Edward Porter Alexander

Edward Porter Alexander
Photo taken in 1866
Born(1835-05-26)May 26, 1835
Washington, Georgia
DiedApril 28, 1910(1910-04-28) (aged 74)
Savannah, Georgia
Place of burial
Magnolia Cemetery, Augusta, Georgia
AllegianceUnited States United States
 Confederate States
Service / branchUnited States United States Army
 Confederate States Army
Years of service1857–61 (USA)
1861–65 (CSA)
Rank Second Lieutenant (USA)
Brigadier General (CSA)
CommandsArtillery
Battles / wars
Alma materUnited States Military Academy
Other workRailroad executive, planter, and author
Signature

Edward Porter Alexander (May 26, 1835 – April 28, 1910) was an American military engineer, railroad executive, planter, and author. He served first as an officer in the United States Army and later, during the American Civil War (1861–1865), in the Confederate Army, rising to the rank of brigadier general.

Alexander was the officer in charge of the massive artillery bombardment preceding Pickett's Charge, on the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg, and is also noted for his early use of signals and observation balloons during combat. After the Civil War, he taught mathematics at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, spent time in Nicaragua, and wrote extensive memoirs and analyses of the war, which have received much praise for their insight and objectivity. His Military Memoirs of a Confederate were published in 1907. An extensive personal account of his military training and his participation in the Civil War was rediscovered long after his death and published in 1989 as Fighting for the Confederacy.