Civil War Confederate Brigadier General. He was born in Jefferson County, Tennessee, and moved to Louisiana in the 1840s. He bought a plantation across the Mississippi River from Vicksburg, Mississippi, and prospered. When the war began, he enlisted with the 9th Louisiana with the rank of Private. The regiment soon transferred to Virginia, arriving at Manassas Junction during the final moments of the Confederate victory at First Bull Run on July 21, 1861. In the fall the 9th joined the 6th and 7th Louisiana and the battalion of "Louisiana Tigers" to form the Louisiana Brigade of Brigadier General Richard Taylor, who was the 9th's first Colonel. He and the brigade participated in Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's 1862 Shenandoah Valley Campaign and the Seven Days' Campaign. In July the 9th transferred to another brigade, fighting at Second Bull Run, Antietam, and Fredericksburg that year and at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg in 1863. Standing nearly 6 foot 6 inches tall, with a large frame, he went through these battles unscathed while rising in rank. He also was the tallest Confederate officer in the ranks. On October 8, 1863, he was appointed Colonel of the regiment. Under his leadership the 9th fought at the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor in May to June 1864. As a Colonel he often assumed temporary command of the brigade. His performance as a brigade commander during the Battle of Monocacy, Maryland, on July 9, drew particular praise from his division commander, Major General John B. Gordon, one of the army's most redoubtable fighters. He received his appointment to Brigadier General on February 18, 1865. Not present with the 9th at Appomattox on April 9, he was paroled at Vicksburg on June 6. He returned to his plantation, which he called "The Mountain," after the war, dying there 6 years later.