page_title: John Bordenave Villepigue
section_title: Defense of Fort Pillow
hierarchical_section_title: John Bordenave Villepigue / Defense of Fort Pillow
context_page_description: John Bordenave Villepigue was a career U.S. Army officer who served on the Western Frontier and became a Confederate general in the American Civil War. One of his descendants would later be World War I Medal of Honor recipient John Cantey Villepigue.
context_section_description: Villepigue was promoted to the staff of General Bragg as chief of engineers and artillery. He moved to Mobile, Alabama, and was appointed a brigadier general early in 1862.  General P.G.T. Beauregard, who also held him in high esteem, then moved him to command Fort Pillow, Tennessee. Villepigue recognized the weaknesses of the fort’s location, and made efforts to reduce them, however, they were under fairly constant bombardment by Union gunboats.  Ordered to retire by General Beauregard, and to destroy all government property including guns, cannon and ammunition, his men blew up his fortifications and retreated to safety.  Nineteen pieces of artillery were left behind.
caption: The Second Battle of Corinth
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