John Doby Kennedy
| John Doby Kennedy | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
January 5, 1840 Camden, South Carolina |
| Died | April 14, 1896 (aged 56) Camden, South Carolina |
| Place of burial | Quaker Cemetery, Camden, South Carolina |
| Allegiance |
 Confederate States of America
|
| Service/branch |
 Confederate States Army
|
| Years of service | 1861–65 |
| Rank |
 Brigadier General
|
| Battles/wars | |
| Other work | lawyer, Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina 1880–82 |
John Doby Kennedy (January 5, 1840 – April 14, 1896) was a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, as well as a post-war planter, attorney, politician, and the 57th Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina serving under Governor Johnson Hagood.
Kennedy was born in Camden, South Carolina. His father was an emigrant from Scotland who had settled in Kershaw County about 1830 and married a local woman. Kennedy served as a lieutenant in a Camden pre-war militia unit. He studied at South Carolina College from 1855–57. On October 28, 1857, he married Elizabeth Cunningham (1842–1876), and they eventually had 7 children. Kennedy read law under William Zachariah Leitner and was admitted to the bar in January 1861. However, South Carolina's secession and the subsequent outbreak of the Civil War delayed his plans to establish a law practice.
Enlisting in the Confederate Army in April 1861, Kennedy became captain of Company E, 2nd South Carolina Infantry, under fellow Camden resident Col. Joseph Brevard Kershaw. At the First Battle of Manassas, he was struck by a Minie ball and badly wounded. Recovering, he was promoted to colonel when Kershaw was promoted to brigadier general. Kennedy's first action in command of a regiment occurred at a skirmish on the Nine-Mile Road near Richmond, Virginia, in June 1862 during the Peninsula Campaign. After fighting at the Battle of Savage's Station, he was disabled for several weeks by fever. He returned to his regiment in time for the Maryland Campaign. During Stonewall Jackson's investment of Harpers Ferry, Kennedy was with Kershaw's brigade in the capture of the important Maryland Heights. He led his regiment in Kershaw's counterattack during the Battle of Sharpsburg, driving a part of the Union II Corps before him. However, he fell painfully wounded in the first charge, struck in the instep and Achilles tendon while crossing a wooden fence along the Hagerstown Pike. Once again recovering in time for a major battle, Kennedy led the 2nd and 8th South Carolina to the support of Gen. Howell Cobb at Marye's Heights, the focus of the hottest fighting.
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