{⋆★⋆} LG Pemberton, John Clifford

John Clifford Pemberton​

Born: August 10, 1814

Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Father: John Pemberton 1783 – 1847

(Buried: Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)​

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Mother: Rebecca Clifford 1792 – 1869

(Buried: Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)​

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Wife: Martha Thompson 1827 – 1907

(Buried: Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)​

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Married: January 17, 1848 in Norfolk, Virginia

Children:

Patricia Pemberton Berman 1850 – 1940​

(Buried: Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)​

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John Clifford Pemberton Jr. 1853 – 1934​

(Buried: Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)​

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Francis Rawle Pemberton 1856 – 1923​

(Buried: Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)​

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Education:

1837: Graduated from West Point Military Academy (27th​ in class)​

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Occupation Before War:

1837 – 1842: 2nd​ Lt. United States Army, 4th​ Artillery​

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1842 – 1850: 1st​ Lt. United States Army, 4th​ Artillery​

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1846: Brevetted Captain for Gallantry at Battle of Monterrey, Mexico​

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1847: Brevetted Major for Gallantry at Battle of Molino Del Rey, Mexico​

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1850 – 1861: Captain United States Army, 4th​ Artillery​

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1861: Resigned from United States Army on April 29th​​

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Civil War Career:

1861: Lt. Colonel and Assistant Adjutant at Richmond, Virginia​

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1861: Colonel of Virginia Provisional Artillery​

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1861: Major of Confederate States Army Artillery​

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1861 – 1862: Brigadier General, Confederate Army Infantry​

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1862: Major General, Confederate States Army Infantry​

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1862: Commander Department of South Carolina and Georgia​

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1862 – 1864: Lt. General of Confederate Army Infantry​

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1863: Surrendered at Vicksburg, Mississippi

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1863: Held as Prisoner of War, until Paroled in October 13, 1863​

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1864 – 1865: Lt. Colonel of Confederate Army, Artillery​

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1865: Inspector General of Confederate Army, Artillery​

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1865: Captured Salisbury, North Carolina​

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Occupation After War:

1866 – 1876: Farmer near Warrenton, Virginia​

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1876 – 1881: Lived in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania​

Died: July 13, 1881

Place of Death: Penllyn, Pennsylvania

Age at time of Death: 66 years old

Burial Place: Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

 

[Pollaco]

On May 18, 1864 He resigned his commission as Lt.Colonel and offered to serve as a private. Jefferson Davis would not allow It and recommissioned him as a Lt. Col. of the artillery.

 

[gentlemanrob]

Happy Birthday Lt. General John C. Pemberton! Salutes remembering General Pemberton on his birthday.

 

[Seduzal]

He had an awesome military service until he surrendered at Vicksburg. Thanks for sharing this awesome article.

 

[Pollaco]

After his surrender Pemberton was exchanged on October 13, 1863. He spent 8 months in Richmond without an assignment and was "crucified" in the press and public for the surrender of Vicksburg. His northern birth (Pennsylvania) only added to this distrust. This was one of the main reasons for his resignation on May of 1864. He and Jefferson Davis both knew that Pemberton would not be accepted or respected enough to lead a Corps in the Army of Tennessee as a Lt. General.

 

[Luke Freet]

After his surrender Pemberton was exchanged on October 13, 1863. He spent 8 months in Richmond without an assignment and was "crucified" in the press and public for the surrender of Vicksburg. His northern birth (Pennsylvania) only added to this distrust. This was one of the main reasons for his resignation on May of 1864. He and Jefferson Davis both knew that Pemberton would not be accepted or respected enough to lead a Corps in the Army of Tennessee as a Lt. General.

It is surprising that he does continue service as an artillery officer around Richmond.

 

[Luke Freet]

6 days late but may as well.
Pemberton was a solid artillery commander in the pre-war army, and many in the Confederate military leadership had grinded their teeth in that branch, most famously Stonewall Jackson; the artillery branch was second only to the Engineers in terms of quality officers, due to West Point's emphasis on technical ability and engineering. Pemberton himself was a poor student, writing his parents claiming he was receiving "A Gentleman's C", and was particularly poor in mathematics. However, due to his overall ranking in his class, he was assigned to artillery.
He fought in the Seminole Wars and took part in the Battle of Loxahatchee in 1838. He was assigned to garrison duties around the country afterwards, before fighting in the Mexican War. He was breveted to Captain for his "gallant conduct" at Monterrey, and Major for his actions at Molina del Rey, before being wounded at Chapultepec in the legendary charge there. He served thereafter on the staff of Brigadier William J. Worth, alongside a Lt. U. S. Grant. He continued to serve until 1861, when he resigned his commission and went south.
He was made a Colonel in the Confederate regular army (which soon was superseded by the Provisional Army of the Confederate States), before being promoted to Brigadier General June 17th. He mostly commanded troops in the Norfolk area for the rest of the year. In 1862, he was assigned to take Lee's place in command of coastal troops in South Carolina and Georgia, which resulted in his promotion to Major General (as it was deemed a Brigadier rank was too low for such a major department). He did not fit well to the assignment, and after a statement revealing an intention to abandon the coast if his major forces were threatened, he was replaced by Beauregard, and on October 10th, Pemberton went west to command in Mississippi. However, the previous commander, Earl Van Dorn, remained in command of cavalry, and he outranked Pemberton as a Major General; thus, without fighting in a single engagement in this war, Pemberton had received the second highest rank in the Confederacy.
It seemed Pemberton's tenure in command was going off smoothly. His troops turned back Grant's overland move with a raid on Holly Springs, and repulsing Sherman's landing at Chickasaw Bayou, though he played little part in either of these successes. His luck ran out in May of 1863, when Porter's river fleet got past the Vicksburg guns and allowed Grant's men to march through southern Mississippi. His actions during the campaign are the subject of criticisms from military historians to this day, with his lack of aggression or simply his overcaution allowing Grant to march on Jackson and cut him off from support from Joe Johnston. He fought his first battle in field command at Champion Hill, suffering a defeat, before another defeat soon after at Big Black River Bridge (where he left his troops in a vulnerable position awaiting the arrival of a lost division whose commander had no intention of rejoining him). He then suffered a month and a half long siege, repulsing 3 assaults. In early July, he began negotiating with Grant for a surrender, giving up Vicksburg and all the weapons of the army, but allowing for the units of his command to be reformed a few months later.
He was breifly considered for corps command in the Army of Tennessee, but his unpopularity following Vicksburg resulted in him resigning. He would serve as an artillery officer in the Richmond defenses until the end of the war.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

Pemberton's legacy will always be controversial.

The man is either loved or hated.

There are quite a few threads about this General on CivilWarTalk.
Seems the main issues revolve around the conflicting orders from his
immediate superiors. (General Joe or the President).

Personally, I'm in the Pemberton camp.

But I've explained why ... many times before.

 

[USS ALASKA]

Collection: School of Advanced Military Studies Monographs
Title: Reevaluation of Pemberton at Vicksburg.
Author: Haynes, Malcolm G.
Branch/Country: United States Army

Abstract
Historians have largely agreed that Pemberton should shoulder the blame for the poor Confederate performance during the Vicksburg campaign. General consensus exists among American Civil War historians that Pemberton proved a confused, indecisive, and incompetent commander and his poor leadership led to the Confederate defeat. However, an examination of the Vicksburg campaign conducted at the operational level of war shows that throughout the campaign, Pemberton led a capable and competent defense not just of Vicksburg, but of the Mississippi Department he commanded. He relied on an operational approach that involved fighting from prepared defensive positions in favorable terrain deep in his own territory and anchored by natural obstacles. To attack such a position, Pemberton knew an opponent would need a large force operating over an extended line of communications (LOC). Pemberton intended to interdict his opponent's LOC using a strong cavalry force, thus preventing the enemy from achieving the offensive momentum necessary to break through Vicksburg's defenses. This was a sound operational approach. However, it failed because of an ineffective Confederate command structure that, among other failures, denied Pemberton the resources, particularly adequate cavalry forces, required to implement his operational approach.

Series: Command and General Staff College (CGSC), School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) Monograph
Publisher: Fort Leavenworth, KS : US Army Command and General Staff College,
Date, Original: 2012-05-17
Date, Digital: 2012-05-17
Release statement: Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student-authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency. (References to these studies should include the foregoing statement.)
Repository: Combined Arms Research Library
Library: Combined Arms Research Library Digital Library
Date created: 2012-10-29

https://cgsc.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/api/collection/p4013coll3/id/2923/download

Cheers,
USS ALASKA