Active May 1861 – Spring 1865 Role Infantry | Allegiance Virginia | |
Country Confederate States of America Branch Confederate States Army Engagements American Civil War: First Battle of Bull Run-Battle of Kernstown I-Jackson's Valley Campaign-Battle of Malvern Hill-Second Battle of Bull Run-Battle of Antietam- Battle of Fredericksburg- Battle of Chancellorsville-Battle of Gettysburg - Battle of the Wilderness- Battle of Spotsylvania Court House- Battle of Cold Harbor-Siege of Petersburg- Battle of Monocacy | ||
The 4th Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought in the Stonewall Brigade, mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia.
The 4th Virginia was assembled at Winchester, Virginia, in July, 1861. Its companies were from the counties of Wythe, Montgomery, Pulaski, Smyth, Grayson, and Rockbridge. It became part of the Stonewall Brigade and served under Generals T.J. Jackson, R.B. Garnett, Winder, Paxton, J.A. Walker, and W. Terry.
The regiment fought at First Manassas, First Kernstown, and in Jackson's Valley Campaign. It then participated in many conflicts of the Army of Northern Virginia from the Seven Days' Battles to Cold Harbor, was with Early in the Shenandoah Valley, and saw action around Appomattox.
The unit reported 5 killed, 23 wounded, and 48 missing at First Kernstown, took 317 effectives to Port Republic, had 7 killed and 25 wounded at Malvern Hill, and had 19 killed and 78 wounded of the 180 at Second Manassas. It lost forty-eight percent of the 355 engaged at Chancellorsville and more than fifty percent of the 257 at Gettysburg. The regiment surrendered with 7 officers and 38 men of which only 17 were armed.
Its field officers were Colonels James T. Preston, Charles A. Ronald, and William Terry; Lieutenant Colonels Robert D. Gardner and Lewis T. Moore; and Majors Matthew D. Bennett, Joseph F. Kent, and Albert G. Pendleton.
At the First Battle of Bull Run, Jackson reportedly ordered the 4th Virginia, "Reserve your fire until they come within 50 yards! Then fire and give them the bayonet! And when you charge, yell like furies!" This is possibly the first use of the Rebel Yell.
When Jackson set up his headquarters in Winchester, the commander of the 4th Virginia, Lieutenant Colonel Lewis Tilghman Moore invited him to use his house. His great-granddaughter, the actress Mary Tyler Moore contributed significantly to its restoration as the Stonewall Jackson's Headquarters Museum