CSA Bios: Peck, Payne, Paxton, Parsons

[Battleline]

Brig. Gen. William R. Peck (b. 1818, d. 1871) Despite standing nearly six-and-a-half feet, William Raine Peck never received as much as a flesh wound during the Civil War. The Tennessee-born commander of Louisiana troops frequently was under fire during his military service, which came in the Army of Northern Virginia throughout just about every major engagement. Peck was born Jan. 31, 1818, in Jefferson County, Tennessee, and moved to Louisiana in the early 1840s. He owned a plantation in Milliken’s Bend, Madison Parish, opposite Vicksburg. There, he prospered enough to acquire other land nearby. On Oct. 7, 1861, Peck enlisted in Richard Taylor’s Ninth Louisiana Infantry at Camp Moore, La. The regiment was matched up with the Sixth, Seventh and Louisiana Tigers to form the Louisiana Brigade under the command of Taylor. The Ninth Louisiana arrived at Manassas Junction just after the conclusion of First Manassas, but was conspicuous during Stonewall Jackson’s Valley Campaign. While the command fought through major campaigns, such as the Seven Days, Cedar Mountain, Second Manassas, Harpers Ferry and Sharpsburg, Peck continued to rise in rank. The regiment was moved to the brigade of Harry Hays in October 1863 and fought with this command at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. When the regimental commander, Leroy Stafford, was promoted to brigadier general, Peck was promoted to command the regiment Oct. 8, 1863. While Peck was a colonel during the Wilderness, Spotsylvania and Cold Harbor, he frequently commanded a brigade. He received commendation from his division commander, Gen. John B. Gordon, for his action at the Battle of Monocacy. Peck received his reward by being promoted to brigadier general Feb. 18, 1865. While Peck was never wounded, he was not with his men when they surrendered at Appomattox. By that time, his old regiment had just 64 men and four officers. After his parole in Vicksburg, he returned to his plantation, “The Mountain” and died there Jan. 22, 1871.

Brig. Gen. William H.F. Payne (b. 1830, d. 1904) A noted cavalryman, Brig. Gen. William Henry Fitzhugh Payne spent over a year as a prisoner during his adventures with the Army of Northern Virginia. Born in Fauquier County, Virginia, Jan. 27, 1830, Payne received military training at Virginia Military Institute. He graduated from VMI in 1849 and then attended the University of Virginia. His law study there paid off when he was elected commonwealth attorney in 1856. He was living in Warrenton, Virginia, when the war started and enlisted as a private. He was at Harpers Ferry early in the war. His rise to the general’s rank started when he was commissioned captain of the Black Horse Cavalry April 26, 1861. He was appointed major of the Fourth Virginia Cavalry Sept. 27, 1861. He was in charge of his regiment in the early part of 1862, but was wounded and captured early in the Peninsula Campaign. His capture May 4 at Williamsburg was the first of three times he would be held in Federal custody. Overall, he would spend over 14 months on Johnson’s Island during his time as a prisoner. Exchanged during the summer of 1862, Payne was promoted to lieutenant colonel in temporary command of the Second North Carolina Cavalry, but was hospitalized in October of 1862. After he healed, he returned to the Fourth Virginia Cavalry as temporary commander. He bounced back to the Second North Carolina in March of 1863 and led that unit in the Chancellorsville and Gettysburg campaigns. During the Gettysburg campaign, Payne received a saber wound and again was captured. He spent nearly a year at Johnson’s Island this time before he was exchanged. He led a brigade during the Shenadoah Valley Campaign of 1864 and was promoted to brigadier general Nov. 1, 1864. In his new role, he led his men in a successful surprise attack at New Creek, West Virginia. Payne was wounded again in April of 1865. Conflicting reports state it was either Petersburg or at Five Forks April 1, 1865. Recuperating at home in Warrenton, he was seized by Federal troops for the third time. After his parole, May 29, 1865, Payne resumed his law practice. He served one term in the Virginia house of delegates in 1879. Moving to Washington, D.C., he became general counsel for Southern Railway. He died in Washington, D.C., March 29, 1904.

Brig. Gen. Elisha F. Paxton (b. 1828, d. 1863) The Confederate career of Elisha Franklin “Bull” Paxton oddly shadowed that of his mentor, General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson. As his former commander received a fatal wound during that battle, Paxton was killed by a Federal minie ball while in command of the Stonewall Brigade. Paxton was born in Rockbridge County, Virginia, March 4, 1828. He received education at Washington College (Class of 1845) and Yale (Class of 1847). He further studied law at the University of Virginia and was admitted to the bar. After practicing for several years in Ohio, Paxton returned to Virginia, opening an office in Lexington in 1854. Failing eyesight forced him from the legal profession in 1859. At the start of the war, he was living on an estate in Lexington, Virginia. He enlisted in the Rockbridge Rifles entered service as a lieutenant. That unit became part of the 27th Virginia Infantry, which belonged to Stonewall Jackson’s brigade. He received election as major of the 27th Virginia in October of 1861. In this role, he earned his nickname of “Bull.” When elections were held again in the spring of 1862, Paxton was out. However, he had caught the eye of Jackson, who immediately made the fellow Lexington resident a staff officer with the rank of major. He served as assistant adjutant general until Nov. 1, 1862, when he was promoted to brigadier general at the recommendation of Jackson. He jumped over all other regimental commanders and was given the coveted command of the Stonewall Brigade. The 27th protested the move and Col. Andrew J. Grigsby actually resigned over the matter. Paxton commanded the brigade in two battles. At Fredericksburg, it was not actively engaged. At the Battle of Chancellorsville, the brigade guarded a road junction during the first day. Moving up to action during the morning of May 3, 1863, Paxton was killed while at the front line. He originally was buried in the back yard of the home where his commander, Jackson, died. Later, his remains were moved to Lexington, where he is buried within a few feet of Stonewall.

Brig. Gen. Mosby M. Parsons (b. 1822, d. 1865) Mosby Monroe Parsons survived the Civil War, but didn’t last through his next adventure in war-torn Mexico. Parsons was killed in action in mid-August 1865 near China on the San Juan River in the Nuevo Leon state. It is likely he was fighting with the Imperialists and was killed by Republican irregulars. Parsons highest rank confirmed by President Jefferson Davis was brigadier general, although he was assigned as a major general by Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith and was paroled at that rank. Parsons was born in Charlottesville, Virginia, May 21, 1822. As a young man, he moved to Cole County, Missouri, and studied law. He was admitted to the bar, but suspended his legal career during the Mexican War, where he commanded a company of mounted volunteers. Returning, he served as attorney general of Missouri from 1853-57. He followed that by being elected to the state senate. As war loomed on the horizon, Parsons allied himself with Governor Claiborne Jackson in an effort to hold the state for the Confederacy. When the war started, Parsons commanded the Sixth Division of the Missouri State Guard He received a commission as a Confederate brigadier general Nov. 5, 1862. Parsons commanded troops at Carthage, Springfield, Elkhorn Tavern and the Arkansas campaigns of 1862 and 1863. In 1864, he was sent to reinforce Gen. Richard Taylor during the Red River Campaign and commanded troops during Pleasant Hill, Marks’ Mills and Jenkins’ Ferry. On April 30, 1864, he was assigned to duty as a major general by Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith. He was with Gen. Sterling Price during his raid through Missouri in the fall of 1864. After the war, Parsons went to Mexico, but was killed along with five other former Confederates, including his brother-in-law and former adjutant, A.M. Standish, and former Confederate Congressman A.H. Conrow.

[Gil R.]

Thanks!

[Gil R.]

We need Parsons to be present in the July scenario (he actually fought a battle the turn before the scenario begins), so I just edited him, adding a bit more info. I can't find anything that tells me whether he was good or bad, so I assume he was somewhat average.


Brig. Gen. Mosby Monroe Parsons (b. 1822, d. 1865). Parsons survived the Civil War, but did not last through his next adventure in war-torn Mexico: Parsons was killed in action in mid-August 1865 near China on the San Juan River in the Nuevo Leon state. It is likely he was fighting with the Imperialists and was killed by Republican irregulars. Parsons’s highest rank confirmed by President Jefferson Davis was brigadier general, although he was assigned as a major general by Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith, many of whose promotions in “Kirby Smithdom” – the Trans-Mississippi Department, which Smith continued to command after the Union split the Confederacy by gaining control of the Mississippi River – were not recognized by the Confederate government, and was paroled at that rank. Parsons was born in Charlottesville, Virginia, May 21, 1822. As a young man, he moved to Cole County, Missouri, and studied law there. He was admitted to the bar, but suspended his legal career during the Mexican War, in which he commanded a company of mounted volunteers. Returning, he served as attorney general of Missouri from 1853-57, following which he was elected to the state senate. As war loomed on the horizon, Parsons allied himself with Missouri Gov. Claiborne Jackson in an effort to hold the state for the Confederacy. When the war started, Parsons commanded the 6th Division of the Missouri State Guard, first seeing action at the Battle of Carthage on July 5, 1861. A month later, on August 10, Parsons was again leading his division when the Guard joined up with Gen. Benjamin McCulloch’s Army of the West to defeat Gen. Nathaniel Lyon’s Union army at Wilson’s Creek, in a battle sometimes referred to as the “Bull Run of the West.” Later that fall, the Guard formally joined the Confederate army, and Parsons did so along with it. Having fought in the Battle of Pea Ridge and various lesser engagements in Arkansas during the 1862 campaigning season, Parsons received a commission as a brigadier general on November 5, and a month later led a brigade at the Battle of Prairie Grove, a strategic victory for the Union that gave them control over northwestern Arkansas. Parsons continued to led his men in Arkansas in 1863, but the following spring he was sent to reinforce Gen. Richard Taylor in Louisiana during the Red River Campaign and commanded troops in the fighting at Pleasant Hill, Marks’ Mills and Jenkins’ Ferry. On April 30, 1864, Parsons was assigned to duty as a major general by Smith, and he accompanied Gen. Sterling Price during his lengthy raid through Missouri in the fall of 1864. After the war, Parsons fled to Mexico, where he was killed along with five other former Confederates, including his brother-in-law and former adjutant, A.M. Standish, and former Confederate Congressman A.H. Conrow. Parsons is believed to have been buried in the state of Nuevo Leon, Mexico. (Bio by Bill Battle)

Leadership: 3
Tactics: 2
Initiative: 2
Command: 3
Cavalry:

Start date: 12