Edward Porter Alexander was one of only three Confederate officers to rise to the rank of general in the artillery branch.  Respected by some of the Confederacy’s most important commanders, Alexander would participate in nearly every major campaign in the eastern theatre, contributing substantially to the army’s greatest successes and sharing in its bitterest defeats.

Born in Washington, Georgia to Leopold and Sarah Gilbert Alexander, the future artillerist entered West Point during Robert E. Lee’s tenure as the academy’s superintendent.  Alexander graduated third of thirty-eight cadets in the class of 1857 and immediately accepted a commission as an engineer, a coveted position at that time.  His early assignments included teaching at West Point, weapons experiments, and, most notably, devising a flag signal system for the U.S. Army—a system that would later be used by both Union and Confederate forces in the coming war.

In 1861, upon learning of his home state’s secession, Alexander resigned from the Federal army and accepted a commission as Captain of Confederate engineers.  While organizing and training the new Confederate signal service, Alexander was ordered to report to General P. G. T. Beauregard and would serve as a signal officer in the First Battle of Manassas.

By the summer of 1863, Alexander’s reputation in the Army of Northern Virginia was unquestioned and it is likely for this reason that the young colonel played such a pivotal role in the Battle of Gettysburg.  Commanding the reserve artillery for Longstreet’s corps, Alexander’s guns lent support to Confederate assaults on July 2.  The following day, July 3, Alexander was assigned to command the Confederate artillery barrage that was to clear the way for Pickett’s Charge.  General Longstreet, whose doubts about the success of the charge would become legendary, placed upon Alexander the additional responsibility of telling Major General George Pickett when to commence the attack.  When Federal fire had slackened, Alexander reluctantly sent word to Pickett.  Unfortunately, Alexander’s barrage was less successful than hoped.  After the initial surprise of the barrage, many Union guns conserved their ammunition for the infantry attack they knew was coming.

In spite of the defeat at Gettysburg, Alexander would continue to serve with distinction for the duration of the war, ultimately becoming First Corps chief of Artillery.  In February of 1864, he was promoted to brigadier general and that spring saw action during Grant’s Overland Campaign.  During the siege of Petersburg, General Alexander suspected that the Federals were tunneling underneath the Confederate lines, a suspicion that would later be confirmed.  Before the plot could be foiled, however, Alexander was severely wounded by a Yankee sharpshooter.  He returned from his wound in time to supervise the defense of Richmond and the retreat to Appomattox.

After the war, Alexander served briefly as a professor of engineering before moving on to other business ventures, including one in the burgeoning railroad industry.  Like many veterans, he wrote about his wartime experience, and his memoir is considered one of the best contemporary analyses of the Army of Northern Virginia.  Edward Porter Alexander died in Savannah, Georgia in 1910.