The 16th Virginia Infantry Regiment was an

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

raised in 1861 in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

in southeastern

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

for service in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. The regiment fought almost exclusively with the Confederate

Army of Northern Virginia The Army of Northern Virginia was a field army of the Confederate States Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed agains ...

. The 16th Virginia completed its organization in May 1861 with ten companies. However, because of various reorganizations and transfers, the unit contained only seven companies after 1 November 1862. The men were from Suffolk and Portsmouth, and the counties of Nansemond, Isle of Wight, Sussex, and Chesterfield. The regiment initially served in the Department of Norfolk, and in June 1862 had 516 effectives. Assigned to General John Weisiger's Brigade, General William Mahone's Division, and eventually General A.P. Hill's Third Corps of General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, it fought in many conflicts: from the Seven Days' Battles to Cold Harbor. Later in the War, it was involved in the Siege of Petersburg (south of the James River) and in the Appomattox Campaign. The regiment reported 91 casualties at Malvern Hill, 154 at Second Manassas, 5 in the Maryland Campaign, and 18 at Chancellorsville. Of the 270 engaged at Gettysburg, about five percent were disabled. The regiment eventually surrendered with 10 officers and 114 men. The field officers were Colonels Raleigh E. Colston, Charles A. Crump,

Stapleton Crutchfield Stapleton Crutchfield (June 21, 1835 – April 6, 1865) was a Confederate States of America, Confederate officer in the American Civil War closely associated with Stonewall Jackson until Jackson's death. Although Crutchfield lost a leg in the sam ...

, Joseph H. Ham, and Henry T. Parrish; Lieutenant Colonels John C. Page and Richard O. Whitehead; and Majors Francis D. Holladay, Francis M. Ironmonger, and John T. Woodhouse.

References

* Units and formations of the Confederate States Army from Virginia 1861 establishments in Virginia Military units and formations established in 1861 1865 disestablishments in Virginia Military units and formations disestablished in 1865 {{AmericanCivilWar-unit-stub

See also

References