Francis Huger (1837–1897), a son of Gen Benjamin Huger, served as a Confederate artilleryman in 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 ...

Pre-war

Francis (Frank) Kinloch Huger, a son of Benjamin Huger and Elizabeth Celestine Pinckney, was born in

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

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 ...

in 1837. Like his father, Huger attended 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 ...

at West Point. He graduated from west Point in 1860 and was assigned to the 10th U.S. Infantry as a second lieutenant. Huger resigned his commission on May 21, 1861 to join the Confederate cause.

Civil War service

Frank Huger entered the Confederate service, as did his father. Commissioned a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, Huger led the Norfolk Light Artillery. The battery was attached to the brigade of Brig. Gen.

Ambrose R. Wright Ambrose Ransom "Rans" Wright (April 26, 1826 – December 21, 1872) was an American lawyer, politician, and Confederate general in the American Civil War. Early life Wright, known by the nickname "Rans", was born in Louisville, Georgia. He re ...

in the elder Huger’s division in 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 ...

. At 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 ...

and the

Battle of Fredericksburg The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. The combat between the Union Army, Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Major general ( ...

his battery was attached to the division of Maj. Gen. Richard H. Anderson. He was absent from 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 ...

, when it was led by Lt. C. R. Phelps. Huger’s guns were involved, together with the brigade of Brig. Gen. Cadmus Wilcox, in the

Battle of Salem Church The Battle of Salem Church, and the Battle of Banks' Ford took place on May 3 and 4 respectively, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, as part of the Battle of Chancellorsville, Chancellorsville Campaign of the American Civil War. Backgroun ...

Huger was promoted to Major (United States), major on March 2, 1863. At first, he was second in command of a battalion of artillery led by Col.

Edward Porter Alexander Edward Porter Alexander (May 26, 1835 – April 28, 1910) was an American military engineer, railroad executive, planter, and author. He served first as an officer in the United States Army and later, during the American Civil War (1861–1865) ...

. Alexander welcomed Huger, describing him later as "my glorious & beloved Frank Huger, who never shirked a care or danger or grumbled over a hardship in his life..." In that capacity, Huger served in the

Battle of Chancellorsville The Battle of Chancellorsville, April 30 – May 6, 1863, was a major battle of the American Civil War (1861–1865), and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville campaign. Confederate General Robert E. Lee's risky decision to divide h ...

, including bombarding federal lines from high ground at Hazel Grove on May 3, 1863. Huger was sent on May 4 to support the division of Maj. Gen. Richard H. Anderson in the

. His guns were among those that fired the last shots of the battle the next day, as the Union

VI Corps 6 Corps, 6th Corps, Sixth Corps, or VI Corps may refer to: France * VI Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry formation of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VI Corps (Grande Armée), a formation of the Imperial French army dur ...

retreated across the

Rappahannock River The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately in length.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 It traverses the enti ...

. At the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...

, Huger was involved in supporting the attack of Lt. Gen.

James Longstreet James Longstreet (January 8, 1821January 2, 1904) was a General officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War and was the principal subordinate to General Robert E. Lee, who called him his "Old War Ho ...

's corps on the federal left on July 2. During July 3 Huger took immediate command of the guns as Alexander was assigned responsibility for the bombardment preceding

Pickett's Charge Pickett's Charge was an infantry assault on July 3, 1863, during the Battle of Gettysburg. It was ordered by Confederate General Robert E. Lee as part of his plan to break through Union lines and achieve a decisive victory in the North. T ...

. Huger went West with

Longstreet's Corps The First Corps, Army of Northern Virginia (or Longstreet's Corps) was a military unit fighting for the Confederate States of America in the American Civil War. It was formed in early 1861 and served until the spring of 1865, mostly in the Easter ...

, but he arrived too late for the

Battle of Chickamauga The Battle of Chickamauga, fought on September 18–20, 1863, between the United States Army and Confederate States Army, Confederate forces in the American Civil War, marked the end of a U.S. Army offensive, the Chickamauga Campaign, in southe ...

. When Longstreet moved into eastern

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

to evict federal forces, Alexander served as his chief of artillery. Huger consequently commanded Alexander’s battalion in the Knoxville Campaign. When Alexander became the permanent chief of corps artillery in late 1863, Huger officially took over command of the battalion. He rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel shortly thereafter, being promoted on February 27, 1864. Huger's battalion served in the

Overland Campaign The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, towards the end of the American Civil War. Lieutenant general (United States), Lt. G ...

and the

Siege of Petersburg The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the siege of Petersburg, it was not a c ...

. In Alexander’s absence, he was temporarily in charge of the artillery of the First Corps posted near Elliott's Salient at the time of the

Battle of the Crater The Battle of the Crater took place during the American Civil War, part of the Siege of Petersburg. It occurred on Saturday, July 30, 1864, between the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert E. Lee, and the Union ...

. At the height of the Union attack on July 30, 1864, following the explosion of the mine under the Salient, Huger was seen helping work a gun along with members of Alexander's staff. Huger was promoted to the rank of

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 ...

on February 18, 1865. He was captured during the

Battle of Sailors' Creek A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

by Union cavalry led by Brig. Gen.

George A. Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point ...

, a fellow West Point graduate (Class of 1861). Huger was treated by Custer more like a guest than a prisoner.

Post war

After the war, Frank Huger became involved in railroads.Sifakis, p. 324. He died in 1897.

Notes

References

* Alexander, Edward Porter, ''Fighting for the Confederacy'', ed.

Gary W. Gallagher Gary William Gallagher (born October 8, 1950) is an American historian specializing in the history of the American Civil War. Gallagher in 2024 was the John L. Nau III Professor in the History of the American Civil War at the University of Virg ...

, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1989. * Sibley, F. Ray, Junior, ''The Confederate Order of Battle'', volume 1, The Army of Northern Virginia, Shippensburg, PA: White Mane, 1996. * Sifakis, Stewart, ''Who Was Who in the Civil War'', New York: Facts on File, 1988. * Wise, Jennings C., ''The Long Arm of Lee: the History of the Artillery of the Army of Northern Virginia'', New York: Oxford University Press, 1959.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Huger, Frank 1837 births 1897 deaths Confederate States Army officers People of Virginia in the American Civil War United States Army officers United States Military Academy alumni