John S. Bowen

John Stevens Bowen
Bowen in the uniform of a lieutenant colonel of the Missouri Volunteer Militia.
Born	(1830-10-30)October 30, 1830 Bowen's Creek, Georgia, U.S.
Died	July 13, 1863(1863-07-13) (aged 32) Edwards, Mississippi
Buried at	Confederate States Army Cemetery Vicksburg, U.S.
Allegiance	United States of America State of Missouri  Confederate States
Service/branch	United States Army Missouri Militia  Confederate Army
Years of service	1853–1856 (USA) 1857–1861 (Missouri) 1861–1863 (CSA)
Rank	Second lieutenant (USA) Lieutenant colonel (Missouri Volunteer Militia) Major general (CSA)
Battles/wars	American Civil War Battle of Shiloh Battle of Port Gibson Battle of Champion Hill Battle of Big Black River Bridge Siege of Vicksburg

American Civil War

John Stevens Bowen (October 30, 1830 – July 13, 1863) was a career United States Army officer who later became a general in the Confederate Army and a commander in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. He fought at the battles of Shiloh, Corinth, and the Vicksburg Campaign. He is often said to have died just as his abilities were gaining attention.

Bowen was born in Bowen's Creek, Georgia. He attended the University of Georgia in Athens (UGA) in the early 1840s where he was a member of the Phi Kappa Literary Society, but left before graduating. He later entered the United States Military Academy in 1848, but was suspended in March 1851, for a year. He graduated 13th of 52 cadets in the class of 1853. Among his classmates were future Confederate generals Henry Brevard Davidson, John Bell Hood, and John R. Chambliss, Jr..

He subsequently was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the U.S. Regiment of Mounted Rifles. He was first assigned to the army cavalry school at Carlisle, Pennsylvania until 1855, when he was transferred to the Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis, Missouri; while in St. Louis, he met and married Mary Kennerly. He eventually became acting adjutant of the U.S. 2nd Cavalry Regiment; then in early 1855, he was reassigned to Fort McIntosh, Texas. While there, he decided to resign from the army due to loneliness and moved to Georgia, becoming an architect. He became a lieutenant colonel in the Georgia militia, but then moved to Missouri in 1857. There he became active in the Missouri Volunteer Militia (MVM). In 1861 he was appointed as lieutenant colonel commanding the MVM's Southwest Battalion, patrolling Missouri's western border against raids by bands of Kansas Jayhawkers.