ston. Afterward, Pemberton bitterly assailed
Loring for his actions, which he character-
ized as insubordinate.
By the spring of 1864, Loring had been
transferred to the corps of Gen. Leonidas K.
Polk in the northwestern corner of Georgia.
Over the next three months he skirmished
with advancing forces of Gen. William Tecum-
seh Sherman during Sherman’s March to the
Sea, and that June Loring scored several tacti-
cal defensive victories over Union forces at
Little Kennesaw and Pigeon Hill. Further-
more, when Polk was killed at Pine Mountain
on June 14, 1864, Loring assumed temporary
command of the Army of Mississippi. The fol-
lowing month he was replaced in turn by Gen.
Alexander P. Stewart and rendered useful ser-
vice at the Battles of Peachtree Creek and
Ezra Church in July. Loring was badly
wounded at the latter and could not rejoin the
army under Gen. John Bell Hooduntil Sep-
tember 1864. He then accompanied Hood’s
advance into Tennessee to sever Sherman’s
supply lines. He played a conspicuous role as
Hood’s second in command at the Battle of
Franklin and the terrible defeat at Nashville,
where his division conducted a skillful with-
drawal under fire. Loring and the remnants of
his force made their way to North Carolina,
where they joined up with General Johnston.
Loring fought bravely at the Battle of Ben-
tonville (March 19–21, 1865) and finally sur-
rendered to Sherman at Greensboro on May 2,
1865.
Loring ventured to New York City after the
war to become a banker. In 1869, his career
took an exotic turn when he arrived in Egypt
and was appointed an inspector general in the
army of Khedive Ismail I with the rank of
lewan pasha (brigadier general). In 1870, Lor-
ing was commandant of Alexandria and re-
sponsible for the defense of the coastline. In
1875, he led Egyptian forces south into the
Sudan and won the Battle of Kaya-Khor. The
khedive especially appreciated his decade of
service and awarded him the title of pasha
and several lavish decorations. Loring finally
returned to the United States in 1879, dividing
his time between New York and Florida. He
wrote exclusively about his varied military
experiences before dying in New York on De-
cember 30, 1886. Loring was an excellent sol-
dier and a determined, if stubborn, leader
with a colorful background and a service
record to match.See also
Davis, Jefferson; Hood, John Bell; Jackson, Thomas J.
“Stonewall”; Johnston, Joseph E.; Lee, Robert E.Bibliography
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