The 6th Virginia Infantry Regiment was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

raised in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

for service in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

during the

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 states th ...

. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia. 6th Infantry Regiment organized at

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

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 K ...

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" meanin ...

, 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 (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 and Richmond, and Greensville ...

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