John B. Magruder

Who was John B. Magruder?

John Bankhead Magruder was a career military officer who served in the armies of three nations. He was a U.S. Army officer in the Mexican-American War, a Confederate general during the American Civil War, and a postbellum general in the Imperial Mexican Army. Known as "Prince John" to his army friends, Magruder was most noted for his actions in delaying Federal troops during the 1862 Peninsula Campaign through elaborate ruses that gave Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan the impression that the Confederates had more forces than in actuality, and in successfully defending Galveston, Texas, against the Union Army and Navy early in 1863.