Stonewall Brigade
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The Stonewall Brigade of the
1861
The brigade was formed by Jackson at
The Stonewall Brigade was initially armed with weapons captured from the arsenal at Harpers Ferry; its regiments went to First Bull Run carrying a wide range of muskets from Model 1816/1822 muskets converted to percussion to modern Model 1855 rifles to VMI cadet muskets (a Model 1842 musket downsized to .58 caliber). Company K of the 33rd Virginia, the Shenandoah Sharpshooters, had the misfortune of getting flintlock muskets. In September, Jackson received a request from Virginia governor John Letcher asking for the return of the VMI muskets (carried primarily by Company H of the 4th Virginia, known as the "Rockbridge Grays"). Jackson replied back that the muskets could not be returned until better weapons became available.[2]
Jackson's brigade was referred to informally as "Virginia's First Brigade" until July 21, 1861, when, at First Manassas, both the brigade and its general received the nickname "Stonewall". General Barnard E. Bee of South Carolina is said to have made his immortal remark as he rallied his brigade for the final phase of the battle. Although the exact words were not recorded at the time, he probably said, "There stands Jackson like a stone wall. Rally behind the Virginians!"[3] This is considered the turning point of the first major battle of the American Civil War, and the Union troops were repulsed and sent reeling back toward Washington D.C. in defeat. Jackson was promoted to higher command, but the brigade remained under his overall command until his death. Upon Jackson's promotion, he was replaced as brigade commander by Brig. Gen. Richard B. Garnett that fall.
In the fall of 1861, Jackson was promoted to division command and reassigned to the Shenandoah Valley and Potomac River area, where they overwintered. During this time, a trickle of better weapons reached the Stonewall Brigade as Confederate agents began purchasing rifles from Europe. However, the brigade still had a large number of smoothbore muskets until the Gettysburg Campaign, by which time the majority of its men had .58 caliber rifles.
1862
On March 13, 1862, the Valley District was incorporated into the
For the remainder of the Valley Campaign, Brig. Gen.
At the end of the Valley Campaign, the brigade moved to reinforce General
Grigsby did not receive permanent command of the brigade, for reasons Jackson did not record. Instead, Brig. Gen.
In 1862, casualties in the brigade surpassed 1,200.
1863
At
In the
1864
In the
The remaining regiment fought as part of Brig. Gen.
Legacy
The military lineage of the brigade has reached modern times in the form of the
A number of living history reenactment organizations also carry on the legacy of the Stonewall Brigade and its component regiments. These include:
- The Stonewall Brigade: The Stonewall Brigade is an authentic living history association concentrated in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania dedicated to accurately portraying the common soldier of the Civil War. It currently consists of the 4th Virginia Company A, the 5th Virginia Company A, and the 33rd Virginia Company H.
Command history
Brig. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson | April 27, 1861 – October 28, 1861 | Died May 10, 1863 after Chancellorsville | West Point 1846
|
Brig. Gen. Richard B. Garnett | November 14, 1861 – March 25, 1862 | KIA July 3, 1863 at Gettysburg | West Point 1841 |
Brig. Gen. Charles Sidney Winder | March 25, 1862 – August 9, 1862 | KIA August 9, 1862 at Cedar Mountain | West Point 1850 |
Col. William S. Baylor | August 9, 1862 – August 30, 1862 | KIA August 30, 1862 at Second Manassas | VA Militia |
Col. Andrew J. Grigsby | August 30, 1862 – November 6, 1862 | Survived the war | Washington College
|
Brig. Gen. Elisha F. Paxton | November 6, 1862 – May 3, 1863 | KIA May 3, 1863 at Chancellorsville | Washington College |
Brig. Gen. James A. Walker | May 14, 1863 – May 12, 1864 | Survived the war | VMI 1852 |
Brig. Gen. William Terry | May 20, 1864 – April 9, 1865 | Survived the war | UVA 1848, VA Militia |
See also
Notes
- ^ Linger, James Carter Confederate Military Units of West Virginia. Tulsa, OK, 2002, pgs. 52-53
- ^ "Weapons". Archived from the original on 2017-09-24. Retrieved 2017-09-24.
- ^ Douglas Freeman, Lee's Lieutenants: A Study in Command, vol. 1, p. 82
- ^ "The Stonewall Brigade at Gettysburg - Part One: In the Shadow of Wolf's Hill". The Stonewall Brigade. 2021-03-07. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- ^ "The Stonewall Brigade at Gettysburg - Part Two: Clash on Brinkerhoff's Ridge". The Stonewall Brigade. 2021-03-20. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
- ^ "The Death of the Stonewall Brigade". The Stonewall Brigade. 2020-06-02. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
References
- Eicher, John H., & Eicher, David J.: Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3
- Robertson, James I., Jr. The Stonewall Brigade. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1963, ISBN 0-8071-0717-4
- Roper, John Herbert. 2001. Repairing the March of Mars: The Civil War Diaries of John Samuel Apperson, Hospital Steward in the Stonewall Brigade, 1861-1865. Macon, GA: Mercer University.
- Stonewall Brigade
- Lineage of 116th Infantry