John Bordenave Villepigue John Bordenave Villepigue ( July 2 , 1830 – November 9 , 1862 ) 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 descendents would later be World War I Medal of Honor recipient John Canty Villepigue . Early career . Villepigue ( pronounced VIL - uh - PIG ) was born in Camden , Kershaw County , South Carolina , of French descent ; one of no less than six Confederate generals who came from Kershaw County . Admitted to The South Carolina Military Academy at the Arsenal 1 Jan 1846 , transferred The Citadel , The Military College of South Carolina on 1 Jan 1847 , a pay cadet and not eligible for a Beneficiary Cadet scholarship , he left to enter the United States Military Academy . He graduated from the United States Military Academy , in 1854 , as a brevet second lieutenant in the 2nd U . S . Dragoons . His initial service was out on the frontiers of Kansas and Nebraska and he was involved in the Sioux expedition of 1855 , the march to Fort Lookout , Dakota in 1856 , and the Utah campaign of 1857 - 58 . By now a first lieutenant , Villepigue spent time at the Carlisle Cavalry School and was on duty in Utah at the time of the secession , whereupon he resigned his commission on March 31 , 1861 , to enter the service of the Confederacy . Defense of Fort McRee . Villepigue was initially commissioned as a captain of artillery but was quickly promoted to the rank of colonel in the provisional army and assigned to the 36th Georgia Infantry Regiment . His first notable action was to command the defense of Fort McRee , guarding Pensacola harbor , during the bombardment of November 22 , 1861 . At the time , his commanding officer , General Braxton Bragg , suggested that for the number and caliber of guns involved , this would surely rank as the heaviest bombardment in the world to date . Bragg praised Villepigue ' s coolness under fire , even while grievously wounded , and noted that his example caused the troops he was leading — for the most part raw volunteers from Georgia and Mississippi — to fight with the courage of veterans . General Bragg wrote of Colonel Villepigue that he was , " an educated soldier , possessing in an eminent degree the love and confidence of his officers and men , he had been specially selected for this important and perilous post . The result fully vindicates the fortunate choice , and presents for our admiration , blended in perfect harmony , the modest but heroic soldier with the humble but confiding Christian . " Defense of Fort Pillow . 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 , Mississippi . Villepigue conducted a stubborn and skillful defense against greatly superior Federal land and naval forces . Finally ordered to retire , he blew up his fortifications and led his men to safety . Brigade commander . Villepigue commanded a brigade at the Second Battle of Corinth in October 1862 , in the division of Major General Mansfield Lovell , under the overall command of Maj . Gen . Earl van Dorn . He distinguished himself in both the successful opening attack and the covering of the eventual retreat . The arduous nature of the campaign laid him low with a fever however , and , with the promise of a major general ' s commission , he was sent to Port Hudson , Louisiana , to recuperate . Unfortunately , no sooner had he arrived there than his condition worsened and he died of pneumonia . Brigadier General Villepigue is buried in the " Old Quaker Cemetery " in his home town of Camden , South Carolina . John Canty Villepigue was buried there also after his death in World War I . That cemetery also maintains the grave of World War I Medal of Honor recipient Richmond Hobson Hilton , the graves of Civil War Confederate Generals Joseph B . Kershaw and John Doby Kennedy , and that of Confederate soldier and hero from the Battle of Fredericksburg , Richard Rowland Kirkland .