Arnold Elzey Arnold Elzey ( Jones ) , Jr . ( December 18 , 1816 – February 21 , 1871 ) was a soldier in both the United States Army and the Confederate Army , serving as a major general in the American Civil War . At First Manassas , he became one of the few officers ever to receive an on - the - field promotion to general by President Jefferson Davis . He commanded a brigade in Stonewall Jackson ’ s Valley Campaign , and was badly wounded at Gaines Mill , ending his active field career . Early life and career . Jones was born on the " Elmwood " plantation along the Manokin River in Somerset County , Maryland . His parents were Colonel Arnold Elzey Jones and Anne Wilson ( Jackson ) Jones . He graduated from the United States Military Academy 33rd in the Class of 1837 . Soon afterward , he dropped Jones from his name , going for the rest of his life simply as Arnold Elzey . He was assigned to the 2nd U . S . Artillery and sent to Florida to fight in the Second Seminole War before being assigned to duty at Detroit , Michigan , during a series of territorial disputes between the U . S and Canada . Promoted to first lieutenant in November 1839 , he spent the next few years on recruiting duty . During the Mexican - American War , he was cited for bravery during the battles of Contreras and Churubusco . He was granted a brevet promotion to captain . He also participated in engagements at Fort Brown , Vera Cruz , Cerro Gordo , Molino del Rey , Chapultepec , and the capture of the City of Mexico . Following the war , Elzey was formally promoted to the full rank of captain on February 14 , 1849 . He served in Florida a second time during the Third Seminole War in 1849 - 50 and again in 1856 . He also commanded Augusta Arsenal . Civil War . Following the secession of several Southern states and the formation of the Confederate States of America , Elzey surrendered Augusta Arsenal to the Confederates in January 1861 and took his men to Washington , D . C . in early April 1861 . He resigned his commission on 25 April 1861 , and traveled to Richmond , Virginia , where he joined the Confederate army with the initial rank of colonel of the newly formed 1st Maryland Infantry , CSA . He was assigned to the brigade of Brigadier General Edmund Kirby Smith and fought in the First Battle of Manassas . When Smith was wounded during the afternoon , Elzey , as the senior colonel , assumed command and led a successful charge , for which he received the thanks of commanding general P . G . T . Beauregard . He was promoted on the field to brigadier general by Jefferson Davis . The following year , Elzey commanded a brigade under Richard S . Ewell during Stonewall Jackson ' s Valley Campaign . He was wounded in the leg and had his horse shot under him at the Battle of Cross Keys . Elzey was shot through the head at the Battle of Gaines Mill , a serious wound that kept him from active field command for the rest of the war . After he had recovered sufficiently to perform administrative and desk duty , he was promoted to major general dating from December 4 , 1862 . He was assigned command of the Department of Richmond and charged with the defense of the Confederacy ' s capital city . He dealt with a raid by George Stoneman ' s Union cavalry during the Chancellorsville Campaign , as well as Union gunboat s that summer that threatened Richmond from the James River . Later relieved of command , he raised the Local Defense Brigade , a militia group consisting primarily of government clerks . He also helped organize the Virginia state reserves . Elzey was assigned as the Chief of Artillery for the Army of Tennessee and traveled to Georgia to serve under John Bell Hood . However , he missed Hood ' s disastrous Franklin - Nashville Campaign . With Hood ' s army essentially wrecked , Elzey was relieved of duty on February 17 , 1865 , and then assumed command of militia at Augusta , Georgia . Following the collapse of the Confederacy , he was paroled in Washington , Georgia , in May 1865 . Postbellum activities . After the war , Elzey returned to his native Maryland and retired with his wife and son to a small farm near Jessup ' s Cut in rural Anne Arundel County , Maryland . He died in Baltimore and was buried there in Green Mount Cemetery . The Maj . Gen . Arnold Elzey Camp # 1940 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans was named in his honor .