Brigadier-General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Clement Anselm Evans (February 25, 1833 – July 2, 1911) was a senior officer of the Confederate States Army who commanded infantry in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. Afterwards, he edited a 12-volume work on Confederate military history, so named, in 1899.

Early life and education

Clement Anselm Evans was born in Stewart County, Georgia. In 1854 Evans married Mary Allen "Allie" Walton whose marriage brought eight children, three of whom died in infancy. He studied at the

Augusta Law School Augusta Law School was a law school in Augusta, Georgia which operated from 1833 to 1854. It was the first law school in Georgia and in the Deep South. It was modeled after the influential Litchfield Law School, and was founded by William Tracy G ...

in Augusta, Georgia, and was admitted to the bar at the age of 18. By the age of 21, he was a county judge, and a state senator at the age of 25. With the election of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln in 1860, Evans organized a company of militia.

American Civil War

Evans was commissioned as

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

of the 31st Georgia Infantry on November 19, 1861, and was promoted to colonel on May 13, 1862, fighting in the Seven Days Battles, Second Manassas, and Antietam. He had temporary command of Alexander Lawton's Georgia brigade from September until November 1862, seeing additional action at Fredericksburg. During the Gettysburg Campaign and the 1864 fighting at the

Wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

and Spotsylvania, Evans again commanded the 31st Georgia while John Brown Gordon commanded the brigade. Evans was promoted to brigadier general in May 1864 (replacing Gordon who ascended to division command) and was wounded at

Monocacy Monocacy (Shawnee language, Shawnee: ''Monnockkeseymay'') may refer to the Monocacy River in Maryland, USA. Monocacy may also refer to: Other streams *Little Monocacy River, a tributary of the Potomac River in Maryland *Monocacy Creek (Lehigh Riv ...

. He commanded Gordon's Division, Second Corps, Army of Northern Virginia, from

Petersburg Petersburg, or Petersburgh, may refer to: Places Australia *Petersburg, former name of Peterborough, South Australia Canada * Petersburg, Ontario Russia *Saint Petersburg, sometimes referred to as Petersburg United States *Peterborg, U.S. Virg ...

to Appomattox. Evans survived five wounds during the war.

Later life and legacy

After the war ended, he became an influential Methodist minister, advancing the “

holiness movement The Holiness movement is a Christian movement that emerged chiefly within 19th-century Methodism, and to a lesser extent other traditions such as Quakerism, Anabaptism, and Restorationism. The movement is historically distinguished by its emph ...

,” a controversial doctrine that eventually split the denomination. He pastored churches in the Atlanta area, some with memberships as large as 1,000, until his retirement in 1892. Three years later, Evans authored the ''Military History of Georgia'', heavily based upon his Civil War memoirs. He then edited and co-wrote the '' Confederate Military History'', a 12-volume compendium, first published in 1899. Finally, he co-authored the four-volume ''Cyclopedia of Georgia''. Regarding the war, Evans said: Evans was very active in establishing and administering fraternal veterans organizations following the war. He helped organize the

Confederate Survivors Association The Confederate Survivors Association was a fraternal organization for American Civil War veterans of the Confederate States Army. It was based in Augusta, Georgia, and remained active well into the 20th Century. The Confederate Survivors Associa ...

(a regional group based in Augusta, Georgia) in 1878 and served as its first president. He was a founder of the first national Confederate veterans group, the United Confederate Veterans, in 1889 and commander of the UCV's Georgia division for 12 years. Evans died in Atlanta on July 2, 1911: his body lay in state in the central rotunda of the capitol building while the state legislature adjourned for a day to attend his funeral. He was buried in Atlanta's Oakland Cemetery, just a few feet away from the grave of John Gordon. Evans County, Georgia (established November 3, 1914) is named after him.

References

External links

*
Clement A. Evans
at The Political Graveyard * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Clement A. 1833 births 1911 deaths 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American male writers 19th-century Methodist ministers 20th-century Methodist ministers American book editors American Methodist clergy American people of Welsh descent Burials at Oakland Cemetery (Atlanta) Confederate States Army brigadier generals Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers Georgia (U.S. state) state court judges Georgia (U.S. state) state senators Historians of the American Civil War People from Augusta, Georgia People from Stewart County, Georgia People of Georgia (U.S. state) in the American Civil War United Confederate Veterans Writers from Atlanta 20th-century American clergy 19th-century American clergy

Early life and education

American Civil War

Later life and legacy

See also

References

Further reading

External links