James Harvey Carson James Harvey Carson ( February 11 , 1808 – January 13 , 1884 ) was a brigadier general in the Virginia militia , who served along with the Confederate States Army in northwestern Virginia at various times during 1861 and early 1862 in the American Civil War ( Civil War ) . Carson ' s men were part of Stonewall Jackson ' s force that moved to take the town of Bath , later Berkeley Springs , now in West Virginia , on January 3 , 1862 . Carson left the military on February 1 , 1862 to go back to and become president of the Virginia State Senate . He returned to farming in 1864 and was active in law and real estate in Frederick County and in Leesburg in Loudon County , Virginia after the war . Prior to the Civil War , Carson had been an assistant teacher , a farmer , a lawyer , a colonel in the Virginia militia in 1837 , and a member of the Virginia General Assembly , first in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1844 to 1847 , then in the Virginia State Senate from 1859 to 1864 . Early life . James Harvey Carson was born at Pleasant Green in Frederick County , Virginia , near Winchester , Virginia , on February 11 , 1808 . His parents were Simon Carson , a farmer and militia officer , and Martha Williams , daughter of the first owner of Pleasant Green . Carson was an assistant teacher at Winchester Academy when he was 18 years old . He became a prominent lawyer at Winchester , Virginia and a farmer . He was elected a colonel in the Virginia militia in 1837 . He was a state representative in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1844 to 1847 and a Virginia State Senator from 1859 to 1864 . In 1859 , Carson became a brigadier general of the 16th Brigade of the Virginia militia . American Civil War service . James Harvey Carson ' s brigade was called into service at the outset of the Civil War to guard Harper ' s Ferry and the Shenandoah Valley while the forces of then Brigadier General Joseph E . Johnston moved to join those of Brigadier General Pierre G . T . Beauregard at the First Battle of Bull Run . Carson and many of his men remained with the Virginia militia when many Virginia troops were transferred to the Confederate Army on June 8 , 1861 . Carson commanded the 3rd Division of the Virginia militia in the northern Shenandoah Valley in August 1861 . After a quite period , Carson ' s men were called for duty in November 1861 along with the brigades of James Boggs and Gilbert S . Meem . In early January , Jackson moved against the Union held towns of Romney and Bath ( Berkeley Springs ) and occupied those towns . On January 3 , 1862 , Jackson detached Carson ' s brigade in order to attack Bath from the west while Jackson ' s force attacked from the east . By the time the militia arrived at the town , Jackson had already driven out the Union force . Carson ' s brigade was left to occupy the town and set up winter quarters while Jackson moved on to take Romney . Later life . Although Carson was praised for his intelligence and a number of admirable qualities , he apparently was not an outstanding military commander . He left the field voluntarily on February 1 , 1862 when he returned to his Virginia Senate seat and was elected president of the Virginia Senate . He resigned from Virginia Senate in 1864 and returned to farming . Carson practiced law and became active in real estate work in Frederick County after the war . Later he moved his work to Leesburg , Virginia in Loudon County . James Harvey Carson died at Leesburg , Virginia on January 13 , 1884 . He was buried in the Carson graveyard at Pleasant Green in Frederick County , Virginia .