MUSTERING INTO SERVICE
The 61st Georgia Volunteer Infantry (also called the 26th regiment at one time) was assembled at Charleston, South Carolina in May 1862. The 7th Georgia Battalion was the foundation drawn on for establishment of this new regiment.
OFFICERS OF THE 61ST REGIMENT
During the existence of the of the 61st Georgia Infantry regiment the commanding officers included:
Colonel: John H. Lamar; Lieutenant Colonels: Charles W. McArthur (a former captain) and James Y. McDuffie (a former captain); Majors: Peter Brenan (a former captain), Archibald P. McRae (a former captain killed in action), Henry Tillman (a former captain), and James D. Van Valkenburg. Captains included: G.D. Wilcox, D.R.A. Johnson, Daniel McDonald, S.H. Kennedy, Charles W. McArthur, Peter Brennan, W. Fannin, J.M. Dasher, James D. Van Valkenburg, E.F. Sharpe, T.M. McRae, J.A. Edmondson, T.T. Colley. The adjutants were G.W. Lamar and G.C. Conner. The assistant quartermaster was George Higgins.
COMPANY ORGANIZATION
The 61st Georgia Volunteer Infantry was organized with men from the following counties:
Company A - Irwin Cowboys (Irwin County, Captains Wilcox & McDuffie)
Company B - Tattnall Rangers (Tattnall County, Captains Johnson & A.P. McRae)
Company C - Brooks Rifles and Wiregrass Riflemen (Brooks and Thomas Counties, Captains McDonald & Edmonson)
Company D - DeKalb Guards (Bulloch County, Captains Kennedy & Tillman)
Company E - Montgomery Sharpshooters (Montgomery County, Captains
McArthur & T.M. McRae)
Company F is called the Stark/Starke Guards
Company G - Wilkes Guards (Wilkes County, Captains Fannin & Colley)
Company H - Tattnall Volunteers (Tattnall County, Captain Dasher)
Company I - Thompson Guards (Macon and Bibb County, Captain Van Valkenburg)
Company K - formed with volunteers from Companies A-I (Captain Sharpe)
BRIGADE INFORMATION
During this time the regiment was brigaded under Brigadier General Alexander Lawton who had proposed formation of an elite brigade of Georgia troops to repel the threat posed by McClellan's advance from Williamsburg on the Confederate capital at Richmond. Later the brigade would be commanded by Brigadier General Gordon and finally by Brigadier General Evans. The brigade served with the Army of Northern Virginia and is often found in research named as the Lawton-Gordon-Evans Georgia Brigade named for its three principal commanders.
The Lawton-Gordon-Evans Georgia Brigade was initially comprised of six regiments, which besides the 61st Georgia Volunteer Infantry included the 13th, 26th, 31st, 38th, and 60th Georgia Volunteer Infantries. This brigade was raised at the call of Georgia Governor Joe Brown for the defense of the Georgia coast following the bombardment of Fort Sumtner in 1861.
The regiment began service as part of the Lawton-Gordon-Evans Georgia Brigade by participating in the Seven Days Battles in and around Richmond, Virginia, June 1862, later went with General Early to the Shennadoah Valley and continued to fight in numerous engagements until surrender at Appomattox in April 1865.
SERVICE ENGAGEMENTS
The 61st Georgia Volunteer Infantry regimental service included:
Seven Days Battles June 1862
Gains Mills, 27 June 1862
Malvern Hill, 1 July 1862
Bristoe Station, 27 August 1862
Groveton/Brawner's Farm, 28 August 1862
Second Bull Run or Manassas, 29-30 August 1862
Sharpsburg/Antietam, 17 September 1862
Fredericksburg, 13 December 1862
Chancellorsville, 29 April-5 May 1863
Winchester, 13-14 June 1863
York & Wrightsville, 28-29 June 1863
Gettsyburg, 1-3 July 1863
Battle of the Wilderness, 5-6 May 1864
Spotsylvania Court House, 10-12 May 1864
Monocacy, 9 July 9 1864
Winchester/Opequon Creek, 19 September 1864
Fisher's Hill, 22 September 1864
Cedar Creek, 19 October 1864
Hatcher's Run, 5-7 February 1865
Hares Hill/Fort Steadman, 25 March 1865
Appomattox Court House, 9 April 1865
SEVEN DAYS BATTLES PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN
The regiment with a strength of 1000 officers and men was ordered North from Charleston, South Carolina to Petersburg, Virginia in June 1862 to help support the Army of Northern Virginia. As part of the six regiments of the brigade which mustered between 6,000-7000 men, the 61st Georgia moved by train to the Shenandoah Valley to re-enforce General Stonewall Jackson. This troop movement was part of a deception planned by General Lee to mask his planned offensive against a massive Union force of over 100,000 men, led by General George McClellan. McClellan's men were occupying the lower part of the peninsula between the York and James Rivers since March 1862, and were slowly advanced northwestward toward Richmond.
PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN--SEVEN DAYS' BATTLES No. 200. -- Organization of the Confederate forces during the engagements around Richmond, Va. JACKSON'S DIVISION Fourth Brigade Brigadier General A. R. LAWTON, 13th Georgia, 26th Georgia, 31st Georgia, 38th Georgia, 60th Georgia (or 4th Battalion), 61st GA (O.R.-- SERIES I--VOLUME XI/2 )
Lee wrote to Jackson on 11 June 1862 telling Jackson of the new Georgia troops, including the 61st Georgia regiment now assigned to his command:
"Brigadier-General Lawton with six regiments from Georgia is on the way to you, and Brigadier-General Whiting with eight veteran regiments leaves here today. The object is to enable you to crush the forces opposed to you. Leave your enfeebled troops to watch the country and guard the passes, covered by your cavalry and artillery, and with your main body, including Ewell's division and Lawton's and Whiting's commands, move rapidly to Ashland, by rail or otherwise, as you may find most advantageous, and sweep down between the Chickahominy and Pamunkey, cutting up the enemy's communications, etc., while this army attacks General McClellan in front."
The strategy described in Lee's letter was speeded along on 16 June 1862 when the order went out for Jackson to move his army without further delay and join Lee's peninsula offensive.
As General Jackson's troops marched closer to Richmond, McClellan ordered fortification of Porter's positions north of the Chickahominy and established a second supply base at Harrison's Landing on the James River, allowing him the flexibility to move north or south when the Confederates mounted an attack.
A heavy skirmish south of the Chickahominy on 25 June 1862 prompted Lee to force his attack on the following day. General Jackson's army, still on the march, was nowhere near the point of attack. Marching his troops relentlessly for days following Lee's summons, Jackson bivouacked at Hundley's Corner on the afternoon of 26 June 1862, within three miles of the hard fighting underway at Beaver Dam Creek.
The 61st Georgia arrived with General Jackson's column and received its baptism of fire at the battle of Gaines Mill, 27 June 1862. Spurred on by General Richard Ewell's "Hurrah for Georgia," they formed a line of battle and advanced through a heavy wooded area until they met the enemy. The 61st Georgia along with the other Georgia regiments of Lawton's brigade were the first Confederates engaged in this battle, meeting the Union army near Cold Harbor. The regiment advanced into Boatswain Swamp on the far left of the Confederate line at 5:00 PM "in perfect order through the woods and sticky-wet soil." Casualties this day were light.