Robert Selden Garnett (December 16, 1819 – July 13, 1861) was a career military officer, serving 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 ...

until 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 ...

, when he became a

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 ...

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 ...

. He was the first general officer killed in the Civil War.

Early life and career

Garnett, the son of Robert Selden Garnett, Sr., and Charlotte Olympia De Gouges, was born at the family

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

in Essex County, Virginia. Through his mother, he was a great-grandson of French playwright and activist Olympes de Gouges. Along with his cousin,

Richard B. Garnett Richard Brooke Garnett (November 21, 1817 – July 3, 1863) was a career United States Army officer and a Confederate general in the American Civil War. He was court-martialed by Stonewall Jackson for his actions in command of the Stonewall Brigad ...

, Robert attended 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 ...

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York, West Point was identified by General George Washington as the most important strategic position in America during the Ame ...

, graduating 27th in a class of 52. Seven classmates, including his cousin, would die in combat in the Civil War. Another notable cousin of the Garnetts was United States Congressman

Robert M. T. Hunter Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter (April 21, 1809 – July 18, 1887) was an American lawyer, politician and planter. He was a U.S. representative (1837–1843, 1845–1847), speaker of the House (1839–1841), and U.S. senator (184 ...

, who went on to become a Senator in the Confederate Congress and Secretary of State of the Confederacy. Upon his graduation from West Point, Garnett was assigned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the 4th U.S. Artillery in July 1841. He spent a year on the Northern Frontier during the Canada Border Disturbances, serving in Buffalo and Fort Ontario in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

before being assigned garrison duty at Fort Monroe in his native Virginia. In 1843 Garnett became an assistant tactics instructor at West Point before becoming an army recruiter and then an Aide-de-camp to General

John E. Wool John Ellis Wool (February 20, 1784 – November 10, 1869) was an officer in the United States Army during three consecutive U.S. wars: the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War. By the time of the Mexican-American War ...

. Garnett served in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

under

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

and received two brevets for distinguished service, one at the

Battle of Monterrey In the Battle of Monterrey (September 21–24, 1846) during the Mexican–American War, General Pedro de Ampudia and the Mexican Army of the North was defeated by the Army of Occupation, a force of United States Regulars, Volunteers and ...

and the other for "Gallant and Meritorious Conduct" in the Battle of Buena Vista. In 1848, Garnett transferred to the

7th U.S. Infantry The 7th Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment in the United States Army. In its 200-year history it has participated in 12 wars, been awarded 78 campaign streamers, and 14 unit decorations. The regiment has served in more campaigns than any ...

and served in the Seminole Wars 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 ...

before heading to the Presidio of Monterey, California. In 1849, then Major Garnett designed what would become the

Great Seal of California The Great Seal of the State of California was adopted at the California U.S. state, state Constitutional Convention (California), Constitutional Convention of 1849 and has undergone minor design changes since then, the last being the standardiza ...

. After a brief stint on a review board in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, he served on the

frontier A frontier is the political and geographical area near or beyond a boundary. A frontier can also be referred to as a "front". The term came from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"—the region of a country that fronts o ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, being promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. He returned to West Point as Commandant of Cadets before being transferred to garrison duty in Virginia. Being named a captain in the 1st U.S. Cavalry, he once again served on the frontier. The much traveled Garnett was promoted to

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 9th U.S. Infantry and went west to the Washington Territory, where he served in the 1856 Yakima Expedition and the 1858 fighting against the

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

Indians. He designed and supervised the construction of Fort Simcoe. He requested and was granted an extended leave of absence later that year, when his wife and young son died from disease and he returned east to bury their remains. Still in mourning, he was traveling in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

when the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

were formed.

Civil War

When

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

seceded 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 lea ...

from the United States, Garnett resigned his commission in April 1861 and became Adjutant General of the Virginia troops, serving under

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...

. In June, he was assigned as brigadier general of the Provisional Army. At the start of the Civil War,

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 ...

forces had rapidly crossed the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

to seize a portion of northwestern

(now a part of

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

), winning a key victory at the

Battle of Philippi The Battle of Philippi was the final battle in the Wars of the Second Triumvirate between the forces of Mark Antony and Octavian (of the Second Triumvirate) and the leaders of Julius Caesar's assassination, Brutus and Cassius in 42 BC, at P ...

. On June 15, Lee assigned Garnett to reorganize the Confederate forces in the area. He deployed his forces at strategic points along the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike, hoping to defend the vital supply route against Federal troops. A series of small battles occurred, with the Confederates being forced to withdraw under pressure from

Maj. Gen. 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 ...

George B. McClellan's Union forces. After a defeat at Battle of Rich Mountain, Garnett withdrew from his Laurel Hill entrenchments under cover of darkness, hoping to escape to northern Virginia with his 4,500 men. However, he received what later proved to be false information that his escape route to Beverly was blocked by Union troops. He instead marched to the northeast, following ridges and valleys in a more circuitous route. Pursued for several days by as many as 20,000 Federals, Garnett paused at several stream crossings to slow his adversaries. While directing his rear guard in a delaying action at Corrick's Ford, Garnett was shot and killed during a Union volley. A friend in the Union Army recovered his body after Garnett's remaining men had fled. A participant in the battle related his coming upon the body of Gen. Garnett as he was dying and expressed the belief that he had been killed mistakenly by his own men.

In memoriam

In recognition of Garnett's service during the

, a Federal honor guard conveyed his body under a flag of truce to his relatives, who buried Garnett in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. He was later re-interred next to his wife in Green-Wood Cemetery in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, one of two Confederate generals buried there. His grave monument, which he had erected for his wife and child, does not have his name on it. One face mentions his wife, one face his son, and one face has the words "To My Wife and Child." The fourth face is blank. In

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, the General Robert S. Garnett Chapter 2570 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy was named in his memory and honor. In 1957, they established a monument to Garnett, who had designed California's State Seal during his brief service at the Presidio in Monterey in 1849. In 2017, after the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, the city of Monterey installed a new plaque omitting mention of Garnett's Confederate history; it was stolen in 2020. There is a Sons of Confederate Veterans camp in West Virginia named Robert Garnett Camp 1470 in his honor.Sons of Confederate Veterans camp list
/ref>

Notes

References

* 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. . * Fout, Frederick W
''The Dark Days of the Civil War, 1861 to 1865''
St. Louis: F.A. Wagenfuehr, 1904. . * Sifakis, Stewart. ''Who Was Who in the Civil War''. New York: Facts On File, 1988. .

from the Cullum biographies * Warner, Ezra J. ''Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders''. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. .

External links