George P . Doles George Pierce Doles ( May 14 , 1830 – June 2 , 1864 ) was a Georgia businessman and Confederate general during the American Civil War . His men played a key role on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg in driving back the Union XI Corps . Early life . Doles was born in Milledgeville , Georgia , the son of Josiah and Martha ( Pierce ) Doles . His father was a tailor by occupation . Doles was educated in the town ' s common schools . At the age of 16 , Doles loaded a stagecoach with his brother , bound to join the Army in the Mexican - American War , but he was intercepted by his father before the coach could depart . He became a successful businessman in Milledgeville and was elected captain of the " Baldwin Blues , " a local militia company . Civil War . With the secession of Georgia and the start of the Civil War in 1861 , Doles enlisted in the Confederate Army along with most of his militia unit and they were incorporated as Company H in the 4th Georgia Volunteer Infantry Regiment . They were mustered into service on April 26 , 1861 in Milledgeville and left for Augusta the next day . On May 9 , 1861 , he was appointed colonel of the regiment and led it during the Peninsula Campaign as a part of the Army of Northern Virginia . He was wounded at the Battle of Malvern Hill . During the 1862 Maryland Campaign , his regiment was a part of Ripley ' s Brigade in D . H . Hill ' s Division . It helped in the defense of South Mountain before withdrawing towards Sharpsburg , Maryland . When General Roswell Ripley fell with a wound at the Battle of Antietam defending Mumma ' s Farm , Doles assumed temporary command of the brigade and led it in an assault into the southern end of the Miller cornfield . Doles ' s command of the brigade was made official on November 1 , 1862 with his promotion to brigadier general . He led the brigade with efficiency during the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville . On January 19 , 1863 , before the Battle of Chancellorsville in May , several brigades of the Army of Northern Virginia were rearranged to contain regiments from the same states . On this date , the 1st and 3rd North Carolina Infantry Regiments were transferred out of Doles ' s Brigade and the 12th and 21st Georgia Infantry Regiments were transferred into Doles ' Brigade . Thus , from that date , Doles ' s Brigade consisted of the 4th Georgia Infantry , 12th Georgia Infantry , 21st Georgia Infantry and the 44th Georgia Infantry Regiments . During the 1863 Gettysburg Campaign , Doles ' s Brigade , 1 , 300 strong , formed part of Robert E . Rodes ' s Division . On July 1 , 1863 , Doles attacked the line of the Union XI Corps in fields near Rock Creek north of Gettysburg , driving their adversaries back over a mile . Pressure from Doles , as well as from fellow Georgian John B . Gordon and other brigades , eventually forced much of the XI Corps to collapse and retire to Cemetery Hill . The brigade suffered 219 casualties at Gettysburg — 46 killed , 106 wounded , and 67 captured — a loss of 16 . 6 % of its strength . Doles ' s men did not see any significant action on the second or third day of the battle , nor in the subsequent Bristoe or Mine Run Campaign s . In 1864 , Doles led his brigade during the Overland Campaign , fighting in the Wilderness and at Spotsylvania Court House , where the brigade was attacked by an overwhelming force and overrun at the " Mule Shoe " salient on May 10 , suffering about 650 casualties , of which about 350 were captured . Doles himself escaped capture by falling down to the ground and playing dead until a counterattack materialized . With the assistance of other brigades , the lost entrenchments were eventually recaptured . During the Battle of Cold Harbor in June , a Union sharpshooter shot Doles in the left breast as he was inspecting the Confederate entrenchments near Bethesda Church , Virginia . He died instantly . Command of the brigade passed to Colonel ( later Brigadier General ) Phillip Cook of the 4th Georgia Infantry . Doles was buried in Memory Hill Cemetery in Milledgeville , Georgia .