Graham's Petersburg, Jackson's Kanawha and Lurty's Roanoke Horse Artillery

GRAHAM'S PETERSBURG, JACKSON'S KANAWHA AND LURTY'S ROANOKE HORSE ARTILLERY
by Robert H. Moore, II

(Published by H.E. Howard, Inc., 1996)
140 pages including maps, photographs, rosters, statistics and bibliography
ISBN 1-56190-097-4

For pricing and availability contact:
H.E. Howard, Inc.
Rt. 2 Box 496H
Appomattox, Virginia 24522

About the Book:

The American Civil War brought about several units that went down in history as hard fighting and heroic. Among those at the top of the list were the batteries of the Stuart Horse Artillery.

The concept of the horse artillery battery had been judged since the Mexican War as obsolete and costly in its expense of “good horse flesh.” However, the idea still stirred famous cavaliers like Turner Ashby and J.E.B. Stuart to form such batteries for the support of their cavalry. By the middle of spring 1862, horse batteries had reemerged as a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. With all of the men mounted and accustomed to being constantly on the move with the cavalry, the batteries were always in the thick of the fight in the very midst of the enemy. To unlimber, fire, limber and move to unlimber in another position several times in one battle set the horse artillery apart from their counterparts who supported the infantry.

Captain Edward Graham’s Petersburg, Thomas E. Jackson’s Kanawha, and Warren S. Lurty’s Roanoke Artillery were unique in this unique long arm of the Confederate army. All seeing the bulk of their service in the last full two years of the war.

The Petersburg Artillery had been formed well before the war and was initially commanded by Captain Hugh Garland. By the time of the John Brown incident at Harpers Ferry, the battery under Captain James Nichols, had distinguished itself in military drill and professionalism and was immediately ordered to Charles Town, Virginia with other militia units to insure the security of the trial and hangings. Upon the opening of the war however, both the armament and quality of training were questioned. Initially sent to Norfolk, the Petersburg battery, under the command of Captain Edward Graham, was sent to eastern North Carolina and served to protect the Weldon Railroad line. While an important assignment, it was nothing in comparison to the service assignments of other Virginia batteries and proved tedious duty. By 1864, Graham’s battery had the distinction of being assigned to General James Dearing’s cavalry brigade and began to make up for missed opportunities. Perhaps best known for their arrival at Petersburg on June 9, 1864, the battery served with distinction at several other engagements including participation in the “Beefsteak Raid,” Ream’s Station, Burgess Mill and Five Forks.

Thomas E. Jackson’s battery was formed from the remnants of the men of Captain John P. Hale’s Kanawha Artillery. Having served at actions such as Scary Creek and Carnifex Ferry in 1861, the battery was captured at Ft. Donelson, Tennessee in 1862 having the rare distinction of serving in the west as a Virginia unit. However, the capture of the battery at Donelson also brought a close to the history of the battery for over a year. As many of the men returned from prisoner of war camps in the North, Captain Jackson, having held a captaincy in the battery before its demised, reformed the battery that would go on to serve in a number of heated engagements with a vengeance of Ft. Donelson still embroiled in some of the battery’s members. From Harrisonburg to Gettysburg and Droop Mountain in 1863, the battery returned the following year to engage in the battles of New Market, Cold Harbor, Lynchburg, Monacacy, Georgetown, D.C., Cumberland, Maryland, and Moorefield among numerous other battles in the 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign. Losses were especially horrible in men captured at Moorefield and Fisher’s Hill, leaving the battery with few members to continue service into 1865.

Warren S. Lurty’s battery was formed in late Fall, 1863 and served with William L. “Mudwall” Jackson’s command for most of the war. For these men the war would be particularly short experiencing the battles of Droop Mountain and several battle in the 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign, the battery was nearly annihilated by casualties and personnel captured in November 1864 at Ninevah, near Front Royal, Virginia.

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