Library of Congress A Record of events in Norfolk County, Virginia form April 19th, 1861, to May 10th, 1862, with a history of the soldirs and sailors of Norfolk County, Norfolk City and Portsmouth, who served in the Confederate States army or navy. A RECORD OF EVENTS IN NORFOLK COUNTY, VIRGINIA, FROM APRIL 19th, 1861, TO MAY 10th, 1862, WITH A HISTORY OF THE SOLDIERS AND SAILORS OF NORFOLK COUNTY, NORFOLK CITY AND PORTSMOUTH WHO SERVED IN THE CONFEDERATE STATES ARMY OR NAVY. BY JOHN W. H. PORTER, A COMRADE OF STONEWALL CAMP, CONFEDERATE VETERANS, OF PORTSMOUTH, VA. LC PORTSMOUTH, VA.: W. A. FISKE, PRINTER AND BOOKBINDER, 1892. 40398 F232 .NS?S LC A? 30/12 TO LIEUTENANT-COLONEL WM. H. STEWART, FORMERLY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, BUT NOW A CITIZEN OF PORTSMOUTH, WHO SERVED FAITHFULLY THROUGH THE WAR FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE END, AS LIEUTENANT, CAPTAIN, MAJOR AND LIEUTENANT-COLONEL, AND TO WHOSE ASSISTANCE IS DUE THE A Record of events in Norfolk County, Virginia form April 19th, 1861, to May 10th, 1862, with a history of the soldirs and sailors of Norfolk County, Norfolk City and Portsmouth, who served in the Confederate States army or navy. http://www.loc.gov/resource/ lhbcb.08753 Library of Congress COLLECTION OF MANY INTERESTING FACTS CONTAINED IN THIS VOLUME; TO STONEWALL CAMP, CONFEDERATE VETERANS, OF PORTSMOUTH, AT WHOSE SUGGESTION THIS WORK WAS BEGUN; TO PICKETT-BUCHANAN CAMP, OF NORFOLK, WHICH IS PERFORMING A GOOD TASK IN RELIEVING THE NECESSITIES OF MANY OLD COMRADES IN THE ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, AND TO THE THIRTY-FOUR HUNDRED MEN OF NORFOLK COUNTY, NORFOLK CITY AND PORTSMOUTH, WHO BID ADIEU TO THEIR HOMES AND KINDRED ON THE 10TH OF MAY, 1862, AND MARCHED FORTH UNDER THE RANNERS THE SOUTH, THIS BOOK IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY The Author. PREFACE. Stonewall Camp, Confederate Veterans, of Portsmouth, being desirous of preserving the names of the Confederate soldiers and sailors of this county, appointed various historical committees; but slow progress was made, and each succeeding year rendered the task more difficult of accomplishment, Having been an eye-witness of some of the scenes herein related, and having become possessed of many authentic records and personal reminiscences, I have, by request, undertaken the work. I have collected the names of more than thirty-three hundred men who marched under the Southern flag, from their homes in Norfolk county on that memorable 10th of May, 1862, and have followed them through the smoke of battle, in the hospitals, and sometimes through prison walls, recording when and where they were wounded, or when and where they died. In a work of this character, the first which ever sought to tell the history of the private soldier in the ranks as well as the doings of the officer in command, and which must depend largely upon recollection, much of necessity, will be left out which should he made to appear; for memory, after a lapse of more than a quarter of a century, will sometimes fail to recall events just as they happened, and comrades who were associated with us then have passed out of mind, but much has been rescued from oblivion. The mistakes are more those of omission than of commission. I have not succeeded in getting the names of the Portsmouth men in the Navy Yard in Richmond who, like the Jews at the rebuilding of King A Record of events in Norfolk County, Virginia form April 19th, 1861, to May 10th, 1862, with a history of the soldirs and sailors of Norfolk County, Norfolk City and Portsmouth, who served in the Confederate States army or navy. http://www.loc.gov/resource/ lhbcb.08753 Library of Congress Solomon's Temple, worked with their tools while their swords were by their sides ready to be taken up at a moment's notice. Those men were in the trenches around Richmond almost as much as they were employed in their workshops, and their names should appear in this book, but nearly all of the Confederate Navy Department records appear to have been destroyed. Most of the men were advanced in years and have “passed beyond the river.” I have ascertained and published the names of 1,018 men from Norfolk county, of whom 280 were killed or died during the war, 1,119 who enlisted in Norfolk city companies, of whom 176 were killed or died, and 1,242 from Portsmouth, of whom 199 were killed or died, making a total of 3,379 men, of whom 655 gave up their lives for the cause in which they enlisted, and hundreds of others were disabled from wounds. A number of Norfolk county men were in the Princess Anne Cavalry and in Company F, 3d Virginia Regiment, which was recruited principally in Nansemond county, and these will more than offset the Nansemond men in Company I, 9th Virginia Infantry. Tracing up these facts has required months of patient research and inquiry. If I have not given each man as extended a record as he deserves I hope he will consider the number of names in the book and the limitless bounds it would occupy if not condensed. J. W. H. P. CONTENTS. Chapter. Page. I. The first year of the war in Portsmouth, 9 II. The Portsmouth Light Artillery. 38 III. The Dismal Swamp Rangers, Co. A, 3d Va., 47 IV. The Virginia Riflemen, Co. B. 3d Va., 52 A Record of events in Norfolk County, Virginia form April 19th, 1861, to May 10th, 1862, with a history of the soldirs and sailors of Norfolk County, Norfolk City and Portsmouth, who served in the Confederate States army or navy. http://www.loc.gov/resource/ lhbcb.08753 Library of Congress V. The National Grays, Co. H, 3d Va., 57 VI. The Third Virginia Regiment, 63 VII. Capt. Jno. H. Myers' Company, Co. E, 6th Va., 70 VIII. The Virginia Artillery, Co. D, 9th Va., 73 IX. Th e Portsmouth Rifles, Co. G, 9th Va., 78 X. The Craney Island Artillery, Co. I, 9th Va., 86 XI. The Old Dominion Guard, Co. K, 9th Va., 93 XII. The Ninth Virginia Regiment, 101 XIII. The Virginia Defenders, Co. C, 16th Va., 126 XIV. The St. Bride's Artillery, Co. I, 38th Va., 132 XV. The Norfolk County Rifle Patriots, Co. F, 41st Va., 136 XVI. The Jackson Grays, Co. A, 61st V., 141 XVII. The Wilson Guard, Co. B, 61st Va., 147 XVIII. The Blanchard Grays. Co. C, 61st Va., 151 XIX. The Jackson Light Infantry, Co. D, 61st Va., 154 XX. The Border Rifles, Co. E, 61st Va., 157 XXI. The Virginia Rangers, Co. H, 61st Va., 161 A Record of events in Norfolk County, Virginia form April 19th, 1861, to May 10th, 1862, with a history of the soldirs and sailors of Norfolk County, Norfolk City and Portsmouth, who served in the Confederate States army or navy. http://www.loc.gov/resource/ lhbcb.08753 Library of Congress XXII. The Bilisoly Blues, Co. I, 61st Va., 104 XXIII. Company K, 61st Va., Co. K. 61st Va., 169 XXIV. The Sixty-First Virginia Regiment, 173 XXV. In Outside Commands, 200 XXVI. The St. Bride's Cavalry, Co. F, 15th Va. Cavalry, 206 XXVII. Field and Staff, 210 XXVIII. The Wise Light Dragoons, 220 XXIV. In the Navy—Portsmouth, 221 XXX. Operations Around Norfolk, 1861–2, 228 XXXI. Norfolk Light Artillery Blues, 247 XXXII. Norfolk Light Artillery, (Huger's Battery), 255 XXXIII. Company A, 6th Virginia Regiment, 259 XXXIV. Woodis Riflemen, Co. C, 6th Va., 262 XXXV. The Norfolk Light Infantry, Co. D, 6th Va., 266 XXXVI. Company F, CO. G, 6th Va., 269 XXXVII. The Independent Crays, Co. H, 6th Va., 276 XXXVIII. The Sixth Virginia Regiment, 279 A Record of events in Norfolk County, Virginia form April 19th, 1861, to May 10th, 1862, with a history of the soldirs and sailors of Norfolk County, Norfolk City and Portsmouth, who served in the Confederate States army or navy. http://www.loc.gov/resource/ lhbcb.08753 Library of Congress XXXIX. The Norfolk Juniors, Co. H, 12th Va., 288 XL. The Atlantic Artillery, 294 XLI. The United Artillery, 296 XLII. Young's Harbor Guard, 301 XLIII. The Signal Corps, 304 XLIV. Field and Staff, 306 XLV. In the Navy—Norfolk, 313 XLVI. In Other Commands, 324 XLVII. The First Iron-clad, the Virginia, 327 XLVIII. The Battle in Hampton Roads, 358 ERRATA. Page 42, line 20, for July 14th read July 1st. “ 55, “ 5, for 1884–5 read 1864–5. “ 55, “ 49, for Five Forks read Appomattox. “ 74, “ 37, for June, 1862, read June, 1863. “ 83, “ 1, for Barton read Burton. “ 127, “ 29, for Company G read Company C. A Record of events in Norfolk County, Virginia form April 19th, 1861, to May 10th, 1862, with a history of the soldirs and sailors of Norfolk County, Norfolk City and Portsmouth, who served in the Confederate States army or navy. http://www.loc.gov/resource/ lhbcb.08753 Library of Congress “ 129, “ 47, for September 30th read September 14th. “ 139, head line, for 61st Virginia read 41st. “ 175, line 38, for 1892 read 1862. “ 190, “ 24, for Maj. J. T. Woodhouse, read Lieut. Col. R. O. Whitehead. “ 207, “ 47, for Israel Eason read Isaac. “ 249, “ 12, for Petersburg read Fredericksburg. “ 289, “ 46, for May 19th–21st, '62, read '61. “ 348, “ 8, for 1861 read 1862. In Thos. Scott's Advertisement add Undertaking. 9 CHAPTER I. THE FIRST YEAR OF THE WAR IN PORTSMOUTH. Thirty-one years have gone by since the beginning of the struggle between the States which, raging for four years, reached nearly every portion of the South, from the Potomac to the Rio Grande, and left in its devastating track blazing homes and wasted fields.