Lt. John Fayette Addison

Name: John F Addison
Death Date: 5 April 1862
Regiment or Unit: 17th Virginia ; Company Unit: A
Author: Confederate Burials, Bruton Parish Churchyard, Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg, VA compiled by R.W. Watkins.

John F. Addison was the grandson of Major Andrew Leitch through his daughter Sarah Leitch. Major Andrew Leitch died at the battle of Harlem Heights engaging the 1st Virginia Regiment with the British troops in New York at the start of the war for independence. He assembled the Virginian army in Williamsburg, before marching them to New York.

The Battle of Williamsburg [1], also known as the Battle of Fort Magruder, took place on May 5, 1862, in York County, James City County, and Williamsburg, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. It was the first pitched battle of the Peninsula Campaign, in which nearly 41,000 Federals and 32,000 Confederates were engaged, fighting an inconclusive battle that ended with the Confederates continuing their withdrawal.

Following up the Confederate retreat from Yorktown, the Union division of Brig. Gen. Joseph Hooker encountered the Confederate rearguard near Williamsburg. Hooker assaulted Fort Magruder, an earthen fortification alongside the Williamsburg Road, but was repulsed. Confederate counterattacks, directed by Maj. Gen. James Longstreet, threatened to overwhelm the Union left flank, until Brig. Gen. Philip Kearny's division arrived to stabilize the Federal position. Brig. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock's brigade then moved to threaten the Confederate left flank, occupying two abandoned redoubts. The Confederates counterattacked unsuccessfully. Hancock's localized success was not exploited. The Confederate army continued its withdrawal during the night in the direction of Richmond, Virginia.[2]

[1] U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865
Name: John Fayette Addison
Residence: Camp Pickens, Virginia
Enlistment Date: 5 Jun 1861 ; Rank at enlistment: Private ; Enlistment Place: Camp Pickens, Virginia State Served: Virginia ; Survived the War?: No
Service Record: Enlisted in Company A, Virginia 17th Infantry Regiment on 05 Jun 1861.Promoted to Full 2nd Lieutenant on 26 Apr 1862.Mustered out on 05 May 1862 at Williamsburg, VA.
Sources: The Virginia Regimental Histories Series

[2] Wikipedia