Beauregard

General Beauregard

(1818-1893)

Beauregard is best known as a General for the Confederate States of America during the Civil War, he invented a system of cable-powered street railway cars after his military service, quite a feat for a General in the Civil War.

His counterparts claimed that although he possessed a great military mind and was courageous, he failed to deliver in the most important battles of the war. The tactical genius that was absent on the battlefield was evident in his engineering tactics. Many Confederate soldiers and a vast number of horses were saved from certain annihilation by him.

The Confederate soldiers would grow to appreciate his genuine concern for their safety and safety of their rights as Americans first and soldiers second. A caring for his fellow man would be an asset and a liability for him and would follow him to the very end. General P. G. T. Beauregard was born in 1818, in New Orleans. His family was Creole and had French roots that could be traced all the way back to Paris. Educated at West Point and graduated in 1838, he was a highly regarded cadet in artillery and as a military engineer.

The drive to put things together and to stretch the limits of the current mobility standards of that era stayed with him through his entire career. After graduating from West Pont he served in the Mexican -American War. He fought under the command of the famous Winfield Scott and was awarded military honors for bravery shown in battle.

During the Civil War, he led Confederate forces to a victory at The First Battle of Manassas. The tables were turned when the General lead his troops into battle against the Union forces at Shiloh. Although there was no clear-cut victor, the Confederate losses were higher than normal.

He sealed his fame in American history when he was the commander of the Confederate forces that opened fire on Ft. Sumter in 1861. This act ignited the start of the Civil War. The start of the Civil War is a point of debate for scholars and theologians alike as both sides have differing viewpoints of what really started the war.

After the South surrendered at Appomattox, he fell out of favor with his former southern officers as he took a stand against slavery and showed empathetic support for human rights. This was unheard of by a former Confederate commander. He had one last run at fame when the Egyptian government attempted to spirit him off to Cairo as leader of the Egyptian army in 1864.

The good general declined and went back to New Orleans to write his semi-successful book, "The Principles and Maxims of the Art of War." He died in his hometown of New Orleans in 1893. Forever pinned with the label as the man who started one of the darkest days in American history.

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