Edmund Winchester Rucker (July 22, 1835 – April 13, 1924) was a

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

officer during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. After the war he became an industrial leader of

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

Fort Rucker Fort Rucker is a U.S. Army post located primarily in Dale County, Alabama, United States. It was named for a Civil War officer, Confederate General Edmund Rucker. The post is the primary flight training installation for U.S. Army Aviators and ...

, Alabama was named in his honor.

Early life

Edmund Rucker was born near Murfreesboro, Tennessee on July 22, 1835. He was the grandson of Gen. James Winchester, a veteran of the Revolutionary War and the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

.Eicher, p. 609Rucker Family Society After a basic education Rucker moved to Nashville in 1853, working as railroad surveyor before becoming an engineer. He was the city engineer of

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

during the late 1850s.Birmingham wiki

Civil War service

When the Civil War broke out Rucker enlisted in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

as a private in Pickett's Tennessee Company of

Sapper A sapper, also called a pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing ...

s and Miners. Sent to Kentucky, he was promoted to lieutenant. On May 10, 1861 he was transferred and promoted to captain of Company C, 1st Tennessee Heavy Artillery; his unit composed primarily of men from Illinois. His company worked three 8-inch

Columbiad The columbiad was a large-caliber, smoothbore, muzzle-loading cannon able to fire heavy projectiles at both high and low trajectories. This feature enabled the columbiad to fire solid shot or shell to long ranges, making it an excellent seacoas ...

s and three 32-pounders as part of the garrison during the

Battle of Island Number Ten The Battle of Island Number Ten was an engagement at the New Madrid or Kentucky Bend on the Mississippi River during the American Civil War, lasting from February 28 to April 8, 1862. Island Number Ten, a small island at the base of a tight dou ...

. When the island fell he escaped and was commended for his valor. Rucker was transferred to the cavalry with the rank of major and assigned to enforce conscription laws in East Tennessee. His unit became the 16th Tennessee Cavalry Battalion. In early 1863 Rucker was promoted to colonel and given command of the newly created 1st East Tennessee Legion, also known as Rucker's Legion. Its components were his battalion as well as 12th Tennessee Cavalry Battalion and a battery of artillery. With his legion he participated in Pegram's Kentucky Raid, the

Battle of Chickamauga The Battle of Chickamauga, fought on September 19–20, 1863, between U.S. and Confederate forces in the American Civil War, marked the end of a Union offensive, the Chickamauga Campaign, in southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia. I ...

and the Chattanooga Campaign. In February 1864 Rucker was assigned to Forrest's Cavalry Corps in Mississippi and given a brigade under General

Abraham Buford Abraham Buford (July 21, 1747 – June 30, 1833) was an American soldier. He was a Continental Army officer during the American Revolutionary War, best known as the commanding officer of the American forces at the Battle of Waxhaws. After the ...

, consisting of the 8th and 18th Mississippi and 7th Tennessee Cavalry Regiments. With those he fought in the battles of Brice's Crossroads and

Tupelo Tupelo , genus ''Nyssa'' , is a small genus of deciduous trees with alternate, simple leaves. It is sometimes included in the subfamily Nyssoideae of the dogwood family, Cornaceae, but is placed by other authorities in the family Nyssaceae. In ...

, where he was wounded in the arm and leg. In November Rucker was appointed acting brigadier general, but his commission was never confirmed by the

Confederate Congress The Confederate States Congress was both the provisional and permanent legislative assembly of the Confederate States of America that existed from 1861 to 1865. Its actions were for the most part concerned with measures to establish a new na ...

. By then his brigade, now in the division of General James R. Chalmers, had seen massive change. It was made up with the 3rd, 7th, 12th, 14th and 15th Tennessee Cavalry Regiments, as well as the 5th Mississippi Cavalry and the 7th Alabama Cavalry. He participated in the battles of Franklin and Nashville and was wounded and captured in the latter. Rucker had his left arm amputated and was imprisoned at

Johnson's Island Johnson's Island is a island in Sandusky Bay, located on the coast of Lake Erie, from the city of Sandusky, Ohio. It was the site of a prisoner-of-war camp for Confederate officers captured during the American Civil War. Initially, Johnso ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. General Nathan Bedford Forrest organized a prisoner exchange for him and Rucker was with the army again when it surrendered at

Gainesville, Alabama Gainesville is a town in Sumter County, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1832, it was incorporated in 1835. At the 2010 census the population was 208, down from 220. Confederate Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest surrendered his men nea ...

on May 9, 1865.

Later life

After the war he returned to Memphis and the railroad business, working with Nathan Bedford Forrest. In 1869 he moved to Alabama as superintendent of a railroad. Rucker relocated to

in the early 1880s, building his home in the neighborhood now called Five Points.Rucker Place He worked with former General

Joseph E. Johnston Joseph Eggleston Johnston (February 3, 1807 – March 21, 1891) was an American career army officer, serving with distinction in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and the Seminole Wars. After Virginia secede ...

and became an industrial magnate, dealing with coal, steel, sales and land as well as being in the banking business. The Episcopalian Rucker was married twice, first to Mary Adele Woodfin (1855–1883) in 1873, and after her death to Mary T. Bentley (1860–1941) in 1886. He had a son and three daughters with his first wife. He died on April 24, 1924 and was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery.

, Alabama, is named in his honor. The

United Daughters of the Confederacy The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) is an American neo-Confederate hereditary association for female descendants of Confederate Civil War soldiers engaging in the commemoration of these ancestors, the funding of monuments to them, ...

named a chapter after him, the ''Gen. Edmond Winchester Rucker Chapter 2534''.

Notes

References

*
Rucker's Battery Marker
at Latitude 34 North

at CRW Flags
Rucker Place historyThe Rucker Family Society

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rucker, Edmund 1835 births 1924 deaths American Civil War prisoners of war American amputees Confederate States Army officers People of Tennessee in the American Civil War Military personnel from Birmingham, Alabama