Nothing But Glory
Oil on Paper 8 x 10"
$200
Oil on Paper 8 x 10"
$200
John Vermillion, Companies K and I, 9th Virginia Infantry
The second son of a prominent Portsmouth, Virginia physician, John Vermillion as “a mere youth” nursed the sick and dying in the Yellow Fever epidemic that swept the city in 1855, which claimed the life of his own father. Seven years later, he and his older brother Dennis enlisted in the “Old Dominion Guards,” which became Company K, 9th Virginia Infantry, Armistead’s Brigade. On July 1, 1862, Dennis, in command of the Company, was killed leading his men in a long fruitless charge at Malvern Hill. John then transferred to Company I, and was promoted 2d Lieutenant in October. Almost exactly a year after his brother Dennis’ death, John and Company I found themselves marching toward a clump of trees outside of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Of the 36 officers and men of the Company who took part in Pickett’s Charge, 25 were either killed, wounded or captured. Among the latter was John Vermillion who, according to his obituary, was “made a prisoner of war in a few feet only of where the gallant Armistead fell.”
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Imprisoned at Johnson’s Island and Fort Delaware, Vermillion was released in June, 1865 and returned home, where he lived and worked as a merchant. He was close to 80 years old when he died.