The 16th Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry

Infantry

Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

 regiment

Regiment

A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...

 raised in Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 for service in the Confederate States Army

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia

Army of Northern Virginia

The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...

.

The 16th Virginia completed its organization in May, 1861, with ten companies. However, because of various reorganizations and transfers, the unit contained only seven after November 1, 1862. The men were from Suffolk and Portsmouth and the counties of Nansemond, Isle of Wight, Sussex, and Chesterfield.

It served in the Department of Norfolk and in June, 1862, had 516 effectives. Assigned to Mahone's and Weisiger's Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia, it fought in many conflicts from the Seven Days' Battles to Cold Harbor, then was involved in the Petersburg siege south of the James River and the Appomattox Campaign.

The regiment reported 91 casualties at Malvern Hill, 154 at Second Manassas, 5 in the Maryland Campaign, and 18 at Chancellorsville. Of the 270 engaged at Gettysburg, about five percent were disabled. It surrendered with 10 officers and 114 men.

The field officers were Colonels Raleigh E. Colston

Raleigh E. Colston

Raleigh Edward Colston was a French-born American professor, soldier, cartographer, and writer. He was a controversial brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War...

, Charles A. Crump, Stapleton Crutchfield

Stapleton Crutchfield

Stapleton Crutchfield served as a Confederate artillerist in the American Civil War. He was closely associated with Stonewall Jackson until the latter's death. Crutchfield lost a leg in battle, removing him from service in the field...

, Joseph H. Ham, and Henry T. Parrish; Lieutenant Colonels John C. Page and Richard O. Whitehead; and Majors Francis D. Holladay, Francis M. Ironmonger, and John T. Woodhouse.