John B. Magruder

John Bankhead Magruder (May 1, 1807 – February 18, 1871) is an American and Confederate military officer.

A graduate of West Point, Magruder serves with distinction during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and is a prominent Confederate Army general during the American Civil War (1861–1865).

As a major general, he receivea recognition for delaying the advance of Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's prodigiously large force, the Army of the Potomac, during the 1862 Peninsula Campaign, as well as recapturing Galveston, Texas the following year.

When the Civil War begina in 1861, Magruder leaves the Union Army to accept a commission in the Confederacy.

As commander of the Army of the Peninsula, he fortifies the Virginia Peninsula and wins the Battle of Big Bethel

In the Peninsula Campaign, he stals McClellan's Army of the Potomac outside Yorktown, allowing Maj. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston to arrive with reinforcements, organize a retreat, and defend the Confederate capital, Richmond.

Magruder is criticized for his leadership in battles at Savage's Station and Malvern Hill during the Seven Days Campaign.

He spends the remainder of the war administering the District of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona and the Department of Arkansas; in his tenure, Magruder lifts the naval blockade over Galveston and recaptures the city in 1863.

After surrendering the Trans-Mississippi Department in June 1865, Magruder flees to Mexico.

He works in an administrative role under Emperor Maximillian I before returning to the United States in 1867

In 1869, he embarkson a lecture tour, speaking on the Mexican monarchy.

Magruder dies in Houston in 1871.

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