5fish
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Col Donald Chester Stith (1829-1920)
He was one of four West Point men who fought for the union and then for the Confederacy... last in his class 1850...
https://www.ohiocivilwarcentral.com/entry.php?rec=1545
The others were Manning M. Kimmel, William T. Magruder, and Richard Kidder Meade.
When the American Civil War erupted, Stith was serving with the 5th Infantry in New Mexico. In late June or early July 1861, Confederate troops captured him near Guadalupe, Mexico, while he was on a mission to deliver a letter, dated June 23, from Major Edward R. Canby to the Governor of Chihuahua. Stith was taken to Fort Bliss, arriving there on July 18. Two days later, Stith wrote to Canby that Colonel John R. Baylor had paroled him.
Snip...
. On August 8, 1861, he was promoted to captain with the 5th Infantry of the U.S. Army. One month later, a letter from William Byrd, Adjutant-General of Texas, to Colonel H.E. McCulloch, Commanding Department of San Antonio, Texas, Provisional Army of the Confederate States, dated September 9, 1861, makes reference to Stith as a captain and assistant adjutant-general in the Confederate Army. On September 25, 1861, Stith was dismissed from the U.S. Army.
Snip...
By 1862, Stith had been promoted to major in the Rebel army. A report written by Major General Earl Van Dorn mentions, "members of my staff, Majors Kimmel and Stith, Assistant Adjutant Generals." An after-action report filed by Major General Stephen D. Lee (CSA) in January 1863 states that, "Maj. Donald C. Stith, Brigade Inspector, behaved with gallantry and coolness under fire, and did good service" during the Vicksburg Campaign. In 1863, Stith was promoted to colonel, the rank at which he finished the war.
He was one of four West Point men who fought for the union and then for the Confederacy... last in his class 1850...
https://www.ohiocivilwarcentral.com/entry.php?rec=1545
The others were Manning M. Kimmel, William T. Magruder, and Richard Kidder Meade.
When the American Civil War erupted, Stith was serving with the 5th Infantry in New Mexico. In late June or early July 1861, Confederate troops captured him near Guadalupe, Mexico, while he was on a mission to deliver a letter, dated June 23, from Major Edward R. Canby to the Governor of Chihuahua. Stith was taken to Fort Bliss, arriving there on July 18. Two days later, Stith wrote to Canby that Colonel John R. Baylor had paroled him.
Snip...
. On August 8, 1861, he was promoted to captain with the 5th Infantry of the U.S. Army. One month later, a letter from William Byrd, Adjutant-General of Texas, to Colonel H.E. McCulloch, Commanding Department of San Antonio, Texas, Provisional Army of the Confederate States, dated September 9, 1861, makes reference to Stith as a captain and assistant adjutant-general in the Confederate Army. On September 25, 1861, Stith was dismissed from the U.S. Army.
Snip...
By 1862, Stith had been promoted to major in the Rebel army. A report written by Major General Earl Van Dorn mentions, "members of my staff, Majors Kimmel and Stith, Assistant Adjutant Generals." An after-action report filed by Major General Stephen D. Lee (CSA) in January 1863 states that, "Maj. Donald C. Stith, Brigade Inspector, behaved with gallantry and coolness under fire, and did good service" during the Vicksburg Campaign. In 1863, Stith was promoted to colonel, the rank at which he finished the war.
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