Edward Alfred Brevard Cantey

He applied for admission to the US Military Academy at West Point in January 1853, and was recommended by his congressman William W Boyce, but was not appointed and did not attend. On 10 July 1861 he was commissioned Captain of Company E, 9th South Carolina Infantry. He transferred to the 6th Infantry when that unit was reorganized and merged with the 9th Infantry in April 1862, and was appointed Captain of the new Company C.

He took command of the regiment from Lieutenant Colonel Steedman as next-most senior officer present sometime after 14 September and led it at Sharpsburg on 17 September 1862. He was severely wounded there by 4 gunshots to his legs: in the lower left thigh, middle right thigh, the back of his right upper leg, and lower right leg, shattering his fibula.

He was on furlough and sick leave recovering from his wounds to July 1863, when he was certified disabled for field service. The following month he was commissioned Major and Commissary of Subsistence, CSA and assigned to the staff of General James Cantey, who commanded a Brigade in the Army of Tennessee.

He was a planter and insurance agent in Camden, SC, and served as County Treasurer.

Service from the Park Service's Soldiers and Sailors Database and his Compiled Service Records. His Maryland Campaign command from Carman.1 The West Point detail from Military Academy Cadet Application Papers, 1805-1908 (NARA M688), online from fold3 but mis-indexed under Cantry. Further details from William G. Felder's Soldiers from Kershaw County (2016), which quotes documents from the Camden Archives and Museum, and Krick.2 Personal details from family genealogists. His gravesite is on Findagrave.

He apparently omitted the Alfred in his name on most occasions. He married Mary Whitaker Boykin (1843-1910) in December 1862 and they had 9 children together. His brother Richard Manning Cantey (1833-1897) was also in Company E of the 9th SC Infantry and was 2nd Lieutenant of Company C of the 6th Infantry after the merge in April 1862. He succeeded his brother as Captain in August 1863.

His wartime uniform frock coat is in the collection of the South Carolina Relic Room and Museum in Columbia, SC and is undergoing restoration and preservation (2018), thanks to the Artist Preservation Group. They also plan to work on his father's bicorn militia hat (2019).

05/28/1836; Hobkirk Hill, Camden, SC

04/01/1916; in SC; burial in Quaker Cemetery, Camden, SC