Gen. Lloyd Tilghman
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Historical Marker #1043 in McCracken County remembers Confederate General Lloyd Tilghman.
Tilghman was born in Maryland on January 26, 1818. At age fifteen, he entered the United States Military Academy at West Point and graduated five years later. Shortly thereafter, however, he resigned his post and became a civil engineer for the blossoming American railroad system. Tilghman married Augusta Murray Boyd in 1843. Three years later, when war broke out with Mexico, he rejoined the army. By the end of the Mexican-American War he had reached the rank of captain.
The Tilghman family moved to Paducah, Kentucky, in 1852, where Lloyd worked on railways in Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas. When the Civil War erupted, Tilghman went to Tennessee and joined the Confederate army. On October 5, 1861, Tilghman was commissioned colonel of the Third Kentucky Infantry Regiment. He became a brigadier general at Fort Henry just in time to surrender to Union forces there in February 1862.
Despite the loss, Confederate President Jefferson Davis wrote of General Tilghman that none "more heroically, more patriotically, more singly served his country than Tilghman at Fort Henry." Tilghman, captured after the surrender, was released in a prisoner exchange in July. He was then assigned to Mississippi.
During the spring of 1863, Tilghman was actively involved in the Vicksburg Campaign. While commanding Confederate cannon, Tilghman was mortally wounded by an artillery shell. His body was escorted off of the battlefield by his son and aide, Lloyd Tilghman, Jr.
Tilghman was buried in Vicksburg. In 1902, his two remaining sons moved the general's body to New York City, where he was buried next to his wife.
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Fort Henry
General Lloyd Tilghman was captured at Fort Henry by Union Forces and as a prisoner of war for several months until his release in a prisoner exchange. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
The Seize at Vicksburg
After being released as a prisoner of war, General Tilghman was assigned to Mississippi. He would be mortally wounded by a shell at the Battle of Vicksburg. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Paducah Tilghman High School
Paducah Tilghman High School in McCracken County is named in honor of the Tilghman family who moved to Paducah in 1852. Courtesy of the University of Kentucky.