59th Virginia Infantry [also called 2nd Regiment, Wise Legion] was organized in August, 1861. Part of this unit was captured at Roanoke Island in February, 1862. Some of the companies not captured made up the 26th Battalion. It was attached to the Department of Richmond, assigned to Wise’s Brigade, and saw action during the Seven Days’ Battles. Later the regiment was transferred to the Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, and participated in various conflicts around Charleston. Returning to Virginia in the spring of 1864 it was placed in the Petersburg trenches, then fought in the Appomattox Campaign. Many were disabled at Sayler’s Creek, and none of its members were present at the surrender.

The field officers were Colonels Charles F. Henningsen and William B. Tabb, Lieutenant Colonels Frank P. Anderson and Joseph Jones, and Majors John Lawson and Robert G. Mosby.

[Source: National Park Service, Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System]

West Virginia counties contributing soldiers: Greenbrier, Mercer

59th Virginia Infantry – National Park Service

59th Virginia Infantry, Virginia Regimental History Series, by G.L. Sherwood and Jeffrey C. Weaver, H.E. Howard Publishing, 1994.

59th Virginia Infantry, Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Virginia, by Stewart Sifakis, pp. 254-255, entry #393.

59th Virginia Infantry, A Guide to Virginia’s Military Organizations, 1861-1865, by Lee A. Wallace, Jr., pp. 136-138.