Historical Sketch And Roster Of The Georgia 38th Infantry Regiment

The GA 38th Infantry Regiment was a part of the Lawton - Gordon - Evans brigade made up of the 13th, 26th, 31st, 38th, 60th, & 61st Georgia Regiments and the 12th Georgia Light Artillery Battalion. It fought in many conflicts from the Seven Days' Battles to Cold Harbor, then moved with Early to the Shenandoah Valley and was active around Appomattox. The unit lost 54 killed and 118 wounded at Gaines' Mill and sixty-two percent of the 123 engaged at Sharpsburg. In the fight at Fredericksburg there were 10 killed and 91 wounded, and of the 341 at Gettysburg, more than thirty-five percent were disabled. It surrendered with 112, of which 73 were armed.

The Georgia 38th Infantry Regiment was organized near Decatur, Georgia, during the summer of 1861. It contained thirteen companies and 1,200 men. First called Wright's Legion after its Colonel, Augustus R. Wright, it served at Skidaway Island and Savannah. Wright resigned February 14, 1862 to serve in the Confederate House of Representatives. In May, 1862, when the 38th was ordered to Virginia, two companies were detached and one transferred. The remaining ten were from the counties of De Kalb, Milton, Emmanuel, Oglethorpe, Hart, Jefferson, Elbert, and Dawson. The 38th was assigned to Lawton's, John B. Gordon's, and C. A. Evans' Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia. It fought in many conflicts from the Seven Days' Battles to Cold Harbor, then moved with Early to the Shenandoah Valley and was active around Appomattox. The unit lost 54 killed and 118 wounded at Gaines' Mill, sixty-two percent of the 123 at Sharpsburg. In the fight at Fredericksburg there were 10 killed and 91 wounded, and of the 341 at Gettysburg, more than thirty-five percent were disabled. It surrendered with 112, of which 73 were armed. Company A - Murphey Guards (DeKalb County) Company B - Milton Guards (Milton County) Company C - Ben Hill Guards (Emanuel and Bullock Counties) Company D - McCullough Rifles (DeKalb County) Company E - Tom Cobb Infantry (Oglethorpe County) Company F - Thornton Volunteers (Hart County) Company G - Battey Guards (Jefferson County) Company H - Goshen Guards (Elbert County) Company I - Irwin Invincibles (Henry County, Alabama); transferred to 60th Georgia in May 1862 Company K - Bartow Avengers (DeKalb Country) Company L - Joe Thompson Artillery (Fulton County) (detached in May 1862 at Savannah, GA) Company M - Chastatee Artillery (Forsyth County)(detached in May 1862 at Savannah, GA) Company N - Dawson Farmers (Dawson Country)

The 38th Alabama Infantry Regiment was organized at Mobile in May 1862, and it remained at the defenses in the vicinity of that city until February 1863. It then proceeded to Tullahoma and was there placed in the brigade of General Henry D. Clayton of Barbour, with the 18th, 36th, and 58th Alabama regiments. The regiment was first under fire with slight loss at Hoover's Gap, and lost heavily in killed and wounded at Chickamauga (37% casualties out of 490 engaged). At Missionary Ridge, the 38th was again engaged at close quarters, and a large number were captured. The 38th continued through the Atlanta campaign. From Marietta to the close, General James T. Holtzclaw of Montgomery commanded the brigade. It fought around the latter city, and at Jonesboro. During the Tennessee campaign of General John Bell Hood, the regiment participated at Nashville in December 1864, and it was in the rear guard of the retreat. Placed in the defenses at Mobile, the regiment went through the ordeal at Spanish Fort where it again suffered severely. With the army, it was surrendered at Meridian, Mississippi, about 80 strong. Companies Of The AL 38th Infantry Regiment Co. "A" (Clarke County): William Jefferson Hearin (promoted); Daniel Lee Co. "B" (Wilcox County): William R. Welsh (KIA, Chickamauga); George W. Welch Co. "C," Dixie Rifles (Washington County): James L. Lenoir (resigned, 13 Aug 186?); A. G. Moore (resigned, 12 Dec 1863); B. F. Crowell (resigned, 25 Oct 1864); Lt. E. A. Holt Co. "D" [also called Co. "G"] (Clarke County): G. W. Files (resigned, 29 Oct 1862); John J. R. Jenkins (resigned); Benjamin Anderson (wounded, Missionary Ridge) Co. "E" (Conecuh County): E. W. Martin (retired, 20 July 1864); Lt. Samuel W. Landrum Co. "F" (Fayette County): John J. Winston (promoted, Adjutant, 18th AL Regt); Albert Embree (died in service, 19 March 1864); W. H. Wright (wounded, Missionary Ridge, and captured) Co. "G" (Mobile County): John B. Perkins (KIA, Chickamauga); George H. Cleveland (resigned, 5 April 1864) Co. "H" (Wilcox County): John A. Jackson (captured, Missionary Ridge; died as POW, 25 Dec 1863); Robert J. Young Co. "I" (Clarke County): Augustus R. Lankford (promoted); Charles E. Bussey (wounded, Chickamauga) Co. "K" (Mobile County): Ben Lane Posey (captured, Missionary Ridge; wounded, Kennesaw; dropped from roll, 17 Feb 1865)

The 20th Georgia Infantry was formed at Columbus in May 1861. They served in the Army of Northern Virginia throughout most of its campaigns. They were attached to Early's Brigade in September of 1861 and transferred to the brigades of Generals Toombs and Benning in April 1862. The 20th fought with the army from the Seven Days Battles to Cold Harbor. They went with General Longstreet to fight at Suffolk, Chickamauga, and operations in east Tennessee including Chattanooga and Knoxville, then returned to Virginia in time for the spring campaign of 1864, enduring the hardships of the Petersburg trenches south and north of the James River. Companies Of The GA 20th Infantry Regiment Company A: Bibb County Company B: Muscogee County. Company C: Jefferson County. Company D: Polk County. Company E: Harris County Company F: Fulton County. Company G: Muscogee County. Company H: Telfair County. Company I: Muscogee County. Company K: Richmond County.

The Georgia 60th Infantry Regiment was a part of the Lawton-Gordon-Evans Georgia Brigade (so-named for its three principal commanders). It was one of the premier brigades of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, serving with distinction from the Seven Days battles around Richmond (May-June 1862) until its surrender at Appomattox Court House (April 9, 1865). The brigade was initially comprised of six regiments (13th, 26th, 31st, 38th, 60th, and 61st Georgia), which were raised at the call of Governor Joe Brown for the defense of the Georgia coast following the bombardment of Fort Sumter. At Appomattox, approximately 750 officers and men of the Georgia brigade were surrendered to Federal authorities, all that was left of a brigade that mustered nearly 7,000 men three years before, and that had been reinforced during the course of the war by another 800 men from the 9th, 12th, and 18th Georgia Battalions. Only the combined Louisiana Brigades of Hays and Taylor (12 regiments) lost more men than did Lawton-Gordon-Evan's Georgia Brigade. Companies Of The GA 60th Infantry Regiment First Company A - Bartow County Second Company A - Anthony Grays - Meriwether County Company B - Fannin Guards - Troop And Whitfield Counties Company C - Walker Independents - Whitfield County Company D - Whitfield Volunteers - Whitfield County Company E - Bartow Avengers - Whitfield County Company F - Gilmer Volunteers - Gilmer & Whitfield Counties Company G - Chatham County - Dooly Guards Company H - Bartow County Company I - Walker County Company K - Bartow and Paulding Counties

The Georgia 49th Infantry Regiment was organized in November, 1861 After training in Georgia and North Carolina, the regiment was moved to Virginia where it was assigned to General J.R. Anderson's and E.L. Thomas' Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia. The 49th Georgia Infantry took an active part in the campaigns of the ANV from the battles of Seven Pines to Cold Harbor, fought in the Petersburg trenches south of the James River, and was surrendered at Appomattox surrendered with 8 officers and 103 men. The regiment reported 68 casualties at Second Manassas and 61 at Fredericksburg. The unit lost thirteen percent of the 280 at Chancellorsville and more than twenty-five percent of the 329 at Gettysburg. Companies of the Georgia 49th Infantry Regiment Company A - Wilkinson County Invincibles Company B - Telfair County Volunteers Company C - Washington County Guards Company D - Taliaferro County Volunteers Company E - Wilcox County States Rights Guards Company F - Irwin County Volunteers Company G - Laurens County Volunteers Company H - Washington County Cold Steel Guards Company I - Hancock County Pierce Guards Company K - Pulaski County Greys