The 12th Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment mostly raised in Petersburg, Virginia, for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, but with units from the cities of Norfolk and Richmond, and Greensville and Brunswick counties in southeastern Virginia. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia. The 12th Virginia was organized at Norfolk in May, 1861, using the 4th Battalion Virginia Volunteers as its nucleus. Its members were mostly from Petersburg, with some men from Richmond and Norfolk. The regiment initially protected the main ports at Norfolk and Petersburg. In response to the federal Peninsular Campaign in the spring 1862, it joined General William Mahone's Brigade in the Army of Northern Virginia, then participated in many conflicts from Seven Pines to Wilderness. It was involved in the nearly year-long Siege of Petersburg, and conclusion of the Appomattox Campaign. The field officers were Colonels Everard M. Feild and David A. Weisiger; Lieutenant Colonels John R. Lewellen and Fielding L. Taylor; and Majors Edgar L. Brockett, Richard W. Jones, and John P. May. Future Virginia governors William E. Cameron and William Hodges Mann served in the 12th Virginia. Cameron had been a staff officer under Gen. Mahone and won election as a member of the Readjuster Party. Mann would be the last governor of Virginia to have fought in the Civil War. Companies By 1860, the Petersburg City Guard (that became Company A) was led by Col. David Weisiger, associated with the commission merchant firm John Rowlett and Company. He also was a prominent Freemason, the grand commander of the Appomattox Commandery, Knights Templar No. 6. Company A formally enlisted in the Virginia militia on April 19, 1861, shortly after the Virginia Secession Convention of 1861 approved a secession resolution. The Petersburg City Guard and the older established militia company, the Petersburg Grays (Company B) had been sent to Harper's Ferry, Virginia in 1859 to guard against civil unrest during the trial and execution of abolitionist John Brown. Upon their return, Petersburg expanded the Old Grays, and formed another unit, dubbed the "new" Petersburg Grays (Company C). Three additional companies were recruited within the city and began training. The Lafayette Guards became Company D, and the Petersburg Riflemen became Company E. Eventually, all five Petersburg companies would become part of this unit, and would be joined by companies from Norfolk (a militia unit dating from