20th Infantry Regiment was formed at Columbus, Georgia, in May, 1861, and soon moved to Virginia where it was assigned to the Potomac District. The men were from the counties of Muscogee, Jefferson, Cook, Harris, Wilkinson, Telfair, and Crawford. It served in General Early's, Toombs', and Benning's Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia. In April, 1862, it had 560 effectives and fought with the army from the Seven Days' Battles to Cold Harbor except when it was with Longstreet at Suffolk, Chickamauga, and Knoxville. The unit endured the hardships fo the Petersburg trenches south and north of the James River and later saw action around Appomattox. It sustained 76 casualties during the Seven Days' Battles and 152 at Second Manassas. Of the 350 engaged at Gettysburg, more than thirty-five percent were disabled. The regiment lost 95 men from April 14 to May 6 and 54 from August 1 to December 31, 1864. It surrendered 18 officers and 191 men. The field officers were Colonels John B. Cumming, John A. Jones, William D. Smith, and James D. Waddell; Lieutenant Colonel Eli M. Seago; and Majors John A. Coffee, William Graig, Roger L. Gamble, and Albert B. Ross.