Daniel Govan

Brigadier General Daniel Govan

Daniel Chevilette Govan (July 4, 1829 – March 12, 1911) was a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He was prominent in campaigns and battles in the Western Theater.

Daniel C. Govan was born in Northampton County, North Carolina. His family later moved to Mississippi, where he was raised. Govan attended the South Carolina College.

Govan moved to California during the gold rush along with his cousin Benjamin McCulloch who, along with his brother Henry Eustace McCulloch, would also become a Confederate general. In 1852 Govan returned to Mississippi and remained there until 1861, when he moved to Helena, Arkansas, and became a planter. He married Mary Fogg Otey, the daughter of prominent theologian James Hervey Otey.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, he entered Confederate service and received a commission as colonel of the 2nd Arkansas Infantry regiment. Govan and his men participated in the Battle of Shiloh. After Shiloh, Govan took part in Edmund Kirby Smith's Kentucky campaign and fought at the Battle of Perryville. At one point during the battle, Govan temporarily commanded the brigade.

Govan later became a brigade commander and fought at the Battle of Chickamauga, the Battle of Missionary Ridge, and played a prominent role at the Battle of Ringgold Gap.

On 29 December 1863, Govan was commissioned as a brigadier general, with his command consisting of the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th Arkansas Infantry Regiments. His brigade participated in the Atlanta Campaign, and he received particular mention for his conduct at the Battle of Pickett's Mill. General Govan was captured after a fierce battle at the Battle of Jonesboro, but was soon exchanged by Union forces. He served the remainder of the war with the Army of Tennessee. Many of the young men that fought with Govan at the Battle of Franklin (November 30, 1864) are buried in McGavock Confederate Cemetery at Carnton, in Franklin, Tennessee.

Following the war, Govan returned home and resumed farming. He later served as the Indian agent at the Tulalip Agency in the state of Washington.

Govan died on 12 March 1911, and was buried at Hill Crest Cemetery in Holly Springs, Mississippi.

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