19th Virginia Regiment, C. S. A.

History

The 19th Virginia Regiment, CSA, was a regiment of the Army of Northern Virginia. It was organized at Manassas Junction in May of 1861 and composed of men from Albemarle, Amherst, and Nelson counties. Originally formed from four local militia companies, the regiment was commanded by Colonel Philip St. George Cocke at first. Two of the original companies were formed from UVA students and Charlottesville residents.^[2] Over the course of the war, they were reassigned to several generals including Pickett, Longstreet, and Garnett.

The regiment first saw action at the Battle of First Manassas in July of 1861. In 1862, they were reassigned to Pickett’s Brigade where they participated in the Battles of Williamsburg, Gaines’ Mill, and Second Manassas. Following Second Manassas, they served under Garnett’s command at Antietam and Fredericksburg. In February of 1863, the regiment briefly joined Longstreet’s Suffolk Expedition.^[1] In July, they participated in the Battle of Gettysburg under Pickett again where they lost 45% of the 328 men they brought. In 1864, they were stationed in the greater Richmond area in defense of the capital and fought in the battles of North Anna, Petersburg, and Cold Harbor. The regiment became functionally obsolete when most were captured at Sayler’s Creek near Farmville, Virginia in April of 1865.^[3] The remaining 29 troops and 1 officer surrendered at Appomattox court house three days later on April 9 and and the unit was disbanded on the 15th.^[4]

Notable Members

R.T.W. Duke Sr.

R.T.W. Duke was among the founding members of the Albemarle Rifles, one of the original companies of the 19th, and went on to fight at First Manassas. He was among those captured at Sayler’s Creek at the end of the war. Following the war, he resumed practicing law as he had before. He served as congressman in the US House of Representatives from 1870 to 1873.^[5]  His most notable achievement in relation to 19th Virginia was founding the John Bowie Strange Camp for Confederate veterans.

References

1. “Battle Unit Details.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battle-units-detail.htm?battleUnitCode=CVA0019RI.
2. Brief Synopsis of the 19th Virginia Infantry Regiment, http://www.19thvirginiacoc.org/page2.html.
3. “History of the 19th Virginia Infantry Regiment in the American Civil War.” The Civil War in the East, 18 Mar. 2022, https://civilwarintheeast.com/confederate-regiments/virginia/19th-virginia-infantry-regiment/.
4. “Virginia: 19th Cavalry Regiment.” The 19th Virginia Cavalry Regiment, http://www.americancivilwar101.com/units/csa-va/va-cav-19-reg.html.
5. DEATH OF COL. R. T. W. DUKE, Staff Reports, Daily Progress Digitized Microfilm, Lindsay family, July 02, 1898, University of Virginia Library archival collection Daily Progress Digitized Microfilm. Print. July 02, 1898 page 1.