St. John Richardson Liddell

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St. John R. Liddell
Born	September 6, 1815 Wilkinson County, Mississippi
Died	February 14, 1870 (1870-02-15) (aged 54) New Orleans, Louisiana
Place of burial	Llanada Plantation Cemetery, Jonesville, Louisiana
Allegiance	Confederate States of America
Service/branch	Confederate States Army
Years of service	1861–1865
Rank	Brigadier General
Commands held	Arkansas Brigade Liddell's Division Sub-District of North Louisiana
Battles/wars	American Civil War

St. John Richardson Liddell (September 6, 1815 – February 14, 1870) was a prominent Louisiana planter who served as a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He was an outspoken proponent of Southern emancipation of slaves. Following the war, Liddell had a prominent feud with a former Confederate officer, Charles Jones, who eventually murdered Liddell near his home in 1870.

Early life

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Liddell was born to a wealthy

Liddell held a reputation for being outspoken, and was well connected. In December 1864, he wrote a letter to Edward Sparrow, a Confederate Senator from Louisiana and chairman of the military Committee, expressing his conviction that the war was going against the Confederacy. He expressed the need for full emancipation of the slaves in order to secure foreign assistance. Although he admitted it may have been too late to act, he felt that emancipation may have also been a solution to the South's growing manpower crisis. Senator Sparrow showed the letter to General Robert E. Lee, who agreed with Liddell on all points, stating that "he could make soldiers out of any human being that had arms and legs."

Postbellum career

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In 1866, Liddell wrote his memoirs, in which he was highly critical of the Confederate leadership and his fellow officers, including Davis and Bragg. The memoirs themselves are actually a collection of several separate manuscripts, letters, and battlefield records, which he was unable to combine before he was murdered.

In them, his criticisms arise mainly from the failure of Bragg's subordinates, including Cleburne,

Liddell refused promotion, and endeavored to help any officer he was assigned to, regardless of whether they were liked or not. He was opinionated and outspoken, yet his opinion was valued and he held the ear of the echelons of Confederate command, including Davis, A.S. Johnston, Bragg, and Hardee. He spent his vast personal fortune on equipping his own brigade, even though it was from a different state. The brigade itself was the only unit in the Army of Tennessee never to court-martial an enlisted soldier.

Liddell was murdered in 1870 by Col. Charles Jones in the culmination of a twenty-year real estate dispute. He was buried on his sprawling plantation in Louisiana. Jones was later murdered by supporters of Liddell in revenge for his death.

The St. John Richardson Liddell Chapter #271 of the

• List of American Civil War generals (Confederate)
• Moses J. Liddell was the oldest son of St. John Richardson Liddell and was appointed as a territorial justice of territory of the Montana Supreme Court.

Notes

References

• Andrews, C. C. History of the Campaign of Mobile. New York, 1867.
• Anonymous. "The Jones-Liddell Feud." Unpublished Manuscript. Catahoula Parish Court House, Harrisonburg, La.
• Booth, Andrew B. Records of Louisiana Confederate Soldiers and Louisiana Confederate Commands. 3 colvs. New Orleans, 1920.
• Busbice, Roger L. "Catahoula Parish Rebel, Gen. St. John R. Liddell," North Louisiana History 15 (Winter 1984), pp. 49–52
• Connelly, Thomas L. Autumn of Glory: The Army of Tennessee 1862–1865. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1971.
  ISBN 978-0-8071-2738-4
  .
• Eicher, John H., and
  ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1
  .
• Hughes Jr., Nathaniel C., and Liddell, St. John R., Liddell's Record, Louisiana State University Press, 1997,
  ISBN 978-0-8071-2218-1
  .
• ISBN 978-0-87338-486-5
  . First published Baltimore; The Johns Hopkins Press, 1958.
• Kane, Harnett T. The Bayous of Louisiana. New York, 1943.
• Lanza, Michael L. "The Jones-Liddell Feud." Red River Valley Historical Review II (Winter, 1975), 467ff.
• Maury, Dabney H. Recollections of a Virginian. New York, 1894.
• Richardson, Frank L. "The War as I Saw It, 1861-1865". Louisiana Historical Quarterly, VI (January, April, 1923), 86–106, 223ff.
• ISBN 978-0-8131-9000-6
  .
• Sifakis, Stewart. Who Was Who in the Civil War. New York: Facts On File, 1988.
  ISBN 978-0-8160-1055-4
  .
• United States War Department. The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1880–1901.
  OCLC 427057
  .
• ISBN 978-0-8071-0823-9
  .
• ISBN 978-0-8071-0834-5
  .

• Obituary of General St. John Richardson Liddell