Franklin Gardner was a Confederate major general in the American Civil War. He served at the Siege of Port Hudson on the Mississippi River.
Background
Franklin Gardner was born on January 29, 1823, in New York City, United States. He was the son of Colonel Charles K. and Ann Eliza McLean Gardner. His father was a career officer in the U.S. Franklin's mother was a member of a wealthy plantation-owning family.
Franklin had nine siblings: John McLean Gardner, Emma Kitchell Gardner, Jacob Brown Gardner, Charles Thomas Gardner, Sarah Ann McLean Gardner, Charles K. Gardner, George Clinton Gardner, Anna Gardner, and Alida Armstrong Gardner.
Education
Franklin Kitchell Gardner graduated seventeenth in a class of thirty-nine from the United States Military Academy in 1843.
Franklin Gardner began his military career at Pensacola harbor and later served on the frontier.
Breveted captain during the Mexican War, he participated in the battles of Monterrey, Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Churubusco, and Molino del Rey. He then saw frontier duty in Florida, Louisiana, and Arkansas and served as captain of the 10th Infantry in the Utah Territory during the 1850s.
Against the wishes of his father and his brother, both of whom remained loyal to the Union, Gardner entered the Confederate Army as a lieutenant colonel in 1861. He did not bother to resign from the federal army. He helped to organize the cavalry at the battle of Shiloh and was promoted to brigadier general on April 11, 1862.
He served with Polk’s Corps during Bragg’s invasion of Kentucky in 1862 and on December 13 of that year he was promoted to major general. Gardner commanded Port Hudson, Louisiana, from December 1862 until July 8, 1863. He was taken prisoner after the fall of Vicksburg and was exchanged in August 1864.
Afterward, he served under General Richard Taylor in Mississippi, but the Confederates distrusted him because of his Northern background and he was given no further line duty. After the war, Gardner lived the quiet life of a planter.
Achievements
Personality
Quotes from others about the person
"Gardner had defended Port Hudson to the utmost of his ability. After more than forty days of merciless pounding from the Union fleet and land batteries, his men were exhausted and dispirited. Improperly clothed, sheltered, and fed, they sickened, and there was no medicine for them. Hope that Johnston would send relief grew fainter as each day of the siege progressed. As Gardner's meager supply of ammunition was nearly exhausted, many of his guns were wrecked, and his food stock was dangerously low, the news of the surrender of Vicksburg decided the fate of Port Hudson." - John D. Winters
Connections
Franklin Kitchell Gardner married Mathilde Marie Celeste Mouton. Their children were Alexandre Franklin, Charles K., Emma Ann, and Alfred Mouton.