Albert G . Blanchard Albert Gallatin Blanchard ( September 6 , 1810 – June 21 , 1891 ) was a general in the Confederate army during the American Civil War . He was among the small number of high ranking Confederates to have been born in the North . He served on the Atlantic Coast early in the war , commanding a brigade in Virginia before being reassigned to administrative duty due to his age and health . He then led troops during the Carolinas Campaign in 1865 . Early life and career . Blanchard was born in Charlestown , Massachusetts . He accepted an appointment to the United States Military Academy in West Point , New York , and graduated 26th in the Class of 1829 . Among his classmates was Robert E . Lee . Initially given the rank of brevet second lieutenant in the 3rd U . S . Infantry , he was assigned to various bases on the Western frontier duty , as well as performing recruiting services and helping engineer improvement to the Sabine River . Blanchard served in the United States Army for eleven years before resigning his commission as a first lieutenant in 1840 . He married Marie Louise Herminie Benoist in January 1839 , and their eldest daughter Susan Blanchard Elder later became a noted writer . Another daughter was named Marie . The couple moved to her hometown of New Orleans , Louisiana , in the 1840s . He entered the mercantile business there and served as a director of the city ' s public schools . Blanchard returned to the army in May 1846 with the outbreak of the Mexican War , serving as a captain of the volunteer " Phoenix Company " in the 2nd Louisiana Infantry . Serving with distinction in the Battle of Monterey and the Siege of Vera Cruz , he was commissioned as a major in the Regular Army in the 12th U . S . Infantry . After the war , he returned to New Orleans and became a teacher in the public schools until 1850 . After working a few years as a surveyor , he went to work as secretary and treasurer for two local railroad companies , including the New Orleans and Carrollton Railroad . Civil War . When the Civil War erupted in 1861 , Blanchard offered his services to his adopted state and received a commission as the colonel of the 1st Louisiana Infantry regiment . After drilling and training his men , they were transported to Norfolk , Virginia . In May , Blanchard took charge of two divisions under Maj . Gen . Benjamin Huger . He was promoted to brigadier general on September 21 , 1861 , and given command of a brigade posted at Portsmouth , Virginia . His brigade was present at the Battle of Seven Pines , but held in reserve . Afterwards , he was replaced by Ambrose R . Wright because of his advancing age and the desire for a younger officer to lead the brigade in the field . Blanchard served in a variety of administrative posts for much of the rest of the war . He served on the court of inquiry for Seth M . Barton in May 1864 . In November , he was among the Confederate generals defending Augusta , Georgia , during Sherman ' s March to the Sea . He led the South Carolina Reserve Brigade in the division of Lafayette McLaws during the Carolinas Campaign , including at the battles of Averasborough and Bentonville . Postbellum activities . After the war , Blanchard returned to New Orleans and worked as an assistant city surveyor for the rest of his life . He was an active member of the New Orleans Academy of Sciences for many years . He died at the age of 80 in New Orleans , Louisiana and was buried there in St . Louis Cemetery No . 1 . He is one of nearly two dozen Confederate generals buried in Louisiana . His diary of his Mexican War experiences is archived in the Louisiana State Museum .