Tag: generals wives

Wife of Confederate General James Lawson Kemper General James Kemper was wounded then captured by Union forces during Pickett’s Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg. His wife Belle was informed that she could not see her captured and badly wounded husband because Confederate authorities had refused the same courtesies to a Union family. Kemper was released after three months’ imprisonment, but never fully recovered from his wounds. Image: General James Kemper Cremora Cave was born in 1834, the daughter of Cremora and Belfield Cave. James Lawson Kemper was born on June 11, 1823, to William and Maria Allison Kemper in Madison County, Virginia. He was the sixth of eight children, and his childhood was spent at the two-story family home…

Wife of Union General John C. Fremont Jessie Benton Fremont wrote many stories that were printed in popular magazines of the time as well as several books of historical value. Her writings, which helped support her family during times of financial difficulty, were mostly about the American West. She was outspoken on political issues and a determined opponent of slavery. The daughter of Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton and his wife, Elizabeth, Jessie Benton was born in Lexington, Virginia, but was raised in Washington, DC. Her father educated her as if she were his son, and taught her about American society and politics, introducing her to the leading politicians of the day. Jessie was very close to her father, who…

Wife of Confederate General John Gregg Mary Francis Garth was raised in the lap of luxury in Decatur, Alabama. Her father, Jessie Winston Garth, was an Alabama senator and one of the wealthiest plantation owners in the state. He was also a Unionist, who strongly opposed secession, and was willing to give up his hundreds of slaves if it meant saving the Union. Image: Confederate General John Gregg John Gregg was born in 1828 in Lawrence County, Alabama. He was a well-educated man, and spent most of his formative years either attending or teaching school. In 1847, he graduated from La Grange College and studied law in Tuscumbia, Alabama. In 1852, at the age of twenty-four, he moved to Fairfield,…

Wife of Union General George Armstrong Custer Libby Bacon met George Armstrong Custer at a Thanksgiving social in 1862, while he was visiting Monroe, Michigan on leave during the Civil War. She fell deeply in love with him, but her father refused to allow them to get married. Custer was from a poor undistinguished family and the Judge hoped Libby would have a better life than that of an army wife. Elizabeth “Libby” Clift Bacon was born at Monroe, Michigan, April 8, 1842 – the only surviving child of Judge Daniel and Eleanor Sophia Bacon. At twenty, Libby graduated as valedictorian from the Young Ladies’ Seminary and Collegiate Institute in Monroe. At 5′ 4″ tall with chestnut brown hair and…

Wife of Confederate General Ambrose Powell Hill One of the greatest love stories of the Civil War was that of Confederate General A.P. Hill and his wife Kitty. They met during the social season in Washington, DC a few years before the war and fell instantly in love. Their marriage was one of commitment and devotion from beginning to end. During the war, Kitty remained as close to Hill as possible, which caused him great anxiety for her safety. The Parting by John Paul Strain Not even the biting cold of a Virginia winter could cool the affection shared by General A.P. Hill and his wife Kitty Morgan Hill. Kitty Morgan was born in Lexington, Kentucky in 1834, one of…

Wife of Confederate General Daniel Harvey Hill Isabella Morrison was the daughter of a Presbyterian minister, Reverend Doctor Robert Hall Morrison, who was the first president of Davidson College near Charlotte, North Carolina. She was also the granddaughter of General Joseph Graham, who had seen extensive service in the Revolutionary War, including the Battle of Charlotte, and the Battle of Cowan’s Ford on the Catawba River. Image: General Daniel Harvey Hill An intelligent woman, Isabella had met Daniel Harvey Hill while he was visiting one of his married sisters, who lived near Cottage Home, the residence of the Morrisons in Lincoln County, North Carolina. Born in York District, South Carolina, “Harvey” had graduated from West Point in 1842, and subsequently…

Wife of Rear Admiral Samuel Phillips Lee Elizabeth Blair Lee (1818-1906) wrote hundreds of letters to her husband, Rear Admiral Samuel Philips Lee, who commanded the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron during the Civil War. Admiral Lee was away for long periods as commander of the USS Philadelphia, and in her letters to him Elizabeth described wartime life from her homes at Washington, DC and Silver Spring, Maryland. Elizabeth Blair was born on June 20, 1818, in Frankfort, Kentucky, and was the only daughter of Francis Preston Blair and Eliza Violet Gist Blair. She was the younger sister of Montgomery Blair and Francis Preston Blair, Jr. Her father was a journalist from Frankfort, Kentucky, and his editorials in support of the…

Wife of Confederate General George Pickett Image: A publicity photo taken during her early years as an author and narrator LaSalle Corbell Pickett was a prolific author and lecturer, and the third wife of George Pickett, the Confederate general best known for his participation in the doomed assault known as Pickett’s Charge during the Battle of Gettysburg. She gave her birth year as 1848 in order to perpetuate the myth that she was the Child Bride of the Confederacy, and was only 15 years old when she married General Pickett. Early Years According to the Corbell family Bible: “Sallie Ann Corbell, daughter of John David [Corbell] and Elizabeth, his wife, was born the 16th of May, 1843.” Above the entry…

Wife of Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart Flora Cooke was born in Missouri on January 3, 1836, the daughter of Virginia career Army officer Philip St. George Cooke. Educated at a private boarding school in Detroit, Flora met the dashing James Ewell Brown (JEB) Stuart while her father was commanding the 2nd U.S. Dragoons at Fort Leavenworth. His friends called him “Jeb.” Stuart had recently graduated from West Point and was stationed on the Kansas frontier. As befitted the daughter of a colonel of cavalry, Flora was a skilled horsewoman, and she soon began going on long evening rides with Stuart. The young officer was as taken with Flora as she was with him, and it did not take him long…