Levin Major Lewis

Who was Levin Major Lewis?

Levin Major Lewis was a Confederate States Army colonel during the American Civil War. On May 16, 1865, he was assigned to duty as a brigadier general by General E. Kirby Smith when the war even in the Trans-Mississippi Department was almost over, but he was not officially appointed by Confederate President Jefferson Davis and confirmed by the Confederate Senate to that rank.

At about age 22, Lewis moved to Missouri and briefly practiced law before becoming a Methodist minister. He was principal of Plattsburg College from 1856 to 1859. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he organized a company of the pro-Confederate Missouri State Guard and was elected captain. In April 1861, he was elected colonel of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment of the 5th Division of the Missouri State Guard, a one-year regiment. After the end of the regiment's term, he was briefly an aide-de-camp for Major General Earl Van Dorn and then was elected a captain of the Confederate 7th Missouri Infantry. He was wounded four times at the Battle of Lone Jack, Missouri on August 16, 1862. The regiment soon was broken up and Lewis became a major of another 7th Missouri Infantry, later designated the 16th Missouri Infantry.