Originally known as the Second Regiment, Fourth Brigade, Georgia State Troops, the Nineteenth Georgia Infantry mustered into Confederate service in August 1861. W.W. Boyd was the regiment's first colonel. Sent to Lynchburg, Virginia, the unit suffered through a measles epidemic at that location which lowered its efficiency. The regiment was then transferred to Manassas Junction, where it remained until March 1862.
In the spring of 1862 the Nineteenth was sent to Yorktown, Virginia. It fought at West Point, Seven Pines, Mechanicsville, Gaines' Mill, Frazier's Farm, and Malvern Hill. Lieutenant Colonel Thomas C. Johnson, acting regimental commander, fell at Mechanicsville.
In August, the regiment lost heavily at Cedar Mountain and Second Manassas, and the following month at Antietam it suffered casualties of more than 50 percent. At Fredericksburg, in December 1862, the Nineteenth lost nearly 200 additional men. The unit was transferred in early 1863 from Archer's to Colquitt's Brigade, joining the other Georgia regiments in the latter unit. After Chancellorsville the Nineteenth went with the rest of the Brigade to North Carolina and then to Charleston.
In February 1864, the Nineteenth, now commanded by Colonel John H. Neal, was sent to defend Florida against the anticipated Union expedition. At Olustee, 96 more Georgians fell (6 killed and 88 wounded ). The regiment claimed to have "captured three (Union) guns and cassions early in the battle."
By May 1864, the well-travelled regiment found itself back in Virginia, fighting at Drewry's Bluff and Cold Harbor, before defending Petersburg during the rest of 1864-1865. The Nineteenth was ordered to North Carolina near the close of the war, where it surrendered.
Capt John Anderson Richardson, Company C
Abner B. Smith, Company C
Capt Leonard A. Waldrop, Company D
1st Lt Henry Williams, Company F
Letter from Cpl Henry Shackelford, musician
External Web sites related to the Battle of Olustee
Muster Roll for Company F
Muster Roll for Company I
19th Georgia Battle Flag located in The Museum of Southern History
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Confederate Order of Battle
Battle of Olustee home page
http://battleofolustee.org/
