Virginia 25th Infantry Regiment
HISTORICAL NOTES:
The unit participated in Lee's Cheat Mountain Campaign and Jackson's Valley Campaign. In the spring of 1862 the 9th Battalion, Virginia Infantry, four companies under the command of Lt. Colonel George W. Hansbrough that had served in the Army of the Northwest and fought at Greenbrier River and Camp Allegheny were merged into the 25th Virginia. After the July 11, 1861 battle of Rich Mountain, the regiment was severely depleted due to Col. Pegram's surrender of Camp Garnett. Members of 1st Co. A (Upshur Grays) and 1st Co. B (Rockbridge Guards) were dispatched to Hart's Farm under command of Capt. Julius A. DeLagnel to ward off an expected Federal assault. Men of the 20th VA and 25th VA, along with a lone cannon took position in the stable yard of the Hart farm and awaited the Federal assault. As the Federals appeared on the hillside, the long-awaited battle that the boys of Virginia had anticipated commenced. The small (310 men) force of Confederates held back the initial attacks, but overwhelming numbers, along with a final charge of the 19th Ohio forced the surviving members of the Confederate outpost to flee. The following morning, being cut off and surrounded, Col. Pegram surrendered the balance of his command at Camp Garnett, including the majority of the 25th VA. The 25th lost 5 killed, 11 wounded, and 2 captured at Hart's farm. Included in the dead were Upshur Gray privates Henry Clay Jackson and Oscar Sherwood, whose names can be seen engraved in the rock that they defended to this day.
After Jackson's campaign finished, the regiment was assigned to General Early's, J.R. Jones', and W.Terry's Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia. It took an active part in the campaigns of the army from the Seven Days' Battles to Cold Harbor, then fought with Early in the Shenandoah Valley and in various conflicts around Appomattox.
This regiment reported 18 casualties at Camp Alleghany, 72 at McDowell, and 29 at Cross Keys and Port Republic. It lost 1 killed and 24 wounded at Cedar Mountain, had 3 killed and 20 wounded at Sharpsburg, and reported 1 killed and 13 wounded at Fredericksburg. Of the 280 engaged at Gettysburg, twenty-five percent were disabled. There were 15 members (1 officer, 14 enlisted) of the 25th at Appomattox on April 9, 1865.
FIELD OFFICERS:
ASSIGNMENTS:
BATTLES:
Battle of Cheat Mountain
Jackson's Valley Campaign
Seven Days' Battles
Second Battle of Manassas
Battle of Antietam
Battle of Fredericksburg
Siege of Suffolk
Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Cold Harbor
Valley Campaigns of 1864
Appomattox Campaign
ROSTERS:
Company A (Upshur Grays) - Upshur County
Company B (Rockbridge Guards) - Rockbridge County
Company C (Augusta Lee Rifles) - Augusta County
Company D (Highland Rangers) - Highland County
Company E (Pendleton Rifles) - Pendleton County
Company E (2nd) (Fighting Company E)
Company F (Franklin Guards) - Pendleton County
Company G ( Bath Grays) - Bath County
Company H (Hardy Blues) - Hardy County
Company I (Mount Crawford Cavalry) (formerly Valley Rifles) - Rockingham County
Company K (South Branch Riflemen) Hardy County and Pendleton County
When the regiment was reorganized in 1862 to bring it back to full strength the following companies were added from the 9th Battalion Virginia Infantry.
Company A, Letcher Guards, Capt. John A. Robinson
Company C, Braxton Blues, Capt. Patrick B. Duffy
Company E, Fighting Company E (composed from several parts of depleted companies)
Company G, Mollohan's Company, Capt. William H. Mollohan
Company I, Pocahontas Rescuers, Capt. Daniel A. Stofer
Company K, Pendleton Minute Men, Capt. D.C. Anderson (company transferred from the 31st Virginia Infantry to the 25th)
Bibliography for Research: