Holcombe Legion

Last updated
Private Jackson A. Davis of Co. E, Holcombe Legion South Carolina Cavalry Battalion Private Jackson A. Davis of Co. E, Holcombe Legion South Carolina Cavalry Battalion, with musket and two pistols) - Rees LCCN2012649109.jpg
Private Jackson A. Davis of Co. E, Holcombe Legion South Carolina Cavalry Battalion

The Holcombe Legion of South Carolina fought in the American Civil War as part of the Confederate States Army. It was a true legion, being made up of different types of units, in this case cavalry (four companies) and infantry (initially eight companies, later expanded to ten). [1]

Contents

Peter Fayssoux Stevens, former superintendent of the South Carolina Military Academy (and after the war a bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church), was authorized by South Carolina Governor Francis Wilkinson Pickens to raise a legion consisting of an infantry regiment, a cavalry battalion and artillery. [2] When asked to name it, Stevens chose to honor the governor's wife, Lucy Holcombe Pickens, in the couple's presence. [2] The unit's motto was "It is for the brave to die, but not to surrender." [2]

The artillery component never materialized, but the legion was organized in fall 1861 [1] and assigned to Evans' Brigade. [2] William Porcher DuBose, later an Episcopal priest and noted theologian, served as its adjutant until 1862. [3] [4] The legion helped defend Charleston, South Carolina, in the summer of 1862. [2] On July 17, Evans was ordered to move his unit to Richmond, Virginia. [5] After reaching the city, the legion's infantry and cavalry were separated, never to be reunited, [2] a common fate for Civil War legions. The cavalry was assigned to bolster the city's defense and eventually became part of the 7th South Carolina Cavalry Regiment. [1] The Holcombe Legion fought in the Second Battle of Bull Run (or Second Manassas), South Mountain and Antietam (or Sharpsburg), all in August and September 1862. [1] The legion suffered 24 dead and 131 wounded at Second Manassas, [1] and DuBose wrote, "The Holcombe Legion was practically destroyed as a regiment; when we gathered up the remains there were about a hundred men." [6] The legion served as skirmishers for a delaying force at the Battle of South Mountain. [7] In September 1863, it mustered 276 men. [1] It participated in the 1864 Siege of Petersburg and the 1865 Appomattox Campaign which ended in Robert E. Lee's surrender to Ulysses S. Grant, effectively ending the war. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

First Battle of Rappahannock Station Battle of the American Civil War

The First Battle of Rappahannock Station, took place on August 23, 1862, at present-day Remington, Virginia, as part of the Northern Virginia Campaign of the American Civil War.

Nathan George Evans Confederate Army general

Nathan George "Shanks" Evans was a United States Army officer who later served as a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.

Milledge Luke Bonham American politician

Milledge Luke Bonham was an American politician and Congressman. He was later the 70th Governor of South Carolina from 1862 until 1864, and a Confederate General during the American Civil War.

5th New York Infantry Regiment Military unit

The 5th New York Infantry Regiment, also known as "Duryée's Zouaves", was a volunteer infantry regiment of the Union Army, during the American Civil War, led by Colonel Abram Duryée. Modeled, like other Union and Confederate infantry regiments, on the French Zouaves of Crimean War fame, its tactics and uniforms were different from those of the standard infantry.

Texas Brigade Brigade of the Confederate States Army

The Texas Brigade was an infantry formation of the Confederate Army that distinguished itself in the American Civil War. Along with the Stonewall Brigade, they were considered the Confederate Army's shock troops. It fought in every major battle of the Eastern Theater except Chancellorsville.

The following Confederate States Army units and commanders fought in the Second Battle of Bull Run, called the Second Battle of Manassas by Confederate records, of the American Civil War. The Union order of battle is listed separately. Order of battle compiled from the army organization during the battle, the casualty returns and the reports.

Hamptons Legion Military unit

Hampton's Legion was an American Civil War military unit of the Confederate States of America, organized and partially financed by wealthy South Carolina planter Wade Hampton III. Initially composed of infantry, cavalry, and artillery battalions, elements of Hampton's Legion participated in virtually every major campaign in the Eastern Theater, from the first to the last battle.

William Porcher DuBose American priest, author, and theologian

William Porcher DuBose was an American priest, author, and theologian in the Episcopal Church in the United States. After service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, in which he became a chaplain in his cousin's regiment, DuBose served as a Professor, Chaplain, and Dean of Theology at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. Later he served as Chaplain at Fairmount College in Monteagle, Tennessee and as priest-in-charge at the nearby Chapel of the Holy Comforter.

George B. Anderson Confederate States Army officer

George Burgwyn Anderson was a career military officer, serving first in the antebellum U.S. Army and then dying from wounds inflicted during the American Civil War while a general officer in the Confederate Army. He was among six generals killed or mortally wounded at the Battle of Antietam in September 1862.

1st Arkansas Infantry Regiment Confederate Army infantry regiment of the American Civil War

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.

10th Arkansas Infantry Regiment Military unit

The 10th Arkansas Infantry (1861–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War from the state of Arkansas. The unit is also known as A. R. Witt's Infantry, C. M. Cargile's Infantry, E. L. Vaughan's Infantry, Thomas D. Merrick's Infantry, S. S. Ford's Infantry, Obed Patty's Infantry, George A. Merrick's Infantry, Zebulon Venable's Infantry and Robert C. Bertrand's Infantry in contemporary accounts. After being captured at the Siege of Port Hudson, the unit reorganized as a mounted infantry unit, and was known as the 10th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment or Witt's Arkansas Cavalry.

Lucy Pickens

Lucy Petway Holcombe Pickens was a 19th-century American socialite of Tennessee and Texas, known during and after her lifetime as the "Queen of the Confederacy". She was also a First Lady of South Carolina. Described as "beautiful, brilliant, and captivating" by her male contemporaries, she helped shape the stereotype of the "Southern belle." Born into a planter's family, she moved with them to Marshall, Texas, the seat of Harrison County, at age 16.

The Jeff Davis Cavalry Legion was a Confederate unit during the American Civil War. Made up of cavalry companies from three different states, it fought primarily in the Eastern theater as part of the Army of Northern Virginia.

Albert Cresswell Garlington was a brigadier general in the South Carolina Militia, who served along with the Confederate States Army in South Carolina at various times during the American Civil War. He was initially responsible for coastal defenses and militia in South Carolina, and then for training state troops. He briefly served as a major of the Holcombe Legion, a South Carolina unit guarding the coast in South Carolina for the Confederate States Army. After he resigned his commission on May 21, 1862, he served as state adjutant general and inspector general. Garlington again served as a brigadier general of militia in the Carolinas Campaign of late 1864 and early 1865.

Second Battle of Pocotaligo Battle of the American Civil War

The Second Battle of Pocotaligo, or Battle of Pocotaligo Bridge, or Battle of Yemassee, often referred to as simply the Battle of Pocotaligo, was a battle in the American Civil War on October 22, 1862 near Yemassee, South Carolina. The Union objective was to sever the Charleston and Savannah Railroad and thus isolate Charleston, South Carolina.

The following list is a bibliography of American Civil War Confederate military unit histories and are generally available through inter-library loan. More details on each book are available at WorldCat. For an overall national view, see Bibliography of the American Civil War. For histories of the Union, see Bibliography of American Civil War Union military unit histories. For a guide to web sources see: Carter, Alice E.; Jensen, Richard. The Civil War on the Web: A Guide to the Very Best Sites—Completely Revised and Updated (2003).

Peter Fayssoux Stevens American soldier

Peter Fayssoux Stevens was an American soldier, educator and clergyman. He was an officer in the Confederate States Army and a bishop in the Reformed Episcopal Church who also served as 4th superintendent of the South Carolina Military Academy.

27th Texas Cavalry Regiment Military unit

The 27th Texas Cavalry Regiment, at times also known as Whitfield's Legion or 1st Texas Legion or 4th Texas Cavalry Battalion, was a unit of mounted volunteers that fought in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. First organized as the 4th Texas Cavalry Battalion or Whitfield's Legion, the unit served dismounted at Pea Ridge and First Corinth. Additional companies from Texas were added and the unit was upgraded to the 27th Texas Cavalry Regiment or 1st Texas Legion later in 1862. Still dismounted, the unit fought at Iuka and Second Corinth. The regiment was remounted and fought at Holly Springs in 1862, Thompson's Station in 1863, and at Yazoo City, Atlanta, Franklin, and Third Murfreesboro in 1864. The regiment surrendered to Federal forces in May 1865 and its remaining soldiers were paroled.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Battle Unit Details: Holcombe Legion, South Carolina". National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Stone, Dewitt Boyd (2002). Wandering to Glory: Confederate Veterans Remember Evans' Brigade. Univ of South Carolina Press. p. 24. ISBN   9781570034336 . Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  3. ↑ Onofrio, Jan (January 1, 2000). South Carolina Biographical Dictionary. Somerset Publishers, Inc. pp. 192–195. ISBN   9780403093076 . Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  4. ↑ Stone, DeWitt Boyd, Jr., Wandering to Glory: Confederate Veterans Remember Evans' Brigade, University of South Carolina Press, 2002. ISBN   1-57003-433-8
  5. ↑ Stone, Dewitt Boyd. Wandering to Glory: Confederate Veterans Remember Evans' Brigade. p. 28
  6. ↑ Stone, Dewitt Boyd. Wandering to Glory: Confederate Veterans Remember Evans' Brigade. p. 56
  7. ↑ Stone, Dewitt Boyd. Wandering to Glory: Confederate Veterans Remember Evans' Brigade. p. 60
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.