One of the most notable Louisianians to serve in the Civil War was P. G. T. Beauregard, a graduate of West Point and the Confederacy's first brigadier general. As commander of the Confederate forces at Charleston, S. C., Beauregard ordered the bombardment of Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, firing the first shot of the Civil War. Like many Civil War troops and officers, Beauregard received his early combat experience in the Mexican War of 1846-1848.