Beauregard is most famous for firing the first shot of the war at Ft. Sumter and, along with General Johnston, surrendering the remnants of the CSA Army to Sherman at Durham, NC in April 1865. He is a Creole (French – Italian and Catholic) who grows up on the Toutant sugar plantation south of New Orleans. He graduates second in his 1838 class at West Point where he studies artillery under Robert Anderson, his later adversary at Ft. Sumter. After becoming a Brevet Captain in the Mexican War, he tires of the army and considers joining William Walker’s filibustering campaigns, before changing his mind. He loses a bid to become Mayor of New Orleans in 1858 before an appointment as Superintendent of West Point, an offer withdrawn after 5 days when Louisiana secedes. This photo of “Bory” as Colonel of Engineers in the Provisional Army of Louisiana is taken in February 1865.
PGT Beauregard
