Phillips' Legion or Phillips' Georgia Legion was a unit of 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 ...

during the

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 ...

Background and formation

With the outbreak of the war,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Governor Joseph E. Brown gave the task of organizing and training the 4th Brigade to his friend, attorney and militia general William Phillips. Phillips chose as his training base "the old Smyrna Camp Meeting Ground located 4 miles south of Marietta", renaming it "Camp Brown". By April 15, 1861, two heavy infantry regiments and three battalions (one each of light infantry, cavalry and artillery) had been organized. However, Brown clashed with Confederate President

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States of America, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the Unite ...

over

states' rights In United States, American politics of the United States, political discourse, states' rights are political powers held for the state governments of the United States, state governments rather than the federal government of the United States, ...

and control of military formations. Under much pressure, he was eventually forced to yield the two regiments to Davis and abandon his plan to place Phillips in charge of the brigade. Brown formed a legion (which meant at the time a

combined arms Combined arms is an approach to warfare that seeks to integrate different combat arms of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects—for example, using infantry and armoured warfare, armour in an Urban warfare, urban environment in ...

unit) from the remaining light infantry and cavalry battalions, commanded by Phillips. It initially consisted of a six-company infantry battalion, including the late addition of an all-Irish company known as the Lochrane Guards from Macon, and a four-company cavalry battalion. Brown's request for the artillery battalion to be included was denied by Davis. The legion was accepted into state service in July 1861, and Phillips appointed its colonel the following month.

Civil War

In late 1861, Phillips' Legion was ordered to join the

Army of the Kanawha The Army of the Kanawha was a small Confederate army early in the American Civil War. Confederate units in the vital Kanawha River valley of western Virginia were styled the "Army of the Kanawha" after they were put under the command of former Vi ...

in the western part of Virginia, where the pro-Union residents had seceded from the state. General

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

, in his first field assignment in command, was handicapped by the bitter acrimony between his subordinates, Generals

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 ...

and

John B. Floyd John Buchanan Floyd (June 1, 1806 – August 26, 1863) was an American politician who served as the List of governors of Virginia, 31st Governor of Virginia. Under president James Buchanan, he also served as the U.S. Secretary of War from 1857 ...

. The campaign did not go well for the South, for which Lee was roundly criticized. Colonel Phillips contracted

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often th ...

. In December 1861, Special Order 268 directed the Legion and the 20th Mississippi to proceed to Coosawhatchie, South Carolina. There, under the command of Brigadier General

Thomas Drayton Thomas Fenwick Drayton (August 24, 1809 – February 18, 1891) was an American planter, politician, railroad president, slave owner and military officer from Charleston, South Carolina. He served in the United States Army and then as a bri ...

, it guarded railway lines and recuperated from a harsh Virginia winter to which Georgians were unaccustomed. The cavalry was stationed at Hardeeville. Some of the officers went home to recruit replacements for their losses. Phillips, authorized to expand his unit, added three infantry and two cavalry companies by the end of May 1862. In July, the Legion infantry boarded a train and headed north to join the

Army of Northern Virginia The Army of Northern Virginia was a field army of the Confederate States Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed agains ...

as part of Cobb's Brigade. The cavalry followed later, and was assigned to a different brigade. They would remain separated for the remainder of the war (a common fate for Confederate legions), a situation made official by Special Order 104. The cavalry, under Major General J.E.B. Stuart, and the infantry, along with the rest of Cobb's Brigade, both participated 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, Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Major general ( ...

in December. Phillips resigned in 1863. The Legion fought in the Gettysburg Campaign and was mentioned in Brigadier General

Wade Hampton Wade Hampton may refer to the following people: People *Wade Hampton I (1752–1835), American soldier in Revolutionary War and War of 1812 and U.S. congressman * Wade Hampton II (1791–1858), American plantation owner and soldier in War of 1812 * ...

's report to the Assistant Adjutant-General, dated August 13, 1863, as having helped repulse a July 2 Union attack between Hunterstown and

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Gettysburg (; ) is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the borough had a population of 7,106 people. Gettysburg was the site of ...

. The cavalry fought in the

Battle of Trevilian Station The Battle of Trevilian Station (also called Trevilians) was fought on June 11–12, 1864, in Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign against Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Union cavalry under Maj ...

in June 1864, and the Carolinas Campaign in January 1865, while the infantry joined McLaws' Division for the rest of the war.

References

{{reflist Legions of the American Civil War Units and formations of the Confederate States Army from Georgia (U.S. state) 1861 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)

Background and formation

Civil War

See also

References