John McCausland
John McCausland (born September 13, 1836 in St. Louis , Missouri , † January 22, 1927 at Point Pleasant , West Virginia ) was a Brigadier General in the Confederation Army during the American Civil War and was famous for the destruction of the city of Chambersburg .
Career
John McCausland was born on September 13, 1836, to an Irish immigrant and a Virgin in St. Louis , Missouri. He attended the Virginia Military Institute , which he graduated from the top of his class in 1857, and subsequently took on an apprenticeship in mathematics there.
When the Civil War broke out, he joined the Confederate like the majority of his colleagues and students and within a short time he set up an artillery battery and the 36th Virginia Infantry Regiment, of which he was in command. He fought with his regiment first in the Kanawha Valley, then took part in the Battle of Fort Donelson and finally returned to western Virginia. After Brigadier General Albert G. Jenkins was wounded at the Battle of Cloyds Mountain in May 1864, he took over his brigade in the middle of the action and conducted an orderly retreat.
On May 24, 1864, McCausland was promoted to brigadier general and assigned to the cavalry. When Maj. General David Hunter invaded the Shenandoah Valley, McCausland slowed it down long enough until reinforcements from the Northern Virginia Army could be brought in and Hunter was defeated at the Battle of Lynchburg . The city representatives then made him an honorary citizen.
As part of a force under the command of Jubal Early , he invaded the Northern States and spearheaded the decisive attack during the Battle of the Monocacy . In the fall of 1864, McCausland led his brigade to Maryland , rode into the town of Chambersburg , and demanded a large sum of cash from the town fathers. When his demands were not met, he burned the place down, causing $ 1.6 million in property damage.
At the end of the war he refused to surrender with Robert E. Lee at Appomattox and escaped to Lynchburg , where he disbanded his brigade and sent the men home. Up to a general amnesty , he fled to Europe, as he feared prosecution due to the razing of Chambersburg. After his return he bought a property in the Kanawatal, which he cultivated until his death. He died in 1927 as the last living Confederate officer in the rank of general.
literature
- Wilhelm Lothar von Mengersen: From Kanawha to the New River: The battle of Cloyds Mountain . KDP, Vienna 2020.
- Michael Pauley: Unreconstructed Rebel: The Life of General John McCausland . Pictorial Histories Pub Co, Missoula 1993.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | McCausland, John |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | U.S. Brigadier General (Confederation) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 13, 1836 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | St. Louis , Missouri |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 22, 1927 |
| Place of death | at Point Pleasant , West Virginia |