Southern Historical Society Papers, Volume 17.
Reverend J. William Jones, Ed.

Lee's Lieutenants.

Names of surviving Generals of the Confederate Army—a valuable Roster. [Richmond Dispatch, May 29, 1890.]

The days of the heroes of classic times or the chivalry of modern Europe never produced braver knights, more self-sacrificing patriots, than that galaxy of soldiers which adorn the pages of Confederate history.

And then, as a rule, we fought against ‘overwhelming numbers and resources,’ and it seemed especially necessary that our generals should lead their men into the very thickest of the fight. Besides, there was a sentiment among our ragged, barefooted heroes of the [420] rank and file that their leaders should be at the front, and woe betide the general of whom they could say, ‘He loves to send us to the front, but he keeps well in the rear himself,’ or the officers about whom they could pass the grim joke: ‘There were not trees enough there for the officers to hide behind, and we privates had to take it without cover.’

Generals at the forefront.

At First Manassas Generals Beauregard and Johnston, at the crisis of the battle, both led their men, battle-flag in hand. Albert Sydney Johnston, whom President Davis always regarded as the ablest soldier of the war, fell leading a victorious charge at Shiloh, and in the execution of that brilliant strategy that had so far succeeded, and which, had he been spared an hour longer, would have resulted in the capture or annihilation of Grant's whole army.

Stonewall Jackson was often seen on the advance skirmish line of the army, was ever found in the very thickest of the fight, and when shot down by his own men (who would have died rather than injure a button on his old gray coat) was returning from a bold reconnoisance beyond his advanced pickets. ‘Jeb’ Stuart fell when leading a heroic charge against immense odds, which prevented Sheridan from riding into Richmond that day, and crowned a brilliant career with a glorious death. A. P. Hill, the chilvaric hero of many a glorious field, fell on the last sad day at Petersburg (when he had risen from a sick bed to command his corps of heroes) in a brave attempt to join that part of his corps which had been cut off from the main army.

Fell sword in hand.

But we must restrain our pen, for columns would not suffice even to mention the names of the Confederate Generals who were noted for conspicuous gallantry and an even reckless exposure of their lives. But we must not fail to say that our grand old chief, R. E. Lee, was ‘the bravest of the brave,’ and that the world's history affords no grander battle pictures than Lee at the Wilderness offering to lead Hood's Texas brigade, and at Spotsylvania Courthouse offering to lead Gordon's division, and afterwards Harris's Mississippi [421] brigade, when, upon all three occasions, the ragged heroes shouted, ‘General Lee to the rear! General Lee to the rear!! We will drive them back if General Lee will go to the rear!’

Indeed, the pleasant incident which President Davis told of how he met General Lee at the front during the Seven Days battles, and while they were gently chiding each other for being out of place, ‘gallant little A. P. Hill’ dashed up and ordered them both to the rear, but illustrates the point that all of our Confederate leaders, from our chivalric, heroic President, down to the subordinates, were accustomed to say to their men not ‘Go on!’ but ‘Come on!’

Thus it came to pass that the list of our dead Generals were fearfully large, and that of those who survive, the large majority of them carry ‘badges of honor’ in wounds received during the war.

In peace.

Thank God! many of them yet survive, and scores of them come to-day to pay tribute to their loved and honored old Chief, while many others though ‘absent in body are present in spirit.’

We have been at some pains to compile an accurate list of surviving Confederate generals with their present residence, and we give it below. There may be a few omissions or inaccuracies (and we would esteem it a favor to have any needed corrections), but we believe it will be found in the main accurate and complete.

List of surviving Confederate Generals and their present residence.

Gustave P. T. Beauregard, New Orleans.

General with temporary rank.

Lieutenant-Generals.

James Longstreet, Gainesville, Ga.

Jubal A. Early, Lynchburg, Va.

Simon B. Buckner, Frankfort, Ky.

Joseph Wheeler, Wheeler, Ala.

Alexander P. Stewart, Oxford, Miss.

Wade Hampton, United States Senate, Washington.

John B. Gordon, Atlanta, Ga.

Major-Generals.

LaFayette McLaws, Savannah, Ga.

C. W. Field, Washington, D. C.

S. G. French, Holly Springs, Miss.

C. L. Stevenson, Washington, D. C.

John H. Forney, Alabama.

Dabney H. Maury, Richmond, Va.

Henry Heth, United States Coast Survey.

Robert Ransom, Jr., Weldon, N. C.

Cadmus M. Wilcox, Montgomery, Ala.

J. L. Kemper, Orange Courthouse, Va.

Fitzhugh Lee, Glasgow, Va.

W. B. Bate, United States Senate, Washington.

Robert F. Hoke, Raleigh, N. C.

W. H. F. Lee, Burke's Station, Va.

J. B. Kershaw, Camden, S. C.

M. C. Butler, United States Senate, Washington.

E. C. Walthall, United States Senate.

L. L. Lomax, Blacksburg, Va.

P. M. P. Loung, Atlanta, Ga.

T. L. Rosser, Charlottesville, Va.

W. W. Allen, Montgomery, Ala.

S. B. Maxey, Paris, Texas.

William Mahone, Petersburg, Va.

G. W. Custis Lee, Lexington, Va.

William B. Taliaferro, Gloucester, Va.

John G. Walker, Missouri.

William T. Martin, Natchez, Miss.

Bushrod R. Johnson, Nashville, Tenn.

C. J. Polignac, Paris, France.

E. M. Law, Yorkville, S. C.

Brigadier-Generals.

George T. Anderson, Anniston, Ala.

Samuel R. Anderson, Tennessee.

Joseph R. Anderson, Richmond, Va.

Frank C. Armstrong, Texas.

E. S. Alexander, Savannah, Ga.

Arthur S. Bagby, Texas.

Alpheus Baker, Louisville, Ky.

W. S. Barry, Mississippi.

M. L. Bonham, Columbia, S. C.

Pinckney D. Bowles, Alabama.

William L. Brandon, Mississippi.

William F. Brantly, Mississippi.

John Bratton, South Carolina.

J. L. Brent, Baltimore, Md.

James W. Barnes, Texas.

Seth M. Barton, Fredericksburg, Va.

C. A. Battle, Eufaula, Ala.

R. L. T. Beale, The Hague, Va.

John R. Baylor, Texas.

Hamilton P. Bee, El Paso, Texas.

W. R. Boggs, Winston, N. C.

Tyree H. Bell, Tennessee.

A. G. Blanchard, New Orleans.

William L. Cabell, Dallas, Texas.

E. Capers, Columbia, S. C.

James R. Chalmers, Vicksburg, Miss.

Thomas L. Clingman, Charlotte, N. C.

George B. Cosby, Kentucky.

Francis M. Cockrell, St. Louis, Mo.

A. H. Colquitt, United States Senate.

R. E. Colston, Washington, D. C.

Phil. Cook, Atlanta, Ga.

John R. Cooke, Richmond, Va.

M. D. Corse, Alexandria, Va.

D. H. Cooper, Indian Territory.

Alexander W. Campbell, Tennessee.

James Canty, Alabama. [424]

William H. Carroll, Tennessee.

John C. Carter, Tennessee.

Charles Clark, Mississippi.

Alfred Cumming, Augusta, Ga.

Joseph R. Davis, Biloxi, Miss.

X. B. De Bray, Austin, Texas.

William R. Cox, North Carolina.

George D. Dibbrell, Tennessee.

H. B. Davidson, Tennessee.

T. P. Dockery, Arkansas.

Thomas F. Drayton, Charlotte, N. C.

Basil W. Duke, Louisville, Ky.

John Echols, Louisville, Ky.

C. A. Evans, Atlanta, Ga.

Samuel W. Ferguson, Pass Christian, Miss.

B. D. Fry, Richmond, Va.

W. S. Featherston, Mississippi.

J. J. Finley, Florida.

D. M. Frost, Missouri.

Richard M. Gano, Dallas, Texas.

L. J. Gartrell, Atlanta.

R. L. Gibson, United States Senate.

William M. Gardner, Memphis.

James M. Goggin, Austin, Texas.

G. W. Gordon, Nashville, Tenn.

E. C. Govan, Arkansas.

Richard Griffith, Mississippi.

J. Warren Grigsby, Kentucky.

Johnson Haygood, Barnswell, S. C.

George P. Harrison, Jr., Auburn, Ala.

Robert J. Henderson, Atlanta, Ga.

James E. Harrison, Waco, Texas.

A. T. Hawthorne, Atlanta, Ga.

J. F. Holtzclaw, Montgomery, Ala.

Eppa Hunton, Warrenton, Va.

William B. Hardeman, Texas.

N. H. Harris, Mississippi.

Richard Harrison, Waco, Tex.

Thomas Harrison, Waco, Tex.

J. M. Hawes, Kentucky.

Edward Higgins, Norfolk, Va. [425]

George B. Hodge, Kentucky.

William J. Hoke, North Carolina.

Alfred Iverson, Florida.

J. D. Imboden, Southwest Virginia.

Alfred E. Jackson, Nashville, Tenn.

Henry R. Jackson, Savannah, Ga.

William H. Jackson, Nashville, Tenn.

Bradley T. Johnson, Baltimore, Md.

George D. Johnston, Charleston, S. C.

Robert D. Johnston, Birmingham, Ala.

Thomas Jordan, New York.

A. R. Johnson, Texas.

J. D. Kennedy, Camden, S. C.

William H. King, Austin, Tex.

William W. Kirkland, New York.

James H. Lane, Auburn, Ala.

A. R. Lawton, Savannah, Ga.

T. M. Logan, Richmond, Va.

A. L. Long, Charlottesville, Va.

Robert Lowry, Jackson, Miss.

Walter B. Lane, Texas.

Joseph H. Lewis, Kentucky.

W. G. Lewis, North Carolina.

William McComb, Gordonsville, Va.

Samuel McGowan, Abbeville, S. C.

John T. Morgan, United States Senate.

T. T. Munford, Lynchburg, Va.

H. B. Mabry, Texas.

W. W. Mackall, Warrenton, Va.

George Maney, Nashville, Tenn.

James G. Martin, North Carolina.

John McCausland, West Virginia.

Henry E. McCulloch, Texas.

W. R. Miles, Mississippi.

William Miller, Florida.

John C. Moore, Texas.

Francis T. Nichols, New Orleans.

E. A. O'Neal, Montgomery, Ala.

R. L. Page, Norfolk, Va.

W. H. Payne, Warrenton, Va.

W. F. Perry, Glendale, Ky. [426]

Roger A. Pryor, New York.

Lucius E. Polk, Tennessee.

J. B. Palmer, Tennessee.

W. H. Parsons, Texas.

N. B. Pearce, Arkansas.

E. W. Pettus, Selma, Ala.

Albert Pike, Washington, D. C.

W. A. Quarles, Clarksville. Tenn.

B. H. Robertson, Washington, D. C.

F. H. Robertson, Austin, Tex.

J. B. Robertson, Waco, Tex.

Daniel Ruggles, Fredericksburg, Va.

George W. Rains, Augusta, Ga.

A. E. Reynolds, Mississippi.

D. H. Reynolds, Arkansas.

R. V. Richardson, Tennessee.

William P. Roberts, Raleigh, N. C.

L. S. Ross, Austin, Tex.

Thomas M. Scott, Louisiana.

C. W. Sears, Mississippi.

Charles M. Shelly, Alabama.

F. A. Shoup, Sewanee, Tenn.

A. M. Scales, Greensboroa, N. C.

G. M. Sorrell, Savannah, Ga.

George H. Steuart, Baltimore, Md.

Marcellus A. Stovall, Augusta, Ga.

Edward L. Thomas, Washington, D. C.

W. R. Terry, Richmond, Va.

J. C. Tappan, Ozark, Ark.

John C. Vaughan, Tennessee.

Robert B. Vance, Asheville, N. C.

A. J. Vaughan, Memphis, Tenn.

James A. Walker, Wytheville, Va.

R. Lindsay Walker, Columbia, Va.

D. A. Weisiger, Petersburg, Va.

G. C. Wharton, New River, Va.

Marcus J. Wright, Washington, D. C.

G. J. Wright, Griffin, Ga.

H. H. Walker, New York.

W. S. Walker, Florida.

W. H. Wallace, Columbia, S. C. [427]

R. Waterhouse, Texas.

T. N. Waul, Galveston, Texas.

John S. Williams, Mt. Sterling, Ky.

S. A. M. Wood, Alabama.

Post-Bellum career.

General Joseph E. Johnston was for years actively engaged in the insurance business—was for one term a representative of the Richmond district in Congress, and was Railroad Commissioner under Cleveland. Though over eighty years old he is remarkably vigorous, is one of the finest conversationalists we have ever known, and is a very fine writer.

General Beauregard has lived in New Orleans ever since the war, and was for some time Adjutant-General of the State. He is very popular among his people, and has occupied various civic positions.

General Kirby Smith has been engaged ever since the war in educational pursuits, and is at present a professor in the University of the South at Sewanee, Tenn.

General James Longstreet was for years a resident of New Orleans, was once minister to Turkey, and has been for some years a resident of Gainesville, Ga.

General Stephen D. Lee has lived since the war at Columbus, Miss., where he was very prominent and for some years represented his district in the State senate, and for some years past has been president of the Mississippi Normal and Agricultural College, which he has made one of the most successful in the whole country.

General J. A. Early, of Lynchburg, is too well known as the able lawyer, the ‘walking encyclopaedia’ about Confederate affairs, the able and pains-taking writer who has done so much to vindicate the name and fame of the Confederacy and its leaders, and the stern old patriot who has never yet ‘asked pardon’ for his heroic service for the land and cause he loves so well, to need any comment from us.

General Alexander P. Stewart has been the able president of the University of Mississippi.

General Wade Hampton has had a career in civil life which has been scarcely surpassed by his brilliant military career. His people hailed him as their ‘saviour’ when he was elected governor of the gallant Palmetto State and threw off the yoke of ‘carpet-bag’ and [428] negro rule, and have ever since been proud of him as one of their representatives in the United States Senate.

General John B. Gordon has been the idol of his people ever since he carried back to Georgia his brilliant record in the Army of Northern Virginia. At the first opportunity they elected him governor by an overwhelming majority, and though the military authorities refused to allow him to take his seat, they afterwards sent him to the United States Senate, where he remained until he voluntarily resigned. They have twice again, by unprecedented majorities, elevated him to the gubernatorial chair, and it is as certain as anything can be in the future that the next legislature will elect him to the United States Senate again.

General John H. Forney, General Joseph Wheeler, General W. H. F. Lee, General P. M. B. Young, General R. L. T. Beale, General James R. Chalmers, General William R. Cox, General L. J. Gartrell, Generals Eppa Hunton, A. M. Scales, and Robert B. Vance, have served in the House of Representatives, while Generals Wade Hampton, John B. Gordon, W. B. Bate, E. C. Walthall, J. T. Morgan, M. C. Butler, A. H. Colquitt, R. L. Gibson, and M. W. Ransom, have graced the United States Senate, and Generals Gordon, Hampton, Buckner, Fitzhugh Lee, Bate, Kemper, Bonham, Colquitt, Haygood, Lowry, Marmaduke, McGowan, Nicholas, O'Neale, and Scales, have been Governors of their respective States.

Time and space forbid further particulars, but we do not hesitate to say that after that sad day at Appomattox our Confederate soldiers—generals, colonels, captains, and privates alike—as a rule, instead of sitting down to weep over the ashes of ruined fortunes and blighted hopes, took off their coats and went to work—that they have filled places of honor, profit, emolument and trust, and have proven themselves the best citizens the country ever had, and that this ‘New South’ of ours has owed its great prosperity under God more to the brain and brawn of ‘the men who wore the gray’ than to any other cause.

Richmond greets the survivors of that heroic band to-day [May 29th]—the capital of the Confederacy opens wide her gates to bid them welcome—their old comrades extend to them the hand of fellowship, and our people generally stand before them with uncovered heads and say, ‘All hail to the chivalry of our Southland—the grandest heroes the world ever saw—as they come to honor the grandest man that ever walked this continent.’