General Thomas J. Jackson formed the Stonewall Brigade on the 27th of April 1861 at Harpers Ferry. The unit drew its soldiers from five Virginia Infantry regiments and one artillery battery from Rockbridge County.
The brigade earned the name Stonewall on the 21st of July 1861 during the First Battle of Manassas. General Barnard E. Bee reportedly rallied his troops by stating that Jackson stood like a stone wall while urging them to rally behind the Virginians.
Company K of the 33rd Virginia Regiment held obsolete flintlock muskets while Company H of the 4th Virginia Regiment carried Rockbridge Grays which were VMI cadet muskets downsized to .58 caliber. Most men eventually carried .58 caliber rifles by the time of the Gettysburg Campaign after receiving European sources via Confederate agents during the winter of 1861-1862.
Colonel James A. Walker replaced Brigadier General Elisha F. Paxton as brigadier general following the death of Stonewall Jackson on the 2nd of May 1863. Andrew J. Grigsby assumed command following Baylor's death at Second Manassas on the 30th of August 1862 and Charles S. Winder took over command for the remainder of the campaign before dying on the 9th of August 1862 at Cedar Mountain.
Only 219 soldiers survived until surrender at Appomattox Court House with none holding rank above captain out of the original 6,000 who served during the war. By the 9th of April 1865 only 219 soldiers remained from the original force after suffering heavy losses at Spotsylvania Court House where all but 200 men were killed wounded or captured.