ON TO MANASSAS—THE ELEVENTH REGIMENT—THE
FIRST BRIGADE
About the 1st of June, 1861, the regiment was ordered to Manassas, which
name afterwards became historic as a great battle-ground. The first
battle of Bull Run, on the 18th of July, 1861, and the ground on which
the first battle of Manassas was fought on the 21st of July, 1861, and
the second battle of Manassas on the 30th of August, 1862, are all in
close proximity, and General Jackson, a few days before the last-named
fight, by a bold movement captured the place, which was then Pope's
dépôt of supplies, burning what his soldiers could not eat and carry
off, which no doubt was a plenty.
The place was occupied by one side or the other during nearly the whole
war, being, in the beginning, considered a strategic point in the
defence of Richmond by the Confederates, and for the defence of
Washington and for the advance on Richmond by the Yankees.
At Lynchburg we had no equipments except the old muskets, no belts,
cartridge or cap boxes, only some little cotton-cloth bags such as
mothers make children to gather chinquapins in, little tin shop-made
canteens, home-made haversacks of cotton cloth or cheap oilcloth,
home-made knapsacks of poor material and very cumbersome, the latter
packed full of clothes, hair-brushes and shoe-brushes, needle cases, and
many other little tricks which mothers, wives, and sweethearts made for
their soldier boys. Many of these things were superfluous and were not
carried after the first year of the war; for the next three years about
all a Confederate soldier carried was his gun, cartridge and cap box, a
blanket, an oilcloth captured from the Yankees, and an extra shirt—very
often not the latter.
Many a Confederate soldier has taken off his shirt, washed it, hung it
on a bush, lying in the shade until it was dry. He also carried a
haversack which was often empty.
There was considerable excitement when it was known we were to go to the
front, to meet the enemy; hasty preparations were made, tents were
struck, which, with the cooking utensils and all camp equipment, were
sent to the dépôt for shipment.
At the appointed hour the regiment, with Colonel Bob Preston mounted on
his big nicked-tailed bay horse, handsomely caparisoned, at its head,
marched through the city down to the Orange & Alexandria Railroad, now
the Southern. The streets were lined with people, the men cheering, the
ladies waving their handkerchiefs to the soldiers as they marched in
proud array to martial music—the fife and drum. Boarding the train, in
box cars, we rolled away to the seat of war.
The train was stopped at Culpeper Court House, the troops detrained, and
marched out into a field northwest of the town and prepared to go into
camp; very much disappointed that we had been stopped before reaching
Manassas. I remember it was a very windy day, and we had great
difficulty in raising the tents. Before this was fully accomplished,
orders came to strike tents at once, board the cars and hurry on to
Manassas. The rumor was that the Yankees were advancing on Manassas and
we were to rush forward as fast as possible, to meet and drive them
back. All was now bustle and excitement; in an incredible short time the
tents were struck, rolled up, taken to the dépôt, placed on the cars,
and the regiment was soon off again for the front. Of course, discussion
as to the probability of soon being in a battle went on as we sped
along.
Up to this time, no cartridges had been issued to the men; some cases or
boxes of ammunition were now placed aboard each car, but were not
opened. The men were very anxious to be supplied with cartridges,
fearing the Yankees would be on us before the boxes could be opened and
the guns loaded.
In due time, the train reached Manassas without running into the enemy
or the enemy running into us. It was said a scouting party had come out
from the Yankee lines near Alexandria, and hence the false alarm which
caused our hasty and exciting exit from Culpeper.
The regiment went into camp at Manassas station, a short distance to the
right of the railroad, where we remained for about two weeks, drilling
and doing guard duty around the camp and at General Beauregard's
headquarters not far away. Not long before the first battle, Captain
Clement's company, and Captain Hutter's company from Lynchburg, were
transferred to the Eleventh Virginia Regiment, commanded by Colonel
Samuel Garland, Jr., of Lynchburg, a V. M. I. man, and a fine officer.
In the regiment there were already three companies from Lynchburg and
one from Campbell County.
THE ELEVENTH REGIMENT
The Eleventh Regiment, which was camped immediately on the north side of
the railroad, just west of the dépôt, was now composed of ten companies,
with the following named field and staff officers and company
commanders:
Colonel, Sam Garland, Jr., of Lynchburg; Lieut.-Colonel, David Funston,
of Alexandria; Major, Carter H. Harrison, of Lancaster County; Adjutant,
J. Lawrence Meem; Sergeant Major, Chas. A. Tyree; Chaplain, Rev. J. C.
Granberry; Surgeon, Dr. G. W. Thornhill; Assistant Surgeon, Dr.
Chalmers; Quarter-Master, R. G. H. Kean; Commissary, L. F. Lucado;
Commissary Sergeant, W. L. Akers.
Company A, Capt. Morris S. Langhorne; Company B, Capt. Robert C.
Saunders; Company C, Capt. Adam Clement; Company D, Capt. D. Gardner
Houston; Company E, Capt. J. E. Blankenship; Company F, Capt. Henry
Foulks; Company G, Capt. Kirk Otey; Company H, Capt. J. Risque Hutter;
Company I, Capt. —— Jamison; Company K, Capt. Robert Yeatman.
Colonel Garland was promoted to brigadier-general in May, 1862, and
was killed at Boonsboro Mountain, Md., in September, 1862.
Lieutenant-Colonel Funston succeeded Colonel Garland in command of the
regiment, and was disabled by wounds at Seven Pines, on the 30th of
May, 1862, and retired from the service; he was later elected to the
Confederate Congress, and I think still later was in the service
again. Major Harrison was mortally wounded at Bull Run, July 18, 1861.
Captain Langhorne succeeded him as major and was afterwards promoted
lieutenant-colonel. He was disabled by wounds at Seven Pines on the
30th of May, 1862, and never returned to the army.
Captain Clement was promoted to major just before the Seven Pines fight,
was disabled at the battle of Sharpsburg, Md., the 17th of September,
1862, while in command of the regiment, and never returned to the field.
Captain Saunders retired at the end of the first year, and was
afterwards in the commissary department as collector of tax in kind.
Captain Houston was killed at Gettysburg on the 3d of July, 1863.
Captain Blankenship retired at the battle of Blackburn's Ford on the
18th of July, 1861; he secured a position in the engineering corps, I
think.
Captain Foulks was killed at Seven Pines. I was in a few feet of him
when he was shot dead.
Captain Yeatman resigned.
Lieut. G. W. Latham succeeded Captain Langhorne in command of Company A,
and he was succeeded by Lieut. Robt. M. Mitchell, Jr. Lieut. Thos. B.
Horton succeeded Captain Saunders of Company B, and I succeeded Captain
Clement of Company C; Lieut. Thos. Houston succeeded his brother, D. G.
Houston, of Company D; Lieut. C. V. Winfrey succeeded Captain
Blankenship of Company E; Lieut. Robt. W. Douthat succeeded Captain
Foulks of Company F; Lieut. J. Holmes Smith succeeded Captain Otey of
Company G; Lieut. Jas. W. Hord succeeded Captain Hutter of Company H;
Lieut. A. I. Jones, I think, succeeded Captain Jamison of Company I;
Lieut. Andrew M. Houston, a brother of the other Houstons already
mentioned, succeeded Captain Yeatman of Company K; Captain Otey was
promoted to major, lieutenant-colonel and colonel. Captain Hutter was
promoted to lieutenant-colonel, and was in command of the regiment at
the battle of Five Forks on the 5th of April, 1865, when he and nearly
all of the regiment were captured.
Capt. C. V. Winfrey, of Company E, was afterwards succeeded by Lieut.
John C. Ward. Several of these officers were V. M. I. men, as I now
remember, as follows: Garland, Harrison, Otey, Hutter, Blankenship,
Ward, D. G. Houston, and perhaps others.
Company G, the old "Home Guard," was the crack company of the regiment.
Company A, the "Rifle Grays," also of Lynchburg, was a close second to
Company G, armed with the Mississippi rifle, and generally acted as
skirmishers, and one of these rifles brought down the first Yankee on
the 18th of July, 1861, as hereinafter related.
Company D was also armed with Mississippi rifles and was often on the
skirmish line. Company B was made up of men from the western section of
Campbell County; Company C, as before said, from the Pigeon Run section,
Mt. Zion, and Falling River neighborhoods. Company D came from Botetourt
County—large, hardy, hale fellows they were too, many of them with
German names. Company E was made up largely of college boys from
Lynchburg College, its first captain being one of the professors.
Company F, a sturdy lot of men, came from the hills of Alleghany
Mountains in Montgomery County around Christiansburg.
Company H was a new Lynchburg company, recruited by its captain, then in
his teens, with many sons of Erin in its ranks.
Company I was made up of men from Culpeper County.
Company K was from the James River section of Rockbridge County—its
commander, a canal freight-boat captain, and many of the men boatmen on
the canal when the tocsin of war was sounded. All classes, from the
college-bred and the professional man to the country schoolboy, were
represented in the regiment.
The following are the rolls of the four Lynchburg companies of the
Eleventh Regiment. I have been unable to get the rolls of the other
companies of the regiment:
THE RIFLE GRAYS, COMPANY A
First Captain, M. S. Langhorne.
Second Captain, G. W. Latham.
Third Captain, Robt. M. Mitchell, Jr.
First Lieutenant, G. W. Latham.
First Lieutenant, John W. Daniel.
Second Lieutenant, Robt. M. Mitchell, Jr.
Second Lieutenant, H. C. Chalmers.
Second Lieutenant, James O. Thurman.
First Sergeant, Joseph A. Kennedy.
Second Sergeant, Elcano Fisher.
Third Sergeant, Henry D. Hall.
Fourth Sergeant, Peter B. Akers.
First Corporal, Geo. T. Wightman.
Second Corporal, Samuel R. Miller.
Third Corporal, Lucas Harvey.
Fourth Corporal, Jas. O. Thurman, Jr.
_Privates_
Allman, William H.
Akers, William L.
Bailey, James H.
Bailey, James W.
Benson, Henry G.
Brown, Leslie C.
Beckwith, Henry C.
Burroughs, Henry A.
Ballard, James F.
Bagby, George W.
Cheatham, Thos. F.
Cochran, Robert L.
Cooney, Thomas.
Camp, Albert G.
Crumpton, James A.
Crumpton, Joseph A.
Clinkenbeard, Wm. E.
Conklen, Thomas A.
Connolly, Jerry M.
Devine, Frank.
Diuguid, Edward S.
Davis, Thomas N.
Delano, Joseph S.
Dady, David.
Evans, William H.
Edwards, James M.
Elam, H. F.
Feyle, Frank H.
Fulks, James W.
Frances, Joseph M.
Furry, William H.
Gooldy, John F.
Henry, Charles W.
Henry, John L.
Harvey, Charles C.
Hollins, John G.
Hollins, James E.
Heybrook, L. G.
Hersman, Wm. B.
Hunt, William R.
Johnson, Shelbry.
Jones, William B.
Jones, Charles J.
Kennedy, Michael.
Kidd, George W.
Latham, Robert F.
Linkenhoker, Sam'l.
Mitchell, John R.
Mitchell, T. Holcomb.
Mitchell, John J.
Mitchell, William H.
McKinney, Sam'l H.
McCrary, Wm. B.
Marks, James L.
Milstead, William.
McDevitt, C. P.
Norris, Michael A.
Norvell, Otway B.
Omorundro, T. A.
Porter, Thomas D.
Pendleton, William.
Price, N. Leslie.
Parrish, Booker S.
Pugh, Charles E.
Peters, John I.
Rucker, Edward P.
Raine, John R.
Robertson, Thomas D.
Rainey, Charles W.
Rogers, James B.
Rock, John J.
Rector, Thomas S.
Sims, Robert F.
Sewell, George W.
Stubbs, Robert F.
Stewart, Philip H.
Slagle, John H.
Slagle, David H.
Sholes, Thomas C.
Stewart, Stephen P.
Stabler, Thomas S.
Shepherd, Joseph H.
Tyree, Charles H.
Taylor, William H.
Thurman, Powhatan.
Turner, John H.
Truxall, Andrew J.
Tyree, Wm. D. R.
Tyree, John R.
Taliaferro, Rhoderick.
Torrence, William H.
Victor, Henry C.
Wren, Peter R.
Warfield, Thomas.
Williams, William H.
LYNCHBURG RIFLES, COMPANY E
First Captain, J. E. Blankenship.
Second Captain, C. V. Winfree.
Third Captain, John C. Ward.
First Lieutenant, C. V. Winfree.
First Lieutenant, James W. Wray.
Second Lieutenant, W. A. Strother.
Second Lieutenant, W. M. Taliaferro.
Lieutenant, John P. Knight.
Lieutenant, Walter R. Abbott.
Lieutenant, Adolphus D. Read.
Lieutenant, Charles H. Tyree.
Lieutenant, George P. Norvell.
First Sergeant, W. R. Abbott.
Sergeant, John C. Ward.
Sergeant, A. D. Read.
Sergeant, James W. Wray.
Sergeant, Thomas Keenan.
Sergeant, E. G. Williams.
Sergeant, William M. Seay.
Sergeant, John L. Marion.
Corporal, J. H. Sheppard.
Corporal, John Lovett.
Corporal, D. M. Pettigrew.
Corporal, Thomas H. Love.
Corporal, John Kelly.
Corporal, John R. Holt.
Corporal, John Lovett.
Corporal, W. P. Whitlow.
_Privates_
Anderson, Thos. N.
Atkinson, John.
Butterworth, John M.
Butterworth, Wm. W.
Bradley, Winfree.
Brown, F. M.
Brown, Hillary.
Burks, Paulus Powell.
Burks, S. C.
Bailey, Samuel D.
Bailey, Thomas D.
Coffee, William H.
Colvin, Howard H.
Colvin, William O.
Colvin, Robert O.
Grant, Bluford.
Gaulding, T. Henry.
Gregory, Edward S.
Gregory, N. H.
Goins, James.
Gilbert, George W.
Gilbert, William.
Gilbert, Thomas.
Hart, Patrick S.
Haines, Robert L.
Hurt, Samuel.
Hickey, Patrick H.
Hendricks, James.
Howard, John.
Houston, Francis R.
Hudgins, James L.
Hancock, W. T.
Jones, Charles T.
Jenkins, J. Samuel.
Johnson, Charles Y.
Kayton, J. Patrick.
Lawhorne, Delaware.
Lawhorne, James H.
Lawhorne, Lorenzo.
Lawhorne, Lucas P.
Lipscomb, Charles P.
Moore, Thomas H.
Miller, James M.
Mann, Daniel.
Milstead, Benjamin.
Marshall, John W.
Marshall, James.
Marshall, Charles.
Marshall, David B.
Myers, William.
McCarthy, Patrick.
Nangle, Edward A.
Clark, C. C.
Clark, C. B.
Clark, R. C.
Carey, John H.
Carey, James.
Day, Thomas E.
Davis, Arthur P.
Davis, T. D.
Dunnivant, William.
Evans, T. F.
Equi, Joseph.
Elder, Hiram P.
Farriss, William.
Fortune, William.
Foster, William E.
Neville, Lewis C.
Noell, James H.
Pettus, John E.
Patrim, William A.
Paris, Thomas H.
Parr, John E.
Padgett, J. J.
Parker, Joseph A.
Roberts, Charles R.
Rucker, Jackson.
Rockecharlie, V.
Strause, Simon.
Stewart, William H.
Simpson, Charles W.
Searson, Thomas.
Sullivan, Michael.
Spillan, Patrick.
Smith, George W.
Smith, John G.
Smith, Thomas.
Smith, Robert H.
Smith, James.
Thomas, Andrew J.
Taylor, William.
Taylor, Burley T.
Trent, George W.
Turner, G. Kempton.
Turski, Francois.
Ward, James S.
Williamson, L. C.
Wooldridge, Jas. R.
Wooldridge, Joseph.
Wright, Wm. Richard.
Wray, Ellis D.
Wills, John McD.
Walker, J. S. L.
Wray, Thomas C.
HOME GUARD, COMPANY G
First Captain, Samuel Garland, Jr.
Second Captain, Kirkwood Otey.
Third Captain, J. Holmes Smith.
First Lieutenant, K. Otey.
Second Lieutenant, J. G. Meem.
Third Lieutenant, S. M. Simpson.
Orderly Sergeant, J. L. Meem.
Third Sergeant, W. J. H. Hawkins.
Sergeant, J. C. Johnson.
Color Sergeant, William Sanford.
Fifth Sergeant, B. L. Blackford.
Corporal, C. D. Hamner.
Corporal, John K. Seabury.
Corporal, J. H. Smith.
Corporal, Hugh Nelson.
Surgeon, Benjamin Blackford.
_Privates_
Abrahams, H. J.
Adams, R. H. T.
Akers, E. A.
Armistead, James.
Apperson, R. F.
Anderson, John G.
Ballowe, T. H.
Barnes, C. F.
Blackford, W. H.
Booth, S. C.
Brugh, J. B.
Burks, E. W.
Button, R. P.
Burch, Samuel.
Cabell, Breck.
Cabell, P. H.
Cabell, S.
Campbell, Wiley.
Colhoun, Robert.
Conley, John.
Cosby, C. V.
Creed, J. J.
Cross, J. H. (K.)
Crumpacker, John.
Dowdy, T. N.
Dabney, H.
DeWitt, C.
Eubank, E. N.
Franklin, James, Jr.
Franklin, P. H.
Ford, William A.
Gregory, W. S.
Guggenheimer, M., Jr.
Guy, D. C.
Goggin, John P.
Harris, H. V.
Harris, Meade.
Hawkins, S. M.
Holland, William.
Ivey, J. W.
Jennings, J. H.
Jennings, T. D., Jr.
Johnson, Minor.
Kean, R. G. H.
Kinnear, James F.
Kinnear, James O.
Kabler, N.
Kreuttner, Joseph.
Kent, J. R.
Lee, John A.
Lavinder, G. T.
Langhorne, C. D.
Leckie, M. M.
Lewis, John H.
Lucado, L. F.
Lyman, G. R.
Lydick, James H.
Lydick, D.
Mayer, Max L.
McCorkle, C.
Miller, A. H.
Moseley, C. A.
Moorman, S. L.
Mosby, L. C.
Nelson, W. S.
Nowlin, A. W.
Oglesby, John.
Page, C. H.
Percival, C. D.
Pierce, R. C.
Peters, R. T.
Preston, L. P.
Preston, S. D.
Preston, T. L.
Salmons, G. J.
Sears, J. R.
Shelton, G. W.
Simpson, T. H.
Snead, W. B.
Spencer, C. S.
Stratton, A. B.
Sumpter, John U. H.
Shaver, W. H.
Taliaferro, Van.
Terry, A. W. C.
Thompson, J. H.
Toot, W. A.
Trigg, W. K.
Valentine, Joseph.
Waldron, R. L.
Watkins, R. W.
Walsh, T. C.
Woods, W. H. H.
Wheeler, J. M.
JEFFERSON DAVIS RIFLE, COMPANY H
Captain, J. Risque Hutter.
First Lieutenant, William L. Goggin.
First Lieutenant, William S. Hannah.
Second Lieutenant, James W. Hord.
Second Lieutenant, Ro. D. Early.
First Sergeant, Jas. O. Freeman.
Second Sergeant, S. B. Wright.
Third Sergeant, D. C. Wright.
Fourth Sergeant, Wm. S. Thayer.
Fifth Sergeant, Brandon P. Neville.
First Corporal, George L. Jesse.
Second Corporal, Geo. T. Mitchell.
Third Corporal, Pat. H. Rourke.
Fourth Corporal, Charles Schade.
_Privates_
Akers, H. C.
Banton, Robert.
Banton, James H.
Banton, Richard.
Blanks, John N.
Blanks, Robert.
Burford, William.
Boland, John.
Brown, John C.
Cramer, A. W.
Callan, Dan.
Cunningham, Felix.
Davis, John R.
Davis, Thomas M.
Daniel, John.
Doyle, Henry.
Donatini, G.
Eagan, Gabriel.
Floyd, Alex.
Floyd, John J.
Floyd, Nathan D.
Flowers, Wm. P.
Flowers, Joseph W.
Fulks, Robert.
Fox, Edward.
Farrer, Robert.
Fitzgerald, Cyrus.
Fitzgerald, Ceyton L.
Gouldin, H. L.
Gouldin, William.
Geurtz, Peter.
Grossman, William.
Hanly, John.
Hurt, John H.
Humphrey, M. L.
Jones, Thomas.
Kyle, Benjamin M.
Labby, M. H.
Lavinder, James.
McCormack, L.
McCormick, S.
McCormack, Wm.
McCormack, Wm. D.
Mitchell, Richard H.
Micalany, Peter.
Musgrove, Franklin.
Myers, Samuel W.
Oliver, Pleasant.
O'Brien, Michael.
Rucker, George W.
Rucker, Paulus G.
Reynolds, James.
Reynolds, John H.
Rodgers, George W.
Rider, William.
Still, Thomas.
Stanly, Joseph.
Stanly, D. W.
Singleton, William H.
Seay, Isaac.
Seay, Richard.
Sprouse, Samuel.
Turner, Charles.
Whitten, James.
White, John W.
The Eleventh Regiment soon won an enviable reputation; it was well
officered, well drilled and not excelled by any regiment in the First
Brigade, which was first commanded by Longstreet, then by A. P. Hill,
then by J. L. Kemper, and later by Wm. R. Terry. This brigade was as
good as any brigade in Pickett's Division; Pickett's Division was not
surpassed by any division in Longstreet's corps; Longstreet's Corps was
equal to any corps in the army of Northern Virginia, and the world never
saw a better army than the army of Northern Virginia.
While at Manassas, many troops came on from the South. All were
organized into regiments and brigades. The First, Third, Seventh,
Eleventh and Seventeenth Virginia Regiments composed the First Brigade
of Virginia Infantry, commanded by Brig.-Gen. James Longstreet. In
September, 1862, the Seventeenth Regiment was put in Corse's Brigade,
and the Twenty-fourth Virginia was added to Longstreet's old brigade.
The Twenty-fourth was then commanded by Col. W. R. Terry, Lieut.-Col.
Peter Hairston, and Maj. Richard F. Maury.
The First Regiment was commanded by Col. P. T. Moore, of Richmond,
Lieut.-Col. G. W. Palmer, I think, and Maj. John Dooly, and was made up
entirely of Richmond companies.
The Third Regiment was commanded by Col. Joseph Mayo, Jr., Lieut.-Col.
Wm. H. Pryor, and Maj. John D. Whitehead.
The Seventh Regiment was commanded by Col. J. L. Kemper, of Madison
County; Lieut.-Col. W. Tazwell Patton, and Maj. C. C. Floweree.
The Seventeenth Regiment was commanded by Col. M. D. Corse, of
Alexandria; Lieut.-Col. Morton Mayre, and Maj. Wm. Munford.
There were many changes in these field officers. Perhaps I have failed
to name correctly all the original field officers.