States Rights Gist

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States Rights Gist, CSA, taken sometime during the Civil War.
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States Rights Gist, CSA, taken sometime during the Civil War.

States Rights Gist (September 3, 1831 — November 30, 1864) was a lawyer and Confederate general who served during the American Civil War. A relative of several prominant South Carolinians, Gist rose to fame later during the war but was killed during the Franklin-Nashville Campaign in November 1864.

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[edit] Personal life

Gist was born in Union, South Carolina, to Nathaniel Gist and Elizabeth Lewis McDaniel[1] and was a descendant of Mordecai Gist, a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He graduated from South Carolina College and attended Harvard Law School for a year without graduating, before moving home to Union to practiced law. In 1863, Gist married Jane Margaret Adams, whose father was James Hopkins Adams, governor of South Carolina from 1854 until 1856[2]. In 1858, Gists' cousin William Henry Gist became governor.[3] Both were active in the secession movement.

[edit] Military experience

In the late 1850's, Gist became involved in the state militia, and by April 1856 he was a brigadier general. One of his many roles was to train fellow militia members for war. When South Carolina seceded from the Union, he worked as state adjutant and inspector general: in this role, he acquired weaponry and mobilized manpower throughout the state. Also in this capacity, he rendered valuable service in the preparation for the occupation of Charleston harbor and the reduction of Fort Sumter. [4] In early 1861, Gist was assigned to the Army of the Potomac and was an aide to another South Carolina general, Barnard Bee, at the First Battle of Bull Run. Shortly before his death on the field, Bee uttered the phrase that resulted in Thomas Jackson's nickname of "Stonewall." [5]

On March 20, 1862, Gist was appointed to brigadier general in the Confederate army. Gist then went to back to assist in the coastal defense of South Carolina under the command of Maj. Gen. John C. Pemberton. When Pemberton's forces went to Vicksburg, Mississippi, Gist joined with General Joseph E. Johnston's journey to Vicksburg.

The Vicksburg Campaign was not a success for Johnston, and Gist was reassigned to the Army of Tennessee where he saw service at Chickamauga, Chattanooga, and Atlanta. It was after the Battle of Atlanta that Gist commanded a brigade under Maj. Gen. John C. Brown during General Hood's Franklin and Nashville campaigns.

While leading his brigade in a charge against Federal fortications at the Battle of Franklin, Gist was killed on November 30, 1864. He was one of twelve Confederate generals lost that day, six of them killed in action. [6]

He is buried in the Trinity Episcopal churchyard in Downtown Columbia. [7]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Nathaniel Gist / Elizabeth Lewis Mcdaniel. e-familytree.net. Retrieved on 2006-10-26.
  2. ^ People Connected with European Royalty. e-familytree.net. Retrieved on 2006-10-26.
  3. ^ South Carolina Governors – William Henry Gist, 1858-1860. SCIway.net, LLC. Retrieved on 2006-10-26.
  4. ^ The FReeper Foxhole Profiles Brigadier-General States Rights Gist - October 31st, 2004. FReeper Foxhole. Retrieved on 2006-10-26.
  5. ^ About Famous People - States Rights Gist. John T. Marck. Retrieved on 2006-10-26.
  6. ^ Attack and Die: Civil War Military Tactics and the Southern Heritage. Clemson University. Retrieved on 2006-10-26.
  7. ^ Find A Grave - States Rights Gist. Find A Grave, Inc.. Retrieved on 2006-10-26.

[edit] See also

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