Confederate Army general (1790?1862)
David E. Twiggs
|
---|
|
Nickname(s)
| "Bengal Tiger"
[1]
|
---|
Born
| February 14, 1790
(
1790-02-14
)
Richmond County, Georgia
, USA
|
---|
Died
| July 15, 1862
(
1862-07-16
)
(aged 72)
Augusta, Georgia
, CSA
|
---|
Place of burial
| Twiggs Cemetery, Augusta, Georgia
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Allegiance
|
United States of America
Confederate States of America
|
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Service/
branch
|
United States Army
Confederate States Army
|
---|
Years of service
| 1812?1861 (USA)
1861 (CSA)
|
---|
Rank
| Brevet
Major General, USA
Major General, CSA
|
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Commands held
| Department of the West
|
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Battles/wars
| War of 1812
Black Hawk War
Second Seminole War
Mexican?American War
American Civil War
|
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Relations
| Levi Twiggs
(brother)
Abraham C. Myers
(son-in-law)
John Twiggs Myers
(grandson)
Sarah Lowe Twiggs
(great-niece)
|
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David Emanuel Twiggs
(February 14, 1790 ? July 15, 1862) was an American career army officer, who served during the
War of 1812
, the
Black Hawk War
, and
Mexican?American War
.
As commander of the U.S. Army's
Department of Texas
when the American Civil War broke out, he surrendered his entire command to Confederate commissioners, with facilities, armaments, and other supplies valued at $1.6 million. Dismissed from the U.S. Army as a traitor, he was commissioned as a general of the
Confederate States Army
in 1861. But, recognizing he was in poor health, he quickly resigned from his commission that year. He was the oldest
Confederate
general
to serve in the Civil War.
Early life
[
edit
]
Twiggs was born in 1790 on the "Good Hope" plantation in
Richmond County, Georgia
, son of
John Twiggs
and his wife, Ruth Emanuel.
[2]
A general in the Georgia militia during the American Revolutionary War, the senior Twiggs was the namesake for
Twiggs County, Georgia
.
[3]
He was the nephew, through his mother, of
David Emanuel
, Governor of Georgia.
[4]
Early military career
[
edit
]
Twiggs volunteered for service as a captain during the
War of 1812
and made a career in the military.
[5]
In 1816, Twiggs was ordered by Major General
Edmund P. Gaines
to set out from
Fort Montgomery
and establish a new fort on the border of the
Alabama Territory
and
Spanish West Florida
. This new fort was known as
Fort Crawford
. After serving at Fort Crawford, Twiggs became commandant of
Fort Scott
.
[6]
In 1828, he was sent to Wisconsin to establish a fort at the portage between the Fox and Wisconsin rivers. With three companies of the First Infantry, his forces built
Fort Winnebago
around what has come to be known as
Fort Winnebago Surgeon's Quarters
at
Portage, Wisconsin
.
[7]
This was a base of operation during the
Black Hawk War
.
[
citation needed
]
Twiggs was commissioned as
Colonel
of the
2nd U.S. Dragoons
in 1836 and served in the
Seminole Wars
in Florida, where he earned the nickname "Bengal Tiger" for his fierce temper.
[
citation needed
]
He also decided to act offensively against the Seminole rather than wait for them to strike first. Some of the Seminole moved deep into the Everglades, evading U.S. forces. They never surrendered, and the U.S. government finally gave up on hopes of removing them to Indian Territory.
[
citation needed
]
Mexican?American War
[
edit
]
During the
Mexican?American War
(1846?1848), Twiggs led a brigade in the
Army of Occupation
at the battles of
Palo Alto
and
Resaca de la Palma
. He was promoted to
brigadier general
in 1846 and commanded a division at the
Battle of Monterrey
.
[2]
He joined
Winfield Scott
's expedition, commanding its 2nd Division of Regulars. He led the division in all the battles from
Veracruz
through
Mexico City
. He was wounded during the assault on
Chapultepec
.
[2]
After the fall of
Mexico City
, he was appointed military governor of
Veracruz
. Brigadier General Twiggs was awarded a ceremonial sword by the
Congress
on March 2, 1849. He was an original member of the
Aztec Club of 1847
, a military society of officers who had served in the Mexican War.
[8]
Commander of the Department of Texas
[
edit
]
After the
Mexican?American War
, Twiggs was appointed
brevet
major general
and commanded the U.S. Army's
Department of Texas
. He was in this command when the
American Civil War
broke out.
[2]
He was one of four general officers of the line in the U.S. Army in 1861, along with
Winfield Scott
,
John Wool
, and
William Harney
. As there was then no mandatory retirement, all four men were over the age of 60, with three having served in the
War of 1812
half a century earlier.
[8]
Twiggs's command included about 20% of the U.S. Army guarding the Mexican border. As states began to declare
secession
, he met with a trio of
Confederate
commissioners, including
Philip N. Luckett
and
Samuel A. Maverick
. Twiggs surrendered his entire command ? all the federal installations, property, and soldiers in Texas ? to the Confederacy. This included 20 military installations (including the U.S. Arsenal at the Alamo), 44 cannons, 400 pistols, 1,900 muskets, 500 wagons, and 950 horses, valued at $1.6 million.
[2]
He insisted that all U.S. soldiers be allowed to retain personal arms and sidearms, all artillery (?), and flags and standards. Shortly after the declared secession of South Carolina in December 1860, Twiggs wrote a letter to Scott that proclaimed that Georgia was his home and that Twiggs would follow the state if it declared secession from the United States.
[
citation needed
]
Confederate service
[
edit
]
Twiggs was dismissed from the
U.S. Army
on March 1, 1861, for "treachery to the flag of his country."
[9]
He accepted a commission as a
major general
from the
Confederate States Army
on May 22, 1861. He was assigned to command the
Confederate Department of Louisiana
(comprising that state along with the southern half of Mississippi and Alabama), but he was past the age of 70 and in poor health. He resigned from his commission before he could assume any active duty.
Mansfield Lovell
succeeded him in the command of
New Orleans
.
[10]
Twiggs retired on October 11, 1861.
Death and burial
[
edit
]
Twiggs died of
pneumonia
in
Augusta, Georgia
, on July 15, 1862. He is buried in Twiggs Cemetery, also known as the Family Burying Ground, on Good Hope Plantation
[11]
in
Richmond County
, Georgia.
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Eicher, John H., and
David J. Eicher
,
Civil War High Commands.
Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001.
ISBN
0-8047-3641-3
. p. 538.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Cutrer, Thomas W.; Smith, David Paul.
"TSHA | Twiggs, David Emanuel"
.
www.tshaonline.org
. Austin, TX: Texas State Historical Association
. Retrieved
May 5,
2021
.
- ^
Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975).
Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins
(PDF)
. Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 234.
ISBN
0-915430-00-2
.
- ^
"John Twiggs (1750-1816)"
.
New Georgia Encyclopedia
. Retrieved
May 6,
2021
.
- ^
Appletons' Annual Cyclopaedia and Register of Important Events of the Year: 1862
. New York: D. Appleton & Company. 1863. p. 775.
- ^
Waters, Annie.
"A Documentary History of Fort Crawford"
.
City of East Brewton
. Retrieved
August 9,
2020
.
- ^
"Archived copy"
(PDF)
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on October 17, 2014
. Retrieved
October 13,
2014
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
link
)
- ^
a
b
"DAVID EMANUEL TWIGGS - Original Member of the Aztec Club of 1847"
.
www.aztecclub.com
. Retrieved
May 5,
2021
.
- ^
"New York Times, March 4, 1861'
- ^
John D. Winters
,
The Civil War in Louisiana
,
Baton Rouge
:
Louisiana State University Press
, 1963,
ISBN
0-8071-0834-0
, p. 64
- ^
"Family Burying Ground on Good Hope Plantation"
. hmdb.org
. Retrieved
December 27,
2015
.
The site of Good Hope Plantation, home of the Twiggs family, was developed as Bush Field, the Augusta municipal airport. It is located less than a half mile northeast of the cemetery.
References
[
edit
]
- Eicher, John H., and
David J. Eicher
,
Civil War High Commands
. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001.
ISBN
978-0-8047-3641-1
.
- New York Times
, March 4, 1861
- Silkenat, David.
Raising the White Flag: How Surrender Defined the American Civil War
. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2019.
ISBN
978-1-4696-4972-6
.
- Sifakis, Stewart.
Who Was Who in the Civil War
. New York: Facts On File, 1988.
ISBN
978-0-8160-1055-4
.
- Warner, Ezra J.
Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders
. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959.
ISBN
978-0-8071-0823-9
.
- Winters, John D.
The Civil War in Louisiana
. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1963.
ISBN
978-0-8071-0834-5
.
External links
[
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]
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International
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National
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Other
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