James Patrick Major (May 14, 1836 – May 8, 1877) was a career U.S. Army officer and a

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

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 ...

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 ...

US Cavalry service

Major graduated 23rd in his class at 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 ...

and became a second lieutenant in the United States Cavalry in July 1856. He served on the Texas frontier and participated in the Battle of Wichita Village against the

Comanche The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...

in 1858.

Confederate States Army

Major resigned from the U. S. Army on March 21, 1861, and joined the Missouri State Guard as a lieutenant colonel. He fought in the Battle of Wilson's Creek on August 10, 1861. He was an acting commander in Earl Van Dorn's artillery during the Siege of Vicksburg. He was transferred to the trans-Mississippi theater and promoted to brigadier general in July 1863 and commanded a cavalry division in the Red River Campaign. In 1864, he fought at both

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market tow ...

and Pleasant Hill in

De Soto Parish DeSoto Parish ( French: ''Paroisse DeSoto'') is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish was formed in 1843. At the 2010 U.S. census, the population was 26,656; at the 2020 census, its population increased to 26,812. Its pari ...

and with General

Hamilton P. Bee Hamilton Prioleau Bee (July 22, 1822 – October 3, 1897) was an American politician in early Texas; he was secretary of the Texas Senate in 1846. He served nearly 10 years as representative to the state house beginning in 1849, and for one term a ...

at Monett's Ferry in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana.

John D. Winters John David Winters (December 23, 1916 – December 9, 1997)John D. Winters obituary, '' Ruston Daily Leader'', December 10, 1997 was an American historian at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana. He is known for his monograph ''T ...

, ''The Civil War in Louisiana'',

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...

Louisiana State University Press The Louisiana State University Press (LSU Press) is a university press at Louisiana State University. Founded in 1935, it publishes works of scholarship as well as general interest books. LSU Press is a member of the Association of American Univer ...

, 1963, , pp. 340-347; 349-355, 362-363

Post war

After the war, Major went to France and then returned to Louisiana and later to Texas where he died on May 8, 1877. He is buried in

Donaldsonville Donaldsonville (historically french: Lafourche-des-Chitimachas) is a city in, and the parish seat of Ascension Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located along the River Road of the west bank of the Mississippi River, it is a part of the Bat ...

, Ascension Parish, Louisiana in an ornate tomb in the Ascension of our Lord Catholic Church Cemetery.

Notes

References

* Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . * 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. . * Winters, John D. ''The Civil War in Louisiana''. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1963. . *

External links