Lafayette McLaws (15 January 1821-24 July 1897) was a Major-General of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.
Biography[]
Lafayette McLaws was born in Augusta, Georgia on 15 January 1821, and he graduated from West Point in 1842, placing 48th out of 56 cadets. McLaws fought in the Mexican-American War and the Utah War against the Mormons, and he married the niece of President Zachary Taylor. At the start of the American Civil War, he was quickly promoted to Brigadier-General, and he rose to Major-General after the Seven Days Battles of 1862. During the Battle of Fredericksburg, he impressed General Robert E. Lee with his defense of Marye's Heights, and he led a division at the Wheat Field and Peach Orchard during the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. In late 1863, James Longstreet relieved him of command for failing to take Fort Sanders during the Knoxville Campaign, only to return him to command in 1864. McLaws fought against William T. Sherman's Union army in Georgia during the March to the Sea, and he surrendered to the US Army alongside General Joseph E. Johnston on 26 April 1865. He died in Savannah, Georgia in 1897 at the age of 76, having worked for an insurance company until his death.
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