1st Legion, Provisional Army of the Confederate States

05/22/2025

01/26/2025

Good morning All! I am pleased to attach the February edition of The Living History Gazette! The inaugural edition which was released this past November was well received and I'm sure this edition will be just as popular.
Remember, if you have an idea or a topic in which you would like to have included, email your submission to [email protected]. I would be happy to review your article for potential inclusion in the next edition which will be available May 1, 2025. Enjoy!

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01/25/2025

2025 Events -

01/09/2025

Winter Meeting Results -

The 27th Annual Winter Meeting for the 1st Legion, Provisional Army of the Confederate States was held this past Saturday at the Gettysburg Heritage Center. Representatives from 12 different Infantry Companies and Artillery Gun Crews were in attendance. John Bucheister of the Maryland Sutler spoke b...

12/31/2024

Price increase January 1st. Register NOW!

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09/17/2024

JULY 1861 - The United States of America are in crisis as the Union unravels. Fort Sumter, a US Army installation in Charleston, South Carolina, has been fired upon by Confederate batteries and surrendered. President Abraham Lincoln has issued a call for 75,000 volunteers to sign up for three months’ service to their country in a move to subdue the rebellious secession of the Southern states. The US Secretary of War, Simon Cameron, has dispatched a telegram to each state governor. This message requests that a number of units be raised from each state which has not seceded from the Union according to their size.

From the Commonwealth of Virginia (which has publicly stated it wishes to remain neutral), the Lincoln Administration asks that three regiments of 780 men each be provided. Governor John Letcher’s administration interprets this request with alarm, for the raising of this many troops can only mean one thing: that the US Federal Government intends to march these men through other states and carry war to them. In response, Governor Letcher says, “You have chosen to inaugurate civil war, and having done so, we will meet it in a spirit as determined as the Administration has exhibited towards the South.” By May, Virginia has seceded and joined the growing Confederacy.

In the months since, Virginia’s military forces have experienced a swell of numbers as husbands, fathers, sons, uncles, and brothers flock to recruiting depots. Brigadier General Thomas J. Jackson, a professor at the Virginia Military Institute, has assumed command of a brigade consisting of the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 27th, and 33rd Virginia Infantry Regiments. Union and Confederate forces are beginning to converge between Richmond and Washington near Manassas, Virginia. As US Brigadier General McDowell postures his Army of Northeastern Virginia to attack, CS Brigadier General Joseph E. Johnston manages to bring his Army of the Shenandoah over the Blue Ridge in support of Brigadier General P.G.T. Beauregard’s Army of the Potomac. The American Civil War would soon begin in earnest…

On 17-19 July 2026, join Civil War Historical Impressions at Manassas National Battlefield Park as we commemorate the 165th anniversary of the Battle of First Manassas!

This event will feature the recreation of a 300+ man battalion portraying the 4th Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment alongside a 100+ man battalion portraying the 69th New York State Militia encamped (under the curious eyes of onlooking civilians) on the original battlefield to conduct multiple living history programs in conjunction with the National Park Service. From preservation marches, field cooking, and the history of each unit to soldier life, drill, and firing demonstrations, expect a full schedule of national-class programming to enhance the educational experience of those who visit and attend this event!

09/17/2024

We’re pleased to announce that, once again, the Friends of Wilderness Battlefield have approached us to support historic preservation and education in central Virginia! On November 1st and 2nd, 2025, join Civil War Historical Impressions as we host a living history - endorsed by the American Battlefield Trust - commemorating the 162nd anniversary of the Battle of Mine Run!

Fought on nearly the same ground as Chancellorsville earlier that year and the Battle of the Wilderness next spring, the fighting at Mine Run can be best described as a chance clash between Generals Lee and Meade that almost became a much larger battle.

Having suffered defeat at Gettysburg, withdrawing through Monterey Pass, and evading destruction at Williamsport, General Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia was settled along the banks of the Rapidan River. General Meade, whose army was nearly double the size of Lee’s, sought to commit all his forces in a sudden strike in a decisive action - an operation less complicated than General Hooker’s that spring.

His troops drew rations and prepared to step off on the morning of November 24th, hoping to screen their movements from Lee’s scouts and cavalry in heavy fog. However, torrential rains began, stalling Meade for two days. They finally stepped off, cold and sodden, on Thanksgiving Day. Lee’s scouts and screening cavalry spotted Meade’s columns crossing the Rapidan and Ewell’s Second Corps was set into motion to respond.

On the afternoon of November 27th, the leading division of this force under General Edward “Allegheny” Johnson’s ran into the advance of General French’s III Corps as they used the same limited network of backroads. The Confederate division of 5,500 men were immediately thrown into combat against a Federal Corps numbering 32,000 men.

A sharp blood-letting would unfold over the next two hours across Payne’s Farm as early nightfall approached. Johnson’s Division ultimately retired across Mine Run to put distance between his force and the overwhelming numbers of French’s Corps. Both sides began to dig in as more of Lee and Meade’s armies arrived to set the stage for a much larger engagement.

By the evening of November 29th, the stage was set for a massive action. Meade’s 81,000 men were poised to assault Lee’s 48,000 at 8:00am the next morning. Lee had wasted no time in reinforcing the heights and it soon became apparent that Lee had once again established a strong defensive position. Just like Fredericksburg nearly a year earlier and Williamsport four months earlier, the odds of successfully assaulting Lee’s position looked grim.

Join us as we host a large-scale living history, similar to what was experienced at Chancellorsville in 2023 and Kernstown in 2024, as we commemorate one of the lesser-known campaigns of the American Civil War!

09/17/2024

SUMMER, 1862: The Confederate States have just fought a successive series of battles over the course of seven days around Richmond. The hard-won victory has forced General George B. McClellan to withdraw his Army of the Potomac down the James River, leaving the Confederate capitol relatively safe. General Robert E. Lee sees this and recognizes his opportunity to march his Army of Northern Virginia towards Washington, DC - a bid to pressure the North to consider ending the war on agreeable terms.

While Generals Lee and McClellan clash around Richmond, President Abraham Lincoln places General John Pope in command of the newly-formed Army of Virginia. Its objective is to deploy its three corps - some 50,000 men - across the central region of Virginia in a bid to check any Confederate advance towards Washington and draw Southern forces into a contest where they can be further whittled down.

Lee responds in kind on July 13th by dispatching General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson with 14,000 men to Gordonsville, his orders to secure the railroad junction there. The Confederate strength nearly doubles with the arrival of 10,000 more men under the command of General A.P. Hill on July 26th. At the same time, Pope sends General Nathaniel P. Banks and his II Corps - 8,000 men - to advance on Gordonsville.

Jackson aggressively responds by moving to hit Banks before Pope can organize his greater army and arrive on scene in numbers. Jackson’s next move would be to march for Culpeper Court House, keeping Pope spread thin while he devours the enemy’s forces piecemeal… a repeat of his spectacular campaign in the Shenandoah Valley. He marches towards Culpeper on August 7th to pinch the center of the thinly spread Federal line, easily routing Federal cavalry from the area. However, these forces alert Pope of Jackson's swift advance. Pope instructs Banks to establish a defensive position south of Culpeper Court House and wait for his arrival. Banks' corps digs in on a ridge above Cedar Run, northwest of a topographical vantage point named Cedar Mountain.

As the opposing armies maneuver and set the stage for bloodletting, temperatures rise. The weather becomes excruciatingly hot, causing considerable fatigue which slows the pace of march on both sides. While the heat swelters, the moods of commanders also burn hot. General Banks had served in the Shenandoah Valley opposite Stonewall Jackson, suffering defeat at the hands of his opponent’s smaller force. Knowing his orders from General Pope, Banks desires to initiate the attack against Jackson despite being outnumbered 2 to 1.

On the morning of August 9th, Jackson’s vanguard division under the command of General Ewell division crosses the Rapidan River and enters Culpeper County. What ensues will hotly test the men of both sides: an infernal fight under the scorching rays of the unrelenting sun. As cannon thunders and muskets crack, it cannot not be discerned whether barrels scald hot from the intensity of fire or the heat of the day itself.

Join Civil War Historical Impressions on 9-10 August 2025 at NINE HOURS IN HELL, the 163rd Battle of Cedar Mountain! This authentic force-on-force reenactment will be hosted similarly to "A Devilish Entanglement", so if you attended the 160th Wilderness, you already have an idea of what to expect. If you missed out on that one, you won’t want to miss this one!

Unit portrayals and registration announcements will be coming soon. Keep your eyes peeled!

04/12/2024

Once again, the members of the 1st Legion, Provisional Army of the Confederate States support Civil War battlefield preservation by making a donation to the Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation. The 1st Legion, Provisional Army of the Confederate States has a long history of supporting battlefield preservation through annual donations. Major General Brian Gesuero presents the check to Ashley Sonntag-Bottomley, Operations Manager and Curator for the Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation.