Brothers in Arms: The CSA Forneys

[Battleline]

Brig. Gen. William H. Forney (b. 1823, d. 1894) Born in North Carolina, William Henry Forney and his brother, John Horace Forney, both became Confederate brigadier generals during the Civil War. William H. Forney was born in Lincolnton, North Carolina, Nov. 9, 1823. His family moved to Alabama in 1835 and Forney graduated from the state university. He was reading law in the office of another brother, Daniel, in Jacksonville, Alabama, when the Mexican War broke out. Forney served as a first lieutenant in the 1st Alabama Volunteer Volunteers. After returning, Forney was admitted to the state bar. In 1859, he also was a member of the state legislature. When the war started, Forney was named captain in the 10th Alabama Infantry (commanded by his brother, John), which went to Virginia. At the Battle of Dranesville, Virginia, Dec. 20, 1861, both Forney brothers were wounded. For William, it was the first of 13 times he would be wounded in the war. Promoted to lieutenant colonel, Forney was wounded again at Williamsburg, Virginia, May 5, 1862. He fell into the hands of Federal forces and spent the summer as a prisoner. Exchanged in September of 1862, Forney returned as colonel of the 10th Alabama. He led this unit at Confederate victories at Fredericksburg (Dec. 13, 1862) and Chancellorsville (May 2-4, 1863). At the latter fight, he was wounded again. At the Battle of Gettysburg, Forney was involved in an engagement with two Federal regiments July 2 while serving as part of the brigade of Brig. Gen. Cadmus Wilcox. The fight, at Pitzer’s Run, ended when Forney led a charge which sent the Federals back. Forney was hit in the arm and chest. Another ball shattered his right arm and another hit him in a foot. These wounds would hinder him for the rest of his life. When the Confederates retreated after the end of the battle, July 3, Forney was left behind and made a prisoner. After another year as a prisoner, Forney was exchanged and returned to his unit on crutches. He continued with his regiment through the fall of 1864. At times, he led Wilcox’s brigade. Forney was promoted to brigadier general Feb. 15, 1865. Still hobbled, Forney surrendered his brigade at Appomattox, April 9, 1865, where the brigade had 952 officers and men present. After the war, Forney returned to Alabama and was active in law and politics. He was in the state senate until booted by the carpetbagger regime. Later, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1875-93. Forney died in Jacksonville, Alabama, Jan. 16, 1894, and was buried in that city.

Maj. Gen. John H. Forney (b. 1829, d. 1902) John Horace Forney did not follow in the footsteps of his older brother, William Henry Forney, but both ended up as Confederate generals in the Civil War. More than five years younger than his brother, John was born in Lincolnton, North Carolina, Aug. 12, 1829. In 1835, the family moved to Alabama. While William went into law and saw some military duty in the Mexican War, John received an education at the U.S. Military Academy. He graduated 22nd in the Class of 1852. Forney was posted on the frontier during much of his career. He was on the Utah Expedition of Col. A.S. Johnston and was teaching tactics at West Point when he resigned his commission Jan. 23, 1861. Forney was a colonel of artillery for Alabama state troops at Pensacola under Braxton Bragg. In March, he left Alabama state service to take a Confederate commission as a captain. Helping to raise the 10th Alabama, he was commissioned its colonel June 4, 1861. A strict disciplinarian, Forney was respected by his peers, but scorned by some of the volunteers. At the Battle of Dranesville, Virginia, Dec. 20, 1861, Forney and his brother both were wounded. John was hit in the right arm. Forney was promoted to brigadier general March 10, 1862, and placed in charge of the District of the Gulf July 2, 1862. Forney received a promotion to major general Oct. 27, 1862, and given orders to report to Vicksburg to serve in the army of Lt. Gen. John Pemberton. He commanded a division in the siege of that city, surrendering with the rest of the Confederate forces July 4, 1863. He was exchanged July 13, 1863, and spent some time with his family and then oversaw the exchange and parole of prisoners in Mississippi from November of 1863 through July of 1864. He then reported to Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith, where he commanded a division for the rest of 1864. He became commander of the Department of Texas in March of 1865 and surrendered that command later in the year. He received his parole in Galveston, Texas, June 20, 1865. After the war, Forney operated a military academy in Jacksonville, Alabama. He also was a surveyor, civil engineer and farmer. Forney died in Jacksonville, Alabama, Sept. 13, 1902, and was buried there.

[Gil R.]

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