The Gallant Pelham

Major John Pelham, a twenty-four-year-old Alabamian who commanded General J.E.B. Stuart’s horse artillery, had already proven himself on more than half a dozen battlefields in Maryland and Virginia before Fredericksburg. On December 13, 1862, as Union troops deployed on the plain south of Fredericksburg, Stuart gave Pelham permission to bring a single cannon to this intersection, where he fired down the length of the Union battle line four hundred yards away. More than two dozen Union cannon quickly opened fire on Pelham and his crew, but he continued the unequal fight, occasionally shifting his gun to unsettle Union artillerists. Three times Stuart ordered him to retire, and three times Pelham refused, replying, “Tell the General I can hold my ground!” Only when his ammunition ran low did he withdraw his gun from the field. His stand delayed the Union assault by nearly an hour and greatly increased his fame. After seeing Pelham’s action at Fredericksburg, General Robert E. Lee said, “It is glorious to see such courage on one so young!” Pelham died three months later while impulsively leading a cavalry charge at Kelly’s Ford.

Virginia · United States