AP Hill's First Confederate Army Command
13th Virginia Infantry’s Beginning Organization and First Action
Nov 10, 2008
Ambrose Powell (AP) Hill was commissioned a colonel in the confederate Army in May 1861 after resigning from the U.S. Army in March 1861. Upon commissioning he was assigned the 13th Virginia Infantry Regiment at Harpers Ferry, VA. His grey uniform was accented with a red shirt; this red shirt would make him notable in the coming Civil War years.
The 13th Virginia Infantry Regiment was organized from thousands of Virginia volunteers who made their way to Harpers Ferry from Northern Virginia counties. This was a result of the Virginia State Convention call for succession from the Union and the Virginia’s governor call for volunteers to counter Abraham Lincoln’s call for 75,000 volunteers to squash the southern rebellion.
Confederate Army: 13th Virginia Infantry Regiment
Virginia preferred to organize its regiments using men from surrounding counties to build support and trust in officers and men. So companies in the 13th Virginia Infantry were organized from neighboring Northern Virginia counties. Companies were organized as follows (U.S. Army War Department, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 1880-1901):
- Companies “A” (Montpelier Guards), “C” (Gordonsville Grays), and “F” (Barboursville Guards) were from Orange County men.
- Companies “B” (Culpepper Minute Men) and “E” (Culpepper Riflemen) were formed from Culpepper County men.
- Companies “I” (Frontier Rifles) and “K” (Hampshire Guards) were formed from Hampshire County (now West Virginia) men.
- Company “H” (Boomerangs or Fort Loudoun Guards) was formed from Frederick County men.
- Company “D” (Louisa Blues) was formed from Louisa County men.
- Company “G” (Lanier Guard) was formed from Maryland volunteers; however this company was mustered out because Maryland men were not subject to Virginia State Rules.
Companies in the 13th Virginia Infantry were primarily centered on individual militia units from each of these counties. This is an advantage Confederate Armies had over Union Armies in the beginning of the war. These well organized regiments were comprised of militia units which contained many men who already knew each other and their immediate officers.
The volunteers who comprised the 13th Virginia Infantry Regiment held a variety of pre-war occupations. Of the initial 550 volunteers: 268 were farmers, 72 were clerks, 70 were laborers, 67 were carpenters, and 60 were students. Other pre-ware occupations included dentist, physicians, constables, sheriffs, bakers, fisherman, sailors, bookkeepers, bartenders, blacksmiths, and lawyers. Over 1500 men would eventually serve in the regiment throughout the war (13th Virginia Infantry, D. F. Riggs, 1988).
The 13th Virginia’s first battle flag was sewn by Colonel AP Hill’s wife. The battle flag was made from a rose colored silk dress donated Mrs. Hill. She donated her dress, because red cloth was scarce at the beginning of the war. The flag can be viewed in the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, VA (Museum of the Confederacy).
Civil War Battle: 13th Virginia's First Action
Although the men in the regiment would participate in many battles during the war and few of them would remain to surrender at Appomattox on April 9, 1865, the first action fought by the regiment was a route of Union forces at New Creek Depot, VA (now West Virginia) on June 18, 1861.
Colonel AP Hill held the remainder of the 13th Virginia Infantry along with the 10th Virginia Infantry Regiment in reserve at Romney, VA (now West Virginia). Companies “B” and “I” were combined with the 3rd Tennessee Infantry Regiment to attack approximately 250 union troops guarding the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Bridge over the Potomac River.
The confederate forces quickly forded the waist deep water surprising union troops during a 5 A.M. assault. The union troops offered little resistance and fled the battlefield quickly. The confederate forces captured two cannon and the Union flag. They burned the bridge and rejoined Colonel AP Hill in Romney (Confederate Military History). The regiment only suffered one wounded soldier during the battle.
AP Hill: Civil War Career
The red shirted Colonel AP Hill would eventually become a successful Brigade Commander, successful Division Commander, and a controversial Corp Commander in the Confederate Army under General R E Lee. He would eventually be shot and killed by Union troops outside Richmond, VA on April 2, 1865.
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