| Summary: | (Early has a general's insignia on his lapel, but it could be the result of artistic retouching.) Graduated from West Point, 1837; Seminole War and Mexican War veteran. Resigned his U.S. Army commission in 1836 to practice law. Although against secession, Early was commissioned as a colonel in the 24th Virginia Infantry. Promoted to brigadier general in July 1861, major general in April 1863, and lieutenant general in May 1864. Major campaigns and battles include First Manassas, the Peninsular campaign (wounded), Second Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, and the 1864 Shenandoah campaign. After the war, Early briefly lived in Mexico and later in Canada. He returned to Virginia in 1869, where he practiced law, lectured, and wrote extensively on the war. He died in March 1894 and is buried in Lynchburg, Virginia. Sources: Boatner, Mark M. The Civil War Dictionary. New York: Vintage Books, 1988. Davis, William C., ed. The Confederate General. Vol. 2. National Historical Society, 1991.
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