States Rights Gist
| States Rights Gist | |
|---|---|
States Rights Gist
photo taken between 1862 and 1864 |
|
| Born |
September 3, 1831 Union, South Carolina |
| Died | November 30, 1864 (aged 33) Franklin, Tennessee |
| Place of burial | Trinity Episcopal churchyard Columbia, South Carolina |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America Confederate States of America
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Army Confederate States Army
|
| Years of service | 1856–61 (S.C. Militia) 1861–64 (CSA) |
| Rank |
 Brigadier General (S.C. Militia) Brigadier General (CSA)
|
| Battles/wars | |
States Rights Gist (September 3, 1831 – November 30, 1864) was a lawyer, a militia general in South Carolina, and a Confederate Army brigadier general who served during the American Civil War. A relative of several prominent South Carolinians, Gist rose to fame during the war but was killed before its end at the Battle of Franklin (1864) on November 30, 1864. His name was based on the nullification politics of his father, Nathaniel Gist. Nathaniel Gist was a disciple of John C. Calhoun and chose his son's name to reflect his own political sentiments.
Known to his family as "States", Gist was born in Union, South Carolina, to Nathaniel Gist and Elizabeth Lewis McDaniel and was distantly related to Mordecai Gist, a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He graduated from South Carolina College, now the University of South Carolina. Gist attended Harvard Law School for a year without graduating and then moved home to Union to practice law. In 1863, Gist married Jane Margaret Adams, whose father was James Hopkins Adams, governor of South Carolina from 1854 until 1856. In 1858, Gist's cousin William Henry Gist became governor. Both were active in the secession movement.
Soon after his return to South Carolina in 1853, Gist served in the state militia as captain of a volunteer company. He became aide-de-camp to the governor in 1854. By April 1856 he was a brigadier general in the South Carolina Militia. One of his many roles was to train fellow militia members for war. His older cousin, William Henry Gist, who was governor between 1858 and 1860, appointed States Rights Gist as "especial" aide-de-camp. General Gist then came to Columbia to become part of the governor's household. In April 1860, General Gist resigned from the militia and became a full–time advisor to the governor. In October 1860, the governor sent his cousin to six other governors of Southern states to seek support for secession due to the likely election of Abraham Lincoln as the next President of the United States.
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