History of Company G
The Nottoway Grays consisted primarily of men from the central and lower end of Nottoway County and the border areas of Dinwiddie, Lunenburg and Amelia.The troop drilled in the Bellefonte Grange near present day Blackstone.
On January 12 ,1861 Company 'G', 'Nottoway Rifle Guards', was formed, with the name being changed to 'Nottoway Grays' , shortly after. The first muster roll consisted of Five Officers, Eleven Nco's, Thirty Four Privates, an Inspector and a Secretry Treasurer. The members of the company were uniformed by themselves or assisted by friends. The County bought 100, minnie guns and turned 50 over to Company G. After organisation the Company was drilled a few times, then it's services were offered to the governor of VIrginia on 13th of April 1861. Governor Letcher duly accepted the company which was ordered to rendezvous at the Court House (Nottoway).
After only one days drilling the Company was ordered to report to Richmond on or about the 20th. Arriving in Richmond, the men were quartered temporarily at Mayo's warehouse and then sent to camp Lee, in the northwest section of the present city of Richmond. There they were trained by the cadets from the Virginia Military Academy. Having made progress in training, the Company was assigned to the 18th Virginia Infantry Regiment, General Picketts Brigade.
Regimental Officers being; Colonel R E Withers, Lt Colonel H A Carrrington and Major G C Cabell.
On May 26th, enlarged by 28 recruits, the Company left for Manassas, it now had 73 Officers and men. After picket duty at Centreville and Germantown, on the 17th of July the Company was withdrawn just as the union forces attacked and took new positions at Balls Bluff on Bull Run. On the 18th the battle of Bull Run began. The regiment was held in reserve untill the afternoon of the 21st. Itwas then committed to an attack on the union position at Henry House. This was the final charge of the day which routed the union forces. Except for picket line skirmishes there was little activity before going into winter quarters at Centreville, Virginia. During the winter several changes in command took place, Captain Connally resigned in December because of ill health, Lt P F Rowlett was elected Captain. On April 20th 1862 the Company was reorganised under the command of Captain Richard Irby, with the regiment moving to Yorktown.Here the company particapated in many skirmishes and in the general fighting around Yorktown and Williamsburg.Later it was in the withdrawal to the vicinity of Richmond ,on the Mechanicsville Pike.The next action by the company was at "Seven PInes ",and on June 26th fought at 'Gaines Mill', with Company 'G', losing, five men killed and many wounded. The next engagement for Company 'G' was at 'Fraysers Farm', it was in this battle that all the Company officers were disabled and the Company was commanded by Sgt Muse. The Company was reorganised at Darbytown where Captain Irby rejoined.
On May 10th, 1862 Company 'G', left the Richmond area for the first campaign in Maryland, there were only 33 men in the ranks at this time. The next engagement for the Company was in the vicinity of 'The Chinn House', during the second battle of Manassas, here one man was killed and several including Captain Irby, were wounded. Lt Campbell was in command, with the Company taking part in the battle of Boonsboro and Sharpsburg. On the 15th of October, Captain Irby rejoined the Company, which was incamped 6 miles from Winchester on the Harpers Ferry road. Later the Company moved to Fredericksburg where it was stationed in the centre of the line during the union assaults, on the 12th and 13th of December. Following this the Company went into winter quarters at the Holladay Farm. In the following May, Company 'G' was detatched from Picketts division along with 'Garnetts Brigade' and sent to Tarboro, N.C. The Company was later sent to Greenville, Little Washington but saw little fighting.
Following this tour the Company returned to Virginia, at Suffolk again rejoining Picketts Division, Longstreets Corps. From here it was marched to Petersburg and onto Richmond in preperation for the Gettysburg campaign. On the 3rd of July the Company was in position to support Dearings Artillery under the personal direction of General Lee himself and then went forward with the regiment as the forward skirmish line. Following the return to Virginia, Company 'G' ,was sent to Petersburg for guard duty and also to recruit its depleted strength. Later the Company was marched to Danville to serve as prisoner guards, still later it found itself in the trenches before Petersburg during the siege.
In April 1865, Company 'G', was on the extreme right of the defensive line and suffered heavily at the battle of 'Five Forks'. In the closing days of the war, on April the 6th, the Company made it's last stand with the old 'Picketts Division', at the battle of 'Saylors Creek'. All but two of its members were killed or captured in this last fight, Captain Campbell was among the dead.
Their Farthers Were Patriots,
"They owe it to the memory of those who died by their sides in that struggle, to let future generations know how bravely they suffered and fought. They are as worthy of the marble shaft or storied urn, as any martyrs for liberties sake that ever lived. Grant that they were mistaken that their cause was not right nevertheless they believed it right, and so believing, they dared to die for it. Partisan historians may brand us and them with the stigma of treason. Let our posterity read our own records, revealing the true spirit of our action, and know and rejoice at their farthers were patriots and worthy of the name patriots."
Captain Richard Irby, in 1878,Historical sketch of the 'Nottoway Grays'
