Beauregard, Pierre Gustave Toutant, << BOH ruh `gahrd, pyair goos TAV too TAHN` >> (1818-1893), was a Confederate general during the American Civil War (1861-1865). He directed the bombardment of Fort Sumter, South Carolina, that started the war. His forces helped win the first Battle of Bull Run (also called Manassas), Virginia, in 1861. In 1862, he assumed command of the Confederate Army in the Battle of Shiloh (Pittsburg Landing), Virginia, after the death of General Albert S. Johnston. Beauregard defended the coasts of North and South Carolina and Georgia against naval attacks and fought at the battle for Petersburg, Virginia, in 1864.
Beauregard was born on May 28, 1818, near New Orleans, Louisiana. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1838. He fought gallantly in the Mexican War (1846-1848). He served as chief Army engineer in New Orleans from 1858 to 1861. Then he joined the Confederate Army and soon rose to the rank of full general. After the war, he became president of the New Orleans, Jackson, and Mississippi Railroad. He died on Feb. 20, 1893.
