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HISTORY OF WOFFORD’S BRIGADE
The following document will be an overview of the formation, engagements, and movement of the Georgia brigade commonly called Wofford’s Brigade. The brigade consisted of five and eventually six regiments, 16th Georgia, 18th Georgia, 24th Georgia, Cobb’s Legion, Phillip’s Legion, then in 1863 the 3rd Battalion, Georgia Sharpshooters. The brigade was for the most part used exclusively in the Eastern Theater but did move west under General James Longstreet in 1863 and the beginning of 1864. Though referred to as Wofford’s Brigade, the brigade was commanded by several generals throughout the course of the war starting with Thomas F. Drayton, then Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb, then William T. Wofford, followed by Dudly M. DuBose.
REGIMENTS OF WOFFORD’S BRIGADE
16th Georgia Infantry – This regiment was organized during the early summer of 1861. Its companies were raised in the counties of Madison, Elbert, Gwinnett, Habersham, Jackson, and Hart. The regiment had a force of 488 effectives in April, 1862, lost 11 killed and 50 wounded at Malvern Hill, and of the 368 engaged at South Mountain, fifty-two percent were disabled. It sustained 70 casualties at Fredericksburg, 133 at Chancellorsville, and twenty-six percent of the 303 at Gettysburg. The 16th lost many at Sayler's Creek and surrendered 2 officers and 51 men. Its commanders were Colonels Goode Bryan, Howell Cobb, James S. Gholston, and Henry P. Thomas; Lieutenant Colonel B. Edward Stiles; and Major John H. Skelton.
Ancestors in the 16th Georgia Infantry
1. Great X3 Grandfather Cpl. Jackson Hilliard Randolph of Co. G
2. Great X3 Uncle Pvt. John T. Randolph of Co. G.
3. Great X3 Uncle Cpl. Wood Leroy Oliver Randolph of Co. G.
4. Great X3 Uncle Cpl. Hilliard Judge Randolph of Co. G.
5. Great X4 Cousin 2nd Lt. Francis Marion Bradley of Co. B (Died of Disease)
6. Great X4 Cousin Pvt. Thomas J. Bradley of Co. B. (Killed at Gettysburg)
7. Great X4 Cousin 2nd Lt. Charles Thomas Whitehead of Co. H.
8. Great X4 Cousin 1st Lt. John Calhoun Whitehead of Co. H.
9. Great X4 Cousin Pvt. Washington R. Randolph of Co. B.
18th Georgia Infantry – This regiment was organized during the spring of 1861 with slightly more than 750 men. Its companies were recruited in the counties of Cobb, Newton, Stephens, Jackson, and Dooly. In April, 1862, it contained 634 effectives, reported 14 killed and 128 wounded at Gaines' Mill, and had 19 killed and 114 wounded at Second Manassas. The regiment lost fifty-seven percent of the 176 engaged at Sharpsburg. There were 14 killed and 72 wounded at Chancellorsville, and of the 302 who saw action at Gettysburg, twelve percent were disabled. Many were captured at Sayler's Creek and only 1 officer and 52 were surrendered in April, 1865. Its commanding officers were Colonels Joseph Armstrong, S.Z. Ruff, and William T. Wofford; Lieutenant Colonel Francis M. Ford; and Majors W.G. Calahan, John C. Griffis, Jefferson Johnson, and Joseph A. Stewart.
Ancestors in the 18th Georgia Infantry
1. Great X3 Grandfather Sgt. Marmaduke S. Swann of Co. E (Disabled at 2nd Manassas)
2. Great X3 Uncle Pvt. Joseph McEver of Co. A
3. Great X5 Cousin 1st Lt. Nathaniel T. Wofford of Co. K (Killed at Fredericksburg)
24th Georgia Infantry – This regiment was organized during the summer of 1861, recruited its members in White, Banks, Towns, Rabun, Gwinnett, Elbert, and Hall counties. In April, 1862, this regiment totaled 660 effectives, lost forty-three percent of the 292 engaged at Crampton's Gap, and had 4 killed, 39 wounded, and 2 missing at Sharpsburg. It sustained 36 casualties at Fredericksburg, reported 14 killed and 73 wounded at Chancellorsville, and of the 303 at Gettysburg, seventeen percent were disabled. Many were captured at Sayler's Creek and only 4 officers and 56 men surrendered on April 9, 1865. The field officers were Colonels Robert McMillan and C. C. Sanders, Lieutenant Colonels Joseph N. Chandler and Thomas E. Winn, and Majors Robert E. McMillan and Frederick C. Smith.
Ancestors in the 24th Georgia Infantry
1. Great X5 Cousin Pvt. Harrison Maddox of Co. F
2. Great X5 Cousin Pvt. William Daniel Parks of Co. C
Cobb’s Georgia Legion – This regiment was organized by Howell Cobb during the spring of 1861 and soon moved to Virginia. The legion was composed of cavalry, infantry, and artillery, but did not serve as one command. The infantry battalion included men from Stephens, Lamar, Burke, and Carroll counties. It contained seven companies and in April, 1862, had a force of 594 effectives. Its casualties were twenty-seven percent of the 248 at Crampton's Gap, 22 killed and 135 wounded at Chancellorsville, and about ten percent of the 213 at Gettysburg disabled. Many were captured at Sayler's Creek and only 1 officer and 55 men surrendered. The field officers were Colonel Thomas R.R. Cobb; Lieutenant Colonels Richard B. Garnett, Luther J. Glenn, G.B. Knight, and Jefferson M. Lamar; and Majors Ed. F. Bagley, Thomas Camak, William D. Conyers, and W.W. McDaniel.
Ancestors in Cobb’s Legion
1. Great X3 Uncle Pvt. Alexander Stephens Whelchel of Co. B
2. Great X5 Cousin Pvt. Gaines Calvin Ownby of Co. H
Phillip’s Georgia Legion – This regiment was organized during the summer of 1861 and mustered into Confederate service that fall.
Ancestors in Phillip’s Legion
1. Great X3 Uncle Pvt. Andrew Jackson Blackwell of Co. E
2. Great X3 Uncle Sgt. Jesse Green Blackwell of Co. E
3. Great X3 Uncle Pvt. James Madison Blackwell of Co. E
3rd Battalion, Georgia Sharpshooters – This regiment was formed in 1863 by order of General Wofford with officers with the following qualifications: “All these officers without an exception, are young, healthy, and athletic, and from the best evidence that I could procure are moral, intelligent gentlemen.” The unit was formed and sent to be drilled in the battalion drill as skirmishers. The best marksman were hand picked from the other five regiments and placed into this new regiment. During action the regiment was used as skirmishers and sharpshooters. They often held the most dangerous positions on the field and also in a modern sense “laid down covering fire” for the brigade during the attack on Fort Sanders in Knoxville.
Ancestors in the 3rd Battalion, Georgia Sharpshooters
1. Great X5 Cousin Pvt. William Benton Wofford of Co. A (Originally from the 18th Georgia)
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