CSA "C" Brigadiers

[Battleline]

This should be the rest of the "C" Confederate generals with the exception of John C. Carter and Samuel Cooper, who are being done by jkBluesman.

Brig. Gen. Alfred Cumming (b. 1829, d. 1910) Fighting with three different armies, Alfred Cumming rose to the rank of brigadier general before yielding from active field duty due to wounds. Cumming was born in Augusta, Georgia, Jan. 30, 1829. Attending the U.S. Military Academy, Cumming graduated 35th among 43 in the Class of 1849. His experiences in the U.S. Army included two years as an aide to Brig. Gen. David Twiggs. He also went to Utah with the Mormon expedition of 1857 with A.S. Johnston. There, he helped his uncle, Alfred Cumming, who was appointed to succeed Brigham Young as governor there. In January of 1861, Cumming resigned his U.S. Army captain’s commission to become lieutenant colonel of the Augusta Volunteer Battalion. He then left that role to become major of the 1st Georgia Infantry. In June of 1861, he became lieutenant colonel of the 10th Georgia Infantry under Lafayette McLaws. In October, he became colonel of that unit. The 10th Georgia was in Virginia for the Peninsular Campaign of 1862 and fought at Yorktown, Savage’s Station and Malvern Hill. In the last of those three battles, Cumming was wounded as the Confederates tried to assault dug-in Federal artillery. When the Army of Northern Virginia headed north of the Potomac River, Cumming stepped in to lead the Alabama brigade of Cadmus Wilcox in the division of Maj. Gen. Richard H. Anderson in the corps of Maj. Gen. James Longstreet At the Battle of South Mountain, Sept. 14, 1862, Cumming’s men moved up to support Brig. Gen. Howell Cobb in defense of Crampton’s Gap. Wounded at Sharpsburg (Antietam) Sept. 17, Cumming was recognized for his performance in charge of a brigade with a promotion to brigadier general Oct. 29, 1862, and sent to Mississippi. There, he commanded a brigade under Maj. Gen. Carter Stevenson. At the Battle of Champion’s Hill (Baker’s Creek), May 16, 1863, Cumming’s brigade had 995 men killed, wounded or missing in the defeat. Forced back into the defensive lines at Vicksburg, Cumming’s command surrendered with the city July 4, 1863. After being exchanged, Cumming was back with the Army of Tennessee for the Chattanooga siege late in 1863. He again commanded a brigade (Georgia regiments) under Maj. Gen. Stevenson during the siege. Cumming continued with the Army of Tennessee, Cumming found success in a campaign which forced the Confederates back to Atlanta. At Snake Creek Gap, May 9, 1864, Cumming’s brigade held off several assaults. At Resaca May 14, he moved his brigade out of a position where it was suffering enfilading fire. At Mount Zion Church, June 22, he was praised for an assault which did not succeed. He led another assault at the Battle of Jonesboro, Georgia, Aug. 31, 1864, but was severely wounded and knocked out of the war. After the war, Cumming farmed near Rome, Georgia. He was a member of the 1888 American Military Commission to Korea. He died in Rome, Georgia, Dec. 5, 1910, and was buried in Augusta, Georgia.

Brig. Gen. John R. Chambliss Jr. (b. 1833, d. 1864) The son of a member of the First Confederate Congress and Virginia’s secession convention, John Randolph Chambliss Jr. made his career with the cavalry forces in the Army of Northern Virginia. Chambliss was born in Hicksford (now Emporia), Virginia Jan. 23, 1833. Receiving an education at the U.S. Military Academy, he graduated 31st in the Class of 1853. After a year with mounted infantry, he resigned to become a planter. He also served in a local militia. He later became an aide to the Virginia governor. When state troops were taken into Confederate service, Chambliss was made colonel of the 41st Virginia Infantry. In July of 1861, he switched over to the cavalry, being named the colonel of the 13th Virginia Cavalry. This unit became part of Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart’s division. His regiment served in different areas, south of the James River and then, during the Antietam Campaign, along the Rappahannock River. After fighting at Fredericksburg, Chambliss went with Stuart in a raid to the Washington, D.C., area. During the Battle of Chancellorsville, May 2-3, 1863, Chambliss fought dismounted at the head of the 5th Virginia Cavalry in the Wilderness area. He was back in the saddle by the Battle of Brandy Station, June 9, 1863, and ascended to brigade command when Brig. Gen. W.H.F. Lee was wounded there (and later captured). Chambliss led the brigade in the Gettysburg Campaign, skirmishing at Aldie, Middlesburg and Hanover. East of Gettysburg, his forces were repulsed with heavy loss. He also participated in the Bristoe Station fighting and at Brandy Station. Chambliss was promoted to brigadier general to rank from Dec. 19, 1863. He commanded Lee’s brigade through the Wilderness, Yellow Tavern, Haw’s Shop, Trevilian Station and at the start of the Petersburg Campaign. While fighting Federal cavalry of Brig. Gen. D.M. Gregg on the Charles City Road, Chambliss was shot by a member of the 16th Pennsylvania Cavalry Aug. 16, 1864. Chambliss was captured and died later that day. Chambliss was buried in Emporia.

Brig. Gen. James R. Chalmers (b. 1831, d. 1898) A hard fighting infantry commander early in the war, a wound forced James Ronald Chalmers to switch to cavalry command from 1863 to the end of the war. Chalmers was born in Halifax County, Virginia, Jan. 11, 1831. He was educated at South Carolina College and learned law in Holly Springs, Mississippi. A district attorney, he was a member of Mississippi’s secession convention. Appointed colonel of the 9th Mississippi Infantry, he reported to Gen. Braxton Bragg in Pensacola, Florida. Bragg took a liking to Chalmers and made him head of the 1st Brigade. His attention to training under the supervision of Bragg led to his promotion to brigadier general Feb. 13, 1862. Chalmers brought the same type of vigor he showed in training to battle. At the Battle of Shiloh, April 6-7, 1862, Chalmers was relentless commanding a brigade on the Confederate right. Six times his brigade engaged the enemy and was successful in all but the final attack, against a Federal battery backed against the Tennessee River, succeeded. At the end of the day, April 6, Chalmers was met by Col. Nathan Forrest, who asked about the whereabouts of Chalmers’ men. When Chalmers answered the question, Forrest reportedly said, “You are the first general I have found tonight who knows where his men are!” Chalmers stayed with Bragg through the 1862 campaign into Kentucky. He led a successful Confederate attack at Munfordville, Kentucky, but drew scorn from Bragg for an unauthorized attack later in the campaign. At the end of the year, he was on the front lines again at Murfreesboro (Stones River). Attacking a Federal salient known as both the “Round Forest” and “Hell’s Half-Acre,” Chalmers command was mauled and he was badly wounded. After he recovered, he briefly commanded the District of Mississippi and East Louisiana. In January of 1864, he had recovered enough to return to combat. This time, he was back as a cavalry commander. Joining the forces of Forrest, who now outranked him, Chalmers had some differences with his commander, but fought under Forrest’s command for the rest of the war. His men were present at Fort Pillow and the Battle of Tupelo (July 14-15, 1864). Forrest’s men liked Chalmers, calling him “Little ’Un.” During Gen. Hood’s Tennessee Campaign, Chalmers played a key supporting role. After surrendering with Forrest’s troops, Chalmers returned to Mississippi. There, he served three terms in Congress and lost races three other times. In 1888, Chalmers retired and moved to Memphis. He practiced law there until he died April 9, 1898. He was buried in Memphis.

Brig. Gen. William H. Carroll (b. 1810, d. 1868) Son of a six-term Tennessee governor, William Henry Carroll commanded state troops and Confederate troops early in the war before being cashiered by Gen. Braxton Bragg in 1863. Carroll was born, most likely in 1810 (no month or day given) and was the oldest of William Carroll’s children. Growing up, he operated a plantation in Panola County, Mississippi for a time. In 1848, he moved to Memphis and became postmaster there. As war came, Carroll was appointed brigadier general in the Tennessee provisional army. He moved over to Confederate service as colonel of the 37th Tennessee Infantry. Carroll was promoted to brigadier general Oct. 26, 1861, and sent to Knoxville to command. There, he imposed martial law trying to control a section of the state with strong Federal sentiment. Carroll was at the Battle of Mill Springs (Fishing Creek), Jan. 19, 1862, which was a Confederate defeat. Carroll’s brigade suffered light losses and retired in good order. However, when Gen. Bragg took over command, Carroll was one of the officers he seeked to purge from his command as officers who achieved their rank through governmental influence. Accusing Carroll of drunkenness, incompetency and neglect, Bragg required Carroll to stand before a court of inquiry. Most charges against Carroll appeared to be baseless, but it was enough for Carroll to resign his commission Feb. 1, 1863. Carroll went to Canada, joining family members who moved there after the Federal occupation of Memphis. He stayed there for the rest of his life, dying in Montreal, May 3, 1868. Originally buried there, his remains were later moved to Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis.

Brig. Gen. Ellison Capers (b. 1837, d. 1908) “He rendered unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and unto God the thing that are God’s,” is the inscription on the graveyard monument to Ellison Capers. Capers, promoted to brigadier general late in the war, ascended to other positions of responsibility following the war. He was South Carolina secretary of state from 1866-68. In the Episcopal Church ministry, he was assistant bishop of South Carolina in 1893 and state bishop in 1894. In 1904, he became chancellor of University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. For many years, he was chaplain general of the United Confederate Veterans. He also was a contributor to the South Carolina volume of Confederate Military History. Capers was born in Charleston, South Carolina, Oct. 14, 1837. He graduated from South Carolina Military Academy in 1857 and embarked on a teaching career. He joined a militia unit, the South Carolina Rifles, and served as a major of artillery on Sullivan’s Island during the siege of Fort Sumter. He helped to recruit the 24th South Carolina Infantry and was elected that unit’s lieutenant colonel. His new unit stayed in South Carolina into 1863, seeing action around Secessionville. He directed a successful infantry and artillery defense against a Federal assault June 16, 1862. His unit initially was sent to help relieve Vicksburg and he was wounded in this effort. Fighting again at the Battle of Chickamauga, Capers again was wounded. Returning for the Atlanta Campaign in 1864, Capers was promoted to colonel. At times, he led the brigade of Brig. Gen. States Rights Gist. Capers was wounded (and Gist was killed) at the costly Battle of Franklin Nov. 30, 1864, and sent back to South Carolina to recover. He took the field again to oppose Federal troops of Maj. Gen. William Sherman. While serving there, he received his promotion to brigadier general May 1, 1865. Capers died in Columbia, South Carolina, April 22, 1908, and was buried in the Trinity Churchyard there.

Brig. Gen. James Cantey (b. 1818, d. 1874) Mexican War veteran James Cantey played a key role as part of Maj. Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s 1862 Valley Campaign and it propelled him to a promotion to brigadier general. Cantey was born in Camden, South Carolina, Dec. 30, 1818. He graduated from South Carolina College. He studied law and was admitted to the bar. When the Mexican War game, Cantey enlisted in the Palmetto Regiment. He rose to the rank of captain before being wounded. Returning, Cantey became a planter in Russell County, Alabama. When the Civil War came, Cantey became colonel of the 15th Alabama Infantry, a unit which went to Virginia, where it was assigned to Jackson’s command in the Shenandoah Valley. At First Winchester, May 15, 1862, the 15th Alabama drove back a Federal assault. At Cross Keys, June 8, Cantey’s regiment was so far forward that it was nearly cut off from the rest of Brig. Gen. Isaac Trimble’s forces. Staying calm, Cantey’s command helped to flank forces of Federal Maj. Gen. John Fremont, striking the rear, rolling up the flank and helping rout the Federals to the west. After fighting around Richmond during the Peninsular Campaign and the Seven Days Campaign, Cantey was sent to Mobile, where he commanded a brigade of three Alabama regiments and one Mississippi regiment. Cantey was promoted to brigadier general to rank from Jan. 8, 1863. Ill health kept Cantey away from his command at times. During the Atlanta Campaign, Cantey brought his brigade to the Army of Tennessee, defending Resaca, Georgia. At times during the campaign, Cantey led a division. He was part of Gen. Hood’s Tennessee Campaign of 1864 and he was able to join up with Gen. Joseph Johnston in North Carolina. After the Battle of Bentonville, Cantey surrendered at Durham Station, North Carolina. Cantey returned to his plantation in Alabama and died there, near Fort Mitchell, June 30, 1874. He was buried in the Crowell Family Cemetery.

Brig. Gen. Alexander W. Campbell (b. 1828, d. 1893) While on a mission for Tennessee Gov. Isham Harris, Alexander William Campbell was captured by Federal troops near Lexington, Tennessee in July of 1863. He spent most of the rest of the war as a Federal prisoner before being exchanged in February of 1865. Then, he had a final flurry with the Confederates before the end of the war. That busy time included his promotion to brigadier general March 1, 1865. Campbell was born in Nashville, Tennessee, June 4, 1828. Educated at West Tennessee College and Lebanon Law School, he became a law partner of future U.S. Supreme Court Justice Howell E. Jackson. When the war came, Campbell enlisted. He soon was promoted to major, then colonel of the 33rd Tennessee Infantry. He led this unit at the Battle of Shiloh, April 6-7, 1862. Badly wounded there, he returned as assistant adjutant and inspector general under Lt. Gen. Leonidas Polk. After that, he was with the Tennessee state volunteer and conscript bureau. When he was captured, he was working to recruit in the western part of the state and overseeing elections. After his release, he was named acting inspector general from the headquarters of Lt. Gen. Nathan Forrest. A few days later, he was given a brigade in Tennessee division of the cavalry corps. Campbell was commissioned as a brigadier general to date from March 1, 1865. He led his unit “with dignity” through the end of the war. After the war, Campbell went back to practicing law. In 1880, he waged an unsuccessful campaign for Tennessee governor. He died June 13, 1893, in Jackson, Tennessee and was buried there.

[Gil R.]

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