Paul Jones Semmes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Paul Jones Semmes
Paul Jones Semmes
Born	(1815-06-04)June 4, 1815 Wilkes County, Georgia
Died	July 10, 1863(1863-07-10) (aged 48) Martinsburg, West Virginia
Place of burial	Linwood Cemetery,Columbus
Allegiance	Confederate States of America
Service/branch	Confederate States Army
Years of service	1861–63 (CSA)
Rank	Brigadier General
Battles/wars	American Civil War Battle of South Mountain Battle of Antietam Battle of Fredericksburg Battle of Chancellorsville Battle of Salem Church Battle of Gettysburg
Other work	Banker, plantation owner

Paul Jones Semmes (June 4, 1815 – July 10, 1863) was a banker, businessman, and a Confederate general in the American Civil War, mortally wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg.

Early life

Semmes was born at Montford's Plantation in Wilkes County, Georgia.^[1] He was a cousin of future Confederate naval hero, CSS Alabama Captain Raphael Semmes. His half-brother, Albert Gallatin Semmes, later became an Associate Justice of the Florida Supreme Court. Paul Semmes was educated at the Beman School in Hancock County. He attended the University of Virginia and became a banker and plantation owner in Wilkes County, Georgia.^[2] He was elected commander of the Georgia Militia 1st Brigade of the 4th Division in 1837 and held that commission until 1840 when he moved to Columbus, Georgia.^[3] His business endeavors flourished and he became one of Columbus's most prominent citizens. From 1846 to 1861, he served as a captain in the Georgia militia. He was the author of the 1855 manual, Infantry Tactics. In 1860, Governor Joseph E. Brown appointed Semmes as quartermaster general for the state and authorized him to handle all military purchases. In August of 1860 Semmes was appointed Brigadier General of the Knights of the Golden Circle.^[4]

Civil War

After the start of the Civil War, Semmes was appointed colonel of the 2nd Georgia Infantry. He was promoted to brigadier general on March 11, 1862.^[5] During the Peninsula Campaign, he was a brigade commander in Brig. Gen. John B. Magruder's Corps in the defense of Richmond. Rushed northward at the start of the Maryland Campaign, Semmes's brigade rejoined the Army of Northern Virginia in the division of Maj. Gen. Lafayette McLaws just as it was entering Maryland. His men participated in the holding action at Crampton's Gap during the Battle of South Mountain. At Sharpsburg, Semmes's brigade was a key part of General McLaws's strong counterattack that stunned the Union II Corps. In early November, his brigade was reorganized so that it only contained Georgia regiments. Held in reserve at the Battle of Fredericksburg, Semmes's reconstituted brigade served well at Chancellorsville, where it blunted the advance of an entire V Corps division, and at Salem Church.

Death and legacy

Semmes was mortally wounded in the thigh while leading a charge across the Wheatfield at the Battle of Gettysburg on July 2, 1863. He died eight days later in Martinsburg, West Virginia, and was buried in Linwood Cemetery in Columbus. Shortly before his death, Semmes told a war correspondent, "I consider it a privilege to die for my country." The last letter that he wrote to his wife may be seen in the online collection of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

General Robert E. Lee lamented Semmes's untimely loss, writing that he "died as he had lived, discharging the highest duty of a patriot with devotion that never faltered and courage that shrank from no danger."

Notes

↑ Smith, p. 337
↑ Smith, p. 337
↑ Smith, p. 337
↑ David Keehn, Knights of the Golden Circle
↑ Smith, p. 337

References

Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher. Civil War High Commands. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
Evans, Clement A., ed. Confederate Military History: A Library of Confederate States History. 12 vols. Atlanta: Confederate Publishing Company, 1899. OCLC 833588.
Smith, Gordon Burns, History of the Georgia Militia, 1783-1861, Volume One, Campaigns and Generals, Milledgeville: Boyd Publishing, 2000. ASIN:B003L1PRKI.

External links

"Paul Jones Semmes". Find a Grave. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
Sheet music for a Requiem in Honor of Paul J. Semmes
The burial of Paul J. Semmes

v t e Gettysburg figures

Confederate leaders	Lee Alexander R. Anderson G. Anderson Archer Armistead Barksdale Benning Brockenbrough Chambliss Daniel Davis Doles Early Ewell Garnett Gordon Hampton Hays Heth Hill Hood Humphreys Imboden Iverson Jenkins Johnson J. Jones W. Jones Kemper Kershaw Lane Law F. Lee W. Lee Longstreet Mahone Marshall McLaws O'Neal Pender Pettigrew Perrin Pickett Posey Ramseur Robertson Rodes Scales Semmes Smith G. Steuart J.E.B. Stuart Thomas Trimble J. Walker R. Walker Wilcox Wofford Wright

Union leaders	Meade Ames Ayres Barlow Barnes Baxter Biddle Birney Buford Caldwell Candy Carpenter Carr Chamberlain Claflin Cross Curtin Cushing Custer Cutler Crawford Doubleday Farnsworth Geary Gibbon Gilsa Graham Greene Gregg Hancock Harrow Hays Hooker Howard Humphreys Hunt Kilpatrick Krzyzanowski Lincoln Meredith Merritt Newton Nolan Paul Pleasonton Reynolds Robinson Rowley Ruger Schimmelfennig Schurz Sedgwick Sickles Slocum Stannard Starr Steinwehr Sykes Tilton Tyler Vincent Wadsworth Ward Warren Weed Webb Willard Williams Zook

Other notable military personnel	Alger Avery Baker Belo Berdan Biddle Brooke Brown Bryan Burgwyn Burling Carroll Carter Chamberlain Colvill Corby Coster Dearing Devin Ellis Enderlin Fremantle Fry Gamble Godwin Goree Gregg Grimes Gwyn Hall Harrison Haskell Howell Humiston Jeffords Jones Kelly Keogh Lang Latimer Lewis McCandless McDougall McFarland McIntosh Mayo Muhlenberg Oates O'Rorke Pardee Pegram Perrin Poague Salomon Smith Sorrel Spear Stone Taylor Trobriand Wainwright Ward

Local civilians	Bryan Burns McClean McConaughy McPherson Wade Wills

Persondata
Name	Semmes, Paul
Alternative names
Short description	American general
Date of birth	June 4, 1815
Place of birth	Wilkes County, Georgia
Date of death	July 10, 1863
Place of death	Martinsburg, West Virginia

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.