The 44th Georgia Suffered Some of the Heaviest Losses - March ‘96 America’s Civil War Feature

 | America's Civil War  | 0 comments  |  Print This Post  |  Email This Post

The hard-fighting 44th Georgia suffered some of the heaviest losses of any regiment in the Civil War.
By Gerald J. Smith

On March 10, 1862, companies of Georgians from Henry, Jasper, Clarke, Spalding, Clayton, Putnam, Fayette, Pike, Morgan, Henry and Greene counties all assembled at Camp Stephens, outside Griffin. Responding to Governor Joseph Brown’s mandate to raise forces from each county, the companies were hastily mustered in as the 44th Georgia Regiment Volunteers.

On April 4, the new regiment was ordered to Goldsboro, N.C. For some soldiers, it would be the first leg of a three-year sojourn; for many others, it would be the first step toward eternity.

The 44th was soon allied with the 3rd Arkansas, the 1st North Carolina and the 3rd North Carolina to form a brigade under Brig. Gen. John G. Walker, in the division of Maj. Gen. Theophilus H. Holmes. On May 27, the brigade was ordered to Richmond to counter Union Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan’s advance up the Virginia Peninsula. The Battle of Seven Pines was just over when the brigade arrived on June 1, and the men assumed picket duty, with some skirmishing, until the Seven Days’ campaign began later that month. During the lull, the 48th Georgia was added to the brigade to replace the 3rd Arkansas. Also, Brig. Gen. Roswell Ripley succeeded Walker at the helm, and Maj. Gen. D.H. Hill assumed command of the division.

The 44th Georgia “washed its spears” at the June 26 Battle of Mechanicsville. The Union left lay along a ridge on the east bank of Beaver Dam Creek, strongly entrenched and supported by superb artillery–a position of great natural strength. Ripley’s brigade faced the enemy line at Ellison’s Mill. To close with the enemy, the Confederates had to descend a high hill, cross a high-banked creek, struggle through abatis, and endure a maelstrom of lead and iron. In the forlorn attack, the 44th lost 335 out of 514 effectives, including Colonel Robert A. Smith, who was mortally wounded leading the charge. A member of Company C wrote his wife afterward: “Nine of my company…now lie under the cold ground. Our regiment tried to take that battery but could not do it.”

At Malvern Hill on July 1, the regiment was again under heavy fire and lost substantially–13 dead and 16 wounded. Ultimately, the Seven Days’ campaign successfully and bloodily concluded, and Ripley’s brigade moved to Richmond, where it stayed until the middle of August.

On September 5, the brigade crossed the Potomac into Maryland. At the Battle of Antietam on the 17th, the brigade was posted on the left of Hill’s line, halfway between the Mumma Farm and Dunkard Church. Early that morning Ripley set fire to the Mumma buildings, crossed the Smoketown road and engaged the Union troops in Miller’s Cornfield. There, the brigade helped drive back the onrushing Federals and rescue Brig. Gen. John Bell Hood’s beleaguered Texas Brigade. Ripley was wounded at the Cornfield and was replaced by Colonel George Doles of the 4th Georgia, who led the countercharge that forced the enemy backward.

Out of ammunition from constant firing, the brigade was then moved into the West Woods near Dunkard Church to replenish their cartridge boxes and enjoy their rations. They remained there the rest of the day, harassed by intense artillery fire. In the battle, the 44th Georgia lost 17 killed, 65 wounded and 4 missing, out of 162 effectives.

The brigade retreated to the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, where the men rested from the rigors of the Maryland campaign. Colonel Doles was promoted to brigadier general in November and remained in charge of the brigade. John B. Estes replaced him as colonel. At the beginning of December, the men of the 44th Georgia moved to Port Royal, Va., where they remained until urgently requested to move toward Fredericksburg.

The next day the brigade marched to Hamilton’s Crossing, on General Robert E. Lee’s right, which was under the command of Lt. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson. They were placed in reserve. The division, having been in the front line of the fighting at Antietam, was put in the third line of battle at Fredericksburg, and lost only one killed, three wounded and one missing.

Help HistoryNet by bookmarking to

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.