57th Virginia Infantry Regiment

57th Virginia Infantry Regiment
Active	September 1861 – April 9, 1865
Disbanded	April 9, 1865
Country	Confederate States of America
Allegiance	Virginia
Branch	Confederate States Army
Type	Infantry
Size	Regiment
Engagements	American Civil War Seven Days' Battles Second Battle of Bull Run Battle of Antietam Battle of Fredericksburg Battle of Chancellorsville Battle of Gettysburg Overland Campaign Siege of Petersburg Battle of Sailor's Creek Appomattox Campaign
Commanders
Notable commanders	Colonel Lewis A. Armistead Colonel David Dyer Colonel John B. Magruder

Sergeant William T. Belew of Company H, 57th Virginia Infantry

The 57th Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia.

The 57th Virginia was organized in September 1861, by adding five independent companies to the five companies of E.F. Keen's Battalion. The 57th was composed mainly of men from Albemarle, Botetourt, Buckingham, Franklin, Henry, Pittsylvania, and Powhatan counties. The unit was assigned to General Armistead's, Barton's, and Steuart's Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia.

It participated in many conflicts from the Seven Days' Battles to Gettysburg, served in North Carolina, then saw action at Drewry's Bluff and Cold Harbor. The 57th continued the fight in the Petersburg trenches north of the James River and around Appomattox.

It reported 113 casualties at Malvern Hill and lost more than sixty percent of the 476 engaged at Gettysburg. There were 7 killed, 31 wounded, and 3 missing at Drewry's Bluff, and many were disabled at Sayler's Creek. On April 9, 1865, the unit surrendered 7 officers and 74 men.

Its commanders were Colonels Lewis A. Armistead, George W. Carr, David Dyer, Clement R. Fontaine, Elisha F. Keen, and John Bowie Magruder; Lieutenant Colonels Waddy T. James, William H. Ramsey, and Benjamin H. Wade; and Majors Garland B. Hanes, David P. Heckman, and Andrew J. Smith.

See also

• List of Virginia Civil War units

References

•  This article incorporates public domain material from Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System. National Park Service.