The Resume

(September 10, 1836-January 25, 1906)
Born in Augusta, Georgia
Senior cavalry general in the Confederate Army of Tennessee during the US Civil War
US Representative from Alabama (1881-83,1885-1900)
Major general of volunteers during the Spanish-American War (1898) and Philippine-American War (1898-1900)
Commissioned as a brigadier general in the regular US Army (1900)

Why he might be annoying:

He graduated from West Point a less than impressive 19th in a class of 22.
During the Civil War, he had a running feud with fellow cavalry leader Nathan Bedford Forrest.
In a post-Civil War speech, he claimed the North was responsible for slavery: 'When the people of the South settled on the shores of Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia, they had no intention of encouraging or even tolerating the institution of slavery. The thrifty New England seamen, solely with the view of profit, urged slavery upon all the Colonies.' (Never mind the minor detail that the settlers of Jamestown, Virginia, imported their first slaves a year before the first New England colony was founded.)
During the Battle of Las Guasimas in the Spanish-American War, he tried to rally the troops by shouting, 'Let's go, boys! We've got the damn Yankees on the run!'

Why he might not be annoying:

His manual 'Cavalry Tactics' became the standard for the Confederate army.
During the Civil War, he was wounded three times and had 16 horses shot from under him.
He was the only Confederate general to later attain the same rank in the US Army.
He fell seriously ill while in Cuba during the Spanish-American War, but left his sickbed to lead his division during the Battle of San Juan Hill.
His youngest son Thomas, while serving as a midshipman, drowned trying to rescue a fellow sailor (1898).

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• Breeders [Have 5 or More Kids] (Ranked: 7)
• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 50]
• Generals and Admirals
• I Attended West Point
• I Died in 1906 (Ranked: 69)
• I Named My Kid After Myself
• I Outlived My Child
• I Took a Bullet
• I'm Buried at Arlington National Cemetery [Virginia]
• National Statuary Hall Collection at the US Capitol (Ranked: 1)
• Profiles 34751-35000 (Ranked: 34893)
• Served in the American Civil War [1861-65]
• U.S. Congressional Representatives

Year In Review:

For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 14 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 20 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 7 Votes: 42.86% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 9 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 14 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying