J. P. Renwick was born on November 12, 1838; a native of La Grange, Georgia, he attended and graduated from the Kentucky Military Institute in Frankfort. He enlisted in the 3rd Louisiana Infantry in May 1861 at New Orleans and became the regiment’s sergeant major.

The 3rd Louisiana Infantry was part of General Benjamin McCulloch’s Confederate brigade during the Wilson’s Creek Campaign. On the morning of August 10, 1861, General Nathaniel Lyon launched a surprise attack on McCulloch’s army along Wilson’s Creek, about ten miles southwest of Springfield. Recovering quickly, McCulloch sent the 3rd Louisiana to the Ray Cornfield to halt the advance of a battalion of U. S. Regulars. During the early stages of that action, Renwick was killed, becoming the first member of the 3rd Louisiana to die in the war.

Renwick is wearing his Kentucky Military Institute uniform. The following is inscribed on the bottom of the photograph:

“Your sincere friend & college mate
J. P. Renwick
La Grange, Ga.
3rd Louisiana”

Albumen by Unknown Photographer

Image Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 30835