Thomas Neville Waul

Thomas Neville Waul (January 5, 1813 – July 28, 1903) was a Confederate States Army brigadier general during the American Civil War (Civil War). Before the Civil War, he was a teacher, lawyer, judge and planter. He served for a year in the Provisional Confederate Congress from Texas. He was captured at the fall of Vicksburg, Mississippi on July 4, 1863 and exchanged in October 1863. After his promotion, Waul served in the Confederate Trans-Mississippi Department. He was wounded at the Battle of Jenkins' Ferry. After the Civil War, Waul was a farmer and lawyer who lived in Texas until his death at age 90.

Thomas Neville Waul
Deputy from Texas to the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States
In office February 4, 1861 – February 17, 1862
Preceded by	New constituency
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Personal details
Born	January 5, 1813 Sumter District, South Carolina
Died	July 28, 1903 (aged 90) Hunt County, Texas
Resting place	Oakwood Cemetery, Fort Worth, Texas
Military service
Allegiance	Confederate States
Branch/service	Confederate States Army
Years of service	1861–1865
Rank	Brigadier-General
Commands	Waul's Legion 1st Brigade, Texas Division
Battles/wars	American Civil War Siege of Vicksburg Battle of Mansfield Battle of Pleasant Hill Battle of Jenkins Ferry

Early life

Thomas N. Waul was born January 5, 1813, in the Sumter District, now Sumter County, South Carolina, near Stateburg.[1][2] He attended South Carolina College, now the University of South Carolina, until his junior year, then moved to Florence, Alabama, where he was a teacher.[1][2][3] He moved to Vicksburg, Mississippi, in 1830 where he became a lawyer in 1835 and a judge.[1][2][4] In 1850, he moved to Gonzales County, Texas, and became a planter.[1][2] Waul made an unsuccessful run for a seat in the United States Congress in 1854.[2][3][5] He served as a delegate to the Texas secession convention.[3]

American Civil War

Waul in the Civil War

Thomas N. Waul was a member of the Provisional Confederate Congress from Texas between February 19, 1861, and February 17, 1862, when a permanent Confederate government was established.[1][2][3][6] He served on the Committee on Commercial Affairs and Committee on Indian Affairs.[6] He opposed the African slave trade as a diplomatic effort and restrictions on the cotton trade.[3] He supported establishment of the central government, free trade, and local defense.[3] Waul lost his run for a seat in the First Confederate Congress of the regular Congress of the Confederate States.[3]

On May 17, 1862, Waul entered Confederate States Army service as colonel of Waul's Legion, which he recruited.[1][2][4][6]

Waul was captured when Vicksburg fell, on July 4, 1863.[1][2][4] Waul was promoted to brigadier general on September 18, 1863, although he was not exchanged until October 16, 1863.[1][7] His performance and leadership were commended by then Major General Stephen D. Lee.[3] Waul then commanded a brigade in John G. Walker's Texas Division in the Confederate Trans-Mississippi Department.[1][6] Waul's brigade fought in the Red River Campaign at the Battle of Mansfield and the Battle of Pleasant Hill, in Louisiana.[2][4][6]

On April 30, 1864, after being transferred to Arkansas to oppose Union Major General Frederick Steele's Camden Expedition, Brigadier General Waul was wounded in the left arm at the Battle of Jenkins' Ferry.[1][2][4][6] He returned to service in September 1864 and until December 1864 commanded Brigade I, Division I, I Corps of the Trans-Mississippi Department.[1] From January 1865 to May 26, 1865, he commanded Brigade I, Division I, of the District of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona in the Trans-Mississippi Department.[1] There is no record of his parole.[1]

Later life

After the Civil War, Waul returned to Texas where he was elected to the first Texas Reconstruction convention.[2] After practicing law at Galveston, Waul retired to Hunt County, Texas, near Greenville, where he was a farmer.[1][2][3] Thomas Neville Waul died in Hunt County, Texas, on July 28, 1903.[1][2][8] He is buried in Oakwood Cemetery at Fort Worth, Texas.[1] Waul had no blood relatives at the time of his death.[3]

See also

• List of American Civil War generals (Confederate)

Notes

1. Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher. Civil War High Commands. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8047-3641-3. p. 557.
2. Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. ISBN 0-8071-0823-5. pp. 328–329.
3. Faust, Patricia L. "Waul, Thomas Neville" in Historical Times Illustrated History of the Civil War, edited by Patricia L. Faust. New York: Harper & Row, 1986. ISBN 978-0-06-273116-6. p. 809.
4. Boatner, Mark Mayo, III. The Civil War Dictionary. New York: McKay, 1988. ISBN 0-8129-1726-X. First published New York, McKay, 1959. pp. 896–897.
5. Warner, 1959, pp. 328–329 gives the date as 1859 but this apparently is a typographical error.
6. Sifakis, Stewart. Who Was Who in the Civil War. New York: Facts On File, 1988. ISBN 0-8160-1055-2. p. 698.
7. Warner, 1959, p. 329 gives the same date of promotion but says it was after Waul's exchange.
8. Faust, 1986, p. 809 gives the date as July 28, 1908 but again, this is an apparent typographical error.

References

• Boatner, Mark Mayo, III. The Civil War Dictionary. New York: McKay, 1988. ISBN 978-0-8129-1726-0. First published 1959 by McKay.
• Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1.
• Faust, Patricia L. "Waul, Thomas Neville" in Historical Times Illustrated History of the Civil War, edited by Patricia L. Faust. New York: Harper & Row, 1986. ISBN 978-0-06-273116-6.
• Sifakis, Stewart. Who Was Who in the Civil War. New York: Facts On File, 1988. ISBN 978-0-8160-1055-4.
• Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. ISBN 978-0-8071-0823-9.

External links

• Thomas Neville Waul at Find a Grave