James Holt Clanton

James Holt Clanton (January 8, 1827 – September 27, 1871) was an American soldier, lawyer, legislator, and was later also a Confederate soldier. He enlisted in the United States Army for service during the Mexican–American War, and later was a Confederate Army brigadier general during the American Civil War. Following the war he returned to practicing law and later was murdered in a private feud in Tennessee.

Early life and career Clanton was born in 1827 in Columbia County, Georgia, a son of Nathaniel Holt Clanton. In 1835 the family relocated to Macon County, Alabama, where Clanton was raised and educated. Later he attended the University of Alabama located in Tuscaloosa, but he did not graduate. Clanton chose instead to join the U.S. Army and participate in the war with Mexico.

In 1846, Clanton first enlisted for six months as a private in the company of Capt. Rush Elmore, which belonged to Col. Bailie Peyton's regiment. When that term expired, Clanton joined the company of Capt. Preston Brooks of the Palmetto Regiment. Clanton and his regiment reached Mexico City following the September 1847 battle and after the occupation there had ended he returned home to Alabama.

After the war, Clanton resumed studying law and in 1850 was admitted to Alabama's bar association, settling in Montgomery. Later, Clanton served in the state's legislature, and in 1860 he served as an elector on the U.S. Presidential ticket of John Bell and Edward Everett.

American Civil War service Although Clanton personally was opposed to secession, he chose to follow his home state and the Confederate cause in 1861. He first served along the Florida coast until the fall, when he was appointed a captain in the Alabama Cavalry on November 12. Soon after Clanton was given command of the 1st Alabama Cavalry regiment and was promoted to the rank of colonel on December 3.

Clanton's first major action was during the Battle of Shiloh on April 6–7, 1862, in which he was part of the leading Confederate units on the battle's first day. Clanton next fought in the battle near Farmington, Mississippi, on May 9, and then led a brigade during the Battle of Booneville on July 1, where he "drove the enemy from the field."

Clanton was promoted to the rank of brigadier general on November 16, 1863. From February to June 1864 he served as aide-de-camp to Lt. Gen. Leonidas Polk, and then he led the cavalry brigade of the North District in the Confederate Department of Alabama and Eastern Mississippi, a unit often styled as "Clanton's Cavalry Brigade."

As Clanton and Fort passed the Lamar House Hotel on Gay Street, they encountered attorney David M. Nelson (a son of prominent politician and judge Thomas A. R. Nelson), who had been drinking nearby in the St. Nicholas saloon. Their meeting grew hostile as Clanton suspected Nelson was insulting him, and he challenged Nelson to a duel, which Nelson accepted. Clanton drew a pistol and ordered Fort to step off space for the duel (which Fort refused to do, pointing out that Nelson was intoxicated), while Nelson ran back into the saloon and obtained a double-barreled shotgun. When Nelson reemerged, he fired two shots, one of which mortally wounded Clanton. Clanton fired one shot, which missed.