Early Life
Franklin Kitchell Gardner was born in New York City, New York County, New York, USA to Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Kitchell Gardner (1787-1869) and Anne Eliza McLean Gardner (1801-1880). Charles Kitchell Gardner was son of a Revolutionary War hero. His mother was from Louisiana, where she was a member of a wealthy plantation owning family. He attended the United States Military Academy graduating 17th in the Class of 1843, where he distinguished himself as a respected engineer. Ulysses Simpson Grant graduated 21st in the same class.
He married the daughter of Louisiana Governor Alexander Mouton shortly thereafter. His wife's brother, Alfred Mouton, also became a prominent Confederate general. Gardner's older sister became the second wife of his wife's father, cementing the ties between the two families.
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Famous quotes related to early life:
“... goodness is of a modest nature, easily discouraged, and when much elbowed in early life by unabashed vices, is apt to retire into extreme privacy, so that it is more easily believed in by those who construct a selfish old gentleman theoretically, than by those who form the narrower judgments based on his personal acquaintance.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)