Samuel Gibbs French

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General French

Samuel Gibbs French (born November 22, 1818 in Gloucester County , New Jersey , † April 20, 1910 in Florala , Florida ) was an officer in the US Army , planter and major general in the Confederate Army during the Civil War .

Life

French was born in Gloucester County, New Jersey, in 1818. After his regular school years, he attended the military academy in West Point , New York . His classmates at the time included u. a. the later Generals Ulysses S. Grant and William Buel Franklin and the later Generals of the Roswell Confederation Sabine Ripley and Franklin Gardner . After his successful graduation as 14th of his class, French served as first lieutenant in the artillery in the Mexican-American War 1846-1848, was wounded during the Battle of Buena Vista and then promoted to captain and shortly thereafter to major . While he was still on duty, he married a lady from the southern states, resigned in 1856 and worked as a planter .

When the civil war broke out, he sided with the southern states, his new home, joined the southern army and was promoted to brigadier general in October 1861 . His service first took him east, where he took part in the Peninsula Campaign , and later to North Carolina . In August 1862, French was promoted to major general and command of a division of the Tennessee Army , which he led in battles near Jackson, Atlanta, and Nashville. In December 1864, after a long illness, he took over command of the units in and around Mobile , Alabama , which he held until the end of the war.

After the war, French moved with his family to Florida, where he became a successful planter for the next 45 years, including an autobiography about his military service.

See also

literature

  • Samuel G. French: Two Wars: An Autobiography of General Samuel G. French , DLA, University Libraries, URN: DLMW149
  • David J. Eicher: The Civil War in Books: An Analytical Bibliography , University of Illinois, 1997, ISBN 0-252-02273-4 .
  • Richard N. Current: Encyclopedia of the Confederacy (1993) (4 vol.) ( ISBN 0132759918 )
  • John H. Eicher, David J. Eicher: Civil War High Commands , Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3 .
  • Ezra J. Warner: Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders , Louisiana State University Press, 1959, ISBN 0-8071-0823-5 .

Web links