James Francis “Frank” Crocker recalled the steadfastness of his fellow Virginians as they advanced with the rest of Brigadier General Lewis A. Armistead’s brigade in Pickett’s Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg.
Dave Batalo CollectionFramed portrait of James Francis “Frank” Crocker
“Men fell like ten-pins in a ten-strike. Without a pause and without losing step, the survivors dressed themselves to their line and our regiment to the diminished regiment, and all went on as serenely and as unfalteringly as before. My God! It was magnificent—this march of men.”
Crocker, a first lieutenant and adjutant of the 9th Virginia Infantry, was wounded in the leg. He was left behind on the battlefield with Armistead and others after Union forces repulsed the charge. Captured and taken to a field hospital at the George Bushman Farm, Crocker happened upon Martin Luther Stoever, a professor at Gettysburg College. They instantly recognized each other; Crocker had been valedictorian of the Class of 1850. Like many young Virginians who hailed from prosperous families, he had been sent from his home in Isle of Wight County to the North for an education.
Crocker and Stoever talked of old times. Before long, Crocker was given liberty to roam about town; his leg injury turned out to be minor. He caught up with many of his former professors and reminisced. The good times ended soon enough. Sent to the prison camp at Johnson’s Island in Ohio, Crocker spent the rest of the war in captivity. After the war, he resumed his career as an attorney in Virginia, and went on to become a judge and board member at William and Mary College. He died at 89 in 1917.
Ronald S. Coddington is publisher of Military Images, a magazine dedicated to showcasing and preserving photos of Civil War soldiers and sailors.
