(Stonewall Jackson depended on him; General Lee compliment...)
Stonewall Jackson depended on him; General Lee complimented him; Union soldiers admired him; and women in Maryland, Virginia, and even Pennsylvania adored him—the young, dashing, handsome Henry Kyd Douglas. He rode with Stonewall; he fought by the model of the incomparable Ashby; he lived, joked, and courted with Jeb Stuart.From his meeting with John Brown, alias Isaac Smith, shortly before the Brown Raid, through the long, bitter years of the Civil War, he clung to the Southern cause, fought its battles, and endured its defeats. During and shortly after the war he set down his experiences of great men and great days. In a resonant prose almost unique among soldiers and rare among writers, he wrote as simply and intimately of history as though it were a jovial anecdote, spun out after dinner for the entertainment of his friends.He tells of the persimmon tree that the General climbed but could not descend; the irate farmer who upbraided Jackson for crossing his field;
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Henry Kyd Douglas was born on Sreptember 29, 1838 at Shepherdstown, near Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia, United States. His father, Reverend Robert Douglas, was a native of Scotland, who, emigrating to Pennsylvania, married Mary, daughter of Colonel John Robertson, and subsequently settled in the Shenandoah Valley.
Douglas' early education having been obtained privately, Henry Kyd Douglas attended Franklin and Marshall College where he graduated in 1858.
He then attended the law school of Judge Brockenbrough at Lexington, Virginia, obtaining his diploma in 1860, and being admitted to the bar at Charleston, West Virginia.
Proceeding west Douglas settled in St. Louis, but on the outbreak of the Civil War returned home and enlisted as a private in Company B of the 2nd Virginia Regiment, which formed part of Stonewall Jackson’s brigade.
He took part in the battle of Bull Run, and rose by successive steps to the rank of captain.
In March 1862 he made a spectacular ride, when, selected to convey the order of Stonewall Jackson, then at Mount Jackson, to General Ewell at Brandy Station, he rode 103 miles, crossing the Blue Ridge in a heavy rainstorm, between five in the evening and sunrise the next morning. On his return to his regiment he was appointed inspector-general and aide-de-camp to Jackson. He accompanied the latter throughout the Shenandoah Valley campaigns, the battles of Gaines’s Mill, White Oak Swamp, Malvern Hill, and was present when Jackson was killed at Chancellorsville.
Promoted major, he was thereafter continually on staff duty till Gettysburg, where he was severely wounded and taken prisoner.
Nine months later he was released from hospital and rejoined the Confederate army.
In February 1865 he was given command of the Light Brigade in Gen. John B. Gordon’s army corps, and after Petersburg his brigade formed the rear guard during the retreat to Appomattox. In the heavy fighting which ensued he was twice wounded, but continued in active command, his brigade firing the last shot and being the last unit of Lee’s army to surrender.
On being paroled he retired to Shepherdstown, but was arrested for transgressing military regulations and sentenced to three months’ imprisonment.
A false accusation of association with John Wilkes Booth caused him later to be taken to Washington, but his innocence of this charge was clearly established.
In September 1865 he opened a law office in Winchester, but in November 1867 removed to Hagerstown, where he thereafter made his home.
During the labor disturbances of 1877 he commanded the Maryland forces guarding the Baltimore & Ohio and Chesapeake & Ohio railroads, and for some years was lieutenant-colonel of the Maryland National Guard.
E. E. Jackson appointed him associate justice of the fourth circuit on Apr. 8, 1891, but he occupied the bench for only seven months, being defeated in the elections of the following November.
In 1892 he was appointed adjutant-general of Maryland by Gov. Brown and as such was in command of the state troops during the coal strike in the George’s Creek District.
His brief term on the Maryland bench afforded no opportunity for display of judicial qualities, but he had the reputation of being a sound lawyer, and his fluency of speech enabled him to achieve a measure of success as an advocate.
He contributed the articles “Stonewall Jackson’s Intentions at Harper’s Ferry, ” and “Stonewall Jackson in Maryland” to Battles and Leaders of the Civil War.
Not a success as a politician, as a soldier he was in the front rank.
Passing through all the grades, at Appomattox he was the youngest brigade commander in either army.
(Stonewall Jackson depended on him; General Lee compliment...)
Six feet in height, well proportioned, with handsome features and a military bearing which was maintained even in later life, dignified and kindly, he was an outstanding figure in post-war Maryland circles.
Douglas was unmarried.
