Unit

Confederate Battery

Chew's (VA) Battery

"Ashby Artillery"

Commanding Officer:
Capt. R. P. Chew

Arms:
  1   Blakely
  1   12-pdr. Howitzer
  2   3-in. Ordnance Rifle

possibly quantity 3 of the 3-inch rifles

Battlefield Tablet for this Unit:
   Tablet #317: Stuart's Cavalry Division - 16 Sep, 9 PM to 19 Sep, 12 PM

This Battery's Chain of Command:
  Army - Army of Northern Virginia
  Corps - Jackson's Command
  Division - Stuart's Cavalry Division
  Brigade - Stuart's/Pelham's Horse Artillery

History of the Unit:
Roger Preston Chew was only 19 years old, Milton Rouse 17 years old, and James Thomson 18 years old the day the three appeared before their former VMI artillery instructor, Col. Thomas J. Jackson, to offer their services as volunteers in the new army of the Confederate States of America. At the suggestion of Turner Ashby, flamboyant commander of Jackson's cavalry in the Shenandoah Valley, the three were commissioned, respectively, Captain, First Lieutenant, and Second Lieutenant of an artillery battery that would revolutionize the tactics of the American Civil War."

"Chew's Battery, armed with an imported British Blakely rifled cannon, a 12-pounder smoothbore and a 3-inch iron rifle, became the first of several horse artillery batteries organized and employed by Confederate cavalry commanders. By the time the war ended, Chew's Battery enjoyed a reputation for valor second to no other battery in Confederate service."

In the Antietam Campaign:
Probably not actually engaged at Sharpsburg on September 17th. The battery was still at Sherpherdstown at 3 pm that day when the repaired Blakely arrived from Martinsburg, and did not reach the battlefield til sundown or later.

References, Sources, and other Notes:
Text quoted from the Chew Battery page.

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