CSA Generals Who Skipped Grades

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Brig. Gen. Victor J.B. Girardey (b. 1837, d. 1864) The year 1864 was especially tough on Confederate brigadier generals. A prime example was Victor Jean Baptiste Girardey, who had just 13 days to enjoy his rank before being killed. Girardey was born in Lauw, France, in the Department of Haut-Rhin, June 26, 1837. At the age of five, his family moved to America, settling in Augusta, Georgia. Not long after the move, his father died. His mother died when Victor was 16. Completing his education in New Orleans, Girardey married in 1858 and settled back in Augusta. When the Civil War came, Girardey enlisted in a Louisiana unit. He was promoted to first lieutenant and made aide-de-camp from Louisiana Oct. 12, 1861. By the time of the Seven Days Battles (June 26-July 2, 1862), Girardey was a captain and assistant adjutant general on the staff of Brig. Gen. Ambrose Wright. His nomination to that grade came from the state of Georgia. He served on Wright’s staff throughout much of the war, moving to join the staff of Brig. Gen. William Mahone May 21, 1864. Frequently commended for skill, bravery and efficiency, Girardey’s capabilities came to light at the Battle of the Crater, Petersburg, Virginia, July 30, 1864. After the Federals dug under the Confederate entrenchments and exploded a hole, Girardey was one of the officers who stepped into the breech and helped to organize the brigade’s counterattack. On Aug. 3, 1864, Girardey was rewarded with a temporary promotion to brigadier general to rank from July 30, 1864. This was the only time such a promotion took place in the Confederate army. Commanding a brigade, Girardey’s forces were in the eastern end of the Richmond defenses Aug. 16, 1864. At Fussell’s Mill on the Darbytown Road, Girardey was killed as his brigade held against a Federal assault. He was buried in Augusta, Georgia.

Maj. Gen. Jeremy F. Gilmer (b. 1818, d. 1883) Jeremy Francis Gilmer’s primary contributions did not come on a battlefield. Instead, the U.S. Military Academy graduate spent much of the war preparing defenses in different parts of the Confederacy. He was highly regarded, enough so he was promoted directly from colonel of engineers to major general Aug. 25, 1863. Ezra Warner, in his book Generals in Gray states, “General Gilmer was perhaps the outstanding military engineer in the service of the South.” Gilmer was born in Guilford County, North Carolina, Feb. 23, 1818. He was fourth of 41, one spot behind Henry Halleck, in the West Point Class of 1839. Gilmer served in many places prior to the Civil War. He started as an instructor at West Point. He helped to lay out Fort Schuyler, New York, and was assistant chief of engineers in Washington, D.C., from 1844-46. During the Mexican War, he was a chief engineer in New Mexico. Just before the start of the Civil War, he was working on improving defenses of San Francisco Bay. On June 29, 1861, he resigned his U.S. Army commission as a captain to accept a commission as a lieutenant colonel of engineers with the Confederate army. Assigned to the position of chief engineer of Department No. 2, he served under Gen. Albert S. Johnston. After the fall of Forts Henry and Donelson, Gilmer was at the Battle of Shiloh. There, Johnston was killed and Gilmer was wounded. When he recovered, Gilmer was sent to Richmond. There, Aug. 4, 1862, he was named chief engineer for the Department of Northern Virginia. In October of 1862, he was made head of the Bureau of Engineers in the Confederate War Department. On Aug. 25, 1863, Gilmer was promoted to major general and sent to South Carolina. His assignment was to improve defenses at Charleston, South Carolina. He was second in command of the Department of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. After the siege of Charleston, he was moved to Savannah and Atlanta to help set up defenses there. After April 2, 1864, he returned to his duties in Richmond at the Bureau of Engineers. After the war, Gilmer became a civil engineer and worked with railroads. From 1867 until his death in 1883, Gilmer was president of the Savannah Gas Light Company. He died Dec. 1, 1883, in Savannah, Georgia. He was buried in Laurel Grove Cemetery there.

[Battleline]

Folks,
I've got the 10 remaining "G" generals of the Confederacy about 95 percent done. I'll try to post before the holiday.
Thanks,
Battleline

[Gil R.]

Copied, thanks.