David Lang | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1838-05-09)May 9, 1838 |
| Died | December 13, 1917(1917-12-13) (aged 79) Tallahassee, Florida |
| Place of burial | Old City Cemetery,Tallahassee, Florida |
| Allegiance |  Confederate States of America United States of America |
| Branch |  Confederate States Army.png) Florida Militia |
| Service years | 1861–65 (CSA) 1885–93 (Florida Militia) |
| Rank |  Colonel Major General |
| Commands |  8th Florida InfantryFlorida Militia |
| Campaigns | American Civil War |
| Other work | Florida state representative (1885–1894) FloridaAdjutant General (1885–1893) |
David Lang (May 9, 1838 – December 13, 1917) was a land surveyor,Confederate States Army officer during theAmerican Civil War,civil engineer, andFlorida politician.
Lang was born inCamden County, Georgia. He attended the Georgia Military Institute inMarietta, graduating in the Class of 1857 and ranked 4th of 16. He moved toSuwannee County, Florida, and became a surveyor.
With the secession ofFlorida and the outbreak of the Civil War, Lang enlisted in the Confederate Army on April 2, 1861, as a private in Company H of the 1st Florida Infantry. Barely over a month later, he was promoted to sergeant. He was discharged in April 1862 after his term of enlistment expired. In May, Lang enrolled in the 8th Florida Infantry and was commissioned as captain of Company C. He was wounded at theBattle of Antietam in September and again at theBattle of Fredericksburg in December. Stationed in the town ofFredericksburg, Lang's men stubbornly contested Federal attempts to laypontoon bridges across theRappahannock River. An artillery shell fragment struck the chimney of the building that Lang occupied, and a large chunk ofmasonry struck him in the head, gravely injuring him.
Recovering from his wounds, Lang was promoted tocolonel of the 8th Florida on April 30, 1863, and fought at theBattle of Chancellorsville, where his brigade commander,Brig. Gen.Edward A. Perry, was stricken withtyphoid fever. Lang ledPerry's Florida Brigade during theGettysburg campaign. On July 2, 1863, he attacked the center of theUnion defensive line onCemetery Ridge, advancing past the Codori farm before being repulsed by troops from theII Corps. On the following day, the brigade supportedPickett's Charge, but failed to advance far under heavy fire fromLt. Col.Freeman McGilvery's line of artillery. All told, the brigade fought well and lost about 60% of its 700+ soldiers.
With General Perry's return, Lang returned to command of the 8th Florida, leading the regiment in theBristoe andMine Run campaigns of 1863.
The springcampaign of 1864 commenced with theBattle of the Wilderness, where Lang commanded his8th Florida regiment on the first day of the battle (May 5); but when GeneralPerry sustained a severe wound on May 6, command of theFlorida Brigade once again devolved unto Lang.
Lang would command theBrigade for the next three weeks (May 6-28) of theOverland Campaign, leading it during the Battles ofSpotsylvania Court House andNorth Anna, as part of Brig. Gen.William Mahone's division in Lt. Gen.A.P. Hill's Third Corps.
On May 28, Lang's three-regimentFlorida Brigade was reinforced by a brigade of four Florida battalions under Brig. Gen.Joseph Finegan, just arriving from Florida. Finegan assumed command of the augmentedFlorida Brigade, and Lang again reverted back to regimental command.
Lang led the brigade again briefly at theBattle of Cold Harbor.
Perry had to leave the Army of Northern Virginia because of his wounds, Brig. Gen.Joseph Finegan and then Brig. Gen.Theodore W. Brevard, Jr. led the Floridians. However, by the end of the war, Brevard having been captured, Lang was again leading the Florida Brigade, surrendering it atAppomattox Court House on April 9, 1865.
After the cessation of hostilities, Lang returned to Florida and became a civil engineer. He married Mary "Mollie" Quarles Campbell on February 28, 1866, and fathered four children. He was elected as a state representative fromTallahassee, Florida, from 1885 until 1893. He served an eight-year tenure as Florida'sAdjutant General during the administrations of Governors Perry andFleming (1885–1894). He was influential in the reorganization and training of Florida's statemilitia troops, which contributed to the creation of Florida's modernNational Guard. Serving asmajor general, he led efforts in increase funding and pay rates for the troops.
Lang returned to theGettysburg Battlefield in 1895 to help stake out the location for the Florida state monument. He resumed his political career, serving in the legislature until 1901, then served as a private secretary to Florida GovernorsHenry L. Mitchell andWilliam D. Bloxham. Lang was also Cashier of the Florida State Hospital.
Lang was among the last brigade commanders of the Third Corps of theArmy of Northern Virginia to die. He was buried in the Old City Cemetery in Tallahassee.
The David Lang Camp #1314 of theSons of Confederate Veterans in Tallahassee was named in his honor.
