Maj. Gen. William Mahone

[jkBluesman]

Maj. Gen. William Mahone (b. 1826, d. 1895). An average general “Little Billy” as he was called due to his small figure had a huge influence on Virginian railroads prior to and after the war. He was also one of the few social climbers in the antebellum South. Born in Monroe, Virginia as the son of a tavernkeeper, he became a teacher and civil engineer after graduating from the Virginia Military Institute in 1847. As chief engineer he constructed the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad and became its president. Supporting secession from the outset, he secured the important shipyard at Portsmouth for the Confederacy by bluffing the Union garrison – he simply ran the same train several times to the city thus making the impression of transporting a large force. Mahone joined the Southern army afterwards and rose quickly from lieutenant colonel to brigadier general in November 1861. After Norfolk had been evacuated by the Confederates in May 1862, Mahone helped to construct trenches at Richmond and Drewry’s Bluff. He joined the Army of Northern Virginia in time for the battles on the Peninsula. Fighting in Gen. Richard H. Anderson’s division, he fought at Second Manassas, where he was wounded. Returning in winter 1862/1863, he participated in the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. His performance at Gettysburg was noteworthy for his refusal on the second day to advance his brigade when ordered to by a staff officer from Anderson. The stubborn Mahone gave as reason that the general had told him personally to stay in his position. In the Battle of the Wilderness (May 5-6, 1864) his brigade held its ground and assisted Gen. James Longstreet’s attack on the second day. In the dense woods, some of his men mistakenly fired upon the general and his staff, killing Gen. Micah Jenkins and wounding Longstreet. Mahone’s own performance got better as the fighting drew closer to familiar terrain. Just before the siege at Petersburg began, he let an attack against the, at that time isolated, Union II corps and took more than 1700 prisoners. Nationwide noted were his actions during the Battle of the Crater on July 30, 1864. When the Northerners blew up their gigantic mine, the Confederate line broke. But as the Union soldiers did not fast enough get off the crater, Mahone rallied the troops around him, counterattacked and captured thousands of the enemy soldiers. The Confederate government in response promoted Mahone to major general. He fought in that rank for the rest of the war until he surrendered with the army at Appomattox Court House, April 9, 1865. After the war Mahone got back into the railroad business, founding the AM & O (“All mine and Otelia’s”, his wife). When he lost control of the company in the shade of the economic crisis of 1873, he concentrated on the field of politics, where he had been active since 1863. He was involved in education programs for African-Americans. He ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1877 and 1889 as well and became leader of the Readjuster Party that wanted to reduce Virginia’s pre-war debt. Elected as senator of Virginia in 1881, he served till 1887 in congress, where he became a Republican. He died from a stroke in 1895 as one of the richest Virginians in Washington, D.C., but was interred in Petersburg.

Ldr: 3
Tact: 4
Init: 3
Cmd: 3
Cav: 0

Teaches: Diggers, Flankers

[Gil R.]

Thanks.