On this date in History .... March 17, 1863:
John Pelham, age 24, dies
at the battle of Kelleysville while standing in his horse stirrups, crying
out “Press forward, press forward
to glory & victory!” Pelham was considered one of the greatest officers of
the Confederate Army, his artillery precision unsurpassed. He left West Point
just short of graduating to join the Confederate military.
Gen. Stonewall Jackson
said, “With a Pelham on each flank I believe I could whip the world.” Many
southern towns are named after him & Gen. J.E.B. Stuart named his daughter
after Pelham.
Pelham's greatest battle was at Fredericksburg where he confused a
federal army of 120,000 men with his brilliant one-gun barrage from their
flank. His contribution to the Confederate victory that day was a major one and
General Robert E. Lee cited the part played by "the gallant Pelham"
in his official report (source: http://www.usa-civil-war.com/Civil_War/pelham.html)
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