Biography of General William Whedbee Kirkland

Third Corps general William Kirkland had the distinction of fighting in many battles in both the Eastern and Western theater.

A "Tarheel" by birth, Kirkland was born at "Ayrmont" in Hillsboro on February 13, 1833. Appointed to West Point in 1852, he did not graduate. Nevertheless, he was directly commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1855. He resigned in 1860. Early in June 1861, he was elected colonel of the 21st North Carolina Infantry. He led the regiment at First Manassas and in Jackson's Valley Campaign.

Kirkland was badly wounded at the battle of First Winchester, shot through the thighs. This resulted in his incapacity for months.

While still recuperating, he acted as chief of staff to General Patrick Cleburne during the battle of Murfreesboro in December 1862. Kirkland rejoined his regiment on the march into Pennsylvania for the Gettysburg Campaign and fought there gallantly. He was promoted to general to rank from August 29, 1863 and given command of a brigade. He was wounded yet again at Bristoe Station in October when his left arm was fractured by a bullet. Returning to the Army, he fought through the Overland Campaign, he was again badly wounded at Cold Harbor on June 2 when a rifle ball struck him in the right thigh. He was able to return to the Army by the end of August and was assigned to command of a brigade in Hoke's Division under Longstreet. He was ordered to North Carolina in December and took part in both assaults on Fort Fisher, finally ending up surrendering with Joseph Johnston at Bentonville.

After the War, Kirkland settled in Savannah, Georgia where he worked in the commission business. He later moved to New York and worked for the post office there. An invalid by the end of the century, he spent the last years of his life in a soldier's home in Washington, D.C.. General Kirkland died on May 12, 1915 and was buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. His daughter Bess became famous on the Broadway stage under the name "Odette Tyler."