P. G. T. Beauregard

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P. G. T. Beauregard
General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard (1860s)
Birth namePierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard
NicknameThe Little Creole, The Little Napoleon, Bory, Felix, The Hero of Fort Sumter
Born(1818-05-28)May 28, 1818
St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, U.S.
DiedFebruary 20, 1893(1893-02-20) (aged 74)
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Place of burialTomb of the Army of Tennessee, Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans, U.S.
Allegiance United States of America
 Confederate States of America
Service/branch United States Army
 Confederate States Army
Years of service1838-61 (USA)
1861-65 (CSA)
Rank Brevet Major (USA)
General (CSA)
Commands heldConfederate Army of the Potomac
Army of Mississippi
Battles/warsMexican-American War

American Civil War

Other workAuthor, civil servant, politician, and inventor
Signature

Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard (May 28, 1818 – February 20, 1893) was an American military officer, politician, inventor, writer, civil servant. He was the first prominent general of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Today, he is known as P. G. T. Beauregard, but he rarely used his first name as an adult.

Early life[change | change source]

Beauregard was born on May 28, 1818 in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana. He was raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. Beauregard studied at the United States Military Academy.

Career[change | change source]

After the South seceded, he resigned from the US Army and became the first Confederate brigadier general. He commanded the defenses of Charleston, South Carolina, at the start of the Civil War at Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. Three months later he won the First Battle of Bull Run near Manassas, Virginia.

Personal life[change | change source]

Beauregard was married to Marie Antoinette Laure Villeré from 1841 until her death in 1850 after giving birth to their third child. They had three children, René, Henri, and Laure. Then he was married to Caroline Deslonde from 1860 until her death in 1894. They had no children.

Later life[change | change source]

Following his military career, Beauregard returned to Louisiana, where he served as a railroad executive. He became wealthy because of his role in creating the Louisiana Lottery.[1]

Death[change | change source]

Beauregard died on February 20, 1893 in his sleep from heart disease in his New Orleans, Louisiana home.[2] He was 74 years old. He was buried at Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Further reading[change | change source]

  • Conrad, Glenn R. "Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard." In A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography, vol. 1, edited by Glenn R. Conrad. New Orleans: Louisiana Historical Association, 1988. ISBN 978-0-940984-37-0.
  • Robertson, William Glenn. Backdoor to Richmond: The Bermuda Hundred Campaign, April–June 1864. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1987. ISBN 0-8071-1672-6.
  • Roman, Alfred. The Military Operations of General Beauregard in the War between the States, 1861 to 1865: Including a Brief Personal Sketch and a Narrative of his Services in the War with Mexico, 1846-8. New York, Da Capo Press, 1994. ISBN 978-0-306-80546-2. First published 1884 by Harper & Brothers.
  • Winters, John D. The Civil War in Louisiana. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1963. ISBN 0-8071-0834-0.

References[change | change source]

  1. "P. G. T. Beauregard". Civil War.org. Retrieved November 2, 2013.
  2. Detzer, Allegiance, pp. 272–301; Williams, pp. 57–61; "Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard". Biography. Civil War Home. Retrieved 18 May 2011.

Other websites[change | change source]

Media related to P.G.T. Beauregard at Wikimedia Commons