Richard B. Garnett - Early Life

Early Life

Garnett was born on the "Rose Hill" estate in Essex County, Virginia, the son of William Henry Garnett and Anna Maria Brooke, both of primarily English ancestry. He had a twin brother, William, who died in Norfolk in 1855. He was the cousin of Robert Selden Garnett, also a Confederate general, who holds the dubious distinction of being the first general officer killed during the Civil War. Both of the cousins graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1841, with Richard standing 29th out of 52 cadets, two spots below Robert. Garnett was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 6th U.S. Infantry and he served in a variety of posts in Florida, fighting the Seminoles, and then in the West, where he commanded Fort Laramie, rode with the Mormon Expedition, and was a noted Indian fighter.

During the Mexican-American War, he served in staff positions in New Orleans, and was promoted to first lieutenant on February 16, 1847. He learned of the outbreak of the Civil War while serving in California as a captain, the rank to which he had been promoted on May 9, 1855. Despite believing strongly that the Union should not be dissolved, he returned to Virginia to fight for his native state and the Confederacy.