{⋆★⋆} MG McLaws, Lafayette

Lafayette McLaws​

Born: January 15, 1821

Birthplace: Augusta, Georgia

Father: James McLaws 1790 – 1850

(Buried: Summerville Cemetery, Augusta, Georgia)​

Mother: Elizabeth Huguenin 1793 – 1848

(Buried: Summerville Cemetery, Augusta, Georgia)​

Wife: Emily Allison Taylor 1824 – 1890

(Buried: North Laurel Grove Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia)​

Children:

William Huguenin McLaws 1852 – 1870​

(Buried: Magnolia Cemetery, Augusta, Georgia)​

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John Taylor McLaws 1853 – 1921​

(Buried: Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia)​

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Laura Taylor McLaws 1856 – 1877​

(Buried: North Laurel Grove Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia)​

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Uldrick Huguenin McLaws Sr. 1862 – 1934​

(Buried: Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia)​

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Anna Lee McLaws 1867 – 1890​

(Buried: North Laurel Grove Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia)​

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Virginia Randall McLaws 1868 – 1967​

(Buried: North Laurel Grove Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia)​

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Elizabeth Violet McLaws King 1870 – 1952​

(Buried: Saint John in Wilderness, Flat Rock, North Carolina)​

Education:

1842: Graduated from West Point Military Academy (48th​ in class)​

Occupation:

1842 – 1844: Brevet 2nd​ Lt. United States Army, 6th​ Infantry Regiment

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1844 – 1847: 2nd​ Lt. United States Army, 7th​ Infantry Regiment​

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1847 – 1851: 1st​ Lt. United States Army, 7th​ Infantry Regiment​

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1849 – 1851: Acting Assistant Adjutant General Dept. of New Mexico​

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1851 – 1861: Captain of United States Army, 7th​ Infantry Regiment​

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1861: Resigned from United States Army on April 25th​​

Civil War Career:

1861: Major in the Confederate Army​

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1861: Colonel of 10th​ Georgia Infantry​

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1861 – 1862: Brigadier General in the Confederate Army​

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1862: Participated in Seven Days Campaign​

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1862 – 1865: Major General in the Confederate Army​

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1862: Participated in Maryland Campaign​

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1862: Participated in the Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia​

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1863: Participated with Longstreet at Suffolk, Virginia​

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1863: Participated in the Battle of Gettysburg​

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1863: Served with the First Army Corps in Tennessee​

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1863: Participated in the Chattanooga Campaign​

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1863: Participated in the Knoxville Campaign​

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1863: Relieved by Lt. General James Longstreet​

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1864: Court martialed by Lt. General James Longstreet​

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1864: Left the First Army Corps and Participated in Savannah​

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1865: Participated in the Battle of Rivers Bridge​

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1865: Led a division during the Battle of Averasborough, North Carolina​

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1865: Commander of Confederate 3rd​ line of defense at Bentonville

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1865: Commander of the District of Georgia after Bentonville, North Carolina​

Occupation after War:

Agent for Carolina Life Insurance Company​

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1875 – 1876: United States Collector for Internal Revenue Savannah, Georgia​

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1875 – 1876: United States Postmaster in Savannah Georgia​

Died: July 24, 1897

Place of Death: Savannah, Georgia

Age at time of Death: 76 years old

Cause of Death: Heart Disease

Burial Place: North Laurel Grove Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia

 

[Nathan Stuart]

McLaws was a reliable enough Division commander, who could generally be counted on to follow direct orders. He has been criticized for lacking initiative and not being as effective at following discretionary orders. Longstreet made him a scapegoat for the slaughter at Fort Sanders. He blamed McLaws for his own command performance failings there, which included faulty reconnaisance and inadequate preparation for the attack.

 

[Luke Freet]

McLaws had his flaws, mainly sluggishness, but I find he's quite a solid division commander. He may not have cut it out under Lee and Longstreet, but I imagine if he was in the Army of Tennessee, he'd probably have been a brighter prospect.

 

[Pollaco]

McLaws had his flaws, mainly sluggishness, but I find he's quite a solid division commander. He may not have cut it out under Lee and Longstreet, but I imagine if he was in the Army of Tennessee, he'd probably have been a brighter prospect.

It makes you wonder who(and why?) had the say-so, Lee or Davis,that determined where McLaws wound up at. Just guessing but I would think had it been left entirely up up Lee that McLaws would have found himself "out West" or with no command at all.It was Davis who disapproved with the court-martial findings and ordered McLaws back to his division (now back in Virginia) .Mclaws was soon sent south to the Department of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. It kind of and almost sounds like a compromise between Lee and Davis.McLaws was no longer with the ANV but was close to Davis.

 

[jackt62]

The relationship between Longstreet and McLaws broke down over the course of 1863 and culminated in what was clearly a thinly justified court-martial.

What's going on here? There is the story about McLaws' meeting with Lee on July 2, 1863 to lay out the proposed plan of attack up the Emmitsburg Road (which was obviously based on outdated information). In response, McLaws requested permission to join an existing reconnaissance or undertake his own of the terrain, but Longstreet it seems, slapped McLaws' request down by telling him in no uncertain terms not to leave his division. What was Longstreet's problem with McLaws?

 

[rpkennedy]

What's going on here? There is the story about McLaws' meeting with Lee on July 2, 1863 to lay out the proposed plan of attack up the Emmitsburg Road (which was obviously based on outdated information). In response, McLaws requested permission to join an existing reconnaissance or undertake his own of the terrain, but Longstreet it seems, slapped McLaws' request down by telling him in no uncertain terms not to leave his division. What was Longstreet's problem with McLaws?

It may have had a lot to do with the fact that Lee was bypassing the chain of command by conferring directly to McLaws even though Longstreet was present. For professionals, that could definitely stick in the craw of a corps commander. Besides, Longstreet's plans had just been shot down by Lee so he wasn't in the most forgiving mood to begin with.

Ryan

 

[danny]

At the Battle of Rivers' Bridge on 2 Feb 1865, his command resisted the advance of the Army of the Tenn into SC.
McLaws led a Div under Hardee at the Battle of Averasboro [3/16] & the Battle of Bentonville.
McLaws' small Div (about half of whom were reservists) did some pretty stout fighting at Averasboro.
When Gen Johnston reorganized his army, McLaws lost his command. He was assigned command of the District of Ga