Leonidas Polk
Military Person
1806 – 1864
Who was Leonidas Polk?
Leonidas Polk was a Confederate general in the American Civil War who was once a planter in Maury County, Tennessee, and a second cousin of President James K. Polk. He also served as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana and was for that reason known as Sewanee's Fighting Bishop.
He is often erroneously named "Leonidas K. Polk." He had no middle name and never signed any documents as such. The errant "K" was derived from his listing in the post-bellum New Orleans press as "Polk, Leon." for killed in action.
Polk was one of the more successful, yet controversial political generals of the war, elevated to a high military position with no prior combat experience because of his friendship with Confederate President Jefferson Davis. He fought as a corps commander in many of the major battles of the Western Theater, but is remembered more for his bitter disagreements with his immediate superior, Gen. Braxton Bragg of the Army of Tennessee, than for his success in combat. While serving under the command of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, he was killed in action in 1864 during the Atlanta Campaign.
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- Born
- Apr 10, 1806
Raleigh - Also known as
- Полк, Леонидас
- Children
- Nationality
- United States of America
- Confederate States of America
- Education
- United States Military Academy
- Died
- Jun 14, 1864
Cobb County
Submitted
on July 23, 2013
Citation
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"Leonidas Polk." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 7 May 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/leonidas_polk>.
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