The 4th 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 in the Stonewall Brigade

Stonewall Brigade

The Stonewall Brigade of the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, was a famous combat unit in United States military history. It was trained and first led by General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, a professor from Virginia Military Institute...

, 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 4th Virginia was assembled at Winchester, Virginia, in July, 1861. Its companies were from the counties of Wythe, Montgomery, Pulaski, Smyth, Grayson, and Rockbridge. It became part of the Stonewall Brigade and served under Generals T.J. Jackson, R.B. Garnett, Winder, Paxton, J.A. Walker, and W. Terry.

The regiment fought at First Manassas, First Kernstown, and in Jackson's Valley Campaign. It then participated in many conflicts of the Army of Northern Virginia from the Seven Days' Battles to Cold Harbor, was with Early in the Shenandoah Valley, and saw action around Appomattox.

The unit reported 5 killed, 23 wounded, and 48 missing at First Kernstown, took 317 effectives to Port Republic, had 7 killed and 25 wounded at Malvern Hill, and had 19 killed and 78 wounded of the 180 at Second Manassas. It lost forty-eight percent of the 355 engaged at Chancellorsville and more than fifty percent of the 257 at Gettysburg. The regiment surrendered with 7 officers and 38 men of which only 17 were armed.

Its field officers were Colonels James T. Preston, Charles A. Ronald, and William Terry; Lieutenant Colonels Robert D. Gardner and Lewis T. Moore; and Majors Matthew D. Bennett, Joseph F. Kent, and Albert G. Pendleton.

At the First Battle of Bull Run, Jackson reportedly ordered the 4th Virginia, "Reserve your fire until they come within 50 yards! Then fire and give them the bayonet! And when you charge, yell like furies!" This is possibly the first use of the Rebel Yell

Rebel yell

The rebel yell was a battle cry used by Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War. Confederate soldiers would use the yell during charges to intimidate the enemy and boost their own morale, although the yell had other uses. The exact sound of the yell is unknown and the subject of much...

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When Jackson set up his headquarters in Winchester, the commander of the 4th Virginia, Lieutenant Colonel Lewis Tilghman Moore invited him to use his house. His great-granddaughter, the actress Mary Tyler Moore

Mary Tyler Moore

Mary Tyler Moore is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in television sitcoms. Moore is best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show , in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and for her earlier role as...

 contributed significantly to its restoration as the Stonewall Jackson's Headquarters Museum

Stonewall Jackson's Headquarters Museum

The Stonewall Jackson's Headquarters Museum was an antebellum home owned by Lieutenant Colonel Lewis Tilghman Moore, commander of the 31st Virginia Militia. Later, while commanding the 4th Virginia Infantry, Colonel Moore offered his home at 415 North Braddock Street, Winchester, Virginia, USA, to...