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| Wednesday May 22, 1861 |
General Butler took command at Fort Monroe. President Lincoln
give a brief speech at noon at the raising of the flag over the
General Post Office Building.
In South Carolina the 2nd Infantry Regiment is mustered into
service. It is the first state one year regiment to come to the aid of
Virginia. The 2nd South Carolina participated in as many, if not
more, battles than any other regiment on either side. It is one of
the few units that was established before the bombardment of
Fort Sumter and existed until several weeks after Lee's surrender
at Appomattox. It established itself as one of the elite shock troop
units of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Two officers,
Joseph Kershaw and John Kennedy, became generals and one
man, Richard R. Kirkland became one of the most famous
"common soldiers" of the war for his humanitarian efforts at
Fredericksburg. He will be knownas the "Angel of Fredericksburg"
for going out into the Union lines during the battle and offering
water to the Union wounded.