John Breckinridge Grayson (October 18, 1806 – October 21, 1861) was a career

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

officer and a graduate of

West Point 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 ...

. He is well known for being a

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

brigadier general 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 ...

, his service during the

Mexican-American War Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the United State ...

, and for his early death only three months after joining the Confederate Army of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

and

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

.John H. Eicher and John Y. Simons' ''Civil War High Commands'' (2001) pg. 265

Early life and career

John Grayson was born in Kentucky in 1806 to Alfred W. GraysonHenry Clay, James F. Hopkins, Robert Seagers' ''The Papers of Henry Clay. Volume 3: Presidential Candidate, 1821-1824'' (1959) pg. 379 and Letitia BreckinridgeScotch-Irish Society of America's ''The Scotch-Irish in America: Proceedings and Addresses of the Scotch-Irish Congress, 1st-10th, 1889-1901'' (1890) pg. 206 at the

Breckinridge family The Breckinridge family is a family of public figures from the United States. The family has included six members of the United States House of Representatives, two United States Senators, a cabinet member, two ambassadors, one United States Vice ...

estate of "Cabell's Dale". After his father's death when he was around ten Grayson's mother married

Peter Buell Porter Peter Buell Porter (August 14, 1773 – March 20, 1844) was an American lawyer, soldier and politician who served as United States Secretary of War from 1828 to 1829. Early life Porter was born on August 14, 1773, one of six children born to Dr ...

.Stephen Hess's ''America's Political Dynasties'' (1957) pg. 245 Grayson was appointed to

through his ties to three very powerful families the Breckinridges, Graysons, and Porters. He graduated in 1826 and became a second lieutenant in the artillery.Clement Anselm Evans's ''Confederate Military History: A Library of Confederate States History'' (1890) pgs. 237–38 He was first assigned to

Fort Monroe Fort Monroe is a former military installation in Hampton, Virginia, at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula, United States. It is currently managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth o ...

where he remained for six years. He then served in a variety of southern forts from 1832 to 1835. In 1835 the

Second Seminole War The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between the United States and groups of people collectively known as Seminoles, consisting of Muscogee, Creek and Black Seminoles as well as oth ...

broke out in Florida. Grayson fought at Camp Izard and then at the Battle of Oloklikaha. After the Seminole War, Grayson was assigned to New Orleans for eleven years. In 1847 Grayson left to fight in the

where he arrived as a captain of the artillery. Grayson later became the Chief Commissariat of Major General

Winfield Scott Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as Commanding General of the United States Army from 1841 to 1861, and was a veteran of the War of 1812, American Indian Wars, Mexica ...

. Grayson fought in many battles in Mexico including the

Siege of Veracruz On 9 March 1847, during the Mexican–American War, the United States military made an amphibious landing and besieged the key Mexican seaport of Veracruz. The port surrendered twenty days later. The U.S. forces then marched inland to Mexico ...

, Battles of Cerro Gordo, Contreras,

Churubusco Churubusco is a neighbourhood of Mexico City. Under the current territorial division of the Mexican Federal District, it is a part of the borough () of Coyoacán. It is centred on the former Franciscan monastery ''(ex convento de Churubusco)'' a ...

Molino del Rey Los Pinos (English: ''The Pines'') was the official residence and office of the President of Mexico from 1934 to 2018. Located in the Bosque de Chapultepec (Chapultepec Forest) in central Mexico City, it became the presidential seat in 1934, wh ...

Chapultepec Chapultepec, more commonly called the "Bosque de Chapultepec" (Chapultepec Forest) in Mexico City, is one of the largest Nature Value Area´s in Mexico, measuring in total just over . Centered on a rock formation called Chapultepec Hill, one of ...

, and the capture of Mexico City. He became a major for his bravery at the battles of Contreras and Churubusco in 1847. Later that year Grayson was

brevetted In military terminology, a brevet ( or ) is a warrant which gives commissioned officers a higher military rank as a reward without necessarily conferring the authority and privileges granted by that rank. The promotion would be noted in the of ...

to lieutenant-colonel for his actions at the

Battle of Chapultepec The Battle of Chapultepec took place between U.S. troops and Mexican forces holding the strategically located Chapultepec Castle on the outskirts of Mexico City on the 13th of September, 1847 during the Mexican–American War. The castle was buil ...

. After the war he was assigned to Detroit, Michigan where he became the Chief of Commissariat for seven years from 1848 to 1855. He would hold this same title in New Mexico until he resigned to join the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), 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), fi ...

Civil War service

After resigning his commission, Grayson joined the Confederacy in August 1861. Because of his long service and military skills, Grayson was quickly appointed a brigadier general in the

.Francis Bernard Heitman's ''Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army from Its Organization, September 29, 1789, to March 2, 1903: From Its Organization, September 29, 1789, to March 2, 1903'' (1903) pg. 472 He then immediately became commander of the East and Middle Departments of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. Soon after arriving, though, Grayson caught both

and

. He died soon after on October 21, 1861, in

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Fl ...

, at the age of 55, not having fought a single battle 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 ...

Notable family

* Secretary of War Peter B. Porter, ''Step-Father'' * Colonel Peter A. Porter, ''Half-Brother'' * Attorney General John Breckinridge, ''Grandfather'' * Senator William Grayson, ''Grandfather'' * Vice President, Confederate General, Confederate Secretary of War John C. Breckinridge, ''1st Cousin''

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. . pg. 265 * Henry Clay, James F. Hopkins, Robert Seagers' ''The Papers of Henry Clay. Volume 3: Presidential Candidate, 1821-1824'' (1959) pg. 379 * Scotch-Irish Society of America's ''The Scotch-Irish in America: Proceedings and Addresses of the Scotch-Irish Congress, 1st-10th, 1889-1901'' (1890) pg. 206 * Stephen Hess's ''America's Political Dynasties'' (1957) pg. 245 * Clement Anselm Evans's ''Confederate Military History: A Library of Confederate States History (1890)'' pgs. 237–38 * Francis Bernard Heitman's ''Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army from Its Organization, September 29, 1789, to March 2, 1903: From Its Organization, September 29, 1789, to March 2, 1903'' (1903) pg. 472 * 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