Francis Asbury Shoup (March 22, 1834 – September 4, 1896), a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

from

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

, became a

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 ...

for the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Pre-war

Shoup was born near

Laurel, Indiana Laurel is a town in Laurel Township, Franklin County, Indiana, United States. The population was 512 at the 2010 census. History Laurel was platted in 1836 by James Conwell, a native of Maryland. Conwell had first intended to name his settlement ...

, the first of nine children. He attended

Indiana Asbury University DePauw University is a private liberal arts university in Greencastle, Indiana. It has an enrollment of 1,972 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the ...

Greencastle, Indiana Greencastle is a city in Greencastle Township, Putnam County, Indiana, United States, and the county seat of Putnam County. It was founded in 1821 by Ephraim Dukes on a land grant. He named the settlement for his hometown of Greencastle, Pennsylv ...

, and then went to the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

, graduating in 1855 fifteenth out of a class of thirty-four. After leaving West Point, he served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

as a member of the First United States Artillery and fought against the

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, an ...

s in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. He decided to retire on January 10, 1860, to become a lawyer in Indianapolis.http://208.119.135.17/db/markers_test/markers_display.asp?ID=520 Shoup was serving as a leader of an Indianapolis

Zouave The Zouaves were a class of light infantry regiments of the French Army serving between 1830 and 1962 and linked to French North Africa; as well as some units of other countries modelled upon them. The zouaves were among the most decorated unit ...

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

, but once the Civil War started, he moved to Florida to fight for the Confederacy, proclaiming he had "aristocratic inclinations and admiration for the South." This shocked those in the Indianapolis militia, who had loved him as friend, and even gave him a special set of

revolver A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...

s with holsters and trappings, believing he would serve in the Union army, and that officers would always ride

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...

s and thus would need such a set. All Indianapolis reported of the incident was that Shoup had resigned from the militia. In 1860, he moved to

St. Augustine, Florida St. Augustine ( ; es, San Agustín ) is a city in the Southeastern United States and the county seat of St. Johns County on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorers, it is the oldest continuously inhabit ...

, where the Governor commissioned him a Lieutenant. He was actually admitted to the bar in Florida, although whether he actually practiced law is obscure.

War life

At the

Battle of Shiloh The Battle of Shiloh (also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing) was fought on April 6–7, 1862, in the American Civil War. The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee, which was part of the war's Western Theater. The battlefield i ...

, he served as chief of

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

under

William J. Hardee William Joseph Hardee (October 12, 1815November 6, 1873) was a career United States Army, U.S. Army and Confederate States Army officer. For the U.S. Army, he served in the Second Seminole War and in the Mexican–American War, where he was capt ...

. In the summer of 1862 he started serving in Arkansas as

Inspector General An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general". Australia The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) (IGIS) is an independent statutory off ...

under

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Thomas C. Hindman Thomas Carmichael Hindman Jr. (January 28, 1828 – September 28, 1868) was an American lawyer, politician, and a senior officer of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, he later moved to Miss ...

. On September 12, 1862, the

First Confederate Congress The 1st Confederate States Congress, consisting of the Confederate States Senate and the Confederate States House of Representatives, met from February 18, 1862, to February 17, 1864, during the first two years of Jefferson Davis's presidency, a ...

made him a brigadier general, after which he commanded Hindman's Second Division. After the

Battle of Prairie Grove The Battle of Prairie Grove was a battle of the American Civil War fought on December 7, 1862. While tactically indecisive, the battle secured the Union control of northwestern Arkansas. A division of Union troops in the Army of the Front ...

, he went back across the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. After he was captured in the

Battle of Vicksburg The siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Missis ...

, he met some compatriots from his Indianapolis militia days, but they rejected him for fighting for the Confederacy. After he was paroled, he went to Georgia and fought in the

Battle of Atlanta The Battle of Atlanta was a battle of the Atlanta Campaign fought during the American Civil War on July 22, 1864, just southeast of Atlanta, Georgia. Continuing their summer campaign to seize the important rail and supply hub of Atlanta, Uni ...

. He designed a defensive line and, following its approval by General Johnston, oversaw the construction in late June 1864 of what would become known as

Johnston's River Line Johnston's River Line, also called Johnston's Line, the Chattahoochee River Line or simply The River Line, is a historic American Civil War defensive line located in the communities of Mableton, Smyrna, and Vinings, Georgia that was used by the Con ...

. Shoup's design consisted of what would eventually total 36 unique forts later called "Shoupades." While the River Line was deemed an engineering success, its potential force was negated when General Sherman's army crossed the Chattahoochee north of the line.

is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. During the war, he wrote texts on infantry and artillery drill and advocated for blacks to serve in the Confederate Army. He also served as Chief of Staff for the commander of the

Army of Tennessee The Army of Tennessee was the principal Confederate army operating between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. It was formed in late 1862 and fought until the end of the war in 1865, participating i ...

John Bell Hood John Bell Hood (June 1 or June 29, 1831 – August 30, 1879) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Although brave, Hood's impetuosity led to high losses among his troops as he moved up in rank. Bruce Catton wrote that "the dec ...

Post-war

After the war, Shoup became a professor at the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

, and later, at the

University of the South The University of the South, familiarly known as Sewanee (), is a private Episcopal liberal arts college in Sewanee, Tennessee. It is owned by 28 southern dioceses of the Episcopal Church, and its School of Theology is an official seminary of ...

Sewanee, Tennessee Sewanee () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Franklin County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,535 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Tullahoma, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area. Sewanee is best known as the home of ...

. Shoup was also an

Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

rector and wrote books about mathematics and metaphysics. While he was a professor, Shoup wrote "''Uncle Tom's Cabin'', Forty Years After" (1893), an essay for the ''Sewanee Review'' that considered the impact of

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the harsh ...

's antislavery novel. Shoup initially praises Stowe's book for its broad circulation, but then he laments the loss of a patriarchal system for controlling black people while also expressing relief that white southerners are free of the burden of their slaves.Elizabeth Ammons, ed. ''Critical Essays on Harriet Beecher Stowe'' Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1980 Upon his death on September 4, 1896, in

Columbia, Tennessee Columbia is a city in and the county seat of Maury County, Tennessee. The population was 41,690 as of the 2020 United States census. Columbia is included in the Nashville metropolitan area. The self-proclaimed "mule capital of the world," Colum ...

, he was buried in the cemetery of University of the South. In 2006 the Indiana Historical Bureau, Franklin County Historical Society, and the Indiana Division of the

Sons of Confederate Veterans The Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) is an American neo-Confederate nonprofit organization of male descendants of Confederate soldiers The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the militar ...

placed a historical marker honoring Shoup at Conwell Cemetery in

. Shoup Park and historical marker is also located on the campus of the University of the South (Sewanee, Tennessee).

Notes

References

* Banasik, Michael. ''Serving with Honor: The Diary of Captain Eathan Allen Pinnell'' * Bodenhamer, David. ''The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis'' (

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

Press, 1994) pg.441 * Eicher, John H., and

David J. Eicher David John Eicher (born August 7, 1961) is an American editor, writer, and popularizer of astronomy and space. He has been editor-in-chief of ''Astronomy'' magazine since 2002. He is author, coauthor, or editor of 23 books on science and American ...

, ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . * Holliday, Hampden. ''Indianapolis and the Civil War'.' * Sifakis, Stewart. ''Who Was Who in the Civil War.'' New York: Facts On File, 1988. . * Warner, Ezra J. ''Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders.'' Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Shoup, Francis A. 1834 births 1896 deaths Confederate States Army brigadier generals DePauw University alumni Northern-born Confederates People from Franklin County, Indiana Indiana lawyers People from Indianapolis People of Indiana in the American Civil War United States Army personnel of the Seminole Wars United States Army officers United States Military Academy alumni 19th-century American lawyers American militia officers People from St. Augustine, Florida University of Mississippi faculty Sewanee: The University of the South faculty Deaths in Tennessee Burials in Tennessee

Pre-war

War life

Post-war

See also

Notes

References