G. T. Beauregard letter (RLC.Ms.501)

Biographical note

Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard (1818-1893), commonly referred to as G. T. Beauregard, was born on May 28, 1838, in Saint Bernard Parish, Louisiana. Beauregard attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, and graduated second in his class in 1838. He served in the Mexican War (1846-1848) as an engineer officer on the staff of General Winfield Scott (1786-1866). After the war, Beauregard was placed in charge of the Mississippi and Lake Defenses of Louisiana in 1848, a position he held until 1860. On January 23, 1861, he was appointed the superintendent of the United States Military Academy, but decided to relinquish his post and resign his commission from the United States Army after Louisiana seceded from the Union on January 26. In February 1861, Beauregard accepted a new commission as brigadier general for the Confederate Army. He was crucial in forcing the surrender of Fort Sumter on April 13, 1861, which began the American Civil War (1861-1865). Beauregard was named a full general in the Confederate Army in July 1861 and kept that position through the end of the war. After the Civil War, Beauregard returned to New Orleans where he engaged in politics and served as president of two railroad companies. G. T. Beauregard died on February 20, 1893.