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Brig. Gen. Henry H. Sibley, CSA (b. 1816, d. 1886) Controversial and innovative are words that can describe Henry Hopkins Sibley (not to be confused with Union Maj. Gen. Henry Hastings Sibley of Minnesota). Born in Natchitoches, La., May 25, 1816, Sibley graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1838 and made his pre-Civil War career in the U.S. Army. Sibley gained immediate combat experience in the 1838-39 Seminole War and later campaigned in Utah against Mormons. Breveted in the Mexican War, Sibley left a lasting impact on the army with the design of the Sibley Tent, which received an 1856 patent. The tent could accommodate 20 soldiers and their personal gear and could be used with a stove or fire. Sibley tents fell out of favor during the Civil War, but remained in U.S. Army use (especially on the plains) into the 1890s. Sibley resigned his U.S. Army commission, May 13,1861, same day he was promoted to major, First U.S. Dragoons. Sibley was commissioned colonel in the Confederate Army May 16, 1861, and promoted to brigadier general June 17, 1861. His first command was designed to take advantage of his U.S. Army experiences and he was detailed to secure New Mexico for the Confederacy. However, Sibley had one major weakness. “His alleged predilection for the bottle was widely publicized,” (during the New Mexico Campaign), Warner’s Generals in Gray. Indeed, it is speculated that Sibley turned to the bottle as an escape from chronic illness, but that proved to be incompatible with military life. Despite early victories, Sibley’s Army of New Mexico could not subsist after battles of Valverde and Glorieta Canyon, especially after his supply train and ammunition were captured. His force retired to Fort Bliss, then San Antonio in May 1862. The rest of Sibley’s career in the Trans-Mississippi theater was filled with problems. Assigned to minor Louisiana commands, he came back into the limelight during the Bayou Teche Campaign. His conduct under the command of Gen. Richard Taylor was riddled with problems. He was charged twice and court martialed along with Capt. Alexander Grant of the Gunboat Cotton. Sibley was charged with disobedience of orders and unofficerlike conduct. It was alleged that Sibley failed to protect a steamboat filled with wounded and abandoned his post at the head of the retreating columns. Sibley said he had been sick. The tribunal found him not guilty for a “train of circumstances.” He was censured for a lack of promptness in planning an attack. At the close of the war, Sibley was listed by Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith as having no command. From 1869-73, he served as a general of artillery in the Egyptian Army. When he returned, he lectured on the experiences. In ill health during the final years of his life, he died in Fredericksburg, Va., Aug. 23, 1886.


Brig. Gen. Paul J. Semmes, CSA (b. 1815, d. 1863) Mortally wounded during Gen. Longstreet’s attack on the Round Tops during the Battle of Gettysburg, Georgia Brig. Gen. Paul Jones Semmes endured a long ambulance trip before succumbing of his wounds in Martinsville, W.V., July 10, 1863. Semmes, born at Montford’s Plantation in Wilkes County, Ga., June 4, 1815, was educated at the University of Virginia, but left to become a banker and planter near Columbus, Ga. He also became interested in the military, serving as a captain in the Columbus Guards militia unit from 1846 until 1861. With the start of the Civil War, Semmes was elected captain of the Second Georgia Infantry and took that unit to Virginia. He was promoted to brigadier general to rank from March 11, 1862. Assigned to Magruder’s command, he participated in the defenses of Yorktown and Williamsburg and was in Magruder’s Division at Seven Pines. During the Seven Days Campaign, his unit was assigned to the division of McLaws under Longstreet’s Corps. During the Maryland Campaign, the brigade fought at South Mountain, defending Crampton’s Gap, and later had a role at the Battle of Sharpsburg. Fighting at Marye’s Heights and Fredericksburg, the brigade was with McLaws at the Battle of Salem Church during the Chancellorsville Campaign. The brigade was under Longstreet’s command during the Gettysburg Campaign and Semmes was hit July 2 during an assault. He was brought back during the army’s retreat, but died.

Brig. Gen. Claudius W. Sears, CSA (b. 1817, d. 1891) Massachusetts born, Claudius Wistar Sears enjoyed a long career in education interrupted only by the Civil War. Sears was born in Peru, Mass., Nov. 8, 1817. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy (West Point), Sears resigned a year after his 1841 graduation to become a teacher, starting at St. Thomas’s Hall in Holly Springs, Miss. From 1845 until 1859, Sears was a professor of mathematics at the University of Louisiana (later Tulane) in New Orleans. Following the typical storyline of a northerner-turned-Confederate, he married into a southern family from Houston, Texas. He was president of St. Thomas’s Hall until the outbreak of the Civil War. When the war started, Sears enlisted in the 17th Mississippi Infantry and later was elected captain of Company G. He later left that unit to help form the 46th Mississippi Infantry and was commissioned as that unit’s colonel. He led his regiment against Sherman at Chickasaw Bayou and was at Port Gibson in May 1863. He was among the Confederates captured during the sack of Vicksburg. He spent several months as a prisoner before being exchanged early in 1864. Promoted to brigadier general to rank from March 1, 1864, Sears was assigned to the Army of Tennessee and joined his new command in Resaca, Ga., that May. Fighting during the Atlanta Campaign until sidelined by illness, Sears was back to fight with Gen. S.G. French at Allatoona. During Hood’s Tennessee Campaign, Sears was observing the action at Nashville when his horse was hit by a shell. The horse was killed and one of Sears’ legs also went with the shell. Moved to the rear, Sears was left to be captured at Pulaski. This time, he was not paroled until June 23, 1865. With the war over, Sears returned to the academic life. He was the chair of mathematics at the University of Mississippi and held that post until 1889. He died in Oxford, Miss., Feb. 15, 1891.

Brig. Gen. William R. Scurry, CSA (b. 1821, d. 1864) Refusing to leave the battlefield at Jenkins’ Ferry proved to be a fatal decision for William Read Scurry. Scurry bled to death after being wounded while opposing Federal Gen. Steele in the Trans-Mississippi Theater. Subordinates tried to evacuate Scurry to the rear, where it is thought his life could have been saved. Instead, Scurry died at the command of his troops. Born in Gallatin, Tenn., Feb. 10, 1821, Scurry moved to Texas when he was 16 and settled in San Augustine. He enlisted as a private in the Second Texas Mounted Volunteers at the start of the Mexican War. When he mustered out at Monterrey, he held the rank of major. Scurry served on the commission that was responsible for fixing the Texas-New Mexico border and also was a convention member for the secession convention of 1861. Entering Confederate service, he was appointed lieutenant colonel of the Fourth Texas Cavalry and served under Gen. H.H. Sibley during the New Mexico Campaign. At Valverde and Glorieta Canon, Scurry saw combat at both locations. At Glorieta Canon, Scurry had a primary role in directing the Confederates as Sibley reportedly was under the care of a doctor at the time. Scurry was promoted to brigadier general to rank from Sept. 12, 1862. When Gen. Magruder recaptured Galveston Jan. 1, 1863, Scurry was in command of the Confederate land forces. In 1864, he was a brigade commander during the Red River Campaign and led his troops at Mansfield and Pleasant Hill. It was just after Federal Gen. Banks was repulsed that Scurry’s unit was turned against Gen. Steele, meeting the Union troops at Jenkins’ Ferry.

Thanks!

Here's Sibley. More than one person on the forum was complaining about the high ratings randomly assigned to Sibley in the initial release. I hope that these new ratings will meet with approval.


Brig. Gen. Henry Hopkins Sibley (b. 1816, d. 1886). “Controversial” and “innovative” are words that can describe Sibley (not to be confused with Union Maj. Gen. Henry Hastings Sibley of Minnesota). Born in Natchitoches, Louisiana, on May 25, 1816, Sibley graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1838 and made his pre-Civil War career in the U.S. Army. Sibley gained immediate combat experience in the 1838-39 Seminole War and later campaigned in Utah against the Mormons. Brevetted in the Mexican War, Sibley left a lasting impact on the army with the design of the Sibley Tent, which received an 1856 patent. The tent could accommodate twenty soldiers and their personal gear and could be used with a stove or fire. Sibley Tents fell out of favor during the Civil War, but remained in U.S. Army use (especially on the plains) into the 1890’s. Sibley resigned his U.S. Army commission on May 13, 1861, the same day he was promoted to Major, First U.S. Dragoons. Instead, Sibley was commissioned Colonel in the Confederate Army three days later, and promoted to brigadier general on June 17, 1861. His first command was designed to take advantage of his U.S. Army experiences and he was detailed to secure New Mexico for the Confederacy. However, Sibley had one major weakness: what one historian has termed his “alleged predilection for the bottle.” Indeed, it is speculated that Sibley turned to drink as an escape from chronic illness, but that proved to be incompatible with military life, and his career suffered as a result I added this last clause. Despite early victories, Sibley’s Army of New Mexico could not subsist after the Battle of Valverde and then the Battle of Glorieta Pass (known to some as the “Gettysburg of the West”), especially after his supply train and ammunition were captured. Sibley’s force retired first to Fort Bliss, and then San Antonio in May 1862. The rest of Sibley’s career in the Trans-Mississippi theater was filled with problems. Assigned to minor Louisiana commands, he came back into the limelight during the Bayou Teche Campaign. His conduct under the command of Gen. Richard Taylor was riddled with problems. He was charged twice with disobeying orders and unofficerlike conduct and court-martialed Was he charged on two occasions, or does “twice” mean that there were two charges? A quick search of Wikipedia and other sites suggests the former. Please confirm., along with Capt. Alexander Grant of the gunboat “Cotton,” when it was alleged that Sibley failed to protect a steamboat filled with wounded and had abandoned his post at the head of the retreating columns. Sibley, in his defense, said that he had been sick. The tribunal found him not guilty for a “train of circumstances.” He was censured for a lack of promptness in planning an attack. Shouldn’t this be “a lack of promptness in planning FOR an attack”? At the close of the war, Sibley was listed by Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith as having no command. From 1869-73, he served as a general of artillery in the Egyptian Army. When he returned, he lectured on his experiences. In ill health during the final years of his life, Sibley died in Fredericksburg, Virginia, on Aug. 23, 1886. (Bio by Bill Battle)

Leadership: 1
Tactics: 2
Initiative: 0
Command: 2
Cavalry: 0

Start date: 11

And Semmes:


Brig. Gen. Paul Jones Semmes (b. 1815, d. 1863). Mortally wounded during Gen. James Longstreet’s attack on the two Round Tops during the Battle of Gettysburg, Semmes endured a long ambulance trip before succumbing to his wounds in Martinsville, West Virginia, on July 10, 1863. Semmes, born at Montford’s Plantation in Wilkes County, Georgia, on June 4, 1815, was educated at the University of Virginia, but left to become a banker and planter near Columbus, Georgia. He also became interested in the military, serving as a captain in the Columbus Guards militia unit from 1846 to 1861. With the start of the Civil War, Semmes was elected captain of the 2nd Georgia Infantry and took that unit to Virginia. He was promoted to Brigadier General to rank from March 11, 1862. Assigned to Gen. John B. Magruder’s command, he participated in the defenses of Yorktown and Williamsburg and was in Magruder’s Division at the Battle of Seven Pines. Do you have any idea which brigade he commanded? A quick check of the internet didn’t tell me. During the Seven Days Campaign, his unit was assigned to the division of Gen. Lafayette McLaws under Longstreet’s Corps. Semmes and his brigade fought at South Mountain during the Maryland Campaign, defending Crampton’s Gap, and later had a role at the Battle of Antietam. Subsequently fighting at Marye’s Heights and Fredericksburg, the brigade was with McLaws at the Battle of Salem Church during the Chancellorsville Campaign. The brigade was under Longstreet’s command at Gettysburg, when on July 2 Semmes was hit in the thigh during a charge across the Wheatfield. He was brought back during the army’s retreat, but died from his wounds eight days later. Shortly before dying, Semmes is reported to have said "I consider it a privilege to die for my country." I added this quote, which I found on Wikipedia (using the verb “reported” just in case the Wikipediast got it wrong). (Bio by Bill Battle)

Leadership: 4
Tactics: 4
Initiative: 4
Command: 5
Cavalry: 0

Teaches: Chargers

Start date: 28

And Sears:


Brig. Gen. Claudius Wistar Sears (b. 1817, d. 1891). Sears enjoyed a long career in education that was interrupted only by the Civil War. Born in Peru, Massachusetts on Nov. 8, 1817, Sears graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, but resigned from the army a year after his 1841 graduation to become a teacher. After beginning his career at St. Thomas’s Hall in Holly Springs, Mississippi, from 1845 to 1859 Sears was a professor of mathematics at the University of Louisiana (later renamed Tulane University) in New Orleans. Following his time in Louisiana, and having followed the typical storyline of a northern-turned-Confederate by marrying into a southern family from Houston, Sears accepted and held the post of president of St. Thomas’s Hall until the outbreak of the Civil War. When the war started, Sears enlisted in the 17th Mississippi Infantry and later was elected captain of Company G, but He eventually left that unit to help form the 46th Mississippi Infantry and become commissioned as that unit’s colonel. Sears led his regiment against Gen. William T. Sherman at Chickasaw Bayou and was at Port Gibson in May 1863, and was among those captured during the sack of Vicksburg. Sears spent several months as a prisoner before being exchanged early in 1864. Promoted to Brigadier General to rank from March 1, 1864, Sears was assigned to the Army of Tennessee and joined his new command in Resaca, Georgia, that May. Fighting during the Atlanta Campaign until sidelined by illness, he was back to fight with Gen. Samuel G. French at Allatoona Pass on Oct. 5. During Gen. John B. Hood’s Tennessee Campaign, Sears was observing the action at Nashville when his horse was hit by a shell. The horse was killed and one of Sears’ legs also was taken by the shell. Moved to the rear, Sears was left to be captured at Pulaski. This time, he was not paroled until June 23, 1865. With the war over, Sears returned to the academic life, becoming chairman of the mathematics department at the University of Mississippi and holding that post until 1889. Sears died in Oxford, Mississippi on Feb. 15, 1891. (Bio by Bill Battle)

Leadership: 4
Tactics: 5
Initiative: 3
Command: 4
Cavalry: 0

Start date: 76

And here's Scurry. Last one I have time for tonight, since I have to get home for the two hours of "24" airing tonight. One does have to have one's priorities straight, after all...




Brig. Gen. William Read Scurry (b. 1821, d. 1864). Refusing to leave the battlefield at Jenkins’ Ferry proved to be a fatal decision for Scurry, since he bled to death after being wounded while opposing Union Gen. Frederick Steele in the Trans-Mississippi Theater. Subordinates tried to evacuate Scurry to the rear, where it is thought his life could have been saved. Instead, Scurry died at the command of his troops. Born in Gallatin, Tennessee, on Feb. 10, 1821, Scurry moved to Texas when he was sixteen years old and settled in San Augustine. He enlisted as a private in the 2nd Texas Mounted Volunteers at the start of the Mexican War. When he mustered out at Monterrey, he held the rank of Major. Scurry served on the commission that was responsible for fixing the Texas-New Mexico border and also was a convention member for the secession convention of 1861. Entering Confederate service, he was appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the 4th Texas Cavalry and served under Gen. Henry H. Sibley during the New Mexico Campaign, seeing action at both Valverde and Glorieta Pass. At Glorieta Pass, Scurry had a primary role in directing the Confederates, since Sibley reportedly was under the care of a doctor at the time. Scurry was promoted to Brigadier General to rank from Sept. 12, 1862. When Gen. John B. Magruder recaptured Galveston on Jan. 1, 1863, Scurry was in command of the Confederate land forces. In 1864, he was a brigade commander during the Red River Campaign and led his troops at Mansfield and Pleasant Hill. It was just after Union Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks was repulsed that Scurry’s unit was turned against Gen. Steele and met the Union troops at Jenkins’ Ferry, with Scurry himself meeting with death on the battlefield. I tweaked the ending a bit, to add more drama. Otherwise, no changes to write home about. (Bio by Bill Battle)

Leadership: 5
Tactics: 4
Initiative: 3
Command: 5
Cavalry: 3

Start date: 40

Teaches: Steady

Gil,
My Sibley info is six blocks away across the frozen Missouri tundra. I'll check that when I return to work in the morning.
As for Semmes, he commanded the First Brigade in McLaws Division. His command consisted of the 10th Georgia, 53rd Georgia, 5th Louisiana, 10th Louisiana, 15th Virginina, 32nd Virginia and Manly's Battery (North Carolina).
Found this information in "The Army of Robert E. Lee" by Philip Katcher. Great source of information with regimental histories, OOBs, generals and dates of promotion, uniforms, weapons, provost marshals, etc. It even has regimental chaplains.
Another good source for OOBs I've found is civilwarhome.com.
Again, I'll check the Sibley questions for you tomorrow. Hopefully I can have a quiet afternoon and bash out some more bios.
Thanks,
Battleline

Was he charged on two occasions, or does “twice” mean that there were two charges? A quick search of Wikipedia and other sites suggests the former. Please confirm., along with Capt. Alexander Grant of the gunboat “Cotton,” when it was alleged that Sibley failed to protect a steamboat filled with wounded and had abandoned his post at the head of the retreating columns. Sibley, in his defense, said that he had been sick. The tribunal found him not guilty for a “train of circumstances.” He was censured for a lack of promptness in planning an attack. Shouldn’t this be “a lack of promptness in planning FOR an attack”?

It doesn't matter for the game bio if he was charged once or twice on seperate occasions or had two charges brought against him on one occasion. I have several books about Gen. Sibley that contain detailed info. as well as a good CD copy of the OR, and it is not worth the time IMHO regarding this question. Suffice it to say he was simply 'BROUGHT UP ON CHARGES OF INCOMPETENCE AND REMOVED FROM COMMAND.'

His drinking was his downfall.

Chris

According to the Historical Times Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Civil War:
Maj. Gen. Richard Taylor charged Sibley with disobedience of orders and unofficerlike conduct, both addressed at the Sept. 25, 1863 court martial.
The first charge had three specifications:
1. Failure to organize, and deliver, as ordered against the Federal army April 13, 1863, below Fort Bisland.
2. Failure to protect a steamboat loaded with wounded.
3. Abandoned his post at the head of the retreating columns.
The second charge dealt with his conduct during the retreat.

The tribunal declared Sibley not guilty of charges, stating Sibley "did not display promptness" in preparing the attack from the first charge, first count. The tribunal stated Sibley "is to that extent censurable." But he was declared not guilty due to a "train of circumstances." The court did not elaborate.

That goes a bit beyond Warner, woh just states that "charges were twice preferred against him."

Hope that helps,
Battleline

Okay, thanks. Sibley's in good shape now.

By the way, I think I'll make him a 25-percenter, since it seems only fair that the CSA should get stuck with at least one total dud who appears fairly often, to balance against all those really good generals.