John Dunovant John Dunovant was a brigadier general with temporary rank in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War . Dunovant was a native of South Carolina who had been a Mexican - American War veteran and captain in the U . S . Army from March 3 , 1855 to December 29 , 1860 . During the Civil War , he was commander of the 1st South Carolina Infantry Regiment and later the 5th South Carolina Cavalry Regiment . He was in command of a cavalry brigade in the later part of the Overland Campaign and the early part of the Siege of Petersburg . He was killed at the Battle of Vaughan Road on October 1 , 1864 during the Siege of Petersburg . Early life . John Dunovant was born in Chester , South Carolina , in 1825 . He was the son of John Dunovant and Margaret Sloan Quay . He was the brother of Richard Dunovant , a South Carolina militia brigadier general , colonel of the 12th South Carolina Infantry Regiment from September 1 , 1861 to April 2 , 1862 , a South Carolina legislator and planter . John Dunovant was a sergeant in the Palmetto Regiment of South Carolina volunteers in the Mexican - American War . He was wounded at the Battle of Chapultepec . Dunovant was mustered out of the volunteers on December 7 , 1847 . Dunovant was commissioned directly into the regular U . S . Army as a captain of the 10th Infantry Regiment on March 3 , 1855 when that unit was organized as a new regiment . He resigned from the U . S . Army on December 29 , 1860 , a few days after South Carolina seceded from the Union and offered his services to his state ' s militia . American Civil War service . Dunovant held the rank of major of infantry in the South Carolina militia during the initial Confederate operations at Fort Sumter . During the bombardment of Fort Sumter , he was present and active at Fort Moultrie . On July 22 , 1861 , he became colonel of the 1st South Carolina Infantry Regiment and was stationed for some time on Sullivan ' s Island and at Fort Moultrie . Dunovant was cashiered and dismissed from the service for drunkenness on November 8 , 1862 but on July 28 , 1863 he was given another chance to command the 5th South Carolina Cavalry Regiment . He served the State in this capacity , until ordered to Virginia on May 18 , 1864 . There he and his regiment were under the brigade command of Brigadier General Matthew C . Butler , in Major General Wade Hampton ' s division of Major General Jeb Stuart ' s cavalry corps , which was commanded by Major General Hampton after Stuart ' s death at the Battle of Yellow Tavern . Brigadier General Matt Whitaker Ransom reported the regiment under his leadership did admirable service at the Second Battle of Drewry ' s Bluff , or Second Battle of Fort Darling , on May 16 , 1864 , and subsequently in the encounters with Philip Sheridan ' s cavalry . He provided gallant services with Butler ' s brigade at the Battle of Cold Harbor , Battle of Trevilian Station and other engagements in the Overland Campaign and early Siege of Petersburg , thereby redeeming his reputation . He was wounded in the left hand at the Battle of Haw ' s Shop on May 28 , 1864 . On August 2 , 1864 , President Jefferson Davis suggested to General Robert E . Lee , Dunovant ' s promotion to brigadier general with temporary rank , and Davis so appointed him on August 22 , 1864 . In this capacity he had brigade command under General Hampton until his death six weeks later . Death . In September 1864 , Dunovant jeopardized his reputation again while leading a regiment on a night patrol . Challenged by pickets that his officers realized were Union soldiers , Dunovant insisted that the pickets allow his men to pass . He sent a captain ahead to identify his command . It was only after the captain was taken prisoner and the Union pickets began to fire into the darkness that Dunovant could be convinced of his mistake . Dunovant was killed October 1 , 1864 in the fighting north of the James River , following the capture of Fort Harrison at the Battle of Vaughan Road , part of the overall Battle of Peebles ' Farm . He was shot down while leading a charge against the Union position . Then Major General Mathew Butler wanted to turn the Union flank and initially rejected Dunovant ' s insistence on a frontal charge . Butler finally allowed the persistent Dunovant to proceed to lead his reluctant troops in a charge . When Dunovant was promptly shot down , the troops quickly retreated . Union Sergeant James T . Clancy of the 1st New Jersey Volunteer Cavalry was credited with firing the shot that killed General Dunovant . Historians have suggested that Dunovant ' s rash action was motivated by his continuing effort to redeem his reputation . On receipt of news of the death of the gallant soldier , General Lee replied to General Hampton : " I grieve with you at the loss of General Dunovant and Dr . Fontaine , two officers whom it will be difficult to replace . " John Dunovant was buried in a family burial plot southeast of Chester , South Carolina .