319 Letcher Ave, Lexington, VA 24450, United States
In 1851 William graduated with honors from Virginia Military Institute.
319 Letcher Ave, Lexington, VA 24450, United States
In 1851 William graduated with honors from Virginia Military Institute.
William Young Conn was born on May 1, 1830, in Abingdon, Virginia, United States. He was the son of John N. and Jance C. White Humes and a cousin of the lawyer and politician Thomas William Humes. His father lost his fortune, and young Humes had to borrow money to complete his education.
In 1851 William graduated with honors from Virginia Military Institute.
After graduating with honors from Virginia Military Institute, William Humes taught school to repay his debts. Humes then read law in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he also practiced before moving to Memphis in 1858. He developed a successful law practice.
When the war began, he volunteered for duty in the Confederate Army.
Humes served as a lieutenant and later as captain of the artillery, and he was in charge of the batteries at Island No. 10 where he was captured in April 1862. He was later exchanged.
Promoted to brigadier general on November 16, 1863, he then commanded a cavalry brigade and served as chief of artillery in Joseph Wheeler’s Corps. He participated in all the engagements of the Atlanta campaign of 1863-1864, and late in 1864, he served under John B. Hood during the last days of the Army of Tennessee. He was sent to stop Sherman at Augusta, Georgia, and he defeated Kilpatrick at Aiken, South Carolina, during the final months of the war.
Promoted to major general on March 10, 1865, after commanding a division for more than a year, Humes was also present at the battle of Bentonville, North Carolina. He surrendered in North Carolina in April 1865 and was later paroled. After the war, he again practiced law in Memphis before moving to Huntsville, Alabama.
Humes had two sons by his marriage to Margaret White in 1854 and, upon her death, four children by his marriage to Sallie Elder in 1864.
