William Gardner
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William Montgomery Gardner (1824 - 1901)

Brig Gen William Montgomery Gardner
Born in Augusta, Richmond, Georgia, United Statesmap
Ancestors ancestors
Brother of
Husband of — married 29 Sep 1859 in Fort Laramie, Laramie, Wyoming, United Statesmap
Died at age 77 in Memphis, Shelby, Tennessee, United Statesmap
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Profile last modified | Created 4 Jun 2020
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Biography

Southern Cross of Honor William Montgomery Gardner was a graduate of the United States Military Academy, a veteran of the Mexican–American War, Colonel of the 8th Georgia Infantry Regiment and a Confederate States Army Brigadier General during the American Civil War.[1]

William was born in the Sand Hills area of Augusta, Georgia, to parents James and Elizabeth Gardner.

He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Class of 1846.

His military career started as Brevet Second Lieutenant with the First United States Infantry during the Mexican-American War. He was promoted full Second Lieutenant in the Second Infantry and was severely wounded in two battles including a bullet to the chest. Upon recovery he was assigned to the personal staff of Gen. B.C. Riley. He was transferred along with his regiment to California by ship, arriving in March 1849 where he served as company officer at the Benicia Arsenal. He was promoted to Captain of the Second Infantry serving various posts in the frontier until resigning from the army in January 1861.[2]

In June of 1861, William was appointed by the government of the Confederacy Lieutenant Colonel of the Eighth Georgia Infantry. Severely wounded at the Battle of First Bull Run, he continued to serve while recovering and was promoted to Colonel then to Brigadier General in November, 1861. His fearfully maimed condition rendered him unfit for field service when he recovered, but he was assigned several duties chiefly of an administrative character. Among them was the command of the post at Richmond during the last years of the war. [3]

In 1870, William was residing with his family in Appling, Columbia, Georgia where his occupation in the U.S. Census is listed as “farmer”. Family members were:[4]

Name Age Sex Est. Birth Yr.
William 46 M 1824
Helen 36 F 1834
James 10 M 1860
Marion 9F 1861
John 8 M 1862
William M. 3 M 1867
Henry 3 M 1867
Edwin 1 M 1869

All were born in Georgia except Helen who was born in North Carolina.

Two unrelated females, Nancy Jones and Margaret Hannon were listed in the household with the latter’s occupation listed as “nurse”.

In the 1880 U.S. Census, William was still farming in the 919th Militia District, Floyd, Georgia and resided with the following family members:[5]

Name Age Sex Est. Birth Yr.
William 56 M 1824
Helen 46 F 1834
James 19 M 1861
Marion 18F 1862
John 17 M 1863
Montgomery 12 M 1868
Harry 12 M 1868
Edwin 11 M 1869
Bessie 6 F 1874
Alexander 3 M 1877

Note: The family surname was mispelled as “Gardneer” in this census. William listed his father’s birthplace as “Scotland” and his mother’s as “Georgia”.

Before 1900, William relocated to the City of Memphis, Shelby, Tennessee, where he appears in the U.S. Census with several family members:[6]

Name Age Sex Birth Mo. Birth Yr. Yrs. Mar. Birth Pl. Father’s B.P..Mother’s B.P.
William 77 M Jun 1823 40 GeorgiaScotlandN. Car.
Helen 65 F Sep 1835 40 Wisconsin N. Car.New York
James 38 M Aug 1862-NebraskaGeorgiaWisc.
Edwin R. 30M Nov 18701GeorgiaGAWisc.
Harriet M. 22F Apr 18781Tenn.Tenn.Louisiana
Alex B. 22M Mar 1878-GeorgiaGAWisc.
Elizabeth M. 24M Jan 1876-GeorgiaGAWisc.

William’s birth year was recorded as 1823, although most records and grave marker indicate 1824. Harriet is the wife of William’s son Edwin.

William passed away in 1901. Final resting place in Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee.[7]

Sources

  1. William M Gardner, Wikipedia.org, accessed June 5, 2020.
  2. ANNUAL REUNION OF THE ASSOCIATION GRADUATES OF THE UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY, AT WEST POINT, NEW YORK, June 8th, 1901 SAGINAW, MICH. Seemann & Peters, Printers and Binders. 1901.
  3. Boatner, Mark Mayo, III. The Civil War Dictionary. New York: McKay, 1988. ISBN 978-0-8129-1726-0. First published New York, McKay, 1959. p. 232
  4. "United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCS5-2NH : 19 March 2020), William Gardner, 1870.
  5. "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8LT-G2R : 11 August 2017), M Gardneer, Rome, Floyd, Georgia, United States; citing enumeration district ED 62, sheet 125A, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm 1,254,146.
  6. "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MSZ4-WZK : accessed 3 May 2020), Wm M Gardner, Memphis city Ward 5, Shelby, Tennessee, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 73, sheet 9A, family 202, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,241,598.
  7. William Montgomery Gardner, Find A Grave: Memorial #10870, accessed June 5, 2020.




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