by the Federal artillery, the Confederates hugged the ground on the slope of Seminary Ridge and waited for the order to advance. Federal artillery on
Little Round Top fired shots that
enfiladed the Confederate line, causing terrible damage. One such round killed the 19th's lieutenant colonel, John Thomas Ellis, as he lay snoozing on his back. As the shot bounced off the ground toward the 19th's ranks, someone yelled, "Look out!" Alarmed, Ellis sat upright just as the ball was about to sail harmlessly over his head. The ball hit him squarely in the face; Lieutenant Colonel
E. Porter Alexander declared he "never saw so much blood fly." Greiving men carried the bloodied Ellis to the field hospital at the Currin Farm where soon died and was buried under an apple tree. At roughly 2:30 PM, the attack commenced, led by General Pickett, who rode along his line shouting, "Up, men, and to your posts! Let no man forget that you are from Virginia!" General Garnett formed his men for the attack and led them out of the treeline on Seminary Ridge. General Garnett was mounted; he had been recently kicked by a horse and was unable to walk without difficulty. Although he could easily have turned over command and sat out the charge, Garnett was desperate to clear his reputation after being court-martialed by Stonewall Jackson for an unauthorized withdrawal of his command at the
Battle of Kernstown in 1862 (in reality, Garnett's withdrawal was entirely practical; his men were low on ammunition and his line about to be overwhelmed.) Still, Garnett believed the only way to clear his name was to lead the attack from the front and center. As Federal artillery opened long-range fire on the Confederate lines, the 19th Virginia suffered a critical command loss. Early in the assault, the 19th's commanding officer, Colonel Henry Gantt, was severely wounded in either the jaw or shoulder (reports and accounts differ as to the location of the wound), forcing Gantt to stumble to the rear for assistance. Command was turned over to Major Charles S. Peyton (second in command Lieutenant Colonel Ellis being killed as previously mentioned). As the 19th advanced at the center of Garnett's brigade, there was apparently little rush or confusion during the advance across the mile-wide field. Lieutenant Wood wrote in his
Reminiscences: "Onward we move in common marching time. No excitement. No loud commands. 'Steady, boys,' 'Don't fire,' 'Close up,' 'Never mind the skirmish line,' as that of the enemy hastened to shelter." After crossing the Emmitsburg Road, the 19th continued toward the Federal line, but then was subjected to severe rifle and short-range artillery fire from General
Alexander Webb's "
Philadelphia Brigade" of Pennsylvanians as well as Lieutenant
Alonzo Cushing's remaining two guns of
Battery A, 4th United States Artillery. Continuing forward in the face of devastating fire, the men of Garnett's brigade rushed headlong for the low stone wall protecting the position. By this time, all order had dissolved and the men of the brigade were rushing forward in a disorganized mass. Elements of the 19th helped force the withdrawal of the
71st Pennsylvania from its position just south of
the Angle. Reinforced by Armistead's brigade, Garnett's left regiments (28th and 56th Virginia, and approximately the left half of the 19th Virginia) swarmed to within feet of the wall, where perhaps 200 of them were then led over the wall and into Cushing's Battery by
General Armistead himself, who had raised his hat on the tip of his sword to guide the Confederates. In Major Charles Peyton's official report of the battle, him being the senior officer of the brigade for some time after the battle, he reported that his line "recoiled under the terrific fire that poured into our ranks both from their batteries and their sheltered infantry." With much of Garnett's left smashed in front of Cushing's Battery in front of the stone wall, the right half of the brigade, including most of the 19th Virginia, engaged in a firefight with the
69th Pennsylvania directly to their front. The 69th was slowly driven back from the wall, maintaining a destructive fire on Garnett's advancing ranks all the while. Elements of the 19th reached the wall at this point, but few, if any, continued past the wall. To the 69th Pennsylvania's left (the right from the 19th's view) the
59th New York suddenly broke for the rear under pressure from Kemper's brigade in their front. Confederates, primarily from Kemper's brigade but perhaps including some men of the 19th Virginia, leaped over the wall and made a mad dash for Captain
Andrew Cowan's 1st New York Independent Battery just south of the Clump of Trees. Cowan charged his guns with double canister and blasted a salvo in the face of the onrushing Confederates, completely obliterating the Confederates rushing the battery. Immediately, Federal reserves rushed into the melee. The
72nd Pennsylvania and elements of the
106th Pennsylvania engaged in a firefight with Armistead's Confederates that had crossed the wall at Cushing's Battery. The
42nd New York and
19th Massachusetts both rushed at a right oblique into any Confederates along the 69th Pennsylvania's and 59th New York's section of wall, and the 69th Pennsylvania refused to give any more ground upon falling back to the Clump of Trees. In addition, hundreds of Federals positioned elsewhere in the Federal lines spontaneously rushed forward, each wanting to participate in the Federal counterattack and to claim the capture of the many Confederates and their banners near the wall. William Wood was slightly wounded in the leg just yards from the wall, probably by a spent round. Upon reaching the wall, Lieutenant Wood wrote that he: "...looked to the right and left and felt we were disgraced. Where were those who started in the charge? With one single exception I witnessed no cowardice, and yet we had not a skirmish line." He described the winter encampment there as "jolly", On May 22, 1864, the 19th marched from Chaffin's Farm to Anderson's Crossing, "where Pickett's Division was again united, and became once more an active arm of that grand army, whose fame, so honestly won, has been the admiration of the world."
Cold Harbor On June 1, the 19th was subjected to shelling from Federal batteries near the Cold Harbor battlefield. Many men of the 19th dug comfortable rifle pits using their bayonets. On the 2nd, the 19th advanced so that it was online with the rest of the army and prepared for action that was sure to come the next morning. On the morning of June 3, the 19th formed a thin line of battle which covered twice the front of a regularly deployed regiment, its companies being spaced to cover a wider front. Company K under Lieutenant Robertson was advanced as a guard. Unlike much of the Confederate line, Hunton's brigade did not have the shelter of protective earthworks to help fend off the Yankee attack that morning. The Federals charged the 19th and the fighting in the woods the 19th was positioned in dissolved into a "bushwhacking affair." In the hour-long fight that followed, Company K's officers would all become casualties and regimental Sergeant Major Luther Wolfe was killed. The most severe command blow was that of Captain James G. Woodson of Company K, who was killed while in command of the regiment. When the list of casualties published in the
Richmond Examiner incorrectly stated Woodson as "acting major,"
August 1864 - March 1865; "Howlett Line" For months, the 19th was positioned in what Lieutenant Wood called, "the trenches on the Howlett line, extending from the James to the Appomattox..." The men made the trenches like home, constructing Masonic lodges and chapels, where apparently "many a soldier was born into the kingdom of Christ." After reforming in a pine thicket, the 19th blazed away at the Federals to their front. Lieutenant Wood and other officers picked up rifles and fought alongside the privates in an attempt to put as much firepower into the fight as they could muster. During this fight, Wood was wounded in the neck by a ball and hurried to the rear, where the wound was diagnosed as minor and dressed. Wood was soon sent back into the fight, although the scar from the wound remained visible for the rest of his life. The 19th gradually fell back, having advanced far ahead of its supports, to near its original position where it had started the fight. Hunton's brigade was not at the
Battle of Five Forks with the rest of Pickett's division and "...consequently did not share
the defeat of the war..." as Wood would later call that disastrous battle. but said that faith in General Lee never faltered and that their powder was kept dry, implying that they were still full of fight. On April 5, Wood, commanding Company A, dispatched two men to forage rations for the company from the surrounding countryside. Neither of these men returned.
Sayler's Creek/ Sailor's Creek On April 6, 1865, the 19th halted its march on a hill overlooking what William Wood would later assume to be Sayler's Creek (or "Tayler's" The 19th surrendered
en masse. How many men were in the 19th at this time is unknown. It was certainly no more than 200 men and probably less than half of that. Some individuals might have escaped, but as Wood states the 19th Virginia would never form an organized body of soldiers again.
Appomattox While the 19th was captured as a unit at Sayler's Creek (along with their general, Eppa Hunton, and many more of his men), 29 men and 1 officer of the 19th Virginia Infantry were listed as having been paroled at
Appomattox Court House with the rest of Lee's Army. Some of these men had been prisoners of war at Point Lookout in Maryland, and had only been released in March in an exchange. After being released from the Richmond hospital they joined back up with their troops and fought at Petersburg, Five Forks, Farmville and on to Appomattox. Most of these men had joined at the beginning in May 1861 and had served the entire war.
As prisoners of war Like many of his comrades, Lieutenant Wood was sent to the
Old Capitol Prison in Washington, DC, and was there when mobs formed outside the structure, demanding that they be let in to punish the prisoners within who were suspected of assassinating Abraham Lincoln on the evening of April 14, 1865. Wood was then sent to
Johnson Island on Lake Erie. Since Wood and his comrades had surrendered before Lee surrendered at Appomattox, Wood and his comrades were not paroled and were treated as
prisoners of war. Wood recalls that the prisoners were paroled by alphabetical order, meaning that he was among the last released. When he was released in June 1865, and had no food or money to aid in his journey home except useless Confederate bills. Bartering some blankets for some United States money, Wood returned home by way of
Cleveland (although he wrote that he returned through
Milwaukee, which seems unlikely as that would be far out of his way), then to
Baltimore, then to Richmond and on to Charlottesville, where he walked to his father's residence north of town. Many of the 19th's members performed similar odysseys on their way home after the war. William Wood summed up the feelings of most ex-Confederate soldiers when he wrote, "I was glad to don clean citizen's clothes, that my mother had kept for me through the war, and to eat a good dinner. Though greatly crushed by the final outcome of our struggle, I felt proud that I had been permitted to do my part, and even to suffer for the cause I loved. Some comfort was derived from the contemplation that there would be no more blood shed; but peace, with all it meant to a tired soldier, was at hand." ==See also==