Phillips' Legion

With the outbreak of the war, Georgia Governor Joseph E. Brown gave the task of organizing and training the 4th Brigade to his friend, attorney and militia general William Phillips.

Brown formed a legion (which meant at the time a combined arms unit) from the remaining light infantry and cavalry battalions, commanded by Phillips.

[5] In late 1861, Phillips' Legion was ordered to join the Army of the Kanawha in the western part of Virginia, where the pro-Union residents had seceded from the state.

[9] In July, the Legion infantry boarded a train and headed north to join the Army of Northern Virginia as part of Cobb's Brigade.

[11] The cavalry fought in the Battle of Trevilian Station in June 1864, and the Carolinas Campaign in January 1865, while the infantry joined McLaws' Division for the rest of the war.