P. G. T. Beauregard

P. G. T. Beauregard was a Louisiana-born Confederate general and military engineer in the American Civil War. He commanded the forces that fired on Fort Sumter in April 1861 and helped direct the Confederate victory at the First Battle of Bull Run.

Beauregard later held major commands in the western theatre and in the defence of Charleston and Petersburg. His strained relationships with Confederate president Jefferson Davis limited his influence, but his engineering skill and early prominence made him one of the best-known Confederate generals.

Captivating History’s The Battle of Fort Sumter places P. G. T. Beauregard in command of the Confederate forces that opened fire on the federal fort in April 1861. Erik Larson’s The Demon of Unrest reconstructs the same secession crisis through Beauregard, Lincoln, Jefferson Davis and observers in Charleston, showing how personal decisions and political signalling became war. Hourly History’s First Battle of Bull Run follows Beauregard into the first major land battle, where his command was joined by Joseph E. Johnston’s arriving forces. Battle of Shiloh examines the later western battle in which Beauregard assumed Confederate command after Albert Sidney Johnston was killed. Jeff Shaara’s A Blaze of Glory dramatizes Shiloh from multiple viewpoints and brings Beauregard into the command crisis created by Johnston’s death.