Cobb's Legion was an American Civil War unit that was raised on the Confederate side from the State of Georgia by Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb during the summer of 1861. A "legion" consisted of a single integrated command, with individual components from the infantry, cavalry, and artillery. When it was originally raised, the Georgia Legion comprised seven infantry companies, four cavalry troops, and a single battery. The concept of a multiple-branch unit was fine in theory, but never was a practical application for Civil War armies and, early in the war, the individual elements were assigned to other organizations.
The cavalry battalion was expanded first to eight companies, then later to eleven companies before finally being decreased to ten companies. It was redesignated as the 9th Georgia Cavalry, but continued to be called Cobb's Legion. It surrendered at Greensboro, North Carolina, on April 26, 1865.
Organization
Staff
* Colonel Pierce M. B. Young
* Colonel Gilbert Jefferson Wright
* Lieutenant Colonel William Gaston Delony On September 13, 1862, he assumed command of the cavalry battalion after Lieutenant Colonel Young was wounded. He remained second in command of the Legion until mortally wounded and captured at the Battle of Jack's Shop, Virginia, on September 22, 1863, dying on October 2, 1863, in the Stanton Hospital in Washington City as a POW.
Companies
A Company was formed in Richmond County, Georgia. This company was one of the original cavalry companies.
B Company was formed in Fulton County, Georgia. This company was one of the original cavalry companies.
C Company was formed in Clarke County, Georgia. Members of the company were from Clarke, Hall, Jackson, Lumpkin, and other counties. This company was one of the original cavalry companies.
D Company was formed in Dougherty County, Georgia. This company was one of the original cavalry companies.
K Company was formed in Richmond County, Georgia. This company was transferred to Phillips' Legion, Cavalry by Special Orders #161, Adjutant and Inspector's General's Office.
L Company was formed in DeKalb County, Georgia.
Battles
The cavalry component fought in the following battles:
The artillery battery was known as the Troup Artillery. It was from Athens, Georgia.it Was commanded by Capt Henry Hull Carlton After the Legion was reorganized, the Troup Artillery was assigned to the Artillery Battalion of Longstreet's Corps. The Troup Artillery disbanded April 9, 1865.
Atlanta businessman, publisher, and Atlanta City Council member Zachariah A. Rice served as Major of B Company in the cavalry battalion of the legion.
Literature
Dooley, Vincent Joseph and Samuel Norman Thomas, Jr., eds. The Legion's Fighting Bulldog: The Civil War correspondence of William Gaston Delony, Lieutenant Colonel of Cobb's Georgia Legion Cavalry, and Rosa Delony, 1853-1863.Mercer University Press.
Turner, Nat S. 2002. A Southern Soldier's Letters Home: The Civil War Letters of Samuel Burney, Cobb's Georgia Legion, Army of Northern Virginia. Macon GA: Mercer University Press.
