William Wirt Adams was an officer for the Confederate Army during the Civil War. He was also a banker, planter, slave owner, and politician in the South. His brother, Daniel Adams, was also a General in the Civil War.
Early Life and Career
- William was born in Frankfort, Kentucky, to Anna Weisiger Adams and Judge George Adams
- His brother was Daniel Weisiger Adams, who also became a Civil War general for the Confederacy.
- In 1825, his family moved to Natchez, Mississippi.
- His father was a district court judge for the state of Mississippi from 1836 to 1839
- William attended Bardstown College.
- After graduation in 1839, he enlisted as a private for the Republic of Texas under Edward Burleson
- One of his first military actions was in Texas against Native Americans
- He married Sallie Huger Mayarant in 1850
- Once back in Mississippi, he pursued banking and became a planter in Jackson and Vicksburg, Mississippi.
- His endeavors were successful, and he became a wealthy planter with slaves.
- He became a representative in the state of Mississippi.
The Civil War
- After Mississippi seceded from the Union, William joined the Confederate Army and was appointed commissioner from Mississippi to Louisiana.
- In 1861, President Jefferson Davis offered Adams a cabinet position as a Confederate Postmaster General, but he declined.
- He formed the "Wirt Adams " Cavalry Regiment in August 1861.
- He saw action in the battles of Shiloh, Corinth, Iuka, Hatchie's Bridge, Vicksburg Campaign, Port Hudson, and Meridian.
- Adams combined his regiment with an Arkansas regiment under Colonel William F. Slemons.
- After the fall of Vicksburg, he and others harassed General William Tecumseh.
- He was commissioned as brigadier general in September 1863 and assigned command of a brigade.
- His brigade surrendered near Ramsey Station.
Post-Civil War and Death
- Upon the conclusion of the Civil War, Adams resided in Vicksburg and Jackson, Mississippi.
- In 1880, he was appointed as a Mississippi state revenue agent.
- He resigned in 1885 and took the position of postmaster in Jackson by appointment of President Grover Cleveland.
- In 1888, Adams was made the target of a number of attacks by the editor of the New Mississippian, John H. Martin, a staunch prohibitionist and reform advocate.
- Adams was rebuked by Martin for, among other things, his role as a character witness in the murder trial of Colonel Jones S. Hamilton, who was ultimately acquitted for killing Roderick D. Gambrell, another newspaper editor and ally of Martin's, in a street duel.
- On May 1, 1888, Adams, walking on President Street in Jackson with another man, encountered Martin coming from the opposite direction near the corner of Amite Street.
- After a brief verbal altercation, both men pulled pistols on each other, Adams firing three times and Martin six. Both died almost immediately, with Adams shot through the heart and Martin in the chest, leg, and hand.
- He was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Jackson
Online Resources
- Wikipedia - William Wirt Adams
- Find a Grave - Adams' Grave
- List of Civil War Generals in the Confederate Army
- The History Junkie’s Guide to the Civil War
- The History Junkie’s Timeline of the Civil War
- The History Junkie’s Timeline of American History
- The History Junkie’s Guide to Civil War Genealogy