Dabney H. Maury

Dabney Herndon Maury was born on May 21, 1822, in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He descended from prominent Virginia families, including Brooke and Minor, as well as Huguenot émigrés such as the Fontaines and Maurys. His father was Naval Lieutenant John Minor Maury, who died of yellow fever in the West Indies when Dabney was two years old. Following his father's death, Maury was raised by his uncle, Matthew Fontaine Maury, notable as "Father of Modern Oceanography and Naval Meteorology."

He pursued legal studies in Fredericksburg and graduated from the University of Virginia in 1841. He further completed his military education at the United States Military Academy, graduating in 1846. Maury was brevetted as a second lieutenant in the Regiment of Mounted Rifles upon his graduation.

Maury's military service included participation in the Mexican–American War, notably at the Battle of Cerro Gordo, where he sustained a painful wound that nearly necessitated the amputation of his arm. After this injury, he was sent home for recovery and was brevetted to first lieutenant in recognition of his bravery. His participation in the battle earned him a special presentation sword from the citizens of Fredericksburg and the Virginia legislature.

During his convalescence at White Sulphur Springs, Maury resumed his career as an instructor at the United States Military Academy, serving from 1847 until 1852. On March 10, 1852, he married Nannie Rose Mason in Stafford County, Virginia. Following his marriage, Maury returned to field duty with the Mounted Rifles, serving in the Oregon Territory and later on the Texas frontier.

In 1858, Maury commanded the Cavalry School at Carlisle Barracks and authored a military textbook, *Tactics for Mounted Rifles*, which became a standard reference. He also wrote *Recollections of a Virginian in the Indian, Mexican, and the Civil Wars*.

At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Maury was serving as Assistant Adjutant General in the New Mexico Territory, based in Santa Fe. Upon hearing of the attack on Fort Sumter, he resigned from the United States Army and returned to Virginia. He then joined the Confederate Army as a colonel, serving initially as Adjutant General and later as Chief of Staff under General Earl Van Dorn.

Following the Battle of Pea Ridge, Maury was promoted to brigadier general and was assigned to field command. He commanded a division at the Second Battle of Corinth and was promoted to major general in November 1862. Throughout the war, he participated in operations around Vicksburg, Mississippi, and in the defense of Mobile, Alabama, where he commanded the Department of the Gulf.

After the Civil War ended, Maury returned to Virginia, establishing an academy in Fredericksburg dedicated to classical literature and mathematics. He later moved to New Orleans, where a business endeavor failed, prompting his return to Virginia. In 1868, Maury organized the Southern Historical Society in Richmond, which produced a series of 52 volumes covering Southern history and genealogies over two decades.

In 1878, two years after the death of his wife, Maury initiated efforts to reorganize the National Militia. He also authored *Skirmish Drill for Mounted Troops* in 1886. Between 1887 and 1889, Maury served as the U.S. Minister to Colombia, appointed by President Grover Cleveland.

Dabney Herndon Maury died on January 11, 1900, at the home of his son, Dabney Herndon Maury Jr., in Peoria, Illinois. His remains were interred in the Confederate section of the city cemetery in Fredericksburg, Virginia.