Civil War Generals~Robert E. Lee

Lee was born at Stratford Hall Plantation, in Westmoreland County, Virginia, the fourth child of Henry Lee and Anne Hill (née Carter) Lee. Henry “Lighthorse Harry” Lee was a Revolutionary War, major-general, cavalry hero. Henry was injured in surpressing a riot in Baltimore and died from the wounds. He was raised by his widowed mother and attended private schools.

Lee went to West Point in 1825.
While there, he became corps adjutant, the chief post of honor for a cadet. He graduated in 1829, ranked 2 out of 46 in his class. When he graduated West Point, he had not only attained the top academic record but was the first cadet to graduate the Academy without a single demerit.

He was commisioned in the Engineers as a 2nd lieutenant and assigned to the Corps of Engineers. Lee served for 17 months at Fort Pulaski on Cockspur Island, Georgia.

Civil War Generals~ Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson

Thomas was the third child of Julia (Neale) and Jonathan Jackson, an attorny. He was of Scotch-Irish descent. Two years after his birth, both his father and his sister, Elizabeth, died of typhoid fever. His mother was left alone to raise her children. Ill health and hard times forced her to send her children to live with relatives. Thomas, then 6-years old, and his sister Laura, were taken in by their uncle, Cummins Jackson, who lived at Jackson’s Mill. His mother died in the fall of 1831. Jackson helped around his uncle’s farm. He attended school when and where he could. Records show that he attended classes in the community of Westfield for 39 days in 1837.

In 1839, he attended a school in the assembly room of the first Lewis County courthouse in Weston.

In his later years at Jackson’s Mill, Thomas served as a schoolteacher for 4 months during the winter of 1840-41.

In 1841, Jackson was elected a constable in Lewis County. He was only 17 at the time, a year short of the legal age of 18, necessary to hold the position. He was appointed to West Point in the summer of 1842. At West Point, Jackson struggled to maintain academic proficiency the first few months, he gradually improved his class standing. He graduated, ranked 17 out of 59 in his class, in 1846.

Civil War Generals~William J. Hardee

Hardee graduated from West Point in 1838. His class rank was 26 out of 45. After graduation, he fought in the Seminole War, frontier duty, and in the Mexican War. he also studied 2 years at the French cavalry school at Saumur, France. During the Mexican War, he was breveted 2 times, was wounded at La Rosia, Mexico, and captured.

He became commandant of cadets at West Point and taught infantry, artillery, and cavalry tactics. While teaching here, he wrote a book,”Rifle and Ligbt Infantry Tactics,” or more familiarly “Hardee’s Tactics,” became the standard textbook and was widely used by both sides during the Civil War.
While assigned as a Lieutenant Colonel in the 1st Cavalry, he resigned his U.S. Army commission on January 31, 1861, 12 days after his home state of Georgia seceded.

Civil War Generals~Patrick R. Cleburne

Appropriately, the native of County Cork was born on St. Patrick’s Day and became the only product of Ireland to become a Confederate major general. Failing the language requirements for a druggist’s degree, he served with the British 41st Regiment of Foot as an officer for a number of years before purchasing his way out.Emigrating to America, he became a druggist and then a highly successful property attorney. He joined the Confederacy in 1861.

He organized the Yell Rifles and with this unit, they seized the Little Rock Arsenal and was commissioned as a captain when Arkansas seceded. He was then sent to Company F, lst Arkansas State Troops in early 1861. He was promoted to Colonel and commanded the lst Arkansas State Troops and 15th Arkansas. Transferred with Lieutenant Gen. William J. Hardee to central Kentucky, he was promoted to Brigadier General and fought at Shiloh and Corinth. Taking part in the Kentucky Campaign, he was wounded at both Richmond and Perryville. Promoted to major general, he commanded a division at Murfreesboro, during the Tullahoma Campaign, and at Chickamauga. A favorite of Pres. Jefferson Davis, he is credited with covering the retreat from Chattanooga after his splendid defense of Tunnel Hill, where he stopped Major Gen. William T. Sherman.