William M. Gardner

William M. Gardner
Born	June 8, 1824 Augusta, Georgia
Died	June 16, 1901 (aged 77) Memphis, Tennessee
Buried at	Memphis, Tennessee
Allegiance	United States of America Confederate States of America
Service/branch	United States Army  Confederate States Army
Years of service	1846–1861 1861–1865
Rank	Captain, USA Brigadier General, CSA
Unit	8th Georgia Infantry Regiment Commander, Middle Florida, Richmond, Virginia
Battles/wars	American Civil War

William Montgomery Gardner (June 8, 1824 – June 16, 1901) was a Confederate States Army brigadier general, during the American Civil War. Before the Civil War, he served in the U.S. Army for 15 years. He was a veteran of the Mexican-American War.

Early life

William Montgomery Gardner was born on June 8, 1824 at Augusta, Georgia.^[1] He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1846.^[1] He served in the Mexican-American War in the 2nd U.S. Infantry Regiment.^[1] He was wounded at the Battle of Churubusco, Mexico and the Battle of Contreras, Mexico.^[1] Gardner was promoted to captain on March 3, 1855.^[1] He resigned from the U.S. Army on January 19, 1861.^[1][2]

American Civil War

After his resignation from the U.S. Army, Gardner was appointed as a major of infantry in the regular army of the Confederate States on March 16, 1861.^[1] He was appointed Assistant Adjutant General for the Defenses of Savannah, Georgia on May 30, 1861 but was also appointed lieutenant colonel of the 8th Georgia Infantry Regiment at the end of May 1861.^[1] Acting in that assignment, Gardner was severely wounded in the leg at the Battle of First Bull Run (First Manassas), July 21, 1861.^[1] Gardner was commissioned colonel on the date of the battle^[3] because the colonel of the regiment, Benjamin Bartow, had been killed. Gardner's later wound also was taken to be fatal.^[3] He took a year to recover and was incapacitated for further field service but he did survive.^[2] While he was recovering, Gardner was appointed brigadier general, to rank from November 14, 1861.^[2]

On April 1, 1862, William M. Gardner was appointed Assistant Commissary General of Subsistence for the 1st Corps of the Army of Mississippi.^[1] From October 6, 1863 through February 23, 1864, he was in command of the District of Middle Florida.^[1][3]

Warner states that Gardner participated in the Battle of Olustee, Florida in February 1864, although Longacre notes that Gardner's commanding officer, General P.G.T. Beauregard, did not give Gardner a field command due to his physical limitations.^[4] Sifakis states there is nothing in the Official Records to indicate Gardner participated in the battle.^[5] In fact, recent histories of the Civil War in Florida show that Gardner had been on sick leave in February 1864 and that Beauregard ordered Gardner to take command of the Confederate force pursuing the Union force's retreat toward Jacksonville, Florida only after the battle, when he realized Gardner had returned to duty. Gardner in fact assumed command of the force in the field soon after the battle and had his troops begin to erect fortifications outside Jacksonville until Beauregard himself arrived to take charge of the Confederate force and direct completion of the construction of defenses in March 1864.^[6][7]

Between July 26, 1864 and March 3, 1865, Gardner was chief of prisons in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida.^[1] Thereafter, he was commandant of the post at Richmond, Virginia until April 2, 1865^[4] and briefly also Chief of the Bureau of Prisons between March 20 and March 24, 1865.^[1][8] No record of Gardner's parole has been found.^[1]

Aftermath

After the Civil War, Gardner lived for a while in Georgia^[4] and then moved to Tennessee.^[1] William Montgomery Gardner died June 16, 1901 at a son's home in Memphis, Tennessee.^[1][2] He is buried in Elmwood Cemetery at Memphis.^[1][2]

See also

List of American Civil War generals (Confederate)

Notes

1. Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher. Civil War High Commands. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8047-3641-3. pp. 248-249
2. Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. ISBN 0-8071-0823-5. p. 97-98
3. Boatner, Mark Mayo, III. The Civil War Dictionary. New York: McKay, 1988. ISBN 0-8129-1726-X. First published New York, McKay, 1959. p. 232
4. Longacre, Edward D. "Gardner, William Montgomery" in Historical Times Illustrated History of the Civil War, edited by Patricia L. Faust. New York: Harper & Row, 1986. ISBN 978-0-06-273116-6. p. 298
5. Sifakis, Stewart. Who Was Who in the Civil War. New York: Facts On File, 1988. ISBN 0-8160-1055-2. pp. 236-237
6. Schafer, Daniel L. Thunder on the River: The Civil War in Northeast Florida. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 2010. ISBN 978-0-8130-3419-5. pp. 198-199
7. Nulty, William H. Confederate Florida: The Road to Olustee. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1994. ISBN 978-0-8173-0748-6. pp. 185-187
8. Boatner, 1959, p. 323 says that he was in command of all military prisons east of the Mississippi River except those in Georgia and Alabama and that he took over the post at Richmond in January 1865.

References

• Boatner, Mark Mayo, III. The Civil War Dictionary. New York: McKay, 1988. ISBN 0-8129-1726-X. First published New York, McKay, 1959.
• Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher. Civil War High Commands. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
• Longacre, Edward D. "Gardner, William Montgomery" in Historical Times Illustrated History of the Civil War, edited by Patricia L. Faust. New York: Harper & Row, 1986. ISBN 978-0-06-273116-6.
• Nulty, William H. Confederate Florida: The Road to Olustee. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1994. ISBN 978-0-8173-0748-6.
• Schafer, Daniel L. Thunder on the River: The Civil War in Northeast Florida. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 2010. ISBN 978-0-8130-3419-5.
• Sifakis, Stewart. Who Was Who in the Civil War. New York: Facts On File, 1988. ISBN 0-8160-1055-2.
• Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. ISBN 0-8071-0823-5.