Compiled By: 1st Sgt. Aaron Stine
The history of Company D, 48th Virginia Infantry began at Seven Mile Ford in Smyth County Virginia on May 18, 1861. On that spring day, 97 men enrolled in the “Smyth Rifle Greys”. The first captain was James Scott Greever, a twenty-four year old honor graduate of Emory and Henry College and a Smyth County teacher. This was the first of the groups to organize that would eventually form the 48th Virginia. They were given a silk flag made from the wedding dress of a Mrs. Arthur Cummings of Abingdon. As well, various people and civic groups donated money and provisions. They stayed in the vicinity of Smyth County until June 23 when they began the march to Abingdon. It should be noted that the 48th was recruited and organized in the same area as the 63rd Virginia, and it is not the last time that they will cross paths. On June 27, the Colonel and Lt. Colonel of the regiment were appointed and the regiment was officially designated the 48th Virginia Infantry. The company was first designated as Co. A, but by April 1862 would finally be designated Co. D. (For clarity, we will always refer to ourselves as Co. D.) As the regiment began to organize, it was described by Lt. Frank Robertson as a “big regiment . . . composed of big mountaineers . . . . These ‘Mountain Boomers’ were highly independent and had no use for ‘Discipline’ . . . . They were fine soldiers in battle, but difficult in barracks.” In July of 1861 came the first of many problems for Co. D—seven men went AWOL. As well, the regiment had not yet received its equipment. On July 25, “arms, tents, and equipage” were finally procured for the regiment. On July 26, 1861, the 48th Virginia Infantry, 836 strong, boarded cars for the Virginia and Tennessee railroad. On this day, the regiment departed for war. Soon after arriving in Staunton, the regiment was directed for Lynchburg, Va. Their stay would be short however; defeats at Rich Mountain and Corrick’s Ford had created a need for Confederate reinforcements in western Virginia.
The 48th Virginia would serve bravely for the remainder of the war in the eastern theatre. Their war would begin however in the mountains of western Virginia, a rugged and miserable area in the winter.
Watch for another installment on the history of the regiment in the next issue of the Mountain Boomer.
