William C. Oates
| William C. Oates | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 29th Governor of Alabama | |
|
In office December 1, 1894 – December 1, 1896 |
|
| Preceded by | Thomas G. Jones |
| Succeeded by | Joseph F. Johnston |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Alabama's 3rd district |
|
|
In office March 4, 1881 – November 5, 1894 |
|
| Preceded by | William J. Samford |
| Succeeded by | George Paul Harrison, Jr. |
| Member of the Alabama House of Representatives | |
|
In office 1870-1872 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born |
November 30, 1835 Pike County, Alabama |
| Died | September 9, 1910 (aged 74) Montgomery, Alabama |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | |
| Service/branch |
|
| Years of service |
|
| Rank | |
| Commands |
|
| Battles/wars | |
William Calvin Oates (either November 30 or December 1, 1835 – September 9, 1910) was a Confederate colonel during the American Civil War, the 29th Governor of Alabama from 1894 to 1896, and a brigadier general in the U.S. Army during the Spanish–American War.
Oates was born in Pike County, Alabama, to William and Sarah (Sellers) Oates, a poor farming family. At the age of 17, he believed that he had killed a man in a violent brawl and left home for Florida. Oates became a drifter, settling in Texas for a couple of years before returning to Alabama at the urging of his younger brother John, who had been dispatched by the family to locate him. He studied law at the Lawrenceville Academy in Lawrenceville and passed the bar examination, and then opened a practice in Abbeville.
William C. Oates joined the Confederate States Army in July, 1861 and entered the army as Captain, 15th Alabama Infantry Regiment and eventually became the commander of the 15th Alabama infantry regiment in the spring of 1863. He fought in the Battle of Gettysburg, leading his troops in a series of charges on Little Round Top, where his brother John perished. This became one of Oates's significant memories of the war, as he believed that if his regiment had been able to take Little Round Top, the Army of Northern Virginia might have won the battle, and possibly marched on to take Washington, D.C. Oates later stated that if even a single additional Confederate regiment had joined the assault, the attack could have succeeded, turning the Union's flank and threatening the entire Army of the Potomac.
...
Wikipedia