Leroy Augustus Stafford Sr. (April 13, 1822 – May 8, 1864) was a brigadier general in the

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 ...

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

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

Leroy A. Stafford was born on Greenwood Plantation near Cheneyville, south of

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

in south

Rapides Parish Rapides Parish () () is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 130,023. The parish seat and largest city is Alexandria, which developed along the Red River of the South. ''Rapides'' is th ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. He was the eldest son of wealthy land owner Leroy Stafford and his second wife, Elizabeth Calliham. His father died when he was thirteen years old. Stafford was educated at

Bardstown Bardstown is a home rule-class city in Nelson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 13,567 in the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Nelson County. Bardstown is named for the pioneering Bard brothers. David Bard obtained a ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, and attended college in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

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 ...

. In 1843, at the age of twenty-one, he returned to Louisiana and married Sarah Catherine Wright, the daughter of Dr. Jesse D. Wright and the former Sarah R. Grimball. The Staffords had ten children—George Waters, Sally, Elizabeth Eloise, David Theophilus, Cornelia Knox, Julia Laura, Jesse Wright, Rosalind, Leroy Augustus Jr., and Kate Keary.

Military life

Stafford operated

plantations Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tobacco ...

in Rapides Parish for a couple of decades, and served as the sheriff of the parish in 1846–47 before leaving for 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, ...

. He enlisted in the "Rapides Volunteers" (Company E, 3d Louisiana Infantry Regiment) and later served in Captain

Ben McCullough Brigadier-General Benjamin McCulloch (November 11, 1811 – March 7, 1862) was a soldier in the Texas Revolution, a Texas Ranger, a major-general in the Texas militia and thereafter a major in the United States Army (United States Volunteers) ...

's Texas Rangers. With Louisiana'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 ...

in 1861, Stafford formed the "Stafford Guards", a

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

unit that was soon mustered into Confederate service as Company B, 9th Louisiana Infantry with Stafford as its first

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 ...

. Stafford rose through the ranks and became 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 ...

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 ...

in early 1862 when Richard Taylor was promoted. With the death of Brig. Gen. William E. Starke early in 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 ...

, Stafford was elevated temporarily to command of the

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 ...

. He suffered a minor wound in his foot during the battle, but soon recovered. In the reorganization 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 ...

in the fall of 1862, Stafford and the 9th Louisiana regiment were reassigned to

Harry T. Hays Harry Thompson Hays (April 14, 1820 – August 21, 1876) was an American military officer serving in the U.S. Army during the Mexican–American War and a general who served in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. Known as the "Lou ...

brigade, the

Louisiana Tigers "Louisiana Tigers" was the nickname of several infantry units of the Confederate States Army from Louisiana during the American Civil War. Originally applied to a specific company, the nickname expanded to a battalion, then to a brigade, and ...

. Stafford served at the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg in 1863. In October of that year, he was promoted to brigadier general and assigned command of the 2nd Louisiana Brigade.

Death and legacy

Stafford was mortally wounded on May 5, 1864, at the

Battle of the Wilderness The Battle of the Wilderness was fought on May 5–7, 1864, during the American Civil War. It was the first battle of Lieutenant general (United States), Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against General (C ...

in northern Virginia. A

Minié ball The Minié ball, or Minie ball, is a type of hollow-based bullet designed by Claude-Étienne Minié for muzzle-loaded, rifled muskets. Invented in 1846 shortly followed by the Minié rifle, the Minié ball came to prominence during the Crime ...

pierced his

spinal cord The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue that extends from the medulla oblongata in the lower brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone) of vertebrate animals. The center of the spinal c ...

. He was carried to the Confederate capital city of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

, where he died three days later in the Spottswood Hotel. He was one of three Confederate generals killed in the Wilderness, along with

John M. Jones John Marshall Jones (July 20, 1820 – May 5, 1864) was a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He fought at the Battle of Gettysburg and was killed in action at the Battle of the Wilderness. Early li ...

and Micah Jenkins. Stafford left behind a wife and nine of their ten children. He was buried with military honors in Richmond in Hollywood Cemetery. Among the attendees at his funeral was Confederate President

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 ...

. In 1886, his remains were exhumed and reinterred on his Greenwood Plantation in Rapides Parish.

Honors

The Gen. Leroy A. Stafford Camp #358 of the

Sons of Confederate Veterans The Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) is an American neo-Confederate nonprofit organization of male descendants of Confederate soldiers that commemorates these ancestors, funds and dedicates monuments to them, and promotes the pseudohisto ...

Alexandria, Louisiana Alexandria is the ninth-largest city in the state of Louisiana and is the parish seat and largest city of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River of the South, Red River ...

, is named in honor of the fallen general. The Gen. Leroy Stafford Camp #3 of the United Confederate Veterans in Shreveport, Louisiana, was named for General Stafford as well. It was formed in 1891 and existed until the last member died in 1944. In its 53 years of existence, over 250 Confederate Veterans were members. Stafford's son, David Theophilus Stafford, was later the sheriff of Rapides Parish, having served for four terms from 1888 to 1904. Many of Stafford's descendants were named after him.

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. . * 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. .
Biography
* ''Leroy Augustus Stafford: His Forebears and Descendents''

External links

Col Leroy Augustus Stafford
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stafford, Leroy Augustus 1822 births 1864 deaths Confederate States Army brigadier generals People of Louisiana in the American Civil War Deaths by firearm in Virginia Louisiana Tigers Burials at Hollywood Cemetery (Richmond, Virginia) Louisiana sheriffs 19th-century American planters People from Cheneyville, Louisiana