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D” is for Dunovant, John (1825-1864)

“D” is for Dunovant, John (1825-1864). Soldier. Dunovant was born in Chester and fought in the Mexican War as a sergeant in the famed Palmetto Regiment. In 1855 he was commissioned a captain in the regular United States Army. Dunovant resigned his commission in early 1861 and was appointed a major in the South Carolina volunteers. In August 1862 he was court-martialed for drunkenness and cashiered. Soon after being run out of the service, Dunovant was returned to duty as a colonel of the Fifth South Carolina cavalry. In Virginia the Fifth S. C. saw action in some of the grittiest fighting of the war. Dunovant earned high praise for his efforts at places such as Drewry’s Bluff, Trevilian Station, and Cold Harbor. John Dunovant was killed in action during a cavalry charge near Petersburg.

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Dr. Walter Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. Dr. Edgar received his B.A. degree from Davidson College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1969. After two years in the army (including a tour of duty in Vietnam), he returned to USC as a post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives, assigned to the Papers of Henry Laurens.