Alpheus Baker

Alpheus Baker (May 28, 1828 – October 21, 1891) was a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.

Alpheus Baker
Born(1828-05-28)May 28, 1828
South Carolina
DiedOctober 21, 1891(1891-10-21) (aged 63)
Louisville, Kentucky
Place of burial
Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville, Kentucky
Allegiance Confederate States of America
Service/branch Confederate States Army
Years of service1861–1865
Rank Brigadier General
Commands held54th Alabama Infantry
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

Biography

Born in South Carolina, Baker was a schoolteacher and practiced law before moving to Alabama.[1] Upon Alabama's secession from the Union, Baker enlisted as a captain in the Eufaula Rifles before being transferred to the 1st Alabama Infantry, where he was briefly stationed in Pensacola, Florida, before being sent to Tennessee in late 1861.

Being elected colonel by a mixed regiment of soldiers from Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee in 1862, his unit fought in the Battle of New Madrid, where he was subsequently taken prisoner. Released in a prisoner exchange within several months, Baker was given command of the 54th Alabama Infantry, which he would lead during the battles of Vicksburg and Champion's Hill, where he was seriously wounded. After his recovery, Baker assumed command of an Alabama brigade and promoted to brigadier general on March 5, 1864. Later participating in the Atlanta Campaign, he was again wounded at the Battle of Ezra Church. Reassigned to the Department of the Gulf, Baker led his brigade in the defenses of Mobile but rejoined the Army of Tennessee for the Carolinas Campaign in 1865.

According to his last wishes, Baker was buried among his soldiers at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky, upon his death. An empty space was reserved in his honor among the burials of Confederate prisoners-of-war who were held in the Louisville Prison Camp.

See also
  • List of American Civil War Generals (Confederate)

Notes
  1. According to a family history written by General Baker's second wife Pheribee May Ricks, General Baker was born in Abbeville, S.C. May 23rd, 1825. He moved from Eafaulu Alabama to Louisville, Kentucky in 1883. When Lincoln was elected President he was one of the delegates elected from Barbour County, Alabama, to the secession convention. He entered military service at the age of 36 years.

References
  • Current, Richard N., ed., The Confederacy. New York: Simon and Schuster Macmillan, 1993. ISBN 0-02-864920-6. Macmillan Compendium. Sections from the four-volume Macmillan Encyclopedia of the Confederacy.
  • Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
  • Faust, Patricia L., ed. Historical Times Illustrated History of the Civil War. New York: Harper & Row, 1986. ISBN 978-0-06-273116-6. Articles cited > 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.
  • Linedecker, Clifford L., ed., Civil War, A-Z: The Complete Handbook of America's Bloodiest Conflict. New York: Ballantine Books, 2002. ISBN 0-89141-878-4
  • 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.
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