Brig. Gen. James Henry Lane, (CSA)

Lane was not a supporter of secession, but when news of the war reached the North Carolina Military Institute in 1861, professors Lane, Daniel H. Hill, and Charles C. Lee, as well as most of the cadets, volunteered for service to the Confederate States of America. During the war, Lane was involved in almost every major battle fought by the Army of Northern Virginia and rose to the rank of brigadier general. He was wounded three times and had a number of horses shot out from under him, but perhaps his worst experience was at the Battle of Chancellorsville, where both his brother and now-Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson were killed. In a tragedy that would haunt Lane for the remainder of his life, Jackson was shot and wounded accidently by Lane’s own troops.
https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/james-henry-lane/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_H._Lane_(general)

James Henry Lane was a university professor and Confederate general in the American Civil War.

He is considered to be the father of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and is the namesake of the University's oldest building, Lane Hall.

Early life

Lane was born in Mathews Court House, Virginia. He graduated from Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in 1854 and received a masters degree from the University of Virginia in 1857. He was a professor of mathematics at VMI and then of natural philosophy at the North Carolina Military Institute until the start of the Civil War.

Civil War

Lane was commissioned as a major in the Confederate Army and assigned to the 1st North Carolina Infantry regiment on May 11, 1861. Promotions came quickly and he was a colonel and commander of the 28th North Carolina by September 15. In the Seven Days Battles of 1862 he was twice wounded leading his regiment. He served in Maj. Gen. A.P. Hill's division of Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's Second Corps for Second Bull Run and received his own brigade following the death of Brig. Gen. Lawrence O'Bryan Branch at the Battle of Antietam. He was promoted to brigadier general on November 1, 1862, and assumed command of the 2nd Brigade in William Dorsey Pender's Division of Hill's Third Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia the following May, during the beginning of the Gettysburg Campaign.

At the Battle of Gettysburg, Lane's brigade fought on the first day (July 1, 1863) and Lane briefly assumed command of Pender's division following that officer's mortal wounding on the second day. He was replaced in division command by Maj. Gen. Isaac R. Trimble and returned to lead his brigade during Pickett's Charge, during which he was wounded when his horse was shot from under him. Over the three-day battle, his brigade suffered almost 50% casualties.

In 1864, Lane continued in brigade command, through the Overland Campaign and Siege of Petersburg. On April 2 at the Battle of Cold Harbor, he was wounded in the groin. In February and March 1865, he commanded Cadmus M. Wilcox's division. He continued to serve during the Appomattox Campaign, where he was paroled from Appomattox Court House after Robert E. Lee's surrender on April 9.

~• additionally: "On April 9, 1865, Lane was with Gen. Robert E. Lee when he surrendered to Union general Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia. After his parole, Lane travelled back to his parents’ home in Mathews Courthouse. In the years that followed, Lane attempted to re-establish his education career and founded schools in Concord, North Carolina, and Richmond, Virginia. On September 13, 1869, Lane married Charlotte (Lotte) Randolph Meade, with whom he would have four daughters."

Postbellum career

Lane returned to academic life, as professor of civil engineering and commerce at Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College (VAMC)—founded in 1872, name changed to Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI) in 1896—and from 1881 until his death, professor of civil engineering at Alabama Polytechnic Institute, now known as Auburn University.

Lane served as the first Commandant of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets at VAMC. Before resigning, he had an argument with President Charles Minor, who wanted the college to eliminate strict military restrictions.

Lane died in Auburn, Alabama, and is interred there in Pine Hill Cemetery.

Lane, James H. BATTLE UNIT NAME: 28th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry SIDE: Confederacy COMPANY: F&S SOLDIER'S RANK IN: Colonel SOLDIER'S RANK OUT: Colonel ALTERNATE NAME: FILM NUMBER: M230 ROLL 22 PLAQUE NUMBER: NOTES: none

Lane, James H. BATTLE UNIT NAME: 1st Regiment, North Carolina Infantry (6 months, 1861) SIDE: Confederacy COMPANY: F&S SOLDIER'S RANK IN: Major SOLDIER'S RANK OUT: Major ALTERNATE NAME: FILM NUMBER: M230 ROLL 22 PLAQUE NUMBER: NOTES: none

Additional Resources

Phillips, Kenneth Edward. “James Henry Lane and the War for Southern Independence.” Master’s thesis, Auburn University, 1982