Chapman's Artillery was an artillery battery in the
Confederate States Army during the
American Civil War. It was organized by George Beirne Chapman and was mustered into Confederate service at
Lewisburg on April 25, 1862, with 150 men recruited from
Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe:
* Monroe County, Alabama
*Monroe County, Arkansas
* Monroe County, Florida
* Monroe County, Georgia
*Monroe County, Illinois
*Monroe County, Indian ...
,
Greenbrier County,
Allegheny County
Allegheny County () is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Southwestern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the state's seco ...
, and
Roanoke County
Roanoke County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 96,929. Its county seat is Salem, but the county administrative offices are located in the unincorporated Cave ...
.
With little time to drill they were sent to
Jackson River Depot, where they were issued a 24-pound
howitzer
A howitzer () is a long- ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like ot ...
, two 12-pound and two 6-pound cannons. They were assigned to Brig. Gen.
Henry Heth's command and fought at
White Sulphur Springs and Lewisburg on May 10 and 23, respectively. They were also part of Brig. Gen.
William W. Loring
William Wing Loring (December 4, 1818 – December 30, 1886) was an American soldier who served in the armies of the United States, the Confederacy, and Egypt.
Biography
Early life
William was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, to Reuben a ...
's
Kanawha Valley
The Kanawha River ( ) is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 97 mi (156 km) long, in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The largest inland waterway in West Virginia, its valley has been a significant industrial region of the stat ...
campaign in September 1862.
They were then assigned to the command of Brig. Gen.
William L. Jackson and fought in small engagements in mid-1863, at White Sulphur Springs Aug. 26-27, and
Droop Mountain on Nov. 6. In December Jackson stationed them at
Sweet Springs Mountain to block Brig.-Gen.
William W. Averell
William Woods Averell (November 5, 1832 – February 3, 1900) was a career United States Army officer and a cavalry general in the American Civil War. He was the only Union general to achieve a major victory against the Confederates in the V ...
's retreat from his raid on the
Virginia and Tennessee Railroad, but Averell escaped by another route.
They played an important part in the Confederate victory against
Franz Sigel at
New Market New Market may refer to:
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*New Market, Khulna, in Sonadanga Model Thana
*New Market, Chittagong, near Government City College, Chittagong
India
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*New Market, Kolkata
Jamaica
*New Market, Jama ...
on May 15, 1864. They were sent to the defense of Richmond, fighting at Hanover Court House and along the
Chickahominy River
The Chickahominy is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 river in the eastern portion of the U.S. state of Virginia. The river, which serves as the eastern bo ...
, and helping to halt the advance of Grant at
Cold Harbor on June 3. They were then sent to the defense of
Lynchburg, where they were joined by two other batteries, Lowry's and Bryan's.
After Lynchburg, the battery was issued six new 12-pound Napoleon cannons and was assigned to the command of
Jubal Early in late 1864. They fought at
Monocacy Monocacy (Shawnee language, Shawnee: ''Monnockkeseymay'') may refer to the Monocacy River in Maryland, USA.
Monocacy may also refer to:
Other streams
*Little Monocacy River, a tributary of the Potomac River in Maryland
*Monocacy Creek (Lehigh Riv ...
,
Snicker's Ferry,
Opequan,
Fisher's Hill, and
Cedar Creek. They suffered losses at the
Third Battle of Winchester, where Cpt. Chapman was severely wounded, dying a week later from tetanus. Command passed to Lt. Frederick Thresher, and at his wounding the next week command passed to Lt. Henderson Reed. Opequan and Cedar Creek had a crippling effect on the battery. Their last engagement was the
siege of Petersburg in March 1865. They were then ordered to turn over their equipment to other batteries and report to Richmond on March 17, 1865. The unit lost 13 men in battle, 15 to disease, 26 captured, and 28 in desertion.
George Beirne Chapman was the son of
Augustus A. Chapman
Augustus Alexandria Chapman (March 9, 1805 – June 7, 1876) was a 19th-century politician and lawyer from Virginia. Chapman served several terms in the Virginia House of Delegates, as well as one term in the United States House of Representat ...
of Monroe County. Augustus Chapman was a brigadier-general of the 19th Brigade of Virginia Militia, which he commanded during the first few years of the war.
[Allardice, Bruce S., ''More Generals in Gray: : Spengler on World History and Politics (Political Traditions in Foreign Policy Series)'', Louisiana State Univ. Press, Baton Rouge, 1995, pg. 55, ]
Notes
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Units and formations of the Confederate States Army from Virginia
Artillery units and formations of the American Civil War