Brig Gen. Ellison Capers became a minister after the war

A look at some who played a role in the bombardment of Fort Sumter -

Brig Gen. Ellison Capers

A Charleston native and Citadel graduate, Capers as an officer at Sumter and, later, the Battle of Secessionville, South Carolina’s largest land battle. Rising to the rank of brigadier general, he took part in the Vicksburg and Chickamauga campaigns, and the disastrous Battle of Franklin, Tenn. Afterward, he was given command of a brigade formerly commanded by fellow South Carolinian States Rights Gist, who had been killed. Capers was captured at Bentonville, N.C., at war’s end. After the war, he was an Episcopalian bishop, chancellor of USC, and chaplain general of the United Confederate Veterans, known for commemorating the Lost Cause. After the war, he also was elected secretary of state for South Carolina and, from 1904-08, was chancellor of the University of the South at Sewanee, Tenn. He died in Columbia and is buried there at Trinity Episcopal. Capers Hall at The Citadel is named in his honor.

This story was originally published January 19, 2011 at 5:19 PM with the headline "Brig Gen. Ellison Capers became a minister after the war."