| 38th Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment | |
|---|---|
Flag of Virginia, 1861 |
|
| Active | June 1861 – April 1865 |
| Country | Confederacy |
| Allegiance | Confederate States of America |
| Role | Infantry |
| Engagements | American Civil War: Peninsula Campaign-Seven Days' Battles-Second Battle of Bull Run-Battle of Antietam-Battle of Fredericksburg-Battle of Chancellorsville-Battle of Gettysburg-Battle of Cold Harbor-Siege of Petersburg-Appomattox Campaign |
| Disbanded | April 1865 |
The 38th Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia.
The 38th Virginia was organized in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, in June 1861. Its members were recruited in Pittsylvania, Halifax, and Mechlenburg counties. It served under the command of Generals Early, Garland, Armistead, Barton, and Stuart. Among the founders of the regiment was Lt. Col. (later Colonel)[1] Powhatan Bolling Whittle of Mecklenbury County, who was later wounded at the Battle of Williamsburg.[2]
The 38th participated in the campaigns of the Army of Northern Virginia from Williamsburg to Gettysburg, then served in North Carolina. Later it was attached to the Department of Richmond, fought at Drewry's Bluff and Cold Harbor, endured the hardships of the Petersburg trenches, and ended the war at Appomattox.
The regiment totalled 544 effectives in April 1862, and sustained 9 casualties at Williamsburg, 147 at Seven Pines, 94 at Malvern Hill, and 16 in the Maryland Campaign. More than fifty-five percent of the 400 engaged at Gettysburg were disabled and it reported 11 killed, 30 wounded, and 10 missing at Drewry's Bluff. The unit surrendered 12 officers and 82 men.
Its commanders were Colonels Joseph R. Cabell, Edward C. Edmonds, George K. Griggs, and Powhatan Whittle; Lieutenant Colonel George A. Martin; and Majors Isaac H. Carrington and Henderson L. Lee.
Men from Henry county were also members of the 38th. My Great Grandfather Pleasant Mahon and two of his brothers Plyant, and George W. were recruited from the Axton area of Henry county, a small community near the Pittsylvania county line. They joined Company K at Cascade in Pittsylvania County in June 1861.