Claudius W . Sears Claudius Wistar Sears ( November 8 , 1817 – February 15 , 1891 ) was an United States Army officer , an educator , and a Confederate general during the American Civil War . During the war , Sears was part of the Confederate garrison that was captured following the Siege of Vicksburg in 1863 , and would be wounded twice in combat . After the conflict he returned to teaching . Early life and career . Claudius Sears was born in the city of Peru located in Berkshire County , Massachusetts . He attended the United States Military Academy in West Point in July 1837 , and graduated four years later , standing 31st out of 52 cadets . Despite his Massachusetts birth , Sears would receive his appointment to West Point from the state of New York . He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 8th U . S . Infantry on July 1 , 1841 . Sears and the 8th Infantry fought in Florida during the Seminole Wars until the fall of 1842 . Sears resigned his commission from the U . S . Army on October 10 , 1842 . Following a short stint teaching at St . Thomas ' s Hall at Holly Springs in Marshall County , Mississippi , he moved to Louisiana and was the professor of mathematics at the University of Louisiana ( known now as Tulane ) in New Orleans from 1845 to 1859 . Sears then was a professor at Louisiana University from 1859 into 1860 , teaching both math as well as physics . He returned to St . Thomas ' s Hall in 1860 to serve as its president until 1861 . Civil War service . At the start of the American Civil War in 1861 , Sears chose to follow the Confederate cause and enlisted in the 17th Mississippi Infantry Regiment that May , and elected captain of its Company G soon afterward . Sears and the 17th Infantry fought at the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21 and at the Battle of Ball ' s Bluff on October 21 , and participated during the 1862 Peninsula Campaign engagements of Yorktown , Seven Pines , and the Seven Days Battles . Sears fought at the Battle of Antietam during the Maryland Campaign on September 17 . On December 11 , 1862 , Sears was appointed colonel of the 46th Mississippi Infantry , and began his Western Theater service . With his new regiment , Sears participated during the Vicksburg Campaign of late 1862 and summer of 1863 . He fought at Battle of Chickasaw Bayou on December 29 , 1862 , and the Battle of Port Gibson on May 1 , 1863 , but during the fighting at the Battle of Champion Hill his regiment was held in reserve . In the spring and summer of 1863 , Sears and his command were part of the Army of Mississippi , led by Lt . Gen . John C . Pemberton and defending the Confederate stronghold at Vicksburg guarding the Mississippi River . Following the six week long siege of the garrison and its surrender on July 4 , Sears was captured by Union forces , and was exchanged that fall . Sears ' brigade commander , William E . Baldwin , praised his performance at Vicksburg , saying : After being exchanged in October 1863 , Sears was returned to his command in early 1864 following several months on parole . On March 1 he was promoted to brigadier general and ordered to join the Army of Tennessee . On April 1 his brigade was added to Maj . Gen . Samuel G . French ' s Division , and Sears arrived with his command that May at Resaca , Georgia . He fought during the Atlanta Campaign in the summer of 1864 , and was wounded during the Battle of Adairsville near Cassville , Georgia , on May 19 . Sears next participated in the late 1864 Franklin - Nashville Campaign , taking part in the Battle of Allatoona on October 5 , the Battle of Franklin on November 30 , and the Battle of Nashville on December 15 , where Sears was severely wounded . During the fight , a cannonball killed hid horse and one of Sears ' legs was shot off . He was removed for care to the rear areas of the Army of Tennessee as it retreated , but was left behind and captured on December 21 at Pulaski , Tennessee . Sears was paroled from Nashville , Tennessee on June 23 , 1865 . Postbellum . After the war , Sears returned to Mississippi and taught mathematics & civil engineering at the University of Mississippi from 1865 to 1889 . He died two years later at Oxford in Lafayette County , Mississippi , and is buried there in the city ' s Saint Peter ' s Cemetery .