The 60th Infantry Regiment was mustered into Confederate Service in
the spring of 1862 after four companies were added to Stile’s 4th
Georgia Battalion. Colonel William Stiles had organized his
original six company unit in the summer of 1861 at Dalton, Georgia
with men recruited from the counties of Bartow, Dooly, Gilmer,
Meriwether, Paulding, Troup and Whitfield. These men served
on the coast at Hilton Head prior to the creation of the 60th, and
were under fire from the federal fleet during the loss of Fort
Walker. The soldiers in the four new companies came from the
counties of Bartow, Dooly, Fannin, Gilmer, Walker, and Whitfield.
Some already belonged to independent companies or disbanding
squads, but most were new recruits.
In May of 1862, after completing their organization at Savannah,
the 60th Infantry Regiment was ordered to Virginia. Its official
assignment was to Lawton’s Brigade, Jackson’s old Division,
Jackson's (2nd) Corps, Army of Northern Virginia under the command
of General Robert E. Lee. The men of the 60th Georgia Infantry
would then begin a career of military service that would repeatedly
take them into the bloodiest fighting of the eastern theater. While
under the command of the South's greatest Generals they would fight
with heroic tenacity and vigor until stacking their arms for the
last time on April 9, 1865. Under the
legendary
Stonewall Jackson they would fight at Gaines Mill, Malvern
Hill, Bristoe Station, Groveton, 2nd Manassas, Chantilly,
Sharpsburg, Shepardstown, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville.
Richard Ewell would lead them through the smoke and fire of
Gettysburg, the Wilderness, Spottsylvania and Cold Harbor. With
Jubal Early they would march into the Shenandoah Valley and battle
at Monocacy, poise to attack Washington D.C., and then engage the
enemy at Winchester, Fisher’s Hill, and Cedar Creek. The immortal
John B. Gordon, their former Brigade and Division Commander, would
lead the 60th and the rest of Second Corps through the fierce and
stubborn contests of Hatcher’s Run, the Petersburg trenches, the
bloody assault on Fort Steadman, and Sayler’s Creek. They would
fight the last battles of the Appomattox Campaign in the rear guard
of the Army of Northern Virginia, valiantly holding off the
pursuing Federal hordes as General Lee made his desperate bid to
join forces with The Army of Tennessee.
From the Seven Day’s Battles to Appomattox Courthouse, the men of
the 60th Regiment gave their all and fought with the
utmost conviction and confidence to defend the South and her Great
Cause, a last ditch effort to preserve the governmental principles
of the founding fathers. In the sacred
pursuit to maintain the Original Principles the regiment would
perform its duties with a characteristic distinction and deservedly
earn its place in the hallowed annals of Confederate
History. Salute them all, they fought
with Lee.
The research
of the history on this soldier has been lengthy combined with some
uncertainty. It would be logical to
assume that George Wood’s official stone is in a cemetery close to
the battle from where he received his fatal wounds and a relative
wanted this stone to be with George’s parents and
family. My
gratitude goes to EJLDixie for his help and his research with this
patriot.