Early Years
Johnston Pettigrew was born to Ebenezer and Ann Sheppard Pettigrew in Tyrrell County, North Carolina. His father was of a wealthy family of French Huguenot background His mother and the mother of Union general John Gibbon were first cousins, making Gibbon and Pettigrew second cousins. Pettigrew entered the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill at the age of 15. He excelled in mathematics and classical languages, and was a member of the Philanthropic Society. He also led his class in fencing and boxing. He earned praise for his achievements from President James K. Polk, who appointed him an assistant professor at the United States Naval Observatory. He then studied law in Baltimore and joined the firm of his father's first cousin, James Louis Petigru in Charleston, South Carolina, followed by a trip to Germany to study civil law. He traveled around Europe for seven years, where he learned to speak and write French, German, Italian, and Spanish, and to read Greek, Hebrew, and Arabic. He wrote a travel book, Notes on Spain and the Spaniards, and spent time in the diplomatic service.
Returning to the U.S., Pettigrew was elected to the South Carolina legislature in 1856. Despite his gift of foreign languages and civil knowledge, Pettigrew leaned toward the military as a way to serve his country and his state. In December 1860, he was serving as an aide to the governor of South Carolina and the following April participated in the negotiations between the governor's office, South Carolina military authorities, and the Union commander of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor.
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