| Micah Jenkins | |
|---|---|
Micah Jenkins, photo taken between April 1861 and July 1862 |
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| Born | December 1, 1835 Edisto Island, South Carolina |
| Died | May 6, 1864 (aged 28) Spotsylvania County, Virginia |
| Place of burial | Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston, South Carolina |
| Allegiance | United States of America Confederate States of America |
| Service/branch | Confederate States Army |
| Years of service | 1861–1864 |
| Rank | Brigadier General (CSA) |
| Battles/wars | |
Micah Jenkins (December 1, 1835 – May 6, 1864), was a Confederate general in the American Civil War, mortally wounded by friendly fire at the Battle of the Wilderness.
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Jenkins was born on Edisto Island, South Carolina. He graduated first in his class from the South Carolina Military Academy, now called The Citadel, in 1854. Jenkins then organized the King's Mountain Military School from 1855 to 1861.[1]
He recruited the 5th South Carolina Infantry Regiment and became their colonel on April 13, 1861. He fought under David R. Jones at the First Battle of Bull Run and distinguished himself in the Battle of Seven Pines in the Peninsula Campaign of 1862, where he was wounded in the knee. Also during that year Jenkins was colonel of the Palmetto Sharpshooters. Considered one of the war's "boy generals", he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general on July 22, 1862, at the age of 26. He was later wounded at the Second Battle of Bull Run in August 1862, this time in the shoulder and chest.[1] Consequently, Jenkins was absent from the Army of Northern Virginia when it fought the Battle of Antietam.
Jenkins brigade served in the division of Maj. Gen. George Pickett at the Battle of Fredericksburg. Pickett's division participated in the campaign of Lt. Gen. James Longstreet against Suffolk, Virginia, in 1863, but Jenkins brigade was retained near Richmond, Virginia, missing the Battle of Gettysburg.
Jenkins and his brigade went with the First Corps, Army of Northern Virginia, to Tennessee in early 1863, and participated in the second day's fighting of the Battle of Chickamauga on September 20. On January 16, 1864, Jenkins led his brigade to victory in the small Battle of Kimbrough's Crossroads against Federal cavalry. During the Battle of the Wilderness, Jenkins was riding with Lt. Gen. Longstreet when both were struck down by friendly fire on May 6, 1864. Jenkins died of his head wound a few hours later, and was buried in Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston, South Carolina.[1]