   william calvin oates (either november 30 or december 1, 1835september 9, 1910) was a confederate colonel during the american civil war, the 29th governor of alabama from 1894 to 1896, and a brigadier general in the u.s. army during the spanishâamerican war. ==early life== oates was born in pike county, alabama, to william and sarah (sellers) oates, a poor farming family. at the age of 17, he believed that he had killed a man in a violent brawl and left home for florida. oates became a drifter, settling in texas for a couple of years before returning to alabama at the urging of his younger brother john, who had been dispatched by the family to locate him. he studied law and passed the bar examination, and then opened a practice in abbeville. ==civil war== oates joined the confederate states army in 1861 and eventually became the commander of the 15th alabama infantry regiment in the spring of 1863. he fought in the battle of gettysburg, leading his troops in a series of charges on little round top, where his brother john perished. this became one of oates's significant memories of the war, as he believed that if his regiment had been able to take little round top, the army of northern
1835_births 1910_deaths Alabama_Democrats American_military_personnel_of_the_SpanishaAmerican_War American_people_of_English_descent Confederate_States_Army_officers Democratic_Party_members_of_the_United_States_House_of_Representatives Democratic_Party_state_governors_of_the_United_States Governors_of_Alabama Members_of_the_Alabama_House_of_Representatives Members_of_the_United_States_House_of_Representatives_from_Alabama People_from_Pike_County,_Alabama People_of_Alabama_in_the_American_Civil_War United_States_Army_officers