Randall L. Gibson
| Randall L. Gibson | |
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United States Senator from Louisiana |
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In office March 4, 1883 – December 15, 1892 |
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| Preceded by | William P. Kellogg |
| Succeeded by | Donelson Caffery |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana's 1st district |
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In office March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1883 |
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| Preceded by | Effingham Lawrence |
| Succeeded by | Carleton Hunt |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
September 10, 1832 Versailles, Kentucky |
| Died | December 15, 1892 (aged 60) Hot Springs, Arkansas |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | Yale University |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Confederate States of America |
| Service/branch | Confederate States Army |
| Years of service | 1861–1865 |
| Rank |
 Brigadier General
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| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Randall Lee Gibson (September 10, 1832 – December 15, 1892) was an attorney and politician, elected as a member of the House of Representatives and U.S. Senator from Louisiana. He served as a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army. Later he was a regent of the Smithsonian Institution, and a president of the board of administrators of Tulane University.
Gibson was born in 1832 at "Spring Hill", Versailles, Kentucky, the son of a planter and slaveholding family. After his father moved the family to Louisiana when Randall was a child, the youth was educated in leading local schools. In 1853 he graduated from Yale University, where he was a member of the Scroll and Key society. He returned to Louisiana to study for his bachelor of laws (LL.B) from the University of Louisiana Law School, later Tulane University.
Soon after the Louisiana's secession from the Union, Gibson became an aide to Gov. Thomas O. Moore. On May 8, 1861, he left the capital to join the 1st Louisiana Artillery as a captain.
On August 13, 1861, he was commissioned as colonel of the 13th Louisiana Infantry. Gibson fought at the Battle of Shiloh and subsequent actions. With the Army of the Mississippi, he took part in the 1862 Kentucky Campaign and the Battle of Chickamauga. After being promoted to brigadier general (special) on January 11, 1864, he fought in the Atlanta Campaign and the Franklin-Nashville Campaign; he next was assigned to the defense of Mobile, Alabama. He inspired his troops to hold Spanish Fort, which was under siege, until the last moment, after which they escaped at night on April 8, 1865. Gibson was captured at Cuba Station, Alabama on May 8, 1865 and paroled at Meridian, Mississippi on May 14, 1865. He was pardoned on September 25, 1866.
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