Confederate States Army
What was the military branch of Mosby Monroe Parsons from 1862 to 1865?
Mosby Monroe Parsons Brigadier-General Mosby Monroe Parsons ( May 21 , 1822 – August 15 , 1865 ) was a senior officer of the Confederate States Army who commanded infantry in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War . Parsons was murdered by Captain Dario Garza , at the head of a body of Mexican soldiers , on or about August 15 , 1865 , near China , Nuevo León , Mexico . Early life and career . The eldest child of Gustavus Adolphus Parsons and his wife Patience Monroe Bishop , Mosby Monroe Parsons was born in Charlottesville , Virginia . When he was 13 , his parents moved to Cole County , Missouri . Two years later , they moved again to Jefferson City , which Parsons would thereafter make his home . As a young man , Mosby read law and was admitted to the bar in 1846 . He served as a volunteer in the Mexican–American War with the rank of captain in Colonel Alexander W . Doniphans regiment and was cited for gallantry at the Battle of Sacramento on February 28 , 1847 . Returning to Missouri after the war , Parsons married Mary Wells on September 18 , 1850 . However , his wife died just three years later , leaving him with an infant son , Stephen Kearney Parsons . Parsons served as the United States District Attorney for western Missouri . In 1856 was elected to the state legislature . He became a Missouri state senator in 1858 , serving until the American Civil War . American Civil War . Parsons was appointed brigadier general in command of the Sixth Division of the Missouri State Guard . He arrived too late to participate in the skirmish at Boonville , but he went on to lead his division at Carthage and the Battle of Wilsons Creek in Missouri . Although his Missouri State Guardsmen participated in the Battle of Pea Ridge in Arkansas , Parsons was absent from this action seeking an appointment in the Confederate States Army in Richmond , Virginia . Parsons was commissioned a brigadier general of the Confederacy on November 5 , 1862 and led his infantry brigade in the Battle of Prairie Grove , Arkansas , one month later . His force would participate in the attack at Helena , Arkansas on July 4 , 1863 , and assisted Richard Taylor in thwarting Union Major General Nathaniel Banks Red River Campaign of 1864 in Louisiana ( Battle of Pleasant Hill ) , as well as opposing Union Major General Frederick Steeles Camden Expedition in Arkansas , including participation at the Battle of Jenkins Ferry . Parsons was appointed a major general by Trans-Mississippi Departmental Commander Kirby Smith on April 30 , 1864 , although his promotion was never confirmed by Jefferson Davis . Murder in Mexico . After the wars end , Parsons , like many other Missouri Confederates , chose to go to Mexico rather than return to Missouri . Parsons and three companions , including his brother-in-law , Capt . Austin M . Standish , Standishs orderly William Dutch Bill Wenderling and former Confederate Congressman Aaron H . Conrow were murdered by Captain Dario Garza , at the head of a body of Mexican soldiers , on or about August 15 , 1865 , near China , Nuevo León , as they were headed for Camargo Municipality , Tamaulipas . The bodies of Parsons and his comrades were buried in unmarked graves where they were killed . In 1868 , Parsons son ( Kearny Parsons ) and sister ( Mildred Standish ) , along with the family of Aaron Conrow , sued the Mexican government via the U.S . and Mexico Claims Commission Convention . In 1875 , a judgment in the amount of almost US$50,000.00 in gold was awarded to each of the plaintiffs . Honors . Camp No . 718 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans in Jefferson City , Missouri , is named after him .