Brig. Gen. Thomas Drayton

[jkBluesman]

Brig. Gen. Thomas Fenwick Drayton (b. 1808, d. 1891). In the Civil War, brothers fought against brothers, sometimes even literally as Drayton had to experience. A native of South Carolina, he had graduated from West Point in 1828 together with his friend Jefferson Davis, the later president of the Confederacy. After serving four years in the infantry, Drayton resigned and became a railroad constructor and planter. While serving as state senator of South Carolina, he also acted as president of the Charleston and Savannah Railroad from 1853 to 1861. He was a firm supporter of states rights and slavery and thus entered the war on the side of the South right from the beginning. Commissioned brigadier general in September 1861 his first task was to defend the district of Port Royal, South Carolina. When the Union navy successfully attacked the forts that defended the city’s port in November, Drayton faced his own brother, Captain Percival Drayton, who fought for the North (their father had moved to Pennsylvania in the 1830s). Thomas Drayton and his brigade were assigned to the I corps of the Army of Northern Virginia in the wake of Second Manassas (August 29-30, 1862). It suffered high casualties there and at Antietam a few weeks later, partly due to bad leadership by its commander. Gen. Robert E. Lee finally got rid of Davis’ friend by writing the president a letter, in which he stated: “He (Drayton) is a gentleman and a soldier in his own person, but seems to lack the capacity to command.” Drayton served briefly in Gen. Sterling Price’s army in August 1863, before being assigned to noncombat duties in the Trans-Mississippi-Department for the rest of the war. After the surrender of the Confederacy, he got back into agriculture business and entered the insurance business as well. He died at the age of 81 and was buried in Charlotte, South Carolina. The Magnolia Plantation, the family estate in Charleston, South Carolina, is after 15 generations still in family hands and said to be a tourist attraction today.

Ldr: 2
Tact: 1
Init: 1
Cmd: 1
Cav: 0

Teaches: nothing

[Gil R.]

Got it, thanks.

[Gil R.]

Here's Drayon:

Brig. Gen. Thomas Fenwick Drayton (b. 1808, d. 1891). In the Civil War, brothers fought against brothers – sometimes even literally, as Drayton had to experience. A native of South Carolina, he had graduated from West Point in 1828 together with his friend Jefferson Davis, the future President of the Confederate States of America. After serving four years in the infantry, Drayton resigned and became a railroad constructor and planter, eventually becoming president of the Charleston and Savannah Railroad for a few years. During the turbulent decade of the 1850’s, Drayton also served as a South Carolina state senator. He was a strong advocate of states’ rights and slavery, and thus supported secession and the Civil War. Having been a captain in the state militia in addition to having his previous experience in the U.S. Army, Drayton enlisted in the Confederate army. He was commissioned a brigadier general in September 1861, and his first task was to defend the district of Port Royal, South Carolina. When the Union navy successfully attacked the forts that defended the city’s port that November 8, Drayton faced his own brother, Capt. Percival Drayton, who commanded the gunboat “Pocahontas.” (Their father had moved to Pennsylvania in the 1830’s.) The following year, Drayton and his brigade were assigned to the Gen. James Longstreet’s I Corps in the Army of Northern Virginia, seeing action in the Second Battle of Bull Run on August 29-30 and then at the Battle of South Mountain on September 14. Having already suffered high casualties there, his depleted brigade suffered further at Antietam three days later, partly due to bad leadership by its commander. Army commander Gen. Robert E. Lee finally got rid of Davis’s friend by writing the president a letter, in which he stated: “He (Drayton) is a gentleman and a soldier in his own person, but seems to lack the capacity to command.” Drayton served briefly as a brigade commander in Gen. Sterling Price’s Army of the West in August 1863, before being assigned to non-combat duties in the Trans-Mississippi Department for the rest of the war. After the surrender of the Confederacy, Drayton returned to farming, and entered the insurance business as well. He died at the age of 81 and was buried in Charlotte, South Carolina. The Magnolia Plantation, the family estate in Charleston, is still in family hands after fifteen generations and, as one of the oldest plantations to survive, has become a tourist attraction. (Bio by Joern Kaesebier)

Ldr: 2
Tact: 1
Init: 1
Cmd: 1
Cav: 0

Teaches: nothing

Start date: 17

[jkBluesman]

Is there a rule in English for when to use numbers spelled in letters like from one to twelve or one to twenty?

[Gil R.]

ORIGINAL: jkBluesman

Is there a rule in English for when to use numbers spelled in letters like from one to twelve or one to twenty?

Yes, plenty of rules, and they're sometimes a bit different. My own preference is to use numerals for anything bigger than twenty, so as to avoid hyphenated numbers. According to some style guides, one should use numerals for something bigger than ten, though.

In these bios I've also been using ordinal numbers to save space: e.g., 2nd (rather than second) lieutenant.