John Pelham (September 7, 1838 – March 17, 1863) was an artillery officer who served with the Confederate cavalry under J.E.B. Stuart during the American Civil War. Dubbed "The Gallant Pelham" for his military prowess and personal courage, Pelham revolutionized the usage of light artillery as a mobile arm of the cavalry.

Early life

Pelham at the age of sixteen.

Pelham was the third child, with five brothers and a sister Betty, born to Dr. Atkinson and Martha Pelham (née McGehee) at his grandparent's home along Cane Creek near Alexandria, Alabama. He grew up on the family's 1,000 acre plantation, and learned to raise horses at a young age. On one instance, he rode a neighbour's milk cow until it ran dry, prompting a lecture to only ride bulls in the future, if he were feeling adventurous.

In 1856, local Congressman Sampson Willis Harris secured an appointment for Pelham to the United States Military Academy, at the request of A. J. Walker.

Civil War

Already in 1860, rumblings of the Southern secession were affecting Pelham, his concerns that he would not be able to graduate were expressed in letters he wrote home.

In 1861, with graduation approaching and war breaking out, Pelham wrote to the new leader of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, inquiring as to whether he should leave West Point. Ultimately, Pelham resigned from West Point, just a few weeks before his planned graduation, in order to accept a commission in the militia of his home state of Alabama. He soon went to Virginia, where he joined the army of Joseph E. Johnston as a lieutenant in the artillery. Pelham's well-drilled and disciplined battery caught the eye of J.E.B. Stuart, who provided horses for the men and transformed the battery into "horse artillery", more mobile than conventional artillery.

Pelham was involved in every major military engagement of Stuart's cavalry from the First Battle of Bull Run to Kelly's Ford, more than 60 encounters. He particularly distinguished himself as the Chief of Stuart's Artillery in the Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg) and Battle of Fredericksburg. At Sharpsburg, Pelham's guns, positioned on a rise known as Nicodemus Hill, repeatedly harassed the flanks of oncoming Union lines, causing numerous casualties and breaking up battle formations. Lt. Gen. Stonewall Jackson said of him in his report on the battle, "It is really extraordinary to find such nerve and genius in a mere boy. With a Pelham on each flank I believe I could whip the world."

At Fredericksburg, Pelham's guns, positioned well in advance of the main Confederate lines, held up the entire flank of the Union Army of the Potomac for several hours, enabling the Confederates to repel a series of strong attacks. General Robert E. Lee commended Pelham in his official report for "unflinching courage" while under direct fire from multiple Union batteries. Pelham was, at the time, commanding only two guns that were in service, but with those batteries for a time enfiladed the entire advancing Federal lines of battle.

At Kelly's Ford on March 17 1863, Pelham participated in a cavalry charge, his artillery not being engaged. Standing up in his stirrups, he urged his men to "Press forward, press forward to glory and victory!" Not long afterwards, he was struck in the head by a fragment of an exploding Federal artillery shell. He was carried six miles away from the battlefield to Culpeper Courthouse, and died the following morning without having regained consciousness. Stuart said of his death, in a general order to the rest of his division:

An 1889 illustration of Pelham's death at Kelly's Ford.

The major-general commanding approaches with reluctance the painful duty of announcing to the division its irreparable loss in the death of Major John Pelham, commanding the Horse Artillery. He fell mortally wounded in the battle of Kellysville, March 17th, with the battle-cry on his lips, and the light of victory beaming from his eye... His eye had glanced on every battlefield of this army from the First Manassas to the moment of his death, and he was, with a single exception, a brilliant actor in them all. The memory of "the gallant Pelham," his many manly virtues, his noble nature and purity of character, are enshrined as a sacred legacy in the hearts of all who knew him. His record has been bright and spotless, his career brilliant and successful.
—J.E.B. Stuart, General Orders #9, March 20, 1863, Official Records

Maj. Harry Gene Beck III, a fellow officer and tentmate of Pelham's, wrote: "He is the bravest human being I ever saw in my life."

Legacy

The Confederate Senate approved Lee's recommendation that Pelham receive a posthumous promotion to lieutenant colonel. Pelham's body was returned home and buried at City Cemetery in Jacksonville, Alabama where a statue erected downtown in 1905 commemorates the fallen officer.

In 1863, Stuart named his third child Virginia Pelham, in honour of the cannoneer he had admired.

In 1894, poet Larry Maffit Jr. wrote the poem John Pelham.

In 1901, a portrait of Pelham was hung with other Confederate officers in Alexandria, VA, and General Joseph Wheeler gave the speech on the ascension of his portrait, referring to him as the "Gallant Pelham".

In 1907, one of his spurs was among the artifacts melted down to create the Pokahuntas Bell for the Jamestown Exposition.

The John Pelham Historical Association seeks to maintain his memory and preserve his archive of papers and memorabilia. In 1955, he was named to the Alabama Hall of Fame. The cities of Pelham, Alabama, and Pelham, Georgia, are named in his honor. In 2004, the state of Georgia designated the section of State Highway 300 that passes through Pelham as the John Pelham Memorial Parkway.

The United States Army has honored Pelham with numerous artillery camps and Landing Zones named after him. The former Camp Pelham in South Korea, which housed artillery battalions of first the 1st Cavalry Division and then later the 2nd Infantry Division is one of the better known camps.

Pelham, John, LTC