THE PURCELL, CRENSHAW AND LETCHER ARTILLERY
PEGRAM'S ARTILLERY BATTALION
THE VIRGINIA REGIMENTAL HISTORIES SERIES
BY PETER S. CARMICHAEL
SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR
FIRST EDITION
LIMITED EDITION - ONLY 1000 PUBLISHED; THIS IS #727.
FINE CONDITION BOOK
Original, Sharp, Bright, Clean, Solidly Bound Book
Handsome Cover Design with Virginia Regimental Histories Series Seal
Rich with Battle Maps, Photographs, Charts, Casulty Data, and a Bibliograph
Comprehensive Unit Roster for all Three Units Featured in the Book; Each Roster Contains the Civil War Service Records of Each Unit Member
HANDSOMELY PUBLISHED BY H.E. HOWARD, INC., LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA, IN 1990
Out-of-Print Book
This limited edition, signed, first edition book constitutes an excellent history of the three Confederate Artillery units: The Purcell, Crenshaw, and Letcher Artillery. The book presents includes details of the establishment and muster of the units, descriptions of battles and campaigns, specifics of individual soldiers in the command, biographicsl sketches, a unit roster of each unit, and maps, illustrations, photographs, and charts. The book contains a comprehensive unit roster on each unit featured in the book. Each of these rosters contain the Civil War service details of each member of the respective unit.
It was a warm afternoon on May 23, 1864; the Federals had forded the north Anna River at Jericho Mills. To meet this threat, A. P. Hill rushed Cadmus M. Wilcox’s division to the scene, supported by the Crenshaw, Purcell, and Letcher Batteries. The rivers lashed at their horses, their caissons rocked from side to side, and dust drifted in the air, as these Virginians artillerist rumbled to the front. Sitting along the road side, a Confederate foot soldier yelled out: “Make way, men, Make way right and left, here comes the fighting Battalion!”
The “fighting Battalion” justly deserved this title. Commanded by William R. J. Pegram, this organization earned its place among the elite units in the Army of northern Virginia. Without a question, no other group of batteries served with greater distinction in the “Long Arm of Lee,” than Pegram’s battalion. Pegram’s old battery, the Purcell Artillery, was organized in Richmond at the start of the war. The men witnessed the flight of the Yankees at First Manassas, but their first real test in battle did not occur until the Seven Day’s Campaign at Mechanicsville. The company started the fight with ninety men in the ranks, but when the day was over, forty-six men from the battery were lying on the ground, either killed or wounded. This unflinching courage manifested itself in the battery whenever these Virginians unlimbered their guns, prompting Pegram to say that the members of the Purcell Artillery “were the coolest and the most desperate men he ever saw in a tight place.”
The Crenshaw Artillery was also organized in the capital of the Confederacy, but now until the spring of 1862. The company’s first captain, William Graves Crenshaw, a wealthy Richmond merchant, outfitted the unit, and led his men into their first major battle at Gaines’ Mill during the Seven Days Campaign. The battery suffered heavy losses, and after the costly fight, Maxcy Gregg told Crenshaw’s men that the company’s three cannons were “as good as six of the enemy’s guns.” The unit upheld Gregg’s words throughout the war. Crenshaw’s cannoneers fought in very major battle of the Army of Northern Virginia, losing two guns at Five Forks and destroying the remaining pieces after the surrender at Appomattox.
The most colorful unit in Pegram’s battalion, the Letcher Artillery, sprouted into existence during the Spring of 1852. Even thought the unit was organized in Richmond, the battery’s ranks were filled with men who lived throughout the South. In a disproportionate number, the company attracted recruits from the “lower walks of life.” In fact, the Letcher Artillery received a steady supply of men from “Castle Thunder,” a prison for spies, criminals, and deserters. The unit’s first captain, Greenlae Davidson, captured the personality of the battery when he wrote in 1862 that “I have a very desperate and unruly set of men.” But these delinquent artillerist fought like savages on the battlefield, and their superiors commanded their performance at Malvern Hill, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and Ream’s Station. One of the battery’s officers explained the seemingly paradoxical nature of the Letcher artillery. He wrote: “The Meanest Material will stand to their post.”
THIS BOOK IS IN FINE CONDITION
Out-of-print, this limited edition, numbered, first edition book is signed by the author. Only 1000 copies of this book were printed. This is #727. The book is sharp, bright and clean. It has solid binding throughout. The book is part of The Virginia Regimental Histories Series and is handsomely published in Confederate-gray, cloth covers with bright, gold-gilded lettering and the image of the seal of the series on the cover. The exterior of the book has no bumping, rubbing or wear. The interior is clean and the pages are in excellent, bright-white condition. The author's signature is clear and sharp on the special title page as shown. The book has no other writing in the book and it has no smudging, foxing, stamps, pasteboard or other markings. It is not an ex-library book. The binding is solid and fine throughout the book. The book is rich with illustrations and photos. It contains statistical and casualty data and a bibliography. The book features a comprehensive unit roster of each of the units featured in the book. Each of these rosters contain the Civil War service details of each unit soldier. 234 pages. An fine condition, original, first edition copy of this out-of-print, author-signed book.
THE PURCELL, CRENSHAW AND LETCHER ARTILLERY PEGRAM'S ARTILLERY BATTALION THE VIRGINIA REGIMENTAL HISTORIES SERIES BY PETER S. CARMICHAEL
SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR
FIRST EDITION
LIMITED EDITION - ONLY 1000 PUBLISHED; THIS IS #727.
FINE CONDITION BOOK Original, Sharp, Bright, Clean, Solidly Bound Book
Handsome Cover Design with Virginia Regimental Histories Series Seal
Rich with Battle Maps, Photographs, Charts, Casulty Data, and a Bibliograph
Comprehensive Unit Roster for all Three Units Featured in the Book; Each Roster Contains the Civil War Service Records of Each Unit Member
HANDSOMELY PUBLISHED BY H.E. HOWARD, INC., LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA, IN 1990 Out-of-Print Book
This limited edition, signed, first edition book constitutes an excellent history of the three Confederate Artillery units: The Purcell, Crenshaw, and Letcher Artillery. The book presents includes details of the establishment and muster of the units, descriptions of battles and campaigns, specifics of individual soldiers in the command, biographicsl sketches, a unit roster of each unit, and maps, illustrations, photographs, and charts. The book contains a comprehensive unit roster on each unit featured in the book. Each of these rosters contain the Civil War service details of each member of the respective unit.
It was a warm afternoon on May 23, 1864; the Federals had forded the north Anna River at Jericho Mills. To meet this threat, A. P. Hill rushed Cadmus M. Wilcox’s division to the scene, supported by the Crenshaw, Purcell, and Letcher Batteries. The rivers lashed at their horses, their caissons rocked from side to side, and dust drifted in the air, as these Virginians artillerist rumbled to the front. Sitting along the road side, a Confederate foot soldier yelled out: “Make way, men, Make way right and left, here comes the fighting Battalion!”
The “fighting Battalion” justly deserved this title. Commanded by William R. J. Pegram, this organization earned its place among the elite units in the Army of northern Virginia. Without a question, no other group of batteries served with greater distinction in the “Long Arm of Lee,” than Pegram’s battalion. Pegram’s old battery, the Purcell Artillery, was organized in Richmond at the start of the war. The men witnessed the flight of the Yankees at First Manassas, but their first real test in battle did not occur until the Seven Day’s Campaign at Mechanicsville. The company started the fight with ninety men in the ranks, but when the day was over, forty-six men from the battery were lying on the ground, either killed or wounded. This unflinching courage manifested itself in the battery whenever these Virginians unlimbered their guns, prompting Pegram to say that the members of the Purcell Artillery “were the coolest and the most desperate men he ever saw in a tight place.”
The Crenshaw Artillery was also organized in the capital of the Confederacy, but now until the spring of 1862. The company’s first captain, William Graves Crenshaw, a wealthy Richmond merchant, outfitted the unit, and led his men into their first major battle at Gaines’ Mill during the Seven Days Campaign. The battery suffered heavy losses, and after the costly fight, Maxcy Gregg told Crenshaw’s men that the company’s three cannons were “as good as six of the enemy’s guns.” The unit upheld Gregg’s words throughout the war. Crenshaw’s cannoneers fought in very major battle of the Army of Northern Virginia, losing two guns at Five Forks and destroying the remaining pieces after the surrender at Appomattox.
The most colorful unit in Pegram’s battalion, the Letcher Artillery, sprouted into existence during the Spring of 1852. Even thought the unit was organized in Richmond, the battery’s ranks were filled with men who lived throughout the South. In a disproportionate number, the company attracted recruits from the “lower walks of life.” In fact, the Letcher Artillery received a steady supply of men from “Castle Thunder,” a prison for spies, criminals, and deserters. The unit’s first captain, Greenlae Davidson, captured the personality of the battery when he wrote in 1862 that “I have a very desperate and unruly set of men.” But these delinquent artillerist fought like savages on the battlefield, and their superiors commanded their performance at Malvern Hill, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and Ream’s Station. One of the battery’s officers explained the seemingly paradoxical nature of the Letcher artillery. He wrote: “The Meanest Material will stand to their post.”
THIS BOOK IS IN FINE CONDITION
Out-of-print, this limited edition, numbered, first edition book is signed by the author. Only 1000 copies of this book were printed. This is #727. The book is sharp, bright and clean. It has solid binding throughout. The book is part of The Virginia Regimental Histories Series and is handsomely published in Confederate-gray, cloth covers with bright, gold-gilded lettering and the image of the seal of the series on the cover. The exterior of the book has no bumping, rubbing or wear. The interior is clean and the pages are in excellent, bright-white condition. The author's signature is clear and sharp on the special title page as shown. The book has no other writing in the book and it has no smudging, foxing, stamps, pasteboard or other markings. It is not an ex-library book. The binding is solid and fine throughout the book. The book is rich with illustrations and photos. It contains statistical and casualty data and a bibliography. The book features a comprehensive unit roster of each of the units featured in the book. Each of these rosters contain the Civil War service details of each unit soldier. 234 pages. An fine condition, original, first edition copy of this out-of-print, author-signed book.
