Maj. Gen. William H. C. Whiting
Born: March 22, 1824
Biloxi, Mississippi
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Died: March 10, 1865
Fort Columbus,
Governors Island, New York
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1845: West Point Graduate
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1845: 2nd Lieutenant
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1853: 1st Lieuteant
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1858: Captain
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February 20, 1861: Resigned commission
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February 20, 1861: Major CSA
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July 21, 1861: Brigadier General
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February 13, 1863: Major General
May 31-June 1, 1862: Battle of Seven Pines - Johnston was named as a wing commander and assumed operational command of the division during the battle
Became permanent division commander following reorganization
June 27, 1862: Battle of Gaines Mill - Division performed a break-through of the Union lines a Boatswain's Creek
July 1, 1862: Battle of Malvern Hill
Gen. Lee was dissatisfied with Whiting's performance and was replaced with Brig. Gen. Hood
Assigned to Military District of Wilmington, N.C.
February 13, 1863: Promoted to Major General
Assigned command of the Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia briefly taking of the Petersburg defenses in May 1864
Late 1864: Defending the district against forces in Wilmington Campaign against Maj. Gen. Alfred Terry
January 1865: 2nd Battle of Fort Fisher: was wounded in the right thigh and hip and was captured
Angry at Gen. Bragg who failed to use a division of Maj. Gen. Joke to attack the federal rear while the fort was under assault, Whiting requested the investigation while in prison
March 10, 1865: Died of dysentery at the Union military hospital at Fort Columbus on Governors Island in New York City
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1845: West Point Graduate - 1st in his class
1845: 2nd Lieutenant of Engineers - constructing seacoast defenses in Maryland and Florida
Surveyed military routes and frontier forts in West Texas
1853: Appointed 1st Lieutenant
Sent west erecting harbor fortifications in San Francisco and served on the board of engineers for Pacific Coast defenses until 1856
1856-1861: Improved rivers, canals and harbors in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida
1858: Promoted to Captain
February 20, 1861: Resigned commission and on March 16, 1861 was appointed Major of Engineers in the regular Confederate States Army
While improving the defenses of Charleston Harbor, was named brigadier and inspector general of the North Carolina militia
April 14, 1861: Battle of Fort Sumter - served on the staff of Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard
Served under Gen. Joseph E. Johnston as engineers of the Army of Shenandoah and 1st Battle of Bull Run
July 21, 1861: Promoted to Brigadier General
December 19, 1861: Whiting sent a letter to President Davis declining his assignment to command five fresh Mississippi regiments. Davies ordered the suspension of Whiting from rank and position. Gen. Johnston requests and protests and Whiting was reinstated to his rank
Peninsula Campaign: accompanied Gen. Johnston to Yorktown to inspect Gen. John Magruder's fortifications
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Boatner, Mark M. III. The Civil War Dictionary. New York: David McKay, 1967. p 916
Current, Richard N., ed. Encyclopedia of the Confederacy. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993. p 1711-1712
Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Gray Lives of the Confederate Generals. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State, 1992. p 334-335
William H. C. Whiting. 7 November 2025. web. 2 December 2025.
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