John Adams was an officer in the Civil War for the Confederate Army. He graduated from the United States Military Academy and resigned from his position in the army after the Civil War broke out.
Early Life
- John Adams was born in Nashville, Tennessee, to Irish immigrants.
- He attended and graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1846, ranking 25th in his class.
- He was given a commission as a second lieutenant in the 1st Dragoons.
- He served in the Mexican-American War and was brevetted for his actions at the Battle of Santa Cruz de Rosales.
- Adams served on the western frontier around California after the war.
Civil War
- John Adams resigned his position in the United States Army when Tennessee seceded from the Union.
- He was given the position of captain in the cavalry and commissioned a colonel in 1862.
- By December, he gained the rank of brigadier general.
- During his career, he served in the Western Theater and took part in the Atlanta campaign.
- He was known for his leadership, bravery, and talent for battlefield tactics.
- He was selected to lead the advance of John Bell Hood's army into Tennessee
- Adams was killed in the Second Battle of Franklin. An eyewitness to his death said: "General Adams rode up to our works and, cheering his men, made an attempt to leap his horse over them. The horse fell upon the top of the embankment, and the general was caught under him, pierced with [nine] bullets. As soon as the charge was repulsed, our men sprang over the works and lifted the horse while others dragged the general from under him. He was perfectly conscious and knew his fate. He asked for water, as all dying men do in battle as the lifeblood drips from the body. One of my men gave him a canteen of water while another brought an armful of cotton from an old gin nearby and made him a pillow. The general gallantly thanked them, and in answer to our expressions of sorrow at his sad fate, he said, 'It is the fate of a soldier to die for his country,' and expired."
- Adams left a widow with four sons and two daughters behind.