People of the Civil War · Confederacy
Gideon J. Pillow
1806–1878
Background
Tennessee lawyer, politician, Mexican–American War general, and Confederate brigadier general who directed the Fort Donelson breakout attack.
Law and politics
Pillow grew up in Tennessee and graduated from the University of Nashville in 1827. He became a successful lawyer, a wealthy planter, and a close political ally of James K. Polk. He also held a senior position in the Tennessee militia.
Military career
Pillow served as a general in the Mexican–American War and later helped organize Tennessee’s Confederate forces. His Confederate career combined field commands with recruiting duties, and his conduct repeatedly brought him into conflict with other officers.
After the war
Much of Pillow’s wealth was lost during the war. He resumed practicing law in Memphis with Isham G. Harris and died during the city’s yellow-fever epidemic in 1878.