A . P . Hill ' s Light Division A . P . Hill ' s Light Division was an infantry unit in Robert E . Lee ' s Army of Northern Virginia . Originally composed of six brigade s , it was initially commanded by General A . P . Hill . In a revised form , the Light Division was later commanded by William Dorsey Pender and Cadmus M . Wilcox . Components . Created in the late spring and early summer of 1862 , the Light Division was composed of six brigades from six different Confederate states . The First Brigade was a Virginia Brigade under command of General Charles W . Field . It was initially composed of the 40th , 47th , 55th , and 60th Virginia Infantry regiments . This brigade was later commanded by Henry Heth and John Brockenbrough . The Second Brigade was a South Carolina Brigade commanded by Maxcy Gregg . This famous brigade became known as the Gregg - McGowan Brigade ( Samuel McGowan being the other major commander ) . The South Carolina Brigade consisted of the 1st South Carolina Rifles ( Orr ' s Rifles ) , 1st South Carolina , 12th South Carolina , 13th South Carolina , and 14th South Carolina . The Third Brigade was composed of Georgia troops . Initially commanded by Joseph R . Anderson , the brigade was mainly commanded by General Edward L . Thomas . It consisted of the 14th Georgia , 35th Georgia , 45th Georgia , and 49th Georgia . The Fourth and Sixth Brigades were made up of North Carolina infantry . Lawrence O ' Bryan Branch ' s brigade consisted of the 7th North Carolina , 18th North Carolina , 28th North Carolina , 33d North Carolina , and 37th North Carolina . This unit was later commanded by General James H . Lane . William Dorsey Pender ' s Brigade consisted of the 16th North Carolina , 22d North Carolina , 34th North Carolina , and 38th North Carolina . This brigade was later commanded by Alfred Scales . Finally , the fifth brigade was a mixed command of Alabama and Tennessee regiments under James J . Archer . It consisted mainly of the 5th Alabama Battalion , 1st Tennessee , 7th Tennessee , and 14th Tennessee . It was commanded late in the War by William McComb . Artillery batteries including Andrews ' ( Maryland ) battery , Bachman ' s ( South Carolina ) battery , Braxton ' s battery , Fredericksburg ( Va . ) Artillery , Crenshaw ' s ( Virginia ) battery , Davidson ' s battery , Letcher ( Va . ) Artillery , Johnson ' s ( Virginia ) battery , Master ' s ( Virginia ) battery , McIntosh ' s Battery , Pee Dee ( S . C . ) Artillery , and Pegram ' s ( Virginia ) battery were also attached to the Light Division . Fighting record . The Light Division saw its first action as a unit in the Seven Days campaign as part of James Longstreet ' s wing of the Army . ( Some of the units had seen action prior to this , however . ) It was heavily engaged at Mechanicsville , Gaines ' Mill , and Glendale . After A . P . Hill engaged in a newspaper feud with Longstreet , the Light Division was transferred to Stonewall Jackson ' s wing of the Army . With Jackson , the Division again was heavily engaged at Cedar Mountain . It then took a conspicuous role on the defense at Second Manassas . The Light Division earned its place in history on Lee ' s First Invasion of the North into Maryland . Left behind to parole captured Union troops at Harpers Ferry , Hill and his men were not initially on the battlefield at Antietam . Leaving early on the morning of September 17 , 1862 , Hill ' s men completed the march in time to arrive and save Lee ' s Army which was at that moment facing destruction from the advancing Army of the Potomac . In the battle , General Branch was killed . This was the Light Division ' s finest day . It then took part in the Battle of Fredericksburg on December 13 , 1862 , but the Division ' s alignment caused problems and General Gregg was killed in the fighting . The Division last served together as a unit at Chancellorsville where the 18th North Carolina of Lane ' s Brigade had the misfortune of mortally wounding Jackson . In the same rash of firing , A . P . Hill was also wounded , though his wound proved minor . Reorganization . After Jackson ' s death , Lee reorganized his Army . A . P . Hill was given command of the Third Corps and the Light Division was changed . Two of the brigades — the Virginia Brigade and Archer ' s Brigade — were placed in a new division under Henry Heth . The remaining brigades stayed together . Heth was actually the Division ' s senior brigade commander , but Hill preferred Pender to have command of his old division , writing " Gen . Pender has fought with the Division in every battle , has been four times wounded and never left the field , has risen by death and wounds from fifth brigadier to be its senior , has the best drilled and disciplined Brigade in the Division , and more than all , possesses the unbounded confidence of the Division . " Parts of the Division were engaged on July 1 and July 3 at Gettysburg . Here , General Pender was mortally wounded on July 2 as he moved to engage his men . The Division fought under Isaac R . Trimble in Pickett ' s Charge on July 3 . The Light Division was never the same without A . P . Hill at its head . It continued to exist under Cadmus Wilcox and fought , notably , in the Wilderness , Spotsylvania , Cold Harbor , and Petersburg campaigns . Name . The name may have been a reference to the famous British Light Division . Or it may have been meant as ironic given that the Division was the largest in the Army . It may also be the case that Hill simply named the Division the " Light Division " to instill a sense of speed , esprit de corps , and because he envisioned great things for it . The reasons for this name are ultimately unclear . The first official reference to the " Light Division " was in a routine communique from Hill ' s headquarters soon after he took command of the Division . External links . Jenny Goellnitz has an extensive website on General A . P . Hill that includes information on his officers , including those who served in the Light Division .