John Bowie Magruder

John Bowie Magruder

John Bowie Magruder (November 10, 1839 – July 1863) was a Confederate Army officer from Albemarle County, Virginia. He was mortally wounded while leading the 57th Virginia Infantry during Pickett’s Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg and died shortly thereafter at the age of 23.

Magruder was born on November 10, 1839, in Scottsville, Albemarle County, Virginia, the eldest son of Benjamin Henry Magruder and Maria Louisa (Minor) Magruder. He attended the Albemarle Military Academy and later enrolled at the University of Virginia, where he studied from 1856 to 1860 and received a master’s degree.

In the spring of 1861, Magruder completed a special three-month course in military science and tactics at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in Lexington. He formally entered VMI’s Military Science School on May 14, 1861, but resigned on June 13, 1861, to join the Confederate States Army.

After leaving VMI, Magruder raised a volunteer company in Albemarle County known as the Rivanna Guards. As captain, he led the company to Richmond in June 1861, where it was mustered into Confederate service as part of the 57th Regiment under Colonel Lewis A. Armistead. Following the Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862, Magruder was promoted to the rank of colonel.

On July 3, 1863, during Pickett’s Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg, Magruder was mortally wounded in the chest while leading his regiment. He was carried to a field hospital near the battlefield, where he died on or about July 5, 1863.

In October 1863, Magruder’s body was transported to Richmond under a flag of truce by members of his fraternity, Epsilon Alpha, and later interred at "Glenmore" in Albemarle County. A cenotaph in his memory stands at Maplewood Cemetery in the Magruder family section.