Alexander Robert Lawton (November 4, 1818 – July 2, 1896) was a Confederate lawyer, politician, diplomat, and brigadier general in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Early life

Lawton was born in the Beaufort District of

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. He was the son of Alexander James Lawton and Martha Mosse. He graduated from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

in 1839, placing 13th out of 31 in his class. He served as a second lieutenant in the 1st U.S. Artillery until resigning his commission in 1840 to study law. He attended the

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

, graduating in 1842. He settled in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

, and entered the fields of law, railroad administration, and state politics.

Civil War

Lawton favored Georgia's

secession Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

and became

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

of the 1st Georgia Volunteers. He commanded the Savannah troops that seized Fort Pulaski, the first conflict of the war in Georgia. He was commissioned a brigadier general in the Confederate Army on April 13, 1861, and commanded the forces guarding Georgia's seacoast before being reassigned to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. He led his

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

effectively during

Stonewall Jackson Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general and military officer who served during the American Civil War. He played a prominent role in nearly all military engagements in the eastern the ...

's Shenandoah Valley Campaign, the

Seven Days Battles The Seven Days Battles were a series of seven battles over seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. Confederate States Army, Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army ...

, and the

Second Battle of Bull Run The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate ...

(Second Manassas). His last field service was at the

Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam ( ), also called the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the Southern United States, took place during the American Civil War on September 17, 1862, between Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virgi ...

(Sharpsburg), where he commanded the division of the wounded Maj. Gen. Richard S. Ewell. Lawton was seriously wounded early in the morning of September 17, 1862, while defending his portion of the

Army of Northern Virginia The Army of Northern Virginia was a field army of the Confederate States Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed agains ...

's line. Initially carried from the field to a temporary hospital, he spent months at home recuperating. In August 1863, Lawton became the Confederacy's second Quartermaster-General. Although he brought energy and resourcefulness to the position, he was unable to solve the problem of material shortages and poorly regulated railroads.

Postbellum career

In the years after the Civil War, Lawton became increasingly important as a political figure in Georgia, serving in various administrative posts. He lost the 1880 election for the U.S. Senate in an election which seemed to represent a victory of the "New South" over the "Old South." He was chosen President of the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...

in 1882. Five years later, he was appointed Minister to

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

and left that post in 1889. Lawton died in Clifton Springs, New York.

Notes

References

* Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . * Sifakis, Stewart. ''Who Was Who in the Civil War.'' New York: Facts On File, 1988. . * Warner, Ezra J. ''Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders.'' Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. . * ''Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography'', edited by James Grant Wilson and John Fiske. Six volumes, New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1887-1889.

External links