Victor Girardey
Victor Jean Baptiste Girardey (June 26, 1837 – August 16, 1864) was a Confederate States Army officer during the American Civil War. He was promoted from Captain to temporary Brigadier General less than a month before his death in battle. Girardey had served as a staff officer from the beginning of the war until August 3, 1864. Then, he was promoted to temporary brigadier general, to rank from July 30, 1864, and assumed command of Ambrose R. Wright's former brigade on the Darbytown Road on the eastern end of the defenses of Richmond, Virginia. On August 16, 1864, during the Second Battle of Deep Bottom, Girardey was killed in action near Fussell's Mill in Henrico County, Virginia.
Victor Jean Baptiste Girardey | |
|---|---|
 Brig. Gen. Victor Girardey | |
| Born | June 26, 1837 Lauw, France |
| Died | August 16, 1864 (aged 27) Henrico County, Virginia |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | .svg.png){kind=small} |
| Service/ |  |
| Years of service | 1861–1864 |
| Rank |  Brigadier General (unconfirmed) |
| Unit | 1st Battalion, Louisiana Infantry |
| Commands held | Wright's Brigade |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Early life
Victor Jean Baptiste Girardey was born on June 26, 1837 at Lauw, France; and emigrated to Georgia with his family in 1842.[1][2] Orphaned by the age of 16, he completed his education in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he married a Louisiana woman of French descent, Clotilde LeSueur.
American Civil War
Although historian Ezra Warner wrote that Girardey was living in Georgia at the outbreak of the Civil War, and he was later nominated to the Confederate Senate as an Assistant Adjutant-General as from that state, his first Confederate service was as a Second Lieutenant of Louisiana Militia, then as a Second Lieutenant of the 1st Louisiana Infantry Battalion.[1][2][3] He resigned from that position on October 12, 1861 and on the same day was appointed aide-de-camp to Brigadier General Albert G. Blanchard.[1]
On June 21, 1862, Girardey became a Captain and Assistant Adjutant-General for Brigadier General Ambrose Wright's brigade.[1][2] Girardey received several commendations for skill, bravery and efficiency, having fought in the Seven Days Battles, the Battle of Chancellorsville and the Battle of Gettysburg.[4] He took temporary command of a regiment during the Battle of Manassas Gap when the regiment's colonel was wounded.[4] During the Siege of Petersburg, Girardey was transferred to the divisional staff of Major General William Mahone.[5] During the Battle of the Crater, Girardey distinguished himself by his performance in organizing and timing Mahone's counterattack after the Union Army's mine exploded under the Confederate line.[6] He led two brigades from behind the Confederate line in order to fill the gap in the line caused by the mine explosion.[7]
On August 3, 1864, Girardey was promoted several grades from Captain to temporary Brigadier General, to rank from July 30, 1864.[2][7] Historian Mark Boatner says that General Lee made the promotion in the field.[4] Unlike Ezra Warner, historians John and David Eicher do not list Girardey as a Brigadier General because his appointment was never confirmed by the Confederate Senate.[8]
On August 16, 1864, during the Second Battle of Deep Bottom, Girardey was in command of Wright's former brigade. The brigade was stationed near the Darbytown Road on the east end of the defenses of Richmond in Henrico County, Virginia.[5] On that date Girardey was shot in the head and killed while directing a defense against the Union Army assault on the Confederate position near Fussell's Mill.[1][2][7]
Aftermath
Victor Jean Baptiste Girardey is buried in Magnolia Cemetery at Augusta, Georgia, next to his wife.[1][2]
Notes
- Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher. Civil War High Commands. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8047-3641-3. p. 598
- Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. ISBN 0-8071-0823-5. pp. 105-106
- Historian Jeffry Wert states that Girardey enlisted as a First Lieutenant and aide-de-camp to the 3rd Georgia Infantry Regiment. Other sources do not mention this service although the presentation of dates of service in some of them do not necessarily rule out that Girardey may have held this position early in the war in addition to the others which the sources state that Girardey held before he joined Brigadier General Ambrose Wright's staff.
- Boatner, Mark Mayo, III. The Civil War Dictionary. New York: McKay, 1988. ISBN 0-8129-1726-X. First published New York, McKay, 1959. p. 344
- Wert, Jeffry D. "Girardey, Victor Jean Baptiste" 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. p. 312
- Power, J. Tracy. Lee's Miserables: Life in the Army of Northern Virginia from the Wilderness to Appomattox. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1998. ISBN 0-8078-2392-9. p. 186
- Sifakis, Stewart. Who Was Who in the Civil War. New York: Facts On File, 1988. ISBN 0-8160-1055-2. p. 251
- The Eichers show Girardey as having been appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the 27th Georgia Infantry Regiment at an unspecified date in 1864 but they also show him holding his staff appointments for the entire year until his promotion to Brigadier General. Warner, Boatner, Sifakis and Wert do not mention a Lieutenant Colonel appointment for Girardey. Warner, Boatner and Wert note that Girardey's promotion was the only promotion from Captain to Brigadier General in the Confederate Army during the war and Sifakis states that Girardey was promoted four grades.
References
- 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.
- Power, J. Tracy. Lee's Miserables: Life in the Army of Northern Virginia from the Wilderness to Appomattox. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1998. ISBN 0-8078-2392-9.
- 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. "Girardey, Victor Jean Baptiste" 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.