Union Leaders at Kingsport, Dec.13, 1864.
GEORGE STONEMAN
Stoneman, George, major-general, was born in Busti,
Chautauqua county, N. Y., Aug. 8, 1822. He was graduated at
West Point in 1846 and entered the army as brevet second
lieutenant in the 1st dragoons. In the regular army he was
promoted second lieutenant July l2, 1847, first lieutenant
July 25, 1854, captain in the 2nd cavalry March 3, 1855, major
in the 1st cavalry May 9, 1861, lieutenant-colonel of the 3d
cavalry March 30, 1864, colonel of the 21st infantry July 28,
1866, retired Aug. 16, 1871, appointed colonel of infantry on
Feb. 9, 1891, and again retired on the 24th of the same month.
In the volunteer army he was commissioned a brigadier-general
Aug. 13, 1861, promoted major-general Nov. 29, 1862, and was
mustered out of the service Sept. 1, 1866. During his active
career he was brevetted colonel, U. S. army, Dec. 13, 1862,
for services in the battle of Fredericksburg and brigadier-
general and major-general on March 13, 1865, for services in
the capture of Charlotte, N. C., and during the war,
respectively. Gen. Stoneman's first military service was as
quarter-master to the Mormon battalion at Santa Fe in 1847.
He accompanied it into Mexico and after the war served on the
Pacific coast till 1857, when he was transferred to Texas. In
Feb., 1861, while in command of Fort Brown Tex., he was
ordered by Gen. Twiggs, his superior officer, to surrender the
fort and all Federal property in his charge to the state
secession authorities, but he refused, evacuated the fort and
hastened to New York city. In August, after serving in
western Virginia, he was appointed chief of cavalry in the
Army of the Potomac. He organized that branch of the army,
commanded it during the Peninsular campaign of 1862 and
brought on the battle of Williamsburg by overtaking the
Confederate troops with his cavalry and artillery after they
had evacuated Yorktown. After the second battle of Bull Run
he was assigned to command Gen. Kearny's division and on Nov.
15, 1862, was appointed commander of the 3d army corps, with
which he distinguished himself at Fredericksburg. In April
and May, 1863, he commanded a cavalry corps in raids toward
Richmond, and then till April, 1864, was in command of the 23d
army corps. He was then assigned to command a cavalry corps
in the Army of the Ohio. In the Atlanta campaign he undertook
to capture Macon and Andersonville and release the prisoners
confined in the latter place, but was himself captured at
Clinton, Ga., and held a prisoner for three months. In Dec.,
1864, he led a raid into southwestern Virginia; in Feb. and
March, 1865, commanded the District of East Tennessee, led an
expedition to Asheville, N. C., in March and April; and was
engaged in the capture of Salisbury and the subsequent
operations in North Carolina. After the war he purchased a
ranch in Los Angeles county, Cal.; in 1882 was elected
railroad commissioner of California as a Democrat; and the
following year was elected governor of the state, serving till
Jan., 1887. Gen. Stoneman died in Buffalo, N. Y., Sept. 5,
1894.
Source: The Union Army, vol. 8
STEPHEN GANO BURBRIDGE
Burbridge, Stephen G., brigadier-general, was born in
Scott county, Ky., Aug. 19, 1831. He acquired a classical and
military education, studied law with United States Senator
Garrett Davis, then engaged in business in Georgetown, D. C.,
after which he removed to a large plantation in Logan county,
Ky. At the outbreak of the Civil war he recruited the 26th
Ky. regiment, was made its colonel, and at the battle of
Shiloh won by gallant action promotion to the rank of
brigadier-general of volunteers. He defended Kentucky against
the invasion of Gen. Bragg in 1862, commanded the 1st brigade,
1st division, 13th army corps, before Vicksburg, led the
storming party at the capture of Arkansas Post, and, in
acknowledgment of his bravery at this time, was permitted, by
orders of Gen. A. G. Smith, to plant the Stars and Stripes
upon the Confederate fort. He was also conspicuous in the
capture of Port Gibson, being among the first to enter the
works. During the Atlanta campaign of 1864 he was in command
of the military district of Kentucky, and drove Morgan back
into Tennessee. In acknowledgment of this, and particularly
for services at the battle of Cynthiana, he received the
thanks of President Lincoln. He resigned from the service in
1865 and retired to his home in Kentucky.
Source: The Union Army, vol. 8
ALVAN CULLEM GILLEM
Gillem Alvan C., major-general, was born in Jackson
county, Tenn., July 29, 1830, was graduated at West Point in
1851 and saw active service against the Seminoles in 1851-52.
He became a captain, May 14, 1861, served as brigade quarter-
master, was brevetted major for gallantry at Mill Springs, and
was in command of the siege artillery and chief quartermaster
of the Army of Ohio in the Tennessee campaign, 1861-62, being
engaged at Shiloh and in the siege of Corinth. He was made
colonel of the 10th Tenn. volunteers, May 13, 1862, was pro-
vost-marshal of Nashville, commanded a brigade in the opera-
tions in Tennessee during the first half of the year 1863, and
afterward served as adjutant-general of the state of Tennessee,
being promoted brigadier-general Aug. 17, 1863. He commanded
troops guarding the Nashville & Northwestern railroad from
July, 1863, to Aug., 1864, then took command of the expedition
to eastern Tennessee, engaging in many combats and being bre-
vetted colonel for bravery at Marion, Tenn. For bravery on the
field of battle he received the brevet ranks up to and includ-
ing major-general, U. S. A., receiving the highest brevet,
April 12, 1865, for the capture of Salisbury, N. C., which he
took in an expedition to North Carolina, having previously com-
manded a cavalry expedition to East Tennessee. When the state
government of Tennessee was organized in 1865, Gen. Gillem was
vice-president of the convention and was chosen a member of the
first legislature elected under the new constitution. He was
promoted colonel in the regular army, July 28, 1866, commanded
the District of Mississippi in 1867-68, served on the Texas
frontier and in California, and in 1873 led the troops against
the Modoc Indians at the Lava Beds. He died near Nashville,
Tenn., Dec. 2, 1875.
Source: The Union Army, vol. 8
Confederate Leaders at Kingsport, Dec.13, 1864
BRECKINRIDGE, JOHN C.
KENTUCKY.
Brigadier general, P. A. C. S., November 2, 1861.
Major general, P. A. C. S., April 14, 1862.
Acting Secretary of War, February 6 to close of war, 1865.
Died May 17, 1875, at Lexington, Ky.
Commands.
Commanding First Brigade of Kentucky Infantry.
Commanding division composed of the brigades of Brigadier
Generals Daniel W. Adams, Helm and Stovall.
Commanding Reserve Corps, Army of the Mississippi, April 6
to August 18, 1862.
Commanding, September 8, 1862, division under Major
General Van Dorn.
October 28, 1862. commanding Army of Middle Tennessee.
In December, 1862, commanding division in Polk's Corps,
Army of Tennessee, composed of the brigades of Hanson, Palmer
and Walker.
Commanding, August 20, 1863, division composed of the
brigades of Helm, Preston, Brown and Adams.
Commanding, November 8, 1863, to December 15, 1863, Second
Corps (Hardee's), Army of Tennessee.
Commanding, September 27, 1864, Department of East
Tennessee and Trans-Alleghany Department.
Breckinridge, John Cabell, major, Third Kentucky Infantry,
in the war with Mexico, 1847.
Source: General Officers of the Confederate States of America
Major-General John Cabell Breckinridge was born near
Lexington, Ky., in January, 1821, and was educated for the
profession of law, which he practiced at Lexington.
He was major of the Third regiment Kentucky volunteers in the
Mexican war, and then began in the legislature of 1849 an
illustrious political career. In 1851 he was elected to
Congress from the Ashland district, and re-elected in 1853.
He declined the mission to Spain offered by President Pierce
and retired from public life; but in 1856 he was chosen Vice-
President of the United States, and before the expiration of
his term the Kentucky legislature elected him to the Senate
for six years from March 4, 1861.
He was the choice of the Southern States for President in
1860, and received the main part of the electoral vote of his
party in the United States. On October 8, 1861, he issued an
address from Bowling Green resigning his senatorship and
proclaiming his devotion to the Southern cause.
He was commissioned brigadier-general November 2, 1861, and
given a brigade at Bowling Green. At Shiloh he distinguished
himself in command of the Reserve corps, taking an active part
in the battle and covering the subsequent retreat.
Having been promoted major-general April 14, 1862, he was
ordered with his division to Vicksburg in June. He defeated
the enemy at Baton Rouge, took possession of Port Hudson,
marched to the relief of Bragg, and took a conspicuous part in
the battle of Murfreesboro.
In 1863 he joined Gen. Joseph E. Johnston in Mississippi, and
repelled the enemy at Jackson. Returning to Bragg he
participated in the battle of Chickamauga and succeeded D. H.
Hill in command of an army corps, in this capacity serving at
Missionary Ridge.
Then going into Virginia, he defeated Sigel at New Market May
15, 1864, joined General Lee in the campaign of that summer,
protected the communications during Sheridan's raid, and did
good service at Cold Harbor. In conjunction with General
Early he discomfited the Federals under Hunter in the
Shenandoah valley and made the campaign in Maryland, defeating
Wallace at Monocacy.
Subsequently he fought in the valley until given command in
southwest Virginia, whence he was called to the cabinet as
secretary of war.
After Appomattox he escaped to Cuba and visited Canada and
Europe before returning home. His death occurred May 17,
1875, at Lexington.
Source: Confederate Military History, vol. XI, p. 227
Brigadier-General Basil Duke
Brigadier-General Basil Duke, colonel of the Second Kentucky
cavalry in John H. Morgan's lifetime, and successor to that
officer upon his death, appears first upon the scene of action
in the great civil war as a captain in Missouri and
commissioned by the governor of that State to go to
Montgomery, Ala., and obtain arms from the Confederate
government for the Missouri militia.
In July, 1861, Duke became lieutenant-colonel of the Second
Kentucky cavalry, and in December of the same year was
commissioned colonel of that regiment. His military movements
were intimately connected with those of John H. Morgan, the
senior colonel and afterward brigadier-general of the famous
body of cavalry whose daring and marvelously successful
exploits attracted to its ranks many adventurous youths of the
best families among the Kentuckians who sympathized with the
Southern cause.
During 1862, when Bragg was getting ready for his march into
Kentucky, the cavalry of Morgan was busy in Tennessee
dispersing and capturing detached Federal garrisons. On the
28th of August, when Bragg crossed the Tennessee at
Chattanooga and pushed northward, Kirby Smith, who was already
in Kentucky, ordered Morgan to join him at Lexington in the
blue grass region.
Morgan entered that State, and with part of his command
marched to the assistance of Marshall in the mountains of
eastern Kentucky, while Duke with the balance of the command
was to march toward the Ohio river. In obeying these orders,
Colonel Duke defeated two small steamers and captured the town
of Augusta, taking between 300 and 400 prisoners.
On the retreat from Kentucky, Morgan's command again moved
into the rear of Buell, capturing hundreds of prisoners and
some richly-laden wagon trains. Morgan's loss during the
whole campaign in killed and wounded was not more than one
hundred. He had entered Kentucky 900 strong. His command
when he returned to Tennessee numbered nearly 2,000. Over
1,200 prisoners had been taken by the cavalry.
Just before the battle of Murfreesboro Duke assisted in the
defeat of a Federal brigade at Hartsville, Tenn., in which the
Union loss was 2,096 and the Confederate 139 in all. The
Union commander, Colonel Moore, was one of the 1,834 prisoners
taken on this occasion.
When Bragg was preparing to fall back from Tullahoma in the
summer of 1863, Morgan made his celebrated raid into Ohio. In
this expedition Colonel Duke was his righthand man. But
Morgan and Duke with sixty-eight other officers were captured.
Morgan made his escape from the Ohio penitentiary where they
were confined, and Duke was afterward exchanged.
In southwest Virginia these officers assisted in defeating
Averell's attempt upon the salt works, and then by a raid into
Kentucky delayed for several months another intended Federal
attack. This compensated in some measure the disastrous
losses of this last raid into Kentucky.
When Morgan was killed on the 4th of September, 1864, Colonel
Duke succeeded to the command of the brigade, being
commissioned brigadier-general on the 15th of September. In
April, 1865, after hearing of the surrender of Lee, General
Duke hastened with his command to join Gen. Joe Johnston in
North Carolina. These soldiers formed, after the capitulation
of Johnston's army, Mr. Davis' escort to Georgia.
After the cessation of hostilities General Duke went back to
Kentucky and made his home in Louisville, where he still
resides (1898), enjoying the esteem of his neighbors, who with
the true Kentucky spirit admire a brave man, whether they were
with him or on the other side in the four years' war.
Source: Confederate Military History, vol. XI, p. 234
He was the younger brother of General John Hunt Morgan and a brother in law of General Basil Duke and General Ambrose Powell Hill, all of the CSA.
At Shiloh he voluntarily served on the staff of General John C. Breckenridge and also at one time was on the staff of his brother in law A.P. Hill.
He accompanied his brother, John Hunt Morgan on the "Great Raid" north, was captured with him and in prison until excahnged in August 1864.
Brigadier-General John Crawford Vaughn
Brigadier-General John C. Vaughn was born in Grayson county,
Va., February 24, 1824. His family soon after moved to
Tennessee and settled in Monroe county, where his youth and
early manhood were passed. As soon as he was old enough to be
elected to an office, he was chosen to a position of
importance in his county.
Although that section of the State has been noted for heated
political strife, the people of Monroe county always stood by
him. When the United States became involved in war with
Mexico, young Vaughn entered the Fifth Tennessee volunteers as
a captain and served throughout the war.
At its close he returned to his home in east Tennessee and
became a merchant in the little village of Sweetwater. He was
frequently placed in responsible positions by his fellow
citizens. He was in Charleston, S. C., at the commencement of
the Confederate war, and participated in the opening of the
bloodiest drama of modern times.
Returning to east Tennessee, after the capture of Fort Sumter,
he raised a company in Monroe county and aided in the
organization of a regiment in Knoxville, of which he was
elected colonel. It is said that this was really the first
Tennessee regiment raised, but that the colonels of two other
regiments reached Richmond first and offered their commands to
the Confederate government. Thus Colonel Vaughn's regiment
was numbered the Third Tennessee.
The State of Tennessee having not yet seceded, Colonel Vaughn
took his men to Lynchburg, Va., where they were mustered into
the Confederate service on the 6th of June, and ordered to
report to Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, then at Harper's Ferry.
His command was stationed for a time at Romney. With a
detachment of his own regiment and two companies of the
Thirteenth Virginia, Colonel Vaughn dispersed a body of the
enemy at New Creek bridge, on the Baltimore & Ohio railroad,
and captured two pieces of artillery, the first taken by the
Confederates in the field.
The regiment was subsequently attached to Kirby Smith's
brigade and participated in the first battle of Manassas. In
the spring of 1862 Colonel Vaughn was ordered to east
Tennessee. On September 20, 1862, he was commissioned
brigadier-general, and in the winter following was sent with
his brigade of East Tennesseeans to Vicksburg, where he
assisted in repelling Sherman's attack in December.
During the long and tedious siege of that important post in
1863, Vaughn was in command of the upper defenses of the city.
At last, worn out and decimated, his brigade was surrendered
with the rest of Pemberton's army, July 4, 1863. General
Vaughn was soon exchanged, and sent with a brigade of mounted
men to operate in east Tennessee and southwest Virginia.
When General Hunter began his march against Lee's
communications in 1864, Vaughn assisted in repelling his
advance. In the performance of this duty he was engaged in
the battle of Piedmont, and after the death of General Jones
assumed command and brought off the shattered forces
successfully.
He was with Early in his successful campaign against Hunter,
and in the last advance in Maryland and the valley of
Virginia. Being wounded near Martinsburg, he was furloughed
and returned to Bristol, Tenn. After the death of Gen. John
H. Morgan, he took command of the forces in east Tennessee.
When Lee surrendered, Vaughn's command was at Christianburg
confronting Stoneman. On hearing the news he formed his war-
worn Confederates in line and told them that the army of
Northern Virginia had surrendered, but that if they would
follow him, he would join Joe Johnston in North Carolina.
The men who had followed their leader through four weary
years, once more turned their backs upon their homes, cut down
their artillery, destroyed their baggage wagons and marched
into North Carolina. After the surrender of Joe Johnston,
General Vaughn's troops formed part of the escort of President
Davis in his attempt to make his way to the Trans-Mississippi
department, and at Abbeville, S. C., Vaughn was one of the
five brigade commanders who took part in the last council of
war held by President Davis.
At the close of the war General Vaughn went to south Georgia.
He afterward returned to Tennessee and was elected to the
State senate, of which he was made presiding officer. At the
close of his term he returned to south Georgia, where he
remained until his death, being engaged either as a merchant
at Thomasville or in planting.
He died at his residence in Brooks county, Ga., August 10,
1875.
Source: Confederate Military History, vol. X, p. 339
