Clement Hoffman Stevens: "Rock"

A Pre-War photograph of Clement Hoffman "Rock" Stevens

       Clement Hoffman Stevens was born in 1821 in Norwich, Connecticut. His father (a Southerner by birth) was serving in the United States Navy at the time. While a child, Stevens family moved to Florida. When the Seminole War began the family moved to Pendleton, South Carolina (his mother's place of origin) for a safer environment. Like his father, Stevens also joined the Navy and served under two officers that were relatives of his. He married the sister of future Confederate generals Barnard E. Bee and Hamilton P. Bee. 

       Stevens didn't remain in the Navy long before entering the banking business in Charleston, South Carolina. When the Civil War began, Stevens dove into military studies and became an expert on Civil War ordnance. He was already a colonel in the South Carolina Militia when the war began. Stevens built a battery in Charleston Harbor using railroad iron to protect his gunners. He then traveled with his brother-in-law Brigadier General Barnard E. Bee to Virginia where he served as a staff officer during the Battle of Manassas. His brother-in-law was killed during the fighting there while Stevens was seriously wounded. 

       He returned to Charleston and took command of a militia regiment. He and Ellison Capers raised the 24th South Carolina Infantry. Stevens would become their colonel and Ellison Capers was made his lieutenant colonel. Both men would become general officers by the end of the war. He led the regiment in the Battle of Secessionville where he stopped the Federal attack. He remained on the east coast for the next year. During the spring of 1863, his regiment was assigned to Brigadier General States Rights Gist's brigade and sent to Jackson, Mississippi to assist Joseph Johnston's army relieve besieged Vicksburg. Johnston failed to move in time to assist Pemberton and soon Vicksburg was forced to surrender. Gist's brigade was then sent to the Army of Tennessee and fought at the Battle of Chickamauga. A funny incident occurred before the battle. While the battle raged the first day, Gist's brigade was stranded in Rome, Georgia because a railroad engineer was sleeping. Stevens was so angry that he threatened to shoot the man. Stevens had two of his men fire the boilers of the locomotive and forced the engineer to drive them to the battlefield at gunpoint. 

       At Chickamauga, he was severely wounded again and had two horses killed beneath him. His division commander William H.T. Walker called him "iron-willed" and recommended him for promotion for his gallantry as a leader in combat. Colonel Clement Hoffman Stevens became Brigadier General Stevens in January of 1864. He was given command of W.H.T. Walker's old brigade when its new commander Brigadier General Claudius C. Wilson died of fever. His brigade participated in the Atlanta Campaign but saw limited action. General Stevens earned the nickname "Rock" at this time from his troops for his steadiness under fire. Stevens was upset at the replacement of Joseph E. Johnston before the engagements around Atlanta.

       In the first battle for Atlanta at Peachtree Creek, Stevens was leading his brigade on horseback in a charge against Federal breastworks. Sources conflict each other about whether he was hit by a bullet or artillery fire. Either way, he was struck in the head by a projectile that fractured his skull behind his jaw. While being carried from the field by two officers, they were also shot. Stevens was carried to Macon, Georgia where surgeons removed what they called a bullet and bits of bone. General Stevens died on July 25, 1864. He rests today in St. Paul's Episcopal Cemetery in Pendleton, South Carolina along with his brother-in-law General Barnard E. Bee. General Stevens was 42 years old. His wife Ann had died two years earlier and he left behind two sons. 

Grave of General Stevens