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16th Virginia Infantry

Editor’s Note: Do you have information on this unit’s role at the Siege of Petersburg?  Please contact us using the Contact button in the menu at the top of the screen.  We are happy to exchange information with other researchers.

Muster In: Organized in state service as the 26th Infantry Regiment on May 17, 1861.  Redesignated as 16th Infantry Regiment1
Muster Out: April 9, 18652

Commander(s):
Colonel Joseph W. Ham (?)
Commander Image

Lieutenant Colonel Richard O. Whitehead
Commander Image

Major John T. Woodhouse
Commander Image

Captain Leroy R. Kilby
LeroyRKilby16thVA(HC Wayt Colln)3

Captain Solomon B. Eley
Commander Image

Commander 6
Commander Image

First Offensive Order of Battle: Mahone’s Brigade | Anderson’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army4

  • Commander:
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Second Offensive Order of Battle: Mahone’s Brigade | Anderson’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army5

  • Commander: Lieutenant Colonel Richard O. Whitehead6
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Third Offensive Order of Battle: Mahone’s Brigade | Anderson’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army7

  • Commander:
    • Lieutenant Colonel Richard O. Whitehead (at least July 30, 1864)(wounded July 30, 1864)8,9
    • Major John T. Woodhouse (at least July 30, 1864)(wounded July 30, 1864)10
    • Captain Leroy R. Kilby (at least July 30, 1864)11
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Fourth Offensive Order of Battle: Weisiger’s Brigade | Mahone’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army12

  • Commander:
    • Lieutenant Colonel Richard O. Whitehead (at least August 15, 1864)(was admitted to the hospital in August, but no specific date given)13,14
    • ? (while Whitehead was in the hospital)15
  • Unit Strength:
    • 185 officers and men PFD (August 15, 1864)16
  • Weapons: Enfield Rifles17

Fifth Offensive Order of Battle: Weisiger’s Brigade | Mahone’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army18,19

  • Commander: Lieutenant Colonel Richard O. Whitehead20,21
  • Unit Strength: 160 officers and men PFD (September 28, 1864)22
  • Weapons: Enfield Rifles23

Sixth Offensive Order of Battle: Weisiger’s Brigade | Mahone’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army24

  • Commander:
    • Colonel Joseph W. Ham (wounded in “October 1864”?)25
    • Lieutenant Colonel Richard O. Whitehead (wounded October 27, 1864)26
    • Captain Solomon B. Eley27
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Seventh Offensive Order of Battle: Weisiger’s Brigade | Mahone’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army28,29

  • Commander:
    • Captain Solomon B. Eley (November 1864)30
    • Captain Leroy R. Kilby (December 1864)31
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Eighth Offensive Order of Battle: Weisiger’s Brigade | Mahone’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army32,33,34,35

  • Commander:
    • Lieutenant Colonel Richard O. Whitehead (wounded January 30)(January 1865)36
    • ? (after Whitehead was wounded)(January 1865)37
    • Captain Solomon B. Eley (February 1865)38
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Ninth Offensive Order of Battle: Weisiger’s Brigade | Mahone’s Division | Third Corps | Army of Northern Virginia | Confederate Army39,40

  • Commander: None listed. (March & April 1-2, 1865)41,42
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Dyer’s/Sifakis’ Compendium Info:
Siege of Petersburg Battles43:

  • Petersburg Siege (June 1864-April 1865)
  • The Crater (July 30, 1864)
  • Appomattox Court House (April 9, 1865)

Bibliography:

    Siege of Petersburg Documents Which Mention This Unit:

    Sources:

    1. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Virginia by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 190-191
    2. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Virginia by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 190-191
    3. This image of Captain Leroy R. Kilby appears here courtesy of his descendant Hampton C. Wayt.  This image is part of the Hampton C. Wayt Collection and may not be reproduced without the express written consent of Mr. Wayt.  All rights reserved.
    4. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 111
    5. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 111
    6. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 111
    7. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 121
    8. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 121: Sibley does not have a date listed, but Whitehead was definitely wounded on July 30, 1864.  See the 16th Virginia’s regimental history in the H. E. Howard series of books.
    9. Trask, Benjamin H. 16th Virginia Infantry (H.E. Howard: 1983), p. 39: Whitehead was one of his regiment’s wounded at the Crater.
    10. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 121
    11. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 121
    12. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 130
    13. Confederate Inspection Report 4-P-17: Mahone’s Brigade, August 15, 1864Inspection Reports and Related Records Received By the Inspection Branch in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M935, Roll 10: Inspection Reports P-12 – 39-P-24); War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C.
    14. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 130
    15. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 130
    16. Confederate Inspection Report 4-P-17: Mahone’s Brigade, August 15, 1864Inspection Reports and Related Records Received By the Inspection Branch in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M935, Roll 10: Inspection Reports P-12 – 39-P-24); War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C.
    17. Confederate Inspection Report 4-P-17: Mahone’s Brigade, August 15, 1864Inspection Reports and Related Records Received By the Inspection Branch in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M935, Roll 10: Inspection Reports P-12 – 39-P-24); War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C.
    18. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 138
    19. Sommers, Richard J. “Grant’s Fifth Offensive at Petersburg: A Study in Strategy, Tactics, and Generalship.  The Battle of Poplar Spring Church, the First Battle of the Darbytown Road, the Second Battle of the Squirrel Level Road, the Second Battle of the Darbytown Road (Ulysses S. Grant, Virginia).” Doctoral Thesis. Rice University, 1970. Print. p. 1312.
    20. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 138
    21. Confederate Inspection Report 12-P-24: Mahone’s Brigade, September 28, 1864; Inspection Reports and Related Records Received By the Inspection Branch in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M935, Roll 10: Inspection Reports P-12 – 39-P-24); War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C.
    22. Confederate Inspection Report 12-P-24: Mahone’s Brigade, September 28, 1864; Inspection Reports and Related Records Received By the Inspection Branch in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M935, Roll 10: Inspection Reports P-12 – 39-P-24); War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C.
    23. Confederate Inspection Report 12-P-24: Mahone’s Brigade, September 28, 1864; Inspection Reports and Related Records Received By the Inspection Branch in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M935, Roll 10: Inspection Reports P-12 – 39-P-24); War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C.
    24. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 148
    25. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 148: Sibley cites conflicting sources.  Krick’s book Lee’s Colonels indicates Ham was wound in October 1864 without giving a date.  The Compiled Service records indicate Ham was absent, at least on October 31, 1864.  So I’m not sure if Ham was or wasn’t wounded in October 1864, if he was then on what day, and whether he was or was not ever present.  Much more research is needed here.
    26. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 148
    27. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 148
    28. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 157
    29. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 165
    30. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 157
    31. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 165
    32. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 175
    33. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 2 (Serial Number 96), page 1174: “Organization of the Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General R. E. Lee, January 31, 1865”; This list contains many commanders who were not there.  They were the “official” commanders but may have been gone on leave.  I have used none of the leaders from this list as a result.
    34. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 184
    35. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 2 (Serial Number 96), page 1272: “Organization of the Infantry and Cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia, General R. E. Lee, C. S. Army, commanding, February 28, 1865”; This order of battle was based off of inspection reports from February 28, 1865.  However, leaders listed are from January.  I’ve chosen to ignore the leaders and just use this source for the organization of the order of battle.
    36. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 175
    37. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 175
    38. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 184
    39. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 193
    40. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 203
    41. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 193
    42. The Confederate Order of Battle, Volume 1: The Army of Northern Virginia by F. Ray Sibley, Jr., page 203
    43. Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Virginia by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 190-191
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