28th Georgia Volunteer Infantry

The following history is from pages 199-203 of the book The Georgia Volunteer Infantry 1861-1865 by Ray Roddy, published by Morris Publishing, 3212 E. Hwy 30, Kearney, NE 68847, 1-800-650-7888.

For operations dated August 1-March 17, 1862, the Twenty Eighth Georgia was assigned to Brigadier General Griffith's Brigade, in the Forces at Leesburg.

At Seven Pines, the Twenty Eighth Georgia was assigned to Colonel George B. Anderson's Special Brigade, along with the Twenty Seventh Georgia, The Fourth North Carolina, and the Forty Ninth Virginia Regiments.

The Twenty Eighth Georgia had 370 officers and men present at Seven Pines; Companies H and I had been detached for other duties. The Twenty Eighth Georgia went into battle at Seven Pines, on the right of the Palmetto Sharpshooters. The regiment advanced toward the York River Railroad, crossing a small abatis. The Twenty Eighth was under fire constantly from the enemy's guns, and remained on the field for three or four hours until ammunition was exhausted. According to Captain John Wilcox, of Company K, "It is necessary for me to state that Lieut. Col. J.G. Cain left the field before we were engaged with the enemy for reasons best known to himself." Wilcox was senior captain and commanded the regiment during the engagement. The regiment suffered 24 officers and men killed, and 95 officers and men wounded.

During the Seven Day's Battles, the Twenty Eighth Georgia was assigned to Colquitt's Brigade, Hill's Division; other members of the brigade were the Thirteenth Alabama, the Sixth, Twenty Third, and Twenty Seventh Georgia regiments.

At Gaine's Mill, the Twenty Eighth Georgia lost 9 men killed, and 33 wounded; at Malvern Hill, the regiment lost 3 men killed, 37 wounded, and 1 man missing.

At the battle of South Mountain, the Twenty Eighth Georgia was assigned to Colquitt's Brigade, Hill's Division; other members of the brigade were the Thirteenth Alabama, the Sixth, Twenty Third and Twenty Seventh Georgia regiments.

Colonel A.H. Colquitt, of the Sixth Georgia, commanding the brigade, was ordered on the night of September 12th, 1862, to occupy the heights above Boonsborough, Maryland, some 4 miles to the rear. The march and selection of positions took most of the night; General Hill arrived next morning and ordered the brigade to move out at once, to support General Stuart. Moving along the turnpike, two and a half to three miles, the brigade reached the summit of South Mountain, where enemy cavalry was advancing on Stuart's cavalry, who were falling back. Colquitt's brigade was rapidly positioned on both sides of the road; the Federals halted their advance, and as night fell, withdrew from the front. Colquitt put out a stong line of pickets on the roads on both sides of the turnpike, leaving a line of skirmishers in position, the rest of the brigade withdrew to the crossroads. Early next morning, the pickets were called in, having been relieved by fresh troops, and the brigade advanced to the positon of the previous day.

At the battle of Sharpsburg, the Twenty Eighth Georgia was assigned to Colquitt's Brigade, Hill's Division; other members of the brigade were the Thirteenth Alabama, the Sixth, Twenty Third, and Twenty Seventh Georgia regiments. Major Tully Graybill and Captain N.J. Garrison alternately command the Twenty Eighth Georgia. During the Maryland Campaign, the Twenty Eighth Georgia lost 11 men killed, and 62 wounded.

General D.H. Hill and his division pulled out of South Mountain, having accomplished their mission of preventing the relief of Harper's Ferry; the division reached Sharpsburg on the morning of the 15th of September 1862. The Federal army appeared about that time, and there was some skirmishing and artillery practice; there was a great deal of cannon fire on the 16th, and the Federals crossed the Antietam late that afternoon, opposite the center of Hill's line, and headed toward the Hagerstown turnpike.

At daylight on the 17th, Colquitt's brigade, which included the Sixth Georgia,was moved up to support General Hood's division, on the left, guarding Hagerstown turnpike; Hood was briskly engaged, at this time. Hill reported, "The first line of the Yankees was broken, and our men pushed vigorously forward, but to meet another, and yet another line. Colquitt had gone in with 10 field officers; 4 were killed, 5 badly wounded, and the tenth had been stunned by a shell. The men were beginning to fall back, and efforts were made to rally them in the bed of an old road, nearly at right angles to the Hagerstown pike, and which had been their position previous to the advance." Most of Colquitt's brigade took no further part in the action; Colquitt's brigade lost 129 killed, 518 wounded, and 184 missing.

During the Fredericksburg Campaign, the Twenty Eighth Georgia was assigned to Colquitt's Third Brigade of Hill's Division, along with the Thirteenth Alabama, the Sixth, Twenty Third, and Twenty Seventh Georgia regiments. The Twenty Eighth Georgia did not play a decisive part in the battle at Fredericksburg; the regiment had only 8 men wounded and none killed.

The Twenty Eighth Georgia left camp on the morning of the 29th and formed line of battle near Hamilton's Crossing, where they remained until dawn of the next day. The regiment advanced to the front line of defense, where they remained until 2 a.m. on the 1st. The men advanced on Friday morning the 1st, through the woods feeling for the enemy; they returned to the Plank road and bivouacked in an apple orchard for the night.

Early on the morning of the 2nd, the Twenty Eighth took up the march and at 4 a.m. formed line of battle; with skirmishers out to the right, the regiment was soon fired upon by Federal batteries. The regiment continued to advance, driving the enemy back. At 7 a.m., the men halted until 9 a.m., when they moved up the Plank road in line of battle. The men came under fire from Federal guns at 10 a.m. as they moved forward to support a battery on the Plank road; they remained under arms all night along the road.

Sunday the 3rd, the Twenty Eighth moved to the right and advanced in line of battle about a half mile. By march and counter march, the regiment eventually advanced to support the Fourteenth Louisiana Regiment, and opened fire on the enemy. After a few volleys, the Federals were driven back, bringing an end to the action. During the Chancellorsville Campaign, the Twenty Eighth lost 2 men killed and 31 wounded.

For operations dated June 12-December 31, 1863, the Twenty Eighth Georgia is posted in South Carolina during the siege of Fort Sumter. Federal forces on land and sea were constantly bombarding Sumter during the fall of 1863; Washington hoped to take Charleston by sea but had been unable to do so. There were obstructions in the harbor, in the rear of Sumter, and the Federal Navy was unable to force the entrance to the harbor. In August of 1863, General G.T. Beauregard removed the artillery garrison at Sumter and replaced it with infantry. On September 4th, at 10 p.m., the Twenty Eighth Georgia was relieved at Sumter by the Charleston Battalion.

The Ironsides, four monitors, one gunboat, two mortar boats, and seventeen other vessels stood outside the bar on November 2nd. During the day 140 15 inch round shot, and 6 half inch rifled bolts were fired from monitors, all of which struck the fort. Two hundred and fifty bolts and 345 mortar shells were fired from shore batteries; 85 of the rifled shots and 135 of the mortars missed. During the night, 87 rifled shots were fired at the fort, of which 36 missed; 5 mortar shells were fired, and all 5 fell inside the fort.

For operations dated July 10-September 7, 1863, the Twenty Eighth Georgia is posted at Morris Island; Brigadier General Colquitt, commanding the brigade, is also in command of the forces on Morris Island. At 2 a.m., on the 31st of August, the Confederate steamer Sumter left Morris Island loaded with troops, which included the Twenty Eighth Georgia regiment. The steamer was fired on by batteries from Sullivan's Island, and wrecked nearby. The Twenty Eighth Georgia arrived at Morris Island on the night of August 30th, and along with the Twenty Seventh Georgia, was held in reserve.

The Twenty Eighth Georgia, along with the balance of troops, were evacuated from Morris Island during the night of September 6, 1863. Batteries Gregg and Wagner were also abandoned. The troops at these positions were constantly under fire from Federal batteries on land and sea. Confederate fortifications were in constant need of repair due to the shelling. The position was considered untenable; troops were exhausted, Federal forces were closing in, and the men spent most of their time in the bombproofs.

Fifty men of the Twenty Eighth under Captain Adams, had been on picket duty on the beach during the night of August 5th; the remainder of the regiment, about 130 men, were posted on the extreme right of Battery Wagner; about 45 men were kept on the line and the rest were in the bombproof. Around 9 p.m. on the 6th, the evacuation began. Captain W.P. Crawford, commanding the Twenty Eighth Georgia, gradually moved his men to Cumming's Point, to keep an effective front to the enemy. The evacuation went off smoothly and wasn't detected by the Federals until the last boat was under way.

For operations dated August 17-December 31, 1863, the Twenty Eighth Georgia was assigned to the Second Sub-District under General Colquitt. On August 30th, there were 634 shots and shells fired at Fort Sumter; 322 struck outside, 168 struck inside, and 144 missed. Privates Woolright and Ward, of the Twenty Eighth Georgia, were casualties of the shelling; there was also considerable damage to the interior structure of the fort, during this bombardment.

On November 3rd, there were 140 15 inch, and 6 and half inch shells fired by monitors, all of which struck the fort. Batteries on Morris Island fired 250 rifled shots, of which 55 missed, and 345 mortar shells, 135 of which missed. During the night, 87 rifled shots were fired, of which 36 missed, 5 mortars were fired, all of which fell in the fort. Two officers and 40 men of the Twenty Eighth Georgia relieved part of the garrison on the 3rd.

For operations dated January 1-November 13, 1864, Captain Adams and men of the Twenty Eighth Georgia, relieved the garrison at Fort Sumter on January 2nd. A Federal gun, thought to be a 100 pounder, fired 12 rounds on the city, half of which did not explode.

During the Florida Expedition, the Twenty Eighth Georgia was assigned to Colquitt's First Brigade; other members of the brigade were the Sixth, Nineteenth, Twenty Third, and Twenty Seventh Georgia Regiments.

On the 20th of February, General Colquitt found the Federals advancing rapidly, with the Confederate cavalry retiring before them. Colquitt sent out skirmishers about 2 miles outside Olustee Station, and quickly formed line of battle; the Nineteenth Georgia on the right, the Twenty Eighth Georgia on the left, and Gamble's Artillery in the Center. The Sixty Fourth Georgia and two companies of the Thirty Second Georgia were formed on the left of the Twenty Eighth, and the Sixth Georgia regiment was sent still farther to the left, to prevent a flank attack from that direction.

The line of infantry was ordered to advance; the ground was hotly contested, the enemy giving way slowly. Colquitt believed the enemy to be in great force, so he sent for reenforcements and more ammunition. The Sixth Florida Battalion and Twenty Third Georgia Regiment soon arrived; The Sixth Florida Battalion was formed on the right of the Nineteenth Georgia, the Twenty Third Georgia was put on the left of the Sixty Fourth Georgia. After the line advanced about a quarter mile the engagement became general, "and the ground was stubbornly contested," the enemy stood their ground for some time, until the Sixth Florida Battalion on the right flank, forced them to fall back and leave five pieces of artillery. Ammunition began to run low and Colquitt ordered the regimental commanders to halt until it could be resupplied. The ordinance wagons were slow in arriving, but did arrive on the field. Major Bonaud's battalion arrived on the field, followed soon after by the Twenty Seventh Georgia and the First Florida Battalion; they were put in the center to hold the line until the other regiments could resupply ammunition. As soon as this was accomplished, Colquitt ordered a general advance.

The Twenty Seventh Georgia pushed forward in the center, and the enemy gave way in confusion. Colquitt ordered the men to pursue, which they did for several miles, until night brought an end to the fighting. Captain Crawford, commanding the Twenty Eighth Georgia, was wounded while leading the regiment. During the Battle of Olustee, the Twenty Eighth Georgia lost 10 men killed, 85 wounded.

For operations dated May 4-June 2, 1864, the Twenty Eighth Georgia was assigned to Colquitt's Brigade, Colquitt's Division, along with the Sixth, Nineteenth, Twenty Third, and Twenty Seventh Georgia Regiments.

For operations dated May 20-June 12, 1864, the Twenty Eighth Georgia was assigned to Colquitt's Brigade, along with the Sixth, Nineteenth, Twenty Third, and Twenty Seventh Georgia Regiments. For operations dated August 1-September 30, 1864, the Twenty Eighth Georgia was commanded by Captain John A. Johnson. For operations dated October 1-December 31, 1864, the brigade is assigned to General Robert Hoke's Division; Captain John A. Johnson commands the Twenty Eighth Georgia.

For operations dated January 1-March 15, 1865, the Twenty Eighth Georgia was assigned to Colquitt's Brigade, along with the Sixth, Nineteenth, Twenty Third, and Twenty Seventh Georgia Regiments; Colonel Charles Zachry commands the brigade.

For operations dated January 1-March 23, 1865, the Twenty Eighth Georgia was assigned to Colquitt's Brigade, Hoke's Division, along with the Sixth, Nineteenth, Twenty Third, and Twenty Seventh Georgia Regiments; Colonel Charles Zachry commands the brigade.

For operations dated January 1-April 26, 1865, the Twenty Eighth Georgia was assigned to Colquitt's Brigade, Organization of Confederate Forces, commanded by General Joseph Johnston. The other members of the brigade were the Sixth, Nineteenth, Twenty Third, and Twenty Seventh Georgia Regiments; Captain George W. Warthen commands the Twenty Eighth Georgia. The Twenty Eighth Georgia surrendered at Durham Station, North Carolina, April 26, 1865.