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regiment. He had travelled from his home in Warrenton to see the Warrenton rifles retreat at Fairfax Court House after the death of their Captain, John Quincy Marr - the first Virginia casualty of the war.
The sight was too much for the feisty old gentleman, who had served five years as Congressman and one term as Governor. “Extra Billy” took it upon himself to rally the Warrenton company into two more courageous assaults.
Satisfied that he could indeed command soldiers in spite of his age and inexperience, Smith eventually gathered ten companies into a regiment. Three of these companies were from Rappahannock County: the Sperryville Sharpshooters, the Rappahannock Rifles, and the Flint Hill Rifles. It was well-known at the time that Smith’s regiment would go anywhere. A member of the Richmond Howitzers remarked: “I saw the Fortyninth follow the old man into a place where I did not think a mosquito could live.”
Smith’s whole approach to war was unorthodox and, by his own account, he used his age to convince men of other regiments that he outranked their superiors.
Miss Hale, who researched the history for four years, corresponded with
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