Confederate Regiments & BatteriesSouth Carolina


The field officers of the Holcombe Legion were Colonels William J. Crawley, Stephen Elliot, Jr., W. Pinkney Shingler, and P.F. Stevens; Lieutenant Colonels F.G. Palmer and Thomas V. Walsh; and Majors A.C. Garlington and Martin G. Zeigler.

1861
November 21

The Holcombe Legion was created under the command of Colonel Peter F. Stevens, an Episcopal priest who had been Superintendant of The Citadel. The Legion consisted of an infantry and a cavalry battalion but no artillery, whcih was normally part of a legion. The infantry battalion originally consisted of eight companies, which later expanded to ten companies.

Company A (Smith’s Riflemen and the Palmetto Riflemen) – Captain William James W. Smith
Company B (Batesville Volunteers) – Captain J.F. Sloan
Company C (Morgan Rifles) – Captain J. Earl Bomar
Company D (Stevens Guards) – Captain W.J. Crawely
Company E (Spartan Guards, or Camden Rangers) – Captain W.P. Roebuck
Company F (Ripley Guards) – Captain M.G. Zeigler
Company G – Captain J.B. Heller
Company H (Frog Level Scouts) – Captain J.M. Maffett
Company I (Fort Prince Guards) – Captain William P. Bishop
Company K (Lucas Guards) – Captain L.W.R. Blair

The four cavalry companies served separately and eventually became part of the 7th South Carolina Cavalry Regiment.

The Holcombe Legion was named for the wife of the Governor of South Carolina, Lucy Holcombe Pickens.

1862
January 22-25 Expedition to Edisto Island (detachment)
March 29 Edisto Island
May-June Assigned to 3rd Military District of South Carolina, Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.
June-July Assigned to 2nd Military District of South Carolina, Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.
July 17 Moved to Virginia and assigned to Evans’s Brigade,  Drayton’s Division, Longstreet’s Command, Army of Northern Virginia. The Legion’s cavalry was separated at this time and would serve apart from the infantry of the Legion.
August-October Assigned to Evans’s Independent Brigade, Longstreet’s Command, Army of Northern Virginia.
August 23
Rappahannock Station
August 28-30
Second Battle of Manassas (Bull Run)

The Legion lost 24 men dead and 131 wounded. Lieutenant Colonel F.G. Palmer was mortally wounded.

September 14
Battle of South Mountain (Boonsborough)

The Legion mustered 276 men. Colonel Stevens took command of the brigade as senior colonel while Brigadier General Evans commanded the division. Major William Crawley took over the Legion.

September 17
Battle of Sharpsburg (Antietam)

The Legion lost 18 men wounded.

October-November Assigned to Evans’s Brigade, McLaws’s Division, 1st Corps, Army of Northern Virginia.
October 8 Colonel Stevens resigned, having decided that he had enlisted to defend his home state, not the fight in Virginia. He returned to the ministry.
November-February Assigned to Evans’s Brigade, French’s Command, Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia.
1863
February-March Assigned to Evans’s Brigade, District of Cape Fear, Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia.
May Assigned to Evans’s Brigade, 1st Military District of South Carolina, Department of South Carolina Georgia, and Florida.
June Assigned to Evans’s Brigade, Breckinridge’s Division, Department of the West.
July-August Assigned to Evans’s Brigade, French’s Division, Department of the West.
July
Siege of Jackson
August Assigned to Evans’s Brigade, Military District of Georgia, Department of South Carolina Georgia, and Florida.
August-September
Charleston Harbor

Assigned to Evans’s Brigade, 2nd Sub-Division, 1st Military District of South Carolina, Department of South Carolina Georgia, and Florida.

October-March Assigned to Evans’s Brigade, 1st Military District of South Carolina, Department of South Carolina Georgia, and Florida.
1864
May 7 Stony Creek Station (detachment)
May 8 Nottoway Bridge and Jarratt’s Station (detachment)
May 17-June 16 Bermuda Hundred
June-October Assigned to Evans’s-Wallace’s Brigade, Johnson’s Division, Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia.
June-April
Siege of Petersburg
July 30
Battle of The Crater
October-April Assigned to Wallace’s Brigade, Johnson’s Division, 4th Corps, Army of Northern Virginia.
1865
March 25
Battle of Fort Stedman
April 1
Battle of Five Forks
April 9
Appomattox Court House

The Holcombe Legion surrendered 2 officers and 30 enlisted men.