Preceding pages | Volume Map | Following pages |
[Pages 84-85]
Robertson, Beverly Holcombe, a native of Virginia, graduated from
United States Military Academy, 1849. After a year at the cavalry school at Carlisle,
Pennsylvania, as second lieutenant of Second Dragoons, he served in the west against the Indians;
promoted to first lieutenant, and made acting assistant adjutant-general, department of Utah;
promoted to captain March 3, 1861. In August, having left the service, he was commissioned
colonel of Fourth Virginia Cavalry Regiment. In June he was promoted to brigadier-general, and
with his brigade joined Stuart on the Rapidan. In September, he was sent to North Carolina to
recruit and instruct cavalry troops, and saw service in that state. He commanded a cavalry
division in the Gettysburg campaign, and was afterwards transferred to South Carolina, he covered
Hardee's retreat from Charleston, and harassed Sherman's troops. After the war, he engaged in the
insurance business in Washington City.
[Page 85]
Rodes, Robert Emmett, born in Lynchburg, Virginia, March 29, 1829,
son of David Rodes, deputy clerk of Albemarle county, and Martha, his wife, daughter of Joel
Yancey, of Bedford. He graduated from the Virginia Military Institute, 1848, and from that time
until the breaking out of the war he was a professor there. He was captain of the Mobile cadets,
1861; made colonel of Fifth Alabama Infantry, and led the advance at the first Bull Run; promoted
to brigadier-general and commanded a brigade at Williamsburg, Virginia, May 5, 1862. At Seven
Pines he was severely wounded, but refused to relinquish his command until the firing had ceased.
He rendered exceptionally brilliant service at Gaines' Mills, leading the final advance; and at
Chancellorsville, where he demolished Hooker's left, for which he was promoted on the field to
major-general. At Gettysburg he displayed great courage, and lost nearly one-half his division.
He also rendered efficient service in the Wilderness and in Early's march on Washington. At
Winchester, he scattered the enemy, but fell while leading the attack, and died on the field,
September 19, 1864.
[Pages 85-86]
Rosser, Thomas Lafayette, born in Campbell county, Virginia,
October 15, 1836; son of John and Martha Melvina (Johnson) Rosser; grandson of Thomas and Nancy
(Twedy) Rosser and of Jonathan and Mahalah (Hargrave) Johnson, and a descendant from John Rosser,
a Huguenot, and on the Johnson side from English, Danish and Scandinavian ancestors. In 1849 he
removed with his parents to Texas and entered the United States Military Academy in 1856. He was
to graduate in 1861, but the entire class was ordered into the army on the attack on Fort Sumter,
April 12, 1861, before being graduated, and Rosser resigned to join the Confederate army. He was
commissioned first lieutenant of artillery, was in the battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861, and was
promoted captain in the Washington Artillery of New Orleans. He fought in the Peninsular
campaign; was wounded at Mechanicsville, Virginia, June 26, 1862, and was promoted
lieutenant-colonel. He was promoted to colonel and given command of the Fifth Virginia Cavalry of
Fitzhugh Lee's brigade under J. E. B. Stuart. During Gen. T. J. Jackson's manoeuvres on Pope's
left, Col. Rosser protected one flank; was engaged at the second Bull Run, and at South Mountain,
where he was sent by Gen. Stuart to seize Fox's Gap on Braddock road, and after the death of Gen.
Garland, he assumed command of the brigade of infantry. He was engaged in the operations around
Fredericksburg and Charlottesville; fought at Gettysburg, and on October 15, 1863, was promoted
brigadier-general and given command of the Second Brigade in Wade Hampton's division. He was
engaged in the cavalry operations in the Wilderness and around Richmond, fighting desperately at
Trevillian Station, where he was badly wounded in the leg. He was promoted major-general,
September 12, 1864; joined Gen. Early in the Shenandoah Valley on October 5, and took command of
Fitzhugh Lee's division, that officer having been incapacitated from wounds received at the
battle of Winchester, Rosser skirmished successfully on October 8; was defeated at Tom's Brook by
Sheridan the following day, and on October 17, attacked Custer in the rear of his picket line. At
Cedar Creek, October 19, 1864, he led the attack on the Federal right; was met by a superior
force, and with difficulty held his own, but during the retreat of Early's army his command
retired in good order, and was left at Fisher's Hill to act as a rear-guard. He held this
position until the following day and then fell back to Stony Creek. He captured the stronghold at
New Creek with eight pieces of artillery, two thousand prisoners, large quantities of military
stores, horses and commissary supplies, September, 1864, and did great damage to the B. & O. R.
R., burning the round house and shops at Piedmont. In February, 1865, he crossed the Great North
Mountain in a severe snow (still on crutches and suffering from wounds received at Trevillian
station), captured Beverly with its garrison of nine hundred men, large stores and many cattle,
and brought them all back to Staunton, losing only one officer (Col. Cooke), and five men. He
commanded a division in the Appomattox campaign; refused to surrender, and charged through the
Union lines with two divisions of cavalry. He escaped and attempted to reorganize the Army of
Virginia, but was captured at Hanover Court House, Virginia, May 2, 1865. After the war he
studied law, and in 1870 became interested in railroading, being chief engineer of the eastern
division of the Northern Pacific Railroad, 1871-81, and chief engineer of the Canadian Pacific
Railroad, 1881-83. In 1885 he retired to an estate in Virginia, where he was living, June 10,
1898, when he was commissioned brigadier-general of volunteers by President McKinley. He served
at Chickamauga Park and Knoxville, commanding the Fourteenth Minnesota, Second Ohio, and First
Pennsylvania regiments of volunteer infantry, and was engaged in drilling troops and equipping
them for battle when the war ended. He was honorably mustered out, November 31, 1898, and
returned to his home in Charlottesville, Virginia. He was married May 28, 1863, to Elizabeth
Barbara, daughter of William Overton and Sarah Ann (Gregory) Winston, of Hanover county,
Virginia.
[Page 86]
Ruggles, Daniel, a native of Massachusetts, gave his services to
Virginia at the beginning of the civil war. He was born January 31, 1810, and graduated from the
United States Military Academy in 1833. He served with the Fifth United States Infantry in the
northwest and in Florida. He took part in the Mexican war, and was brevetted major for gallantry
at Contreras and Cherubusco, and lieutenant-colonel for Chapultepec. He was in the Utah
expedition, and in 1861 resigned. In April he was commissioned colonel, and put in command at
Fredericksburg. In August he was made brigadier-general and served at Pensacola and New Orleans.
At Shiloh and at Corinth he commanded a division in Bragg's corps. In June he was sent to the
Mississippi, and commanded Breckenridge's left wing in the battle of Baton Rouge. Later he
commanded at Port Hudson, and at Columbus. His age unfitting him for field service, he was made
commissary-general of prisoners of war. After the war he lived in Fredericksburg, where he died,
in 1897.
[Page 87]
Slaughter, James E., a native of Virginia, was made second
lieutenant of Voltigeurs; in 1847, transferred to First United States Artillery in 1848, promoted
to first lieutenant in 1852, and served until 1861. He was commissioned first lieutenant of
artillery, C. S. A., and became inspector-general on the staff of Gen. Beauregard in the
department of Alabama and West Florida. Early in 1862 he was promoted to brigadier-general, and
in May was made chief of the inspector-general's department of the Army of the Mississippi under
Gen. Bragg. After the Kentucky campaign he was transferred to Mobile, and then to Texas as chief
of artillery to Gen. Magruder. The remainder of his service was in similar relations in the same
region.
[Page 87]
Starke, William E., served as aide-de-camp to Gen. R. S. Garnett,
on the Cheat river. Later he commanded the Sixtieth Virginia Regiment, in Kentucky. After the
Seven Days battle in Virginia, he was promoted to brigadier-general, and commanded a Louisiana
brigade at Manassas, and later the "Stonewall" division. He was with Jackson at the capture of
Harper's Ferry. At Sharpsburg, he succeeded Gen. J. R. Jones (wounded), and soon afterwards fell
mortally wounded, pierced by three minie balls, September 17, 1862.
[Page 87]
Stevens, Walter Husted, born at Penn Yan, New York, August 24,
1827. He was appointed from New York to the United States Military Academy at West Point, and
graduated in 1848, fourth in his class, and was commissioned brevet second lieutenant, corps of
engineers. He was on duty at Newport, Rhode Island, and then given charge of fortification
repairs in the neighborhood of New Orleans, until 1853, when he was placed in charge of harbor
and river work in Texas. He was lighthouse inspector on the Texas coast from 1853 to 1857,
meantime being promoted to first lieutenant. Then, until 1860, as superintending engineer, he had
charge of the construction of the New Orleans custom house, and the fortifications below the
city. In May, 1861, he entered the service of the Confederate States, and accompanied Gen.
Beauregard to Virginia, as a member of his staff, and ranking as captain of engineers. Previous
to the battle of Manassas, he was with the advance at Fairfax Court House, and laid out the
fortifications with great skill, and was commended by his chief as "an officer of energy and
ability;" was promoted to major, and made chief engineer of the Army of Northern Virginia. When
Gen. Lee came to the command, Major Stevens was given charge of the defensive works at Richmond,
and promoted to colonel, and was in command of the works and troops when Kilpatrick and Dahlgren
made their raids, and again when the city was threatened by Butler. In August, 1864, he was
promoted to brigadier-general, and reassigned to duty as chief engineer of the Army of Northern
Virginia. After the war he went to Mexico, and became superintendent and constructing engineer of
the railroad between the City of Mexico and Vera Cruz. He died in the latter named city, November
12, 1867.
[Pages 87-88]
Stevenson, Carter Littlepage, son of Carter Littlepage Stevenson,
of Spotsylvania county, Virginia, and Jane Herndon, his wife, and grandson of Rev. James
Stevenson and Frances Arnet Littlepage, his wife, half-sister of Gen. Lewis Littlepage (q. v.). He graduated at the United States Military
Academy in 1838, and as second lieutenant was assigned to the Fifth Infantry. His first service
was in the Florida war, and the occupation of Texas. In the Mexican war he won distinction in the
battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, and in 1874 was promoted to captain. After the war,
he was an duty as aide-de-camp to Gen. Brady, in Mississippi, and on frontier duty
at Fort Gibson, Indian Territory and Fort Belknap, Texas, and was engaged against the Apache
Indians, with the Pacific railroad exploration. He took part in the Seminole war of 1856-57, and
was with the Utah expedition. In 1861 he tendered his services to his native state, and became
colonel of the Fifty-third Virginia Infantry Regiment, and later was promoted to
brigadier-general, on the recommendation of Gen. Beauregard. In March, 1862, he was placed under
Gen. Huger, on the Weldon railroad, but was soon after transferred to the west and given command
of a division in East Tennessee, and served in conjunction with Kirby Smith, in the movements
culminating in the return to Murfreesboro. In December, 1862, he was sent by Gen. Bragg with ten
thousand troops to reinforce Gen. Pemberton, at Vicksburg. He subsequently commanded a division
under that officer, and with which he withstood the fiercest attack of the enemy at Champion
Hills. During the siege of Vicksburg, he commanded the Confederate right. He was paroled, with
the surrendered garrison, and joined the army at Chattanooga, where he was given command of a
division in Hardee's corps. He had occupation of Lookout Mountain, from which he withdrew to
Missionary Ridge, and bore a part in the great battle there. He was thenceforward with the Army
of Tennessee until the end of the war, in command of a division. In the Atlanta campaign he
served under Gen. Hood, in the battles of Resaca and Kenesaw Mountain, and after Gen. Hood
superseded Gen. Johnston, Gen. Stevenson temporarily commanded Hood's corps. In the Nashville
campaign he commanded a division in Gen. Stephen D. Lee's corps, and held the centre of the
Confederate line in front of Nashville, and, after Lee was wounded, his division covered the
retreat. His division, now reduced to about twenty-five hundred men, took part in the operations
against Sherman, in the Carolinas, and, under Johnston, surrendered in April, 1865. After the
war, Gen. Stevenson was occupied as a civil and mining engineer, until his death, in Caroline
county, Virginia, August 15, 1888.
[Pages 88-90]
Stuart, James Ewell Brown, soldier, was born in Patrick county,
Virginia, February 6, 1833; son of Archibald and Elizabeth Letcher (Parmill) Stuart, and a
descendant of Archibald Stuart, who emigrated from Ireland in 1726, and settled in Pennsylvania.
His maternal ancestor, Giles Letcher, emigrated from Ireland prior to the revolutionary war, and
settled in Virginia. James Stuart attended school at Wytheville, Virginia; Emory and Henry
College, Virginia, 1848-50; was graduated from the United States Military Academy, and brevetted
second lieutenant of mounted riflemen, July 1, 1854, and served on the western frontier, 1854-59,
being severely wounded at the combat on Solomon's Fork, Kansas. He was promoted second
lieutenant, October 31, 1854; was transferred to the First Cavalry, March 3, 1855; was married
November 14, 1855, to Flora, daughter of Col. Philip St. George Cooke, and was promoted first
lieutenant, December 20, 1855. He served as volunteer aide-de-camp to Col. Robert E. Lee, on the
Harper's Ferry expedition to suppress John Brown's raid in 1859; was on frontier duty in Kansas,
1859-60; took part in the Keowa and Comanche expedition of 1860, and was promoted captain, April
22, 1861, but upon the secession of Virginia, he resigned his commission and was promoted
lieutenant-colonel of Virginia infantry, May 10, 1861. He reported to Col. Thomas J. Jackson at
Harper's Ferry; was promoted colonel of cavalry, July 16, 1861, and was given command of the
First Virginia Cavalry, which he commanded at the first battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861,
driving back the Union attack. He was promoted brigadier-general, September 24, 1861; guarded the
rear of the Confederate retreat from Yorktown to Richmond; commanded four regiments of infantry
at the battle of Dranesville, December 20, 1861, but was defeated by Gen. E. O. C. Ord, and
commanded the Confederate cavalry during the seven days' battles before Richmond, June 25-July 1,
1862. He was promoted major-general, July 25, 1862; made a raid on Gen. John Pope's camp at
Catlett's Station, August 22, 1862, and captured his official correspondence, and on August 23,
made a similar attack on Manassas Junction. He commanded the cavalry division, Army of Northern
Virginia, at the second battle of Bull Run, August 29-30, 1862; commanded the cavalry in the
Maryland campaign; took part in the battle of Antietam, where he led the movement that resulted
in the defeat of Gen. Edwin v. Sumner's corps. On October 10, 1872, he started on his famous
"ride around McClellan," crossing the Potomac near Williamsburg, Pennsylvania; returned on the
other side of McClellan's army, eluding Pleasanton's vigorous pursuit, and recrossed the river
near the mouth of the Monocacy. He commanded the cavalry corps, Army of Northern Virginia, at the
battle of Fredericksburg, guarding the extreme Confederate right. His cavalry took part in the
battle of Chancellorsville, and when Gen. T. J. Jackson was mortally wounded, and Gen. Ambrose
Hill disabled, he succeeded to the command of the Second Army Corps; retook the position at Haze
Grove, from which Jackson had been repulsed, and forced the Federal army to fall back from
Chancellorsville and Fairview. He commanded the cavalry division at Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863;
was detailed to guard the flanks of the advance guard of Gen. Lee's army, but was checked by
Fleetwood and Stevensburg by the Federal cavalry. He made a raid in the rear of the Federal army,
rejoining the Army of Northern Virginia, July 3, 1863, and guarded the mountain gaps during the
retreat from Gettysburg. During the remainder of the summer of 1863, he engaged in skirmishes
with the cavalry under Gens. Kilpatrick and Buford, and defeated the cavalry under Gen.
Pleasanton at Brandy Station, and the brigade under Gen. Henry E. Danes near Buckland. He
commanded the cavalry corps, Army of Northern Virginia, during Grant's campaign against Richmond,
taking part in the battles of the Wilderness and Cold Harbor. On hearing of Sheridan's advance to
Richmond, he concentrated his forces at Yellow Tavern, where, on May 11, 1864, he was mortally
wounded while urging on his men. His last words on the field of battle were: "Go back! I would
rather die than be whipped!" He died, May 12, 1864, and a monument marks the place where he fell.
[Page 90]
Taliaferro, Alexander Galt, born at "Churchill," Gloucester
county, Virginia, in September, 1808. He graduated Bachelor of Arts at William and Mary College,
and in 1832 graduated in law. In 1861 he was lieutenant-colonel of cavalry, in the state militia.
He applied to Governor Letcher for orders, but was told that all militia offices were out of
commission. He at once went to Harper's Ferry and took his place in the ranks in a company of
minute-men from Culpeper county. A few days later he was given command of a squad of men from
Baltimore, and with them he was assigned to Col. Ambrose P. Hill's regiment, but in a few days
received from Governor Letcher a commissioned as lieutenant-colonel of infantry, and was assigned
to the Twenty-third Virginia Regiment, of the "Stonewall" division. In the operations which
followed, he was wounded in the battle of Kernstown, and soon afterwards he was chosen colonel of
his regiment. At the battle of McDowell, a second horse was killed under him; at the first battle
of Winchester his sword was torn away by a grapeshot, and at Port Republic he was wounded in the
shoulder, rendering him incapable of taking part in the battles around Richmond, and while
invalided at his home in Culpeper county, only escaped capture through the sagacity of his wife,
who put the Federals upon a wrong scent. After the death of Gen. Winder, Col. Taliaferro was
promoted to brigadier-general, and succeeded to the command of the brigade, and he temporarily
commanded the "Stonewall" division. At the time of the surrender, he was post commander at
Charlottesville. He now retired to his estate,"Ninondale," Culpeper county, where he died, June
29, 1884. He married, in 1836, Agnes Harwood, daughter of Thomas Marshall, of "Oakhill," Fauquier
county, Virginia.
[Pages 90-91]
Taliaferro, William Booth, son of Warner T. Taliaferro and Frances
Booth, his wife, born at Belleville, Gloucester county, Virginia, December 28, 1822. He attended
Harvard College, and was graduated from William and Mary College in 1841. During the Mexican war
he was captain in the Eleventh United States Infantry, was promoted to major, and in 1848 his
regiment was disbanded. He commanded the Virginia state forces at the time of the John Brown
raid, and was later at Norfolk and Gloucester Point. As colonel of the Twenty-third Virginia
Regiment, he served in West Virginia, and in 1862 was made brigadier-general. In December he
joined Jackson in the valley, commanding a brigade. He succeeded to the command of Jackson's
division, and took part in the operations against Pope, and was wounded He was in the battle of
Fredericksburg, and was subsequently given command of the district of Savannah. In July, 1863, he
commanded at Morris Island, and then on James Island. He subsequently commanded in East Florida,
and afterwards in South Carolina. When Sherman came before Savannah, he guarded the route for
Hardee's escape. In December he was given a division, and January 1, 1865, was promoted to
major-general. After the war, he returned home, and rendered good service to the cause of
education, as president of the board of visitors to William and Mary College and other
institutions. He died at home, February 27, 1898.
[Page 91]
Terrill, James B., born at Warm Springs, Bath county, Virginia,
February 20, 1838. He was educated at the Virginia Military Institute, studied law, and practiced
in his native town. In 1861 he was elected major of the Thirteenth Virginia Regiment, Col. A. P.
Hill. He served under Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley and at Manassas, and was promoted to
lieutenant-colonel, and commended in general orders for his conduct at Cross Keys, Port Republic,
Cedar Mountain and the Second Manassas. He was conspicuous at Fredericksburg, in the Wilderness
and Spottsylvania, and was killed near Bethesda Church, May 30, 1864.
[Page 91]
Terry, William, born in Amherst county, Virginia, August 14, 1824;
was graduated from the University of Virginia in 1848; taught school; studied law, was admitted
to the bar in 1851, and began practice in Wytheville, Virginia; engaged in newspaper work; served
in the Confederate army as a lieutenant in the Fourth Virginia Infantry; promoted to major in
1862; colonel in February, 1864, and was commissioned brigadier-general, May 20, 1864; resumed
the practice of law in Wytheville; elected as a Conservative to the forty-second congress (March
4, 1875-March 3, 1873); re-elected to the forty-fourth congress (March 4, 1875-March 3, 1877);
after leaving congress resumed the practice of law; drowned while trying to ford Reed Creek, near
Wytheville, Virginia, September 5, 1888.
[Page 91]
Terry, William Richard, was born at Liberty, Virginia, March 12,
1827. He was graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1850, and engaged in mercantile
pursuits until 1861, when he was commissioned captain of Virginia cavalry, Confederate States
army. He was promoted colonel and assumed command of the Twenty-fourth Virginia regiment. On May
16, 1864, he led Kemper's brigade, General Ransom's division, Army of Northern Virginia, in the
advance of Drewry's Bluff, serving with acknowledged gallantry in carrying the enemy's
breastworks; was promoted brigadier-general, May 20, 1864, and continued in command of Kemper's
brigade, Gen. George E. Pickett's division, and at the battle of five Forks, April 1, 1865, was
posted on the extreme right in the intrenched line, with Corse, Steuart, Ransom and Wallace
following to the left. Gen. Terry was a state senator for several years; superintendent of the
Richmond penitentiary, and of the Lee camp soldiers' home. He died in Chesterfield county, March
28, 1897.
[Pages 91-92]
Tucker, John Randolph, born in Alexandria, Virginia, January 31,
1812; not a kinsman of him of same name (1823-97). He received the warrant of midshipman in the
navy, June 1, 1826, and was made lieutenant, December 20, 1837. As executive officer of the
Stromboli he took part in the Mexican war, being commander toward the last. He was promoted
to commodore in 1855, and stationed at Norfolk, Virginia, on the receiving ship and as ordnance
officer. Upon the secession of Virginia, he resigned and was placed in command of the Virginia
vessels on the James river. In March, 1862, he commanded the Yorktown, and ran the
batteries at Newport News under a heavy fire. When Virginia came into the Confederacy, he entered
the Confederate navy, and as commander of the Patrick Henry was engaged in the
Merrimac-Monitor conflict, and other engagements in Hampton Roads. He was given command of the
wooden fleet, and was engaged in the attack on Drury's Bluff. Promoted to captain, May 13, 1863,
he commanded the flagship Chicora at Charleston, until the downfall of that city, when
he organized a naval brigade, which he commanded in the battle of Sailor's Creek, April 6, 1865,
and which, with other troops, was forced to surrender. In 1866, as rear-admiral in the Peruvian
navy, he had charge of the naval operations of that country and chile in their war with Spain.
Later, as president of the Peruvian Hydrographic Commission, he surveyed the upper Amazon and its
tributaries. He died in Richmond, June 12, 1883.
[Page 92]
Walker, Henry H., a native Virginia, graduated from
the United States Military Academy in 1853. Until 1855 he was on duty in New Mexico; became first
lieutenant, Sixth' United States Infantry, in 1857, and became aide-de-camp to Governor Walker,
of Kansas, and afterward served on the staff of Gen. Clarke, at San Francisco. When Virginia
seceded, he came home, and was commissioned captain, C. S. A. Later he became lieutenant-colonel
of the Fortieth Virginia Regiment. He was twice wounded at Gaines' Mill. In July, 1863, after
being in charge of a convalescent camp, he was promoted to brigadier-general, and commanded a
brigade at Bristoe Station and Mine Run. In December he was ordered to the Shenandoah Valley to
reinforce Gen. Early; in March, 1864, was recalled east, and served in the Wilderness and at
Spottsylvania Court House, until severely wounded, May 10, 1864. In November following his
brigade was consolidated with Archer's, and he was placed on general court martial duty.
[Page 92]
Walker, James Alexander, born in Augusta county, Virginia, August
27, 1832; was graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1852; studied law in the
University of Virginia during the sessions of 1854 and 1855; was admitted to the bar and began
practice in Pulaski county, Virginia, in 1856; attorney for the commonwealth in 1860; entered the
Confederate army in April, 1861, as captain of the Pulaski guards, afterwards Company C, Fourth
Virginia Infantry, Stonewall Brigade; lieutenant-colonel and assigned to the Thirteenth Virginia
Infantry in July, 1861; colonel of the Thirteenth Virginia Infantry in March, 1862, and
brigadier-general and assigned to command of the "Stonewall brigade" in May 1863; commanded
Early's old division at the surrender at Appomattox; severely wounded at Spottsylvania Court
House, May 12, 1864; member of the house of delegates of Virginia 1871-1872; elected
lieutenant-governor of Virginia in 1877; elected as a Republican to the fifty-fourth and
fifty-fifth congresses (March 4, 1895-March 3, 1899); died in Wytheville, Virginia, October 21,
1901.
[Pages 92-93]
Walker, Reuben Lindsay, was born at Logan, Albemarle county,
Virginia, May 29, 1827, son of Captain Lewis Walker. He was graduated from the Virginia Military
Institute, and became a civil engineer. He was sergeant-at-arms of the Virginia convention of
1861, and when secession was accomplished, asked of Governor Letcher permission to organize an
expedition for the capture of Fortess Monroe, and which was denied him. He was
captain of the Purcell battery, the first to leave Richmond, and was engaged at Manassas. On
March 31, 1862, he was promoted to major, and was made chief of artillery to Gen. A. P. Hill. He
was at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville and was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and colonel,
and made chief of artillery of the Third Corps. At Gettysburg he commanded sixty-three guns, in
1864 he served in all the principal battles, from the Wilderness to Ream's Station. In January,
1865, he was promoted to brigadier-general. He was active in the final days at Petersburg, and
thence to the end. After the surrender Gen. Walker gave himself to railroad and public building
construction. He died upon his farm, at the confluence of the James and Rivanna rivers, June 7,
1890.
[Page 93]
Weisiger, Daniel Adams, a resident of Petersburg, Virginia, served
as lieutenant and adjutant in a Virginia regiment in the Mexican war. In May, 1853, he was
elected colonel of a Virginia militia regiment which he commanded until 1860, when he formed a
battalion which marched to Norfolk and witnessed the evacuation of the navy yard. This command
became the Twelfth Virginia Regiment, of which he was colonel, and became a part of the Army of
Northern Virginia. At the second battle of Manassas, he was dangerously wounded and invalided. In
May, 1864, in the Wilderness, he was given the Virginia brigade, which he commanded from thence
on to the surrender, he having been promoted to brigadier-general.
[Page 93]
Wharton, G. C., became major of the Forty-fifth Regiment Virginia
Infantry, in July, 1861; in August he became colonel of the Fifty-first Regiment, and campaigned
under Gen. Floyd in West Virginia. At Fort Donelson he commanded a brigade, and when surrender
was determined upon, he escaped with a part of his command, and aided in preserving the
government stores at Nashville. He subsequently served in the Kanawha Valley; later was promoted
to brigadier-general, and was transferred to Gen. Longstreet's command in East Tennessee.
Returning to Virginia, he aided in defeating Sigel and Hunter. He commanded a division in the
Shenandoah campaign. After the war he resided in Radford, Virginia.
[Pages 93-94]
Whittle, William Conway, born in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1805, son
of Fortescue Whittle, of county Antrim, Ireland, and Mary Anne Davies, his wife, daughter of Col.
William Davies, of Petersburg. He was appointed midshipman in the United States navy, May 10,
1820, and rose to the rank of commander, serving on a number of vessels, including the
Brandywine and Ohio. He was in Florida during the Seminole difficulties. In the
Mexican war he was wounded at the battle of Tuspan, and later commanded the dispatch boat
Colonel Harney. In 1853 he commanded the United States sloop Decatur, on the banks
of Newfoundland, and the United States sloop Dale, on the coast of Africa, 1854-55. When
Virginia seceded, he resigned his commission, and entered the naval service of his state. On June
11, 1861, he entered upon duty in the Confederate States navy. He commanded the naval defenses on
the York river, later commanded the Confederate flotilla on the upper Mississippi, and then the
naval station at New Orleans, Louisiana. He was promoted to captain, October 23, 1862. He died in
Virginia, in 1878.
[Page 94]
Wilkinson, John, born at Norfolk, Virginia, November 6, 1821. He
entered the navy as a midshipman in 1837, attended the Philadelphia naval school, and was made a
passed midshipman in 1843. For three years he served on the Oregon and the
Portsmouth. In 1846 he was attached to the Saratoga, on duty in the Gulf of Mexico.
Was commissioned master in June, 1850, and lieutenant in November of the same year. In 1858-59 he
served on the Southern Star, on the Paraguay expedition, and was on coast survey duty
from the latter year until the breaking out of the civil war in April, 1861, when he resigned and
entered the Confederate navy as a lieutenant. He was assigned to duty at Fort Powhatan, on James
river, and was thence transferred to the command of a battery on Aquia Creek. In the spring of
1862 he was appointed executive officer of the Confederate States ram Louisiana, at New
Orleans, and was taken prisoner when Farragut captured the city. In August, 1862, he was
exchanged, and on the 12th left Richmond for England with funds to purchase a vessel, war
munitions and machinery for making Confederate paper money. He there bought the steamer
Giraffe (afterward the R. E. Lee), with which he ran the blockade at Wilmington,
North Carolina. With the same vessel he afterwards made repeated voyages between Wilmington and
Bermuda, taking out cotton and bringing in arms and munitions of war. In October, 1863, he was
instructed to organize and command an expedition to release the Confederate prisoners held at
Johnson's Island, his operations to be based from some convenient point in Canada. In this he was
defeated, the Canadian governor-general learning of the plot, and so guarding the lake ports that
no force could be assembled, nor a vessel procured. In 1864 Captain Wilkinson commanded the
iron-clad Albemarle, and later the same year was transferred to the Chickamauga,
with which he captured and destroyed a considerable number of Federal merchant vessels, from
which he took large quantities of valuable stores. In 1865 he commanded the blockade-runner
Chameleon, which he took to Liverpool, where she was seized just after the cessation of
hostilities, and delivered to United States authorities. Captain Wilkinson published "The
Narrative of a Blockade-Runner" (New York, 1877).