Virginia 40th Infantry, Company C (Confederate)

Mechanicsville

Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac remained northeast of Richmond for three weeks after the Battle of Seven Pines. The new commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, Gen. Robert E. Lee, took that time to reorganize his defenses of the capital city and receive the reinforcements of Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's division from the Shenandoah Valley. After attacking Lee inconclusively at Oak Grove on June 25th, McClellan remained in place, with four of his five army corps south of…READ MORE

Gaines' Mill

Despite his victory over the Confederates at Beaver Dam Creek on June 26th, Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter's Fifth Corps abandoned its position early on June 27th and established a new defensive line along Boatswain's Creek, just north of the Chickahominy River.READ MORE

Glendale

Following the rear guard action at Savage's Station on June 29th, Maj. Gen. George McClellan's Army of the Potomac continued its retreat toward the safety of Harrison's Landing on the James River. On June 30th, after five days of constant fighting, the Confederate divisions of Maj. Gens. Benjamin Huger, James Longstreet, and A.P. Hill converged on the retreating Union army in the vicinity of Glendale. Longstreet's and Hill's attacks penetrated the Union defense near Willis Church, routing Brig. Gen. George…READ MORE

Gettysburg

In the summer of 1863, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee launched his second invasion of the Northern states. Lee sought to capitalize on recent Confederate victories and defeat the Union army on Northern soil, which he hoped would force the Lincoln administration to negotiate for peace. Lee also sought to take the war out of the ravaged Virginia farmland and gather supplies for his Army of Northern Virginia. Using the Shenandoah Valley as cover for his army, Lee was pursued first by Union Maj. Gen. Joseph Ho…READ MORE

Williamsport

During the night of July 4-5th, General Robert E. Lee's battered army began its retreat from Gettysburg, moving southwest toward Hagerstown and the Potomac River crossing at Williamsport, screened by Maj. Gen. J. E. B. Stuart's cavalry. Lee's infantry reached the rain-swollen Potomac but could not cross, the pontoon bridge having been destroyed by a cavalry raid. On July 11th, Lee entrenched a line protecting the river crossings at Williamsport and waited for Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's army to advance. On…READ MORE

Wilderness

The first battle between Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Gen. Robert E. Lee erupted late in the morning of May 5, 1864, as Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren's Union V Corps attacked Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell's Second Corps on the Orange Turnpike southwest of the old Chancellorsville battlefield. Although Federal infantry managed to break through at several points, the Confederate line held. Fighting shifted to the south as Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill's Third Corps engaged Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock's II Corps and ele…READ MORE