John Bankhead Magruder | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nickname(s) | "Prince John" |
| Born | May 1, 1807 Port Royal, Virginia, United States |
| Died | February 18, 1871 (aged 63) Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Place of burial | Episcopal Cemetery, Galveston, Texas |
| Allegiance |  United States Confederate States.svg){kind=small} Second Mexican Empire |
| Service |  United States Army Confederate States Army |
| Years of service | 1830–1861 (U.S. Army) 1861–1865 (Confederate Army) |
| Rank |  Captain  Bvt. Lieutenant Colonel (USA) Major General (CSA) |
| Commands |
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| Battles / wars | Second Seminole War Mexican–American War American Civil War |
| Other work | Lawyer, lecturer |
| Signature | .png){kind=small} |
John Bankhead Magruder (May 1, 1807[N 1] – February 18, 1871) often referred to as "Prince John Magruder", was an American and Confederate military officer. A graduate of West Point, Magruder served with distinction during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and was a prominent Confederate Army general during the American Civil War (1861–1865). As a major general, he received recognition for delaying the advance of Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac, during the 1862 Peninsula Campaign, as well as recapturing Galveston, Texas the following year.
When the Civil War began in 1861, Magruder left the Union Army to accept a commission in the Confederacy. As commander of the Army of the Peninsula, he fortified the Virginia Peninsula and won the Battle of Big Bethel. In the Peninsula Campaign, he stalled McClellan's Army of the Potomac outside Yorktown, allowing Maj. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston to arrive with reinforcements, organize a retreat, and defend the Confederate capital, Richmond. Magruder was criticized for his leadership in battles at Savage's Station and Malvern Hill during the Seven Days Battles. He spent the remainder of the war administering the District of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona and the Department of Arkansas; in his tenure, Magruder lifted the naval blockade over Galveston and recaptured the city in 1863.
After surrendering the Trans-Mississippi Department in June 1865, Magruder fled to Mexico. He worked in an administrative role under Emperor Maximillian I before returning to the United States in 1867. In 1869, he embarked on a lecture tour, speaking on the Mexican monarchy. Magruder died in Houston in 1871.
- ^ Settles 2009, p. viii.
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