Major Henry Kyd Douglas

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Index of first names

Henry Kyd Douglas Henry Virginian historical   Virginian historical  

Henry Kyd Douglas the son of Robert Douglas and Mary Robertson(Robinson?). Henry was born 29 Sept. 1840(1) Shepardstown, Jefferson County, Virginia Died 18 Dec 1903 Shepherdstown, Jefferson County, West Virginia buried Ellemwood Cemetery, West Virginia

He was General Stonewall Jackson's youngest staff member and personal aide. His memoirs were published after the Civil War - "I Rode With Stonewall" - by his nephew John Kyd Beckenbaugh. He lived at Ferry Hill Place across the Potomac River from Shepherdstown, WV. He enlisted in the Confederate Army as a private, rose to Captain, and later Colonel. He was Assistant Inspector General and Assistant Adjudant General on Jackson's staff. After Jackson's death, he was Chief of Staff and Assistant Adjutant General to five Confederate Generals. He was commander of the Light Brigade at Appomattox. His troops were the last to stack arms upon surrender. He was wounded six times and imprisoned twice. 

 

He practiced law in Winchester, VA after the war, and later moved his practice to Hagerstown, Maryland.

 

'A general failing of health, including mental troubles, was the cause of his death'. - Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec 1903

 

 

 

The Mount Jackson Confederate Hospital's cemetery, now called Our Soldiers' Cemetery, was dedicated on 10 May 1866, the third anniversary of Stonewall Jackson's death. The "Memorial and Decoration Day" organized by the local ladies was one of the first such observances in the South. The service began with an address in the church by Major Henry Kyd Douglas, the youngest of Jackson's staff officers. Afterward, a participant wrote that "ladies, gentlemen and children as well as many ex-Confederates, all carrying wreaths prepared the day before, marched to the cemetery 3/4 of a mile north of town to place those wreaths on each of the 400 graves."

 

Notes:
1.  Sources differ on his date of birth - 1838 and 1840 are both given




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Last modified: Thursday, 22 February 2024