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VITAL STATISTICS
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BORN: 1822 in Camden, SC.
DIED: 1894 in Camden, SC.
CAMPAIGNS: Fort Sumpter, First Bull Run, Federicksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg and Sayler's Creek.
HIGHEST RANK ACHIEVED: Major General.
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BIOGRAPHY
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| Joseph Brevard Kershaw was born in Camden, South Carolina, on January 5, 1822. His family was part of the Southern planter aristocracy. As a young man, Kershaw practiced law, served in the Mexican War and was elected twice to the South Carolina legislature. After voting for secession in the state's secession convention, Kershaw raised a regiment and joined the Confederate army as a colonel . After Fort Sumter and the First Battle of Bull Run, he was promoted to brigadier general, as of February 13, 1862. Kershaw's brigade served in the campaigns of the Eastern theater in 1862 and 1863. In the autumn of 1863, Kershaw and his troops went out west, fighting at Chickamauga. After returning to Virginia, he was promoted to major general, on May 18, 1864, and placed in division command. Participating in the Battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor and Petersburg. Kershaw surrendered after the Battle of Sayler's Creek, on April 6, 1865. In the years following the Civil War, he returned to South Carolina, resumed his law practice and served as a circuit court judge for 16 years. Kershaw died on April 13, 1894, in his hometown of Camden, South Carolina. |
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