The 6th 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

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 ...

. It fought mostly with the

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 ...

. 6th Infantry Regiment organized at

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

in May, 1861, composed of men recruited from Norfolk and nearby

Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950) is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of King ...

Nansemond The Nansemond are the Indigenous people of the Nansemond River, a 20-mile-long tributary of the James River in Virginia. Nansemond people lived in settlements on both sides of the Nansemond River where they fished (with the name "Nansemond" meani ...

, and Chesterfield Counties. The field officers were Colonels Thomas J. Corprew (Norfolk's sheriff in 1861 and captain of the Norfolk Light Artillery Blues),

William Mahone William Mahone (December 1, 1826October 8, 1895) was a Confederate States Army general, civil engineer, railroad executive, prominent Virginia Readjuster Party, Readjuster and ardent supporter of former slaves. He later represented Virginia in th ...

(who rose to General and later U.S. Senator), and George T. Rogers; Lieutenant Colonels William T. Lundy and Henry W. Williamson; and Major Robert B. Taylor. Corprew's brother Oliver H.P. Corprew, a wealthy tobacco farmer from Mecklenburg County became the unit's quartermaster.

History

The 6th Virginia initially protected Norfolk, but after the city fell to Union forces in June, 1862, was placed in Mahone's Brigade with 673 effectives. Upon Mahone's promotion, General D.A. Weisiger, who began the war as a captain of the

12th Virginia Infantry The 12th Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment mostly raised in Petersburg, Virginia, for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, but with units from the cities of Norfolk, Virginia, Norfolk and Richmon ...

assumed command of the brigade that included both regiments. The 6th participated in the campaigns of the Army of Northern Virginia from the Seven Days' Battles to Cold Harbor, then saw action in the Petersburg trenches and around Appomattox. It reported 10 killed, 33 wounded, and 8 missing at Malvern Hill, had 12 killed and 49 wounded at Second Manassas, and had 5 killed and 34 wounded at Fredericksburg. The regiment sustained 47 casualties at Chancellorsville and lost three percent of the 288 engaged at Gettysburg. It surrendered 110 officers and men on April 9, 1865.

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

History

See also

References