Francis Stebbins Bartow

Background

Francis Stebbins was born on September 6, 1816, in Savannah, Georgia, United States. He was the son of Dr. Theodosius and Frances Lloyd Stebbins Bartow.

Education

After graduating from the University of Georgia, Bartow attended Yale University Law School in New Haven, Connecticut, and then returned to Savannah to read law with John Macpherson Berrien, a United States senator and former attorney general of the United States.

Career

A prominent Savannah lawyer, Bartow served as a Whig in both houses of the Georgia state legislature before running unsuccessfully as a Know-Nothing for the United States House of Representatives in 1857. As chairman of the Military Affairs Committee of the provisional and first Confederate Congresses, he was responsible for selecting the gray uniform of the Confederate Army. Bartow also served ably on the Flag and Seal and Engrossment Committees.

When the Confederate Congress voted to forbid people from holding both political and military officials, Bartow chose to remain in the military and give up his political position. The Oglethorpe Light Infantry, which had taken part in the seizure of Fort Pulaski, was transferred to the 8th Georgia Infantry. Bartow and the troops headed to the Shenandoah Valley to take part in the First Battle of Bull Run. Only half of Bartow's troops, however, were able to arrive in time to fight. Barlow himself took the forward position, leading his troops in a charge down Henry Hill. There he was mortally wounded

Achievements

• Francis Stebbins Bartow is known for his service in the Confederate Army at the beginning of the Civil War as a Colonel of the 8th Georgia Infantry regiment. Two monuments for him stand today in the Manassas National Military Park in Manassas, Virginia.

Politics

Frank Bartow initially supported the Whig Party, then lost an 1854 bid for Congress on the Know-Nothing ticket. By 1860, he lost faith in both the Whigs and the Know-Nothings and joined the Democrats.

Bartow is sometimes described as a flaming secessionist. Following the secession of South Carolina, the city of Savannah passed ordinances calling for the immediate secession of Georgia. At the time Savannah was the largest city in Georgia in many ways. It was the economic and population center, although Atlanta and Macon were starting to compete economically. Bartow, of course, was at the center of this secessionist movement.

Views

Quotations: "They have killed me; but boys, the day is ours. Never give up the field!"

Connections

Francis married Louisa Greene Berrien, on April 18, 1844. They had no children.

Father:

Theodosius Bartow

1770-1857

Mother:

Frances Lloyd Stebbins Bartow

Wife:

Louisa Greene Berrien Bartow

References

• Confederate Colonels: A Biographical Register
  2008
• More Generals in Gray
  1995
• Civil War High Commands
  2002
• Biographical Dictionary of the Confederacy
  1977