J . Johnston Pettigrew James Johnston Pettigrew ( July 4 , 1828 – July 17 , 1863 ) was an author , lawyer , linguist , diplomat , and a Confederate general in the American Civil War . He was a major leader in the disastrous Pickett ' s Charge and was killed a few days after the Battle of Gettysburg during the Confederate retreat to Virginia . Early years . Johnston Pettigrew was born to Ebenezer and Ann Sheppard Pettigrew in Tyrrell County , North Carolina . His father was of a wealthy family of French Huguenot background His mother and the mother of Union general John Gibbon were first cousins , making Gibbon and Pettigrew second cousins . Pettigrew entered the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill at the age of 15 . He excelled in mathematics and classical languages , and was a member of the Philanthropic Society . He also led his class in fencing and boxing . He earned praise for his achievements from President James K . Polk , who appointed him an assistant professor at the United States Naval Observatory . He then studied law in Baltimore and joined the firm of his father ' s first cousin , James Louis Petigru in Charleston , South Carolina , followed by a trip to Germany to study civil law . He traveled around Europe for seven years , where he learned to speak and write French , German , Italian , and Spanish , and to read Greek , Hebrew , and Arabic . He wrote a travel book , " Notes on Spain and the Spaniards " , and spent time in the diplomatic service . Returning to the U . S . , Pettigrew was elected to the South Carolina legislature in 1856 . Despite his gift of foreign languages and civil knowledge , Pettigrew leaned toward the military as a way to serve his country and his state . In December 1860 , he was serving as an aide to the governor of South Carolina and the following April participated in the negotiations between the governor ' s office , South Carolina military authorities , and the Union commander of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor . Civil War . When war was declared , Pettigrew joined the Hampton Legion , a force raised in South Carolina by Wade Hampton , as a private , although he quickly accepted a commission as colonel of the 1st South Carolina Rifles . He returned to North Carolina to command the 12th ( later renamed the 22nd ) North Carolina Infantry . Both Jefferson Davis and Gen . Joseph E . Johnston urged him to accept higher command , but he declined because of his lack of military experience . However , as the need for qualified officers in the Confederate States Army became acute , the new colonel was soon ordered to Virginia to accept a promotion to brigadier general on February 26 , 1862 . When a young relative requested a " safe place " on Pettigrew ' s staff , he replied , " I assure you that the most unsafe place in the Brigade is about me . By all means let him get rid of this idea of a safe place , which he will regret after time . The post of danger is certainly the post of honor . " He was true to his word . Peninsula Campaign . During the Peninsula Campaign in the summer of 1862 , Pettigrew was severely wounded at the Battle of Seven Pines . He was hit by a Minié ball that damaged his throat , windpipe , and shoulder . Pettigrew nearly bled to death , and while lying wounded , he received another bullet wound in the arm and was bayoneted in the right leg . Believing his wounds mortal , Pettigrew didn ' t permit any of his men to leave the ranks to carry him to the rear . Left for dead on the field , he recovered consciousness as a Union prisoner of war . Exchanged two months later , the general recovered from his wounds , spent the fall commanding a brigade in Maj . Gen . Daniel Harvey Hill ' s division around Richmond , and the winter commanding a brigade in North Carolina and southern Virginia . He returned to his North Carolina brigade just in time to begin the Gettysburg Campaign in June 1863 . Gettysburg Campaign . The Confederate War Department had assigned Pettigrew ' s Brigade to Gen . Robert E . Lee ' s Army of Northern Virginia , and Pettigrew traveled to Fredericksburg , Virginia , to rejoin that army in late May . Pettigrew ' s Brigade was the strongest in Maj . Gen . Henry Heth ' s Division of Lt . Gen . A . P . Hill ' s Third Corps . Freshly uniformed and armed with rifles from state military depots , his regiments presented a fine military appearance during the march through Maryland and Pennsylvania . Some of his regimental officers were also members of the North Carolina planter " aristocracy , " including Colonel Collett Leventhorpe leading the 11th North Carolina Infantry and twenty - one - year - old Harry Burgwyn at the head of the 26th North Carolina Regiment , the largest Confederate regiment at Gettysburg . Not having been in serious combat for nearly a year , his brigade mustered a strength over 2 , 500 officers and men . Pettigrew ' s Brigade tangled with the Iron Brigade on July 1 , 1863 , at the McPherson and Herbst farms to the west of Gettysburg , where all four of his regiments suffered devastating losses — over 40 percent — but were successful in driving the Union forces off of McPherson ' s Ridge . General Pettigrew assumed command of the division after the wounding of Gen . Heth that afternoon , and attempted to reorganize the battered division during the next day ' s battle as they lay behind Seminary Ridge . Pickett ' s Charge . On July 3 , Lee selected Pettigrew ' s division to march at the left of Maj . Gen . George Pickett ' s in the famous infantry assault now known as Pickett ' s Charge ( although some recent historians have used the name " Pickett - Pettigrew - Trimble Assault " to describe it because Pickett led only one third of men in the attack ) . This was an error on Lee ' s part . He did not consult with Pettigrew to find out the terrible condition of the division . As the division advanced , it received murderous fire . Pettigrew ' s horse was shot out from under him , and he continued on foot . Reaching within 100 yards of the stone wall on Cemetery Ridge partially held by his cousin John Gibbon , he was severely wounded in the left hand by canister fire . Despite the great pain he was in , Pettigrew remained with his soldiers until it was obvious that the attack had failed . Holding his bloody hand , the despondent officer walked toward Seminary Ridge and encountered General Lee . Pettigrew attempted to speak , but Lee , seeing the horrible wound , spoke first : " General , I am sorry to see you are wounded ; go to the rear . " With a painful salute , Pettigrew said nothing but continued to the rear . Falling Waters and death . General Pettigrew continued to command the division during the retreat to the Potomac River until Heth recovered . Stopped by the flooded Potomac River at Falling Waters , West Virginia , Pettigrew ' s brigade was deployed in a dense skirmish line on the Maryland side protecting the road to the river crossing . Union cavalry probed the southern defenses throughout the night as Lee ' s army crossed the pontoon bridges into West Virginia . On the morning of July 14 , Pettigrew ' s brigade was one of the last Confederate units still north of the Potomac River , when the Union troopers closed in . On foot and in the front line , Pettigrew was directing his soldiers when he was shot by a Union cavalryman from the Michigan Brigade at close range , the bullet striking him in the abdomen . He was immediately carried to the rear and across the Potomac , having refused to be left in federal hands . He died three days later at Edgewood Manor plantation near Bunker Hill , West Virginia . His brigade , which lost an estimated 56 % casualties , had been ruined as an effective combat organization . Legacy . The loss of Pettigrew emotionally devastated his family and there was an official day of mourning held for him in North Carolina . His death also affected Lee who remarked , " The army has lost a brave soldier and the Confederacy an accomplished officer . " General Pettigrew ' s body was returned to North Carolina and interred at his family estate , " Bonarva , " which is now part of Pettigrew State Park in Washington and Tyrrell Counties . General James Johnston Pettigrew Camp # 1401 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans in Lenoir , North Carolina , was named for the fallen officer . In popular media . Pettigrew was portrayed by actor George Lazenby in the 1993 film " Gettysburg " .