Category Archives: Gen. Benjamin G. Humphreys

Mississippi Governor Benjamin Grubb Humphreys

Posted on July 19, 2015 by Dick Stanley

This is the official painting from the online site of the Mississippi State Archives, from Humphreys’ brief tenure as Mississippi’s twenty-sixth governor immediately after the war, which has a curious history. He was a wealthy Delta planter and slave owner who … Continue reading →

Posted in Barksdale's Mississippi Brigade, Battles: Berryville, Gen. Benjamin G. Humphreys, Humpreys Mississippi Brigade, Slavery | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Guns of 1864

Posted on May 21, 2014 by Dick Stanley

It’s worth remembering, in this sesquicentennial year of the war, that in 1864, as the May issue of the American Rifleman magazine puts it “more and more repeating rifles—[seven-shot] Spencers and ‘sixteen shooter’ Henrys—made their way into Union units. “The South was … Continue reading →

Posted in Battles: Berryville, Battles: First Deep Bottom, Gen. Benjamin G. Humphreys | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Journey: Return to Virginia

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Dick Stanley

Longstreet’s reduced corps (including Humphreys’ Mississippi Brigade) left its winter quarters in the vicinity of Russellville, Tennessee, “in the last of March [1864],” according to independent historian H. Grady Howell Jr. They moved northeast to Bristol, on the Tennessee-Virginia state … Continue reading →

Posted in Gen. Benjamin G. Humphreys, Gen. James Longstreet, Humpreys Mississippi Brigade | Tagged , | Leave a comment

General McLaws’ court martial

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Dick Stanley

Although convened in February, 1864, McLaws’ court martial for dereliction of duty in the assault on Fort Sanders at Knoxville, was on-again, off-again, for the next several weeks. Finally, on March 11, the trial commenced at a private home in … Continue reading →

Posted in Battles: Fort Sanders, Gen. Benjamin G. Humphreys, Gen. James Longstreet, Gen. Lafayette McLaws, Humpreys Mississippi Brigade, Siege of Knoxville | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Just 208 men left in the 13th Regiment

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Dick Stanley

Captain Hugh D. Cameron, originally of the Alamutcha Infantry, was temporarily commanding the regiment on March 8, 1864. Cameron was a 17-year-old unmarried student when he enlisted in March, 1861. Cameron was substituting for Major George LaValle Donald, who had … Continue reading →

Posted in Gen. Benjamin G. Humphreys, Humpreys Mississippi Brigade, Jess N. McLean, The Alamutcha Infantry | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The Battle of Fort Sanders

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Dick Stanley

By Nov. 28, 1863, the siege of Knoxville was entering its second week. Longstreet, who had been dithering on the question of where best to attack the Union defenses, had finally settled on one—the red-dirt Fort Sanders (above, looking west) … Continue reading →

Posted in Battles: Fort Sanders, Confederate Veteran Magazine, Gen. Benjamin G. Humphreys, Gen. James Longstreet, Gen. Lafayette McLaws, Humpreys Mississippi Brigade, Jess N. McLean, Nimrod Newton Nash, Siege of Knoxville, The Battle Flags, The Lauderdale Zouaves, The Minute Men of Attala, The Spartan Band, William H. Hill Diary | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Furloughs commence

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Dick Stanley

General Lee had authorized one man in every fifty to have a thirty-day furlough and they “started home today,” Spartan Band diarist William H. Hill recorded on Sept. 2, 1863. It was a clear and warm Wednesday and Hill concluded … Continue reading →

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Humphreys takes command

Posted on November 5, 2011 by Dick Stanley

On August 18, 1863, it was announced at brigade drill that Colonel Benjamin Grubb Humphreys, commander of the 21st Regiment, had been promoted to brigadier general and taken command of the brigade. Humphreys, 55, a Mississippi Delta planter and slave … Continue reading →

Posted in Barksdale's Mississippi Brigade, Gen. Benjamin G. Humphreys, Humpreys Mississippi Brigade | Tagged , , | Leave a comment