Major General DABNEYHERNDON Maury ( )

As a young man, Dabney Herndon Maury graduated from the University of Virginia in 1842. He prosecuted law in Fredericksburg under Judge John T. Lomax. Determining that law was not to his liking, he received an appointmetn to West Point where he graduated in 1848.

During the war with Mexico Dabney suffered a severe wound on April 17, 1847 at the Battle of Cerro Gordo and almost lost his arm. In acknowledgment of his bravery, the citizens of Fredericksburg and the Legislature of Virginia honored him with a special presentation sword. On March 10, 1852 he married Nannie Mason, whom he had met at "Warrenton Springs", a favorite resort prior to the Mexican-American War. In 1858, Maury commanded the cavalry school at Carlisle Barracks, PA. where he authored a tactics manual "Skirmish Drill for Mounted Troops" which was still in use 41 years later at his death.

After the firing upon Ford Sumter in 1861, Maury resigned his position in the US Army and entered Confederate service, first in staff positions within his native state. Then in February, 1862, Maury was promoted to Colonel and sen to Arkansas to be Chief of Staff under General Earl Van Dorn. He was praised by Van Dorn for his conduct during the Battle of Pea Ridge, March 7-8, 1862 adn promoted to Brigadier General.

After leading a brigade in the Battles of Luka and Sorinth, Mississippi in the fall of 1862, Maury was promoted to Major General. Maury commanded a division in the operations around Vicksburg, Mississippi, and was noted later for his tenacious defense of Mobile, Alabama.

After the war, Maury returned to Fredericksburg where he established an academy to teach classical literature and mathematics. He also organized the Southern Historical Society, and was appointmed the US Ambassador to Colombia by President Grover Cleveland.

Major General Dabney Maury died at his son's home in Illinois and was brought back to Fredericksburg where he was laid to here in the Confederate cemetery.