The Bloody First
A History of the 1st Regiment of Virginia Volunteers in the American Civil War
by
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THE FIGHT FOR CHINN RIDGE, AUGUST 30, 1862
The Federal commanders were not the only officers dealing with confusion that day. Through some misinterpretation of orders, the front two brigades, Hunton and Jenkins, of Kemper’s three brigade division marched off to the right, away from the battle, instead of turning left toward Chinn Ridge. Col. Corse, seeing the opportunity of striking the Yankees in the left flank and rear, turned his brigade, including the 1st VA, toward the critical ridge. The brigade maneuvered around the Chinn house and reformed their battle line, after which they continued toward the Union flank. At the same time, individual regiments from Hood’s and Evans’s disorganized brigades continued to assault the ridge from the front. This new frontal attack drew the attention of the Yankees away from Corse’s brigade until they were within 50 yards of the Union flank. The surprised Ohioans finally realized that Corse’s brigade was indeed Confederate troops and unleashed a terrific volley into the Virginians. McLean moved the 55th Ohio to his left and they became hotly engaged with Corse’s brigade and the 1st VA.
Even with their flank turned, the Ohioans put up a fierce defense of their position, trading volley after volley with the Confederate forces. Once again the guns of the Washington Artillery, from New Orleans, came to the support of the 1st VA. Specifically, it was Capt. J.B. Richardson who moved his battery to the left of the Chinn house and opened fire on the Federal position. By day’s end his battery had fired 178 rounds in support of Corse’s brigade.
About this time Wiedrich’s Union gunners on Chinn ridge claimed they were out of ammunition, hitched up their cannon and beat a hasty retreat, leaving the infantry to fend for themselves against the ever increasing Confederate pressure. The attack on their left flank was more than they could handle and McLean’s troops began to waver, just as fresh troops came to their support. Brig. Gen. Zealous Tower arrived with his brigade and attempted to bolster the sagging lines in an effort to hold Chinn Ridge. His brigade, which consisted of the 26th and 94th New York and the 88th and 90th Pennsylvania, moved onto the ridge at the double quick. As Tower’s troops tried to form a line, some of the Ohio troops broke for the rear with Wiedrich’s battery. The caissons and the retreating infantry drove through Tower’s Brigade, disrupting their attempts to form a proper battle line. The confusion grew even greater as the officers tried to wheel their regiments to the left to face Corse’s brigade who were getting ever closer. The New York and Pennsylvania regiments, with some of McLean’s remnants, finally stabilized the line and commenced a fierce exchange with the Virginians. A new battery, Capt. George Leppien’s 5th Maine Light Artillery, arrived on the scene and quickly unlimbered to aid in the Union defense.
Seeing this new battery unlimber, Col. Corse called out for the brigade to charge and capture the guns. In a war chocked full of individual acts of heroism, what happened next deserves special praise. Col. Frederick Skinner with the sword he brought home from France as a young man and, that some say, was one of the heaviest swords in the Confederate Army, spurred his horse forward. He yelled back to his men, “Forward, the Old First, follow me.” Racing thirty yards ahead of the advancing infantry of the 1st VA, he got in among the gunners of Leppien’s Maine Battery. As one of the cannoneers was preparing to pull the lanyard, which would have caused devastating casualties to Skinner’s men in the 1st VA, he slashed down on the man’s collar bone killing the gunner instantly. A second man reached for the lanyard only to suffer the same fate from Skinner’s heavy sword. A third gunner, with pistol in hand, grabbed the bridle of Skinner’s horse and fired point blank at the Colonel’s face. Skinner moved just quickly enough that the bullet only grazed his ear. His French sabre came down again, killing the third gunner. By this time the infantry of the 1st VA was swarming over the battery, forcing the Union soldiers to surrender or flee for safety. When the melee ended, it was determined that Col. Skinner had in fact been shot three times during his heroic attack on the battery. And yet when his men reached him, his first words were to complement his horse, “Didn’t old Fox behave splendidly?” he is to have said.
According to Private John Dooley, Col. Skinner was bleeding profusely when he came upon him. He told Dooley, “Jack, bear me witness that I was the first man on that battery.” Dooley assured the Colonel that he would and he helped his comrades bind up Skinner’s wounds. Besides the wound to his ear, he had also been shot in the side and his arm was “torn from wrist to elbow.” Skinner was later carried off the field. His wounds were so serious that they kept him from returning to active duty for the remainder of the war. Near the end of his life he is quoted by his daughter as saying,” I hated to kill those brave men. How splendidly they stood by their guns”
No less than five different regiments from three different brigades claim to have captured Leppien’s battery on Chinn Ridge. This is a testament as to how confused and intermingled the Confederate forces had become in their attack on the ridge. Although there were many who claimed to have captured the battery, there is absolutely no debate as to who was the first person to get in among the guns. That honor belongs to Lt. Col. Frederick Skinner of the 1st VA
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About the Book
Their nickname was the Bloody First, given to them in recognition of their courageous conduct and supreme sacrifice in battle. In the midst of the Battle of Fredericksburg, General James Kemper declared, “Men of the First Virginia Regiment—you who have on so many hard-fought fields gained the name of the Bloody First—today your country calls on you again to stand between her and her enemy, and I know you will do your duty.”
The Bloody First follows the exploits of this brave group of young men who left their families and went off to war in defense of their homeland. Through their own words, newspaper accounts, official reports, correspondence, and articles, we can relive their hardships and pain as they experience the most devastating war in our nation’s history. Three days before the Battle of Manassas, they were the first Confederate unit to engage in battle with the Union Army along the banks of Bull Run, and four years later their remnants were at Appomattox Court House for the final surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia.
Among their many battle honors, the Bloody First made that immortal charge up Cemetery Hill in Gettysburg, as part of Kemper’s brigade in Pickett’s division. On that day, July 3, 1863, they suffered the highest percentage of casualties of any regiment in Kemper’s brigade. The Bloody First tells their story, keeping their memory and their history alive today.
About the Author
Anthony Powell is a lifelong student of history. For more than 25 years he has been a member of The First Virginia Volunteer Infantry, Company D, reenactment group and over those years he has amassed volumes of research on the original First Virginia. In 2011, Anthony worked as a consultant on the 3-D miniseries Fields of Valor, which focused on the First Virginia during the Civil War. Anthony is a self-employed contractor in Baltimore County, Maryland, where he lives with his wife and children.