Carter L. Stevenson
Carter Littlepage Stevenson | |
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Carolinas Campaign |
Carter Littlepage Stevenson, Jr. (September 21, 1817 – August 15, 1888) was a career military officer, serving in the
Early life and career
Stevenson was born to a prominent family in
Transferred to
In 1856–57, Stevenson again was in combat in Florida, this time in the
Civil War
Stevenson, as with many other officers from Virginia stationed in the West, returned home when the state
Upon arriving in Tennessee, Stevenson's division marched to the
In December, Braxton Bragg sent Stevenson with 10,000 men to reinforce John C. Pemberton's force at Vicksburg, Mississippi, which was threatened by a Union army under Ulysses S. Grant. The loss of Stevenson's men was sorely felt by Bragg in his upcoming battle at Stones River. Stevenson arrived in Vicksburg on December 29, 1862, and assumed command from Stephen D. Lee, defending the Walnut Hills area, north of the city.
In spring of 1863, Stevenson's division was a portion of the army that Pemberton moved east, after Grant had crossed the Mississippi River and was moving to surround Vicksburg. Stevenson's division bore the brunt of fighting at Pemberton's loss at the Battle of Champion Hill. There, the main Federal assault (nearly 25,000 troops) was against Stevenson's line, held by barely 6,500 men. After stubborn resistance, Stevenson finally withdrew when his lines began breaking. When Pemberton's force was defeated at the Battle of Big Black River Bridge, Stevenson (whose men had seen no significant action in the battle) commanded the retreating columns while General Pemberton hastened to Vicksburg to prepare the defenses of the city. During the Siege of Vicksburg, Stevenson commanded the right of the entire Confederate defensive line. When Pemberton surrendered the army on July 4, 1863, Stevenson briefly became a prisoner of war before receiving a parole.
On his return that fall, Stevenson reported to Bragg's
During the 1864
During the Tennessee Campaign, Stevenson commanded a division in
Postbellum activities
After the war, he was occupied as a civil and mining engineer until his death in Caroline County, Virginia. He was buried in the Confederate Cemetery in Fredericksburg.
In 1914, Maj. Gen. Carter L. Stevenson was commemorated with a marble bust at the Vicksburg National Military Park.
See also
References
- Eicher, John H., and ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1.
- OCLC 833588. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
- Sifakis, Stewart. Who Was Who in the Civil War. New York: Facts On File, 1988. ISBN 978-0-8160-1055-4.
- ISBN 978-0-8071-0823-9.
External links
- Biography
- Bust of General Stevenson at Vicksburg National Military Park
- Stevenson photo gallery at the Wayback Machine (archived February 8, 2008)
- Stevenson genealogy
- "Carter L. Stevenson". Find a Grave. Retrieved 2008-02-13.