Maj. Gen. Samuel G. French

[jkBluesman]

Maj. Gen. Samuel Gibbs French (b. 1818, d. 1910). Marriage to a Southern woman led the Northerner take up arms for the Confederacy. Born in Gloucester County, New Jersey, French graduated from West Point in 1843 in the middle of his class. As artillery officer he served under Zachary Taylor in the Mexican-American War receiving two brevets; one for his conduct at Buena Vista where he was also wounded. After the conflict he worked for the quartermaster’s department until his resignation in 1856. He then moved to Vicksburg, Mississippi where he managed his and his wife’s plantation. Active in the state militia he chose to fight with his new home state in the Civil War. He entered the Confederate Army as Major in the spring of 1861 but was promoted to brigadier general by October 23, serving then under Gen. Albert Sydney Johnston in Jackson. The same month however, he was sent to Virginia. He helped construct the defences at the lower Potomac River near Evansport until being given the District of Pamlico, North Carolina in March 1862. His assignment came too late to keep the Union from capturing the area around New Bern but French supervised the strengthening of Wilmington’s defence at Fort Fisher. In July he was sent to Petersburg, Virginia to construct defences against a possible Federal attack during the Peninsular Campaign. In late summer he was promoted to major general dating from August 31. During the spring of 1863 he supported Gen. James Longstreet’s siege of Suffolk that had to be abandoned in early May due to the Army of the Potomac’s advance to Chancellorsville. French was shortly after sent back to Mississippi. In March he had outlined plans for a defence of Vicksburg now threatened by Gen. U.S. Grant. When French arrived in Jackson he could only assist Gen. Joseph E. Johnston in the evacuation of the city as Grant was pushing the Confederates from the state capital before they could unite with the army in Vicksburg. After the last Southern stronghold on the Mississippi fell on July 4, 1863 French, who suffered from recurrent fever, was granted a sick leave. He returned to Johnston, then commander of the Army of Tennessee, in spring of 1864 and led a division in Gen. Leonidas Polk’s corps during the ensuing Atlanta Campaign. He supported Johnston’s defensive strategy that resulted in slow withdrawals. “It is wonderful how well our soldiers understand this falling back. Never before did an army constantly fight and fall back for seven weeks without demoralization”, wrote French in his diary on July 2. But as the Federal advance continued Johnston was replaced by Gen. John B. Hood two weeks later. French fought under Hood around Atlanta. After the city fell French almost managed to destroy a vital Union supply depot at Allatoona but was repulsed. He led his division during Hood’s Tennessee Campaign in fall but had to relinquish command after the lost Battle of Franklin on November 30. French suffered from partial blindness. He returned to duty a few weeks later at Mobile, Alabama where he belonged to the defenders during the spring of 1865 when the last Confederate port was captured. After the war French returned to Mississippi to rebuild his plantation. However for his retirement he moved to Florida. He died there in the city of Florala on April 20, 1910. His memoirs were published under the title “Two Wars”.

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

Teaches: Diggers, Hardy

[Gil R.]

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