John C. Pemberton - Civil War Service

Civil War Service

At the start of the American Civil War in 1861, Pemberton chose to resign his commission and join the Confederate cause, despite his Northern birth and the fact that his two younger brothers both fought for the Union. He resigned his commission, effective April 29. His decision was due to the influence of his Virginia-born wife and many years of service in the southern states before the war. He was appointed a lieutenant colonel in the Confederate Army on March 28, and was made assistant adjutant general of the forces around and in the Southern capital of Richmond, Virginia, on April 29. He was promoted to colonel on May 8, and the next day was assigned to the Virginia Provisional Army Artillery, with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Pemberton was then appointed a major in the Confederate Army Artillery on June 15 and quickly promoted to brigadier general two days later. His first brigade command was in the Department of Norfolk, leading its 10th Brigade from June to November.

Pemberton was promoted to major general on January 14, 1862, and given command the Confederate Department of South Carolina and Georgia, an assignment lasting from March 14 to August 29, with his headquarters in Charleston. As a result of Pemberton's abrasive personality, his public statement that if he had to make the choice he would abandon the area rather than risk the loss of his outnumbered army, and the distrust of his Northern birth, the governors of both states in his Department petitioned Confederate President Jefferson Davis for his removal. Davis needed a commander for a new department in Mississippi and also a command for Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard, so he sent Pemberton west and assigned the more popular Beauregard to Charleston.