William Henry Palmer

William Henry Palmer (October 9, 1835 July 14, 1926) was an officer in the Confederate States Army; serving in the Army of Northern Virginia during the American Civil War.

William Henry Palmer
Born(1835-10-09)October 9, 1835
Richmond, Virginia
DiedJuly 14, 1926(1926-07-14) (aged 90)
Richmond, Virginia
Place of burial
Hollywood Cemetery[1]
Richmond, Virginia
Allegiance Confederate States of America
Service/branch Confederate States Army
Years of service186165
Rank Lieutenant Colonel
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

Biography

Palmer was born in Richmond, Virginia. Prior to the outbreak of the Civil War, he was a merchant there. When the Civil War began, Palmer joined the First Virginia Infantry Regiment as a private. At Williamsburg Palmer, by now a Major, took over command of the regiment when his colonel was wounded; however Palmer himself got shot in the arm. In October 1862, he joined the staff of Confederate General A.P. Hill. His shoulder was dislocated in the same friendly fire attack at Chancellorsville that mortally wounded Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. Palmer spent the rest of the War with Hill, eventually rising to be the chief of staff for the Army of Northern Virginia's Third Corps.

Historian James Robertson, Hill's biographer, called Palmer "polished, highly organized, and indefatigable" as well as "Hill's most trusted aide."

After Hill's death on April 2, 1865, Palmer served as an Assistant Adjutant-General (or AAG) on Gen. James Longstreet's staff. He was paroled at Appomattox.

After the War, Palmer returned to Richmond. He became president of an insurance company and a banker. He lived well into the 20th century. When he died in 1926 at age 90, he was buried in Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery.

  • "William Henry Palmer". Find a Grave. Retrieved 2008-02-13.

References

  1. "William Henry Palmer". Find A Grave. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.