Robert Ransom Jr. (February 12, 1828 – January 14, 1892) was a major 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 ...

. His brother Matt W. Ransom was also a Confederate general officer and

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

Early life

Ransom was born in

Warren County, North Carolina Warren County is a County (United States), county located in the northeastern Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region of the U.S. state of North Carolina, on the northern border with Virginia, made famous for a Warren County PCB Landfill, lan ...

to Robert Ransom Sr. and Priscilla Whitaker Ransom. 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 ...

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 ...

in 1850. Ransom was assigned to the 1st dragoons on July 1, 1850. He attended the cavalry school at

Carlisle Barracks Carlisle Barracks is a United States Army facility located in Pennsylvania, with a Carlisle post office address and with a portion in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The site of the U.S. Army War College, it is the nation's second-oldest active military ...

Carlisle, Pennsylvania Carlisle is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2020 United States census ...

in 1850–51. On October 9, 1851, he was promoted to second lieutenant. Ransom then performed frontier service in New Mexico from 1851 to 1854. Ransom married Minnie Huntt in 1854. He was assistant instructor of cavalry tactics at West Point from 1854 to 1855. In 1855 he was promoted to

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

and transferred to the 1st U.S. Cavalry. Ransom served as adjutant of the regiment at

Fort Leavenworth, Kansas Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...

from 1855 to 1857, where he took part in the Sioux expedition and in policing the Kansas disturbances. The next few years saw him in the recruiting service and frontier duty in Arkansas, Kansas and Colorado. He was also promoted to

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 ...

. He resigned his commission on January 31, 1861, with the discussion of

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 the sectional crisis that led to the Civil War.

Civil War

He was initially appointed as a

in the North Carolina cavalry in early 1861 and served with his

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 ...

Northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several County (United States), counties and independent city (United States), independent cities in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. ...

, where he fought in several minor skirmishes. On October 13, 1861, he was appointed to the colonelcy of the

1st North Carolina Cavalry Regiment The 1st North Carolina Cavalry Regiment, initially formed as 9th Regiment, North Carolina State Troops, was a cavalry regiment from North Carolina that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Raised in 1861 it served ...

. He commanded the Confederate forces at the skirmish around

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

on November 26, 1861, and was afterward returned to North Carolina. On March 1, 1862, Ransom was promoted to brigadier general and fought on the

Peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

attached to Huger's Division. He led his North Carolina

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 ...

in the September 1862 invasion of Maryland and participated in the capture of

Harpers Ferry Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 269 at the 2020 United States census. Situated at the confluence of the Potomac River, Potomac and Shenandoah River, Shenandoah Rivers in the ...

and 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 ...

. On November 7, he was placed in temporary command of the division and led it through 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 ( ...

, where Ransom's division had successfully defended Marye's Heights against the attacking Union Army. In January 1863, Ransom and his brigade were sent back to North Carolina. In May he was promoted to major general and performed duty around

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 ...

, western Virginia, and

eastern Tennessee East Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. Geographically and socioculturally distinct, it comprises approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee. East Tennessee consists of 33 counti ...

. In May 1864 he led a division under General

P.G.T. Beauregard Pierre Gustave Toutant-Beauregard (May 28, 1818 – February 20, 1893) was an American military officer known as being the Confederate general who started the American Civil War at the battle of Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. Today, he is comm ...

in the defense of Drewry's Bluff against Union General

Benjamin Butler Benjamin Franklin Butler (November 5, 1818 – January 11, 1893) was an American major general (United States), major general of the Union Army, politician, lawyer, and businessman from Massachusetts. Born in New Hampshire and raised in Lowell, ...

. He was sent to command the cavalry in the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia in the United States. The Valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the east ...

in the summer, under the command of General

Jubal A. Early Jubal Anderson Early (November 3, 1816 – March 2, 1894) was an American lawyer, politician and military officer who served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, Civil War. Trained at the United States Military Academy, ...

, where he participated in the battles of Monocacy and Fort Stevens. He was relieved of command in August 1864 due to illness and never returned to front line service. He ended the war serving on military courts at administrative posts in

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 at

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, before surrendering to Union troops on May 2, 1865.Sifakis, ''Who Was Who in the Confederacy''

Postbellum career

Following the war, he was an express agent and city marshal at

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, eighth-most populous city in the st ...

, and then was a farmer until 1878. He then was a

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

in charge of Federal river and harbor works at

New Bern, North Carolina New Bern, formerly Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 31,291 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located at the confluence of the Neuse River, Neuse a ...

. In 1881, his first wife died. The couple had nine children. In 1884, he married Katherine DeWitt Lumpkin and they had three children. Ransom died in New Bern in 1892. He is buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery.Find A Grave: Cedar Grove Cemetery
/ref>

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. .
Find A Grave: Cedar Grove Cemetery
* Sifakis, Stewart. ''Who Was Who in the Civil War.'' New York: Facts On File, 1988. . * Sifakis, Stewart. ''Who Was Who in the Confederacy.'' * Warner, Ezra J. ''Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders.'' Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Ransom, Robert Jr. United States Military Academy alumni United States Army officers Confederate States Army major generals People of Virginia in the American Civil War People of North Carolina in the American Civil War 1828 births 1892 deaths People from Warren County, North Carolina People from New Bern, North Carolina

Early life

Civil War

Postbellum career

See also

Notes

References