CDV of Confederate General John Echols with Anthony Backmark

Sharp CDV of Confederate General John Echols with Anthony Backmark!
 
John Echols was born on March 20, 1823, in Lynchburg, Virginia, and educated at Virginia Military Institute, Washington College, and Harvard. He began practicing law in Staunton, quickly gaining recognition.
 
A commanding figure at 6'4", Echols entered Confederate service in 1861, commissioned as lieutenant-colonel and tasked by General Lee with mustering volunteers. He commanded the 27th Virginia at First Manassas and later served under Stonewall Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley. Wounded at Kernstown in March 1862, he was promoted to brigadier-general the following month.
Echols led a brigade in the Kanawha Valley campaign and succeeded General Loring in command of the Department of Western Virginia. He fought at Droop Mountain in 1863 and commanded the right wing at New Market in 1864. Later that year, he joined Lee's army at Cold Harbor and was assigned to command Southwestern Virginia. In April 1865, he marched to join Lee but learned of the surrender at Appomattox en route.
 
After the war, Echols resumed law in Staunton and played a role in Virginia’s political reintegration, serving in the legislature and on the committee of nine. He later became president of the Staunton National Valley Bank and managed the Chesapeake, Ohio & Southwestern Railroad, living his final years in Kentucky. Echols died May 24, 1896, in Staunton and is buried at Thornrose Cemetery.