31st Virginia Infantry Regiment | |
---|---|
Active | July 1861 – April 1865 |
Disbanded | April 1865 |
Country | Confederacy |
Allegiance | Confederate States of America |
Role | Infantry |
Engagements | American Civil War: Battle of Philippi (1861)-Battle of Cheat Mountain-Jackson's Valley Campaign-Seven Days' Battles-Second Battle of Bull Run-Battle of Antietam-Battle of Fredericksburg-Battle of Chancellorsville-Battle of Gettysburg-Battle of Cold Harbor-Siege of Petersburg-Valley Campaigns of 1864-Appomattox Campaign |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | William Lowther Jackson |
The 31st Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly as part of the Army of Northern Virginia.
The 31st Virginia was organized under William Lowther Jackson and mustered into Confederate service in July, 1861. The men were recruited primarily from the counties of Barbour, Marion, Pendleton, Harrison, Gilmer, Randolph, Pocahontas, Lewis, and Highland. [1]
The unit was active in Lee's Cheat Mountain Campaign and Jackson's Valley operations. Later it was assigned to General Early's, W. Smith's, Pegram's, and J.A. Walker's Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia. The 31st participated in the difficult campaigns of the army from the Seven Days' Battles to Cold Harbor, then moved with Early to the Shenandoah Valley and was active around Appomattox.
This regiment reported 13 casualties at Greenbrier River, 37 at Camp Alleghany, 19 at McDowell, and 97 at Cross Keys and Port Republic. It lost 3 killed and 17 wounded at Cedar Mountain, had 5 killed and 20 wounded at Second Manassas, and suffered 1 killed and 7 wounded at Sharpsburg. Of the 267 in action at Gettysburg, ten percent were disabled. On April 9, 1865, it surrendered with 7 officers and 49 men of which 22 were armed.
The field officers were Colonels John S. Hoffman, William L. Jackson, and Samuel H. Reynolds; Lieutenant Colonels Francis M. Boykin, Alfred H. Jackson, and J.S. Kerr McCutchen; and Majors James C. Arbogast, Joseph H. Chenoweth, and William P. Cooper.
The Battle of Philippi formed part of the Western Virginia Campaign of the American Civil War and was fought in and around Philippi, Virginia, on June 3, 1861. A Union victory, it was the first organized land action of the war, though generally viewed as a skirmish rather than a battle. However, the Northern press celebrated it as an epic triumph and this encouraged Congress to call for the drive on Richmond that ended with the Union defeat at First Bull Run in July. It brought overnight fame to Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan and was notable for the first battlefield amputations. As the first of a series of victories that pushed Confederate forces out of northwest Virginia, it strengthened the Union government in exile that would soon create the new state of West Virginia.
The First Battle of Kernstown was fought on March 23, 1862, in Frederick County and Winchester, Virginia, the opening battle of Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's campaign through the Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War.
The U.S. state of West Virginia was formed out of western Virginia and added to the Union as a direct result of the American Civil War, in which it became the only modern state to have declared its independence from the Confederacy. In the summer of 1861, Union troops, which included a number of newly-formed Western Virginia regiments, under General George McClellan, drove off Confederate troops under General Robert E. Lee. This essentially freed Unionists in the northwestern counties of Virginia to form a functioning government of their own as a result of the Wheeling Convention. Prior to the admission of West Virginia the government in Wheeling formally claimed jurisdiction over all of Virginia, although from its creation it was firmly committed to the formation of a separate state.
The 33rd Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised in the Commonwealth of Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It was a part of the famed "Stonewall Brigade," named for General Stonewall Jackson.
The 1st Arkansas Infantry (1861–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. The regiment was raised in April 1861 by Colonel Thompson B. Flournoy. It moved first to Virginia, but transferred back to Tennessee and served the rest of the war in the western theater, seeing action in the Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia campaigns. Following its depletion in numbers, the regiment was consolidated several times with other Arkansas regiments, finally merging in 1865 into the 1st Arkansas Consolidated Infantry Regiment. There were three regiments known as "1st Arkansas" during the war. The second unit with the designation of "1st Arkansas" was the 1st Infantry, Arkansas State Troops, which was mustered into Confederate service at Pitman's Ferry, Arkansas, on 23 July 1861, under the command of Colonel Patrick Cleburne; this unit was eventually redesignated as the 15th Arkansas Volunteer Infantry. The third unit bearing the title "1st Arkansas" was the 1st Arkansas Volunteer Infantry, which served with the Union Army.
The 27th Virginia 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 Stonewall Brigade of the Army of Northern Virginia.
The 1st Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised in the Commonwealth of Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia.
The 2nd Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised in today's western Virginia and what became West Virginia during the American Civil War for service in the Confederate States Army. It would combine with the 4th, 5th, 27th, and 33rd Virginia infantry regiments and the Rockbridge Artillery Battery and fight as part of what became known as the Stonewall Brigade, mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia.
The 4th Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised in southwestern Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought in the Stonewall Brigade, mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia. Though it suffered heavy losses, two surviving officers resumed political careers after the conflict and won election to the U.S. House of Representatives, and several more served in the Virginia General Assembly.
The 21st Virginia 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 23rd Virginia 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 25th Virginia 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 the Northwest and Army of Northern Virginia. Its soldiers saw action from the battle of Philippi until the Appomattox.
The 51st Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly in Tennessee and western Virginia with help of William Elkins (1812-1870).
The 62nd Virginia Mounted Infantry Regiment, raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, served in many capacities including the war, including as an infantry regiment, a cavalry regiment, a mounted infantry (dragoon) unit, a partisan unit of rangers, and even as a combined arms unit. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia and in western Virginia. The men were recruited primarily in the counties of Hardy, Hampshire, Barbour, Pendleton and Pocahontas in West Virginia and Augusta and Highland in Virginia .
The 18th Virginia Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought with the Army of Northern Virginia, in southwest Virginia, and in the Shenandoah Valley.
The 154th Regiment, Tennessee Infantry was an infantry regiment from Tennessee that served with the Confederate States Army in the American Civil War. Raised originally in 1842 as the 154th Tennessee Militia it sought to retain its number and was as such also known as 154th (Senior) Tennessee Infantry . Consolidating with the 13th Tennessee Infantry Regiment in March 1863 it was known as 13th-154th Tennessee Infantry Regiment; and had a number of temporary field consolidations until it was finally merged into the 2nd Consolidated Tennessee Infantry on April 9, 1865. The regiment surrendered with the remnants of the Army of Tennessee at Bennett Place on April 26, 1865.
The 1st Arkansas Infantry (1861) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. The unit was composed mainly of militia units called to service by Colonel Solon F. Borland in response to an anticipated invasion of Northeast Arkansas in the fall of 1861.
On June 20, 1863 the U.S. government created a new state from 50 western counties of Virginia to be named "West Virginia". This was done on behalf of a Unionist government in Wheeling, Virginia, approved by Congress and President Lincoln, though it was done with a low participation of the citizens within the new state. There remained a large number of counties and citizens who still considered themselves as part of Virginia and the Confederacy which, in turn, considered the new state as part of Virginia and the Confederacy. In 1861 the 50 counties contained a population of 355,544 whites, 2,782 freemen, 18,371 slaves, 79,515 voters and 67,721 men of military age. West Virginia was the 6th most contested state during the war, with 632 battles, engagements, actions and skirmishes.
The following army units were involved in the Battle of Droop Mountain on November 6, 1863, near Hillsboro, West Virginia, in the American Civil War. Hillsboro, spelled "Hillsborough" on some maps from that century, is located in the mountainous terrain of Pocahontas County, West Virginia. A Union brigade commanded by Brigadier General William W. Averell defeated a smaller Confederate force commanded by Brigadier General John Echols and Colonel William L. "Mudwall" Jackson. A second Union force commanded by Brigadier General Alfred N. Duffié, tried to prevent the Confederate retreat, but did not engage at Droop Mountain. Aware of Duffié's troops, Confederate forces escaped before he arrived.