Kentucky’s Civil War leaders…
W.T. Martin suffered under Wheeler,
but thrived in Mississippi leadership

Anyone who has suffered under poor management can appreciate the plight of CSA Gen. William T. Martin.

The Glasgow native, although opposed to secession, raised a cavalry group in Adams County, Miss., where he was practicing law and led them to Richmond, Va.

Martin quickly rose to colonel of the Jeff Davis Legion and served with J.E.B. Stuart’s command through Fall 1862. Promoted to brigadier general, Martin was ordered to the Western Theater, where he commanded divisions at the Tullahoma Campaign and the Battle of Chickamauga and served as cavalry commander under James Longstreet at Knoxville. After Longstreet’s return to the east, Martin was promoted to major general and led a division under Joseph Wheeler at Atlanta. The relationship between Martin and Wheeler was not a good one, although initially things remained superficially cordial. Part of the problem where Martin was concerned was that he considered Wheeler unfit for high command.

In Martin’s view, Wheeler was a poor disciplinarian, a bad administrator and a poor tactician. His commands sometimes were criticized for excessive straggling and desertion, lawlessness and looting and, in general, neglected mundane duties like picketing and patrolling in favor of raiding.

Wheeler also showed marked favoritism towards Brig. Gen. John A. Wharton’s division over Martin’s men.

Martin’s division suffered from some of Wheeler’s military decisions, particularly a raid into Middle Tennessee that left the Kentuckian’s cavalry with heavy losses and crippled livestock.

After the war, in a rare comment on his wartime experiences, Martin wrote an article for the Southern Historical Society Papers which defended Gen. Braxton Bragg at the 1863  Battle of McLemore’s Cove and added a scathing indictment of several of the other generals involved. Gen. Martin returned to Natchez when the war ended and spent another 40 years in service to the city and to Mississippi. He served as a state senator for 12 years and also served as president of the Natchez, Jackson & Columbus Railroad. Martin was graduated from Centre College in 1844 and was admitted to the bar in Mississippi, serving multiple terms as district attorney before the war. In 1855, he and his wife built the mansion Monteigne where he lived until his death in 1910. He’s buried in the Natchez City Cemetery.