James Lawson Kemper

James Lawson Kemper

James Lawson Kemper (born June 11, 1823 in Mountain Prospect , Madison County , Virginia , † April 7, 1895 in Walnut Hills , Orange County , Virginia) was a major general of the Confederate Army in the Civil War and later governor of Virginia .

Early life

Although Kemper was born into a family with a military tradition, his grandfather had served on George Washington's staff during the War of Independence and his brother was the founder of the Kemper Military School , he himself initially pursued a civilian career. He was a descendant of Johann Kemper, born in Oldenburg, who emigrated from Germany to Virginia in the "Palatine Colony" in 1714. He studied law at Washington College and became a lawyer after graduating in 1842.

After the outbreak of the Mexican-American War he volunteered in 1847 and was assigned to the rank of captain as quartermaster of the 1st Virginia Infantry Regiment. However, his entry into the army was so late that he could no longer take part in combat operations until the end of the war. In 1858 he was Brigadier General of the Virginia Militia. At the same time, he was a three-term MP in the Virginia Parliament, where he made it to Speaker of the House of Representatives and Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs. In Parliament he was an advocate of the position that Virginia should be prepared for any military eventuality.

In the Civil War

During the Civil War, Kemper served from 1861 with the rank of brigadier general in the provisional army of Virginia and then as a colonel in the Confederate army . He was the commander of the 7th Virginia Infantry Regiment. The regiment was subordinate to Maj. General AP Hills Brigade in Maj. General James Longstreets Division of the Northern Virginia Army from June 1861 to March 1862 . The first battle Kemper took part in was the First Battle of the Bull Run . Due to an outstanding performance in the Battle of Seven Pines during the Peninsula Campaign , Kemper was promoted to Brigadier General on June 3, 1862. During the absence of the wounded General Pickett , Kemper briefly commanded his division and after Pickett's return he resumed his old post as brigade commander.

In the Second Battle of the Bull Run , Kemper's brigade was involved in General Longstreet's surprise attack on the left flank of Union forces that nearly resulted in the destruction of the Virginia Army commanded by General John Pope . At the Battle of Antietam his brigade was stationed south of Sharpsburg , which it defended on the afternoon of September 17, 1862 against the attack by Major General Burnside . Kemper and his brigade evaded the face of the advancing Union troops, exposing the right flank of the Confederates, who could only save their lines with the arrival of additional troops under Major General AP Hills, who had rushed in from Harpers Ferry .

At the Battle of Fredericksburg , Kempers Brigade was the reserve. In 1863 the brigade was assigned to Major General Pickett's division into Lieutenant General Longstreets Corps. She was not involved in the Battle of Chancellorsville as Longstreets Corps was detached to Suffolk , Virginia at the time of the battle . Just in time for the start of the Gettysburg campaign , the corps had returned to the Northern Virginia Army.

Kempers brigade did not reach the Gettysburg battlefield until late July 2, 1863. On the third day of the battle, Pickett's division was used in a frontal attack on the positions of the Union Army. Kempers brigade formed the right wing of the advancing Confederate troops. She soon came under fire from the 2nd Vermont Brigade on the flank, pushing her to the left, which disrupted the coordination of the attack. To motivate his men, Kemper got up on his horse and shouted: "There are the cannons, boys, get them!"

This action made Kemper a highly visible target for the opposing troops and a bullet hit him in the abdomen and thigh. Seriously wounded, he was first rescued by Confederate soldiers who, however, left him behind when they retreated from Gettysburg because his injuries did not allow him to be transported. He recovered from his injuries in captivity. He had since been pronounced dead in newspaper reports, and General Robert E. Lee had already condoled the family. On September 19, 1863, Kemper was released in the course of a prisoner exchange, but was too weak to take part in further fighting. He commanded the Virginia Reserve Forces and was promoted to major general in 1864.

After the war

Since it had not been possible to remove the bullet that hit him at the Battle of Gettysburg from his body, Kemper suffered from groin pain throughout his life. After the war he worked as a lawyer again and was from January 1, 1874 to January 1, 1878 governor of Virginia. Kemper died on April 7, 1895 in Walnut Hills, where he is also buried.

swell

• John H. Eicher, David J. Eicher: Civil War High Commands. Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3 .
• Larry Tagg: The Generals of Gettysburg . Savas Publishing, 1998, ISBN 1-882810-30-9 .
• Information on Pickett's attack at Gettysburg.

See also

• List of Confederate Generals in the Civil War
• List of generals of the Union in the Civil War

Web links

Commons : James Kemper  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• James Lawson Kemper in the National Governors Association (English)
• James L. Kemper in the database of Find a Grave (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ James Lawson Kemper ( Memento of the original from March 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in the Civil War Reference database (accessed December 11, 2014).