CSA Bios: Polignac, Pillow, Pike, Pettus

[Battleline]

Maj. Gen. Camille A.J.M.,P.d. Polignac, CSA (b. 1832, d. 1913) One could write an entire book on the adventures of Camille Armand Jules Marie, Prince de Polignac (of which much would be the full name). Polignac was born in Millemont, Seine-et-Oise, France, Feb. 16, 1832. He was the son of King Charles X’s president of the council of ministers and an English mother. He received education at the College of Stanislaus in Paris and joined the 3rd Regiment of Chasseurs in 1853. In the Crimea, he served with the 4th Hussars as a lieutenant. He later transferred to the 4th Chasseurs before being discharged in 1859. At the start of the Civil War, Polignac was in Central America. He immediately offered his services to the Confederacy and was commissioned as a lieutenant colonel July 16, 1861. In 1862, he was on the staffs of Generals Beauregard and Bragg. Polignac was promoted to brigadier general Jan. 10, 1863, and later to major general April 8, 1864. Much of his service as a general came in Gen. Richard Taylor’s army in Louisiana. He fought with distinction at the battles of Mansfield, Pleasant Hill and in other battles during the Red River Campaign. Near the end of the war, the Confederate government sent Polignac to France to try to seek intervention from Napoleon III’s government. He ran the blockade March 17, 1865, and arrived in Spain shortly before the end of the war. After the war, he studied mathematics and political economy, but came out of military retirement to lead the French 1st Division during the Franco-Prussian War. Awarded the Legion of Honor, Polignac returned to the study of mathematics and developed a reputation in the field prior to his death in Paris Nov. 15, 1913. He was the last Confederate major general to die. He was buried in Frankfort-on-Main, Germany.

Brig. Gen. Gideon J. Pillow, CSA (b. 1806, d. 1878) A Mexican War general, Gideon Johnson Pillow held the rank of major general with two different armies, but only was a brigadier general in Confederate service. Pillow was born in Williamson County, Tenn., June 8, 1806. An 1827 graduate of the University of Nashville, Pillow was a law partner in Columbia, Tenn., with James Knox Polk, later president of the United States. Polk appointed Pillow a brigadier general of volunteers in 1846 for the Mexican War. His former law partner helped him secure the rank of major general as well. Pillow wasn’t afraid to get into the fighting and twice was wounded in the Mexico City campaign. He wasn’t a favorite of Gen. Winfield Scott, but was defended by Polk. Pillow unsuccessfully tried to make the ticket for vice president both in 1852 and 1856. When Tennessee seceded in 1861, Pillow was named major general of state troops. He was commissioned as a brigadier general in the Provisional Army of the Confederacy July 9, 1861. First action came at the Battle of Belmont. Pillow was second in command at Fort Donelson under Gen. John B. Floyd when Federal forces besieged the fort. Floyd passed command to Pillow, who in turn left Gen. Simon B. Buckner in charge. Floyd and Pillow then escaped before the surrender. That was the end of Pillow’s command of anything important. He was assigned to the volunteer and conscript bureau in Tennessee and became commissary general of prisoners after Gen. J.H. Winder died. After the war, Pillow went bankrupt, but returned to practice law in Memphis with former Governor Isham G. Harris as his partner. Pillow died near Helena, Ark., Oct. 8, 1878.

Brig. Gen. Albert Pike, CSA (b. 1809, d. 1891) What in the world was a Boston-born Whig doing as a Confederate brigadier general in charge of Indian troops in Arkansas? That’s just part of the complex life of Albert Pike. Born in Boston, Dec. 29, 1809, Pike had many accomplishments in his life other than his service as a Confederate brigadier general. Pike was recalled as a brilliant teacher, poet, author, lawyer, editor and exponent of Freemasonry during his life. One could say he was a prolific eater as well as he weighed over 300 pounds. From 1824-31, Pike taught at New England schools. He left the northeast in 1831, reaching Independece, Mo. There, he joined up with a group of hunters and traders headed to Santa Fe., N.M. He settled in Arkansas in 1833 and was teaching school in Pope County. He taught, was a newspaper publisher, poet, lawyer and planter prior to the outbreak of the Civil War. A Whig opposed to secession, he finally threw his support behind the new nation after Arkansas left the Union. He used his ties with the Indian nations (he had won a case while representing the Creek Tribe against the Federal Government) to try to gain their support for the Confederate cause. Pike was commissioned a brigadier general Aug. 15, 1861, and promised Gen. Earl Van Dorn he would have 7,000 ferocious warriors ready for action. He led three Indian regiments into Arkansas at about a third of the promised strength. At the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern, Pike’s Indian troops routed a Federal battery under Col. Peter Osterhaus. However, the Indians stopped to celebrate and were unready for a counterattack. It was charged that Pike’s Indians had scalped a number of dead and wounded Federals. Van Dorn ignored Pike’s command in his reports. Pike defended his troops, stating they were recruited only for the defense of their territory. Pike’s next commander, Gen. Thomas Hindman, was the next to argue with Pike over the handling of money and material. Hindman ordered Pike’s arrest, but Pike disappeared into Arkansas. Gen. Douglas Cooper said Pike was “either insane or untrue to the South.” Pike resigned his commission July 12, 1862 and the resignation was accepted Nov. 5, 1862. Pike remained in semi-retirement for the rest of the war. After the war, Pike had to deal with Federal charges, but was able to regain his civil rights. He was a lawyer in Memphis before accepting a position as a national spokesman for Freemasonry. He died at the house of the Scottish Rite Temple in Washington, D.C. April 2, 1891.

Skipping Pickett, as I see he has been done. I did find out that Pickett sold insurance after the war. Would you buy insurance from Pickett?

Brig. Gen. Edmund W. Pettus, CSA (b. 1821, d. 1907) The last Confederate brigadier general to serve in the U.S. Senate, Edmund Winston Pettus served the last years of his life in Congress, from 1896 until his death in Hot Springs, N.C., July 27, 1907. Pettus was born in Limestone County, Ala., July 6, 1821. He attended Clinton College in Tennessee and read law in Tuscumbia, Ala. Pettus was admitted to the bar in 1842, settling in Gainesville, Ala. He was a solicitor of his district and later served as judge of the Seventh Circuit. He relocated to Cahaba, Ala., in 1858. In 1861, he was a commissioner to Mississippi, where his brother, John J. Pettus, was the governor. Helping in the recruitment of the 20th Alabama, he was elected that unit’s major and then was boosted to lieutenant colonel in October 1861. He fought with that unit through battles in the Western Theater and was captured with his unit with the surrender of Vicksburg. After being exchanged, he was promoted to colonel of the 20th Alabama after the promotion, and later death, of Gen. Isham Gerrott. Pettus was promoted to brigadier general Sept. 18, 1863. He fought at every major engagement from Chattanooga to Bentonville, including Hood’s Invasion of Tennessee. Wounded in the Carolinas Campaign at Bentonville, Pettus was at Gen. Joseph Johnston’s surrender before returning to live in Selma, Ala.. He resumed his law practice and was active in Democratic affairs of the state. He finally offered to serve in public office in 1896.

Notes on Pettus--His unit was the 20th Alabama. Original sources had conflicted on whether this unit was from Alabama or Arkansas. Additional research has revealed it was an Alabama unit. Pettus’ name was attached to a bridge in Selma, which was the site of a conflict between Civil Rights demonstrators led by Martin Luther King, Jr., and law enforcement March 7, 1965. Oddly, that came 20 years to the day after another famous conflict on a bridge. March 7, 1945 was the date troops of the Ninth Armored Division (27th Armored Infantry) captured the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen.

[Gil R.]

Thanks!

By the way, I should get you a list of which guys have been assigned, since you're starting to creep up on that point in the alphabet where you can't be positive that a guy is still available for a bio. Please remind me if I don't post this info in the coming days.

[christof139]

Here are two good books about Polignac:

1) Polignac's Texas Brigade, by Alwyn Barr, 1998, but only 68 pages long.

2) Lafayette of the South, Prince Camille de Polignac and the American Civil War, by Jeff Kinard, 2001, 234 pages.

Both were published by Texas A & M University Press as part of their Military History Series, and 1) is #60 and 2) is #70 of that series.

A bit of humor about Polignac; his rough hewn Texans or Texians referred to him as 'General Polecat', and Polignac knew about it, and in the small battle at Vidalia, LA he shouted "Follow me! Follow me! You call me 'Polecat'!!, I will show you whether I am 'Polecat' or 'Polignac', as his three Regiments of Texans went forward in a double line with their battle flags snapping ... page 36 of book 1).

Chris

[Gil R.]

Using Whit's contribution and some info from Heidler's encyclopedia, I've bulked up the Polignac bio a bit. Here it is:


Maj. Gen. Camille Armand Jules Marie, Prince de Polignac (b. 1832, d. 1913). One could write an entire book on the adventures of Polignac (much of which would consist of his lengthy name). Polignac, who would become the highest ranking foreign national to serve on either side of the Civil War, was born in Miltemont, Seine-et-Oise, France, on Feb. 16, 1832. He was the son of King Charles X’s president of the council of ministers and an English mother. He received education at the College of Stanislaus in Paris and joined the 3rd Regiment of Chasseurs in 1853 as a private after failing the entrance exam for the Ecole Polytechnique, the French military academy. Polignac served with the 4th Hussars as a lieutenant during the Crimean War, and later transferred to the 4th Chasseurs before being discharged in 1859. At the start of the Civil War, Polignac was in Central America. Having met P.G.T. Beauregard and future Confederate cabinet member Judah P. Benjamin during a visit to New York City before the war, he immediately offered his services to the Confederacy and was commissioned as a lieutenant colonel on July 16, 1861. In 1862, he served on the staffs of Gens. Beauregard and then Braxton Bragg, seeing action at Shiloh and Corinth and joining Bragg for his 1862 Kentucky invasion. Despite exemplary performance in Kentucky, especially while serving under Brig. Gen. Patrick Cleburne’s division at the Battle of Richmond on Aug. 29, Polignac failed to get the field command he desired until he personally lobbied Pres. Jefferson Davis and Gen. Samuel Cooper, the Adjutant General. Polignac was promoted to brigadier general Jan. 10, 1863, and by late May had arrived in the trans-Mississippi theater, where much of his service came in Gen. Richard Taylor’s District of West Louisiana. Put in command of the 2nd Texas Brigade, which Gen. Kirby Smith had called “an undisciplined mob,” Polignac soon reigned in the men, who dubbed him “General Polecat” rather than attempting to pronounce his name properly, and made them an effective fighting force. “Polecat” and his Texans fought with distinction during the Red River campaign, especially at the battles of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill. It was at the Battle of Mansfield, which took place in De Soto Parish, Louisiana, on April 8, 1864 and was the first major engagement of the Union’s Red River Campaign, that Polignac gained great fame: when Brig. Gen. Alfred Mouton, who was commanding Taylor’s 2nd Infantry Division, was killed as he led his charging brigade, Polignac assumed command of the division, which suffered 40% casualties while crippling a Union division and capturing two artillery batteries. Two months later, on June 13, he received a promotion to major general, dating back to the day he played a vital role at Mansfield. To commemorate Polignac’s finest moment, every firstborn male descendant has been named “Mansfield.” Near the end of the war, the Confederate government sent Polignac to France to try to seek intervention from Napoleon III’s government. He ran the blockade on March 17, 1865, and arrived in Spain shortly before the end of the war. After the war, he studied mathematics and political economy, but came out of military retirement to lead the French 1st Division during the Franco-Prussian War. Awarded the Legion of Honor, Polignac returned to the study of mathematics and developed a reputation in the field prior to his death in Paris on Nov. 15, 1913. Polignac, who was buried in Frankfurt, was the last Confederate major general to die. (Bio by Bill Battle)

Leadership: 6
Tactical: 5
Initiative: 3
Command: 5
Cavalry:

Teaches: Blasted (15), Organized (24), French

Start date: 48

[Bombsight]

Gil, I could not have said it better! Note to Christof, I have both of the books listed. The Texas Brigade was comprised of a miscellany of disparate elements. Most were "dismounted" cavalry regiments which led to a certain measure of displeasure. The 17th Texas Consolidated Cavalry regiment (Dismounted) to which my great grandfather belonged was comprised of "survivors" of the debacle at Arkansas Post in Jan 1863. Eight of the ten regiments that surrendered to Gen McClernand were Texan! This was the largest surrender of Texas troops in any war. Approximately 800 men avoided capture from these regiments that day and became garrison troops at different Trans-Mississippi posts. The 3,000 troops that were captured were eventually exchanged in June 1863 at Fortress Monroe, VA and could never be returned to the Trans-Mississippi Dept due to the fall of Vicksburg and Port Hudson. The troops trapped east of the Mississippi river were consolidated into a number of regiments by the Army of Tennessee which acheived distinction as Granbury's Texas Brigade.

The"orphans" trapped west of the Mississippi River were eventually organized into 8 companies and combined with an independent Texas Battalion to become the 17th Consolidated Cavalry. This unit could not be armed until Talor defeated the first of Nathaniel Banks' attempts to invade Texas in 1863. Enough weapons were captured from "Commisary" Banks' Army to equip the regiment. The first Colonel was James R. Taylor who was formerly a company commander in the 17th Texas Cavalry regiment (Dismounted) and hence the unit title. The battle of Mansfield in April 1864 effectively destroyed the regiment as a fighting force. Only 200 effectives were left in the pursuit of Banks' Army following the battle at Mansfield (also called Sabine Crossing). Col. Taylor was killed after succeeding Polignac to command the brigade and Lt Col Nobles was killed leading the regiment in capturing the Chicago Mercantile artillery battery. The survivors were again consolidated into a company sized group and attached to Walker's Texas Division for the rest of the war.

[Gil R.]

Very interesting.

And as a game developer, I'm just grateful we didn't attempt to make a Civil War game at the company level. Sheesh!

[Battleline]

Brig. Gen. Edmund W. Pettus, CSA (b. 1821, d. 1907) The last Confederate brigadier general to serve in the U.S. Senate, Edmund Winston Pettus held a seat in Congress, from 1896 until his death in Hot Springs, N.C., July 27, 1907. Pettus was born in Limestone County, Ala., July 6, 1821. He attended Clinton College in Tennessee and read law in Tuscumbia, Ala. Pettus was admitted to the bar in 1842, settling in Gainesville, Ala. During the Mexican War, Pettus volunteered for service and held the rank of lieutenant in an Alabama regiment. He was a solicitor of his district and later served as judge of the Seventh Circuit from 1855-58. He relocated to Cahaba, Ala., in 1858. In 1861, he was sent as a commissioner to Mississippi, where his brother, John J. Pettus, was the governor. His role was to try to get the two states to work together. Helping in the recruitment of the 20th Alabama, he was elected that unit’s major and then was boosted to lieutenant colonel in October 1861. He fought with that unit through battles in the Western Theater and was captured with his unit with the surrender of Vicksburg. After being exchanged, he was promoted to colonel of the 20th Alabama after the promotion, and later death, of Gen. Isham Gerrott. Pettus was promoted to brigadier general Sept. 18, 1863. He fought at every major engagement from Chattanooga to Bentonville, including Hood’s Invasion of Tennessee. Wounded in the Carolinas Campaign at Bentonville, Pettus was at Gen. Joseph Johnston’s surrender before returning to live in Selma, Ala.. He resumed his law practice and was active in Democratic affairs of the state. He finally offered to serve in public office in 1896.

The first correction was for style as there were two "served" close to each other.

[Battleline]

Brig. Gen. Albert Pike, CSA (b. 1809, d. 1891) What in the world was a Boston-born Whig doing as a Confederate brigadier general in charge of Indian troops in Arkansas? That’s just part of the complex life of Albert Pike. Born in Boston, Dec. 29, 1809, Pike had many accomplishments in his life other than his service as a Confederate brigadier general. Pike was recalled as a brilliant teacher, poet, author, lawyer, editor and exponent of Freemasonry during his life. One could say he was a prolific eater as well as he weighed over 300 pounds. From 1824-31, Pike taught at New England schools. He left the northeast in 1831, reaching Independece, Mo. There, he joined up with a group of hunters and traders headed to Santa Fe., N.M. He settled in Arkansas in 1833 and was teaching school in Pope County. He taught, was a newspaper publisher, poet, lawyer and planter prior to the outbreak of the Civil War. A Whig opposed to secession, he finally threw his support behind the new nation after Arkansas left the Union. He used his ties with the Indian nations (he had won a case while representing the Creek Tribe against the Federal Government) to try to gain their support for the Confederate cause. Pike was commissioned a brigadier general Aug. 15, 1861. Due to his good relations with the Five Civilized Tribes, the Confederate government asked him to recruit Indian troops. He promised Gen. Earl Van Dorn he would have 7,000 ferocious warriors ready for action. He led three Indian regiments into Arkansas at about a third of the promised strength. At the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern, Pike’s Indian troops routed a Federal battery under Col. Peter Osterhaus. However, the Indians stopped to celebrate and were unready for a counterattack. It was charged that Pike’s Indians had scalped a number of dead and wounded Federals. Van Dorn ignored Pike’s command in his reports. Pike defended his troops, stating they were recruited only for the defense of their territory. Pike’s next commander, Gen. Thomas Hindman, was the next to argue with Pike over the handling of money and material. Hindman ordered Pike’s arrest, but Pike disappeared into Arkansas. Gen. Douglas Cooper said Pike was “either insane or untrue to the South.” Pike resigned his commission July 12, 1862 and the resignation was accepted Nov. 5, 1862. Pike remained in semi-retirement for the rest of the war. After the war, Pike had to deal with Federal charges, but was able to regain his civil rights. He was a lawyer in Memphis before accepting a position as a national spokesman for Freemasonry. He died at the house of the Scottish Rite Temple in Washington, D.C. April 2, 1891.

[Battleline]

Brig. Gen. Gideon J. Pillow, CSA (b. 1806, d. 1878) A Mexican War general, Gideon Johnson Pillow held the rank of major general with two different armies, but only was a brigadier general in Confederate service. Pillow was born in Williamson County, Tenn., June 8, 1806. An 1827 graduate of the University of Nashville, Pillow was a law partner in Columbia, Tenn., with James Knox Polk, later president of the United States. Polk appointed Pillow a brigadier general of volunteers in 1846 for the Mexican War. His former law partner helped him secure the rank of major general as well. Pillow wasn’t afraid to get into the fighting and twice was wounded in the Mexico City campaign. He wasn’t a favorite of Gen. Winfield Scott or Gen. Zachary Taylor, but was defended by Polk. In 1849, Pillow stood before two courts of inquiry, defending his Mexican War conduct. He was exonerated. Pillow unsuccessfully tried to make the ticket for vice president both in 1852 and 1856. When Tennessee seceded in 1861, Pillow was named major general of state troops, in command of 22 infantry regiments, 10 artillery companies and two cavalry regiments. He was commissioned as a brigadier general in the Provisional Army of the Confederacy July 9, 1861. First action came at the Battle of Belmont. Pillow was second in command at Fort Donelson under Gen. John B. Floyd when Federal forces besieged the fort. Floyd passed command to Pillow, who in turn left Gen. Simon B. Buckner in charge. Floyd and Pillow then escaped before the surrender. Pillow did have a brief brigade command at the Battle of Murfreesboro, but that was his last major wartime assignment. He was assigned to the volunteer and conscript bureau in Tennessee and became commissary general of prisoners after Gen. J.H. Winder died. Pillow's final field command came in an attempt to harass Federal supply lines. His command failed and he returned to his previous duty. After the war, Pillow went bankrupt, but returned to practice law in Memphis with former Governor Isham G. Harris as his partner. Pillow died near Helena, Ark., Oct. 8, 1878.

[Gil R.]

Got the changes, thanks.

[Gil R.]

I edited much of this a year ago, but only now got around to looking up the last few details I wanted to check on. I figured, why not finish Pike and Stand Watie on the same night?

I’m wondering if the reference to 7000 “ferocious” warriors is a direct quote from somewhere – if so, we should put it in quotation marks.

Also, I took out the sentence “Van Dorn ignored Pike’s command in his reports” because I couldn't figure out its significance, and because it broke up the narrative.

Brig. Gen. Albert Pike (b. 1809, d. 1891). What in the world was a Boston-born Whig doing as a Confederate brigadier general in charge of Native American troops in Arkansas? That is just part of the complex life of Albert Pike. Born in Boston on December 29, 1809, Pike had many accomplishments in his life other than his military service. He was remembered as a brilliant teacher, poet, author, lawyer, editor and exponent of Freemasonry; one could say he was a prolific eater as well, as he weighed over 300 pounds. From 1824 to 1831, Pike taught at New England schools. He left the northeast in 1831, reaching Independence, Missouri, where he joined up with a group of hunters and traders headed to Santa Fe, New Mexico. He settled in Arkansas in 1833 and began teaching school in Pope County. He also was a newspaper publisher, poet, lawyer and planter prior to the outbreak of the Civil War. A Whig opposed to secession, Pike finally threw his support behind the new nation after Arkansas left the Union, and determined to use his ties with the Indian nations – he had won a case while representing the Creek Tribe against the Federal Government – to try to gain their support for the Confederate cause. Pike was commissioned a brigadier general on August 15, 1861. Due to his good relations with the “Five Civilized Tribes,” the Confederate government asked him to recruit Indian troops, and gave him command of the Department of Indian Territory. Pike promised Gen. Earl Van Dorn, who had been put in command of the Trans-Mississippi District that September, that he would have 7,000 ferocious warriors ready for action, but ended up leading a brigade of four Indian regiments into Arkansas that totaled about one third of the promised strength. At the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern (Pea Ridge) on March 7-8, 1862, Pike’s troops routed a Union battery under Col. Peter Osterhaus. However, the men stopped to celebrate and search through the abandoned equipment and supplies, and were therefore unprepared for a counterattack that drove them from the field – and even drove some of them back to Indian Territory immediately. It was later charged that Pike’s men had scalped a number of dead and wounded Union soldiers. Pike defended his troops, stating they were recruited only for the defense of their territory. Pike’s next commander in the Trans-Mississippi theater, Gen. Thomas Hindman, argued with him over the handling of money and material, and when Hindman ordered his arrest, Pike disappeared into Arkansas, evading capture. Gen. Douglas Cooper, who in late 1863 would take over command in Indian Territory, remarked that Pike was “either insane or untrue to the South.” Pike resigned his commission July 12, 1862 and the resignation was accepted on November 5. Pike remained in semi-retirement for the rest of the war. Afterwards, he had to deal with Federal charges, but was able to regain his civil rights. Pike returned to practicing law after moving to Memphis, before accepting a position as a national spokesman for Freemasonry. Pike died at the house of the Scottish Rite Temple in Washington, D.C. on April 2, 1891 and was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery. (Bio by Bill Battle)

Leadership: 1
Tactical: 2
Initiative: 1
Command: 1
Cavalry:

Teaches: Blasted

Start date: 15
“Death” date: 36

[Battleline]

Gil,
The 7000 ferocious warriors came directly from the Historical Times Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Civil War. It did not quote a source for this statement though.
Taking out the other is OK as well.
Thanks,
Battleline

[Gil R.]

Since I’ve recently read “Men of Fire,” about Fort Donelson, I thought I’d add some more info on Pillow. So nothing much has been changed in the original bio, but I’ve bulked it up a bit. (It seems that his bankruptcy came after he began practicing law with Harris, so I did rearrange that part.)

Brig. Gen. Gideon Johnson Pillow (b. 1806, d. 1878). A Mexican War general, Pillow held the rank of major general with two different armies, but only was a brigadier general in Confederate service. He is perhaps more notable, however, for his personality flaws and an ability to collect personal and political enemies. Pillow was born in Williamson County, Tennessee, on June 8, 1806. An 1827 graduate of Cumberland College in Nashville, he was a law partner in Columbia, Tennessee with James K. Polk, later President of the United States. Polk, whose nomination as the Democrats’ candidate had been engineered by Pillow, appointed him a brigadier general of volunteers in 1846 for the Mexican War, and his former law partner later helped him secure the rank of major general as well. Pillow was not afraid to get into the thick of battle, and as a result was twice wounded in the Mexico City campaign. Despite his bravery, Pillow was disliked by the two army commanders, Gens. Winfield Scott and Zachary Taylor, for his quarrelsomeness, but he was defended by Polk. In 1849, Pillow stood before two courts of inquiry to defend his Mexican War conduct, and both times was exonerated. Entering politics, Pillow unsuccessfully tried to make the Democratic ticket for vice president both in 1852 and 1856, and to gain a U.S. Senate seat in 1857. When Tennessee seceded in 1861, Pillow was named major general of state troops and put in command of 22 infantry regiments, 10 artillery companies and two cavalry regiments. He subsequently was commissioned as a brigadier general in the Provisional Army of the Confederacy on July 9, 1861. Pillow’s first action came at the Battle of Belmont (Missouri), against Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, on November 7. Pillow was second in command at Fort Donelson, the Confederate stronghold on the Cumberland River that was crucial to the defense of Nashville, under Gen. John B. Floyd when Grant’s forces besieged the fort. Pillow’s enmity with Gen. Simon B. Buckner, who commanded the other Confederate division there, severely impacted their ability to mount a coordinated defense, and was among the factors leading to the fort’s capture. Realizing that the fort would ultimately be taken, on February 15, 1862 the Confederates attempted to break out, but their effort failed – in no small part because Pillow fumbled his initial success by grasping beyond his reach. Bottled up in the fort once more, that night the senior command recognized defeat as inevitable. Instead of surrendering themselves alongside their men, Floyd passed command to Pillow, who in turn left Buckner in charge, and Floyd and Pillow then fled across the river on a skiff, leaving Buckner, an old friend of Grant, to surrender the next morning. (Pillow justified his decision at the time by declaring, according to witnesses, that “There were no two persons in the Confederacy whom the Yankees would prefer to capture than himself and General Floyd.” Ironically, when told this by Buckner, Grant scornfully stated, “I would rather have him in command of you fellows than as a prisoner.”) Pillow spent the rest of the year attempting to justify his actions both in the press and in an endless series of letters to government officials. He did receive a brief brigade command at the Battle of Murfreesboro on December 31, 1862-January 2, 1863, but it was his last major wartime assignment. He was assigned to the volunteer and conscript bureau in Tennessee and became commissary general of prisoners after Gen. J.H. Winder died. Pillow’s final field command came in an attempt to harass enemy supply lines, but this effort failed and he returned to his previous duty. After the war, he returned to practice law in Memphis with former Governor Isham G. Harris as his partner, but eventually went bankrupt. Pillow died from yellow fever near Helena, Arkansas on October 8, 1878. (Bio by Bill Battle)

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

Start date: 12