Thomas Fenwick Drayton ( August 24, 1809 - February 18, 1891 ) is an American planter, politician, railroad commander and brigadier general of the Confederate army during the US Civil War .
| Thomas Drayton | |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | August 24, 1809 |
| Place of Birth | Charleston , South Carolina |
| Date of death | February 18, 1891 ( 81) |
| Place of death | Florence, South Carolina |
| Affiliation |  USA ,  KSA |
| Type of army | US Army |
| Years of service | 1828-1836 (USA) 1861–1865 (KSA) |
| Rank | Brigadier General (KSA) |
| Battles / wars | U.S. Civil War
|
Content
The early years
Drayton was born in South Carolina, most likely in Charleston . He was the son of William Drayton, a celebrated lawyer, soldier, and Rep. In 1833, his family moved to Philadelphia, but Thomas decided to stay in Charleston.
In 1824, Drayton entered West Point Military Academy and graduated in 1828, 28th in academic achievement. At the academy, he was a classmate of the future president of the Confederation, Jefferson Davis . After the academy, Drayton was sent to the 6th Infantry Regiment in the interim rank of second lieutenant . He served in the Jefferson Barracks until 1830, then in the Newport Barracks, and from 1832 to 1836 was in the topographic service. In 1836, Drayton resigned from the army [1] .
He was elected to the House of Representatives of South Carolina, where he advocated for state rights and slavery. In his personal property on the Fish Hill Plantation were 102 slaves, who got him in the form of a dowry from his wife. From 1853 to 1856, he was president of the Charleston & Savannah Railroad Railroad Campaign.
Civil War
When the war broke out, Confederate President Jefferson Davis awarded Drayton the rank of Brigadier General and in September 1861 sent him to Port Royal (South Carolina). Drayton's plantation was nearby, so he used it as a headquarters, and attracted all his slaves to the construction of fortifications on the island of Hilton Head Island .
In November, forts on the Hilton Head Island were attacked by the federal fleet. Among the federal ships was the USS Pocahontas , commanded by Drayton's brother, Percival Drayton. The son of Thomas Drayton, Lieutenant William Drayton, also fought on the side of the Confederacy, defending the forts. There was a battle at Port Royal ; after a powerful bombardment, both forts were taken by assault on November 7th.
In 1862, Drayton was commissioned to command an infantry brigade. It was formed in March 1862 from South Carolinian and Georgian units and consisted of five regiments:
- 15th South Carolina Infantry Regiment
- 50th Georgian Infantry Regiment
- 51st Georgian Infantry Regiment
- Legion of Philips
- 3rd Georgian Battalion
The brigade became part of the "right wing" of the North Virginia Army and was included in the division of David Jones before the North Virginia campaign. As part of this division, the brigade participated in the second battle of Bull Run . Drayton commanded not very well. On August 30, when the entire Jones division went on the offensive, the Drayton brigade did not budge. Jones repeated the order several times, but the Drayton team joined the battle at the very end. Drayton was not judged strictly for this failure, since they initially suspected that he could not cope with the command of the brigade [2] .
When the battle for the South Mountain passes began, the Drayton brigade was sent by Longstreet to the aid of Daniel Hill’s division , which defended the Fox Gorge. The brigade arrived in the gorge at a time when the Samuel Garland brigade had already been defeated, and Anderson's brigade still held. Drayton had 550 South Carolines and 750 Georgians, he placed from on the Old Sharpsberg Road behind a stone wall near Wise's house. Wilcox's federal division came to his position. Assuming that there would be a general attack by the southerners, Drayton moved his people forward, but in the end his brigade turned out to be alone with the federal division. This attack was repelled with heavy losses. Having retreated back behind the stone wall, the people of Drayton kept their position for some time, but the decisive attack of the 17th Michigan Regiment forced Drayton Georgians to withdraw. The brigade still held on to the position when the fresh federal division of Sturgis approached, whose artillery quickly forced the Drayton gunners to leave (Jeff Davis artillery battery). After that, the team could not stand it and began to retreat. Only the 3rd South Carolina battalion of George James remained in position: out of his 160 people, only 24 survived [3] .
Drayton's team was almost destroyed. The 3rd South Carolian battalion lost 85% of its composition, the 50th George - three quarters, the 51st George - half. The legion of Philips lost 40% of the composition. In total, the brigade lost 206 people killed, 227 wounded and 210 prisoners [4] .
On September 15 at 11:00, Drayton led his brigade to Sharpsburg, where the Jones divisions were assigned to defend the right flank of the army. Drayton took up positions on a hill south of the city. The Thumbes brigade was advanced to the Rohrbach bridge to prevent the enemy from crossing it, and the 50th Georgian regiment from the Drayton brigade was sent to cover the right flank of Thumbes. When the bridge was taken, his defenders retreated to Sharpsberg. At 15:00 the general offensive of divisions of the IX federal corps began . The Drayton brigade was driven back and the enemy entered the outskirts of Sharpsberg, but the flank attack of General Hill's Light Division stopped the feds.
After the end of the Maryland campaign, Drayton was recognized as an insufficiently competent commander, and at the end of November they decided to remove him from his post. Le hesitated for several weeks. He respected Drayton as a gentleman and friend and tried to come up with the mildest way to resign. It was decided to distribute his regiments among other brigades, and give Drayton leave. The brigade was disbanded: the 50th and 51st Georgian regiments joined the Paul Sems brigade, the 15th South Carolina regiment was included in the Joseph Kershaw brigade, the Phillips Legion was transferred to the Cobb brigade. They tried to carry out the entire reorganization without drawing public attention. These rotations allowed the release of several Virginia regiments and the formation of a brigade for Montgomery Corse [5] .
In 1863, Drayton was sent west to command a brigade in the Sterling Price army. He spent the last years of the war in administrative posts, although in 1864 he briefly commanded a division.
Post-war activities
After the surrender of the South Army and the end of the war, Drayton moved to Dooley County in Georgia, where he began to manage the plantation. His property was confiscated, so he moved to Charlotte (North Carolina) and made a living selling insurance. Mr. died in Florence, South Carolina, at the age of 81. He was buried in the Elmwood Cemetery in Charlotte.
In 1985, a memorial plaque near the Hilton Head in Beaufort County was erected in memory of Drayton.
Notes
- ↑ Cullum's register
- ↑ Freeman, 1943 , p. 141.
- ↑ Hoptak, 2011 , p. 75.
- ↑ Hoptak, 2011 , p. 78.
- ↑ Freeman, 1943 , p. 325 - 326.
Literature
- Freeman, Douglas S. Lee's lieutenants. - New York: Charles Scribners sons, 1943 .-- 760 p.
- Hoptak, John David. The Battle of South Mountain. - The History Press, 2011 .-- ISBN 1596294019 .
- Terry L. Jones, Historical Dictionary of the Civil War, Scarecrow Press, 2011 ISBN 0810879530 pp. 439-440