American Generals (and other figures) descended from former Confederate Soldiers

Luke Freet

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I am seeking to make a list of prominent U.S. Army generals, soldiers, and maybe even civilian public figures, who are the descendants of Confederates.
This is the list I have atm:
- LtG. George S. Patton III (1885 - 1945) - Prominent U.S. Army general in World War 2. Patton is the grandson of George S. Patton, Colonel of the 22nd Virginia Regiment, brigade commander at the famous Battle of New Market, mortally wounded at 3rd Battle of Winchester; also grand nephew of Waller T. Patton, also was a Colonel of the 7th Virginia, killed at Pickett's Charge; 3 other ancestors fought in the war, all brothers of the 2 previously mentioned Pattons. It should also be noted that, when George III was raised in California, he'd be visited by the Gray Ghost John S. Mosby, who would tell the boy stories of his feats in the war. This would have a noted affect on the boy, to say the least.
- LtG. Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. (1886 - 1945) - The highest ranking U.S. General killed in action by enemy fire (A. S. Johnston of Civil War fame, of course, is highest ranking American General killed in action; Buckner, though, died serving the U.S. Army), at Okinawa during WW2, in command of the U.S. 10th Army. His father was the influential Simon Bolivar Buckner, Sr. Yes, the son of a Confederate general fought for the country his father fought against. This factoid I find so odd, for so many reasons.
- Brigadier General Nathan Bedford Forrest III (1905 - 1943) - U.S. Army Air Force Officer, killed in action over Germany in a bombing raid. Y'all can brobably guess already who his grandfather was.

I could add folks like director D. W. Griffith and author William Faulkner if it is felt this listing should include more general figures.
 
I understand that Stephen “Sam” Hood is working on a book on the subject. He is visiting the Franklin Civil War Round Table this weekend to provide a presentation called “Confederates Once, Americans Twice: Former Confederates and the Building of Postwar America.” The event is free to the public and begins at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 14, at the Carnton historic site just south of downtown Franklin. The public is invited. https://brentwoodhomepage.com/confe...endants-topic-of-april-civil-war-round-table/
 
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I understand that Stephen “Sam” Hood is working on a book on the subject. He is visiting the Franklin Civil War Round Table this weekend to provide presentation called “Confederates Once, Americans Twice: Former Confederates and the Building of Postwar America.” The event is free to the public and begins at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 14, at the Carnton historic site just south of downtown Franklin. The public is invited. https://brentwoodhomepage.com/confe...endants-topic-of-april-civil-war-round-table/
Thanks for sharing this. Sadly, I'll be dealing with college/home stuff in Savannah and the Florida Coast that day. Wish I could be there, but, oh well.
 
Thanks for sharing this. Sadly, I'll be dealing with college/home stuff in Savannah and the Florida Coast that day. Wish I could be there, but, oh well.
Not to worry. I'm sure he will be doing it again and often over the next year or so, as he promotes his next book. I do not know the projected publication date, but know that he has been working on it for a while.
 
As he just was in the trivia, and supposing you´re including the navy as well, we have Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, (in)famous for his part in Pearl Harbor. He was the son of Confederate Major (and West Point absolvent) Manning M. Kimmel.

Rear Admiral David L. Whelchel, who commanded a submarine (USS Steelhead) in WWII, was a grandson of James Longstreet.

Brig. Gen. Theodore Roosevelt Jr., who fell during the Normandy invasion in 1944 (also received the MOH), was the son of President Roosevelt. And thus grand-nephew of Confederate Navy officers/agents Irvine and James D. Bulloch.

The father of Lt. Gen. John A. Lejeune, Commandant of the Marine Corps, was an officer in the 1st Louisiana Cavalry Regiment.

The grandfather of Gen. Lemuel C. Shepherd Jr., another Commandant of the Marine Corps, had served in the 15th Virginia Cavalry Regiment.
 
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If you are going to include more general figures there are many . Two that come to mind are Oliver Hardy ( father Oliver Sr was a Sgt. in the 16th Georgia and wounded at Antietam ) and Mary Tyler Moore ( Great Grandfather Lt . Col . Lewis Tilghman Moore was in the 4th Virginia ).
 
I am seeking to make a list of prominent U.S. Army generals, soldiers, and maybe even civilian public figures, who are the descendants of Confederates.
This is the list I have atm:
- LtG. George S. Patton III (1885 - 1945) - Prominent U.S. Army general in World War 2. Patton is the grandson of George S. Patton, Colonel of the 22nd Virginia Regiment, brigade commander at the famous Battle of New Market, mortally wounded at 3rd Battle of Winchester; also grand nephew of Waller T. Patton, also was a Colonel of the 7th Virginia, killed at Pickett's Charge; 3 other ancestors fought in the war, all brothers of the 2 previously mentioned Pattons. It should also be noted that, when George III was raised in California, he'd be visited by the Gray Ghost John S. Mosby, who would tell the boy stories of his feats in the war. This would have a noted affect on the boy, to say the least.
- LtG. Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. (1886 - 1945) - The highest ranking U.S. General killed in action by enemy fire (A. S. Johnston of Civil War fame, of course, is highest ranking American General killed in action; Buckner, though, died serving the U.S. Army), at Okinawa during WW2, in command of the U.S. 10th Army. His father was the influential Simon Bolivar Buckner, Sr. Yes, the son of a Confederate general fought for the country his father fought against. This factoid I find so odd, for so many reasons.
- Brigadier General Nathan Bedford Forrest III (1905 - 1943) - U.S. Army Air Force Officer, killed in action over Germany in a bombing raid. Y'all can brobably guess already who his grandfather was.

I could add folks like director D. W. Griffith and author William Faulkner if it is felt this listing should include more general figures.
Admiral Kimmel, who commanded at Pearl Harbor on 7 Dec, 1941, was the son of a CSA soldier; Admiral Nimitz's grandfather was also a Confederate soldier. Doug MacArthur's mother's family were Confederate, her father too old for service, but her brothers served.
I don't think the highlights are yet here. Like Harry Truman............
 
As he just was in the trivia, and supposing you´re including the navy as well, we have Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, (in)famous for his part in Pearl Harbor. He was the son of Confederate Major (and West Point absolvent) Manning M. Kimmel.

And Manning M. Kimmel grandson, through Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, was Lieutenant Commander Manning Marius Kimmel. He was the skipper of the submarine USS Robalo when it was lost in July 1944.
163

Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
James Dunwoody Bulloch, who was the Confederacy's primary 'secret' agent in Great Britain had a half-sister Martha, who was the mother of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt and grandmother of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
The late Senator John McCain. I have not researched the details of his Confederate ancestry but I believe it was his great-grandfather.
 
James E. Rudder was a retired Major General and President of Texas A&M University. As a Lieutenant Colonel, Rudder commanded the 2nd Ranger Battalion in WWII. This is the unit that made the renowned cliff climb on D-Day morning to attack a German gun battery.

Rudder's grandfather Alexander Rudder was born in Virginia and served in a Texas infantry regiment during the ACW.
 
Poor old General Buckner. Killed at the very end of one of the most horrendous battles fought in WWII, The last big battle. He went up to have a look and an artillery round landed beside him.
A friend my brother fought with in Viet Nam, from Yonkers, said that his father told him right before he flew over "Son, You need to find you a good Southern boy and stick with him. I hear they are good fighters."

Them Yonkers fellows are pretty tough too.
 
Major General Fox Conner of Mississippi served on the operations staff of General Pershing during World War 1, and ended the war as his chief of operations. In the post war years Conner took under his wing an up and coming young officer named Dwight D. Eisenhower. Conner was the son of Robert H. Conner, a private in the 9th Mississippi Battalion of Sharpshooters, who had both eyes shot out during the war.
 
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