15. John Brown Gordon, Confederate States Army
Like Henry Benning, John Brown Gordon was an attorney by trade, with no military experience prior to joining the Alabama infantry, elected as a Captain of his company. The son of a planter and raised on a slave-holding plantation, Gordon held the common opinion of his class regarding the inferiority of the black race. He served with distinction in numerous battles of the Army of Northern Virginia, including at Antietam, where he received five serious wounds while helping hold the road which acquired the name “Bloody Lane”. When he returned to service after recovery of several months, he received a promotion to brigadier general, at Lee’s request. Gordon fought in several campaigns, including the Valley Campaign in 1864, and was present at the surrender at Appomattox in 1865.
Post-war he entered politics, opposed reconstruction, and either joined the Ku Klux Klan or another secret society such as the White League or the Red Shirts. In testimony before Congress in 1871, Gordon denied membership in the Klan but admitted he had been a member of a secret organization which intended the “preservation of peace” in Georgia. Some scholars believe he led the Ku Klux Klan in Georgia, others dispute the allegation based on some of his philanthropic activities. He served in the US Senate and as Governor of Georgia, and made a considerable fortune through investment in railroads and other emerging industries in the south, though he vehemently opposed equal rights for blacks.
Continue Reading: John Brown Is Hanged (1859)