Francis Marion Walker

Francis Marion Walker (November 12, 1827 – July 22, 1864) was a Confederate States Army officer during the American Civil War (Civil War). He was killed while commanding a brigade at the Battle of Atlanta of July 22, 1864, one day before his commission as a brigadier general in the Confederate Army was delivered.

Early life Francis Marion Walker was born in Paris, Kentucky, on November 12, 1827, and was named in honor of Francis Marion. His parents were John and Tabitha (Taylor) Walker. Walker's mother died while he was young. Walker had a limited formal education but taught school for his own education and to earn money for college tuition. The unit was sent to Mexico but the war was over before it could be sent into action.

American Civil War service Walker was actually a committed Unionist and made speeches in support of the Union in eastern Tennessee before Tennessee declared its secession from the Union. Walker was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the regiment on June 11, 1861. On July 22, 1864, Hood ordered Lieutenant General Hardee to maneuver around the left flank of the Union Army east of Atlanta for a surprise attack while Major General Cheatham, then in command of Hood's former corps, was to make a diversionary attack on the front of the Union force and the cavalry commander, Major General Joseph Wheeler, would attack their supply line. The Battle of Atlanta, fought east and south of the city and near the Union supply lines further east at Decatur, Georgia, ensued. Union Major General James B. McPherson, who was killed during the battle, anticipated the Confederate maneuver against the far end of his flank, reshaped his line and sent reinforcements to the flank.

By 5:00 p.m., Confederate advances along the Union front had been reversed although the Union force had lost a large part of the left, or southern, part of their line. Still part of the XVII Corps under Major General Francis Preston Blair Jr. still held a position anchored on Bald Hill. Confederate Major General Patrick Cleburne, operating under Hardee, gathered available forces in the area to make a large assault against the Union position on Bald Hill. Blair meanwhile had thought the Confederate effort had been spent and even suggested in a message to Union Army commander Major General William T. Sherman that with another brigade he could retake the lost ground. Cleburne placed Walker's brigade on the left front of the attacking force. Cleburne himself led the attack with Walker's brigade. Then they moved with a two-sided assault with troops to their right toward the Union line. Despite taking about 100 casualties in their previous advances, Walker's men followed Walker, who was waving his sword in encouragement, toward the crest of the hill. As they reached the crest, Walker's brigade was hit with a tremendous volley from defenders over the crest. After Walker's death, many of his men diverted to another point of attack to try to take a Union battery and suffered severe casualties. As night fell, the Confederates could not continue the attack and the Union troops held their fort at the top of the hill. The Confederates had sustained over 600 casualties while the Union defenders had endured about 550 casualties in the Battle of Bald Hill, which was but a small part of the overall Battle of Atlanta.

Although Walker could have acted as a brigadier general from the receipt of the commission, he still would not have officially and legally been a brigadier general until after his appointment had been confirmed by the Confederate Senate. The Confederate Senate had not confirmed the appointment as of the date of Walker's death. His remains were reinterred in a family plot in Forest Hills Cemetery in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1889.