a piece on the legendary Cobbs Legion ..love this guys name, Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb ..just rolls off the tongue .. Georgia lawyer and politician Thomas R.R. Cobb surprised many of his colleagues when the Civil War began by opting for a military post in his new nations struggle for independence. Though he had no military training, Cobb set out to recruit a regiment of cavalry, but because of a shortage of carbines, he decided to form a legion of 300 cavalrymen, 600 infantrymen, and 100 artillerists. When the unit, named Cobbs Legion, left for Virginia, the artillery company remained in Georgia and was never again part of the unit. Cobbs Legion, sent to the Virginia peninsula in Sept. 1861, began its field service after the 1rst Battle of Bull Run and, by the next year, when it saw hard, bloody duty at Sharpsburg, it was known as a dependable and experienced command. At Fredericksburg, Cobb was mortally wounded while he and his legion defended Mayres Heights. A few months after Fredericksburg, the two remaining branches of the unit were permanently separated. Both were recruited up to regimental strength and retained the name Cobbs Legion, glorifying it through their brave fighting for the duration of the war. The hard-charging cavalry distinguished itself at Brandy Station and again at Gettysburg, where the infantry had helped to rest the Peach Orchard and Wheat Field from Union control. As part of the ANVs I Corps, the infantry went to Tennessee and participated in the siege of Knoxville, returning to Virginia in the spring of 1864 to participate in the fighting that raged for another year. Cobbs Legion troopers fought in many of the great Virginia cavalry battles, with particular distinction at Trevillian Station. In early 1865 they were sent to South Carolina and ended the war opposing the marauding Union forces at that place. Before being separated, the Legions infantry and cavalry were constantly feuding. Said Cobb, It requires all of my tact and patience to keep them all harmonious.
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 16:17:08 +0000
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