Randall Lee Gibson (September 10, 1832 – December 15, 1892) was an attorney and politician, elected as a
member of the House of Representatives and
U.S. Senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
from
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-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
. He served as 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 ...
in 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 ...
. Later he was a regent of the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
, and a president of the board of administrators of
Tulane University
Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...
.
Early life
Gibson was born in 1832 at "Spring Hill",
Versailles, Kentucky
Versailles () is a home rule-class city in Woodford County, Kentucky, United States. It lies by road west of Lexington and is part of the Lexington-Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. Versailles has a population of 9,316 according to 2017 cen ...
,
[Eicher, John H. and Eicher, David J.]
''Civil War High Commands''
Stanford: Stanford University Press, June 1, 2002. . p. 254. the son of Tobias Gibson, a
planter and slaveholder. His mother was from a slaveholding family in
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...
.
His paternal great-grandfather was
Gideon Gibson Jr.
Gideon Gibson Jr., (1721–1792) was a free man of color in the colony of South Carolina. He became a slaveholder and " regulator" in the back country. He supported their vigilantism
Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and p ...
, who was likely born in the colony of South Carolina in 1731. His great-great-grandfather, Gideon Gibson, was a
free man of color
In the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, free people of color (French: ''gens de couleur libres''; Spanish: ''gente de color libre'') were primarily people of mixed African, European, and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Na ...
who was married to a white woman, and had owned land and a few slaves in Virginia (likely where he was born) and North Carolina, before migrating with other settlers to South Carolina in the 1730s. The government was worried that he might provoke a slave revolt and the colonial governor had an interview with him. Learning about his life, the governor declared him a free man with all privileges, and granted him land.
[Daniel J. Sharfstein, "Black or White?"](_blank)
Opinionator blog, ''New York Times'', May 14, 2011; accessed April 15, 2021 .
Gibson's father moved his family to Louisiana when Randall was a child, where the youth was educated in local academies. He went to college in the North, graduating from
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
in 1853, where he was a member of the
Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior class society at the university, Skull and Bone ...
society. He returned to Louisiana to study for his bachelor of laws (
LL.B
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
) from the University of Louisiana Law School, later
Tulane University
Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...
.
[
]
Civil War
Soon after the Louisiana's secession
Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...
from the Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
, Gibson became an aide to Gov. Thomas O. Moore.[ On May 8, 1861, he left the capital to join the 1st Louisiana Artillery as a captain.][
On August 13, 1861, he was commissioned as ]colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
of the 13th Louisiana Infantry.[ Gibson fought 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 ...
and subsequent actions. With the Army of the Mississippi
Army of the Mississippi was the name given to two Union armies that operated around the Mississippi River, both with short existences, during the American Civil War.
History 1862
The first army was created on February 23, 1862, with Maj. Gen. ...
, he took part in the 1862 Kentucky Campaign
The Confederate Heartland Offensive (August 14 – October 10, 1862), also known as the Kentucky Campaign, was an American Civil War campaign conducted by the Confederate States Army in Tennessee and Kentucky where Generals Braxton Bragg and ...
and the Battle of Chickamauga
The Battle of Chickamauga, fought on September 19–20, 1863, between United States, U.S. and Confederate States of America, Confederate forces in the American Civil War, marked the end of a Union Army, Union offensive, the Chickamauga Campaign ...
. After being promoted to brigadier general (special) on January 11, 1864, he fought in the Atlanta Campaign and the Franklin-Nashville Campaign; he next was assigned to the defense of Mobile, Alabama
Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...
. He inspired his troops to hold Spanish Fort, which was under siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...
, until the last moment, after which they escaped at night on April 8, 1865. Gibson was captured at Cuba Station, Alabama on May 8, 1865 and paroled at Meridian, Mississippi
Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, seventh largest city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 41,148 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census and an estimated population in 2018 of 36,347. It is the count ...
on May 14, 1865.[ He was pardoned on September 25, 1866.][
]
Postbellum career
Gibson returned to Louisiana after the war, working to help the state recover. It had suffered much damage to levees along the Mississippi, which threatened the large-scale plantations for cotton and sugar. Planters struggled to deal with free labor after the war.
In 1874, Gibson was elected as a Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
in the United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
, being re-elected and serving from March 4, 1875, until March 3, 1883.[ He promoted the creation of the United States House Committee on the Mississippi Levees on December 10, 1875, to investigate the state of Mississippi levees and gain federal support for their building and repair, issues he persuaded his fellows were in the national interest because of the importance of the Mississippi, its trade, and the region's agriculture. The committee's name was changed to the Levees and Improvements of the Mississippi River on November 7, 1877.Records of the Committee on the Mississippi Levees (1875-77), History and Jurisdiction]
, National Archives.
In 1882, Gibson was elected by the Louisiana state legislature (as was the procedure at the time) as United States Senator
The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...
, serving from March 4, 1883, until his death on December 15, 1892.[
According to historian ]Daniel J. Sharfstein
Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...
in ''The Invisible Line: Three American Families and the Secret Journey From Black to White'' (2011), during these years a political opponent challenged Gibson's status as a white man, based on records. Gibson investigated but learned only that his ancestors were property owners, which was "enough to satisfy most of Gibson's contemporaries."
"Such status," Sharfstein explains, "could not mean anything but whiteness. ... As much as racial purity mattered to white Southerners, they had to circle the wagons
Circle the wagons is an English language idiom which may refer to a group of people who unite for a common purpose. Historically the term was used to describe a defensive maneuver which was employed by the Americans in 19th century. The term has e ...
around Randall Gibson. If someone of his position could not be secure in his race, then no one was safe."[Raymond Arsenault, "Shades of White"](_blank)
''New York Times'', February 25, 2014, accessed April 15, 2021
Sharfstein claims that Gibson's paternal line went back to freed African slaves
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
in colonial Virginia.
Randall Gibson died as a United States senator while in Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs for which the city is n ...
.[ His body was returned to Kentucky, where he was buried at ]Lexington Cemetery
Lexington Cemetery is a private, non-profit rural cemetery and arboretum located at 833 W. Main Street, Lexington, Kentucky.
The Lexington Cemetery was established in 1848 as a place of beauty and a public cemetery, in part to deal ...
in Lexington, Kentucky.[
]
In memoriam
Gibson Hall on the campus of Tulane University
Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...
is named for Senator Gibson, who was instrumental after the war in helping fund and continue the public University of Louisiana as the private Tulane University of Louisiana
Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...
. The town of Tigerville in Terrebonne Parish
Terrebonne Parish ( ; French: ''Paroisse de Terrebonne'') is a parish located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2010 census, the population was 111,860, and 110,461 in 2019. In 2020, its population declined to 109,58 ...
was renamed Gibson, Louisiana
Gibson is an unincorporated community in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, United States. The zip code is 70356. It is part of the Houma– Bayou Cane–Thibodaux Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Geography
Gibson is located at , on LA Highwa ...
in his honor.
See also
*List of American Civil War generals (Confederate)
Confederate generals
__NOTOC__
* Assigned to duty by E. Kirby Smith
* Incomplete appointments
* State militia generals
The Confederate and United States processes for appointment, nomination and confirmation of general officers were essential ...
*
Notes
References
* 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. .
Further reading
*
* Sharfstein, Daniel L. ''The Invisible Line: Three American Families and the Secret Journey From Black to White,'' New York: Penguin Press, 2011
External links
Congressional biography
Paul Heinegg, ''Free African Americans in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Delaware''
1995-2006
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Randall L.
1832 births
1892 deaths
Confederate States Army generals
People of Louisiana in the American Civil War
Smithsonian Institution people
Yale University alumni
Tulane University Law School alumni
Democratic Party United States senators from Louisiana
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana
19th-century American politicians
Southern Historical Society