William Andrew Quarles
Encyclopedia
William Andrew Quarles (July 4, 1825 – December 28, 1893) was a Tennessee
lawyer, politician, railroad executive, and a general in the Confederate States Army
during the American Civil War
.
. When he was five years old, his family moved to rural Christian County, Kentucky
, and then later to Clarksville, Tennessee
. He was educated at home as a youth, and attended the University of Virginia
until his father's untimely death forced him to return home to manage the family estate. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1848, and established a law practice in Clarksville. Interested in politics, he was a Democratic
presidential elector in 1852, supporting Franklin Pierce
's candidacy.
Quarles helped incorporate Stewart College in 1856. He was the state's bank inspector in 1858 and was judge of the circuit court for a year, filling in for an ill incumbent. Quarles was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States Congress
from Tennessee in 1858. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention
in both 1856 and 1860. Quarles joined the Freemasons and became a Master Mason in 1856. He was appointed President of the Memphis, Clarksville, and Louisville Railway Company, and helped oversee the construction of railroad lines in Tennessee and Kentucky.
His brother, James Minor Quarles
, was a United States Congressman representing Tennessee from 1859 until 1861, when the state seceded
from the Union
.
. His brother James would serve under Quarles for the rest of the war. In February 1862, Quarles and his men were present at the Battle of Fort Donelson
, where they were among the thousands of men forced to surrender. He was sent north to the Johnson's Island
prisoner-of-war camp
in Ohio
. After being sent to Vicksburg, Mississippi
, in early August 1862 and formally exchanged, Quarles resumed command of his regiment.
Quarles was promoted on August 25, 1863, to brigadier general and given command of a brigade
initially consisting of the 42nd, 46th, 48th, and 53rd Tennessee infantry regiments, serving in the division
of Edward C. Walthall
. Later augmented by two regiments from Louisiana
, another from Tennessee, and an artillery battery
, Quarles' brigade missed the Chattanooga Campaign as his brigade did not arrive in time for the defense of Missionary Ridge. He was ordered back to Mississippi after it seemed certain that Braxton Bragg
's army would not be attacked again after retreating to Dalton, Georgia
, but he and his men returned to Georgia after the start of the Atlanta Campaign
. At Pickett's Mill
, Quarles was severely wounded.
After recovering, Quarles led his brigade into Tennessee when army commander John Bell Hood
moved northward from Atlanta. He was wounded on November 30, 1864, at the Battle of Franklin
while leading his brigade against the Union works, and two weeks later captured while recuperating from his wound in a nearby field hospital. Quarles spent the rest of the war as a Union prisoner. He was finally paroled and exchanged at Nashville
in May 1865 following the cessation of hostilities.
, and continued his Masonic activities, becoming a Royal Arch Mason in 1865 and joining the Knights Templar
in 1871. He was again a presidential elector in 1872, supporting Horace Greeley
in his unsuccessful candidacy. Resuming his own political career, Quarles failed to garner enough support for the United States Senate
in 1874, finishing well behind former President Andrew Johnson
in balloting in the Tennessee legislature. He was subsequently elected to the State Senate, serving in the 39th (1875–77) and 45th (1887–89) General Assemblies. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions of 1880 and 1884, and served on Democratic State Executive Committee in 1882.
Quarles was married three times—first to a cousin, Miss Poindexter, then to Alice Vivian, and the third marriage to yet another cousin, Mrs. Louisa (Meriwether) Barker, daughter of Dr. Charles Hunter Meriwether. Quarles had one son, William A.
Quarles died at his father-in-law's estate, "Meriville," in Todd County, Kentucky
, and was buried in Flat Lick Baptist graveyard, Christian County, Kentucky
.
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
lawyer, politician, railroad executive, and a general in the Confederate States Army
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...
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
William A. Quarles, the son of Garrett and Mary J. (Poindexter) Quarles, was born near Louisa Court House in Louisa County, VirginiaLouisa County, Virginia
Louisa County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 33,153. The county seat is Louisa.- History :...
. When he was five years old, his family moved to rural Christian County, Kentucky
Christian County, Kentucky
Christian County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1797. As of 2000, its population was 72,265. Its county seat is Hopkinsville, Kentucky...
, and then later to Clarksville, Tennessee
Clarksville, Tennessee
Clarksville is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States, and the fifth largest city in the state. The population was 132,929 in 2010 United States Census...
. He was educated at home as a youth, and attended the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
until his father's untimely death forced him to return home to manage the family estate. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1848, and established a law practice in Clarksville. Interested in politics, he was a Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
presidential elector in 1852, supporting Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce was the 14th President of the United States and is the only President from New Hampshire. Pierce was a Democrat and a "doughface" who served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Pierce took part in the Mexican-American War and became a brigadier general in the Army...
's candidacy.
Quarles helped incorporate Stewart College in 1856. He was the state's bank inspector in 1858 and was judge of the circuit court for a year, filling in for an ill incumbent. Quarles was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
from Tennessee in 1858. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...
in both 1856 and 1860. Quarles joined the Freemasons and became a Master Mason in 1856. He was appointed President of the Memphis, Clarksville, and Louisville Railway Company, and helped oversee the construction of railroad lines in Tennessee and Kentucky.
His brother, James Minor Quarles
James Minor Quarles
James Minor Quarles was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for Tennessee's 8th congressional district.-Biography:...
, was a United States Congressman representing Tennessee from 1859 until 1861, when the state seceded
Secession
Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...
from the Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
.
Civil War
With the outbreak of the Civil War, Quarles organized the 42nd Tennessee Infantry and was commissioned on November 28, 1861, as its first colonelColonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
. His brother James would serve under Quarles for the rest of the war. In February 1862, Quarles and his men were present at the Battle of Fort Donelson
Battle of Fort Donelson
The Battle of Fort Donelson was fought from February 11 to February 16, 1862, in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. The capture of the fort by Union forces opened the Cumberland River as an avenue for the invasion of the South. The success elevated Brig. Gen. Ulysses S...
, where they were among the thousands of men forced to surrender. He was sent north to the Johnson's Island
Johnson's Island
Johnson's Island is a island in Sandusky Bay, located on the coast of Lake Erie, 3 miles from the city of Sandusky, Ohio. It was the site of a prisoner-of-war camp for Confederate officers captured during the American Civil War. Johnson's Island was the only Union prison exclusively for Southern...
prisoner-of-war camp
Prisoner-of-war camp
A prisoner-of-war camp is a site for the containment of combatants captured by their enemy in time of war, and is similar to an internment camp which is used for civilian populations. A prisoner of war is generally a soldier, sailor, or airman who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or...
in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. After being sent to Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg is a city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the only city in Warren County. It is located northwest of New Orleans on the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and due west of Jackson, the state capital. In 1900, 14,834 people lived in Vicksburg; in 1910, 20,814; in 1920,...
, in early August 1862 and formally exchanged, Quarles resumed command of his regiment.
Quarles was promoted on August 25, 1863, to brigadier general and given command of a brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
initially consisting of the 42nd, 46th, 48th, and 53rd Tennessee infantry regiments, serving in the division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
of Edward C. Walthall
Edward C. Walthall
Edward Cary Walthall was a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War and a postbellum United States Senator from Mississippi.-Biography:...
. Later augmented by two regiments from Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, another from Tennessee, and an artillery battery
Artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
, Quarles' brigade missed the Chattanooga Campaign as his brigade did not arrive in time for the defense of Missionary Ridge. He was ordered back to Mississippi after it seemed certain that Braxton Bragg
Braxton Bragg
Braxton Bragg was a career United States Army officer, and then a general in the Confederate States Army—a principal commander in the Western Theater of the American Civil War and later the military adviser to Confederate President Jefferson Davis.Bragg, a native of North Carolina, was...
's army would not be attacked again after retreating to Dalton, Georgia
Dalton, Georgia
Dalton is a city in Whitfield County, Georgia, United States. It is the county seat of Whitfield County and the principal city of the Dalton, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of both Murray and Whitfield counties. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 33,128...
, but he and his men returned to Georgia after the start of the Atlanta Campaign
Atlanta Campaign
The Atlanta Campaign was a series of battles fought in the Western Theater of the American Civil War throughout northwest Georgia and the area around Atlanta during the summer of 1864. Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman invaded Georgia from the vicinity of Chattanooga, Tennessee, beginning in May...
. At Pickett's Mill
Battle of Pickett's Mill
The Battle of Pickett's Mill was fought on May 27, 1864, in Paulding County, Georgia during the American Civil War between Union and Confederate forces. Union Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman attempted an attack on the right flank of Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston.After the Union defeat at...
, Quarles was severely wounded.
After recovering, Quarles led his brigade into Tennessee when army commander John Bell Hood
John Bell Hood
John Bell Hood was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Hood had a reputation for bravery and aggressiveness that sometimes bordered on recklessness...
moved northward from Atlanta. He was wounded on November 30, 1864, at the Battle of Franklin
Battle of Franklin
Battle of Franklin may refer to three battles of the American Civil War:* Battle of Franklin , a major battle fought November 30, 1864, at Franklin, Tennessee as part of the Franklin-Nashville Campaign...
while leading his brigade against the Union works, and two weeks later captured while recuperating from his wound in a nearby field hospital. Quarles spent the rest of the war as a Union prisoner. He was finally paroled and exchanged at Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
in May 1865 following the cessation of hostilities.
Postbellum
Following the war, Quarles resumed his law career in Clarksville and was a trustee of the Tennessee Orphans Society in 1867. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal ChurchMethodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...
, and continued his Masonic activities, becoming a Royal Arch Mason in 1865 and joining the Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
in 1871. He was again a presidential elector in 1872, supporting Horace Greeley
Horace Greeley
Horace Greeley was an American newspaper editor, a founder of the Liberal Republican Party, a reformer, a politician, and an outspoken opponent of slavery...
in his unsuccessful candidacy. Resuming his own political career, Quarles failed to garner enough support for the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
in 1874, finishing well behind former President Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...
in balloting in the Tennessee legislature. He was subsequently elected to the State Senate, serving in the 39th (1875–77) and 45th (1887–89) General Assemblies. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions of 1880 and 1884, and served on Democratic State Executive Committee in 1882.
Quarles was married three times—first to a cousin, Miss Poindexter, then to Alice Vivian, and the third marriage to yet another cousin, Mrs. Louisa (Meriwether) Barker, daughter of Dr. Charles Hunter Meriwether. Quarles had one son, William A.
Quarles died at his father-in-law's estate, "Meriville," in Todd County, Kentucky
Todd County, Kentucky
Todd County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population is 11,971. Its county seat is Elkton. The county is named after Colonel John Todd, who was killed at the Battle of Blue Licks in 1782...
, and was buried in Flat Lick Baptist graveyard, Christian County, Kentucky
Christian County, Kentucky
Christian County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1797. As of 2000, its population was 72,265. Its county seat is Hopkinsville, Kentucky...
.
See also
- List of American Civil War generals