Throughout this campaign Colonel Martin commanded a cavalry brigade, composed of his legion and the Fourth Virginia. With two pieces of artillery he drove off a gunboat from the vicinity of White House on the 28th, and refreshed his command from the wealth of abandoned Federal stores. After the fight at Malvern Hill he dashed in the enemy's rear, capturing prisoners on all sides, picking up 150 in plain view and within sixty yards of the Monitor. Subsequently the legion was assigned to the cavalry brigade of Gen. Wade Hampton, and under the command of Lieut.-Col. J. F. Waring it won fresh laurels at Fleetwood, Gettysburg, and other famous battlefields, finally surrendering with Wade Hampton at Greensboro, N. C.
The army of Northern Virginia was now organized in a more permanent manner by General Lee, and the Mississippi infantry commands were all assigned to Longstreet's corps. In Anderson's division was the Mississippi brigade of General Featherston, including the Twelfth, Sixteenth, Nineteenth regiments and Second battalion. The Second and Eleventh regiments remained in Law's brigade of Hood's division. Barksdale's brigade, the Thirteenth, Seventeenth, Eighteenth and Twenty-first regiments, was assigned to McLaws' division.
At Kelly's Ford, August 21st, the Twelfth and Sixteenth regiments won the praise of Wilcox by their gallant repulse of Federal cavalry; and at the battle of Second Manassas Featherston's brigade had the honor of participating in the charge which swept the enemy from the field. The brigade lost 26 killed and 142 wounded.
