Pelham was noted for his modesty, charm, courage, and his ability to select the most appropriate ground for the placement of his guns. In spite of his youthful appearance, his men followed him faithfully. His command was a colorful Alabama contingent
As another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.
John Pelham would be dead at age 24 in Culpepper, Virginia, but for the brief meteoric rise this American was like his equal in William Ranson Johnson Pegrem, in being the finest artillerist in the world.
He would resign several weeks before graduation at West Point, simply for love of his State in Alabama, along with another young man who would rise to the greater ranks as General Rosser of the cavalry.
It would be General Jeb Stuart who would notice Pelham in his command and discipline with cannons, that Stuart would put the young man in charge of the light horse cavalry. There Pelham wrote the doctrine of light artillery warfare, accomplishing feats which turned battle after battle against the Union ranks.
Of all things, Pelham would not die by his cannons, but instead upon hearing battle, rode a horse in cavalry, where an exploding shell drove a piece of shrapnel into the base of his brain. The brain stem where all motor functions arise, would swell by the next day and the young man would die of his wounds.
One of the most important features of these seven days of battle was that it was the first prolonged wrestle of the Army of Northern Virginia, the struggle that really gave birth to that army; that gave it experience of its own powers, cohesion, character, confidence in itself and in its great commander--proper estimate of its great opponent, the Army of the Potomac, and its commander. Then, too, these days of continuous battle tested the individual men, and especially the officers of the army, winnowing the chaff from the wheat and getting rid of some high in command who did not catch the essential spirit of the army or assimilate well with it, or bid fair to add anything of value to it; at the same time this week of continuous battle brought to the front men who had in them stuff out of which heroes are made and who were destined to make names and niches for themselves in the pantheon of this immortal army.
Among those in my own branch of the service who came prominently to the front, besides Tom Carter, who never lost the place he made for himself at Seven Pines in the affectionate admiration of the artillery and of the army, were the boy artillerists Pegram and Pelham, both yielding their glorious young lives in the struggle--Pegram at the very end, Pelham but eight months after Malvern Hill. The latter, an Alabamian, was commander of Stuart's horse artillery, devotedly loved and admired by his commanding general, the pride of the cavalry corps, one of the most dashing and brilliant soldiers in the service, though but twenty-two years of age when he fell. He was knighted by Lee himself in official report as "the gallant Pelham."
The other, Pegram, was a more serious and a more powerful man, who came of a family of soldiers who had rendered
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distinguished service, both in the army and navy, prior to the war; an elder brother, a graduate of West Point and a singularly attractive man, rising to the rank of major-general in the Confederate service, and also losing his life in battle. The younger brother, the artillerist, a student when the war began, enlisted as a private soldier in a battery raised in the City of Richmond, which he commanded when the Seven Days' battles opened, rendering with it signal and distinguished service. Eventually he rose to the rank and command of colonel of artillery, and was recommended for appointment as brigadier-general of infantry, General Lee saying he would find a brigade for him just as soon as he could be spared from the artillery; but meanwhile he fell in battle at Five Forks in the spring of '65, even then hardly more than a stripling in years.
He had always been such a modest, self-contained and almost shrinking youth that his most intimate friends were astonished at his rapid development and promotion; but it was one of those strongly-marked cases where war seemed to be the needed and almost the native air of a young man. He was, in some respects, of the type of Stonewall Jackson, and like him combined the strongest Christian faith and the deepest spirituality with the most intense spirit of fight.
As commander of an artillery battalion he built up a reputation second to none for effective handling of his guns, his favorite method, where practicable, being to rush to close quarters with the enemy and open at the shortest possible range. He admitted that it seemed deadly, but insisted that it saved life in the end. When stricken down he lived enough to express his views and feelings, briefly but clearly, with regard to both worlds, and there never was a death more soldierly or more Christian.
General Stuart would issue this proclamation upon the death of his young artillery officer, who was one of the most gifted in directing fire. Pelham several times would engage the Union forces, having one gun or two guns, against the entire Union artillery, and hinder, hamper and drive back the Union lines under heavy fire.
He was an American boy who literally did not know the meaning of the word fear.
The major-general commanding approaches with reluctance the painful duty of announcing to the division its irreparable loss in the death of Major John Pelham, commanding the Horse Artillery. He fell mortally wounded in the battle of Kellysville, March 17th, with the battle-cry on his lips, and the light of victory beaming from his eye... His eye had glanced on every battlefield of this army from the First Manassas to the moment of his death, and he was, with a single exception, a brilliant actor in them all. The memory of "the gallant Pelham," his many manly virtues, his noble nature and purity of character, are enshrined as a sacred legacy in the hearts of all who knew him. His record has been bright and spotless, his career brilliant and successful.
— J.E.B. Stuart, General Orders #9, March 20, 1863, Official Records
I think of these outstanding Americans, the best any nation produced, and then I think of those paid Soros reprobates for Hillary 2020 tearing down American Monuments. Pelham literally has 4 cities in the South named after him in as many states. He was the ideal example of American manhood, all housed in this quiet boy.
John Pelham fought for America created by God in the Founders. He was not this street trash rioting and tearing down the world. He is one of the amazing Americans like Sgt. York whose name should be on every child in school's lips as the epitome of the example of all they should aspire to grow up to be.
John Pelham, American and this is how his country treated him in death, a marker surrounded by asphalt.
With a single gun Confederate artillerist Maj. John Pelham attacked the Union left flank, creating a diversion that would hamper Federal forces for several hours. The site of John Pelham's daring feat is now the scene of sprawling urban development. Hardly a fitting tribute for the man known to history as "The Gallant Pelham."
agtG
