Nathan George Evans

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Nathan George Evans

Nathan George "Shanks" Evans (February 3, 1824 – November 23, 1868) was a captain in the 2nd U.S. Cavalry who became a brigadier general

History of Confederate States Army Generals

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was a military organization whose primary mission was to provide the necessary forces and capabilities to support the National Security and defense of the Confederate States of America during its brief existence from 1861 to 1865....
during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
.

Evans was born in Marion, South Carolina

Marion, South Carolina

Marion is a city in Marion County, South Carolina, South Carolina, United States. The population was 7,042 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Marion County, South Carolina....
, the third son of Thomas and Jane Beverly (née Daniel) Evans. He briefly attended Randolph-Macon College

Randolph-Macon College

Randolph-Macon College is a private, co-education Liberal arts colleges in the United States located in Ashland, Virginia, Virginia, near the capital city of Richmond, Virginia....
before receiving an appointment to West Point from John C. Calhoun

John C. Calhoun

John Caldwell Calhoun was the List of Vice Presidents of the United States Vice President of the United States. He was a leading United States Southern politician from South Carolina during the first half of the 19th century....
. After graduation from the United States Military Academy

United States Military Academy

The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational United States Service academies located at West Point, New York, New York....
in 1848, Evans served on the western frontier

Frontier

A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a Border....
with the dragoon

Dragoon

A dragoon is a soldier intended primarily to fight on foot but trained also in horse riding and cavalry combat, especially during the late 17th and early 18th centuries when dragoon regiments were established in most European armies....
s and cavalry

Cavalry

The Cavalry is the second oldest of the Combat Arms, and as soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat, it represents the mobility and offensive power of the armed forces....
before resigning in 1861 to enter Confederate

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America formed as the government set up from 1861 to 1865 by eleven Southern United States U.S. state of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S....
service.

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Nathan George "Shanks" Evans (February 3, 1824 – November 23, 1868) was a captain in the 2nd U.S. Cavalry who became a brigadier general

History of Confederate States Army Generals

Confederate States Army

American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
.

Evans was born in Marion, South Carolina

Marion, South Carolina

Randolph-Macon College

John C. Calhoun

United States Military Academy

Frontier

A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a Border....
with the dragoon

Dragoon

Cavalry

Confederate States of America

Colonel (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, Colonel is a senior field officer United States Military Officer military rank just above the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and just below the rank of Brigadier General ....
and commanded a small brigade

Brigade

A brigade is a military unit that is typically composed of two to five regiments or battalions, depending on the era and nationality of a given army....
at the First Battle of Bull Run

First Battle of Bull Run

The First Battle of Bull Run, also known as the First Battle of Manassas , was the first major land battle of the American Civil War, fought on July 21, 1861, near Manassas, Virginia....
, where it was said his command went far toward saving the day for the South. During the thick of the fight, he was everywhere, closely followed by an aide carrying a "barrelito" (small barrel) of Evans' favorite whiskey on his back.

A number of examples of Evans' good tactical leadership and bravery in battle are recorded. However, his abrasive personality and his passion for intoxicating beverages led to his constant difficulties with colleagues and superiors.

He was given command of a brigade of Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Deep South of the United States. Jackson, Mississippi is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Anishinaabe language word misi-ziibi ....
and Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia is an United States U.S. state on the East Coast of the United States of the Southern United States. The state is known as the "Old Dominion" and sometimes as "Mother of Presidents", because it is the birthplace of Lists of United States Presidents by place of birth#By state....
troops and assigned to guard the upper fords of the Potomac River

Potomac River

The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic Ocean coast of the United States. The river is approximately 383 statute miles long, with a Drainage basin of about 14,700 square miles ....
, above Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the Capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790....
. In October 1861, a Union

Union Army

The Union Army was the army that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S....
force crossed the river near Leesburg, Virginia

Leesburg, Virginia

Leesburg is a historic town in and county seat of Loudoun County, Virginia, Virginia, United States of America, approximately west-northwest of Washington, D.C....
, and at the Battle of Ball's Bluff

Battle of Ball's Bluff

The Battle of Ball's Bluff, also known as the Battle of Harrison?s Island or the Battle of Leesburg, was fought on October 21, 1861, in Loudoun County, Virginia, as part of Union Major general George B....
Evans' command drove the enemy into the Potomac River, inflicting great loss. Evans was promoted to brigadier general

History of Confederate States Army Generals

The General Officers of the Confederate States of America were the senior military leaders of the Confederate States Army , serving during the American Civil War between 1861 and 1865....
to be effective from the day of the battle.

He was then sent to assist in defending the coastal areas just south of Charleston

Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston is a city in Charleston County, South Carolina in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is the largest city and county seat of Charleston County....
. He was placed in command of the First Military District which included Secessionville, just days before the battle there, but played little part in it. In July 1862, he was given command of a newly-formed brigade of South Carolina troops and led it to Richmond

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the Capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. Like all Virginia municipalities incorporated as cities, it is an independent city and not part of any county....
to join Robert E. Lee

Robert E. Lee

Robert Edward Lee , was a career United States United States Army officer , an engineer, and among the most celebrated generals in American history....
's Army of Northern Virginia

Army of Northern Virginia

The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War of the American Civil War....
.

Evans' Brigade participated in the battles of Second Manassas, South Mountain

Battle of South Mountain

The Battle of South Mountain was fought September 14, 1862, as part of the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War. Three pitched battles were fought for possession of three South Mountain passes: Crampton's Gap, Turner's Gap, and Fox's Gaps....
and Antietam

Battle of Antietam

The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern United States soil....
in 1862 and was then assigned to Eastern North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north....
to oppose a major Union raid on Kinston

Kinston, North Carolina

Kinston is a city in Lenoir County, North Carolina, North Carolina, United States. The population was 23,688 at the 2000 census. The population was estimated at 22,729 in 2006....
and Goldsboro

Goldsboro, North Carolina

Goldsboro is a city in Wayne County, North Carolina, North Carolina, United States. The population was 39,043 at the 2000 census, and estimated to be 38,023 in 2006....
. After this campaign, he was tried and acquitted for drunkenness during the Battle of Kinston

Battle of Kinston

The Battle of Kinston was fought on December 14, 1862, in Lenoir County, North Carolina, near the town of Kinston, North Carolina, as part of the Goldsboro Expedition of the American Civil War....
.

In the summer of 1863, Evans' Brigade was assigned to General Joseph E. Johnston

Joseph E. Johnston

Joseph Eggleston Johnston was a career United States Army officer, serving with distinction in the Mexican-American War and Seminole Wars, and was also one of the most senior general officers in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War....
's army during the Vicksburg Campaign

Vicksburg Campaign

The Vicksburg Campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War of the American Civil War directed against Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate States of America-controlled section of the Mississippi River....
. After this campaign, the brigade returned to Charleston where Evans quarreled with General Roswell S. Ripley

Roswell S. Ripley

Roswell Sabine Ripley was an officer in the United States Army during the Mexican-American War and, despite being Northern-born, a History of Confederate States Army Generals#brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War....
and was tried for disobedience of orders. Following Evans' acquittal, General P.G.T. Beauregard still considered Evans incompetent and would not return him to command. He was finally reinstated to command in the spring of 1864, but was severely injured in a buggy accident in Charleston as he was preparing to take his brigade north to the Petersburg Campaign.

Although Evans recovered somewhat from his injury, he was never returned to command. He held a lesser position at the War Department for a time and fled Richmond with President Jefferson Davis

Jefferson Davis

Jefferson Finis Davis was an United States politician who served as President of the Confederate States of America for its entire history, 1861 to 1865, during the American Civil War....
. He and his brother-in-law, Brigadier General Martin W. Gary, accompanied the Davis party until it spent the night of May 1, 1865, at the Gary family home in Cokesbury, South Carolina

Cokesbury, South Carolina

Cokesbury is a census-designated place in Greenwood County, South Carolina, South Carolina, United States. The population was 279 at the 2000 census....
.

After the war, Evans became a high school principal in Cokesbury and then in Midway, Alabama

Midway, Alabama

Midway is a town in Bullock County, Alabama, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 457....
, where he died in 1868, probably from the effects of his previous Charleston accident. He was buried in Tabernacle Cemetery in Cokesbury.

General William Henry Fitzhugh Lee

William Henry Fitzhugh Lee

William Henry Fitzhugh Lee , known as Rooney Lee or W.H.F. Lee, was the second son of Robert E. Lee and Mary Anna Custis Lee. He was a planter, a Confederate States Army cavalry General officer in the American Civil War, and later a member of the U.S....
, son of Robert E. Lee

Robert E. Lee

Robert Edward Lee , was a career United States United States Army officer , an engineer, and among the most celebrated generals in American history....
, once wrote of Evans:

"Shanks" Evans, as he was so called, was a graduate of the military academy, a native South Carolinian, served in the respected old Second Dragoons, and was a good example of the rip-roaring, scorn all-care element which so largely abounded in that regiment. Evans had the honor of opening the fight (First Manassas), we might say fired the first gun of the war.

Nathan George Evans

See also