23rd Virginia Infantry Battalion

23rd Battalion, Virginia Infantry
Flag of Virginia, 1861
Active	January 1862 – Spring 1865
Country	Confederate States of America
Allegiance	Virginia
Branch	Confederate States Army
Role	Infantry
Nickname(s)	Derrick's Battalion
Engagements	American Civil War 1862: Fayetteville (Virginia), Charleston (Virginia) 1863: White Sulphur Springs, Droop Mountain 1864: New Market, North Anna, Cold Harbor, Lynchburg, Cool Spring, Second Battle of Kernstown, Third Winchester, Fisher's Hill, Cedar Creek
Commanders
Major	David Stuart Hounshell 1862
Lt. Colonel	Clarence Derrick 1862–1864
Major	William Blessing 1864–1865

The 23rd Virginia Infantry Battalion, often called "Derrick's Battalion", was an infantry battalion in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly in western Virginia (now West Virginia) and the Shenandoah Valley, and was usually part of a brigade commanded by John Echols or George S. Patton. By 1864, the brigade was usually part of a division commanded by Major General John C. Breckinridge or Brigadier General Gabriel C. Wharton.

From its organization in January 1862 until a reorganization in May of the same year, the battalion was commanded by Major David Stuart Hounshell. Shortly after the reorganization, Lieutenant Colonel Clarence Derrick was commissioned and became battalion commander. Derrick graduated from the United States Military Academy (West Point) in 1861. Most of the battalion's men were from Virginia counties located along the Appalachian Mountains. An additional company was from West Virginia's Mercer County, and another company from North Carolina's Stokes County.

Battles at White Sulphur Springs, Droop Mountain, and Third Winchester were the most significant fighting for the battalion. Major William Blessing temporarily led the battalion in the Battle of Droop Mountain in 1863. After Derrick was captured in the Third Battle of Winchester on September 19, 1864, Captain Edmund S. Read temporarily commanded the battalion until Blessing returned from the hospital. Blessing commanded the battalion until the end of the war.