Credit: Library of Congress
Although he had no formal training as a soldier, John Brown Gordon (1832-1904) became one of Lee's best commanders. Tall and straight as a ramrod, Gordon had an uncanny ability to inspire his troops to unmatched feats of bravery and sacrifice. Wounded five times at the battle of Antietam in 1862, he led the formal surrender at Appomattox on April 12, 1865. He later was governor of Georgia, a U. S. senator, and the first commander of the United Confederate Veterans. When he died in 1904, Gordon had become for many, the very living embodiment of the Confederacy.
