The Thirty-Eighth (38th) Georgia Volunteer Infantry Regiment began its organization in the summer of 1861 at Camp Kirkpatrick near Decatur, Georgia, and was at that time known as “Wright’s Legion” after it’s Colonel Augustus R. Wright (not to be confused with General Ambrose R. Wright). Unlike most regiment’s which were composed of ten companies the 38th actually contained 13 companies and numbered 1,200 men, however later three of these companies would be transferred out of the regiment to serve elsewhere. Completing its organizations the regiment elected Augustus R. Wright of Atlanta as Colonel, George W. Lee of Rome as Lieutenant Colonel, and Lewis J. Parr of Atlanta as Major; now complete the regiment was assigned to the Department of South Carolina, Georgia, & Florida, and sent to Savannah, where they were stationed on Skidaway Island, the Isle of Hope, and in the town for a time performing various camp and guard duties and learning the “School of the Solder.”
With the advance of the Union Army of the Potomac from Washington, D.C., down the coast and up the Peninsula towards Richmond the call was made for reinforcements to join the army of General Joseph Johnston to defend the capital. Among those troops called upon in May of 1862 was the 38th Georgia who were joined together with the 13th, 26th, 31st, 60th, and 61st Georgia Infantry Regiment under the command of Brigadier General Alexander R. Lawton at Savannah, and sent by rail north to Richmond. Before departing from Savannah however Companies M & N were detached from the regiment and kept in Savannah to act as Heavy Artillery companies and Company I was transferred out of the regiment to the 60th Georgia leaving ten companies remaining of the original thirteen. The Brigade arrived in Richmond on June 4th & 5th, 1862, and were assigned as the Fourth Brigade of the Second Division under the command of Major General Thomas J. Jackson. The regiment was almost immediately thrown into action to drive back the advancing Federal Army, and one of its first actions was the Battle of Gaines Mill on June 27th, 1862, in which the regiment lost 54 killed and 118 men wounded in action. Captain William Battery of Company G in his official report of the action gave the following account of the regiments part in the fighting.
“In obedience to orders received from you I have the honor to make the following report of the part my regiment bore in the late series of actions before Richmond. Not being in command in the commencement of the battle of June 27, and my attention being chiefly directed to my company, I, of course, am not able to furnish as complete a statement of that portion of the engagement as I otherwise would have been
“At about 5 o'clock of the evening of the above-mentioned day the order was passed down our line to accelerate our pace, which my regiment promptly obeyed, casting away all articles which encumbered them; thus, alternately marching and double-quicking, we entered the battle-field. Here we formed line with the rest of the brigade, our right flank toward the enemy. We then marched in column in the direction our right previously occupied, and, by the execution of the movement "Forward into line," found ourselves in line of battle face to face with the enemy at the distance of about 300 yards. Thus we marched under a most terrific fire to within about 180 yards of a body of 4,000 or 5,000 regulars. It was here that our colonel and major were wounded and the command devolved upon me.
“In obedience to orders received from Captain Lawton I commanded my men to "Fire and load lying," which order they promptly executed until nearly all the cartridges were expended. At this critical point of the engagement we were directed by the above-mentioned officer to charge, he leading in gallant style. My regiment executed the above-mentioned command with such good-will that it passed completely through that portion of the enemy opposed to it and carried a battery of five pieces beyond.
“Our loss was very severe, but my command bore it like veterans, and never in the entire engagement was there the least visible hesitation among them. My officers and men all behaved so well that it is impossible to distinguish those worthy of being mentioned.”
Following the fighting on the Peninsula the Army turned North and advanced against the Union forces of Major General John Pope, this movement brought on the Battle of Second Manassas (Bull Run) on August 29th & 30th, 1862, in which the regiment bore a conspicuous part in the fighting along the railroad cut, losing 62% of the 260 officer and men who were taken into the action. They then continued north in the advance into Maryland, and took part in the fighting on September 17th, 1862, near the Cornfield at the Battle of Sharpsburg (Antietam), Maryland, in which they entered the fight with 123 officers and men and lost 77%. At the end of the day the battle concluded as a draw, and the next day the Army began withdrawing south back into Virginia, and going into winter quarters near Fredericksburg, Virginia. That December the Army of the Potomac began another advance meant to out march General Lee and get between him and Richmond, however this plan fell apart at the town of Fredericksburg. On December 13th, 1862, the Union Army assaulted the Confederate positions all along the line, during the battle the 38th Georgia, under the command of Captain William L. McLeod, was on the right of the Confederate line below the town and employed west of the railroad opposite of Hamilton’s Crossing. The regiment, and brigade, advanced at 1:30 p.m., and advancing some 250 yards, and as Colonel Clement A. Evans commanding the brigade stated in his official report following the battle:
“came upon the enemy in a minute of time after they were first encountered by Captain Grace, receiving their fire without producing scarcely a perceptible check; fired in return, and, with loud cheers, dashed forward. From this time the contest consisted of but a series of temporary halts made by the enemy, only to be driven away from their positions. At the railroad the enemy made their most determined resistance, and for a few minutes poured a heavy fire into our line. Seeing that a charge was the most effectual plan to dislodge them, the order was given, and so rapidly accomplished that many of the enemy were captured, and, a few, in their attempts to get away, received the application of the bayonet.”
“At this part of the railroad a short neck of woods juts out into the plain, so that on our right and left were the open fields, while before the line lay this neck of thickly matted woods. Under its shelter the enemy fled, pursued by these four regiments with so much precipitation that both parties entered the ditches beyond almost together. At the railroad and in these ditches a large number of prisoners were captured and sent to the rear, among whom was one colonel and several officers of minor grade. A battery posted to the left on a hill about 200 yards distant from the last ditches referred to, tempted the troops still farther into the field, firing as they advanced toward it upon men and horses with such effect as to cause a portion of the battery to be withdrawn and the remainder to be abandoned. The prize was virtually in the hands of these gallant men, being abandoned and within 75 yards of the place where they stood, but at this moment a heavy line of the enemy advanced on our right flank [learned since to have been General Birney's division], and seeing that all had been accomplished which was in the power of these men to do, I communicated the order to them to retire to the protection of the woods. In the heat of the contest these four regiments may have gone too far, but brave men in that important struggle feel that they scarcely went far enough.”
The battle cost the regiment 10 men killed and 91 wounded in action. Following the Battle of Fredericksburg the regiment went into winter quarters throughout the winter of 1862-1863 along with the remainder of the army. The end of the winter encampment came suddenly in late April of 1863 as the Army of the Potomac, now under Major General Joseph Hooker, began making a flanking movement to try and once again out march the Army of Northern Virginia. In this they initially succeeded, however then due to the various reasons Hooker froze, and Lee was able to react quickly, throwing his troops to the west of Fredericksburg he effectively blocked Hooker near the small hamlet of Chancellorsville. Along with the other units of Jackson’s 2nd Corps the regiment moved out promptly and took part in the flanking movement by that command which succeeded in flanking and driving the Federal Army back in great disorder. Resting only briefly the army moved north once again as part of General Jubal Earlys Division of the 2nd Corps. General John B. Gordon, commanding the brigade outlined the movements of the regiment and brigade in his official report as follows:
“I have the honor to report that my brigade began the march with Early's division from Hamilton's Crossing on June 4 last. Halting at Culpepper Court-House two days, on the night of the 12th, after a most exhausting march of 17 miles in about six hours, we reached Front Royal. I was ordered to move on the pike leading to Winchester at 3 a.m. June 13th. Fording both branches of the Shenandoah, we marched a to point on the Staunton pike about 3. 1/2 miles from Winchester, when, as ordered by Major-General Early, I moved to the left of this road, and formed line of battle 3 miles southwest of the town. About 4 o'clock in the afternoon, I deployed a line of skirmishers, and moved forward to the attack, holding two regiments (the Thirty-first Georgia)in reserve. After advancing several hundred yards, I found it necessary to bring into line, a portion of which he was immediately driven. A battery which I had hoped to captured was rapidly withdrawn. In this charge, which was executed with spirit and unchecked at any point, my brigade lost 75 men, including some efficient officers. On the 14th, detachments from this brigade were engaged in skirmishing with the enemy in front of the town and fort. In accordance with orders from Major-General Early, received on the night of the 14th, I began to move my brigade upon the fort a daylight the following morning. I soon discovered that the fort was evacuated, and, sending a detachment to occupy it and take possession of the garrison flag, I sent an officer to communicate with the major- general, and moved as rapidly as possible in the direction of the firing, distinctly heard, on the Martinsburg pike. My brigade reached the point where a portion of Johnson's division engaged the retreating enemy only in time to assist in collecting horses and prisoners. Crossing the Potomac at Shepherdstown on June 22, we marched through Boonsborough, Md., to Gettysburg, Pa. Before reaching this place, my brigade was detached by Major-General Early from the division, and ordered on a different road, with a battalion of cavalry, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel [E.V.] White. In front of Gettysburg, a regiment of Pennsylvania militia was charged and routed by this cavalry battalion. I was here ordered to move on the direct pike to the city of York.
“Before entering this place, the mayor and a deputation of citizens were sent out by the city instructions from Major-General Early, I moved directly through, having sent in front of the brigade a provost guard to occupy the city and take down the Federal flag left flying over the principal street. We moved by the direct pike to Wrightsville, on the Susquehanna. At this point I found a body of Pennsylvania militia nearly equal in number to my brigade, reported by the commanding officer (whom we captured)at 1,200 men, strongly entrenched, but without artillery. A line of skirmishers was sent to make a demonstration in front of these works, while I moved to the right by a circuitous route with three regiments, in order to turn these works, and, in possible, gain the enemy's rear, cut off his retreat, and seize the bridge. This I found impracticable, and, placing in position the battery under my command, opened on the works, and by a few well-aimed shots and the advance of my lines, caused this force to retreat precipitately, with the loss of about 20 prisoners, including, 1 lieutenant-colonel. I had no means of ascertaining the enemy's number of killed and wounded; 1 dead was left on the field. Our loss, 1 wounded. It may not be improper in this connection, as evidence of the base ingratitude of our enemies, to state that the Yankee press has attributed to my brigade the burning of the town of Wrightsville. In his retreat across the bridge, the enemy fired it about midway with the most inflammable materials. Every effort was made to extinguish this fire and save the bridge, but it was impossible. From this the town was fired, and, notwithstanding the excessive fatigue of the men from the march of 20 miles and the skirmishes with the enemy, I formed my brigade in line around the burning buildings, and resisted the progress of the flames until they were checked. Leaving Wrightsville on the morning of the 29th, I sent the cavalry under my command to burn all the bridges (fourteen in number) on the road railroad leading to York, to which place I marched my brigade, and rejoined the division, from which we had been separated since June 26.
“Marching thence to Gettysburg, we participated in the battle of July 1. In accordance with orders from Major-General Early, I formed my brigade in line of on the right of the division, one regiment (the Twenty-sixth Georgia) having been detached to support the artillery under Lieutenant-Colonel Jones. About 3 pm. I was ordered to move my brigade forward to the support of Major-General Rhodes left. The men were much fatigued from long marches, and I therefore caused them to move forward slowly until within about 300 yards of the enemy's line, when the advance was as rapid as the nature of the ground and a proper regard for the preservation of my line would permit. The enemy had succeeded in gaining a position upon the left flank of Dole's brigade, and in causing these troops to retreat. This movement of the enemy would necessarily have exposed his right flank but for the precaution he had taken to cover it by another line. It was upon this line, drawn up in a strong position on the crest of a hill, a portion of which was woodland, that my brigade charged. Moving forward under heavy fire over rail and plank fences, and crossing a creek whose banks were so abrupt as to prevent a passage excepting at certain points, this brigade rushed upon the enemy with a resolution and spirit, in my option, rarely excelled. The enemy made a most obstinate resistance until the colors on portions of the two lines were separated by a space of less than 50 paces, when his line was broken and driven back, leaving the flank which this line was broken and driven back, leaving the flank which this line had protected exposed to the fire from my brigade. An effort was here made by the enemy to change his front and check our advance, but the effort failed, and this line, too was driven back in the greatest confusion, and with immense loss in killed. wounded, and prisoners. Among the latter was a division commander (General [F. C.] Barlow), who was severely wounded. I was here ordered by Major-General Early to halt. I had no means of ascertaining the number of the enemy's wounded by the fire of this brigade, but if these were in the usual proportion to his killed, nearly 300 of whom were buried on the ground where my brigade fought, his loss in killed and wounded must have exceeded the number of men I carried into action. Neither was it possible for me take any account of the prisoners sent to the rear, but the division inspector credits this brigade with about 1,800. I carried into action about 1,200 men, one regiment having been detached, as above stated. The loss of the brigade in killed and wounded was 350, of whom 40 were killed.
“The movement during the succeeding days of the battle (July 2 and 3), I do not consider of sufficient importance to mention. In the afternoon of July 5, on the retreat from Gettysburg my brigade, acting as rear guard, was pressed by the enemy near Fairfield, PA. I was ordered by Major-General Early to hold him in check until the wagon and division trains could be moved forward. Detaching one regiment (The Twenty-sixth Georgia), I deployed it and after a spirited skirmish succeeded in driving back the enemy's advance guard and in withdrawing this regiment through the woods, with the loss of killed and wounded. On July 14, this brigade, with division, recrossed the Potomac at Williamsport. It would be gratifying, and in accordance with my sense of justice, to mention the acts of individual courage which came under my own observation, and which have been reported to me, but as the exhibition of this virtue was the general rule, I should do injustice to many if I attempted it.”
The regiment entered the fight at Gettysburg on July 1st with 341 officers and men and at the end of the day on July 3rd had lost 35% of their effective strength. Returning south with the army they encamped along Mine Run and went into winter quarters, performing the regular routine of camp life with little excitement except for a small part played in the Mine Run Campaign from November 26th to December 2nd, 1863, in which there was minor skirmishing taking place. In April of 1864, almost in a shadow of April 1863 the Union Army once again began marching south, this time with Major General George G. Meade at the head of the Army of the Potomac and Lieutenant General U.S. Grant supervising and directing movements of all the Union Armies. They crossed again into the Chancellorsville area and Lee once again meet them in what would be known as the Battle of the Wilderness on May 5th & 6th, 1864, however after hard fighting and severe losses the Union army instead of retreating continued to advance by the flank. The fighting moved on from there to Spotsylvania Courthouse on May 12th, and the brigade took a prominent part in this fighting helping to recapture a portion of the famous Mule Shoe that had been captured. The troops of the 2nd Corps, now under General Jubal Early were pulled out of the main line and sent west into the Shenandoah Valley as part of a plan by General Lee to draw Union troops away from the Army of the Potomac and forcing it to either halt or withdraw. The 2nd Corps advanced quickly through the valley engaging in several actions along the way, and in July advanced into Maryland, fighting actions at Monacacy, Maryland, on July 9th, 1864, and at Fort Stevens outside of Washington, D.C., later that month. Reinforcements from Grant’s army arrived in Washington just in time and Early began withdrawing south back into Virginia. Now pursued by a larger Union Army under Major General Philip Sheridan the regiment took part in the running battles at Middletown on August 24th, at Winchester on August 25th, and then at Fisher’s Hill on September 22nd. Being driven farther south the men were engaged again on October 18th & 19th at the Battle of Cedar Creek, in which they at first surprised and drove the Union Army from the field, however were then in turn attacked and forced back in confusion.
With the defeat of General Early’s forces in the Shenandoah Valley General Lee recalled a large portion to the defenses of Richmond & Petersburg in December of 1864, and as such the regiment returned to Petersburg, taking its place in the line and constructing their winter quarters on December 31st, 1864. At Petersburg the regiment would perform heavy guard and fatigue duties, and on February 5tth, 6th, & 7th, 1865, found themselves engaged in the Battle of Hatcher’s Run, and in the attack on Fort Steadman on March 25th, 1865. Of the activities of the regiment W.F.A. Dickerson of Company D would write that “where we divided in three relief’s and were on duty day and night. None were allowed to remove cartridge boxes.” The regiment would take part in the siege of the two cities until April of 1865 when the Confederate lines defending the towns collapsed, and the withdrawal from Richmond and Petersburg was begun. Retreating with the army westward the Army W.F.A. Dickerson describes the final movements of the Regiments that were to end on April 9th, 1865, near Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia.
“Fighting continued all day. We kept moving our line from right to left. We were not engaged on that night. Took up line of march, in the direction of Amelia Court House, and continued to march day and night until the night of the 4th when we stopped and drew rations. On the 5th we lay in battle line all day and marched all that night. At daylight we took two hours' rest. On the 6th fought all day and retreated at night. Marched to High Bridge at Farmville. On the 7th we lay in battle line all day. At night we took line of march and continued until the evening of the 8th. Stopped to within 28 miles of Lynchburg. At Appomattox Court House we drew short rations. While cooking cannonading began and we were called in line. At nine o'clock we marched to Court House and lay in battle line the remainder of the night. On the 9th we had a fight and drove the enemy in our front. At ten o'clock we surrendered and went in camp. On the 10th we drew rations from the United States. On the 12th we received our paroles and started home, where I arrived on April the 30th.”
On April 9th, 1865, the regiment fought its last battle and was officially surrendered when General’s Lee and Grant meet to set the terms. When the Army was paroled on April 12th the regiment was under the command of Lieutenant Colonel P.E. Davant with a total of 112 Officers and men, of which only 73 were under arms, the men kept together for a short time following the surrender as they headed south, then made their own ways back home.
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Lt. Colonel William L. McLeod
"General John B. Gordon at Gettysburg - July 1st, 1863." Don Troiani Print