Civil War Confederate Brigadier General. Born in Charleston, he was one of the best officers that South Carolina furnished the Confederacy. He was a graduate of South Carolina College, and became a distinguished lawyer and a United States district attorney before the outbreak of the Civil War. Serving as Captain of the Montgomery Guards, a local militia company, he participated in the bombardment of Fort Sumter. He entered Confederate service in May 1861 keeping his captaincy while leading the Hampton Legion, a mixed command of cavalry, infantry, and artillery. At First Bull Run, when Colonel Wade Hampton fell wounded, he led the legion, earning promotion to Major, and fighting with the unit during the Peninsula Campaign through the Battle of Seven Pines. In June 1862 he became Colonel of the 22nd North Carolina, serving as its commander for 2 years. A disciplinarian, he never earned the volunteer soldiers' affection, but his courage and skill won their respect. At Gaines' Mill, during the Seven Days' Campaign, a rifle ball shattered his leg, disabling him for 2 months. Returning to his regiment, he led his men at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, and received his promotion to Brigadier General on June 1, 1864. He temporarily commanded 2 brigades in succession, seeing action in the Petersburg Campaign, and in late summer 1864 was permanently assigned command of Major General Joseph B. Kershaw's old brigade of South Carolinians. On October 13, in a skirmish near Cedar Creek, he lost the leg that had been broken at a Gaines' Mill, but resumed the command of the brigade until the war's end. Returning to his native state after the war, he took up his law practice and entered politics, allying himself with his old commander, Hampton, and was elected state's attorney general. He later died in Richmond, Virginia.
Civil War Confederate Brigadier General. Born in Charleston, he was one of the best officers that South Carolina furnished the Confederacy. He was a graduate of South Carolina College, and became a distinguished lawyer and a United States district attorney before the outbreak of the Civil War. Serving as Captain of the Montgomery Guards, a local militia company, he participated in the bombardment of Fort Sumter. He entered Confederate service in May 1861 keeping his captaincy while leading the Hampton Legion, a mixed command of cavalry, infantry, and artillery. At First Bull Run, when Colonel Wade Hampton fell wounded, he led the legion, earning promotion to Major, and fighting with the unit during the Peninsula Campaign through the Battle of Seven Pines. In June 1862 he became Colonel of the 22nd North Carolina, serving as its commander for 2 years. A disciplinarian, he never earned the volunteer soldiers' affection, but his courage and skill won their respect. At Gaines' Mill, during the Seven Days' Campaign, a rifle ball shattered his leg, disabling him for 2 months. Returning to his regiment, he led his men at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, and received his promotion to Brigadier General on June 1, 1864. He temporarily commanded 2 brigades in succession, seeing action in the Petersburg Campaign, and in late summer 1864 was permanently assigned command of Major General Joseph B. Kershaw's old brigade of South Carolinians. On October 13, in a skirmish near Cedar Creek, he lost the leg that had been broken at a Gaines' Mill, but resumed the command of the brigade until the war's end. Returning to his native state after the war, he took up his law practice and entered politics, allying himself with his old commander, Hampton, and was elected state's attorney general. He later died in Richmond, Virginia.
Bio by: Ugaalltheway
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