Get your own Free Home Page
Gordon attended the University of Georgia but dropped out to study law and become a member of the Atlanta bar. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he was working on a mining operation in the northwest part of the state. He raised a company of hard-fighting mountain men known as the Raccoon Roughs, and was elected its captain. Gordon, a capable organizer and hard fighter himself, rose swiftly through the ranks of the Confederate Army. On Nov. 1, 1862, after the Battle of Antietam (or Sharpsburg), where he was severely wounded, he was promoted to brigadier general. He would go on to become one of Gen. Lee's most trusted officers, receiving the rank of major general on May 14, 1864. During the final days of conflict, Gordon commanded the remnants of the II Corps/Army of Northern Virginia. He surrendered with his men at Appomattox, April 9, 1865.
Gordon returned to Atlanta after the war, resuming his law practice and becoming active in Democratic party affairs. He was also a leader in the struggle to return Georgia to home rule. The legislature elected him to the U.S. Senate in 1873 and again in 1879, but he resigned only a year later, on May 26, 1880. Gordon went to work promoting a railroad venture, then returned to politics in 1886, and was elected governor. After filling his term as governor, the legislature again elected him to the U.S. Senate, where he served a third term, from 1891-1897.
When the United Confederate Veterans was organized in 1890, Gordon was named commander in chief. He would hold the post until death. Gordon published Reminiscences of the Civil War, an excellent account of his wartime service, in 1903. He died on Jan., 9, 1904, in Miami, Fla., and was buried in Oakland Cemetery, Atlanta.
Get your own Free Home Page