“Forming of the Jeff Davis Mountaineers, 1861” is a new painting by Stephen Shoemaker now available as a limited edition (500) print.
Each print is signed and numbered, and available at Stephen Shoemaker’s studio located in downtown West Jefferson (111 South Jefferson Ave) as well as at Ashe Custom Framing a couple doors down.
As an avid local history buff, Stephen has recreated this significant event in history where Ashe County men lined up in Jefferson, NC to enlist in the 26th Infantry Regiment on May 17, 1861.
The regiment had 68 soldiers from Ashe County in its ranks. The men from Company A were known as the “Jeff Davis Mountaineers” after Jefferson Davis, the Confederate president.
The 26th North Carolina was the largest regiment in the Army of Northern Virginia and one of North Carolina’s most famous units. The 26th NC served with distinction throughout the war from the coastal plains of North Carolina to the defense of Richmond, to the invasion into Pennsylvania, throughout the siege of Petersburg, and finally at Appomattox Court House. The regiment would find its way into the epic tale of the battle of Gettysburg after its climactic clash with the Iron Brigade on the first day of that battle as well as its tenacity in pushing to the forefront in the Pettigrew-Pickett-Trimble assault.
Learn more about the 26th regiment here: www.26nc.org