site logo
Confederate flag

Confederate Battalion

1st Virginia Infantry Battalion

"Irish Battalion"

 

Commanding Officer on the Sharpsburg Campaign:
  Capt. C. A. Davidson

 

This Battalion's Chain of Command:
  Army - Army of Northern Virginia
  Corps - Jackson's Command
  Division - Jackson's Division
  Brigade - Jones' Brigade


Unit history

1st Infantry Battalion Regulars was organized in May 1861, with men from the city of Richmond and Hanover County. The unit contained five companies and was known as the Irish Battalion. It moved to western Virginia and participated in Lee's Cheat Mountain Campaign, then fought at First Kernstown, McDowell, and in Jackson's Valley Campaign.

The unit was then assigned to General J.R. Jones' Brigade and was involved in many conflicts of the Army of Northern Virginia from the Seven Day's Battles to Fredericksburg.

Later it was assigned to General Headquarters and in November 1864, Provost Guard. It lost twenty-five percent of the 187 engaged at First Manassas, had 3 wounded during the Seven Days' Battles and 3 killed and 19 wounded at Second Manassas. The unit surrendered 18 officers and 120 men.

On the Sharpsburg Campaign

They fought with the Brigade in the capture of Harpers Ferry on 14 and 15 September 1862, and in and near the West Woods at Sharpsburg on 17 September. The whole brigade numbered fewer than 200 men at the beginning of the fight at Sharpsburg.

Map Showing this Unit

Battlefield Tablets for this Unit

Tablet #314: Jackson's Command - 15 Sep, 4 PM to 16 Sep, 10 PM
Tablet #381: Jackson's Division, Jackson's Command - 16 Sep, 4 PM to 16 Sep, 7 PM
Tablet #334: Jones' Brigade, Jackson's Division - 16 Sep, 6 PM to 17 Sep, 10 AM
Tablet #315: Jackson's Command - 17 Sep, 5 AM to 17 Sep, 10 AM
Tablet #382: Jackson's Division, Jackson's Command - 17 Sep, 5 AM to 17 Sep, 7 AM
Tablet #382, cont: Jackson's Division, Jackson's Command - 17 Sep, 7 AM to 17 Sep, 9 AM

References & Notes

The unit history above is quoted from the Park Service.1 Their service in Maryland from Brigades.2

We have 4 individuals in the AotW database who were on the Maryland Campaign with this unit:

 

Co. Rank Name Casualty? Details*
APvtDonovan, Dennis KIA   09/17     We have some details for this person
APvtO'Brien, James MWIA   09/17     We have some details for this person
BPvtRamsey, George W.MWIA   09/17     We have some details for this person
ECaptDavidson, Charles Andrew        We have a picture for this person We have some details for this person

 

* If there's a symbol in the Details column ...

We have a picture for this person - We have a picture for this person
We have further details for this person - We have details beyond name and rank
Click on their last name to see more

Notes

1   US National Park Service, Department of the Interior, Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, Published c. 1999, first accessed 01 January 2000, <http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/index.html>, Source page: /search-battle-units-detail.htm?battleUnitCode=CVA0001BI01  [AotW citation 27786]

2   Gottfried, Bradley M. (editor), Brigades of Antietam: The Union and Confederate Brigades at the Battle of Antietam, Sharpsburg, MD: The Press of the Antietam Institute, 2021, pp. 343-344  [AotW citation 27787]