Miscellaneous Disbanded Virginia Light Artillery

MISCELLANEOUS DISBANDED VIRGINIA LIGHT ARTILLERY
by Robert H. Moore, II

(Published by H.E. Howard, Inc., 1997)
141 pages including maps, photographs, rosters, statistics and bibliography
ISBN 1-56190-105-9

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

About the Book:

From the outset of the American Civil War a number of artillery batteries had been organized that either were poorly equipped from the beginning of simply could not maintain their numbers, horses, and equipment due to a variety of reasons. By the late summer and early fall of 1862, the Army of Northern Virginia's desperate need for a formal reorganization of artillery was finally properly addressed. In a report by General William Nelson Pendleton dated October 2, 1862, the army's chief of artillery, then near Winchester, Virginia, presented the numerous problems in the service of the "long arm."

In the overall evaluation of the batteries, the "reduced below the service standard" was the common reason for disbanding several of the batteries. Pendleton's suggestion led to Army of Northern Virginia Special Order Number 209, dated October 4, 1862. Within the orders were given the directions by which batteries were to be disbanded and consolidated. Though batteries from a few Confederate States were involved, Virginia batteries were the most affected.

While most of the batteries had served gallantly or had at least one fleeting moment of service under fire, several batteries fell under the disbanding orders. Out of the number of Virginia batteries disbanded, this volume covers eleven of those batteries including

Smith's/Fraser's Washington/Hampton Battery,

Schaeffer's Beauregard Rifles Artillery,

Sands'/Ritter's Henrico Artillery,

Garrett's/Coke's Lee/Williamsburg Artillery,

Cosnahan's/Jones' Peninsula Artillery,

Alburtis'/J.S. Brown's "Wise Artillery,"

Fleet's Middlesex Artillery,

Nelson's Hanover Artillery,

T.J. Page Jr.'s Magruder Artillery,

Weisiger's Manchester Artillery,

and Wimbish's/Clarke's Long Island Light Artillery.

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