Virginia Artillery Units Enrolled in May 1861

Continuing our exploration of Virginia militia raised in the early months of the American Civil War, today we’re examining Artillery companies (batteries) enrolled in May 1861. According to the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Paymaster General’s Office tally of all Virginia volunteer companies prior to July 1, 1861, twenty-five artillery companies were enrolled in May.

Precisely determining which batteries entered Virginia’s provisional army in May 1861 is trickier than it first appears because of the way these companies were organized. Some artillery companies were raised as independent batteries, while others were attached to infantry regiments. Cannon were in short supply, forcing some batteries to serve as infantry, while other infantry companies later converted to artillery. Many batteries also carried multiple names or nicknames during the war, and some were disbanded after only a few months of service. Untangling their precise origins is a labyrinthine task.

The following is the data as it appears in Statement Showing the Number, by Companies, of the Virginia Volunteers who Entered Service Prior to July 1, 1861. The Paymaster General’s list only enumerates units enrolled with the Commonwealth of Virginia, not those directly enlisted in the Confederate Army. Days in which no artillery companies were enrolled (according to this document) have been omitted.

Date of Enrollment	No. of Artillery Companies	No. of Men (excluding officers)
1 May 1861	1	81
4 May 1861	1	65
7 May 1861	2	168
8 May 1861	1	99
10 May 1861	3	219
11 May 1861	1	80
13 May 1861	1	90
14 May 1861	3	240
15 May 1861	1	56
16 May 1861	1	57
18 May 1861	1	83
21 May 1861	2	136
24 May 1861	1	68
27 May 1861	2	134
30 May 1861	2	133
31 May 1861	2	126
	25	1,835

While I have been able to corroborate the Paymaster General’s Office tally of 25 artillery companies (batteries) enrolled in May using secondary sources, the reported enrollment dates often differ significantly, making it difficult, if not impossible, to determine which units the Paymaster General was referring to on any given date.

A few dates, however, do align. For example, the Paymaster General’s Office recorded three companies enrolling on May 10, and I likewise found three: the Thomas Artillery, the Brandon Artillery (later the Jamestown Heavy Artillery), and the 3rd Company of Richmond Howitzers. Their combined strength of 219 enlisted men, excluding officers, works out to an average of 73 men per battery. The report did not list officers by branch or company type. Instead, it combined the totals for artillery, infantry, and cavalry.

The following is a list of 25 individual Virginia artillery companies “formed” or “enrolled” in May 1861 according to secondary sources. Some of these include a “parent unit” if they eventually joined an infantry regiment or higher level artillery organization.

Unit	Date Enrolled	Commander	Parent Unit	County or City of Origin
Manchester Artillery	1 May 1861	Capt. William R. Weisiger	6th VA INFANTRY	Chesterfield
Bedford Light Artillery	8 May 1861	Capt. Tyler Calhoun Jordan	34 VA INFANTRY	Bedford, Lynchburg, Campbell
Gloucester Artillery	8 May 1861	Capt. Thomas B. Montague		Gloucester
Richmond Howitzers, 2nd	9 May 1861	Capt. John Thompson Brown	1st Reg. VA Artillery	Richmond
Thomas Artillery	10 May 1861	Capt. Philip Beverly Standard		Richmond
Brandon Artillery / Jamestown Hvy	10 May 1861	Capt. William Allen	1st Reg. VA Artillery	Prince George, Surry
Richmond Howitzers, 3rd	10 May 1861	Capt. Robert Conway Stanard	1st Reg. VA Artillery	Richmond
Hampden Artillery	11 May 1861	Capt. Lawrence S. Marye		Richmond
Washington / Hampton Artillery	13 May 1861	Capt. Charles L. Smith		Elizabeth City
Lee / Williamsburg Artillery	13 May 1861	Capt. William Robertson Garrett	32 VA IN; 1st Reg. VA Artillery	James City
Petersburg Cockade Battery	14 May 1861	Capt. Gilbert V. Rambaut	18th BN VA Heavy Artillery	Petersburg
Salem Flying Artillery	14 May 1861	Capt. Charles D. Griffin	9th VA INFANTRY	Roanoke
Craney Island Light Artillery	15 May 1861	Capt. John T. Kilby	9th VA INFANTRY	Norfolk
James City Artillery	16 May 1861	Capt. Alexander H. Hankins	32 VA IN; 1st Reg. VA Artillery; Chaffin’s Bluff	James City
Crimea Artillery	16 May 1861	Capt. Joseph L. White	5th VA INFANTRY Battalion	Dinwiddle
Peninsula Artillery	18 May 1861	Capt. Joseph B. Cosnahan	32 VA INFANTRY; 1st Reg. VA Artillery	York
Phillips’ Co. Artillery	18 May 1861	Capt. James Jasper Phillips	9th VA INFANTRY	Nansemond
Purcell Artillery	20 May 1861	Capt. Reuben Lindsay Walker		Richmond
Hanover Light Artillery	21 May 1861	Capt. William Nelson		Hanover
Pamunkey Artillery	21 May 1861	Capt. Robert T. Ellett	Chaffin’s Bluff	New Kent
Middlesex Artillery	24 May 1861	Capt. William C. Fleet	47 VA INFANTRY	Middlesex
Pearlsburg Reserves / Giles Artillery	26 May 1861	Capt. William W. McComas	Wise Legion Arty BN	Giles
Yellow Jacket Artillery	27 May 1861	Capt. Joseph T. Mason	9th VA INFANTRY	Chesterfield
Lee Lynchburg Artillery	28 May 1861	Capt. James Deshler		Lynchburg
King and Queen Heavy Artillery	29 May 1861	Capt. John Robert Bagby	34 VA INFANTRY	King and Queen

Although the enrollment dates recorded in secondary sources often differ from those in the Paymaster General’s report, the aggregate figures appear to be generally reliable. The May 10 entry provides a good example: both the report and surviving records identify three artillery companies enrolling that day. While this agreement does not conclusively identify every battery counted by the Paymaster General, it suggests that the office’s overall tabulations were reasonably accurate even when the surviving documentation is inconsistent.

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Sources

Carmichael, Peter S. The Purcell, Crenshaw and Letcher Artillery. H.E. Howard, Inc., 1990.

Jensen, Les. 32nd Virginia Infantry. H.E. Howard, Inc., 1990.

Moore, Robert H. The Charlottesville, Lee Lynchburg, and Johnson’s Bedford Artillery. H.E. Howard, Inc., 1990.

Scott, Johnny L. 34th Virginia Infantry. H.E. Howard, Inc., 1999.

Sifakis, Stewart. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Virginia. Facts on File, 1992.

Trask, Benjamin H. 9th Virginia Infantry. H.E. Howard, Inc., 1984.

Wallace, Lee A., Jr. A guide to Virginia Military Organizations, 1861-1865. H.E. Howard, Inc., 1986.

Wallace, Lee A., Jr. The Richmond Howitzers. H.E. Howard, Inc., 1993.

Weaver, Jeffrey C. Brunswick Rebel, Johnston, Southside, United, James City, Lunenburg Rebel, Pamunkey Heavy Artillery and Young’s Harborguard. H.E. Howard, Inc., 1996.