Independence or Annihilation
"The Gallant Sixtieth"
Campaigns of the 60th Virginia Regiment of Infantry/ Signed
“Independence or Annihilation,” is a momentous and massive work released by author William L. Caynor Sr. The contents include an abundance of information, stories related to the participants, additional minute details, and a full re-edit and reformatting. This 2.25 lb., 800-page published work, contains a narrative of the trial and tribulations of the 60th Virginia, along with 2,068 soldier biographies, and 65 additional pages of information with 57 more identified soldiers than the 2017 publication, and 170 more soldiers than J. L. Scott's 1997 60th Virginia contribution to the H.E. Howard Virginia regimental history series, assisting to tell the story of these men. This book has been signed by the author.
The book's title, "Independence or Annihilation,” was the regiment’s motto, while its storyline follows the trials and tribulations of the soldiers of the 60th Virginia Regiment of Infantry before, during, and after America’s great Civil War. A regimental roster, biographies, statistics, weapons, uniforms, and campsite locations are just a few of the many bits of material included. This book was compiled to find the slightest nugget to better understand these men who elected to secede from their Union, and some of these so-called nuggets are boulders. Anyone interested in the Civil War, the Confederacy, the 60th Virginia Regiment, the battles they participated in, or the relationships with who was fighting and why; age, social class, education, immigrant status, and occupation, will be fascinated by this momentous work. There are no Confederate regimental books that address slavery or illustrate who in the regiment was associated with the institution like this one. The recognition of slavery should not be excluded as it is one of the primary reasons for the Civil War. Most within the regiment never owned a slave and served with a premise of gaining sovereignty and independence for Virginia, others, primarily in leadership and higher social standing, most probably had other motivations in mind.
The 60th Virginia Regiment fought in some of the most grievous battles occupying American soil. Externally, the regiment appeared like any other, but internally, they were unique as on many occasions they were directed to the most crucial segment of the battlefield where the onslaught and overwhelming pressure was applied by their adversary. On a few of these occasions, their line broke, and the battle was lost. The question is why would an ordinary regiment be placed in such vital and strategic points on the battlefield on so many occasions? The answer is simple, it’s because their commanders had faith that they could do the unthinkable. That this regiment was the best. That these few battle-hardened veterans could succeed where others couldn’t. The truth is that these men were asked to do what no mortal man could do, which is to overcome the primary focal point and assault of a battle with a regiment that never amounted to more than 600 men on the field. This well-researched publication has loads of information about the men. You’ll easily identify the difference in social classes within these men as well as first-generation immigrants serving alongside third or fourth generation men. These boys and men were born within the ideology of chivalry, honor, and independence, just eighty odd years after their grandfathers fought for the creation of the United States of America as a country, but this war would define us.
60th Virginia Regiment of Infantry Biography
The 60th Virginia Infantry Regiment was originally organized as the 3rd
Regiment in Wise's Legion in mid-1861. On August 13, 1861, the Sixtieth
Virginia Regiment was formed with ten companies of the Legion mainly from
western Virginia counties. These soldiers were recruited from Mercer, Monroe,
Greenbrier, Braxton, Fayette, Roane counties of West Virginia and the Botetourt,
Alleghany, and Fauquier counties of Virginia.
The unit served under Brigadier General Henry A. Wise in the Western Virginia
campaign until ordered to South Carolina in late 1861 with General Robert E. Lee
to guard the coastal region. Before departing Sewell Mountain, General Lee
took a liking to a Confederate grey horse ridden by Captain Broun, the quartermaster
of the Sixtieth. Lee purchased the horse and name him Traveller, and he became
Lee's faithful companion throughout war and life.
The Sixtieth returned to Virginia to defend Richmond in the 1862 Seven Days Battle.
This newly christened regiment endured 204 casualties while fighting at
Mechanicsville, Gaines Mill and Frayser's Farm. At Frayser's Farm the unit
charged and recaptured six napoleon cannons while struggling
hand-to-hand with the bayonet. Private Christian, of Co. I, was assailed
by four Yankees. He shot one, bayoneted a second, when his brother Joseph,
attracted by his cries of “Help! Help!” ran to his assistance and shot
the third, and as the fourth wheeled and ran “Bob” pitched his musket at him
and the bayonet entered between his shoulders protruding through his
breastbone. He fell and begged piteously to have the weapon extracted, to which
“Bob” replied that he was “too tired” just then but would relieve him when
rested. “Bob” was pretty used up, bayoneted through both arms and a furrow
plowed transversely across his breast. This altercation earned the Sixtieth the
distinction of crossed bayonets being placed on their regimental flag, by order
of General Lee.
The Sixtieth served under General Stonewall Jackson at Cedar Mountain and then
Colonel McCausland, to protect the southwestern Virginia mountain passes in
1862 to early 1864. This assignment was essential for guarding the salt, niter
mines, and the railroad supplying Richmond from the west.
Grant's 1864 three-pronged assault induced heavy campaigning for the
Confederates to drive the Yankee invader from their soil. The Sixtieth received
152 casualties at Cloyd's Mountain and the deaths of both their Lt. Colonel and
Major. The following month at Piedmont their Ensign was killed and their
Colonel (B.H. Jones) was captured. They defeated General Hunter
at Lynchburg and then swarmed the union capital, fighting at Monocacy,
Kernstown, and Winchester, where their flag was captured by Sgt. Henry Fox of
the 5th Michigan Cavalry. Colonel Jones proclaimed the flag, “attracted
the death-shot to half a dozen color-bearers,” but not before Private
Thornton Kelly, of the color guard, “had impaled several Yankees on its
spearhead,” before being wounded in the face by a saber cut and captured
for his efforts. Thornton spent the remainder of the war in Point Lookout
Prison. Jones exclaimed, “What would I not give for that glorious
battle-torn banner to transmit as an heir-loom?”
The regiment then fought at Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek before relenting
to the Union's overwhelming numbers at Waynesboro on March 2, 1865, where
almost every man within the regiment was captured along with their commander,
acting Major John L. Caynor, and much of General Jubal Early's Valley Army. The
few men that escaped and the remaining not present were disbanded at
Christiansburg, Virginia the following month after General Robert E. Lee's surrender.
Statistically, 2,068 men served in the Sixtieth over the course of four years, with
three hundred & sixty-five men sacrificing their lives as the ultimate contribution
to their cause. Fourteen officers and 139 enlisted men died as a result of
battle where their regimental flag fluttered in the wind overhead. Essentially,
50% of the Sixtieth were casualties at some time during the war.
“Independence or Annihilation” is the definitive resource for the 60th Virginia Regiment.