On This Day in History April 10:

Bishop Polk


CSA General Polk

On this date 1806 Leonidas Polk Lieutenant General (Confederate Army), died in 1864 was born.

Leonidas Polk was killed near here. He was hit with a cannon ball. On June 14, 1864, the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain was about to happen. General William Tecumseh Sherman, looking through his telescope from a hill in Kennesaw was checking out Kennesaw mountain and the terrain in the area when he saw a group of Confederate officers on Pine Mountain, not far away. Sherman told his cannon crew standing near to blast a shot in their direction to get them to scatter They did and most of the officers did scatter. A couple remained. Sherman had the cannoneers to fire another shot to get them to scatter. They did and the cannon ball hit General Polk in the chest.

Before the Civil War Leonidas Polk was an Episcopal Bishop from the New Orleans area. He rose quickly to rank of general because he was a personal friend of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy.

That is what happens sometimes when someone rises in the ranks and get promotions because of connections – they miss out on details – like cannon balls are deadly.