Jeptha Vining Harris ( Mississippi ) Jeptha Vining Harris ( December 1 , 1816 – November 21 , 1899 ) was a brigadier general ( August 1862 – August 1863 ) and later , after a year in private life , a colonel ( August 1864 – 1865 ) in the Mississippi militia , who fought in conjunction with the Confederate States Army in Mississippi during the American Civil War ( Civil War ) . His militia brigade served at Vicksburg , Mississippi during the Siege of Vicksburg . Harris and the brigade were part of the Confederate army surrendered to Union Army forces under then Major General Ulysses S . Grant on July 4 , 1863 . After being exchanged in July and mustered out in August , 1863 , Harris returned to civilian life . On August 26 , 1864 , Harris was commissioned as a colonel of militia and given command of forces at Macon , Mississippi . After graduating from the University of Georgia in 1836 , Harris moved to Lowndes County , Mississippi in 1840 where he became a slaveholder and wealthy planter . He was a state militia officer before the Civil War . He was a Mississippi State Senator from Lowndes County in 1858 – 1861 . After the war , he lived on his Lowndes County farm until his death in 1899 . Early life . Jeptha Vining Harris was born in Elbert County , Georgia on December 1 , 1816 . His parents were Jeptha Vining and Sarah ( Hunt ) Harris . The elder Jeptha Vining Harris was a Georgia militia general during the War of 1812 , prominent lawyer , planter and state representative . Jeptha Vining Harris graduated from the University of Georgia in 1836 . He moved to Lowndes County , Mississippi in 1840 where he became a slaveholder and wealthy planter . He was a state militia officer before the Civil War . He served in the Mississippi State Senate from Lowndes County in 1858 – 1861 . Jeptha V . Harris married Mary Oliver Banks of Tuscaloosa , Alabama on June 30 , 1840 . They had the following children who survived to adulthood : Mary O . Harris , Willis Banks Harris ( who served on the staff of Confederate Brigadier General Jacob H . Sharp ) and Lucy Harris Duncan . Harris was the uncle of Jeptha Vining Harris , a doctor who served in the Confederate States Army and was later a doctor , customs collector and school superintendent at Key West , Florida . American Civil War service . At the outbreak of the Civil War , at his own expense , Jeptha Vining Harris equipped a company of soldiers for the Confederate Army . In August 1861 or 1862 , Harris joined the Mississippi militia and was elected captain of a company . On September 2 , 1862 , he was commissioned a brigadier general of state troops posted at Columbus , Mississippi . On May 7 , 1863 , Harris ' s brigade was ordered to defend the riverfront at the besieged Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg , Mississippi . The unit was positioned on the far left of the Confederate line east of Fort Hill under the overall command of Brigadier General John C . Vaughn . Harris was praised for his performance at Vicksburg . Harris and his brigade were surrendered with the other Confederate forces at Vicksburg on July 4 , 1863 . After the Confederate surrender at Vicksburg , Harris and his men were paroled . Many of the demoralized men went home . Harris was exchanged on July 16 , 1863 , but his command had dissolved and both Harris and his brigade were formally mustered out on August 26 , 1863 . On August 26 , 1864 , Harris was appointed a colonel and given command of the militia force at Macon , Mississippi , where he completed his war service . Aftermath . After the Civil War , Jeptha V . Harris returned to his farm in Lowndes County , Mississippi , where he died on November 21 , 1899 . He is buried in Friendship Cemetery , Columbus , Mississippi .