The 2nd  (Bate’s) Tennessee Infantry Regiment, Provisional Army of the Confederate States (PACS – AKA 2nd Confederate Regiment – as it was the second Tennessee regiment mustered-in to PACS). Organized in Nashville, TN (May 6, 1861); mustered-into CS service at Lynchburg, VA (May 12, 1861). Capt. (later Col.) William Bate bestowed the name “Walker Legion” in honor of L.P. Walker, CS Sec War.

“The regiment was first under fire at Aquia Creek, Virginia, on June 1, 1861, where it supported Confederate batteries in an engagement with Federal warships. It was then placed in the brigade commanded by Brigadier General Theophilus H. Holmes, along with the 1st Arkansas Infantry Regiment, which brigade constituted the extreme right wing of General Pierre G. T. Beauregard’s Army. About the last of June, the regiment was ordered to Fredericksburg to embark on an expedition down the Rappahannock River which resulted in the capture of the Federal mail packet, the Saint Nicholas, the Halifax, laden with coffee, and the Mary of Virginia, laden with ice.

“On July 19, 1861, the brigade joined Beauregard’s forces at Manassas, preparatory to the battle of July 21. Holmes’ Brigade was placed in support of Brigadier General Richard S. Ewell’s Brigade, and was not actively engaged in the fighting, although it came under heavy fire while shifting position in the afternoon of the battle.

“On September 13, 1861, the regiment was transferred to Colonel J.G. Walker’s Brigade, stationed at Fredericksburg, along with the 1st Arkansas and the 12th North Carolina Volunteer Infantry Regiments. It remained in this brigade until December 30, 1861, when it moved to Evansport, now Quantico, Virginia, and was placed in the brigade commanded by Brigadier General Samuel G. French, in company with the 2nd Arkansas Infantry Battalion, the 35th Georgia, 22nd North Carolina, and the 47th Virginia Infantry Regiments. Here the regiment assisted in the erection of batteries and other defenses. In February 1862 the regiment reenlisted for three years, or for the duration of the war.

“The regiment ended its service in the Virginia theatre on February 9, 1862, when, along with the 1st (Maney’s) and the 3rd (Vaughn’s) Tennessee Infantry Regiments, it was ordered to Knoxville to assist in the defenses of East Tennessee…“

Source: Tennesseans in the Civil War: A Military History of Confederate and Union Units with Available Rosters of Personnel in two parts, (Nashville, TN: Civil War Centennial Commission, 1964) 6th Printing, 1996, Part I, pp 176-177.