Moxley Sorrel

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Gilbert Moxley Sorrel (Savannah, February 23, 1838 – August 10, 1901, Savannah) was a Confederate Army officer and historian of the Confederacy.

He was the son of one of the wealthiest men in Savannah, Francis Sorrel. In 1861, Moxley left his job as a Savannah bank clerk, taking part in the Confederate capture of Fort Pulaski. He was a private in the Georgia Hussars.

With letters of introduction from Col. Jordan, from General Beaureguard's staff, and a friend of his father, he reported to General Longstreet at Manassas on July 21, 1861, serving as a volunteer aid-de-camp.

On September 11, 1861, Sorrel received his commission as Captain, and was assigned as General James Longstreet's chief of staff. He was promoted to Major on May 5, 1862, and Colonel on June 18, 1863. He served under Longstreet until October, 1864 when he was appointed Brigadier General. Sorrel commanded Sorrel's Brigade of Mahone's division at Petersburg and Hatcher's Run, being wounded in both battles.

After the Civil War, he returned to Savannah and was an executive for the Ocean Steamship Company, and served on the board of the Georgia Historical Society. When Robert E. Lee visited Savannah months before his death in 1870, Sorrel led the Savannah delegation, greeting General Lee at the train station, and escorting him around the city. Sorrel wrote "Recollections of a Confederate Staff Officer", which was published in 1905 after his death. Sorrel's book is considered one of the best accounts of the personalities of the major players in the Confederacy.

Moxley Sorrel died on August 10, 1901, and is buried in Laurel Grove Cemetery, Savannah, Ga. The Sorrel Weed House, where he grew up, is one of the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture in the United States. Designed in 1836 by Charles Clusky, it was one of the first two houses in Georgia to be designated a State landmark. The house is open to the public for tours in Savannah.

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