William G. Lewis
Born	(1835-09-03)September 3, 1835 Rocky Mount, North Carolina
Died	January 7, 1901(1901-01-07) (aged 65) Goldsboro, North Carolina
Place of burial	Willow Dale Cemetery Goldsboro, North Carolina
Allegiance	United States of America Confederate States of America
Service/ branch	Confederate States ArmyInfantry
Years of service	1861 – 1865
Rank	Brigadier General
Battles / wars	American Civil War

William Gaston Lewis (September 3, 1835 – January 7, 1901) was aConfederategeneral in theAmerican Civil War.

William G. Lewis was born September 3, 1835, inRocky Mount, North Carolina. He was the son of Dr. John Wesley Lewis and Catherine Ann Battle.^[1] His first cousin Anna Lewis married Captain Luther Rice Mills, who later became a college Professor atWake Forest University.^[2] He was educated at Lovejoy's Academy inRaleigh. Soon after the death of his father, the family moved toChapel Hill, where Lewis entered theUniversity of North Carolina, studyingcivil engineering.^[1] Lewis graduated in 1855.

He then taught in Chapel Hill for a year, before moving toFlorida. In 1857, he was appointed to the U. S. Survey Corps, and worked inMinnesota for over a year. He then returned to North Carolina and became assistant engineer on theWilmington and Weldon Railroad.^[3]

When the Civil War began, Lewis joined the Confederate army as the third lieutenant of Company A, 1st North Carolina Regiment ("Bethel").^[1] His first fighting came in theBattle of Big Bethel on June 10, 1861. By January 1862, he had been promoted tomajor and took part in theBattle of New Bern. For his actions at New Bern, he was promoted tolieutenant colonel of the 33rd North Carolina Infantry. Lewis fought with the regiment at theSeven Days Battle and theBattle of Malvern Hill. During the later months of 1862, he took part in the defense ofRichmond.

Lewis returned to North Carolina in December 1862 and took part in the fighting in and around New Bern andKinston. In the spring of 1863, his regiment returned to Virginia and he took part in theGettysburg Campaign with the 43rd North Carolina Infantry as part of Brigadier GeneralJunius Daniel's Brigade ofMajor GeneralRobert Rodes' Division. AtGettysburg, the regimental commander,Colonel Thomas S. Kenan, was wounded and captured, and Lewis took command of the regiment.

After the Confederate retreat from Gettysburg, Lewis returned to North Carolina and took positions around New Bern. He subsequently took part in the fighting to recapture Plymouth. He ledRobert Hoke's brigade at theBattle of Cold Harbor and was promoted to brigadier general following the battle in June 1864. He was then wounded duringJubal Early's raid onWashington.^[3] In 1864, he married Martha Lucinda "Mittie" Pender, first cousin of Major GeneralDorsey Pender.^[1] Lewis also supervised the entrenchment ofDrewry's Bluff, Virginia. He took part in a skirmish nearFarmville, Virginia, on April 7, 1865, but was once again wounded and captured during the fighting. He was paroled within two weeks. Throughout his military service in the Confederate Army, Lewis saw action in 37 battles and skirmishes.^[1]

Following the war, Lewis returned to his peacetime career as a civil engineer, serving as the State Engineer of North Carolina for thirteen years, plus many years as road-master, construction engineer, chief engineer, and general superintendent for several railroads. In 1899, he was chief engineer for theAlbany and Raleigh Railroad.^[3]

Lewis died on January 7, 1901, frompneumonia.^[3]

Through his paternal Grandmother Ann Harrison, he is descended from early immigrantCaptain James Neale and his wife Anne Gill, who was aLady-in-Waiting toQueen Henrietta Maria (the wife ofKing Charles I of England).

• List of American Civil War Generals (Confederate)

• Eicher, John H., andDavid J. Eicher,Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001.ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1.
• Sifakis, Stewart.Who Was Who in the Civil War. New York: Facts On File, 1988.ISBN 978-0-8160-1055-4.
• Warner, Ezra J.Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959.ISBN 978-0-8071-0823-9.
• William Gaston Lewis
• Inventory of the William Gaston Lewis Papers, Manuscripts Department, UNC Library

• 1835 births
• 1901 deaths
• Confederate States Army generals
• People of North Carolina in the American Civil War
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni
• 19th-century American railroad executives
• American Civil War prisoners of war

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata