The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1909-10-15
HANDSOME PICTURE or
GOV. B. 6. HUMPHREYS.
Now Adorns the AudltOrlum OF the
Jefferson Davis School.

In conformity with it's usual custom
the J. q. George Chapter o. d. @. pre-
sented to the Greenwood High Sch COL
picture of a prominent Confederate at
the opening Of the session. Heretofore
this chapter has given q likeness Of
President Jefferson Davis, for whom the
school is named, and at another opening
a portrait Of the illustrious Lee. At
the recent opening they selected for
mer citizen of this county and had the
Hon. W. NJ. Wilmington to present the
likeness of Gen. BENZ. g. Humphreys.
His remarks at the presentation before
the assembled school l-children, faculty,
trustees and patrons of the school in
the auditorium were interesting and in
structive. Relating the notable inci-
dents of Gen. Humphreys he strove to
draw the childsen to lead lives Of en-
deavor along tfSiines set by good citi-
zens of whom all good Mississippians
are proud.
Gen. Humphreys was a native Missis-
sippian, born on the Bayou Pierre, near
Port Gibson, the Goth of August, 1903,
when most of that country was a beau
tifnl wilderness-the hooting Of owls
and the bowling of wolves being the
lullabys of his infant slumbers. He had
and patriots. Z His grandfather, Ralph
Humphreys, had fought with Washing
ton and had wintered with him at VAL
ley Forge. Another grandfather, his
mothers fathers, David Smith, has been
with Sewer and Robertson at Kings
Mountain and afterwards was with
jackson at the battle of New Orleans
and here too commanding company of
militia was his father, George Wilson
Humphreys. No wonder then that he
early imbibed love of country, a char
acteristic always prominent in him.
His preparatory education was received
at Georgetown, KY, and at Morristown,
N. j., where he was fitted to enter the
West Point Military Academy which he
did in the same class with President
Davis. He found there Robt. Z. Lee,
and there first earned to love and TO
trust that peerless leader.
Returning to his planta tion home in
Claiborne county, he pursued the quiet
life of cotton plantation. He repre-
sented his county in the State Legisla-
ture as Senator and Representative,
In 1846 he came to what was then
Sundower county, settling at Roebuck
Lake and began to hew himself home
from the primal forests. Here he lived
until Wars alarm called him from re-
tirement. He raised a company which
was given the name Of "Sunfower
Guards" and was elected Captain. This
company became a part of the 2lst Reg
iment, Mississippi Volunteers, and Capt.
Humphreys vas elected Colonel. This
regiment was part of the Army of
Northern Virginia and fought in all the
great battles under Gen. Lee from Bull
Run to Gettysburg. At the latter when
| Gen. Barksdale was killed, Colonel
| Humphreys was given the rank of Briga-
dier-General in command of the 18th,
18th, 10Th and 21st Regiments of Missis-
sippians. AS part Of Longstreet's
corps he fought in the battle of Chick
amauga, and after that campaign re-
turned to Virginia. He was shot through
the breast at the battle of Berryville,
after which he did no active service in
! Virginia but was transferred to the
department in Mississippi where he re-
NAMED until the close of the war.
In 1866 he was elected Governor of
Mississippi and reelected in 1867, but
was put out of office by the Federal au-
} thorities shortly afterward.
A few years after this he returned to
his plantation, Itta Bena, to find that
the name of the county had been chang
ed to Lefiore. Here he remained until
his death December 10th 1882. He was
buried in the Port Gibson Cemetery.