The 57th Virginia was organized in September 1861, by adding five independent companies to the five companies of E.F. Keen's Battalion. Some of the men were from Powhatan, Pittsylvania, and Botetourt counties. The unit was assigned to General Armistead's, Barton's, and Steuart's Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia.
It participated in many conflicts from the Seven Days' Battles to Gettysburg, served in North Carolina, then saw action at Drewry's Bluff and Cold Harbor. The 57th continued the fight in the Petersburg trenches north of the James River and around Appomattox.
It reported 113 casualties at Malvern Hill and lost more than sixty percent of the 476 engaged at Gettysburg. There were 7 killed, 31 wounded, and 3 missing at Drewry's Bluff, and many were disabled at Sayler's Creek. On April 9, 1865, the unit surrendered 7 officers and 74 men.
Its commanders were Colonels Lewis A. Armistead, George W. Carr, David Dyer, Clement R. Fontaine, Elisha F. Keen, and John Bowie Magruder; Lieutenant Colonels Waddy T. James, William H. Ramsey, and Benjamin H. Wade; and Majors Garland B. Hanes, David P. Heckman, and Andrew J. Smith.[1]
