Edward Claxton Edmonds (January 21, 1835 – July 3, 1863) was an American military teacher and colonel in the Confederate Army during

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

. He commanded the

38th Virginia Infantry The 38th Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the War Between the States. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia. The 38th Virginia was organized ...

and was killed near Gettysburg when he led the regiment on the offensive during

Pickett's Charge Pickett's Charge (July 3, 1863), also known as the Pickett–Pettigrew–Trimble Charge, was an infantry assault ordered by Confederate General Robert E. Lee against Major General George G. Meade's Union positions on the last day of the B ...

Early years

Edward Claxton Edmonds was born in

Paris, Virginia Paris is a small unincorporated community in Fauquier County, Virginia, United States. Located in Virginia's hunt country, it was established in a strategic spot at the eastern base of Ashby Gap along U.S. Route 17 and U.S. Route 50. History Pet ...

, to Dr. John Edmonds and Ellen Carter Edmonds, who came from the Carter family of

Pittsylvania County, Virginia Pittsylvania County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 60,501. Chatham is the county seat. Pittsylvania County is included in the Danville, VA Micropolitan Statistical ...

. In the 1850s, the family lived in Alexandria and in September 1854, Edmonds enrolled in the Virginia Military Institute. He graduated on July 4, 1858, in a class of 19 cadets (eight of whom were subsequently killed the Civil War). After graduating, Edmonds spent about a year teaching mathematics at a school in Staunton. On December 29, 1858, he married Margaret Tutwiler (1838–1894) from

Fluvanna County, Virginia Fluvanna County is a county located in the Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,249. Its county seat is Palmyra, while the most populous community is the census designated place of Lake ...

, and they moved to Danville, where Edmonds co-founded the Danville Military Institute. On May 6, 1860, Edmonds had a daughter, Molly Edmonds (1860–1928).

Civil War

When Virginia withdrew from the Union, Edmonds went to Richmond and offered his services to Governor

John Letcher John Letcher (March 29, 1813January 26, 1884) was an American lawyer, journalist, and politician. He served as a Representative in the United States Congress, was the 34th Governor of Virginia during the American Civil War, and later served in ...

. The governor ordered him to return to Danville and recruit an infantry regiment. Edmonds recruited a regiment by June 12 and returned to Richmond by rail, and on July 1 the regiment was included in the Confederate Army as the

. Edmonds became the colonel of this regiment. The regiment was attached to the Army of the Shenandoah under the command of

Joseph E. Johnston Joseph Eggleston Johnston (February 3, 1807 – March 21, 1891) was an American career army officer, serving with distinction in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and the Seminole Wars. After Virginia seceded ...

, then transferred to Manassas arriving after the

First Battle of Bull Run The First Battle of Bull Run (the name used by Union forces), also known as the Battle of First Manassascites 18,052 Confederate men and 37 guns engaged. McDowell's plan was to move westward in three columns and make a diversionary attack on ...

. In the autumn of 1861 and in the spring of 1862 Edmonds regiment was attached to the brigade of

Jubal Early Jubal Anderson Early (November 3, 1816 – March 2, 1894) was a Virginia lawyer and politician who became a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Trained at the United States Military Academy, Early resigned his U.S. Army commissi ...

, and in May 1862 took part in the

Battle of Williamsburg The Battle of Williamsburg, also known as the Battle of Fort Magruder, took place on May 5, 1862, in York County, James City County, and Williamsburg, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. It was the first pi ...

. On May 31, Edmonds was injured in the

Battle of Seven Pines The Battle of Seven Pines, also known as the Battle of Fair Oaks or Fair Oaks Station, took place on May 31 and June 1, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia, nearby Sandston, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. It was th ...

, and on July 1 at the

Battle of Malvern Hill The Battle of Malvern Hill, also known as the Battle of Poindexter's Farm, was fought on July 1, 1862, between the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, led by Gen. Robert E. Lee, and the Union Army of the Potomac under Maj. Gen. George B. ...

. In September 1862 the regiment was involved in the Battle of Antietam and in December in the

Battle of Fredericksburg The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. The combat, between the Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Bur ...

. In the spring of 1862, the regiment participated in an expedition to Suffolk, missing the

Battle of Chancellorsville The Battle of Chancellorsville, April 30 – May 6, 1863, was a major battle of the American Civil War (1861–1865), and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville campaign. Chancellorsville is known as Lee's "perfect battle" because h ...

. On the third day

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of th ...

, the regiment took part in

part of the Armistead Brigade. The regiment was positioned on the extreme left flank of the brigade, and when the left-leaning division of

Isaac R. Trimble Isaac Ridgeway Trimble (May 15, 1802 – January 2, 1888) was a United States Army officer, a civil engineer, a prominent railroad construction superintendent and executive, and a Confederate general in the American Civil War. He was born in Virg ...

began to retreat, the regiment was threatened with a blow to the flank. Colonel Edmonds decided to turn the regiment to protect the flank, but was at that moment killed by a bullet in the head. Command passed to Major Joseph Cabbell, as Lieutenant-Colonel Powhatan Whittle was already wounded in the shoulder and arm, who was unable to deploy the regiment and ordered him to retreat behind the Emmitsberg road. During the retreat, the flag of the regiment was lost, which was picked up by soldiers of the

8th Ohio Infantry The 8th Ohio Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the Eastern Theater in a number of campaigns and battles, but perhaps is most noted for its actions in helping repulse Pickett's ...

. The brigade believing that Edmonds had been taken prisoner drafted a petition to the Military Department for his appointment as brigade commander following the death of Armistead. The exact location of Edmonds remains is unknown, though he was believed to have been reinterred along with other Confederate soldiers from the Gettysburg battlefield at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond in 1872. Allardice (2008), p. 138.

References

Bibliography * * * * *

External links

*
Biographies of Virginia Military Institute Graduates

Chronology of the 38th Infantry Regiment
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edmonds, Edward Claxton 1835 births 1863 deaths Confederate States Army officers People of Virginia in the American Civil War People from Fauquier County, Virginia Confederate States of America military personnel killed in the American Civil War