Leonidas Polk

Leonidas Polk
Polk in uniform, c. 1862
Nickname(s)	"Sewanee's Fighting Bishop", "Bishop Polk"
Born	(1806-04-10)April 10, 1806 Raleigh, North Carolina, US
Died	June 14, 1864(1864-06-14) (aged 58) Cobb County, Georgia, US
Place of burial	Christ Church Cathedral, New Orleans
Allegiance	United States  Confederate States
Service/branch	United States Army  Confederate States Army
Years of service	1827 (U.S.) 1861–1864 (C.S.)
Rank	Brevet Second Lieutenant (U.S.) Lieutenant-General (C.S.)
Commands held	First Corps, Army of Tennessee Army of Mississippi Third Corps, Army of Tennessee
Battles/wars	American Civil War Battle of Belmont Battle of Shiloh Battle of Perryville Battle of Stones River Battle of Chickamauga Atlanta Campaign Battle of Marietta †
Signature

The Right Reverend Leonidas Polk D.D.
Bishop of Louisiana
Church	Episcopal Church
Diocese	Louisiana
Elected	October 16, 1841
In office	1841–1864
Successor	Joseph Pere Bell Wilmer
Orders
Ordination	May 22, 1831 by Richard Channing Moore
Consecration	December 8, 1838 by William Meade

Lieutenant-General Leonidas Polk (April 10, 1806 – June 14, 1864) was an American Confederate military officer, a bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana and founder of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Confederate States of America, which separated from the Episcopal Church of the United States of America. He was a planter in Maury County, Tennessee, and a second cousin of President James K. Polk. He resigned his ecclesiastical position to become a major-general in the Confederate States Army, when he was called "Sewanee's Fighting Bishop". His official portrait at the University of the South depicts him as a bishop with his army uniform hanging nearby. He is often erroneously referred to as "Leonidas K. Polk" but he had no middle name and never signed any documents as such.

Polk was one of the war's more notable, yet controversial, political generals. Recognizing his familiarity with the Mississippi Valley, Confederate president Jefferson Davis commissioned his elevation to a high military position regardless of his lack of prior combat experience. He commanded troops in the Battle of Shiloh, the Battle of Perryville, the Battle of Stones River, the Tullahoma Campaign, the Battle of Chickamauga, the Chattanooga Campaign, and the Atlanta Campaign. He is remembered for his bitter disagreements with his immediate superior, the likewise-controversial General Braxton Bragg of the Army of Tennessee, and for his general lack of success in combat. While serving under the command of General Joseph E. Johnston, he was killed in action in 1864 during the Atlanta Campaign.