The Emerald Guard and the Second Battle of Manassas
Continued from: Rockbridge Artillery
Following the reorganization of the company in April 1962, George Bedinger was provided a commission as Captain if he could form a new cavalry company for Colonel Ashby. Considering the fervor with which most of the able young men had volunteered for service at the beginning of he war, it is quite understandable that George Rust was unable to find recruits to fulfill this assignment. On August 11, 1862 he was transferred to Co. “E”, known as the “Emerald Guard”, of 33rd Virginia which was commanded by Col. Edwin G. Lee.
Following the reorganization of the company in April 1962, George Bedinger was provided a commission as Captain if he could form a new cavalry company for Colonel Ashby. Considering the fervor with which most of the able young men had volunteered for service at the beginning of he war, it is quite understandable that George Rust was unable to find recruits to fulfill this assignment. On August 11, 1862 he was transferred to Co. “E”, known as the “Emerald Guard”, of 33rd Virginia which was commanded by Col. Edwin G. Lee.
The Emerald Guard was formed in May and early June of 1861 around the town of New Market. It was organized by a thirty-four year old Shenandoah County native named Marion Marye Sibert and as its name implied was formed from the Irish laborers that worked in the Valley when the War began. The company would be among the most colorful and volatile companies of the famed “Stonewall Brigade”. The Celts' predilection for hard liquor and their affinity for world-class brawling at the least provocation engendered a definite air of notoriety."[i]
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The Enfiled rifled musket, the most widely used weapon by the Confederates, was likely the standard issue of the Emerald Guard. The soldiers liked it because its .577 cal. barrel allowed the use of .58 cal. ammunition used in other rifles of the Confederate army. Originally produced at the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield, England, approximately 900,000 of these muskets were imported during 1861–1865, seeing use in every major battle from Shiloh onward. [ii]
Second Battle of Manassas
On the 17th of July, the men of the Emerald Guard packed their blanket rolls, shouldered arms, left Richmond and began marching northwards for a new campaign, this time against a new Federal Army being organized around Manassas Junction under General John Pope. On 9 August, the brigade would run into Pope at the Battle of Cedar Mountain. The 33rd Regiment fought fiercely throughout the battle, taking 17 casualties. Two days after Cedar Mountain, the regiment would lose one more, Captain Marion Sibert, who coming to terms with his inability to rejoin the Emerald Guard in the field resigned his commission as Captain on 11 August 1862.
Continuing northwards, Jackson's men swept away the single brigade of infantry that guarded the vast supply depot at Manassas Junction. Taking all that could be used by the army, it was left to the 33rd Virginia to see that the cars and warehouses were set aflame and otherwise destroyed. On the following day, 27 August the brigade encamped at Groveton, just to the North of the old battlefield. Around twilight the Stonewall Brigade confronted their equals in the Federal Army, the Iron Brigade, composed of the 2nd, 6th, and 7th Wisconsin Infantry, and 19th Indiana. Both commands would stand in line facing each other well into the darkness justifying their reputations to the other. In the end, the Stonewall Brigade would hold their position in the field. Over the next two days, the Brigade would be engaged in the battle of Second Manassas. The three days fighting would cost the 33rd Virginia 33 killed and 81 wounded, including their Colonel John Neff. The Emerald Guard would suffer only two wounded. [iii]
[i] Ridenbaugh, Lowell, 1987, 33rd Virginia Infantry, Lynchburg, H. E. Howard Inc.
[ii] Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rifles_in_the_American_Civil_War#Rifles_-_first_class
[iii] Swidal, Bryan, The Emerald Guard - A brief history of Company "E" Thirty-third Virginia Infantry,
http://33rdvacoe.yolasite.com/emerald-guard-history.php, accessed 18 March 2016..
[ii] Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rifles_in_the_American_Civil_War#Rifles_-_first_class
[iii] Swidal, Bryan, The Emerald Guard - A brief history of Company "E" Thirty-third Virginia Infantry,
http://33rdvacoe.yolasite.com/emerald-guard-history.php, accessed 18 March 2016..
Continued: Lee's Invasion of Maryland