GORDON, JOHNBROWN
Gordon, John Brown
(February 6, 1832–January 9, 1904)
Confederate General
T
rained as a lawyer,
Gordon overcame
military inexperi-
ence to become an out-
standing general of the
Civil War. He was
wounded eight times, and
his meteoric rise was un-
surpassed by any com-
mander of the Confeder-
acy. Afterward, Gordon
further enhanced his rep-
utation by becoming a
leading spokesman for na-
tional reconciliation and
economic development.
John Brown Gordon
was born in Upson
County, Georgia, on Feb-
ruary 6, 1832, and in 1851
he commenced studying
at the University of Geor-
gia. Gordon performed
well but grew disenchanted with academics,
dropped out, and studied law. In 1854, he
opened up a practice in Atlanta, but eventu-
ally he returned to his family’s ancestral home
in northwestern Georgia. There he engaged in
developing coal mines until the advent of the
Civil War in April 1861.
In the wake of the Confederate bombard-
ment of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor,
Gordon raised a company of mountaineers
who dubbed themselves the “Raccoon
Roughs.” When Georgia authorities declined
to accept their services, Gordon, elected com-
pany captain, marched them across the state
line into Alabama as part of the Sixth Al-
abama Infantry. Despite his lack of prior mili-
tary training, Gordon adjusted well to military
life, performed his duties competently, and by
April 1862 had risen to colonel of the Sixth Al-
abama. In this capacity he fought in the Penin-
sula campaign, receiving
his baptism of fire at
Seven Pines (May 31–
June 1, 1862). There the
Sixth Alabama suffered a
casualty rate of 60 per-
cent. The following month
he succeeded to the com-
mand of Gen. Robert
Rodes’s brigade at Mal-
vern Hill when that offi-
cer was wounded. Gor-
don’s fine reputation
induced Gen. Robert E.
Lee to allow him to
spearhead the Confeder-
ate invasion of Maryland
that fall. There Gordon
performed his most
heroic work during the
bloody Battle of Antietam
(September 17, 1862) as
part of Gen. Daniel H.
Hill’s division. His regiment occupied the
Sunken Road in the center of the Confederate
line and was repeatedly attacked by superior
Union forces. However, Gordon stood his
ground dutifully, beating off every attack, and
refused evacuation after being hit four times.
However, his fifth wound—a bullet through
the right cheek—knocked him unconscious,
and he collapsed face-first into his cap. Fortu-
nately, a bullet hole prevented him from
drowning in his own blood. As a consequence
of the exemplary performance at what would
also become known as Bloody Lane, Gordon
received a promotion to brigadier general in
November 1862. However, injuries kept him
detained from active service until the spring
of 1863.
Throughout the Chancellorsville and Get-
tysburg campaigns, Gordon commanded a
brigade of Georgia troops in Gen. Jubal A.John Brown Gordon
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