Historical Figures Codexery

P. G. T. Beauregard

Confederate general who started the Civil War at Fort Sumter

P. G. T. Beauregard

Mathew Benjamin Brady · via Wikipedia: P. G. T. Beauregard · Public domain

He was born at a sugar-cane plantation near New Orleans and spoke French as his first language.[1][2] Beauregard graduated second in his class at West Point and served as an engineer in the Mexican-American War.[3][4]

Quick Facts

Birth name
Pierre Gustave Toutant-Beauregard
Nickname
  • Little Frenchman
  • Little Napoleon
  • Little Creole
  • Bory
  • Felix
  • Hero of Fort Sumter
Born
28 May 1818
Birthplace
St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, U.S.
Died
20 February 1893
Place of death
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Allegiance
United States, Confederate States
Branch
United States Army, Confederate States Army

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Beauregard was the third child of Hélène Judith de Reggio and Jacques Toutant-Beauregard, and he had three brothers and three sisters.[1] He attended private schools in New Orleans and a French school in New York City, where he learned English at age 12.[5][6] Beauregard married Marie Antoinette Laure Villeré in 1841, and they had three children before she died in childbirth in 1850.[7] During the Mexican-American War, Beauregard served under General Winfield Scott and was wounded at Chapultepec.[4]

Beauregard was appointed superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy on January 23, 1861, but was removed after five days when Louisiana seceded.[8] He was in charge of Mississippi and Lake defenses in Louisiana, and patented a "self-acting bar excavator" for ships.[9] After the battle at Bull Run, Beauregard demanded a change from the "Stars and Bars" national flag because soldiers confused it with the Union flag, and the Virginia army's high command agreed to a new battle flag design.[10] Beauregard was transferred to Tennessee to serve as second-in-command to General Albert Sidney Johnston in the Army of Mississippi; after Johnston was mortally wounded at Shiloh, Beauregard assumed command of the army.[11]

What the cited sources add

The Gevinson account states that Beauregard demanded a change after the Battle of Bull Run because soldiers confused the "Stars and Bars" with the Union flag.[10] Beauregard attempted to standardize the battle flag throughout the Confederacy, but individual units resisted.[10] The "Catholics and the Civil War" source lists Beauregard as one of several Catholic officers, including Generals James Longstreet and William Hardee.[12]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "P. G. T. Beauregard" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Williams, pp. 2–3. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "P. G. T. Beauregard" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Catholics and the Civil War"; Williams, p. 5. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "P. G. T. Beauregard" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Williams, p. 6; Woodworth, p. 72. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "P. G. T. Beauregard" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Smith (2001) p. 43 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "P. G. T. Beauregard" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Williams, pp. 12–13 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "P. G. T. Beauregard" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Williams, p. 5; Detzer, Allegiance, p. 207. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "P. G. T. Beauregard" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Williams, pp. 10, 36, 324-36, 328.; Williams, pp. 35-36, 205-204. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "P. G. T. Beauregard" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Williams, pp. 45–47; Hattaway & Taylor, p. 21; Woodworth, pp. 74–75. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "P. G. T. Beauregard" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Williams, pp. 34–41. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Gevinson, Alan. "The Reason Behind the 'Stars and Bars'" ( ). (), accessed October 8, 2011.. facts only, no text reused. teachinghistory.org
  11. Wikipedia, "P. G. T. Beauregard" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Williams, pp. 113–132; Hattaway & Taylor, pp. 23–24; Woodworth, pp. 99–102; Cunningham, pp. 99, 138–140, 277–280; Eicher, p. 124. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  12. "Catholics and the Civil War". facts only, no text reused. catholiceducation.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article P. G. T. Beauregard (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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