John Clifford Pemberton
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The Confederate General who surrendered Vicksburg to Grant.
1814-1881
John Clifford Pemberton was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on
August 10, 1814. He attended West Point, where he made friendships
with mostly Southern cadets and showed his deep feelings for the
South and the states rights philosophy. Graduating in 1837, he served
in the cavalry and took part in the Mexican War, for which service he
was brevetted twice. In 1848, he married Martha Thompson of Norfolk,
Virginia, reinforcing his ties to the South. In April of 1861,
Pemberton resigned from the US Army and joined the Confederacy, while
two of his brothers stayed in the Union army. Appointed brigadier
general by Confederate President Jefferson Davis on June 17, 1861, he
was placed in command of the Department of South Carolina, Georgia
and Florida. Promoted to major general in January of 1862, then to
lieutenant general on October 10, 1862, he was given command of the
Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana. Pemberton received
conflicting orders Confederate President Davis and Gen. Joseph E.
Johnston regarding Vicksburg, and finally had to surrender the
position on July 4, 1863 to the Union. There were not assignments
available commensurate with Pemberton's rank, so he resigned as
lieutenant general and was appointed a colonel of artillery, fighting
well until the end of the war. Although he was a skilled
administrator, he was less than inspiring as an officer. After the
end of the Civil War, he lived on a farm near Warrenton, Virginia,
but eventually returned to his native state of Pennsylvania.
Pemberton died on July 13, 1881, in a village called Penllyn, in
Pennsylvania.
