American Civil War Service
Despite the secession of his home state in December 1860, Huger remained in the U.S. Army until after the Battle of Fort Sumter, resigning effective April 22, 1861. Just prior to the battle, Huger traveled to the fort and conferred with its commander, Maj. Robert Anderson, to determine where he stood. Although Anderson was also Southern-born, he had already chosen to follow the Union cause, and Huger left when "their discussions came to naught."
Huger was commissioned an infantry lieutenant colonel in the regular Confederate Army on March 16, and then briefly commanded the forces in and around Norfolk, Virginia. On May 22 he was appointed a brigadier general in the state's militia, and the next day took command of the Department of Norfolk, with defensive responsibilities for North Carolina and southern Virginia, with his headquarters located at Norfolk. Sometime that June he was also commissioned a brigadier in the Virginia Provisional Army, however Huger entered the Confederate volunteer forces on June 17 as a brigadier general. Later on October 7 he was promoted the rank of major general.
Read more about this topic: Benjamin Huger (general)
Famous quotes containing the words american, civil, war and/or service:
“I have an intense personal interest in making the use of American capital in the development of China an instrument for the promotion of the welfare of China, and an increase in her material prosperity without entanglements or creating embarrassment affecting the growth of her independent political power, and the preservation of her territorial integrity.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)
“The cause of civil liberty must not be surrendered at the end of one, or even one hundred defeats.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)
“We hoped for a happy termination of this terrible war long before this; but God knows best, and has ruled otherwise.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)
“Service ... is love in action, love “made flesh”; service is the body, the incarnation of love. Love is the impetus, service the act, and creativity the result with many by-products.”
—Sarah Patton Boyle, U.S. civil rights activist and author. The Desegregated Heart, part 3, ch. 3 (1962)