When you think of Civil War generals from Ohio, the names Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan often come to mind. Roswell S. Ripley also was a general, yet he is rarely (if ever) mentioned in Ohio classrooms. Why? It’s probably because he was a general in the Confederate Army.
Ripley was born in Worthington, just north of Columbus, in 1823. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1843 and served in the Mexican-American War. He resigned his commission in 1853 while stationed in South Carolina.
In April 1861, his forces at Fort Moultrie fired artillery onto Fort Sumter, the first volleys of the Civil War.
He was appointed a brigadier general in Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia and was wounded in the throat at the battle of Antietam. He directed the improvement of defenses around Charleston as was later dubbed ‘Charleston’s Gallant Defender.’
He died 29 March 1887 in New York and is buried in Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston.
References:
- Bennet, Chet. “Brig. Gen. Roswell Sabin Ripley, CSA“
- FindAGrave. “Roswell Sabine Ripley“
- Genealogy Center. “Ripley, Roswell Sabin.” (photo and text of Ohio Historical Society marker)
- Wikipedia: Roswell S. Ripley
