Elkanah Brackin (or Bracken) Greer (October 11, 1825 – March 25, 1877) was an

antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern US ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum architectu ...

cotton planter, merchant, and then a 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 ...

who served in the Western Theater of 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 ...

Biography

Greer was born in

Paris, Tennessee Paris is a city in and the county seat of Henry County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 10,316. A replica of the Eiffel Tower stands in the southern part of Paris. History The present site of Par ...

. He moved to

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

as a young man and took part in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

as a member of the 1st Mississippi Rifles, whose

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 ...

was future

Confederate President The president of the Confederate States was the head of state and head of government of the unrecognized breakaway Confederate States. The president was the chief executive of the federal government and commander-in-chief of the Confederate Ar ...

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States of America, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the Unite ...

. He participated in the battles of

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

and Buena Vista. In 1848, Greer moved to

Marshall, Texas Marshall is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Harrison County, Texas, Harrison County and a cultural and educational center of the Ark-La-Tex region. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the population of ...

, where he established himself as a planter and merchant, and for a time was a partner in a law firm. Three years later, he returned to Tennessee to marry a local girl named Anna Holcombe (whose famous sister Lucy Petway Holcombe married

Francis Wilkinson Pickens Francis Wilkinson Pickens (1805/1807January 25, 1869) was a politician who served as governor of South Carolina when that state became the first to secede from the United States. A cousin of Senator John C. Calhoun, he was born into the Souther ...

, and became known during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

as the "Queen of the Confederacy"). Elkanah and Anna had five children. He became the grand commander of the secretive

Knights of the Golden Circle The Knights of the Golden Circle (KGC) was a secret society founded in 1854 by American George W. L. Bickley, the objective of which was to create a new country known as the Golden Circle (), where slavery would be legal. The country would have ...

organization in 1859.Evans
Greer bio
/ref> With the

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 ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, Greer enlisted in the army and was commissioned as the first

of the newly formed the South Kansas-Texas Cavalry (later known as the 3rd Texas Cavalry) in July 1861. After training and equipping his men, he led the

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

into combat at the battles of Wilson's Creek and

Elkhorn Tavern Elkhorn Tavern is a two-story, wood-frame structure that served as a physical center for the American Civil War Battle of Pea Ridge, also known as the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern, which was fought on March 7 and March 8, 1862, approximately five mil ...

in Arkansas. During the latter engagement, Greer was slightly wounded in the arm. In October 1862, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general and appointed as chief of the conscription bureau for the

Trans-Mississippi Trans-Mississippi was a common name of the geographic area west of the Mississippi River during the 19th century. The term "Trans-Mississippi" was historically used to refer to any land "across the Mississippi" (or the entire western two-thirds ...

region. Among his many responsibilities was trying to reconcile the laws of the central Confederate government with those of the State of Texas. In 1864, faced with a growing manpower shortage, the Confederacy formed a Reserve Corps department, and Greer commanded it for a time. After the war, Greer resumed his civilian career as a planter and merchant. He died during a visit with his sister in

DeValls Bluff, Arkansas DeVall's Bluff, officially the City of DeVall's Bluff, is a city in and the county seat of the southern district of Prairie County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 619 at the 2010 census. History Prairie County has always been im ...

, on March 25, 1877.

Notes

References

* Eicher, John H., and

David J. Eicher David John Eicher (born August 7, 1961) is an American editor, writer, and popularizer of astronomy and space. He has been editor-in-chief of ''Astronomy'' magazine since 2002. He is author, coauthor, or editor of 23 books on science and American ...

, ''Civil War High Commands''. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . * Evans
Greer bio

McGehee, Larry T. "Iron Fist in a Velvet Glove," August 5, 2002, ''Southern Seen''

Wofford College Wofford College is a private liberal arts college in Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1854, it is one of the few four-year institutions in the southeastern United States founded before the American Civil War that still ope ...

web site * 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. .

External links

*
"Greer, Elkanah Bracken," Handbook of Texas Online

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Greer, Elkanah 1825 births 1877 deaths People from Paris, Tennessee Confederate States Army brigadier generals People of Tennessee in the American Civil War People of Texas in the American Civil War American military personnel of the Mexican–American War Texas lawyers 19th-century American planters 19th-century American lawyers Knights of the Golden Circle members American cotton plantation owners

Biography

See also

Notes

References

External links