Today in History (general history)/ On This Day in Confederate History/ Confederate General Birthdays, Feb. 6.

Click 👉 TODAY IN HISTORY (general history) Feb. 6.

ON THIS DAY IN CONFEDERATE HISTORY, Feb. 6.

1861: Alabama finances Confederacy. Alabama made a $500,000 loan to the Confederate Provisional Congress on Feb 5, which is equal in buying power to $19,525,421.69 in 2026. The Congress accepted with the following resolution:

      1st. Resolved by the Confederate States of America in Congress assembled, That this Congress accept the liberal offer of the General Assembly of the State of Alabama, to place at the disposal of this body the sum of five hundred thousand dollars as a loan to the Government of the Confederacy now being formed.

        2d. Resolved by the authority aforesaid, that this Congress place the highest appreciation upon this generous, patriotic and considerate action of the State of Alabama and realize in it the zealous devotion of the people of that State to the cause of "Southern Independence."

        ADOPTED February 8, 1861.

Alabama Gov. Andrew Moore

He supported Jefferson Davis for president at the convention.

(Alabama State Archives)

 1862: General Lloyd Tilghman, the commander, evacuated most of the 3,000-man garrison from Fort Henry to Fort Donelson and returned to Fort Henry with about 100 men when the Federal Navy struck. The artillery duel lasted from 11 o'clock A.M. until 2 o'clock P.M. when all the Confederate guns had been knocked out. Tilghman surrendered with 78 men and 16 hospital patients. He also lost 5 killed, 11 wounded, and 5 were missing. Yankee General Grant arrived with 15,000 soldiers too late to engage in the fighting. The Federals lost 11 men and 31 injured.

1864: The Confederate Congress passes legislation banning imports of luxury items and the circulation of U.S. currency. It also requires that half of the shipments of food and tobacco be given to the government before the ships leave port.

Confederate forces at the Rapidan River in Virginia repulse a Federal attempt to cross the river. The bluecoats retreat under the cover of darkness.

1865: General John Pegram's Division attacked the V Corps at the Battle of Hatcher's Run and was repulsed. Pegram is killed but Brig. Gen. Clement A. Evans blocked a Federal advance. Later in the day Pegram's and Maj. Gen. William Mahone's divisions attack the Federal line at Dabney's Mill and break it and drive them back. General Pegram is killed. Total losses for the Federals are 1,539 and Confederates suffer 1,161 casualties.

CONFEDERATE GENERAL BIRTHDAYS, Feb. 6.

Major General John Brown Gordon was born on this day in 1832 in Upson County, Georgia. Brown was a citizen soldier with no military experience before 1861. However, at that fateful time, being a community leader, he was elected captain of a volunteer company in the 6th Alabama Infantry. Although present at the First Battle of Manassas, the Alabamians saw no action. He was elevated to colonel of the 6th Alabama when the army was reorganized in May 1862in compliance with the First Conscription Act. He and his regiment were active in the Battle of Seven Pines, after which he became the temporary commander of his brigade. During the Seven Days Battles, he was wounded in the eyes at the Battle of Malvern Hil. At the Battle of Sharpsburg, he suffered numerous wounds. When he returned to duty, he was promoted to brigadier general rank on May 7, 1863. More battles and wounds followed, and he was promoted to major general and command of a corps. In all, he served in about 30 major campaigns and battles and the last one at Appomattox at the end of the war. After the war he had an equally impressive political career, serving as the governor of Georgia and in the U.S. Senate from Georgia. He also was a popular lecturer, and writer and was the first commander of the United Confederate Veterans. Brown died Jan. 9, 1904, while visiting his son in Miami, Florida, and is buried in Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, Ga.

Maj. General John B. Gordon

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Major General William Dorsey Pender was born on this day in 1834 in Edgecombe County, North Carolina. Pender attended West Point and graduated with the Class of 1854, ranking 19th in his class out of 36 cadets. In the prewar U.S. Army, he served as a second lieutenant in the 2nd U.S. Artillery and as a first lieutenant in the 1st Dragoons. Pender served on the frontier in the Washington Territory in one of the Indian conflicts. Resigning from the U.S. Army on March 21, 1861, Pender joined the C.S. Army and served as a captain of the artillery and colonel of the 3rd/13th N.C. Infantry. His battles included Seven Pines, the Seven Days Battles, Second Manassas, Harpers Ferry, Sharpsburg, and Chancellorsville, and he was mortally wounded July 2, 1863, at the Battle of Gettysburg and died July 18, 1863, in Staunton, Virginia. Pender is buried in Calvary Episcopal Church in Tarboro, N.C.

Maj. General William D. Pender

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Major General James Ewell Brown Stuart was born in 1833, in Patrick County, Virginia. He was mortally wounded at the Battle of Yellow Tavern on May 11, 1864, and died on May 12, 1864, in Richmond, Virginia.  Of Scottish heritage, Stuart attended West Point graduating with the Class of 1854, 13th in a class of 46 cadets. In the U.S. Army, he served with distinction and was wounded on July 29, 1857, while fighting the Cheyenne Indians in Kansas. Stuart also served as a volunteer under Colonel Robert E. Lee during the storming of the Harpers Ferry Arsenal which had been taken over by the insurrectionist John Brown and his men in 1859. He resigned from the U.S. Army on April 22, 1861, and joined the Confederate Army and served as colonel of the 1st Virginia Cavalry at the First Battle of Manassas, Va. gaining fame as a great cavalryman there. He was promoted to brigadier general on Sept. 24, 1861, and to major general on July 25, 1862, and commanded a cavalry division and later to corps commander of the cavalry. His other battles and campaigns included the Peninsula Campaign, N. Va. Campaign, Maryland Campaign, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Brandy Station, Gettysburg, the Overland Campaign, and the Battle of Yellow Tavern where he was mortally wounded and died in Richmond Va., and died May 12, 1864, the day after the battle, in Richmond Va. Stuart is buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond.

Maj. Gen. James E.B. Stuart

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