John M . Brockenbrough John Mercer Brockenbrough ( August 1 , 1830 – August 24 , 1892 ) was a farmer and a Confederate colonel in the American Civil War . Early life . Brockenbrough was born in Richmond County , Virginia , and graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1850 . Civil War . At the start of the Civil War , Brockenbrough was appointed colonel of the 40th Virginia Infantry , which served attached to Brig . Gen . Charles W . Field ' s Virginia brigade in Maj . Gen . A . P . Hill ' s Light Division and later Maj . Gen . Henry Heth ' s division in the Third Corps , Army of Northern Virginia . Brockenbrough led his regiment through the Seven Days Battles , a punishing series of battles that caused 50 % casualties in his regiment . Brockenbrough assumed command of the brigade after Field was wounded at the Second Battle of Bull Run and led it two days later at Chantilly . During the Maryland Campaign , he took part in the capture of Harpers Ferry , and then marched with the rest of the Light Division to the rescue of Gen . Robert E . Lee ' s army at Sharpsburg ; his brigade was deployed on the far right of A . P . Hill ' s line and did not see any direct action there . At Fredericksburg , his brigade was ordered to plug a hole in the Confederate line that was being exploited by Union troops under Maj . Gen . George G . Meade . Brockenbrough lost control of his brigade during this action and two of his regiments split off with him and never reached the fighting . Lee apparently was not impressed with Brockenbrough ' s leadership qualities . Even though months had passed , the unit was still called Field ' s Brigade and Brockenbrough was still considered its temporary commander . Lee did not recommend him for promotion . In early 1863 , Lee brought Brig . Gen . Henry Heth from assignment in Tennessee to replace Brockenbrough in command of the brigade ( soon called " Heth ' s Brigade " ) , hoping to restore it to fighting shape . During the Battle of Chancellorsville , Heth took over command of the division when Hill was wounded on May 2 , 1863 , which meant that Brockenbrough was back in command of the brigade on May 3 , when the it lost around 300 men storming the enemy line . After the battle , Brockenbrough was given a rare commendation for leading the attack by General Heth . He remained in brigade command when Heth was promoted to command a new division . At the Battle of Gettysburg , Brockenbrough ' s brigade was in the rear of Heth ' s column during the march on the Chambersburg Pike , July 1 , 1863 , and thus missed the morning attacks against the Union cavalry and the I Corps . In the afternoon attacks , his men advanced on a line with J . Johnston Pettigrew ' s North Carolina brigade , and although the latter brigade fought fiercely , suffering over a thousand casualties , Brockenbrough ' s brigade was hesitant and fought ineffectively against the Pennsylvanians of Col . Roy Stone and a portion of the Iron Brigade , as may be inferred from their casualty rate of 100 . The brigade rested on July 2 , but on July 3 participated in the bloody assault known as Pickett ' s Charge . There is no record that Brockenbrough marched with his men toward Cemetery Ridge that day , however , and Col . Robert M . Mayo of the 47th Virginia Infantry was in temporary command . It is possible that the death of Brockenbrough ' s brother during the battle on July 1 left him distraught and unable to step up to his responsibilities . Assigned to the far left flank of Pettigrew ' s divisional line , the brigade was subjected to heavy shelling from Union artillery on Cemetery Hill and when the 8th Ohio Infantry came up on their left flank , the Virginians turned and ran . During the Confederate retreat back to Virginia , Brockenbrough attempted to reclaim some of his damaged reputation by making a reckless advance against Union troops at Falling Waters on July 14 , suffering numerous casualties . Five days later , Brockenbrough ' s former regimental lieutenant colonel , Brig . Gen . Henry H . Walker , was given command of the brigade , returning Brockenbrough to the 40th Virginia , which he led at Bristoe and Mine Run . On January 21 , 1864 , Brockenbrough resigned from the Confederate States Army . He retained his rank of colonel in the reserves until late 1864 . Postbellum life . After the war , Brockenbrough lived in Norfolk and Richmond . He died in Richmond and is buried there in Hollywood Cemetery .