CSA Bio: Brig. Gen. Henry Gray

[Battleline]

Brig. Gen. Henry Gray (b. 1816, d. 1892) Serving as a brigadier general and congressman at the same time, Henry Gray had a diverse career in the service of the Confederate States of America. Gray fought in the Trans-Mississippi Theater with forces fighting in his adopted state of Louisiana. At the same time, he also was a member of the Confederate Congress, representing north Louisiana. Oddly, Gray did not know of his election or even of his candidacy as he was put up for the job by others. Gray was born in Laurens District, South Carolina, Jan. 19, 1816 (which made him exactly nine years younger than Gen. Robert E. Lee). He went to South Carolina College (now the University of South Carolina) and graduated in 1834 and was admitted to the bar. In 1840, he moved to Mississippi to begin a legal career. He served as district attorney for Winston County for several years, served a term in the state legislature and waged an unsuccessful campaign for U.S. Congress as a Whig. In 1851, Gray again moved and settled in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. A criminal attorney with a good reputation, he was a Buchanan elector in 1856 and later served in the state legislature. In 1860, he ran for U.S. Senate, but lost by one vote to Judah P. Benjamin. With the outbreak of the Civil War, Gray enlisted as a private of a Mississippi state unit. Close friend Jefferson Davis, now president of the Confederacy, had him form the 28th Louisiana Infantry and Gray was elected this regiment’s colonel (May 17, 1862). He spent his entire military service in Louisiana. During the Bayou Teche Campaign of 1863, Gray was slightly wounded at Irish Bend, Louisiana (April 14, 1863). He stayed in command in the division of Brig. Gen. Alfred Mouton in the victory at Mansfield (April 8, 1864), where Gray’s command was at the center of the fighting. His brigade suffered the heaviest losses in the fighting. There were 200 casualties alone in the Consolidated Crescent Regiment. Gray led troops in the next day’s fight in pursuit of Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Banks’ forces at Pleasant Hill (April 9, 1864). At times, Gray commanded the Louisiana brigade. The theater commander Lt. Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith, who was against Gray’s promotion to brigadier general, citing “habits are not good.” It was reported “the only thing Gray hated more than a Yankee was a new uniform.” The two argued on other points as well, such as strategy. Gray had a strong ally in President Davis. He also had a booster in Lt. Gen. Richard Taylor. “Col. Gray and his regiment, officers and men, deserve most favorable mention. Their gallantry in action is enhanced by the excellent discipline which they have presented . . .” Gray got his promotion March 17, 1864, with the order backdated to the Battle of Mansfield, April 8, 1864. He served a term in the Confederate Congress and addressed complaints against Smith and the Trans-Mississippi Department. Following the war, Gray served a term in the Louisiana state senate before retiring for public life. After the death of his wife and a son, he lived in virtual seclusion until his death at his daughter’s house in Coushatta, Louisiana, Dec. 11, 1892. He was buried in the Springville Cemetery in Coushatta.

[Gil R.]

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