William E. Starke

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William E. Starke

William Edwin Starke (1814 – September 17, 1862) was a wealthy Gulf Coast

Gulf Coast of the United States

The Gulf Coast region of the United States comprises the coasts of states which border the Gulf of Mexico. The states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida are known as the Gulf States....
businessman and a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army

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....
. He was killed in action at the Battle of 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....
while commanding the famed "Stonewall Division," a unit first made famous under Stonewall Jackson

Stonewall Jackson

Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson was a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War, and probably the most well-known Confederate commander after General Robert E....
.

ke was born in Brunswick County, Virginia

Brunswick County, Virginia

Brunswick County is a county located in the U.S. state — officially, "Commonwealth " — of Virginia. As of the United States Census, 2000, the population was 18,419....
. His younger brother Peter Burwell Starke

Peter Burwell Starke

Peter Burwell Starke was a Mississippi politician and sheriff, and a Brigadier General in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War....
also became a general in the Confederate army, as well as a 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 ....
politician.

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William Edwin Starke (1814 – September 17, 1862) was a wealthy Gulf Coast

Gulf Coast of the United States

Confederate States Army

American Civil War

Battle of Antietam

Stonewall Jackson

Early life and career

Starke was born in Brunswick County, Virginia

Brunswick County, Virginia

Peter Burwell Starke

Mississippi

Lawrenceville, Virginia

Lawrenceville is a town in Brunswick County, Virginia, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,275 at the 2000 census. Located by the Meherrin River, it is the county seat of Brunswick County, Virginia and home to historically black Saint Paul's College, Virginia, founded in 1888 and affiliated with the Episcopal Church....
and Petersburg, Virginia

Petersburg, Virginia

Petersburg is an independent city in Virginia, United States located on the Appomattox River and 23 miles south of Richmond, Virginia. The population was 33,740 as of the United States Census 2000....
. In 1840, William Starke moved to the South, becoming a successful cotton broker in Mobile, Alabama

Mobile, Alabama

Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern United States United States state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama....
, and New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana. New Orleans is the center of the New Orleans metropolitan area metropolitan area, the largest metro area in the state....
. In 1858, he purchased the SS Texas Ranger, a former supply ship, from the Federal government and used it to haul cotton to his customers.

Starke was married to Louisa Grey Hicks, the daughter of a prominent Brunswick County businessman. Their daughter Sallie was born in Melrose, Alabama.

Civil War

At the outbreak of the Civil War early in 1861, despite his lack of formal military education, Starke was named as the lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant Colonel (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, lieutenant colonel is a field officer United States Military Officer military rank just above the rank of Major and just below the rank of Colonel ....
of the 53rd Virginia Infantry until June. He subsequently was an aide-de-camp

Aide-de-camp

An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state....
to Gen. Robert S. Garnett

Robert S. Garnett

File:Richard B. Garnett .jpgRobert Selden Garnett was a career military officer, serving in the United States Army until the American Civil War, when he became a Confederate States Army Brigadier General ....
in western Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a U.S. state in the Appalachian, Upland South, and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia on the southeast, Kentucky on the southwest, Ohio on the northwest, and Pennsylvania and Maryland on the northeast....
, but was without a position following Garnett's death in the Battle of Corrick's Ford

Battle of Corrick's Ford

The Battle of Corrick's Ford took place on July 13, 1861, on the Cheat River in Western Virginia as part of the Operations in Western Virginia Campaign during the American Civil War....
. His coolness and judgment in the midst of the confusion that followed the death of General Garnett were highly commended by Colonel William B. Taliaferro

William B. Taliaferro

William Booth Taliaferro , was a United States Army officer, a lawyer, legislator, and Confederate States Army General officer in the American Civil War....
, who succeeded to command. He temporarily served on the staff 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....
in August 1861.

Later in the year, he received a commission as the colonel

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 ....
of the 60th Virginia Infantry. He led the regiment

Regiment

A regiment is a military unit, composed of variable numbers of battalions, commanded by a Colonel. Depending on the nation, military branch, mission, and organization, a modern regiment resembles a brigade, in that both range in size from a few hundred to 5,000 soldiers ....
during the 1862 Peninsula Campaign

Peninsula Campaign

The Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War....
. He was wounded in the hand during the Seven Days Battles

Seven Days Battles

The Seven Days Battles was a series of six major battles over the seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia during the American Civil War....
on June 26, 1862, but resumed his duties after a three-day recovery period before finally relinquishing command after the battle.

For his gallant efforts during the fighting, he was commended twice and then promoted to brigadier general on August 6, 1862. He was assigned command of the Second Louisiana Brigade. He temporarily led a division

Division (military)

A division is a large military unit or Formation usually consisting of between ten to thirty thousand soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions make up a corps....
during the Second Battle of Manassas following the wounding of General Taliaferro.

In mid-September, Starke's Brigade was part of the force under Stonewall Jackson that captured the large Union garrison at Harpers Ferry

Battle of Harpers Ferry

The Battle of Harpers Ferry was fought from September 12 to September 15, 1862, as part of the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War. As Robert E....
, after which they marched into Sharpsburg, Maryland

Sharpsburg, Maryland

Sharpsburg is a town in Washington County, Maryland, Maryland, United States, approximately 13 miles south of Hagerstown, Maryland. The population was 691 at the 2000 census....
, on September 16. A strong 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....
attack on the morning of September 17 drove back the Confederate lines. Following the wounding of John R. Jones

John R. Jones

John Robert Jones was Virginia businessman and soldier who was a controversial Brigadier General in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War....
, Starke again temporarily took command of the Stonewall Division and led it in a counterattack

Counterattack

A counterattack is a military military tactics used by some or all of a defense against their attackers. The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy in attack and the specific objectives are usually to regain lost ground or to destroy attacking enemy units....
in the West Woods. Starke was shot three times and died within an hour. He was one of six generals killed or mortally wounded at Antietam.

His body was buried in the Hollywood Cemetery

Hollywood Cemetery

Hollywood Cemetery is a large, sprawling cemetery located at 412 South Cherry Street in Richmond, Virginia. Characterized by rolling hills and winding paths overlooking the James River , it is the resting place of two President of the United States, James Monroe and John Tyler, as well as the only President of the Confederate States of Ameri...
in Richmond, Virginia

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....
, next to his son who had been killed two months earlier at the Battle of Seven Pines

Battle of Seven Pines

The Battle of Seven Pines, also known as the Battle of Fair Oaks or Fair Oaks Station, took place on May 31 and June 1, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War....
.

Memorialization

Col. Bradley T. Johnson, in his official report on Second Manassas, wrote concerning the death of Starke:

I cannot forbear doing but scant justice to a gallant soldier now no more. It was my fortune during the two days of battle, during which he commanded the division, to be thrown constantly in contact with Brigadier-General Starke. The buoyant dash with which he led his brigade into the most withering fire on Friday, though then in command of the division; the force he showed in the handling of this command; the coolness and judgment which distinguished him in action, made him to me a marked man, and I regretted his early death as a great loss to the army and the cause.

Fellow Confederate officer Clement A. Evans

Clement A. Evans

Clement Anselm Evans was a Confederate Army infantry General officer in the American Civil War. He was also a noted politician, preacher, historian and prolific author....
later wrote, "His name deserves lasting remembrance in association with the Stonewall division."

A mortuary cannon on the Antietam Battlefield marks the approximate place where Starke was shot the third time, west of the Hagerstown Turnpike in the West Woods area. It was dedicated in October 1897.