The original "Sumter Flying Artillery" was one battery, consisting of approximately 200 men serving six cannons, organized by Captain Allen Cutts in Americus. The unit was mustered into service at Richmond, Virginia on July 15, 1861. From Richmond, it was sent to Manassas, Virginia, arriving on July 22, 1861, one day after the Battle of First Bull Run. It remained encamped near the Stone Bridge over Bull Run Creek until December 1861. Assigned to a force commanded by General J.E.B. Stuart, the Cutts' Sumter battery received its baptism under fire at the Battle of Dranesville, fought on December 20, 1861. This fight was a rather small battle by later Civil War standards, but the battery suffered five killed and thirteen wounded, more than in any other battle they fought in.

Following the action at Dranesville, the Sumter battery was assigned to the Reserve Artillery and went into winter quarters in the area of Culpeper, Virginia. The unit moved to Warrenton, Virginia on March 8, 1862, ordered to Richmond on April 12, and then to the Yorktown defenses on April 16. The battery was withdrawn from Yorktown on May 2, moving to the outskirts of Richmond over the next few days.

In the year following the 1861 departure of Cutts' battery, three other artillery batteries were raised in Sumter and a few surrounding counties. On May 23, 1862, these three new units, along with a fourth unit (converted infantry from the 9th Georgia Infantry), joined with the original Sumter battery to form the 11th Georgia Artillery Battalion. Captain Cutts was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and given command of the new organization, which was generally referred to as the "Sumter Battalion" or "Cutts' Battalion". The original Sumter battery (Company A) was now commanded by Captain Hugh Madison Ross (promoted from Lieutenant), and was referred to as "Battery A" Sumter Battalion or simply as "Ross' Battery". The other batteries in the Sumter Battalion were commanded by Captain J.V. Price (Battery B), Captain C.P. Crawford (Battery C), Captain James Blackshears (Battery D), and Captain John Lane (Battery E -- originally Company A of the 9th Georgia Infantry).

On June 1, 1862, General Robert E. Lee took command of the Confederate force in front of Richmond and named it the Army of Northern Virginia. During the Seven Days battles fought near Richmond, the Sumter Battalion remained with the Reserve Artillery and was not involved in any major combat. On July 19, 1862, Crawford's Battery C was disbanded for lack of equipment, and combined primarily with Price's Battery B. Left with an excess of officers, Price resigned and George Patterson was elected as the new Captain of Battery B. The Sumter Battalion now consisted of four batteries of artillery commanded by Captains Ross, Patterson, Blackshears and Lane.

Following Union General George McClellan's retreat from the outskirts of Richmond to Harrison's Landing on the James River, the batteries of Ross and Lane of the Sumter Battalion were ordered from Richmond to Petersburg. Along with 21 guns from other artillery units, they then moved to the south side of the James opposite McClellan's camp in order to conduct a bombardment. Beginning at 12:30 am. on July 31, 1862, from positions near Coggins Point, the guns of Ross and Lane each fired 20-30 rounds into the Union camps before limbering and returning to Petersburg. The bombardment caused some panic in the Union camps, but had no serious effect.

When the fighting shifted away from Richmond and back into Northern Virginia, the Sumter Battalion remained with the Reserve Artillery. Held back to help defend against a rumored Union movement toward Richmond and then moving in the rear of the army, it missed the Battles at Cedar Mountain and Second Bull Run. When General Lee decided to invade Maryland, however, the Sumter Battalion was transferred from the Reserve Artillery to the division commanded by Major General D.H. Hill. The unit accompanied Lee's army into Maryland, seeing heavy action at the Battle of South Mountain (Turner's Gap) and the Battle of Antietam. At Antietam, the Sumter Battalion was positioned on Hauser's Ridge and provided artillery support to the Confederate troops fighting near the Dunker Church and defending the "Bloody Lane" in the center of the line.

When Lee retreated into Virginia, the Sumter Battalion was reassigned to the Reserve Artillery, and consolidated into three batteries, with Blackshears Battery D being disbanded and the men being absorbed by the remaining batteries. Cutts' Battalion from this point until the end of the war would consist of three batteries -- Battery A commanded by Captain Ross, Battery B commanded by Captain Patterson, and Battery C commanded by Captain Lane. During October, the unit camped near Ninevah, Virginia. It moved from near Ninevah to Culpeper during November 1-4, remaining there until November 19 when it was ordered to Fredericksburg.

Captain Lane's Battery was positioned on the far left of the Confederate line on Taylor's Hill, while Ross was originally sent to a fortification south of Fredericksburg on the Rappahannock River (Fort Hood) to guard against Union gunboats coming up the river. Patterson's Battery was in support of General Hood's division, and were later joined by Ross. The battalion fought in the Battle of Fredericksburg on December 13, 1862 with Lane still on Taylor's Hill, Patterson and 2 guns of Ross in a redoubt behind the juncture of Law's and Benning's Brigades of Hood's Division, and Ross' four other guns sharing the large redoubt in support of Longstreet's Corps..

After the Battle of Fredericksburg, Ross and Patterson's batteries were moved to winter encampment at Chesterfield Depot near the North Anna River, while Lane remained at Fredericksburg. In February 1863, Lane's Battery was assigned to accompany General Longstreet's expedition into southeastern Virginia and North Carolina, participating in the fight at Suffolk During this time, Captain John Lane was promoted to Major and named second-in-command of the Sumter Battalion. Captain John Wingfield assumed Lane's former position as commander of Battery C.

On April 29, Ross and Patterson moved their batteries back to Fredericksburg Ross was dispatched to Port Royal, Virginia to again guard against Union gunboats. When General Lee moved most of his army west to fight Union General Joseph Hooker's main force at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Patterson's Battery remained on the heights above Fredericksburg to cover his rear and was engaged in fighting there on May 2-3. Ross rejoined Patterson on the night of May 3, and together the two batteries were involved in the Battle of Salem Church on May 4.

On May 24, Wingfield's Battery arrived in camp near Fredericksburg, and for the first time in over three months, the three batteries of the Sumter Battalion were reunited. On June 9, 1863, Lee's army was reorganized. The Reserve Artillery was abolished, and the Sumter Battalion was assigned to Lieutenant General A.P. Hill's new Third Corps. Lee then launched his second invasion of the north, and the battalion embarked on June 14 under the command of Major Lane. Lane was acting commander in the absence of Colonel Cutts, who had returned to Georgia due to illness.

The Sumter Battalion crossed the Potomac River at Shepardstown and into Maryland on June 16, 1863, and arrived on the field at Gettysburg late on the 1st day of the battle -- July 1. At the Battle of Gettysburg, the Sumter Battalion was held in reserve on July 1. On July 2nd, Patterson's Battery was dispatched to support General Wilcox's Division in the fighting near the Peach Orchard, while Ross' and Wingfield's batteries provided support to Posey's Brigade and Wright's Brigade in their fighting at the Bliss Farm. On July 3rd, all three batteries participated in the artillery bombardment that preceded Pickett's charge, each gun firing 100 rounds. After this assault failed, the battalion remained in position throughout July 4th, and withdrew from the battlefield at nightfall for the retreat back to Virginia.

The battalion occupied defensive positions near Williamsport and Falling Waters, Maryland in order to cover Lee's retreat across the Potomac River. Soon after it was back in Virginia, the unit went into winter encampment on pickett duty near Rapidan Station in Orange County.

During 1864, the battalion was engaged in many of the Army of Northern Virginia's major battles. It was deployed in support of McGowan's and Lane's Brigades of Anderson's Division at the Battle of the Wilderness on May 5, but fired few rounds. On May 8, it was moved to Spotsylvania Court House and anchored the Confederate right flank. The battalion exchanged fire with Union forces on May 10, and again on May 12 during the fighting at the Mule Shoe. On May 18, it supported Wilcox's Division in driving off a Union attack on their lines.

As Union General Grant forced Lee back upon Richmond, the battalion served as part of the rear-guard covering the retreat from Spotsylvania to the North Anna River. On May 22, during this assignment, Ross' Battery was cut-off and trapped behind Union lines. After a two day circuitous ride west and then south, skirmishing with the enemy along the way, the battery managed to rejoin the Confederate army. Wingfield and Patterson were involved in the battle at North Anna River on May 23 and Ross joined in the fighting on May 24. On May 27, the battalion pulled out of its lines on the North Anna and on May 30 joined the Confederate's defensive positions near Hanovertown between the Pamunkey River and Totopotomoy Creek. There they helped drive off attacks on May 30 and 31.

The Sumter Battalion remained in this position until the morning of June 2, and then moved south to a position near Gaines' Farm in support of Breckinridge's Division and Anderson's Corps. On June 3, the battalion was hotly engaged in repulsing the Union attack at Cold Harbor. The next day, Wingfield's Battery was moved to a position on Turkey Hill in support of Mahone's Division. Rounds were exchanged with the enemy sporadically until June 12, when Grant crossed his main force south of the James River to srtike at Petersburg.

The Sumter Battalion arrived in the Petersburg defenses on June 18 and originally occupied the southeastern corner of the Confederate lines, where the Jerusalem Plank Road passed through the trenches. This section of the line included Rives Salient and Fort Mahone (also known as "Fort Damnation"). The next day, however, about half of Lane's guns (three from Ross, three from Patterson, and four from Wingfield) were ordered to the heights on the north side of the Appomattox River. These guns were placed on a commanding bluff near the Archer House, and were joined by additional artillery from the battalions of Richardson, McIntosh and Poague. This mile long deployment east of the Archer House was commanded by Colonel Cutts, who had returned to the army. During the next two months, the Sumter Battalion guns in this section of the line dueled almost every day with Union guns.

In mid-August, most of the Sumter Battalion guns returned to the lines south of Petersburg. On August 25, some of Hill's Third Corps pulled out of the line to attack Union forces at Ream's Station and won a significant victory that included the capture of nine Union cannon. Ross's Battery was among this Confederate force, and five of the captured cannon were given to the Sumter Battalion.

On September 29, Wingfield's Battery was repositioned to man Batteries 38 and 39 near the Tannehill House, which was farther west along the defense line south of Petersburg. Ross's Battery continued to occupy Fort Mahone and Patterson's Battery manned Battery 27 astride the Jerusalem Plank Road. The battlion maintained these positions from October 1864 until the Petersburg line was evacuated on the night of April 2, 1865, exchanging fire with Union forces on more or less a daily basis. The only other significant deployment was on October 30, 1864, when about 40 of the battalion artillery drivers were given muskets and assigned to help defend Fort Gregg.

On the morning of April 2, 1865, Union troops assaulted the Confederate lines near the Jeruslaem Plank Road, capturing Battery 27 and infiltrating Fort Mahone. Confederate counterattacks at Fort Mahone plugged the line there temporarily and most of Ross's Battery was able to escape (losing about 30 men captured), but only 35 men of Patterson's Battery escaped capture at Battery 27 and the unit effectively ceased to exist.

Farther to the west, Union attacks along the Confederate line forced Lee to evacuate Petersburg on the night of April 2nd. Wingfield's Battery, along with Major Lane, was able to fall back and join the main Confederate force at Amelia Court House. Meanwhile, the stubborn defense of Fort Gregg by Confederate forces allowed enough time for Lee to withdraw from his Petersburg and Richmond defense lines. After beating back three attacks, the defenders at Fort Gregg were finally overpowered and the fort was captured. Of its 250 defenders, only 30 were left to surrender. The rest were dead or wounded.

The remainder of Ross's Battery joined Wingfield's Battery at Amelia Court House. There, Lee assigned his excess artillery, including both Ross and Wingfield, to a separate column commanded by Brigadier General Reubin Walker. The remnants of Patterson's command attached itself to Company K of the 4th Georgia Infantry, the "Sumter Light Guards" infantry unit that had also been raised in Americus at the outbreak of the war.

Patterson's men moved west with the main column of Lee's army, and fought with the 4th Georgia Infantry at Sayler's Creek on April 6. Most of what was left of Patterson's unit was captured here, along with their battle flag. A few managed to escape and surrendered with Lee at Appomattox on April 9, 1865.

Meanwhile, Walker's column was attacked on April 8 near Appomattox Station and some of Ross's and Wingfield's men were captured here, along with Ross's battle flag -- the original flag of the "Sumter Flying Artillery." Those that escaped capture at Appomattox Station retreated to Red Oak Baptist Church near Oakville, about six miles north. There, on the morning of April 9, General Walker received orders from General Lee to try and rejoin him at Appomattox Court House to help him fight his way out. Otherwise, he instructed Walker to "adopt the means which in your judgement, shall seem proper under the circumstances." Lee suggested that those men who wanted to continue to fight could report to Lincolnton, in Lincoln County, North Carolina to await further orders.

Walker and an aide decided to ride to Lee's headquarters to see what could be done. They either could not get through or heard of Lee's impending surrender, and returned to Red Oak Church and ordered the men to disband. Along with other artillery units, the men of the Sumter Battalion proceeded to spike the cannons, hack off the wheels, cut down the wooden carriages, and bury the guns. A member of another artillery unit described it this way:

"Moving into a field, intersected with gullies and ravines, the guns were spiked, dismounted and buried, and the carriages cut to pieces....Limber chests, trails and wheels were chopped and split into small kindling wood, with a grudging feeling that the enemy might find and use it to warm themselves and cook their rations. The harness was cut to pieces and the horses turned loose."

Rather than surrender, the men formed into small groups and fled south. Seventeen members of the Sumter Battalion were captured at Newton Station, North Carolina on April 19. The remainder apparently made it back home, with some later being paroled at Tallahassee, Florida and others at Albany, Georgia.

On Friday, July 7, 1893, the Americus Times-Recorder reported:

CUTTS' BATTERY

WENT TO VIRGINIA THIRTY-TWO YEARS AGO YESTERDAY

The Old Veterans Talked It Over at McGarrah's with the Commander, the Adjutant and Others -- A Confederate Camp Likely to Be Formed

The usual crowd was chatting pleasantly in the cool hallway at Council & McGarrah's warehouse yesterday morning when an old soldier remarked that the day was the 32nd anniversary of the departure from Americus of the first company of Cutts' famous flying artillery.

Thirty-two years is a long time, but several of those present yesterday recalled incidents of that day in 1861 when gallant Company A left for Virginia.

The company, 150 strong and with six pieces of artillery, joined the Virginia army just before the battle of Manassas. Later on accessions were made to the ranks andin May, 1862, the famous battalion was formed which bore the name of its gallant commander. Every company composing it, with one exception, was from Sumter and adjoining counties, and harder fighters were not to be found in the Confederate army.

At the forming of the battalion thre were about 400 men rank and file, while the battery consisted of thirty guns, nearly all of which were captured from the enemy. Cutts' artillery was nearly in every battle fought by the Virginia army, including Seven Pines, the seven days fight around Richmond, Manassas, Malvern Hill, Gettysburg and other sanguinary conflicts.

In all of these the men fought with courage unsurpassed by that of any other army of ancient or modern times, and only at Appomattox did they ever surrender. The scene on that day, however, no member of the gallant command will ever forget.

The boys were strongly attached to the big guns which they had pulled from the mountains to the sea and back again for four long years, and were determined never to let them fall into the hands of the enemy. Dragging the thirty big cannon to a secluded spot they hacked the wheels to pieces and buried the guns in trenches dug for the purpose.

The scenes that accompanied this work of destruction were affecting in the extreme. As the wheels of the guns fell before the blow of the axe the old soldiers cried like children. Men who had gone undaunted into a hundred bloody battles could not endure the sight, and with tears streaming from their eyes turned sorrowfully away.

Many members of this old command are still here, and among the crowd that assembled at the warehouse yesterday was Colonel Cutts, who commanded the battalion; Leonard Parker, T.S. Greene, James McGarrah, Tom Graham and Capt. M.B. Council. Cutts' famous guns are buried today in Virginia soil and there they will remain for all time.

Well, not exactly. On the evening of April 9, a squadron of the 11th Pennsylvania Cavalry was dispatched to Red Oak Church. Upon arrival they took the handful of men still there as prisoners, and discovered a large amount of ammunition, many wagons, caissons, forges and sets of harnesses that had been destroyed by the Confederates. They also found 54 pieces of artillery, mostly buried or hidden. From April 10 through April 12, these Union cavalry proceeded to extricate and remove these cannon. The Sumter Battalion veterans never knew that the Union army found and recovered their guns, but that is probably fitting for the men who survived the war, most of whom never surrendered.