William Hugh Young was born on January 1, 1838, in Boonville, Missouri, to Hugh and Frances Young. His father was a farmer who owned $9,500 of real estate and $14,000 of personal property by 1860. The family moved to Red River County, Texas, around 1840 and then to Grayson County, Texas, soon afterward. He attended Washington College in Tennessee, and he enrolled at the University of Virginia in 1860.

 

When the Civil War began, he left UVA to join the Confederate army. In late 1861, he received a commission as a captain in the 9^th Texas Infantry. He was promoted to colonel in early 1862, and he took part in the Battle of Shiloh, the Battle of Perryville, the Battle of Stones River, the Vicksburg campaign, the Battle of Chickamauga, and the Atlanta campaign. He was wounded multiple times: in the shoulder at Stones River; in the chest at Chickamauga, and in the neck at Kennesaw Mountain.

 

He was promoted to brigadier general in August 1864. He was wounded in the foot near Altoona, Georgia, in October 1864, and surgeons amputated the limb soon afterward. Union forces captured him and imprisoned him at Johnson’s Island in Ohio. He remained imprisoned until July 24, 1865.

 

He settled in San Antonio, Texas, after the war, and he married Frances Kemper around 1869. He earned a living as a lawyer, and he employed at least two Black domestic servants. He later organized the Nueces River Irrigation Company. He died in San Antonio on November 28, 1901.

 

Image: William H. Young (courtesy Wikicommons)

SOURCES