Theophilus Holmes

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Theophilus H. Holmes
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Theophilus Holmes
Army of the Potomac
District of Fredericksburg
Department of North Carolina
District of Aquia
Trans-Mississippi Department

District of Arkansas
North Carolina Reserve Forces
Battles/wars
RelationsGabriel Holmes (father)
Signature

Trans-Mississippi theaters of the American Civil War. He had previously served with distinction as an officer of the United States Army in the Seminole and Mexican–American wars. A friend and protégé of Confederate States President Jefferson Davis, he was appointed commander of the Trans-Mississippi Department
but failed in his key task, which was to defend the Confederacy's hold on the Mississippi.

Early life and education

Holmes was born in

U.S. Congressman.[2][3] After a failed attempt at plantation managing, Holmes asked his father for an appointment to the United States Military Academy, from which he graduated in 1829. He was ranked 44 out of 46 in his class.[4] Holmes was quite deaf and was rarely aware of loud gunfire.[1]

United States Army

I, who knew [Holmes] from his school-boy days, who served with him in garrison and in field, and with pride watched him as he gallantly led a storming party up a rocky height at Monterey, and was intimately acquainted with his whole career during our sectional war, bear willing testimony to the purity, self-abnegation, generosity, fidelity and gallantry, which characterized him as a man and a soldier.

After graduating, Holmes was commissioned a

captain.[3] During his early services, Holmes served in Florida, the Indian Territory, and Texas. Holmes also served in the Second Seminole War, with distinction.[2]

In 1841, he married Laura Whetmore, with whom he had eight children.

brevetted to major for the Battle of Monterrey in September 1846.[2] This promotion was due to Jefferson Davis witnessing his courageous actions there.[3] He received a full promotion to major of the 8th U.S. Infantry Regiment in 1855.[4]

Confederate States Army

Early service

Almost immediately after the firing on

major general on October 7, 1861. He subsequently commanded the Aquia District [6] before being assigned to the Department of North Carolina.[3]

Peninsula Campaign

During the

D. H. Hill, who was known for his sarcastic temperament, also widely spread the story of Holmes, saying, "I thought I heard firing" at Malvern Hill.[citation needed
]

Trans-Mississippi Department

Holmes was then reassigned to the command of the

Vicksburg Campaign, leading to a U.S. victory. Holmes, operating from Arkansas, protested that the troops in that state were nearly useless and there was no realistic possibility of using them to relieve Vicksburg. For the most part, the Confederate forces in this remote area were little more than a disorganized mob of militia scattered across all corners of the state. There were few weapons available and even fewer modern ones. For the most part, the soldiers had no shoes, no uniforms, no munitions, no training, organization, or discipline, a situation worsened by the fact that many communities in Arkansas had no government above the village level. People did not pay taxes or have any written laws and strongly resisted any attempt to impose an outside government or military discipline on them. Soldiers in the Arkansas militia did not understand the organization of a proper army or obey orders from above. Even worse, many were in poor physical condition and unable to handle the rigors of a lengthy military campaign. Holmes, for his part, believed that he could muster an army of about 15,000 men in Arkansas, but there would be almost no competent officers to lead it anyway. Further compounding his difficulties were multiple U.S. armies converging on the state from all sides. In this situation, Holmes wrote to Richmond that if, by some miracle, he could organize the Arkansas militia into an army and get them across the Mississippi River, they would desert as soon as they got to the east bank. As another serious difficulty, the remote Trans-Mississippi region had considerably lower support for the Confederate cause than the states of the east. Declaring secession from the United States in 1861 had largely been the decision of the state legislature of Arkansas and was not well received among much of the population. Attempts to enforce conscription into the Confederate army met with resistance. Many locals dodged the draft, became guerrillas, or even joined the U.S. army, resulting in harsh penalties imposed by state governments against draft dodgers.[7][page needed
]

After numerous complaints were sent to Davis, who had little understanding of events in a region almost 900 miles from Richmond, Holmes was relieved as head of the Trans-Mississippi Department in March 1863.[4]

District of Arkansas

After Holmes was relieved as head of the

Governor of Arkansas Harris Flanagin. Despite miscommunication, the Confederate army had some initial success, but after hours of fighting, a general retreat was called. The Confederates pulled back to Little Rock, Arkansas.[4] On July 23, Holmes became ill and temporarily relinquished command in Arkansas to Sterling Price.[1] Price evacuated Little Rock on September 10, and two weeks later Holmes resumed command. In a letter sent to Jefferson Davis on January 29, 1864, Kirby Smith reported that Holmes's age was catching up to him and that he was deficient in energy and suffering memory problems; thus, he needed to be replaced by a younger man. The soldiers he commanded in Arkansas had already taken to sarcastically calling him "Granny". Upon learning of this, an insulted Holmes resigned from his post on February 28.[citation needed
]

Later service and life

In April 1864, Holmes commanded the Reserve Forces of North Carolina. Holmes saw little action after being appointed to this new position. He held this position until the end of the war. Holmes, along with General Joseph E. Johnston, surrendered to William Tecumseh Sherman on April 26, 1865.[8] He returned to North Carolina, where he spent the rest of his life as a farmer. Holmes died on June 21, 1880 in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and is buried there in MacPherson Presbyterian Church Cemetery.[3]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Welsh, p. 104.
  2. ^ a b c d Hoig, p. 306.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h McCrady, pp. 608–609.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Williams, pp. 989–990.
  5. ^ a b Dougherty, pp. 22–23.
  6. ^ Johnston, p. 81.
  7. ^ Hilderman
  8. ^ Eicher pg. 875

Bibliography

Further reading

External links