- Henry DeLamar Clayton (general)
Henry DeLamar Clayton, Sr. (
March 7 ,1827 –October 3 ,1889 ) was a prominentAlabama attorney, politician, Redeemer judge, and college president. He also served as a major general in the Confederate Army during theAmerican Civil War , commanding a division in theArmy of Tennessee in the Western Theater.Early life and career
Henry D. Clayton was born in
Pulaski County, Georgia . He graduated fromEmory and Henry College inVirginia . He moved toEufaula, Alabama , after graduation and read law. He passed the bar exam in 1849 and opened an office inClayton, Alabama , where he married Victoria and raised a family. Two of his sons,Henry De Lamar Clayton andBertram Tracy Clayton , later became United States Congressmen.He was twice elected to the
Alabama Legislature , serving from 1857 until 1861. Clayton recruited and organized a localmilitia organization and was elected as its captain. Among his subordinate officers was future fellow Civil War generalWilliam W. Adams . In August 1860, he was elected as colonel of the 3rd Alabama Volunteers, a state-wide militia organization.Civil War
Following the
secession of Alabama from the Union, Clayton led his men toPensacola, Florida , to enroll into the service of the newConfederate States of America in January 1861. Their services were initially not needed, but Clayton was subsequently ordered to take command of all incoming Alabama volunteer troops as they assembled in Pensacola. The 1st Alabama Infantry was formally mustered into Confederate service in late March, with Clayton as its first colonel. Theregiment saw no combat action and stayed in Florida the balance of the year.In January 1862, Clayton resigned his commission and returned to Alabama. There, the governor authorized him to raise a new
regiment for Confederate service, the 39th Alabama. Clayton was appointed as its first colonel, and the regiment joined thebrigade of Brig. Gen.Franklin Gardner . Clayton's first significant campaign was as a part of the army ofBraxton Bragg during his 1862Kentucky Campaign .Clayton's regiment fought at the
Battle of Stones River in the early winter as a part of the brigade of Brig. Gen.Zachariah Deas . Clayton suffered a severe wound, but recovered and was promoted to brigadier general in April 1863. He was assigned command of a brigade previously led byAlexander P. Stewart consisting of the 18th, 32nd, 36th, 38th, and 58th Alabama regiments. Clayton was active in a number of subsequent campaigns and battles, including Chickamauga and Chattanooga. His brigade played a prominent role in several fights during the 1864Atlanta Campaign . Following theBattle of New Hope Church , Clayton was promoted to major general and assigned command of Stewart's Division in the Army of Tennessee, where it participated in the unsuccessfulFranklin-Nashville Campaign .In April 1865, during the
Carolinas Campaign , Clayton resigned his commission and returned home, a victim ofchronic stress .Postbellum career
With the fall of the Confederacy, Clayton resumed his law practice. In May 1866, he was elected as a
circuit court judge. Like so many other former Confederates, he was removed from his office by the Reconstruction government. However, he was twice reelected as judge in 1874 and 1880 after thecarpetbagger s had left power.In 1886, Clayton accepted a position as the president of the
University of Alabama , a role he held until his death inTuscaloosa, Alabama , in the fall of 1889. He is buried in Eufala.References
* [http://www.tarleton.edu/~kjones/clayton.html History of Clayton's Brigade] A full length biography of Henry Clayton was written by Henry Walker as a Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Alabama, 1995.
External links
* [http://www.generalsandbrevets.com/sgc/clayton.htm Photo gallery]
* Retrieved on2008-02-13
* [http://www.texramp.net/~meowen/kentucky.htm Clayton and the 39th Alabama in the Kentucky Campaign]
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