The Blue versus the Gray, or the North versus the South, is often how we interpret the two opposing sides during the war. That is true to a degree, but often forgotten is just how connected the North and South were. Cotton grown in the South by slaves fueled textile miles in New England; wheat and rye grown in the Ohio River Valley floated down the Mississippi River en route to plantations to feed workers; farm machinery manufactured up North could often be found in Southern fields. This even holds true to education. For the elite, attending a college in the North was seen as a way for advancement.
Each of what we consider the Ivy League schools, like the
College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), Yale University, and Harvard
University, had Southern students who, despite their Northern education, fought
for the South.
Harvard University was founded in 1636. It is the oldest
university in the country. Some famous graduates include astronomer John
Winthrop; U.S. Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story; Revolutionary War Major
General Artemas Ward; and minister Cotton Mather.
357 Southerners attended or graduated from Harvard prior to
the war. Of that number, sixty-four were killed in action, and twelve died of
disease. Sixteen achieved the rank of general.
Major General Henry C. Wayne, class of 1834, transferred
from Harvard to West Point, graduating in 1838. He fought in the Mexican
American War and worked with camels out west. Wayne resigned his commission in
December 1861, and returning to Georgia, was commissioned Georgia’s adjutant
and inspector general. In December 1861, he was promoted to brigadier general
in Confederate service. When he was ordered to Virginia, Wayne resigned,
preferring to serve in Georgia. During the Atlanta Campaign, he commanded a
two-brigade division of Georgia militia and cadets. After the war, he returned
to Savannah and worked in the lumber industry.
Brigadier General William Preston, class of 1838, Harvard
Law School, was born in Kentucky. Besides practicing law, he served as
lieutenant colonel of the 4th Kentucky Infantry during the Mexican American
War, served in the state house, in the US House, and as Minister to Spain.
During the war he served as an aide-de-camp to Albert Sidney Johnson, was
promoted to brigadier general in April 1862, and commanded a brigade under
Breckinridge. Eventually, Preston was sent as an envoy to Mexico. After the
war, he practiced law in Kentucky.
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| Alexander Lawton |
Brigadier General Alexander Lawton, class of 1843, Harvard Law School, graduated from West Point, but resigned to study law. After graduation, the South Carolinian practiced law in Savannah, Georgia. He then ran a railroad and served in the Georgia house and senate. After secession, Lawton was elected colonel of the 1st Georgia Volunteers. Lawton was promoted to brigadier general in February 1861. His brigade served in Jackson’s division in the Shenandoah Valley, Seven Days, and Ewell’s Division at Second Manassas. After Ewell was wounded, Lawton took command of the division, and was wounded at Sharpsburg. He never returned to active field command. Lawton was assigned as Quartermaster General. After the war, Lawton served in the state legislature and was minister to Austria.
Brigadier General John Echols, class of 1843, Harvard Law School,
was born in Virginia and served as the Commonwealth’s attorney and in the House
of Commons prior to the war. He was also a member of the Virginia Secession
Convention. At Manassas, he commanded a regiment under Stonewall Jackson. His
action at Kernstown, in which he was wounded, led to his promotion to brigadier
general. He commanded the Department of Southwestern Virginia for a time, until
ill health led to his resignation. After duty on a court of inquiry regarding
the surrender of Vicksburg, Echols returned to active duty, commanding a
brigade in the Army of Western Virginia. In August 1864, he assumed command of
the District of Southwest Virginia. He was replaced by Jubal Early on March 30,
1865. After the war, Echols was president of a bank, organized a railroad, was
on the board of Visitor of Washington and Lee College and the Virginia Military
Institute, and ran other businesses.
Major General William B. Taliaferro, class of 1843, Harvard
Law School, served in the Mexican American War and the Virginia House and
militia. Taliaferro was elected colonel of the 23rd Virginia
Infantry, and by the end of 1861, was commanding a brigade. Although he was feuding
with Jackson, he was promoted to brigadier general in March 1862. Taliaferro
served under Jackson through the Shenandoah Valley and Seven Days Campaign, and
assumed command of Jackson’s old division after Charles Winder was killed at
Cedar Mountain. He was transferred to Charleston, South Carolina, commanding
the defenses at Battery Wagner, and then James Island, then Savannah, finally
commanding a division under Johnston in North Carolina. After the war, he
returned to Virginia, serving in the legislature and as a judge.
Lieutenant General Richard Taylor, class of 1845, was born
in Kentucky, and was the son of Zachary Taylor. He was a large plantation owner
and served in the Louisiana senate. He was elected colonel of the 9th
Louisiana Infantry, and in September 1861, was promoted to brigadier general.
Taylor fought in Virginia under Jackson and was promoted to major general in June
1862. He transferred back to Louisiana, where he feuded with E. Kirby Smith. He
fought at Fort Bisland, Fort Franklin, Red River Valley, Mansfield, Pleasant
Hill, and then was appointed commander of the Department of Alabama,
Mississippi, and East Louisiana, with a promotion to lieutenant general. After
the war, Taylor worked on rebuilding his plantations and worked against the
Radical Republicans and Reconstruction.
Brigadier General Stephen Elliott, Jr., class of 1849, was a
South Carolina planter, state legislator, and commanded a militia artillery
battery. He was present at the capture of Fort Sumter, served as a company
commander in the 11th South Carolina Infantry, and then rejoined the
artillery. He was highly active along the South Carolina coast, later serving
as the commander of Fort Sumter. In April 1864, Elliott was promoted colonel of
the Holcombe Legion, seeing service guarding the Weldon Railroad and at Bermuda
Hundred. He was promoted to brigadier general in May 1864, commanding a brigade
of South Carolina regiments. Elliott was seriously wounded while repulsing the
attack at the Crater and did not return to duty until December 1864. He briefly
commanded in North Carolina but returned to South Carolina. Elliott only lived
a year after the war, dying of the effects of his wounds.
Brigadier General Albert G. Jenkins, class of 1850, Harvard
Law School, was a lawyer and United States Congressman prior to the war. He
organized a cavalry company, then served as colonel of the 8th
Virginia Cavalry. He gave up that command to serve in the first Confederate
Congress, then secured an appointment as a brigadier general. He led a couple
of raids into present-day West Virginia before being assigned to the Army of
Northern Virginia prior to the Gettysburg Campaign. Following the campaign, he
was mortally wounded at the May 1864 battle of Cloyd’s Mountain.
Brigadier General John R. Cooke, class of 1851, civil
engineering, was born in Missouri, the son of Philip St. George Cooke. After
graduating from Harvard, he entered the military, serving in New Mexico,
Arizona, and Texas. Once the war began, he served as a staff officer, commanded
an artillery battery, and was colonel of the 27th North Carolina.
Cooke was promoted to brigadier general in November 1862. His North Carolina
brigade fought behind the stone wall at the foot of Marye’s Heights at
Fredericksburg, and was wounded seven times throughout the war, including at
Bristoe Station and at the Wilderness. After the war, he founded the
Confederate Soldiers Home in Richmond.
Brigadier General Bradley Johnson, class of 1852, Harvard
Law School. Born in Maryland, Johnson was the state’s attorney general. Once
the war came, he organized a company of men, then served in the 1st
Maryland, fighting at First Manassas. He fought at various battles in the
campaigns of 1862, and Stonewall Jackson recommended him for promotion to
brigadier general. That promotion did not come until June 1864. Johnson
commanded Grumble Jones’s brigade during Early’s advance on Washington, D.C. In
November 1864, Johnson was assigned as commander of Salisbury Prison. After the
war, he served in the Virginia Senate and practiced law before returning to
Maryland.
Brigadier General States Rights Gist, class of 1852, Harvard
Law School. Born in South Carolina, he practiced law and served in the militia
prior to war. At Manassas, he served as a volunteer aide-de-camp to Barnard E.
Bee. Promotion to brigadier general came in March 1862. Gist commanded on James
Island, serving along the coast until May 1863 when he was sent to Mississippi,
and then with the Army of Tennessee, fighting at Chickamauga, Chattanooga, the
battles for Atlanta, and Franklin, where he was killed.
Brigadier General Martin W. Gary, class of 1854, was a state
legislator. He served as a captain in Hampton’s Legion. When the Legion was
reorganized in 1862, Gary was elected lieutenant colonel, commanding the
infantry battalion. The list of battles he fought in is lengthy. In April 1864,
he was commanding the cavalry brigade, Department of Richmond. He was promoted
to brigadier general in June 1864. His brigade supplied the only mounted troops
protecting Richmond from September to December 1864. Gary refused to surrender
at Appomattox and escaped. He was a leader in South Carolina after the war.
Brigadier General John Clark, Jr., class of 1854, Harvard
Law School, was born in Missouri and was a practicing attorning when the war
came. He rose through the ranks, serving as a company grade and field and staff
officer in the 6th Missouri Infantry. At the battle of Pea Ridge,
Colonel Clark commanded the Third Division, Missouri State Guard. Clark was
first promoted to brigadier by Edmund Kirby Smith in April 1864. Later, his
name was passed to the senate by Jefferson Davis for confirmation. Clark
commanded infantry and later cavalry under Sterling Price. After the war, Clark
served in the US House, and later as clerk in the US House, and then practiced
law in Washington, D.C.
Brigadier General Benjamin Hardin Helm, class of 1854,
Harvard Law School, was a brother-in-law to Abraham Lincoln, who first
graduated from West Point, then resigned his commission to study law. He also
served in the Kentucky House, and as one of Kentucky’s state lawyers. Helm was offered
a job as an army paymaster by Lincoln, but declined, raising Confederate
cavalry companies instead. In March 1862, he was promoted to brigadier general,
commanding an infantry brigade under John C. Breckinridge. He was seriously
wounded when his horse fell on him at Baton Rouge. Helm was back with the army
in Mississippi. Helm was mortally wounded fighting with the Army of Tennessee
at Chickamauga in September 1863.
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| John S. Marmaduke |
Major General William Henry Fitzhugh Lee, class of 1858 and
the son of Robert E. Lee, transferred from Harvard to West Point. Lee served in
the Utah War against the Mormons but resigned from the US Army prior to the 1861.
When the war came, he served in various cavalry commands before being appointed
lieutenant colonel of the 9th Virginia Cavalry. Both his father and
JEB Stuart recommend Lee for promotion, which came in November 1862. He fought
against Stoneman during Chancellorsville, and at Brady Station, was wounded in
the thigh. He was captured by a Federal raiding party while recovering, and was
not exchanged until March 1864. Lee was promoted to major general in April 1864.
When Wade Hampton was transferred to South Carolina, Lee commanded the cavalry
on the south side of the James River. After the war, he served in the state
senate and the US House.
All biographical sketches taken from Davis, editor, Confederate
Generals.