Reuben Lindsay Walker was a Confederate

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 general who served in the artillery

Artillery

Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...

 during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

.

Early life

Walker was born in Logan, Virginia

Logan, West Virginia

Logan is a city in Logan County, West Virginia, United States, along the Guyandotte River. The population was 1,779 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Logan County.-History:...

, (now West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

). He graduated from the Virginia Military Institute

Virginia Military Institute

The Virginia Military Institute , located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest state-supported military college and one of six senior military colleges in the United States. Unlike any other military college in the United States—and in keeping with its founding principles—all VMI students are...

 (VMI) in 1845. He then became a civil engineer

Civil engineer

A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...

, and later, a farmer in Virginia.

Civil War

When the Civil War began, Walker took command of the Purcell Artillery unit. After seeing action at the First Battle of Bull Run

First Battle of Bull Run

First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas , was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, near the City of Manassas...

 (First Manassas), Walker became the chief of artillery to General A.P. Hill. Lindsay Walker, as he was known, amassed a lengthy combat record, serving in every one of the Army of Northern Virginia

Army of Northern Virginia

The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...

's major battles except the Seven Days Battles

Seven Days Battles

The Seven Days Battles was a series of six major battles over the seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia during the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, away from...

 (he was ill at the time). He commanded artillery of Hill's Light Division during the Battle of Harpers Ferry

Battle of Harpers Ferry

The Battle of Harpers Ferry was fought September 12–15, 1862, as part of the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War. As Gen. Robert E. Lee's Confederate army invaded Maryland, a portion of his army under Maj. Gen. Thomas J...

 and the Battle of Antietam

Battle of Antietam

The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...

 in the Maryland Campaign

Maryland Campaign

The Maryland Campaign, or the Antietam Campaign is widely considered one of the major turning points of the American Civil War. Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's first invasion of the North was repulsed by Maj. Gen. George B...

. When Powell Hill was promoted to corps

Corps

A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...

 command, Walker became the head of the Third Corps artillery. He commanded the corps' reserve artillery in the Battle of Gettysburg

Battle of Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...

, directly commanding the battalions of Majs. David G. McIntosh and William J. Pegram. He had direct command of all the corps' artillery battalions thereafter, including in the Overland Campaign

Overland Campaign

The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, in the American Civil War. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, general-in-chief of all Union armies, directed the actions of the Army of the...

 and the Siege of Petersburg

Siege of Petersburg

The Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War...

. In all, Walker served in 63 battles and engagements and was never once wounded, despite being a large target at 6'4" tall and despite often serving in very hot fighting. Walker was promoted to brigadier general on February 18, 1865.

Postbellum career

After the war, Walker moved to Selma, Alabama

Selma, Alabama

Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....

, where he headed the Marine & Selma Railroad. He returned to Virginia in 1876 and became an engineer for the Richmond and Alleghany Railroad. As a civil engineer, Walker oversaw the construction of an addition to the Virginia State Penitentiary and the Texas State Capitol

Texas State Capitol

The Texas State Capitol is located in Austin, Texas, and is the fourth building to be the house of Texas government in Austin. It houses the chambers of the Texas Legislature and the office of the governor of Texas. It was designed originally during 1881 by architect Elijah E. Myers, and was...

 building.

Death

Walker died in Fluvanna County, Virginia

Fluvanna County, Virginia

As of 2002, Fluvanna County's population was 20,047. There are 7,387 households, and 5,702 families residing in the county. The population density was 70 people per square mile . There were 8,018 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile...

, and was buried in Richmond's

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

 famous Hollywood Cemetery.