Lafayette McLaws
Lafayette McLaws
Born	(1821-01-15)January 15, 1821 Augusta, Georgia, U.S.
Died	July 24, 1897(1897-07-24) (aged 76) Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
Place of burial	Laurel Grove Cemetery Savannah, Georgia
Allegiance	United States of America Confederate States of America
Branch	United States Army  Confederate States Army
Years of service	1842–61 (USA) 1861–65 (CSA)
Rank	Captain (USA) Major general
Battles / wars	Mexican–American War Utah War American Civil War Seven Days Battles Maryland campaign Battle of Harpers Ferry Battle of Antietam Battle of Fredericksburg Battle of Chancellorsville Battle of Gettysburg Battle of Fort Sanders
Other work	insurance business, tax collector, postmaster, author

Lafayette McLaws (/ləˈfeɪ.ɛt/lə-FAY-et;^[1] January 15, 1821 – July 24, 1897) was aUnited States Army officer and aConfederategeneral in theAmerican Civil War. He served atAntietam andFredericksburg, whereRobert E. Lee praised his defense of Marye's Heights, and atGettysburg, where his division made successful assaults through the Peach Orchard and Wheatfield, but was unable to dislodge Union forces from Cemetery Ridge. After theKnoxville Campaign, he was court-martialed for inefficiency, though this was overturned for procedural reasons. Finally, he was sent to his native Georgia to resistSherman's March to the Sea but retreated through theCarolinas, losing many men through desertion, and was presumed to have surrendered withJoseph E. Johnston in April 1865.

McLaws remained bitter about his court-martial, especially since the charges had been filed byJames Longstreet, his friend and classmate at West Point, with whom he had served for years. Although he defended Longstreet against Lost Cause proponents who blamed him for losing the war, McLaws never fully forgave Longstreet for his actions.

Lafayette McLaws was born inAugusta, Georgia. He graduated from theUnited States Military Academy in 1842, placing 48th out of 56 cadets.^[2] McLaws served as aninfantry officer in theMexican–American War, in the West, and in theUtah War to suppress theMormon uprising.^[3] While atJefferson Barracks, Missouri, he married Emily Allison Taylor, the niece ofZachary Taylor, making him a cousin-in-law of future ConfederatesRichard Taylor andJefferson Davis.^[2]

At the start of the Civil War, resigning as a U.S. Army captain, McLaws was commissioned amajor in theConfederate States Army. He was quickly promoted tocolonel of the10th Georgia Infantryregiment; then quickly again tobrigadier general inbrigade anddivision command in theSeven Days Battles; then, on May 23, 1862, tomajor general.^[2] He joined his childhood friend in Augusta and fellow West Point of '42 classmate,^[4] Maj. Gen.James Longstreet'sFirst Corps in theArmy of Northern Virginia as 1st Division commander and stayed with Longstreet for most of the war, but was left in Richmond to observe McClellan's withdrawal down the James River, and thus missed theNorthern Virginia Campaign.

DuringRobert E. Lee's 1862Maryland Campaign, McLaws's Division was split from the rest of the corps, operated in conjunction with Maj. Gen.Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, and captured Maryland Heights atHarpers Ferry. He marched his division toSharpsburg, Maryland, and defended the West Woods in theBattle of Antietam. Lee was disappointed in McLaws's slow arrival on the battlefield. At theBattle of Fredericksburg, McLaws's Division was one of the defenders of Marye's Heights, and he satisfied Lee with his ferocious defensive performance.

AtChancellorsville, while the rest of Longstreet's corps was detached for duty nearSuffolk, Virginia, McLaws fought directly under Lee's command. On May 3, 1863, Lee sent McLaws's Division to stop the UnionVI Corps under Maj. Gen.John Sedgwick marching toward Lee's rear. He did accomplish this, but Lee was disappointed that McLaws had not attacked more aggressively and caused more harm to Sedgwick's corps instead of letting him escape across theRappahannock River. When Lee reorganized his army to compensate for Jackson's mortal wounding at Chancellorsville, Longstreet recommended his subordinate for one of the two new corps commands. Still, both men were disappointed when Lee choseRichard S. Ewell andA. P. Hill instead. McLaws requested a transfer, but it was denied.

On the second day of theBattle of Gettysburg, July 2, 1863, McLaws commanded the second division to step off in Longstreet's massive assault on the Union left flank. He achieved great success (at a high cost in lives) in the areas known as theWheatfield and thePeach Orchard, but the army as a whole was unable to dislodge the Union forces from their positions onCemetery Ridge. His division did not participate inPickett's Charge the next day, despite Longstreet's command of that assault.

McLaws accompanied Longstreet's corps toTennessee to come to the aid ofGeneralBraxton Bragg'sArmy of Tennessee. He arrived too late to lead his division atChickamauga, where Brig. Gen.Joseph B. Kershaw led it, but he did participate in theChattanooga campaign. In theKnoxville Campaign later in 1863, Longstreet relieved McLaws due to the failure of the attack onFort Sanders, citing "a want of confidence in the efforts and plans which the Cmdg Genl has thought proper to adopt."^[5] In a letter addressed to Confederate Adjutant and Inspector GeneralSamuel Cooper on December 30, Longstreet submitted three charges of "neglect of duty"; however, he did not request a court-martial because McLaws's "services might be important to the Government in some other position." (In that same letter, he requested a court-martial for Brig. Gen.Jerome B. Robertson, who had been charged with "incompetency" by his division commander.) McLaws also wrote to Cooper on December 30, disputing Longstreet's charges and requesting a court-martial to clear his name. Cooper forwarded Longstreet's letter to Secretary of WarJames Seddon andConfederate PresidentJefferson Davis, with the annotation that Longstreet was not authorized to relieve and reassign officers under his command without a formal court-martial.^[6] Davis ordered the court-martial of both generals, although he opposed relieving McLaws until a successor could be appointed.

The courts-martial of Robertson and McLaws convened inMorristown, Tennessee, on February 12, 1864, with Maj. Gen.Simon B. Buckner serving as president of the court. The proceedings suffered delays as witnesses—including Longstreet—were not available to appear as scheduled, in some cases because Longstreet granted them leaves of absence. Cooper's office published the court's findings on May 5, exonerating him on the first two specifications of neglect of duty but finding him guilty of the third—"failing in the details of his attack to make arrangements essential to his success." McLaws was sentenced to 60 days without rank or command, but Cooper overturned the verdict and sentence, citing fatal flaws in the court's procedures and ordering McLaws to return to duty with his division. However, on May 18, McLaws was assigned by the War Department to the Defenses ofSavannah in the Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.^[7]

McLaws was bitter about his fate, claiming Longstreet had used him as a scapegoat for the failed Knoxville Campaign. In his memoirs many years after the war, Longstreet expressed regret that he had filed charges against McLaws, which he described as happening "in an unguarded moment." In time, the animosity healed between the two Confederate veterans, but McLaws never fully forgave Longstreet for his actions.^[8]

McLaws left the First Corps, and since Lee would not accept him for command in Virginia, he proceeded to Savannah, which he could not defend successfully against Maj. Gen.William T. Sherman'sMarch to the Sea in late 1864.

McLaws next saw active service opposing Sherman's advance into the Carolinas. At theBattle of Rivers' Bridge on February 2, 1865, his command resisted the advance of theArmy of the Tennessee intoSouth Carolina. His forces delayed the Federal crossing of theSalkehatchie River until they found other crossings and turned his right flank. McLaws led a division under Lt. Gen.William J. Hardee at theBattle of Averasborough, commanding the Confederate third line of defense, and at theBattle of Bentonville. His division was little engaged at Bentonville because of vague orders. In the aftermath of these battles, McLaws had problems with the discipline of his division, holding multiple roll calls daily to prevent desertion and looting. When Gen.Joseph E. Johnston reorganized the army, McLaws lost his command assignment.^[9] He was assigned command of the District of Georgia after Bentonville.^[10] He may have surrendered with Johnston's army inNorth Carolina on April 26, 1865; however, there is no record of his parole. On October 18, 1865, McLaws was pardoned by the U.S. government.^[2]

After the war, McLaws worked in the insurance business, was a tax collector for theIRS, served as Savannah's postmaster in 1875-76,^[2] and was active in Confederate veterans' organizations. Despite his wartime differences with Longstreet, McLaws initially defended Longstreet in the post-war attempts byJubal Early and others to smear his reputation. McLaws was a part owner of theAtlantic and Mexican Gulf Canal Company, a canal project approved in 1876. Its purpose was to construct a canal westward from theSt. Marys River inGeorgia to connect with theGulf of Mexico on the coast ofFlorida.^[11]

Lafayette McLaws died inSavannah and is buried there inLaurel Grove Cemetery. A collection of his letters,A Soldier's General: The Civil War Letters of Major General Lafayette McLaws (2002), was published posthumously.

McLaws Circle, part of theKingsmill development ofAnheuser-Busch inJames City County, Virginia, nearWilliamsburg, was named in his honor in the 1970s. In 1861, then Lt. Col. McLaws played a key role in the construction nearby of theWilliamsburg Line, 4 miles of defensive works across theVirginia Peninsula, which played a crucial role in theBattle of Williamsburg of the 1862Peninsula Campaign.^[12]

Abust of McLaws stands in Savannah'sForsyth Park, near the city'sCivil War Memorial.^[13]

• List of American Civil War generals (Confederate)

• Bradley, Mark L.This Astounding Close: The Road to Bennett Place. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2000.ISBN 0-8078-2565-4.
• Eicher, John H., andDavid J. Eicher,Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001.ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1.
• Quigley, Robert D.Civil War Spoken Here: A Dictionary of Mispronounced People, Places and Things of the 1860s. Collingswood, NJ: C. W. Historicals, 1993.ISBN 0-9637745-0-6.
• Sifakis, Stewart.Who Was Who in the Civil War. New York: Facts On File, 1988.ISBN 978-0-8160-1055-4.
• Tagg, Larry.The Generals of Gettysburg. Campbell, CA: Savas Publishing, 1998.ISBN 1-882810-30-9.
• Warner, Ezra J.Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959.ISBN 978-0-8071-0823-9.
• Wert, Jeffry D.General James Longstreet: The Confederacy's Most Controversial Soldier: A Biography. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993.ISBN 0-671-70921-6.

• Lafayette McLaws Collection, Georgia Historical Society.Archived July 28, 2020, at theWayback Machine
• Lafayette McLaws Papers, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
• McLaws, Lafayette.A Soldier's General: The Civil War Letters of Major General Lafayette McLaws. Edited by John C. Oeffinger. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002.ISBN 978-0-8078-6047-2.

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