Matt Whitaker Ransom

(1826 - 1904)
Home State: North Carolina
Command Billet: Commanding Regiment
Branch of Service: Infantry
Unit: 35th North Carolina Infantry

Before the Antietam Campaign:
Lawyer, politician. North Carolina state attorney general, 1853-55; member of North Carolina house of commons, 1858-60.

In 1861 he enlisted as a Private in the 1st North Carolina Regiment, and was elected LCol. He was on the Peninsula campaign, at the Seven Days, and at Malvern Hill (wounded). In April 1862 he was appointed Colonel of the 35th North Carolina Regiment, in Ransom's (his younger brother's) brigade.

In the Antietam Campaign:
He led the 35th NC in Ransom's Brigade in Walker's Division in Longstreet's Command.

The remainder of the War:
He continued at the head of his Regiment at Fredericksburg, and in June 1863 was promoted to BGen. succeeding his brother in command of his brigade. He commanded the Brigade at Plymouth, Weldon, Suffolk, Petersburg, Second Drewry's Bluff (wounded), Fort Stedman, Five Forks, and Appomattox.

After the War:
He was again a lawyer, farmer, politician, US Senator (1872 - 1895), and Minister to Mexico (1895-97).

Birth Date: 10/8/1826    Place of Birth: Warren County, NC
College: University of North Carolina    Graduating Year: 1847
Death Date: 10/08/1904    Death Place: near Garysburg, NC    Burial Place: family plot, Halifax County, NC

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