William C. Oates

William C. Oates
29th Governor of Alabama
In office December 1, 1894 – December 1, 1896
Preceded by	Thomas G. Jones
Succeeded by	Joseph F. Johnston
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Alabama's 3rd district
In office March 4, 1881 – November 5, 1894
Preceded by	William J. Samford
Succeeded by	George Paul Harrison, Jr.
Member of the Alabama House of Representatives
In office 1870-1872
Personal details
Born	November 30, 1835 Pike County, Alabama
Died	September 9, 1910 (aged 74) Montgomery, Alabama
Political party	Democratic
Military service
Allegiance	United States of America Confederate States of America
Service/branch	Confederate States Army (CSA)  United States Army (USA)
Years of service	1861–65 1898
Rank	Colonel (CSA) Brigadier General (USA)
Commands	15th Alabama Infantry 48th Alabama
Battles/wars	American Civil War Battle of Gettysburg Battle of Chickamauga Battle of the Wilderness Battle of Spotsylvania Court House Spanish American War

A historic marker honoring Oates stands next to the Henry County Courthouse in Abbeville.

William Calvin Oates (either November 30 or December 1, 1835 – September 9, 1910) was a Confederate colonel during the American Civil War, the 29th Governor of Alabama from 1894 to 1896, and a brigadier general in the U.S. Army during the Spanish–American War.

Early life

Oates was born in Pike County, Alabama, to William and Sarah (Sellers) Oates, a poor farming family. At the age of 17, he believed that he had killed a man in a violent brawl and left home for Florida. Oates became a drifter, settling in Texas for a couple of years before returning to Alabama at the urging of his younger brother John, who had been dispatched by the family to locate him. He studied law at the Lawrenceville Academy in Lawrenceville and passed the bar examination, and then opened a practice in Abbeville.^[1]

Civil War

Oates joined the Confederate States Army in 1861 and eventually became the commander of the 15th Alabama infantry regiment in the spring of 1863. He fought in the Battle of Gettysburg, leading his troops in a series of charges on Little Round Top, where his brother John perished. This became one of Oates's significant memories of the war, as he believed that if his regiment had been able to take Little Round Top, the Army of Northern Virginia might have won the battle, and possibly marched on to take Washington, D.C. Oates later stated that if even a single additional Confederate regiment had joined the assault, the attack could have succeeded, turning the Union's flank and threatening the entire Army of the Potomac.^[2][3]

Oates stated:

His [Col. Chamberlain's] skill and persistency and the great bravery of his men saved Little Round Top and the Army of the Potomac from defeat.

[If one more Confederate regiment had stormed the far left of the Army of the Potomac with the 15th Alabama,] "...we would have completely turned the flank and have won Little Round Top, which would have forced Meade's whole left wing to retire." He concluded, philosophically, that "great events sometimes turn on comparatively small affairs."^[2][3]

Oates participated in the battles of Chickamauga, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, and Cold Harbor. After transferring to the 48th Alabama, he was wounded near Petersburg, Virginia, losing his right arm, which ended his active service.

Postbellum career

Oates resumed his law practice in Henry County, Alabama, and served as a delegate to the 1868 Democratic National Convention. From 1870 to 1872, he was a member of the Alabama House of Representatives. In 1880, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served seven consecutive terms. Oates married Sarah Toney of Eufaula on March 28, 1882, and they had one son, William Calvin, Jr., who eventually joined his father in the law practice.

Oates was elected governor of Alabama in 1894 in a bitter campaign. Two years later, he unsuccessfully tried to secure his party's nomination as a candidate for the United States Senate. President William McKinley commissioned Oates as a brigadier general in 1898 and he served in the Spanish American War. He returned to his law practice and speculated in real estate. He tried unsuccessfully to have a monument erected at Gettysburg to his comrades in the old 15th Alabama, including his fallen brother.

Oates died in Montgomery, and is buried there in Oakwood Cemetery.

Notes

1. Michael A. Dreese (2007). Torn Families: Death and Kinship at the Battle of Gettysburg. McFarland. p. 156. ISBN 978-0-7864-2824-3.
2. LaFantasie, np.
3. Oates, William C. The War Between the Union and the Confederacy and Its Lost Opportunities. Dayton, OH: Morningside Bookshop, 1974. OCLC 1199018. First published 1905 by Neale Publishing Co. pp. 216, 219.

References

• LaFantasie, Glenn W. "The Inimitable William C. Oates." National Park Service website, accessed 10/26/07.

Further reading

• LaFantasie, Glenn W. Gettysburg Requiem: The Life and Lost Causes of Confederate Colonel William C. Oates. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. ISBN 978-0-19-517458-8.
• Oates, William C. The War Between the Union and the Confederacy and Its Lost Opportunities. Dayton, OH: Morningside Bookshop, 1974. OCLC 1199018. First published 1905 by Neale Publishing Co.

External links

• Encyclopedia of Alabama
• William C. Oates at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress