David Emanuel Twiggs (14 February 1790-15 July 1862) was a Major-General of both the US Army and the Confederate States Army, fighting in the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War. At the age of 71, he was the oldest Confederate general of the Civil War.
Biography[]
David Emanuel Twiggs was born in Richmond County, Georgia in 1790, the nephew of Governor David Emanuel, the first Jewish-American governor. Twiggs joined the US Army in 1812 and fought in the War of 1812 and the wars against the Seminoles in Florida, becoming colonel of the 2nd Dragoons and being nicknamed "the Bengal Tiger" for his fierce temper. During the Mexican-American War, he commanded a brigade, fighting at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma before being promoted to Brigadier-General in late 1846. Twiggs led the 2nd Division of Regulars in Winfield Scott's army in the campaign from Veracruz to Mexico City, and he was wounded in the assault on Chapultepec. After the fall of Mexico City, he became military governor of Veracruz, and he commanded the Department of Texas as a Major-General after the war's end in 1848. In 1861, Twiggs, Scott, John E. Wool, and William Harney were the only general officers in the US Army, and his command included 20% of the Army. In 1861, he met Confederate commanders Philip N. Luckett and Samuel Maverick and surrendered his entire command in Texas to the Confederate States of America, later joining its army as a Major-General. From 22 May to 11 October 1861, he commanded the Department of Louisiana, but he was replaced by Mansfield Lovell after falling ill. He died in 1862.