James B. Terrill, often identified as James Barbour Terrill (February 20, 1838 – May 30, 1864) was a lawyer and an officer 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 ...

. He was practicing law in

Warm Springs, Virginia Warm Springs is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of Bath County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2020 census was 121.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 ...

began. He joined the Confederate Army and was elected major of the 13th Virginia Infantry Regiment in May 1861. He became

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

of the regiment after 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. Confederate General Robert E. Lee's risky decision to divide h ...

on May 15, 1863. On May 30, 1864, he was killed in action at the

Battle of Totopotomoy Creek The Battle of Totopotomoy Creek , also called the Battle of Bethesda Church, Crumps Creek, Shady Grove Road, and Hanovertown, was fought in Hanover County, Virginia on May 28–30, 1864, as part of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses Grant's Overland ...

or Battle of Bethesda Church, which immediately preceded the

Battle of Cold Harbor The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought during the American Civil War near Mechanicsville, Virginia, from May 31 to June 12, 1864, with the most significant fighting occurring on June 3. It was one of the final battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses ...

during the

Overland Campaign The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, towards the end of the American Civil War. Lieutenant general (United States), Lt. G ...

. Terrill had already been nominated to the grade of brigadier general. The Confederate Senate posthumously confirmed the appointment on May 31, 1864, to rank from June 1, 1864.

Early life

James Barbour Terrill was the son of Colonel William H. Terrill. For many years, William Terrill was the prosecuting attorney for

Bath County, Virginia Bath County is a United States county located in the Shenandoah Valley on the central western edge of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,209, making it the second-least populous county in Virginia. Bath ...

. James B. Terrill was a graduate of

Virginia Military Institute The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is a public senior military college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1839 as America's first state military college and is the oldest public senior military college in the U.S. In k ...

, class of 1858. He studied law in

Lexington, Virginia Lexington is an Independent city (United States)#Virginia, independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 7,320. It is the county seat of Rockbridge County, Virg ...

, at the school of the Hon. John W. Brockenbrough.Walker, Charles, D
''Memorial, Virginia military institute: Biographical sketches of the Graduates and Eleves of the Virginia Military Institute Who Fell in the War Between the States''
Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1875. . Retrieved May 28, 2011. p. 512 Starting in 1860 and when the Civil War began, he was practicing law in

Warm Springs, Virginia Warm Springs is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of Bath County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2020 census was 121.Warner, Ezra J. ''Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders.'' Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. . pp. 301–302 James Terrill was the brother of Confederate Private Phillip Terrill, who was killed in action at the

Battle of Cedar Creek The Battle of Cedar Creek, or Battle of Belle Grove, was fought on October 19, 1864, during the American Civil War. The fighting took place in the Shenandoah Valley of Northern Virginia, near Cedar Creek, Middletown, and the Valley Pike. D ...

; Union General William Rufus Terrill, an 1853 graduate of the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York (state), New York, General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in the summer and fall of 1779 durin ...

, who was mortally wounded on October 8, 1862, at the

Battle of Perryville The Battle of Perryville, also known as the Battle of Chaplin Hills, was fought on October 8, 1862, in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville, Kentucky, as the culmination of the Confederate Heartland Offensive (Kentucky Campaign) during the Ame ...

, and died the next day; and Emily Terrill Porterfield, the wife of Confederate Colonel George A. Porterfield.

Virginia Governor The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The governor is head of the executive branch of the government of Virginia and is the commander-in-chief of the Virginia National Guard an ...

Henry A. Wise Henry Alexander Wise (December 3, 1806 – September 12, 1876) was an American attorney, diplomat, politician and slave owner from Virginia. As the 33rd Governor of Virginia, Wise served as a significant figure on the path to the American Civil ...

appointed Terrill a major of cavalry in the state militia in 1859. When the

Virginia Secession Convention The Virginia Secession Convention of 1861 was called in the state capital of Richmond to determine whether Virginia would secede from the United States, govern the state during a state of emergency, and write a new Constitution for Virginia, whi ...

effectively took Virginia out of the Union, Terrill hurried to

Harpers Ferry Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 269 at the 2020 United States census. Situated at the confluence of the Potomac River, Potomac and Shenandoah River, Shenandoah Rivers in the ...

to report for duty.

American Civil War service

In May 1861, James B. Terrill was elected major of the 13th Virginia Infantry Regiment. The colonel of the regiment was

A. P. Hill Ambrose Powell Hill Jr. (November 9, 1825April 2, 1865) was a Confederate States Army, Confederate General officer, general who was killed in the American Civil War. He is usually referred to as A. P. Hill to differentiate him from Confederate ge ...

, later Lieutenant General, and the lieutenant colonel was James A. Walker, later Brigadier General. Terrill served at the Battle of First Manassas, in Jackson's Valley Campaign, during the

Seven Days Battles The Seven Days Battles were a series of seven battles over seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. Confederate States Army, Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army ...

, at the

Battle of Cedar Mountain The Battle of Cedar Mountain, also known as Slaughter's Mountain or Cedar Run, took place on August 9, 1862, in Culpeper County, Virginia, Culpeper County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. Union Army, Union forces under Major gener ...

Battle of Second Manassas The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate ...

Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam ( ), also called the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the Southern United States, took place during the American Civil War on September 17, 1862, between Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virgi ...

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, Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Major general ( ...

, Gettysburg Campaign, the

Battle of the Wilderness The Battle of the Wilderness was fought on May 5–7, 1864, during the American Civil War. It was the first battle of Lieutenant general (United States), Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against General (C ...

and the

Battle of Spotsylvania Court House The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, sometimes more simply referred to as the Battle of Spotsylvania (or the 19th-century spelling Spottsylvania), was the second major battle in Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's 18 ...

. He was promoted first to lieutenant colonel and then after the Battle of Chancellorsville, on May 15, 1863, he was promoted to colonel of the regiment. Terrill was killed in action at the Battle of Totopotomoy Creek or Battle Bethesda Church in

Hanover County, Virginia Hanover County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 109,979. Its county seat is Hanover, Virginia, Hanover. Hanove ...

on May 30, 1864, a few days before the

, which took place about 3 or 4 miles to the south.Warner, 1959, p. 302.Walker, 1875, p. 514 Terrill was buried at Bethesda Church, near the battlefield, by Union troops.

Posthumous promotion

James Barbour Terrill had already been nominated to the grade of brigadier general when he was killed at the Battle of Bethesda Church. The Confederate Senate confirmed his appointment the next day, May 31, 1864, to rank from June 1, 1864.

Notes

References

* Brown, Kent Masterson. ''Retreat from Gettysburg: Lee, Logistics, and the Pennsylvania Campaign''. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2005. . * Eicher, John H., and

David J. Eicher David John Eicher (born August 7, 1961) is an American editor, writer, and popularizer of astronomy and space. He has been editor-in-chief of ''Astronomy'' magazine since 2002. He is author, coauthor, or editor of 23 books on science and American ...

, ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . * Miller, Thomas Condit and Hu Maxwell
''West Virginia and Its People, Volume 3''
New York, Lewis Historical Pub. Co., 1913. . Retrieved May 4, 2011. * Sifakis, Stewart. ''Who Was Who in the Civil War.'' New York: Facts On File, 1988. . * Walker, Charles, D
''Memorial, Virginia military institute: Biographical sketches of the Graduates and Eleves of the Virginia Military Institute Who Fell in the War Between the States''
Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1875. . Retrieved May 28, 2011. * Warner, Ezra J. ''Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders.'' Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Terrill, James B. 1838 births 1864 deaths Confederate States of America military personnel killed in the American Civil War Confederate States Army brigadier generals People from Warm Springs, Virginia People of Virginia in the American Civil War Virginia Military Institute alumni

Early life

American Civil War service

Posthumous promotion

See also

Notes

References