Nathaniel H. Harris

Nathaniel Harrison Harris was born on August 22, 1834 at Natchez, Mississippi.[1][2] Harris graduated from the University of Louisiana (now Tulane University) Law School and practiced law in Vicksburg, Mississippi.[1][2] He never married.[2]

In early 1861, Harris organized a Mississippi militia company called the "Warren Rifles" and was captain of the company on April 25, 1861.[1][3] On June 1, 1861, the company became Company C of the 19th Mississippi Infantry Regiment.[2] The regiment soon was sent to Virginia, but did not engage in the First Battle of Bull Run or other significant action until the Battle of Williamsburg in the Peninsula Campaign.[3][4] Harris was promoted to major on March 5, 1862.[1] His regiment went on to fight in the Battle of Seven Pines and the Seven Days Battles.[5] Harris was wounded at Williamsburg on May 5, 1862, at the Battle of Glendale (Frayser's Farm) on June 30, 1862 and the Second Battle of Bull Run on August 30, 1862.[1] After the Antietam Campaign, Harris was promoted to lieutenant colonel.[1][3]

Harris was promoted to colonel and assumed command of the regiment on April 2, 1863.[1][3] He led the regiment at the Battle of Chancellorsville and the Battle of Gettysburg.[2] Harris assumed command of Brigadier General Carnot Posey's brigade after Posey was mortally wounded at the Battle of Bristoe Station.[5] Harris was promoted to brigadier general on January 20, 1864. His brigade was assigned to Major General Richard H. Anderson's division, then Major General William Mahone's division in III Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia.[1][3] Harris's brigade delivered a powerful counterattack in the "Mule Shoe" salient at the Battle of Spotsylvania.[3] He performed distinguished service during the Siege of Petersburg.[2] At the Battle of Globe Tavern, August 21, 1864, over half of Harris's brigade were casualties.[3] In late 1864 and early 1865, Harris's brigade fought along the Weldon Railroad.[4] Harris again was especially distinguished at the Battles of Fort Gregg and Whitworth at the end of the siege.[2] In March 1865, Harris commanded the inner defenses of Richmond, Virginia.[3]

Harris was paroled at Appomattox, Virginia on April 9, 1865, where he was in command of Mahone's division and was pardoned on October 19, 1865.[1][4]

After the war, Harris resumed his law practice at Vicksburg, Mississippi.[1][2][3] He became president of the reorganized Mississippi Valley and Ship Island Railroad.[1][2] For a time, he was register of the U.S. Land Office in Aberdeen, South Dakota.[1][2][3] In 1890, Harris moved to California, where he became a successful businessman in partnership with mining engineer, John Hays Hammond.[1][2]

Nathaniel Harrison Harris died August 23, 1900 in Malvern, Worcestershire, England while on a business trip.[1][2][3] As he requested, his remains were cremated.[2] The remains were buried at the Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York.[1][2][3]

• List of American Civil War Generals (Confederate)

• 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.
• 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.
• Wert, Jeffry D. "Harris, Nathaniel Harrison" 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.