John H . Kelly John Herbert Kelly ( March 31 , 1840 – September 4 , 1864 ) was , at the time of his promotion , the youngest brigadier general in the Confederate States Army . He became one of the youngest generals to die during the American Civil War , at the age of 24 . His death occurred during the Franklin - Nashville Campaign . Early life and career . John Herbert Kelly was born in 1840 to Isham Kelly and Elizabeth Herbert at their home in Carrollton , Alabama . Kelly ' s father died while in Cuba when John was four , and his mother died three years later . His grandmother Harriet Herbert Hawthorne took responsibility of the young orphan . When John was about seventeen he received an appointment to West Point through the help of his uncle , Congressman Philemon T . Herbert and another relative Congressman William W . Boyce . A few months before his graduation in 1861 his home state of Alabama seceded from the Union . Hearing the news Kelly left West Point and headed to Montgomery . Civil War service . After arriving in Montgomery Kelly joined the Confederate Army with the rank of second lieutenant . He then was assigned to Fort Morgan where he would stay until the fall of 1861 . During that time Kelly left Fort Morgan with Brig . Gen . William J . Hardee to Missouri . It was here that he was appointed captain and assistant adjutant general on Hardee ' s staff . In 1862 Kelly was appointed major of the 9th Arkansas Infantry Battalion , which he led into battle at Shiloh . One month later Kelly became colonel of the 8th Arkansas Infantry Regiment . Later in 1862 he fought at the Battle of Murfreesboro where he was wounded . In October of that year he fought at the Battle of Perryville . Kelly commanded a large brigade of men at Chickamauga consisting of the 5th Kentucky , 58th North Carolina , 63rd Virginia , and the 65th Georgia Infantry Regiments . He lost 300 men at Chickamauga within the one hour . Also during the battle while leading his troops Kelly had a horse shot out from under him . Because of his bravery at the Battle of Chickamauga generals Cleburne , Liddell , and Preston asked for a promotion for Kelly . General Cleburne told Confederate Secretary of War James Seddon of Kelly , " I know no better officer of his grade in the service . " On November 16 , 1863 , John Kelly was promoted to a brigadier general at age 23 . Kelly ' s brigade was one of the key factors at the Battle of Pickett ' s Mill that lead to the Confederate victory . Capture and death . In August 1864 Kelly ' s Brigade fought heavily in Franklin , Tennessee . While leading a charge at a skirmish near Franklin on August 20 , Kelly was shot in the chest by a Union sharpshooter . Kelly was immediately taken to the Harrison House to be seen by doctors . At the Confederate retreat he was too badly hurt to be moved and was forced to be left and captured by Union forces on September 3 . Kelly died the following day in his bed at the Harrison House . John Herbert Kelly was one of the youngest generals to die during the Civil War at age 24 . He was buried in the gardens of the Harrison House just south of Franklin on the day of his death . Local residents bought him a coffin and the new clothing he was buried in , except for the uniform coat which he died wearing . Later in 1866 his body was moved and reburied in the Magnolia Cemetery .