Background
PEGRAM, John was born on January 24, 1832 in Petersburg, Virginia, United States, United States. Son of James West and Virginia (Johnson) Pegram.
PEGRAM, John was born on January 24, 1832 in Petersburg, Virginia, United States, United States. Son of James West and Virginia (Johnson) Pegram.
Private school, United States Military Academy.
He graduated tenth in a class of forty-six from the U.S. Military Academy in 1854. He was an Episcopalian. He married Hetty Cary in January 1865, only three weeks before his death.
Before the Civil War, Pegram served with the army in California, Kansas, the Dakotas, and New Mexico. He was promoted to first lieutenant in 1857. He resigned from the U.S. Army on May 10, 1861.
After entering the Confederate Army as a lieutenant colonel, he participated in the battle of Rich Mountain, West Virginia, on July 11, 1861. Promoted to brigadier general on November 7, 1862, he led Georgia and Louisiana cavalry regiments at the battles of Stone’s River, Murfreesboro, and Chickamauga. Although he was never promoted to major general, he was given division commands under Nathan B. Forrest in Tennessee and under Jubal Early and J. B. Gordon in Virginia.
He was wounded at the Wilderness in the spring of 1864, and upon his recovery he fought at Cold Harbor under Early before he succeeded General R. E. Rodes as division commander at the battle of Winchester. Pegram commanded Rodes’ Division at Fisher’s Hill and Cedar Creek, as well as a division in Gordon’s Corps during the sieges of Petersburg and Richmond, between December 1864 and February 1865. He was killed at Hatcher’s Run near Petersburg on February 6, 1865.
"Peculiar institution" of slavery was not only expedient but also ordained by God and upheld in Holy Scripture.
Stands for preserving slavery, states' rights, and political liberty for whites. Every individual state is sovereign, even to the point of secession.
Spouse Hetty Cary.