PILLOW, GIDEONJOHNSON
Pillow, Gideon Johnson
(June 8, 1806–October 8, 1878)
Confederate General
S
elf-serving and querulous, Pillow was
one of the most inefficient officers ever
to don a Confederate uniform. His inde-
cisiveness at Fort Donelson led to the capture
of that post—with disastrous consequences
for the Southern heartland.
Gideon Johnson Pillow was born in
Williamson (now Maury) County, Tennessee,
on June 8, 1806, and attended the University of
Nashville. After graduating in 1827, he pur-
sued legal studies for three years before being
admitted to the state bar in 1830. A fine orator,
Pillow quickly established himself as an effec-
tive lawyer in Columbia, entered politics as a
Democrat, and struck up close relations with
fellow attorney James K. Polk. Skilled in poli-
tics and backroom machinations, he proved
instrumental in helping Knox receive the party
nomination for president of the United States
in 1844. Polk won the ensuing election and in
1846, following the onset of war with Mexico,
rewarded Pillow by making him a brigadier
general of volunteers. In this capacity Pillow
ventured to Texas, where the windy lawyer
failed to make much of an impression upon
Gen. Zachary Taylor, the commanding officer.
When Taylor declined to employ Pillow during
his advance upon Monterrey, he responded by
writing highly critical letters to the president.
In fact, Pillow considered himself and always
behaved as if he were Polk’s unofficial ob-
server. The following year he was transferred
to the army of Gen. Winfield Scott in prepara-
tion for the overland campaign against Mexico
City. There was very little room for such tow-
ering egos under one tent, and the two men
immediately disliked each other. Worse, Pil-
low was wounded during a badly botched at-
tack upon Mexican forces at Cerro Gordo on
April 17, 1847, his first major action. Nonethe-
less, Polk saw fit to reward him with a promo-
tion to major general of volunteers, making
him second in command to Scott. Pillow ap-
parently learned from his mistakes quickly, for
he turned in respectable performances at Con-
treras and Churubusco. At the storming of
Chapultepec on September 13, 1846, he was
again seriously wounded but acquitted himself
competently.
Despite his shaky debut, Pillow had ac-
quired a measure of fame in Mexico, but he
squandered it by engaging in a lengthy dispute
with Scott. This happened when peace negoti-
ations with the Mexican government were ini-
tiated, and Scott deliberately left Pillow out of
the process. The general also admonished him
for trying to seize a Mexican cannon as a war
trophy. Pillow retaliated by publishing several
anonymous and scathing letters about Scott in
the New Orleans Daily Deltaand also violated
the chain of command by complaining directly
to the president. Polk did nothing to dissuade
such behavior, as Scott was viewed as a poten-
tial presidential opponent, and he tacitly
sought to embarrass him. Scott, in turn, ac-
cused Pillow of insubordination. Three court-
martials subsequently cleared him of all
charges, but the entire affair sullied his mili-
tary reputation. Pillow returned to Tennessee
soon after and resumed his politicking within
the Democratic Party. In time he also amassed
a considerable fortune, owning many slaves
and several large plantations.
Although a southern Democrat, Pillow was
a moderate on the issue of slavery and op-
posed the secessionist tendencies of other,
more radical Southerners. Probably for this
reason, he failed to secure the vice presiden-
tial nomination in 1852 and 1856, and the fol-
lowing year he lost his chance to run for an
open seat in the U.S. Senate. By April 1861,
Pillow still opposed secession, but he
nonetheless joined the Confederacy when
Fort Sumter was fired upon. He then eagerly
offered his services to Governor Isham Harris
and became a major general in the Provi-