Barnard Elliott BeeBrigadier General, Provisional Army of the Confederate States
"Colonel Bee was especially kind to me and I always thought that he would have been one of the leading men in our army if he had lived..."Colonel John Cheves Haskell, PACS
 (Compiled Service Record) |
Born: February 8th, 1824, at Charleston, Charleston District, South Carolina, the son of Barnard Elliott (1789-1853) and Ann Wragg Fayssoux Bee (1789-1858)
Married: (1) Electa Lee Hubbard (1829-1854) in 1850; (2) Sophia Elizabeth Hill (1836-1920) in 1855.
Pre-War: Resided at Charleston, South Carolina, from 1824 to 1833; moved with his family to, and resided at, Pendleton, South Carolina, from 1833, where he attended the Pendleton Academy; appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, with an At-Large appointment; entered the Military Academy as a Cadet on July 1st, 1841; at the end of his first year he stood 24 out of 76 with 61 demerits, in the second year as 39 of 49 with 123 demerits, in the third year as 39 of 41 with 137 demerits and in his fourth (and final) year at 33 of 41 with 108 demerits; graduated 33rd in his class, of 41, from the Military Academy on July 1st, 1845, and was appointed as a Brevet Second Lieutenant of Infantry with the 3rd United States Infantry Regiment. Among his classmates were future General's William H.C. Whiting (1), Louis Hebert (3), William F. Smith (4), Thomas J. Wood (5), Charles P. Stone (7), Fitz-John Porter (8), George P. Andrews (15), John P. Hatch (17), Edmund Kirby-Smith (25), John W. Davidson (27), James M. Hawes (29), Gordon Granger (35) & David A. Russell (38). Served in the Military Occupation of Texas from 1845 to 1846; served as the Regimental Adjutant of the 3rd Infantry Regiment from July 25th, 1845, to March 3rd, 1855; served in the War with Mexico from 1846 to 1848, being engaged in the Battle of Palo Alto on May 8th, 1846, and at Battle of Resaca-de-la-Palma on May 9th, 1846; promoted to Second Lieutenant of Infantry with the 3rd Infantry Regiment on September 21st, 1846; on Recruiting service from 1846 to 1847; in the War with |
Mexico from 1847 to 1848, being engaged in the Siege of Vera Cruz from March 9th to 29th, 1847, in the Battle of Cerro Gordo from April 17th to 18th, 1847, where he was wounded in storming the enemy's intrenched heights; brevetted to the rank of First Lieutenant on April 18th, 1847, for "gallant and meritorious conduct in the Battle of Cerro Gordo;" engaged in the Skirmish of Ocalaca on August 16th, 1847, the Battle of Contreras from August 19th to 20th, 1847, the Battle of Churubusco on August 20th, 1847, and in the Storming of Chapultepec on September 13th, 1847; brevetted to the rank of Captain on September 13th, 1847, for "gallant and meritorious conduct in the Battle of Chapultepec;" Engaged in the assault and capture of the City of Mexico from September 13th to 14th, 1847; served on garrison duty at East Pascagoula, Mississippi, in 1848; on frontier duty at San Antonio, Texas, from 1848 to 1849; at Santa Fe, New Mexico, from 1850 to 1851; at Ft. Bliss, Texas, in 1851; at Ft. Fillmore, New Mexico, from 1851 to 1852; promoted to First Lieutenant of Infantry with the 3rd Infantry Regiment on March 5th, 1851; engaged in Scouting operations in New Mexico in 1852; at Ft. Fillmore, New Mexico, from 1852 to 1853; at Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1853; at Ft. Fillmore, New Mexico, from 1854 to 1855; presented with a Sword of Honor by the State of South Carolina in 1854, for his "Patriotic and Meritorious, Conduct" in the Mexican War; engaged in scouting operations in New Mexico in 1855; promoted to Captain of Infantry with the 10th Infantry Regiment on March 3rd, 1855; on garrison duty at the Cavalry School for Practice at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 1855; on frontier duty at Ft. Snelling, Minnesota, from 1856 to 1857; at Ft. Ridgely, Minnesota, from 1856 to 1857; at Ft. Snelling, Minnesota, in 1857; engaged in the Utah Expedition from 1857 to 1858, as Lieutenant Colonel of the Utah Volunteer Battalion from December 8th, 1857, to December 1st, 1858; on a leave of absence from 1858 to 1860; on frontier duty at Ft. Laramie, Dakota Territory, from 1860 to 1861; resigned his commission in the United States Army on March 3rd, 1861.
Service: Appointed as a Major of Infantry in the Provisional Army of the Confederate States in 1861; appointed as Lieutenant Colonel of the 3rd South Carolina Volunteer Artillery Regiment (1st South Carolina Regulars) on January 1st, 1861; absent, on detached service in Virginia, in June 1861. Appointed as a Brigadier General in the Provisional Army of the Confederate States on June 17th, 1861, to rank from that date, from the State of South Carolina; appointment confirmed by the Confederate Congress on August 29th, 1861; commanding the 3rd (Bee's) Brigade, Army of the Shenandoah from June to July 21st, 1861, being composed of the 2nd & 11th Mississippi, 6th North Carolina and 4th Alabama Infantry Regiment's; served in the Manassas Campaign from June to July 1861, being engaged, and mortally wounded in action, at Manassas, Virginia, on July 21st, 1861; died of his wounds on July 22nd, 1861, at Manassas, Virginia.
Died: July 22nd, 1861, near Manassas, Virginia
Buried: St. Paul's Episcopal Church Cemetery in Pendleton, Anderson County, South Carolina
Notes
He was the brother of Brigadier General Hamilton Prioleau Bee, PACS, and the brother-in-law of Brigadier General Clement Hoffman Stevens, PACS, who married his sister Ann Fayssoux Bee.
He was the best man at the wedding of Brigadier General Nathan George Evans, PACS.
There are many rumors regarding the circumstances surrounding General Bee's exclamation about Lieutenant General Thomas J. Jackson at First Manassas and his nickname "Stonewall." The following was written by Colonel John Cheves Haskell, PACS, who served with Bee and knew many of those involved in the incident.
"Major Rhett, who was General Johnston's Chief of Staff and a classmate of Bee and Jackson at West Point, was with Bee from soon after he was shot till he died. He told me often, as did General W.H.C. Whiting, that the fact was that Bee said that his and Bartow's Brigades were being hard pressed, that Jackson refused to move to their relief, and that he (Bee) in a passionate expression of anger denounced Jackson for standing like a stone wall and allowing them to be sacrificed. This was confirmed to me repeatedly during the war and after by James Hill, Bee's brother-in-law and aide-de-camp, who was with him when he fell. Hill said Bee was angry and excited when the fight was going on, and bitterly denounced Jackson for refusing to move. That this is the true story of Bee's connection, I have no doubt, as I heard it confirmed by more than one who was present at Bee's deathbed."
Resources
Pages 236 & 237, Volume II, "Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York." George W. Cullm; The Riverside Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts; 1891.
Pages 375 to 377, Volume V (South Carolina), "Confederate Military History." Ellison Capers; Confederate Publishing Company, Atlanta, Georgia; 1899.
Pages 23 & 24, "Generals in Gray. Lives of the Confederate Commanders." Ezra J. Warner, Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge, Louisiana; 1997.
Page 52, "General Officers of the Confederate Army." Marcus J. Wright, The Neale Publishing Company, New York, New York, 1911.
"Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, from its organization, September 29, 1789, to March 2, 1903." Francis B. Heitman, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1903.
"Official Register of the Officers and Cadets of the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York. - June 1842." United States Military Academy Printing Office, West Point, New York; 1842.
"Official Register of the Officers and Cadets of the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York. - June 1843." United States Military Academy Printing Office, West Point, New York; 1843.
"Official Register of the Officers and Cadets of the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York. - June 1844." United States Military Academy Printing Office, West Point, New York; 1844.
"Official Register of the Officers and Cadets of the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York. - June 1845." United States Military Academy Printing Office, West Point, New York; 1845.
Pistol of General Barnard E. Bee. Museum of the Confederacy, Richmond, Virginia.
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