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55th Virginia Infantry

Editor’s Note: Do you have information on this unit’s role at the Siege of Petersburg?  Please contact us using the Contact button in the menu at the top of the screen.  We are happy to exchange information with other researchers.

Muster In: Organized for one year by the addition of three companies to the Essex and Middlesex Infantry Battalion (Major William N. Ward) in September 1861.  Field consolidation with the 47th Infantry Regiment  from February 1865 to April 9, 1865.1
Muster Out: April 9, 18652

Commander(s):
Colonel William S. Christian
Commander Image

Major Robert B. Fauntleroy
Commander Image

Captain William J. Davis
Commander Image

Captain James A. Haynes
Commander Image

First Offensive Order of Battle: Walker’s Brigade | Heth’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army3

  • Commander:
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Second Offensive Order of Battle: Walker’s Brigade | Heth’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army4

  • Commander: Colonel William S. Christian5
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Third Offensive Order of Battle: Walker’s Brigade | Heth’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army6

  • Commander: Colonel William S. Christian7
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Fourth Offensive Order of Battle: Archer’s Brigade | Heth’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army8

  • Commander:
    • Colonel William S. Christian (although under arrest)(at least August 15, 1864)9,10
    • Captain William J. Davis (commanded in the field while Christian was under arrest)11
  • Unit Strength:
    • 223 officers and men PFD (August 15, 1864)12
  • Weapons: Springfield and/or Enfield Rifles13

Fifth Offensive Order of Battle: Archer’s Brigade | Heth’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army14,15

  • Commander:
    • Captain William J. Davis (September 1-13, 1864)16
    • Captain (Major) Robert B. Fauntleroy (September 13-?, September 30 & October 1-6, 1864)(promoted to Major on September 14, 1864)17,18,19
    • Colonel William S. Christian (September & October 6-13, 1864)20,21
  • Unit Strength: 196 officers and men PFD (September 30, 1864)22
  • Weapons: .54 and .58 caliber (presumably mix of Model 1841 “Mississippi” rifles and Springfields and/or Enfields)(September 30, 1864)23

Sixth Offensive Order of Battle: Archer’s Brigade | Heth’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army24

  • Commander: Colonel William S. Christian25
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Seventh Offensive Order of Battle:

Archer’s Brigade | Heth’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army26

Barton’s Command | Department of Richmond | Confederate Army (December 1864)27

  • Commander: Colonel William S. Christian (November & December 1864)28,29
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:
  • Note: On November 30, 1864, the former regiments of Walker’s Brigade were sent to Barton’s command in the Department of Richmond.30

Eighth Offensive Order of Battle:

Barton’s Command | Department of Richmond | Confederate Army (January 1-9, 1865)

Barton’s Command | Lee’s Division | Department of Richmond | Confederate Army (January 9-February 28, 1865)31,32,33

  • Commander:
    • None listed. (January 1865)34
    • Colonel William S. Christian (February 1865)35
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:
  • Note: Field consolidation with the 47th Infantry Regiment  from February 1865 to April 9, 1865.36
  • Note: On January 9, 1865, Custis Lee’s Division was formed in the Department of Richmond, and Barton’s Brigade became a part of that organization.

Ninth Offensive Order of Battle: Barton’s Command | Lee’s Division | Department of Richmond | Confederate Army37,38

  • Commander:
    • None listed. (March 1865)39
    • Captain James A. Haynes (April 1-2, 1865)40
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:
  • Note: Field consolidation with the 47th Infantry Regiment  from February 1865 to April 9, 1865.41

Dyer’s/Sifakis’ Compendium Info:
Siege of Petersburg Battles42:

  • Petersburg Siege (June 1864-April 1865)
  • Squirrel Level Road (September 29, 1864)
  • Jones’ Farm (September 30, 1864)
  • Pegram’s Farm (October 1, 1864)
  • Harman Road (October 2, 1864)
  • Sayler’s Creek (April 6, 1865)
  • Appomattox Court House (April 9, 1865)

Bibliography:

    Siege of Petersburg Documents Which Mention This Unit:

    Sources:

    1. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Virginia by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 248-250 ↩
    2. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Virginia by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 248-250 ↩
    3. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 112 ↩
    4. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 112 ↩
    5. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 112 ↩
    6. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 121 ↩
    7. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 121 ↩
    8. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 131 ↩
    9. Confederate Inspection Report 16-P-17: Fry’s Brigade, August 15, 1864; Inspection Reports and Related Records Received By the Inspection Branch in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M935, Roll 10: Inspection Reports P-12 – 39-P-24); War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C. ↩
    10. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 131: Sibley indicates Christian was under arrest at this time.  More research is needed to find Sibley’s source. ↩
    11. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 131 ↩
    12. Confederate Inspection Report 16-P-17: Fry’s Brigade, August 15, 1864; Inspection Reports and Related Records Received By the Inspection Branch in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M935, Roll 10: Inspection Reports P-12 – 39-P-24); War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C. ↩
    13. Confederate Inspection Report 16-P-17: Fry’s Brigade, August 15, 1864; Inspection Reports and Related Records Received By the Inspection Branch in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M935, Roll 10: Inspection Reports P-12 – 39-P-24); War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C. ↩
    14. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 139 ↩
    15. Sommers, Richard J. “Grant’s Fifth Offensive at Petersburg: A Study in Strategy, Tactics, and Generalship.  The Battle of Poplar Spring Church, the First Battle of the Darbytown Road, the Second Battle of the Squirrel Level Road, the Second Battle of the Darbytown Road (Ulysses S. Grant, Virginia).” Doctoral Thesis. Rice University, 1970. Print. p. 1312. ↩
    16. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 139 ↩
    17. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 139: Fauntleroy was the senior captain before he was promoted to Major.  He took command from Davis when he rejoined the regiment on September 13, 1864.  I’m not sure why he was absent.  More research is needed. ↩
    18. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 148 ↩
    19. Confederate Inspection Report 19-P-24: Archer’s / Walker’s Brigade, September 30, 1864; Inspection Reports and Related Records Received By the Inspection Branch in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M935, Roll 10: Inspection Reports P-12 – 39-P-24); War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C. ↩
    20. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 139 ↩
    21. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 148 ↩
    22. Confederate Inspection Report 19-P-24: Archer’s / Walker’s Brigade, September 30, 1864; Inspection Reports and Related Records Received By the Inspection Branch in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M935, Roll 10: Inspection Reports P-12 – 39-P-24); War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C. ↩
    23. Confederate Inspection Report 19-P-24: Archer’s / Walker’s Brigade, September 30, 1864; Inspection Reports and Related Records Received By the Inspection Branch in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M935, Roll 10: Inspection Reports P-12 – 39-P-24); War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C. ↩
    24. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 148 ↩
    25. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 148 ↩
    26. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 156 ↩
    27. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 169 ↩
    28. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 156 ↩
    29. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 169 ↩
    30. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 169 ↩
    31. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 178 ↩
    32. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 187 ↩
    33. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 2 (Serial Number 96), page 1275: “Organization of the Infantry and Cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia, General R. E. Lee, C. S. Army, commanding, February 28, 1865”; This order of battle was based off of inspection reports from February 28, 1865.  However, leaders listed are from January.  I’ve chosen to ignore the leaders and just use this source for the organization of the order of battle. ↩
    34. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 178 ↩
    35. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 187 ↩
    36. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Virginia by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 248-250 ↩
    37. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 196 ↩
    38. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 206 ↩
    39. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 196 ↩
    40. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 206 ↩
    41. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Virginia by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 248-250 ↩
    42. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Virginia by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 248-250 ↩

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