Page 7 - Demo

When war erupted in 1861, Central Virginia answered the call. Thousands of men, young and old, enlisted for Virginia’s defense. Most were ignorant of war and faced a steep learning curve.
These Central Virginia soldiers took the time to have their photographs permanently etched on glass or tin. A feature unique to each soldier was his uniform. Early in the war uniforms were not standardized, even the colors each side wore were not agreed upon. Many uniforms were adapted from everyday clothing or copied from French designs.
The heavy overshirts seen in many of these photos are a military variant of a common workshirt. These shirts were also used by firemen, policemen, prospectors, and loggers. For military use, they were made in various colors; in this case gray and blue. They were discarded in the early months of the war for sturdier, government-issue Confederate uni- forms.
These soldiers represent Bedford, Amherst, Appomattox, and Campbell counties, as well as Lynchburg. The primary regiments Lynchburg contributed to the war effort were the 11th Virginia Infantry and the 2nd Virginia Cavalry. Outlying regions contributed the 14th, 19th, 21st, and 24th Virginia Infantry Regiments. Generally these regiments went to war with more than 1,000 men in their ranks. At war’s end they returned with just a few hundred. Here are the stories of some of these men.
Peter S. Arthur
Arthur joined company B, 11th Virginia Infantry in April 1861. He died of dis- ease later that year. Arthur was twenty- three years old.
(Courtesy of Jones Memorial Library and LynchurgHistory.com)
Richard Henry Toler Adams
This early war photo shows Adams when he began service as a private in company G of the 11th Virginia Infantry (Lynch- burg Home Guard). He was a twenty- two-year-old clerk when he enlisted on
April 23, 1861.
(Courtesy Dr. & Mrs. William M. Massie)
Richard Henry Toler Adams
This photo, circa 1864, shows Adams after he became an officer on General Ambrose P. Hill’s staff. Shortly after the wounding of Gen. Thomas J. Jackson
at Chancellorsville, Adams was sent to notify Gen. Robert E. Lee. Adams sur- vived the war despite having three horses shot out from under him.
(Courtesy Dr. & Mrs. William M. Massie)
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