wounded. After the war, Magruder spent a
dozen years performing garrison duty at vari-
ous points along the frontier and East Coast. In
1859, he became the commander of Fort Leav-
enworth, Kansas, and also performed artillery
instruction. Magruder was in every respect a
Southern gentleman, with great dignity, urbane
manners, and a flair for social extravagance. In
military circles his emphasis on lavish enter-
tainment and free-flowing alcohol resulted in
the sobriquet “Prince John.”
Magruder was not strongly sympathetic to-
ward secession; nonetheless he resigned his
commission in April 1861 and offered his ser-
vices to the Confederacy. He was initially
commissioned as a colonel and posted with
troops guarding the vulnerable Virginia Penin-
sula. There, on June 10, 1861, a small force of
Union soldiers under Col. Benjamin F. Butler
made a halfhearted attempt to break out of
Fortress Monroe. Magruder was on hand to
engage them at Big Bethel, defeating them
soundly. This, the Civil War’s first major en-
gagement, was a skirmish at best, but the Vir-
ginia press heralded it as a major victory. Con-
sequently, Magruder became the idol of the
Confederacy and was rewarded with a pro-
motion to brigadier general on June 17, 1861.
The following October, he advanced to major
general in charge of Confederate defenses at
Yorktown on the peninsula.
Magruder’s biggest test occurred the fol-
lowing spring, in April 1862, when a large
Union army under Gen. George B. McClellan
landed 55,000 men on the peninsula and ad-
vanced against Yorktown. The defenders, who
were ensconced behind the Warwick River,
scarcely numbered 10,000 men, but Magruder
enacted a clever ploy to conceal his weakness.
Much given to theatrical displays, he deliber-
ately paraded his infantry and artillery at vari-
ous points along the line, shouting orders to
nonexistent units and giving McClellan the im-
pression that he was opposing much larger
forces than was the case. The bluff succeeded
at stalling the Union advance for nearly a
month, which gave Confederate commander
Gen. Joseph E. Johnston more time to
gather men and consolidate his defenses.
However, Johnson was less than impressed
with either Magruder or his arrangements, and
the two men quarreled. At length Magruder
felt compelled to request a transfer to another
theater after the current spate of fighting con-
cluded. By the time McClellan finally ad-
vanced in May, the Confederates withdrew
one step ahead of him. A cautious pursuit en-
sued that ended at the Battle of Seven Pines.
Magruder performed well in a secondary role,
and when Johnston was wounded he was suc-
ceeded by a new leader, Gen. Robert E. Lee.
Lee ordered an immediate counterattack
against McClellan’s larger forces and slowly
drove them back from Richmond. Magruder
fulfilled his assigned tasks skillfully, espe-
cially at Mechanicsville and Gaines Mill in
June 1862. In both instances, he was called
upon to provide a bluff to catch McClellan’s
attention while Lee hit him elsewhere, suc-
ceeding brilliantly. However, by the Battle of
Savage Station on June 29, 1862, Magruder
was apparently suffering from either lack of
sleep or combat fatigue, and his performance
suffered. He bungled his attack both there
and during the climatic Battle of Malvern Hill
(July 1, 1862). Lee was angered by these dila-
tory movements, which he felt allowed Mc-
Clellan’s army to escape intact. When rumors
of possible intoxication reached his ears, Lee
requested that Magruder be dismissed pend-
ing further investigation. Fortunately for the
latter, a transfer to the District of Texas, New
Mexico, and Arizona was arranged the follow-
ing October.
Magruder’s subsequent activities were com-
petent but anticlimactic. On January 1, 1863,
he staged his most impressive feat, recaptur-
ing the Texas port of Galveston in a sudden
rush. The Union revenue cutterHarriet Lane
was also taken and the blockading squadron
driven off. This was a significant accomplish-
ment, as Galveston was a major port of entry
for Southern blockade runners. Furthermore,
the victory partially redeemed Magruder’s rep-
utation. He thereafter coordinated efforts with
Gen. Richard Taylorduring the Red RiverMAGRUDER, JOHNBANKHEAD