McLaws, Lafayette, 1821-1897

Lafayette McLaws was born in Augusta, Georgia on January 15, 1821. He attended the University of Virginia in 1837, but before he completed his first year he was appointed a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He graduated from West Point in 1842. McLaws served in the U.S. Army on the Texas frontier and distinguished himself during the Mexican War (1846). When Georgia seceded from the Union he resigned his commission and was commissioned into the Confederate Army. He served with distinction during the Civil War rising to the rank of Major General. After the Civil War he returned to Georgia and entered the insurance business and was appointed to two separate public offices. Lafayette McLaws died in Savannah, Georgia on July 24, 1897, and is buried in Laurel Grove Cemetery.

Lafayette McLaws (1821-1897), native of Augusta, Georgia, graduate of West Point, Major-General in the Confederate Army.

U.S. and Confederate Army officer, postmaster and collector of internal revenue in Savannah, Ga., 1885-1886.

Lafayette McLaws (1821-1897) was a United States and Confederate Army officer, and a postmaster and collector of internal revenue in Savannah, Ga., 1885-1886. During the Civil War, McLaws served in Georgia, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, South Carolina, and North Carolina. He was engaged in the Peninsula and Maryland campaigns in 1862; the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863; action in Tennessee in late 1863, especially in the vicinity of Knoxville; in Georgia and South Carolina in 1864; and actions in North Carolina in 1865. In early 1864 McLaws was court-martialed, and later exonerated, for failure to cooperate with General James Longstreet.

McLaws was the son of James and Elizabeth McLaws of Savannah, Ga. He married Emily Allison Taylor, niece of Zachary Taylor. They had at least five children including William, John Taylor, Laura, Uldrick Hugenin, and another daughter.