Lewis Addison Armistead And The Civil War - 749 Words

Lewis Addison Armistead was a brigadier general in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. He participated in the Mexican American War, the Mojave War, and the Civil War. Armistead’s heritage included great participation in the military of the United States and ties to Virginia during the colonial period. Armistead was born February 18, 1817 in New Bern, North Carolina. Lewis came from a high-ranking military family. His father, George Armistead was the commander of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812, and his grandfather, John Stanly was a United Stated Congressman, and uncle Edward Stanly was a military governor of Eastern North Carolina during the Civil War. Due to his family connection to the United States military and government, Lewis attended the West Point in 1834. He attended West Point as a cadet until he broke a plate over Jubal Early’s head, which led to his dismissal in 1836. Along with the misconduct, he had troubles academically with French cla ss. After his dismissal he was still able to attain a spot in the Sixth US Infantry as second lieutenant on July 10, 1839 from George Armistead’s help. Later he was promoted to First Lieutenant in 1844 after serving under his father in the Second Seminole War. Lewis then married his wife Cecilia Lee Love later that year. According to militaryhistory.about.com Cecilia was a distant cousin of Robert E. Lee. They had two children named Walker Keith and Flora Lee. After their marriage, Lewis and Cecilia