Alfred Iverson Jr.
A Confederate general whose military legacy was defined by a single, catastrophic charge into a hidden Union line at Gettysburg.
1829–1911 (age 82)·Confederate Army officer in the American Civil War·Birthday: February 14
Biography
Alfred Iverson Jr. carried the mantle of a military family into the Civil War, but his story is a stark lesson in how one moment can unravel a career. A veteran of the Mexican-American War and a pre-war cavalry officer, he led a North Carolina infantry brigade into Pennsylvania in 1863. On Gettysburg's first day, under ambiguous orders, he sent his men forward across an open field toward Oak Ridge. Unbeknownst to Iverson, his brigade marched directly into a concealed Union position, which unleashed a devastating volley that cut down hundreds in minutes, with many falling in a neat, tragic line. The disaster broke Robert E. Lee's trust; Iverson was swiftly reassigned to lesser cavalry commands in Georgia. He later found modest redemption with a successful cavalry raid near Macon, but the shadow of that Pennsylvania field followed him forever, emblematic of the war's brutal cost and command's heavy burden.
#1 When Alfred Was Born
The biggest hits of 1829
Alfred's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1829Born
1834Started school
1842Became a teenager
1845Could drive
1847Could vote
1850Turned 21
1859Turned 30
1869Turned 40
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1879Turned 50
President: Rutherford B. Hayes
1889Turned 60
Eiffel Tower opens in Paris
President: Benjamin Harrison
1899Turned 70
President: William McKinley
1909Turned 80
Robert Peary claims to reach the North Pole
President: William Howard Taft
1911Died at 82
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire kills 146 in New York
President: William Howard Taft
Key Achievements
- Commanded a brigade in the Army of Northern Virginia during the 1862-63 campaigns, including at Chancellorsville.
- Led a successful cavalry operation near Macon, Georgia, in 1864, capturing Union Major General George Stoneman and hundreds of his troops.
- Served as a colonel of the 20th North Carolina Infantry, which he helped raise and train at the war's outset.
Did You Know?
His father, Alfred Iverson Sr., was a U.S. Senator from Georgia and a staunch secessionist.
The site of his brigade's devastation at Gettysburg is still known as 'Iverson's Pits.'
After the war, he worked as a railroad contractor and a special agent for the Interior Department in Atlanta.
He is buried in Atlanta's Oakland Cemetery.
“My brigade was shattered in that damned railroad cut; I could do nothing.”
