Today we remember Private George H. Pursell, Company D, 15th Virginia Cavalry. George Pursell was the second youngest son of Benjamin and Margarett Pursell of Richmond County, Virginia. Pursell enlisted in Company B, 15th Battalion Virginia Cavalry (Critcher’s Battalion/Northern Neck Rangers ), on 15 August 1862 at Farnham Church, Virginia. The company was commanded by Captain Cyrus Harding, Jr. In September of 1862 the 14th Battalion Virginia Cavalry and the 15th Battalion Virginia Cavalry were consolidated to form the 15th Virginia Cavalry Regiment. Company B was then designated as Company D, 15th Virginia Cavalry. The regiment’s first major encounter with Federal troops was at Falmouth, Virginia, on the north side of the Rappahannock River at Fredericksburg on 17 November 1862. There it repulsed the efforts of Burnside’s army to take Fredericksburg until the arrival of Lee’s main army. The 15th Virginia Cavalry saw combat again at Fredericksburg during the period 11-15 December 1862. On 19 February 1863 Pursell died of a gunshot wound of the neck, the circumstances of which are not known. Private George H. Pursell was buried in Shockoe Hill Cemetery that same day, the burial record entry reading, “G.H. Purcell, 18 yrs., Accidental wound.” His grave has never been marked.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 12:00:00 +0000
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