Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, Jan. 29.

Click 👉TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) Jan. 29. 

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Jan. 29.

1861: The Louisiana Secession Convention reconvened at the City Hall in New Orleans. It moved to New Orleans because the Louisiana Legislature had convened and was taking up all the meeting places and hotel rooms. The convention adopted an ordinance that all Federal officers of the United States government would retain their positions in the new Republic of Louisiana, and all United States revenue, collection, and navigation laws would continue as Louisiana laws. All officers retained their offices would be indemnified by Louisiana against claims by the United States. It also voted to send delegates to Montgomery, Alabama to the convention of Southern states to form a provisional government for the Southern Confederacy.

President Mouton called the convention to order at 12 o'clock while outside the Washington Artillery on Lafayette Square boomed a salute that reverberated through the building. A Pelican flag was hoisted over the building at the same time. The galleries were crowded with spectators, including a fair array of the beautiful ladies of the city. The Rev. Dr. Palmer of the First Presbyterian Church offered an opening prayer. The Lyceum Hall was offered by the Mayor and City Council of New Orleans and was being prepared for the convention.

1863: President Davis sends a cable to General Pemberton in Vicksburg, Mississippi suggesting he try to block the Yazoo Pass. Near Suffolk, Virginia, and Turner's Mills, Virginia there is light fighting. At Stono River, South Carolina the Confederate shore batteries exchanged fire with the U.S.S. Isaac Smith. 

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Jan. 29.

Major General Franklin Kitchell Gardner was born on this day in 1823 in New York, New York. He was the grandson of a Revolutionary War veteran and his father a War of 1812 hero. Gardner attended West Point and graduated in the class of 1843 ranking 17th out of 39 cadets. He then served as a second lieutenant in the 7th U.S. Infantry Regiment in Pensacola, Fla. During the Mexican-American War, Gardner served under General Zachary Taylor in the Battle of Monterrey in Sept. 1846 and was breveted a 1st lieutenant. He then fought under General Winfield Scott in his Mexico City Campaign and fought in the Siege of Veracruz, the battles of Churubusco, Molino del Rey, and Cerro Gordo. For his gallantry at Cerro Gordo, he received another brevet to captain. After that war, he received a permanent promotion to captain in 1855 in the 10th U.S. Infantry Regiment. Gardner took part in the Utah War and served in various posts throughout the U.S. His older sister met and married Sen. Alexandre Mouton of Louisiana and he married a younger daughter of Senator Mouton, Marie Celeste Mouton in 1850, thus beginning a connection to Louisiana. Gardner resigned from the U.S. Army in 1861 and was commissioned a lieutenant colonel in the Confederate Army and assigned to the command of Fort Gaines, Ala., and served on the staff of General Braxton Bragg during the Battle of Shiloh. He was credited by Gen. Patton Anderson with spotting an enemy battery during that battle. Gardner was promoted to brigadier general to date from April 11, 1862, and given command of an Alabama infantry brigade. It was present for the Kentucky campaign in 1862 but never got into any serious fighting. He was promoted to major general on Dec. 17, 1862, and given command of the Port Hudson, a Confederate bastion in Louisiana on the Mississippi River south of Vicksburg, Miss. He masterfully commanded the garrison during the Siege of Port Hudson, in May-June 1863, but finally had to surrender after Vicksburg fell. After he was exchanged, he served in the Dept. of Ala., Miss., & E. La. and was paroled May 11, 1865, at Meridian, Miss. After the war, he initially worked as a draftsman in New Orleans and then moved to Vermilionville (modern-day Lafayette), La. where he died on April 29, 1873, and was buried in St. John the Baptist Catholic Cemetery. He was survived by his wife and son, Alfred. 

Maj. General Franklin Gardner

A biography has been published on the life of Major General Franklin Gardner

    The book, "Major General Franklin Gardner: Hero of the Siege of Port Hudson," by Michael Dan Jones, is believed to be the first book-length biography on this important Confederate general. The author covers Gardner's entire life, from his birth in New York City and growing up in Washington D.C. to his time as a student at the West Point, his family life, his spectacular record in the Mexican-American War, the War for Southern Independence and his final post-war years in Louisiana.    

     Jones also covers new ground in that he has corrected the historic record about Gardner's controversial departure from the U.S. Army in April 1861. He was accused of not having resigned before he left his last military post, which resulted in some previous historians accusing Gardner of being a deserter from the U.S. Army. Jones, however, found his actual resignation letter, as well as contemporary newspaper notices, which conclusively prove that Gardner did, in fact, resign before he left his last post.

    Gardner was a brilliant military leader who proved his courage in combat during the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848. He proved his leadership ability in numerous battles from the opening of the war in 1846 at Fort Brown, Texas to the final dramatic victory at Mexico City in 1847. He received two brevet promotions for his gallantry in battle and personal praise from the commander of the American forces, General Winfield Scott.

    During the War for Southern Independence, Gardner was commissioned a lieutenant colonel in the Provisional Army of the Confederate States of America and given command of Fort Gaines, Alabama. During the Battle of Shiloh, he was on the staff of General Braxton Bragg and carried important orders to various points on the field of battle. He was promoted to brigadier general by Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard and given command of the cavalry of the Army of the Mississippi. During Braggs’ Kentucky campaign of 1862, he commanded a brigade of Alabama infantry and was present, but held in reserve, during the Battle of Perryville.

     In December 1862, Gardner was promoted to major general and put in command of the District of Mississippi and East Louisiana with headquarters at Port Hudson, La. There, he conducted one of the most gallant and effective defenses of a Confederate fortification in the war. It was the longest siege in American military history. The author covers the siege and its aftermath, during which Gardner was a prisoner of war, in detail.

      Gardner married the daughter of former Louisiana senator and governor Alexandre Mouton, in 1850 and after the war lived the rest of his life in the state. Jones has found that Gardner had a much more prominent and varied life in the postwar years, including jobs as a draftsman, newspaper reporter, and parish surveyor for Lafayette Parish.

      The book is published by CreateSpace.com in Charleston, S.C., and has 218 pages, photos, maps, an index, and a bibliography. It is $15.95 and is available on Amazon.com, Barnesandnobles.com, Booksamillion.com, and other online booksellers.