63rd Virginia Infantry

63rd Regiment, Virginia Infantry

Flag of Virginia, 1861
Active May 1862 – Spring 1865
Country Confederacy
Allegiance Confederate States of America Confederate States of America
Role Infantry
Engagements

American Civil War

Disbanded 1865
Commanders
Notable
commanders		 Colonel John J. McMahom
Lt. Colonel David C. Dunn
Colonel James M. French
Lt. Colonel Connally H. Lynch

63rd Virginia Infantry was a Confederate regiment during the American Civil War.

Organization

It was organized May 24, 1862, with 10 companies, A to K, all enlisted for 3 years or the duration of the war. These companies were raised under an order from the Secretary of War, April 9, 1862 to Major John J. McMahon. McMahon was rewarded by being made Colonel of the 63rd in May, when the regiment was formally organized at Abingdon in Washington County, Virginia.

Colonel McMahon was succeeded by Lieutenant Colonel David C. Dunn. Major James M. French, who was later promoted to Colonel, succeeded Colonel Dunn, and the 63rd ended the war with Captain (later Lieutenant Colonel) Connally H. Lynch in command. Lynch was also commander of the 54th Battalion, a consolidation of the 54th and 63rd Virginia Infantry regiments.

Service

The 63rd saw action in ten states, and by the time of its surrender on April 26, 1865, at Durham Station, North Carolina, it had fought in over 70 engagements, including the Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Chattanooga, Ringold Gap, Resaca, Peachtree Creek, New Hope Church, Kennesaw Mountain, Franklin, and Stones River, among others.

After it became a part of the Army of Tennessee, the 63rd served under, at different times, James Longstreet, Patrick Cleburne, Nathan Bedford Forrest, William J. Hardee, Stephen D. Lee, and Daniel Harvey Hill.

References