William E. Starke
| William Edwin Starke | |
|---|---|
William Edwin Starke
|
|
| Born | 1814 Brunswick County, Virginia |
| Died | September 17, 1862 (aged 47–48) Antietam Battlefield, Maryland |
| Place of burial | Hollywood Cemetery |
| Allegiance |
 Confederate States of America
|
| Service/branch |
 Confederate States Army
|
| Years of service | 1861–62 |
| Rank |
 Brigadier General
|
| Unit | Army of Northern Virginia |
| Commands held | Second Louisiana Brigade Stonewall Division (temporary) |
| Battles/wars | |
| Relations | Peter Burwell Starke, brother |
| Other work | stagecoach operator, cotton broker |
William Edwin Starke (1814 – September 17, 1862) was a wealthy Gulf Coast businessman and a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He was killed in action at the Battle of Antietam while commanding the famed "Stonewall Division," a unit first made famous under Stonewall Jackson.
Starke was born in Brunswick County, Virginia. His younger brother Peter Burwell Starke also became a general in the Confederate army, as well as a Mississippi politician. Prior to the Civil War, the brothers worked in the family's stagecoach business that operated between Lawrenceville and Petersburg, Virginia. In 1840, William Starke moved to the South, becoming a successful cotton broker in Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1858, he purchased the SS Texas Ranger, a former supply ship, from the Federal government and used it to haul cotton to his customers.
Starke was married to Louisa Grey Hicks, the daughter of a prominent Brunswick County businessman. Their daughter Sallie was born in Melrose, Alabama.
At the outbreak of the Civil War early in 1861, despite his lack of formal military education, Starke was named as the lieutenant colonel of the 53rd Virginia Infantry until June. He subsequently was an aide-de-camp to Gen. Robert S. Garnett in western Virginia, but was without a position following Garnett's death in the Battle of Corrick's Ford. His coolness and judgment in the midst of the confusion that followed the death of General Garnett were highly commended by Colonel William B. Taliaferro, who succeeded to command. He temporarily served on the staff of Robert E. Lee in August 1861.
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Wikipedia