Confederate Brig. Gen. Robert Selden Garnett (1819–1861) was a veteran of the Mexican War and regular U.S. Army officer until he resigned his commission to join Virginia’s Provisional Army in April 1861. When he was mortally wounded directing his men across Corrick’s Ford on July 13, 1861, he became the first general officer to die in combat in the Civil War.
For many years, photos of Robert S. Garnett were often mistaken for those of his more famous cousin, Richard Brooke Garnett (1817-1863), who was killed in Pickett’s Charge during the Battle of Gettysburg. The existing images and illustrations (at least available online) leave something to be desired. Like many early-war Confederate officers who didn’t go on to win fame, these images are grainy and low resolution.
I hired an illustrator to draw a portrait of Col. George A. Porterfield and was so happy with the result, I asked him to illustrate Garnett as well. Here are the results:
What do you think? Do you like this style of illustration? Would you like to see more military portraits like this? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
Spirit of '61 
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