Randolph, George Wythe, 1818-1867

George Wythe Randolph was a Confederate general who served as the Secretary of War for the Confederacy. Born on March 10, 1818, at Monticello near Charlottesville, Virginia, Randolph was the grandson of former president Thomas Jefferson. He received a private education before attending school in Massachusetts and then Washington, D.C. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1831 and served until 1839, gaining experience at sea on vessels such as USS <i>John Adams</i> and USS <i>Constitution</i>. While still in the Navy, Randolph began attending the University of Virginia and later studied law, becoming a practicing attorney in Charlottesville, Virginia, after leaving military service. Following Abraham Lincoln’s election to the presidency in 1860, Randolph was elected as a delegate to Virginia’s secession convention in early 1861. He spoke in favor of secession, but the convention ultimately rejected disunion during the first vote. Following Lincoln’s call for 75,000 volunteers to put down the rebellion in the south, after Confederate troops attacked and captured Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, pro-secessionist sentiments grew in Virginia, and the convention passed a secessionist resolution. Randolph had been part of a Virginia militia artillery unit in the 1850s, nicknamed the “Richmond Howitzers.” Upon the state’s secession, the governor called the unit into state service, and Randolph was commissioned as a major. The unit manned artillery pieces in defensive locations along the James River and fired the first shot of the Civil War in Virginia on May 7, 1861, at a Union gunboat sailing up the river. In September 1861, Randolph was promoted to colonel in what was later renamed the First Regiment Virginia Artillery. On February 12, 1862, he was promoted again, this time to brigadier general. Only one month later, on March 18, 1862, Randolph was appointed Secretary of War of the Confederacy by President Jefferson Davis. He served only eight months before resigning, in November 1862, due to health problems from tuberculosis that he contracted years before in the Navy. He recovered enough to take a seat as a Virginia state senator a few months later. However, Randolph sailed through the Union naval blockade in 1864 for medical treatment in Europe. He was still there when the war ended, and remained in Europe for another year afterward, finally taking the oath of allegiance to the United States in April 1866. Randolph returned to Virginia, but died in April 1867 from complications of tuberculosis. He was married to Mary Elizabeth Adams, but had no children. Randolph is buried in the Monticello cemetery in Virginia. (Wikipedia; FindaGrave)

George Wythe Randolph was a Confederate general and briefly served as the Secretary of War for the Confederacy. Born on March 10, 1818, at Monticello near Charlottesville, Virginia, Randolph was the grandson of former president Thomas Jefferson. He received a private education before attending school in Massachusetts and then Washington, D.C. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1831 and served until 1839, gaining experience eat sea on vessels such as USS <i>John Adams</i> and USS <i>Constitution</i>. While still in the Navy, Randolph began attending the University of Virginia and later studied law, becoming a practicing attorney in Charlottesville, Virginia, after leaving military service. Following Abraham Lincoln’s election to the presidency in 1860, Randolph was elected as a delegate to Virginia’s secession convention in early 1861. He spoke in favor of secession, but the convention ultimate rejected disunion during the first vote. Following Lincoln’s call for 75,000 volunteers to put down the rebellion in the south, after Confederate troops attacked and captured Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, pro-secessionist sentiments grew in Virginia, and the convention passed a secessionist resolution. Randolph had been part of a Virginia militia artillery unit in the 1850s, nicknamed the “Richmond Howitzers.” Upon the state’s secession, the governor called the unit into state service, and Randolph was commissioned as a major. The unit manned artillery pieces in defensive locations along the James River and fired the first shot of the Civil War in Virginia on May 7, 1861, at a Union gunboat sailing up the river. In September 1861, Randolph was promoted to colonel in what was later renamed the First Regiment Virginia Artillery. On February 12, 1862, he was promoted again, this time to brigadier general. Only one month later, on March 18, 1862, Randolph was appointed Secretary of War of the Confederacy by President Jefferson Davis. He served only eight months before resigning, in November 1862, due to health problems from tuberculosis that he contracted years before in the Navy. He recovered enough to serve as a Virginia state senator during the rest of the Civil War. However, Randolph sailed through the Union naval blockade in 1864 for medical treatment in Europe. He was still there when the war ended, and remained in Europe for another year afterward, finally taking the oath of allegiance to the United States in April 1866. Randolph returned to Virginia, but died in April 1867 from complications of tuberculosis. He was married to Mary Elizabeth Adams, but had no children. Randolph is buried in the Monticello cemetery in Virginia. (Wikipedia; FindaGrave)