General Raleigh E. Colston

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General Raleigh E. Colston
Compiled Military Service Record

Raleigh Edward Colston  (Confederate)

Biographical data and notes:
- Born Oct 25 1825 in Paris, France
- Pre-enlistment occupation: Professor
- Last known address: VA Confederate Soldiers' Home, Richmond, VA
- Raleigh Edward Colston died on Jul 29 1896 at Richmond, VA
- He is buried at Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, VA

Enlistment:
- 35 years of age at time of enlistment
- Enlisted on May 2 1861 as Colonel

Mustering information:
- Commissioned into Field and Staff, 16th Infantry (Virginia)
on May 2 1861
- Discharged due to promotion from 16th Infantry (Virginia)
on Dec 24 1861
- Commissioned into General Staff on Dec 24 1861

Promotions:
- Promoted to Brig-Gen (Full, Vol) (date not indicated)
- Promoted to Colonel (Full, Vol) (date not indicated) (16th VA Inf)
- Promoted to Brig-Gen (Full, Vol) on Dec 24 1861

Listed as:
- In command on Jul 15 1861 (Estimated day)
- Returned on Dec 15 1861

Sources: General Officers of the Confederate States of America, Confederate Military History, National Archives

Recommended Reading: Generals in Gray Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Description: When Generals in Gray was published in 1959, scholars and critics immediately hailed it as one of the few indispensable books on the American Civil War. Historian Stanley Horn, for example, wrote, "It is difficult for a reviewer to restrain his enthusiasm in recommending a monumental book of this high quality and value." Here at last is the paperback edition of Ezra J. Warner’s magnum opus with its concise, detailed biographical sketches and—in an amazing feat of research—photographs of all 425 Confederate generals. Continued below.

The only exhaustive guide to the South’s command, Generals in Gray belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in the Civil War. RATED 5 STARS!

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Recommended Reading: Civil War High Commands (1040 pages) (Hardcover). Description: Based on nearly five decades of research, this magisterial work is a biographical register and analysis of the people who most directly influenced the course of the Civil War, its high commanders. Numbering 3,396, they include the presidents and their cabinet members, state governors, general officers of the Union and Confederate armies (regular, provisional, volunteers, and militia), and admirals and commodores of the two navies. Civil War High Commands will become a cornerstone reference work on these personalities and the meaning of their commands, and on the Civil War itself. Errors of fact and interpretation concerning the high commanders are legion in the Civil War literature, in reference works as well as in narrative accounts. Continued below...

The present work brings together for the first time in one volume the most reliable facts available, drawn from more than 1,000 sources and including the most recent research. The biographical entries include complete names, birthplaces, important relatives, education, vocations, publications, military grades, wartime assignments, wounds, captures, exchanges, paroles, honors, and place of death and interment. In addition to its main component, the biographies, the volume also includes a number of essays, tables, and synopses designed to clarify previously obscure matters such as the definition of grades and ranks; the difference between commissions in regular, provisional, volunteer, and militia services; the chronology of military laws and executive decisions before, during, and after the war; and the geographical breakdown of command structures. The book is illustrated with 84 new diagrams of all the insignias used throughout the war and with 129 portraits of the most important high commanders.

 
Recommended Reading: Rebels and Yankees: Commanders of the Civil War (Hardcover), by William C. Davis (Author), Russ A. Pritchard (Author). Description: Davis and Pritchard have created a wonderful work that is sure to become a hit with anyone who studies the Civil War. This book uses words and a generous amount of pictures and photographs to tell the story of the leaders, both talented and flawed, that held together the two struggling armies in a time of chaos and devastating loss. Continued below...

Although many of the stories have been told in one form or another.... Commanders compiles this study in a single book that makes it very easy to compare and contrast the styles and techniques employed by officers of both armies. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and highly recommend it.

 
Recommended Reading: Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Volume 6 (Battles & Leaders of the Civil War) (632 pages) (University of Illinois Press) (May 30, 2007). Description: Sifting carefully through reports from newspapers, magazines, personal memoirs, and letters, Peter Cozzens' Volume 6 brings readers more of the best first-person accounts of marches, encampments, skirmishes, and full-blown battles, as seen by participants on both sides of the conflict. Alongside the experiences of lower-ranking officers and enlisted men are accounts from key personalities including General John Gibbon, General John C. Lee, and seven prominent generals from both sides offering views on "why the Confederacy failed." Continued below.
This volume includes one hundred and twenty illustrations, including sixteen previously uncollected maps of battlefields, troop movements, and fortifications.
 
Recommended Reading: Who Was Who in the Civil War (600 pages: Hardcover), by Stewart Sifakis. Description: It provides biographical sketches of all the major participants of the Civil War: Generals, politicians and even famous - or infamous - characters such as Jesse James and Bloody Bill Anderson. RATED A SOLID 5 STARS. Continued...

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