William Terry ( congressman ) William Terry ( August 14 , 1824 – September 5 , 1888 ) was a nineteenth - century politician , lawyer , teacher , and soldier from Virginia and the last commander of the famed Stonewall Brigade during the American Civil War . Early life and career . Born in Amherst County , Virginia , Terry attended an old field school as a child and went on to graduate from the University of Virginia in 1848 . He taught school , studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1851 , commencing private practice in Wytheville , Virginia . He engaged in newspaper work for eighteen months as the editor and co - owner of the " Wytheville Telegraph " . In 1852 , he married Emma Wigginton of Bedford County . They raised four sons and three daughters . Terry joined the local militia , serving as lieutenant of the " Wythe Grays . " He led his company to Harpers Ferry during the John Brown affair in 1859 . Civil War . Following Virginia ' s secession from the Union , Terry enrolled in the Confederate Army as a first lieutenant in the 4th Virginia Infantry . In April 1861 , he returned to Harpers Ferry , this time as a Confederate officer serving under Stonewall Jackson . He saw his first significant combat in the First Battle of Bull Run . Terry was promoted to major in the spring of 1862 and fought in the Peninsula Campaign at the battles of Gaines ' Mill and Malvern Hill . He was wounded in the Second Battle of Bull Run and was cited for gallantry in the official report of his superior , William Taliaferro . He returned to the ranks to lead the 4th Virginia Infantry at the Battle of Fredericksburg . His regiment lost 140 of its 335 men in fierce fighting at Chancellorsville , but Terry escaped injury there , as well as in fighting at Culp ' s Hill at Gettysburg . In February 1864 , he was promoted to colonel , to date from September 1863 . He was commissioned as a brigadier general on May 20 , 1864 , following the Wilderness Campaign . The following day , he was assigned command of a brigade formed from the survivors of the Stonewall Brigade and the badly depleted brigades of John M . Jones and George H . Steuart . Terry led the consolidated unit in the fighting at Cold Harbor and the defense of Petersburg . He commanded his brigade during Jubal A . Early ' s 1864 campaign in the Shenandoah Valley . Terry ' s hard - hitting final assault at the Battle of Monocacy finally broke the Union line and forced the withdrawal of Lew Wallace ' s army . Later that year , Terry was one of seven Confederate generals who were killed or wounded at the Third Battle of Winchester . Recovering , he led the brigade back to Petersburg , where he was again wounded on March 25 , 1865 , when Gordon ' s Corps attacked Fort Stedman . Terry was taken to his home in Wytheville to recover from his injuries . As a result , Terry missed the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House in April . When news arrived , he mounted his horse and started southward to join the army of Joseph E . Johnston in North Carolina . However , he returned home when news arrived of Johnston ' s surrender at Bennett Place . Postbellum years . After the war , though partially disabled from his three Civil War wounds , Terry resumed practicing law in Wytheville . He was nominated for Congress in 1868 , but , being under political disabilities , he withdrew . He was easily elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives in 1870 , serving from 1871 to 1873 , but was unsuccessful in his campaign for reelection in 1872 . Terry was re - elected to Congress in 1874 and served again from 1875 to 1877 , being unsuccessful for reelection again in 1876 . He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1880 and afterwards resumed practicing law . Terry drowned on September 5 , 1888 , while attempting to ford Reed Creek near Wytheville after returning from the Grayson County Courthouse . He was interred in the town ' s East End Cemetery . The William Terry Camp of the United Confederate Veterans was named in honor of General Terry .