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Leonidas Polk (April 10, 1806 – June 14, 1864) was a Confederate Army general in the American Civil War. Prior to the war, Polk had been a planter in Maury County, Tennessee, and served as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana, which earned him the appropriate nickname The Fighting Bishop.
Polk was one of the more 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 successes in combat. He was killed in action in 1864 during the Atlanta Campaign.
He was a second cousin of US President James K. Polk.
Leonidas Polk in The Guns of the South[]
Leonidas Polk returned with the victorious Army of Tennessee at the end of the Second American Revolution. In August 1864, Polk and his corps participated in the triumphal procession of the Confederate States Army in Richmond, hosted by President Jefferson Davis himself.[1]
See also[]
- Leonidas the Priest, a character in The War Between the Provinces who is closely based on Polk.
- References to Historical Figures in Turtledove's Work, for additional minor references.
References[]
- ↑ The Guns of the South, p. 118.
| Religious titles (OTL) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by New diocese |
Episcopalian Bishop of Louisiana 1841-1864 |
Succeeded by Joseph Wilmer |
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