General P. T. Beauregard

Posted by Mary Trotter Kion Mar 13, 2007

Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, a Confederate general during the American Civil War, was appointed the first brigadier general in the Confederate army. He commanded the southern troops that took over Fort Sumter that was located in Charleston harbor in South Carolina. This bombardment, in April of 1861, was the first action of the Civil War. Because of this action, Beauregard is considered the first hero of the Confederacy. During this war he saw action at the battles of First Manassa, First Bull Run, Shiloh, Corinth, and the 1863 attack by the Union navy on Charleston, South Carolina, as well as other battles.