Killed at Kelly's Ford, Va. in 1863

(1838-63) The son of an Alabama planter, he resigned from West Point 2 weeks before graduation in April 1861 to join the Confederate army. At 1st Manassas he demonstrated consummate gunnery skill on Henry Hill and upon the recommendation of General Joseph E. Johnston was promoted to captain and assigned to the command of General J.E.B. Stuart's horse artillery. Pelham fought in over 60 engagements in his brief career and refined the concept of the "flying battery." At the battles of Williamsburg, the Seven Days, Malvern Hill, Groveton, 2nd Manassas, Sharpsburg and Fredericksburg his men and guns won the respect of his superiors and earned him the sobriquet, "The Gallant Pelham," from none other than General Robert E. Lee himself. Following 2nd Manassas he was promoted to major. His contribution to Confederate folklore was just as great. Loved by his men, and noted for his extreme youth and courage, he became a contemporary hero. On March 17, 1863, away from his troops on personal business, he joined General Stuart in observing the cavalry engagement at Kelly's Ford, Va. With youthful impetuosity and zeal he joined in a charge with the 3rd Virginia Cavalry and was struck in the neck by a piece of an exploding shell, and was taken to the Culpeper home of his fiancee, Bessie Shackelford, where he died the same day. A grieving Stuart ordered Pelham's body laid in state at the George Washington monument in Richmond. His loss was a terrible blow to the Confederacy.

Wet plate, albumen carte de visite photograph. Chest up view in Confederate uniform. No imprint. Rare.