Everything about Nathan G Evans totally explained
Nathan George "Shanks" Evans (
February 3,
1824 –
November 23,
1868) was a
captain in the
2nd U.S. Cavalry who became a
brigadier general in the
Confederate States Army during the
American Civil War.
Evans was born in
Marion, South Carolina. He briefly attended
Randolph-Macon College before receiving an appointment to West Point from
John C. Calhoun. After graduation from the
U.S. Military Academy in 1848, Evans served on the western
frontier with the
dragoons and
cavalry, before resigning in 1861 to enter
Confederate service. He was commissioned a
colonel and commanded a small
brigade at the
First Battle of Bull Run, where it was said his command went far toward saving the day for the
South. During the thick of the fight, he was everywhere, closely followed by an aide carrying a "barrelito" (small barrel) of Evans' favorite whiskey on his back.
A number of examples of Evans' good tactical leadership and bravery in battle are recorded. However, his abrasive personality and his passion for alcoholic beverages led to his constant difficulties with colleagues and superiors.
He was given command of a brigade of
Mississippi and
Virginia troops and assigned to guard the upper fords of the
Potomac River, above
Washington, D.C.. In October 1861, a
Union force crossed the river near
Leesburg, Virginia, and at the
Battle of Ball's Bluff Evans' command drove the enemy into the Potomac River, inflicting great loss. Evans was promoted to
brigadier general to be effective from the day of the battle.
He was then sent to assist in defending the coastal areas just south of
Charleston. He was placed in command of the First Military District which included
Secessionville, just days before that battle, but played little part in it. In July 1862, he was given command of a newly-formed brigade of South Carolina troops and led it to
Richmond to join
Robert E. Lee's
Army of Northern Virginia.
Evans' Brigade participated in the battles of
Second Manassas,
South Mountain and
Antietam in 1862 and was then assigned to
Eastern North Carolina to oppose a major Union raid on
Kinston and
Goldsboro. After this campaign, he was tried and acquitted for drunkenness during the
Battle of Kinston.
In the summer of 1863, Evans' Brigade was assigned to
General Joseph E. Johnston's army during the
Vicksburg Campaign. After this campaign, the brigade returned to Charleston where Evans quarreled with General
Roswell S. Ripley and was tried for disobedience of orders. Following Evans' acquittal, General
P.G.T. Beauregard still considered Evans incompetent and wouldn't return him to command. He was finally reinstated to command in the spring of 1864, but was severely injured in a buggy accident in Charleston as he was preparing to take his brigade north to the
Petersburg Campaign.
Although Evans recovered somewhat from his injury, he was never returned to command. He held a minor position at the War Department for a time and fled Richmond with President
Jefferson Davis. He and his brother-in-law, General
Martin W. Gary, remained with the Davis party until it spent the night of
May 1,
1865, at the Gary family home in
Cokesbury, South Carolina.
After the war, Evans became a high school principal in Cokesbury and in
Midway, Alabama, where he died in
1868 from lingering effects of his Charleston accident. He is buried in Tabernacle Cemetery in Cokesbury.
General William Henry Fitzhugh Lee, son of
Robert E. Lee, once wrote of Evans:
» "Shanks" Evans, as he was so called, was a graduate of the military academy, a native South Carolinian, served in the respected old Second Dragoons, and was a good example of the rip-roaring, scorn all-care element which so largely abounded in that regiment. Evans had the honor of opening the fight (First Manassas), we might say fired the first gun of the war.Further Information
Get more info on 'Nathan G Evans'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://nathan_george_evans.totallyexplained.com">Nathan George Evans Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
