Thomas Taylor Munford (March 29, 1831 – February 27, 1918) was an American farmer, iron, steel and mining company executive and

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 ...

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 ...

and acting 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 ...

Early life and education

Munford was born in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

, to Colonel George Wythe Munford and Lucy Singleton Taylor. He was descended from Lewis Dyve who fought in the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

. Hotchkiss, Jed. ''Virginia.'' Volume 3 in Evans, Clement A., ed
''Confederate Military History: A Library of Confederate States History''
12 vols. Atlanta: Confederate Publishing Company, 1899. . p. 640. Retrieved January 20, 2011. On July 30, 1849, Munford enrolled at

Virginia Military Institute The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is a public senior military college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1839 as America's first state military college and is the oldest public senior military college in the U.S. In k ...

and was graduated in July 1852,Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . p. 606. standing 14th in a class of 24. He married Elizabeth Henrietta Tayloe, daughter of Mary Langhorne and George Plater Tayloe, in 1853. Prior to the Civil War, Munford was a

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

planter in

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 ...

and farmer in

Bedford County, Virginia Bedford County is a county (United States), United States county located in the Piedmont region of Virginia, Piedmont region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. Its county seat is the town of Bedford, Virginia, Bedford, ...

Civil War

With the outbreak of the Civil War, Munford was mustered into 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 ...

on May 8, 1861 by Colonel

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, ...

and served as a lieutenant colonel with the 30th Virginia Volunteer Regiment, a mounted infantry regiment, which fought at the

First Battle of Manassas The First Battle of Bull Run, called the Battle of First Manassas
. by J.E.B. Stuart, he was promoted to colonel of the

2nd Virginia Cavalry The 2nd Virginia Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia. The unit was organized by Colonel (United ...

as the 30th Virginia Volunteer Regiment had been redesignated. In the 1862 Shenandoah Valley Campaign, Munford served under Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson as commander of a cavalry brigade of two regiments, succeeded Colonel and acting Brigadier General Turner Ashby as commander of all of Jackson's cavalry, upon that officer's death, and fought well at the

Battle of Cross Keys The Battle of Cross Keys was fought on June 8, 1862, in Rockingham County, Virginia, as part of Confederate Army Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's campaign through the Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War. Together, the batt ...

and captured many prisoners at Harrisonburg, Virginia. During the

Peninsula Campaign The Peninsula campaign (also known as the Peninsular campaign) of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March to July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The oper ...

, he led his men at the

Battle of White Oak Swamp The Battle of White Oak Swamp took place on June 30, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia, as part of the Seven Days Battles (Peninsula Campaign) of the American Civil War. As the Union Army of the Potomac retreated southeast toward the James River, ...

. He served with efficiency in the Second Manassas Campaign in which he was slightly wounded at Turkey Run Bridge and 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 ...

. Munford was temporarily given an independent command of Robertson's brigade in the

Maryland Campaign The Maryland campaign (or Antietam campaign) occurred September 4–20, 1862, during the American Civil War. The campaign was Confederate States Army, Confederate General (CSA), General Robert E. Lee's first invasion of the Northern United Stat ...

. During that campaign he successfully cleared

Leesburg, Virginia Leesburg is a town in and the county seat of Loudoun County, Virginia, United States. It is part of both the Northern Virginia region of the state and the Washington metropolitan area, including Washington, D.C., the nation's capital. European se ...

of Union forces at the Battle of Mile Hill so that the army could cross the

Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...

from there. He led his troops in a key defensive position protecting Crampton's Gap at the

Battle of South Mountain The Battle of South Mountain, known in several early Southern United States, Southern accounts as the Battle of Boonsboro Gap, was fought on September 14, 1862, as part of the Maryland campaign of the American Civil War. Three pitched battles ...

. His men saw limited action at 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 ...

. They participated in several of Stuart's cavalry battles during the 1863 Gettysburg Campaign and the Bristoe Campaign, as well as in cavalry actions 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 ...

in Spring 1864 under Major General

Fitzhugh Lee Fitzhugh "Fitz" Lee (November 19, 1835 – April 28, 1905) was a Confederate cavalry general in the American Civil War, the 40th Governor of Virginia, diplomat, and United States Army general in the Spanish–American War. He was the son of S ...

. Munford was appointed to duty as a brigadier commander by Fitzhugh Lee on November 9, 1864, but, despite being described as a general in several sources, he was never officially commissioned and confirmed as a brigadier general. He took command of Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry division late in the war with that general's promotion to cavalry corps commander.Listed as a Brigadier General in command of Fitzhugh Lee's Division, Cavalry Corps of Maj Gen Fitzhugh Lee after the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia April 1865 se
Battles and Leaders of the Civil War Volume IV p.753
/ref> and fought at Five Forks, High Bridge, and Sailor's Creek. He led men away from 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 ...

prior to

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

's surrender at Appomattox Court House and escaped with a goal of reaching

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

to link up with the army of General

Joseph E. Johnston Joseph Eggleston Johnston (February 3, 1807 – March 21, 1891) was an American military officer who served in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and the Seminole Wars. After Virginia declared secession from ...

during the Carolinas Campaign.Hotchkiss, 1899, p. 641. However, hearing that Johnston had since surrendered, Munford dispersed his force after reaching

Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner and Abolitionism, abolitionist John Lynch (1740–1820), J ...

Personal life

His first wife died in 1863, and Munford was remarried to her cousin, Emma Tayloe, daughter of Henrietta Ogle and William Henry Tayloe, in 1866.

Postwar career

After the war, Munford inherited his father-in-law's plantation, Oakland, in

Perry County, Alabama Perry County is a county located in the Black Belt region in the central part of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,511. Its county seat is Marion. The county was established in 1819 and is named in honor ...

and became a cotton planter in Alabama. He returned to Virginia and worked as a cotton planter and as an

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

manufacturer and writer. He was Vice President of Lynchburg Iron, Steel & Mining Company. He served as President of the Virginia Military Institute Board of Visitors from 1884 to 1888.

Death and legacy

On February 27, 1918 at the age of 86, Munford died at the home of his son in Uniontown, Alabama. He was buried at Spring Hill Cemetery in

Notes

References

* Allardice, Bruce S. ''Confederate Colonels: A Biographical Register.'' Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2008. . * Allardice, Bruce S.'' More Generals in Gray.'' Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1995. . * Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . * Hotchkiss, Jed. ''Virginia.'' Volume 3 in Evans, Clement A., ed
''Confederate Military History: A Library of Confederate States History''
12 vols. Atlanta: Confederate Publishing Company, 1899. . pp. 639–641. Retrieved January 20, 2011. {{DEFAULTSORT:Munford, Thomas T. 1831 births 1918 deaths Confederate States Army generals Military personnel from Richmond, Virginia People of Virginia in the American Civil War Virginia Military Institute alumni Tayloe family (Virginia) American cotton plantation owners American slave owners Southern Historical Society members