William Y.C. Humes
| William Young Conn Humes | |
|---|---|
William Young Conn Humes
|
|
| Born |
May 1, 1830 Abingdon, Virginia |
| Died | September 11, 1883 (aged 53) Huntsville, Alabama |
| Buried at | Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis, Tennessee |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America Confederate States of America
|
| Service/branch |
 Confederate States Army
|
| Years of service | 1861–65 |
| Rank |
 Brigadier General
|
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
William Young Conn Humes (May 1, 1830 – September 11, 1883) was an American educator, lawyer, and soldier. He served as a Confederate cavalry general during the American Civil War, in which he was wounded twice, and fought mainly in the Western Theater of the conflict. Afterward Humes resumed practicing law until his death.
William Y.C. Humes was born in 1830 in the town of Abingdon, located in Washington County, Virginia. He was a son of John Newton Humes and his wife Jance Conn White, and he was a cousin of Thomas W. Humes, a lawyer and politician. Because his father had lost his fortune, William Humes needed to borrow money to finish his initial education.
Humes entered the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) on November 20, 1848, and graduated second in a class of 29 cadets on July 4, 1851, making him a "distinguished graduate." While attending VMI, Humes was a classmate of Alfred J. Vaughan, who also would serve as a Confederate general in the Civil War.
After graduating, Humes became a teacher to pay off his financial debts. In 1854 he married another resident of Abingdon named Margaret Preston White, with whom he had two sons. He then relocated to Knoxville, Tennessee, where he read law and became a lawyer. In 1858 he moved to Memphis and began a successful law practice. Humes was still a lawyer in Memphis when the American Civil War began.
When the Civil War began in 1861, Humes chose to follow his home states and the Confederate cause. On March 16 he was appointed a first lieutenant in the Confederate Regular Artillery, on May 13 he was commissioned a first lieutenant in the volunteer forces, and that June was promoted to captain of artillery. Humes was posted to the Confederate fortifications protecting the Mississippi River near New Madrid, and was given command of the artillery guns there. He was still part the garrison when it surrendered, and was captured by Union forces on April 7. Humes was imprisoned at Johnson's Island located in Sandusky Bay in Ohio, until he was exchanged in September 1862.
...
Wikipedia