A real life Union Civil War general and a fictional character in Margaret Mitchell’s “Gone With the Wind” shared the same name.
The general was born in New York State in 1822 and graduated from the U. S. Military Academy in 1843. He served in the Mexican War and in the Union Army in the Civil War, eventually attaining the rank of major general. Unfortunately, he had a knack for getting on the wrong side of the top brass, as he drew the ire of both George McClellan and Ulysses Grant. The latter accepted his resignation from the Army in 1863.
Though Margaret Mitchell may or may not have known of the existence of the Union general, she gave the same name to a character who was significant in the life of Scarlett, the heroine of Mitchell’s novel.
What was the name?
credit:
@hoosier