States Rights Gist

Infobox Military Person
name= States Rights Gist
lived= September 3, 1831 – November 30, 1864
placeofbirth= Union, South Carolina
placeofdeath= Franklin, Tennessee


caption= States Rights Gist
photo taken between 1862 and 1864
nickname=
allegiance= United States of America Confederate States of America
serviceyears=1856–61 (S.C. Militia)
1861–64 (CSA)
rank= Brigadier General (S.C. Militia)
Brigadier General (CSA)
commands=
battles=American Civil War
* Battle of Chickamauga
* Third Battle of Chattanooga
* Battle of Atlanta
* Second Battle of Franklin †
awards=
laterwork=

States Rights Gist (September 3, 1831 — November 30, 1864) was a lawyer, a militia general in South Carolina, and a Confederate Army general who served during the American Civil War. A relative of several prominent South Carolinians, Gist rose to fame later during the war but was killed during the Franklin-Nashville Campaign in November 1864.

Personal life

Gist was born in Union, South Carolina, to Nathaniel Gist and Elizabeth Lewis McDaniel [cite web | url = http://www.e-familytree.net/F218/F218890.htm | title = Nathaniel Gist / Elizabeth Lewis Mcdaniel | publisher = e-familytree.net | accessdate = 2006-10-26] and was distantly related to Mordecai Gist, a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He graduated from South Carolina College and attended Harvard Law School for a year without graduating, before moving home to Union to practice law. In 1863, Gist married Jane Margaret Adams, whose father was James Hopkins Adams, governor of South Carolina from 1854 until 1856. [cite web | url = http://www.e-familytree.net/f385.htm | title = People Connected with European Royalty | publisher = e-familytree.net | accessdate = 2006-10-26] In 1858, Gists' cousin William Henry Gist became governor. [cite web | url = http://www.sciway.net/hist/governors/gist.html | title = South Carolina Governors – William Henry Gist, 1858-1860 | publisher = SCIway.net, LLC | accessdate = 2006-10-26] Both were active in the secession movement.

Militia and Civil War service

In the late 1850s, Gist became involved in the state militia, and by April 1856 he was a brigadier general in the South Carolina Militia. One of his many roles was to train fellow militia members for war. When South Carolina seceded from the Union, he worked as state adjutant and inspector general. While in this role he acquired weaponry and mobilized manpower throughout the state. Also in this capacity, he rendered valuable service in the preparation for the occupation of Charleston harbor and the reduction of Fort Sumter. In early 1861, Gist was assigned to the Army of the Potomac and was an aide to another South Carolina general, Brig. Gen. Barnard Bee, at the First Battle of Manassas. [cite web | url = http://www.aboutfamouspeople.com/article1166.html | title = About Famous People - States Rights Gist | publisher = John T. Marck | accessdate = 2006-10-26]

On March 20, 1862, Gist was appointed a brigadier general in the Confederate Army.Eicher, p. 256.] Gist then went to back to assist in the coastal defense of South Carolina under the command of Maj. Gen. John C. Pemberton. When Pemberton's forces went to Vicksburg, Mississippi, Gist accompanied Gen. Joseph E. Johnston on his journey to Vicksburg.

The Vicksburg Campaign was not a success for Johnston, and Gist was reassigned to the Army of Tennessee, where he commanded units during the battles of Chickamauga, Chattanooga, and Atlanta in 1863 and 1864. It was after the Battle of Atlanta that Gist commanded a brigade under Maj. Gen. John C. Brown during Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood's Franklin-Nashville Campaign. Also at Atlanta Gist was wounded in a hand on July 22, 1864.

Death

Gist was shot in the chest while leading his brigade in a charge against Federal fortifications at the Battle of Franklin in November 1864. He died of his wounds soon after at a field hospital in Franklin, Tennessee. He was one of twelve Confederate generals lost that day, six of them killed in action. [cite web | url = http://www.clemson.edu/caah/history/FacultyPages/EdMoise/attack1.2.html | title = Attack and Die: Civil War Military Tactics and the Southern Heritage | publisher = Clemson University | accessdate = 2006-10-26]

He is buried in the Trinity Episcopal churchyard in downtown Columbia, South Carolina. [cite web | url = http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=9069 | title = Find A Grave - States Rights Gist | publisher = Find A Grave, Inc. | accessdate = 2006-10-26]

References

* Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., "Civil War High Commands", Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.

Notes

ee also

* Cisco, Walter Brian, "States Rights Gist: A South Carolina General of the Civil War". Shippensburg, PA, White Mane Pub. Co. 1991.