A. P. Hill's Light Division was an infantry division in General Robert E. Lee's

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between ...

Army of Northern Virginia during the American Civil War. Originally including six brigades, the division's first commander starting May 27, 1862 was then Major General

A. P. Hill Ambrose Powell Hill Jr. (November 9, 1825April 2, 1865) was a Confederate general who was killed in the American Civil War. He is usually referred to as A. P. Hill to differentiate him from another, unrelated Confederate general, Daniel Harvey Hi ...

. Major Generals William Dorsey Pender and

Cadmus M. Wilcox Cadmus Marcellus Wilcox (May 20, 1824 – December 2, 1890) was a career United States Army officer who served in the Mexican–American War and also was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Early life and career Wilcox was b ...

commanded a reorganized Light Division in the Army of Northern Virginia after Hill's promotion to corps command and Pender's death at the Battle of Gettysburg, respectively.

Component brigades and commanders

Created in the late May and June 1862, the Light Division included six brigades from six Confederate states. The First Brigade was a Virginia brigade under the command of Brigadier General

Charles W. Field Charles William Field (April 6, 1828 – April 9, 1892) was a career military officer, serving in the United States Army and then, during the American Civil War, in the Confederate States Army. His division was considered one of the finest in ...

.Robertson, Jr., 1992, p. 60. The brigade initially included the 40th, 47th and 55th Virginia Infantry Regiments and the 2nd Virginia Infantry Battalion. This brigade was later commanded by Colonel

John M. Brockenbrough John Mercer Brockenbrough (August 1, 1830 – August 24, 1892) was a farmer and a Confederate colonel in the American Civil War. Early life Johnathan Brockenbrough, the son of Moore Fauntleroy Brockenbrough and his wife Sarah Waller Smith wa ...

after Field was severely wounded at the

Second Battle of Bull Run 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 ...

(Second Manassas) and by Brigadier General Henry Heth from March 5, 1863, until May 3, 1863, when he temporarily assumed command of the division after Hill was wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville. The Second Brigade was a South Carolina brigade commanded by Brigadier General Maxcy Gregg. This famous brigade became known as the Gregg-McGowan Brigade. Brigadier General

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was the other major commander of the brigade after Gregg was mortally wounded at 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 Burnsi ...

and died two days later. The South Carolina Brigade included the 1st South Carolina Rifles (Orr's Rifles), and the 1st South Carolina Infantry, 12th South Carolina Infantry, 13th South Carolina Infantry and 14th South Carolina Infantry Regiments. The Third Brigade included Georgia troops. First commanded by Brigadier General

Joseph R. Anderson Joseph Reid Anderson (February 16, 1813 – September 7, 1892) was an American civil engineer, industrialist, politician and soldier. During the American Civil War he served as a Confederate general, and his Tredegar Iron Company was a major s ...

, the brigade was commanded for most of its existence by Brigadier General

Edward L. Thomas Edward Lloyd Thomas (March 23, 1825 – March 8, 1898) was a Confederate States Army, Confederate Brigadier General (CSA), brigadier general of infantry during the American Civil War from the state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. He was colonel ...

. The brigade included the 14th Georgia Infantry, 35th Georgia Infantry, 39th Georgia Infantry and 45th Georgia Infantry Regiments. The Fourth and Sixth Brigades included North Carolina infantry regiments. Brigadier General Lawrence O'Bryan Branch's brigade included the 7th North Carolina Infantry Regiment,

18th North Carolina Infantry Regiment The 18th North Carolina Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised in North Carolina for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia. The 18th Infantry Regime ...

, 28th North Carolina Infantry Regiment, 33rd North Carolina Infantry Regiment, and 37th North Carolina Infantry Regiment. After Branch was killed at the

Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union G ...

on September 17, 1862, the brigade was commanded by Brigadier General James H. Lane. Brigadier General William Dorsey Pender's Brigade included the 16th North Carolina Infantry Regiment, 22nd North Carolina Infantry Regiment, 34th North Carolina Infantry Regiment and 38th North Carolina Infantry Regiment.Robertson, Jr., 1992, p. 61. This brigade was later commanded by Colonel (from December 13, 1862), later Brigadier General (from June 13, 1862) Alfred Scales. Finally, the Fifth Brigade was a mixed command of Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee regiments under Brigadier General

James J. Archer James Jay Archer (December 19, 1817 – October 24, 1864) was a lawyer and an officer in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War. He later served as a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army (CSA) during the American Ci ...

. It mainly included the 5th Alabama Infantry Battalion, 19th Georgia Infantry Regiment,

1st Tennessee Infantry Regiment The 1st Tennessee Infantry Regiment (also known as the "First Tennessee") was an infantry regiment in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War, and was successively commanded by Colonels George Maney and Hume R. Field. History The Regim ...

, 7th Tennessee Infantry Regiment, and

14th Tennessee Infantry Regiment The 14th Tennessee Infantry Regiment was a unit of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It was one of the few western regiments that fought as part of the Army of Northern Virginia in the east; participating in most major ba ...

. It was commanded from January 20, 1865, to the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, on April 9, 1865, by Brigadier General

William McComb William McComb (November 21, 1828 – July 12, 1918) was a Confederate States of America, Confederate Brigadier General (CSA), brigadier general. He was born in Pennsylvania, but moved to Tennessee. McComb fought in many important battles of t ...

. Artillery batteries initially attached to the Light Division included Captain R. Snowden Andrews's (Maryland) battery, Captain William K. Bachman's (Charleston, South Carolina) German battery, Captain Carter M. Braxton's Battery (Va.) redericksburg Artillery Captain William G. Crenshaw's (Virginia) battery, Captain Greenlee Davidson's Battery (Va.) etcher Artillery Captain Marmaduke Johnson's (Virginia) battery, Captain L. Masters's (Virginia) battery, Captain David G. McIntosh's Battery (S.C.) ee Dee Artilleryand Captain William J. Pegram's Battery (Va.) urcell Artilleryand later Henry Grey Latham's Battery (N.C.) and Fleet's Battery (Va.) iddlesex ArtilleryBurton, Brian K. ''Extraordinary Circumstances: The Seven Days Battles.'' Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2011, paperback. Originally published in hard cover: Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2001. . p. 418. Major (Lieutenant Colonel by August 1862 at the Battle of Cedar Mountain)

Reuben Lindsay Walker Reuben Lindsay Walker (May 29, 1827 – June 7, 1890) was a Confederate general who served in the artillery during the American Civil War. Early life Walker was born in Logan Village, Albemarle County, Virginia. He graduated from the Virginia ...

commanded the artillery batteries after Lieutenant Colonel Lewis M. Coleman commanded the division artillery during the Seven Days Battles.

Fighting record

The Light Division saw its first action as a unit in the Seven Days Battles as part of

James Longstreet James Longstreet (January 8, 1821January 2, 1904) was one of the foremost Confederate generals of the American Civil War and the principal subordinate to General Robert E. Lee, who called him his "Old War Horse". He served under Lee as a corps ...

's wing of the Army. Some of the regiments had seen action earlier in the campaign on May 27, 1862.Robertson, Jr., 1992, p. 62. The division was heavily engaged at the Battles of Mechanicsville, Gaines' Mill, and

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. After A.P. Hill feuded with Longstreet in a newspaper, the Light Division was transferred to Stonewall Jackson's wing of the Army. With Jackson, the division again was heavily engaged at the Battle of Cedar Mountain. The division then took a conspicuous role on the defense of the Confederate line against repeated Union assaults at the

. The Light Division had a prominent role in Lee's Maryland Campaign. Left behind to parole captured Union troops at Harpers Ferry, Hill and his men were not on the battlefield at the start of the

. Leaving Harpers Ferry early on the morning of September 17, 1862, Hill's men completed the march in time to arrive and save Lee's Army, which was at that moment facing destruction from the advancing Union Army of the Potomac. In the battle, Brigadier General Branch was killed. The division took part in the Battle of Fredericksburg on December 13, 1862, but the division's alignment was not well-positioned, with a dangerous gap in the middle of the line.Robertson, Jr., 1992, pp. 160-161. Gregg's brigade was posted behind the gap and in dense woods where they had little ability to see the battlefield. Brigadier General Maxcy Gregg was mortally wounded in the subsequent fighting.Robertson, Jr., 1992, p. 165. Colonel Daniel H. Hamilton took temporary command of the brigade. The division last served together as a unit of six brigades at the Battle of Chancellorsville where soldiers of the 18th North Carolina Infantry of Lane's Brigade had the misfortune of mortally wounding Stonewall Jackson. In the same rash of firing, A.P. Hill also was wounded, though his wound proved to be minor.

Reorganization

After Stonewall Jackson's death, Lee reorganized his Army. A.P. Hill was promoted to lieutenant general and given command of the Third Corps. The composition of the Light Division was changed.Robertson, Jr., 1992, p. 196. Two of the brigades —- the Virginia Brigade and Archer's Brigade -— were placed in a new division under Major General Henry Heth. The remaining brigades stayed together under Major General Dorsey Pender. Heth was actually the division's senior brigade commander, but Hill preferred Pender to have command of his old division, writing "Gen. Pender has fought with the Division in every battle, has been four times wounded and never left the field, has risen by death and wounds from fifth brigadier to be its senior, has the best drilled and disciplined Brigade in the Division, and more than all, possesses the unbounded confidence of the Division." Parts of the division were engaged on July 1 and July 3, 1863, at the Battle of Gettysburg. Here, Major General Pender was mortally wounded on July 2 as he moved to engage his men. The division fought under Major General

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 States Army, Confederate General officer, general in t ...

in Pickett's Charge on July 3, 1863. After Pender's death, the division continued under the command of Major General

Cadmus Wilcox Cadmus Marcellus Wilcox (May 20, 1824 – December 2, 1890) was a career United States Army officer who served in the Mexican–American War and also was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Early life and career Wilcox was b ...

and fought in 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 Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Arm ...

, Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, Battle of Cold Harbor and Siege of Petersburg. Bearss, Edwin C. with Bryce A. Suderow. ''The Petersburg Campaign: The Western Front Battles, September 1864 - April 1865.'' El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie, 2014. . pp. 31, 52, 54, 59, 117-120, 184, 257, 382, 304, 306, 336, 350, 352-353, 430, 532-534.

Name

The first official reference to the "Light Division" was in a routine communique from Hill's headquarters on June 1, 1862, soon after he took command of the division.Robertson, Jr., 1992, p. 63. The division's name may have been a reference to the famous British Light Division. It may have been meant as ironic given that the division was the largest in the Army of Northern Virginia when it was formed. It may also be the case that Hill simply named the division the "Light Division" to instill a sense of speed, esprit de corps, and because he envisioned great things for it. The reasons for this name are ultimately unclear.

Notes

References

* Bearss, Edwin C. with Bryce A. Suderow. ''The Petersburg Campaign: The Western Front Battles, September 1864 - April 1865.'' El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie, 2014. . * Burton, Brian K. ''Extraordinary Circumstances: The Seven Days Battles.'' Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2011, paperback. Originally published in hard cover: Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2001. . * Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . * Krick, Robert K. ''Stonewall Jackson at Cedar Mountain''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1990. . * Rhea, Gordon C. ''The Battles for Spotsylvania Court House and the Road to Yellow Tavern, May 7–12, 1864''. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1997. . * Rhea, Gordon C. ''The Battle of the Wilderness May 5–6, 1864''. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1994. . * Rhea, Gordon C. ''Cold Harbor: Grant and Lee, May 26–June 3, 1864''. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2002. . * Robertson Jr., James I. ''General A.P. Hill: The Story of a Confederate Warrior''. New York: Vintage Publishing, 1992. .

External links

Jenny Goellnitz has an extensive website o
General A.P. Hill
that includes information on his officers, including those who served in the Light Division. 1862 establishments in the Confederate States of America Divisions of the Confederate States Army