Pemberton, John Clifford, 1814-1881

John C. Pemberton was a Confederate general, most famous for commanding troops in the unsuccessful defense of Vicksburg, Mississippi, in 1863.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 10, 1814, Pemberton was raised and educated in the north. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1837, and immediately afterwards served as a U.S. artillery officer in the Second Seminole War in Florida. He remained a professional soldier for the next two decades, serving at various forts and posts in the United States, along the Canadian border, and in the west. During the Mexican-American War, from 1846 to 1848, Pemberton served with the 4th U.S. Artillery and took part in the battles of Palo Alto, Resaca de La Palma, and Monterrey. He earned the brevet (honorary) rank of captain for his actions at Monterrey. He continued to serve with distinction at several other engagements in Mexico, including the storming of Chapultepec castle and the battle at Mexico City.

In 1848, following the Mexican-American War, Pemberton married Martha Thompson of Virginia. The couple had one daughter and three sons, all born in the 1850s. Pemberton continued to serve at a variety of posts in the United States, and saw additional action in Florida against the Seminoles from 1849 to 1850, and then again from 1856 to 1857. After spending a year in New Mexico Territory and three years in Minnesota, Pemberton was sent to Washington, D.C., in the spring of 1861, in the midst of the secession crisis. Despite his northern upbringing, Pemberton resigned his commission from the United States Army when the Civil War erupted in April 1861. He immediately volunteered for Confederate service and received an appointment as assistant adjutant general of Confederate forces at Richmond, Virginia.

Because of his lengthy military experience, Pemberton rose quickly in Confederate ranks, reaching major general in January 1862. He was placed in command of the military department defending Georgia and South Carolina, but soon ran into conflict with the states’ governors who objected to Pemberton's assertion that the survival of his army was more important than defending the region, and due to mistrust of his northern heritage. Confederate President Jefferson Davis placed the more popular General P. G. T. Beauregard in charge of the defense of Georgia and South Carolina and relocated Pemberton to a new military department in Mississippi.

At his new assignment in Mississippi, in the fall of 1862, Pemberton received the promotion to lieutenant general. He was responsible for defending the Mississippi River and key port towns, such as Vicksburg, from federal attack. Unlike the more famous Confederate armies to the east, Pemberton’s command was made up of southern troops who had suffered several defeats against aggressive Union commanders at battles like Shiloh and Corinth. Many of Pemberton’s troops were separated, and he struggled to unite his force to stage an effective defense against Ulysses S. Grant’s Union army, which began a campaign for Vicksburg in December 1862. Making matters worse for the Confederate general, his orders were to hold Vicksburg at all cost—meaning that he had limited ability to maneuver or even withdraw to save his army in the face of Grant’s larger force.

Between December 1862 and July 1863, Grant conducted a slow, creative, but ultimately persistent campaign to surround and capture Vicksburg. Utilizing his aggressive subordinate William T. Sherman, Grant cut Pemberton and his Confederate troops off at Vicksburg and burned Mississippi’s capital of Jackson in May 1863. After being besieged in Vicksburg by Grant’s troops for six weeks, Pemberton realized he had no other choice but to surrender. On July 4, 1863, Pemberton ordered his army to lay down its arms and open Vicksburg to Grant’s army. The defeat occurred one day after Robert E. Lee’s battlefield loss at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, delivering a double blow to Confederate morale.

Pemberton and his men were captured and paroled by Union forces—a practice by which prisoners were allowed to return home or to encampments under the sworn oath not to take up arms until formally exchanged for Union prisoners. Pemberton traveled to Richmond where he remained idle for several months. Not receiving a new assignment, he resigned his general’s commission in May 1864. President Davis offered him a conciliatory assignment as a lieutenant colonel of artillery, which he accepted. He temporarily commanded the artillery defense of Richmond before taking an appointment as inspector general of artillery. Pemberton was captured by Union troops in mid-April 1865 during the final days of the war.

Following the Civil War, Pemberton moved to Warrenton, Virginia. He remained there until 1876, when he moved back to Pennsylvania. He lived quietly on a farm, passing away in 1881. Pemberton is buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery East in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

(Wikipedia; National Park Service, American Battlefield Trust; FindaGrave)

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