Echols was a physically imposing man, at 6 feet, 4 inches tall and 260 pounds. When Virginia seceded from the Union, Echols worked to recruit volunteers in western Virginia. Appointed lieutenant colonel of the 27th Virginia, he led his regiment in the First Battle of Bull Run, joining four other Virginia regiments in winning fame as the "Stonewall Brigade."

Echols took part in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign, and was seriously wounded at Kernstown in March of 1862. On April 16, while recuperating, he was commissioned a brigadier general. He took over a brigade in the Army of Western Virginia, then became commander of the Army of Southwest Virginia.

In the summer of 1863, he served on the court of inquiry to examine the July surrender of Vicksburg, Mississippi. His troops were defeated at Droop Mountain in November of 1863. After serving under Maj. Gen. John C. Breckinridge at the Battle of Newmarket, he and his brigade went east and fought at Cold Harbor.

He took command of the District of Southwest Virginia, then took over Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early's position as commander of the Department of Western Virginia. On his way to east to join with Gen. Robert E. Lee's army, he found out about the surrender at Appomattox. Marching to North Carolina, he joined Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's army, then surrendered in Augusta, Georgia.

After the Civil War, Echols went back to his legal practice. He became a wealthy lawyer and businessman, involved in banking and railroads. Echols died on May 24, 1896, in Staunton, Virginia.

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Echols was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, and was educated at the Virginia Military Institute, Washington College and Harvard College. Entering upon the practice of law at Staunton, he soon attained distinction. A tall imposing man, standing 6 feet 4 inches tall, Echols quickly became a leader among his peers. He played a prominent part in the Virginia Secession Convention of 1861, and then offered his service to the state's army. Commissioned as a lieutenant colonel, he was ordered by General Robert E. Lee to call out and muster in the volunteer forces in the vicinity of Staunton for Joseph E. Johnston's fledgling army.

Echols was then assigned command of the 27th Virginia Infantry, leading the regiment in the fighting at the First Battle of Manassas under Stonewall Jackson. He was soon promoted to colonel, serving in the Valley Campaign. He was severely wounded on March 23, disabling him for several weeks. Echols was promoted to brigadier general on April 16, 1862  during his convalescence.  Later in the year, he was assigned to command a brigade of the army of Western Virginia.  He participated as a brigade commander in William W. Loring's occupation of the Kanawha Valley in September. After Loring withdrew to the mountains, Echols replaced him in command of the Department of Western Virginia. He promptly reoccupied Charleston, but was forced to retreat by a superior enemy force.
He resigned his departmental command in the spring of 1863, and, during the following summer, served upon the three-man court of inquiry held in Richmond to investigate the cause of the fall of Vicksburg. Later in the year, he commanded the Confederate forces in the Battle of Droop Mountain, stubbornly resisting a series of Federal attacks. In May 1864, he commanded John C. Breckinridge's right wing at the Battle of New Market in the Shenandoah Valley.

Echols' Brigade was recalled by Robert E. Lee to rejoin the Army of Northern Virginia near Cold Harbor during the Siege of Petersburg. On August 22, 1864, he was given charge of the District of Southwestern Virginia, and on March 29, 1865, Echols was assigned command of the western department of Virginia, relieving General Breckinridge, who had joined the staff of President Jefferson Davis. On April 2, Echols, with nearly 7,000 men, began a hasty march to unite with Lee. He reached Christiansburg, Virginia, on April 10, where he received a telegram announcing Lee's surrender at Appomattox Courthouse. At a solemn council of war, Echols decided to march to unite with Johnston's army, and Echols led two brigades southward towards North Carolina. Subsequently, he accompanied President Davis to Augusta, Georgia.
 

After the war, Echols resumed his Staunton law practice and was a member of the Virginia General Assembly. He helped select the members of the Committee of Nine, a group of state leaders who worked to ensure that the state be readmitted into the Union. He became President of the Staunton National Valley Bank, and Receiver and General Manager of the Chesapeake, Ohio & Southwestern Railroad, living in Kentucky the last ten years of his life as he managed the railroad's affairs.

Echols was twice married, first to a sister of Senator Allen T. Caperton of West Virginia, and, after her death, to Mrs. Mary Cochrane Reid of New York. He died at the residence of his son, Edward Echols (later lieutenant governor of Virginia), at Staunton, where he is buried in Thornrose Cemetery.