Civil War Confederate Army Officer. Namesake of the Phillips Legion, in the months before the start of the Civil War, he was a Colonel on Georgia governor Joseph E. Brown's staff. In January of 1861, he accompanied the Governor in the seizure of a huge Federal arsenal near Augusta. Brown assigned him the rank of Brigadier General and put him in command of the 4th Georgia State brigade. They eventually became known as Phillips Legion. However, he was not a General in the Confederate army. When his brigade was called up, the Governor refused to send them unless Phillips' was promoted to the rank of General. Confederate President Jefferson Davis, who considered him a "non-military leader," refused. He was eventually commissioned as a Confederate Colonel. The Phillips Legion was in several skirmishes before he was striken with typhoid fever. After recuperating for several months, he rejoined the Legion which had been commanded by Lt. Colonel Seaborn Jones in his absence. Brown continued to request a General's rank for Phillips. However, in August of 1862, he fell ill once more. In February of 1863, after being found unfit for military duty due to his health, he resigned his commission, leaving behind the Legion that still carried his name. After the war, he served as the assistant attorney general and in the Georgia State legislature. He was also the president of the Marietta and North Georgia Railroad.
Civil War Confederate Army Officer. Namesake of the Phillips Legion, in the months before the start of the Civil War, he was a Colonel on Georgia governor Joseph E. Brown's staff. In January of 1861, he accompanied the Governor in the seizure of a huge Federal arsenal near Augusta. Brown assigned him the rank of Brigadier General and put him in command of the 4th Georgia State brigade. They eventually became known as Phillips Legion. However, he was not a General in the Confederate army. When his brigade was called up, the Governor refused to send them unless Phillips' was promoted to the rank of General. Confederate President Jefferson Davis, who considered him a "non-military leader," refused. He was eventually commissioned as a Confederate Colonel. The Phillips Legion was in several skirmishes before he was striken with typhoid fever. After recuperating for several months, he rejoined the Legion which had been commanded by Lt. Colonel Seaborn Jones in his absence. Brown continued to request a General's rank for Phillips. However, in August of 1862, he fell ill once more. In February of 1863, after being found unfit for military duty due to his health, he resigned his commission, leaving behind the Legion that still carried his name. After the war, he served as the assistant attorney general and in the Georgia State legislature. He was also the president of the Marietta and North Georgia Railroad.
Bio by: Evening Blues
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