2nd Maryland Infantry , CSA The 2nd Maryland Infantry , CSA ( Known initially as the First Maryland Battalion ) , was a Confederate infantry regiment made up of volunteers from Maryland who , despite their home state remaining loyal to the Union during the American Civil War , chose instead to fight for the Confederacy . The regiment was largely made up of volunteers from the 1st Maryland Infantry , CSA , which was disbanded in August 1862 , its initial term of duty having expired . They saw action at many of the fiercest battles of the Civil War , taking part in the brutal fighting at Culp ' s Hill at the Battle of Gettysburg . The unit suffered such severe casualties during the war that , by the time of General Robert E . Lee ' s surrender at Appomattox Court House on April 9 , 1865 , only around forty men remained . History . Disbandment of the 1st Maryland Infantry . In August 1862 the 1st Maryland Infantry , CSA was disbanded at Gordonsville , Virginia , at the expiry of its initial twelve month term of duty . The 1st Maryland Infantry was a regiment of the Confederate army , formed shortly after the commencement of the American Civil War in April 1861 . The unit was made up of volunteers from Maryland , and saw action at the First Battle of Bull Run and in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign . In September 1862 its former commander , Colonel Bradley Tyler Johnson , and many members of his staff offered their services to General " Stonewall Jackson " . Formation of the 2nd Maryland Infantry . After the disbandment of the 1st Maryland Infantry , the rank and file soldiers of the former regiment found themselves in a precarious position . They were unable to return home to Maryland , having effectively committed themselves to the Confederacy for the duration of the war . With little choice but to fight on , many went on to join other units of artillery , or cavalry , while others waited to form a new Maryland Infantry Regiment . The new unit was known as the 1st Maryland Battalion until officially re - designated in January 1864 as the 2nd Maryland Infantry . The change was made in order to distinguish it from the original regiment . Several former officers of the 1st Maryland , such as Captains William Murray , James Herbert , and Lieutenants George Thomas , Clapham Murray and William Zollinger began to recruit veterans for the new regiment , and in addition fresh recruits from Maryland . Soon , two companies under Captain Murray and Captain J . Parran Crane were formed , followed by three more . By October 1862 more than five hundred men had joined the unit , now a battalion , which was soon assigned to the command of General George Hume " Maryland " Steuart ' in Winchester , Virginia . The new battalion held an election in which Captain Herbert was elected to the rank of Major . In November the Battalion was assigned to the command of General William " Grumble " Jones ( so called because of his cantankerous nature ) , who had taken command of Thomas T . Munford ' s brigade of cavalry . Eventually the Battalion grew in size , and new elections were held . The commander of the old regiment , Colonel Bradley Tyler Johnson , was duly elected Lieutenant Colonel , but he declined the offer . In the end Major Herbert was elected Lieutenant Colonel , and Captain W . W . Goldsborough , who would later go on to chronicle the history of the Maryland Line in the Civil War , was elected Major . Winter of 1862 – 63 . The regiment spent the harsh winter of 1862 - 3 in the Shenandoah Valley , without seeing action . Few of the men were equipped with tents , most slept in the open on the frozen ground and , according to Goldsborough , " it was no unusual thing to see several hundred men arise from a covering of a foot of snow that had fallen during the night . " In May 1863 the regiment was united with the Baltimore Light Artillery and Company A of the 1st Maryland Cavalry ( CSA ) , as Colonel Johnson , under orders by the Secretary of War , began to organize the various Maryland units under one command , with a view to forming for the first time a true Maryland Line in the Confederate Army . Gettysburg Campaign . In early summer of 1863 , the 2nd Maryland ( then still known as the 1st Maryland Battalion ) was assigned to Steuart ' s Third Brigade , a force of around 2 , 200 men , in Major General Edward " Allegheny " Johnson ' s division , part of General Ewell ' s 2nd Corps in the Army of Northern Virginia . The brigade ' s former commander , Brigadier General Raleigh Colston , had been relieved of his command by Lee , who was disappointed by his performance at the Battle of Chancellorsville . The brigade consisted of the following regiments : the 1st Maryland , the 1st and 3rd North Carolina , and the 10th , 23rd , and 37th Virginia . Rivalries between the various state regiments had been a recurring problem in the brigade and Lee hoped that Steuart would be able to knit them together effectively . However , he had only been in command for a month when the Gettysburg Campaign got under way . In June 1863 Lee ' s army advanced north into Maryland , taking the war into Union territory for the second time . The Marylanders were jubilant to be returning to their home state . Steuart is said to have jumped down from his horse , kissed his native soil and stood on his head ; according to one of his aides : " We loved Maryland , we felt that she was in bondage against her will , and we burned with desire to have a part in liberating her " . Quartermaster John Howard recalled that Steuart performed " seventeen double somersaults " all the while whistling " Maryland , My Maryland " . 2nd Battle of Winchester . In June 1863 the 1st Maryland Regiment saw action at the Second Battle of Winchester fought between June 13 and June 15 . On June 13 the Marylanders fought with Federal cavalry and artillery just outside Newtown . On June 14 the 1st Maryland took part in the assault on Winchester , repelling two enemy attacks , and on June 15 the regiment took part in the final attack which led to the capture of Star Fort . Overall Steuart ' s Third Brigade took around 1 , 000 prisoners and suffered comparatively small losses of 9 killed , 34 wounded . Battle of Gettysburg . Johnson ' s division , including the 1st Maryland , arrived at Gettysburg late in the afternoon on July 1 , 1863 , taking position on the far edge of the Confederate left at the foot of Culp ' s Hill ; the men were exhausted after a 130 mile forced march . Culp ' s Hill was a rocky wooded hill topped by a line of well fortified enemy breastworks . On July 2 the Confederates attacked the hill , with the 1st Maryland , the 10th , 23rd and 37th Virginia regiments , and 3rd North Carolina regiment , all assaulting the Union breastworks , defended by General George S . Greene ' s 12th Corps . The Marylanders and others were initially able to breach the works and drive out Green ' s men , and they held their position until the next morning , July 3 . The morning of July 3 revealed the full scale of the Union defenses , as enemy artillery opened fire at a distance of 500 yards with a " terrific and galling fire " , followed by a ferocious assault on the Marylander ' s position . The result was a " terrible slaughter " of the Third Brigade , which fought for many hours without relief , exhausting their ammunition , but successfully holding their position . Then , late on the morning of July 3 , General Johnson ordered a bayonet charge against the well - fortified enemy lines . Steuart was appalled , and was strongly critical of the attack , but direct orders could not be disobeyed . The Third Brigade attempted several times to wrest control of Culp ' s Hill , a vital part of the Union Army defensive line , and the result was a " slaughterpen " , as the First Maryland and the Third North Carolina regiments courageously charged a well - defended position strongly held by three brigades , a few reaching within twenty paces of the enemy lines . So severe were the casualties among his men that Steuart is said to have broken down and wept , wringing his hands and crying " my poor boys " . Overall , the failed attack on Culp ' s Hill cost Johnson ' s division almost 2 , 000 men , of which 700 were accounted for by Steuart ' s brigade alone — far more than any other brigade in the division . At Hagerstown , on the 8th July , out of a pre - battle strength of 2 , 200 , just 1 , 200 men reported for duty . The casualty rate among the First Maryland and Third North Carolina was between one half and two - thirds , in the space of just ten hours . After Gettysburg , during a review of the Army of Northern Virginia , General Johnson commented to General Robert E . Lee as the Marylanders marched past : " General , they were as steady as that at Gettysburg . " Aware of the casualties taken by the Marylanders at the recent battle , Lee honored the regiment , now reduced to Battalion strength , by removing his hat to the men . Formation of the Maryland Line . On October 22 , 1863 the 2nd Maryland Regiment was detached from Steuart ' s Brigade and assigned to the newly formed Maryland Line , travelling by rail to Hanover Junction , Virginia , where they met the 1st Maryland Cavalry , CSA , the Baltimore Light Artillery , CSA , the 1st Maryland Artillery , CSA , and the 4th Maryland Artillery , CSA . At this time all Marylanders serving in the Army of Northern Virginia were invited to join the newly formed Maryland Line . Few however did so , as the men were by now reluctant to break up units which had already fought together for over two years . On January 20 , 1864 , while camped at Hanover Junction , the unit known up to that time as the First Maryland Battalion was official re - designated the Second Maryland Infantry by order of the Confederate Secretary of War . By May 1864 the 2nd Maryland could muster barely 325 men , and found itself assigned to the command of General John C . Breckinridge , though not attached to any brigade . Battle of Cold Harbor . The regiment saw action in June 1864 at the Battle of Cold Harbor , in which General Robert E . Lee ' s outnumbered men managed to defeat General Ulysses S . Grant ' s much larger force . On the morning of June 3 the Marylanders were attacked by Federal troops , and mounted a counter - attack . The Marylanders gained the guns of the attacking Union troops and turned them on the Federals , firing canister rounds until " nearly a hundred men were stretched on the plain , from the fire of the Second Maryland Infantry , and many others captured . " After the battle the 2nd Maryland became attached to Frye ' s Brigade , Heth ' s Division , Hill ' s Corps , and on June 13 they took part in the Battle of White Oak Swamp . On June 18 the regiment crossed the James River and went by rail to Petersburg , where they set up defensive breastworks . The Siege of Petersburg was underway , and for the next few months the men lived in their trenches , exchanging occasional fire with the Union attackers . Siege of Petersburg . On August 19 a fierce Union assault saw the 2nd Maryland engaged in fierce combat . On August 20 , forming a part of General James J . Archer s Brigade , it managed to breach the Federal defenses , but the men were unable to hold their position and were thrown back in brutal fighting , by the end of which almost a third of the regiment were dead , wounded or captured . During the Battle of Peebles ' Farm the regiment would lose a further 53 men dead and wounded . By this time they had ceased to exist as an effective fighting force . 1865 and surrender . On February 5 , 1865 what remained of the regiment saw further fighting at the Battle of Hatcher ' s Run , after which the unit effectively fell apart . By the time of General Robert E . Lee ' s surrender at Appomattox Court House on April 9 , only around forty men were present to surrender to the Union army . Archival Collections