(Columbus, Georgia). Shortly before his death, Semmes told a war correspondent, "I consider it a privilege to die for my country." The last letter that he wrote to his wife may be seen in the online collection of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. General Robert E. Lee lamented Semmes's untimely loss, writing that he "died as he had lived, discharging the highest duty of a patriot with devotion that never faltered and courage that shrank from no danger." See also List of American Civil War generals (Confederate) Notes References Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . Evans, Clement A., ed. Confederate Military History: A Library of Confederate States History. 12 vols. Atlanta: Confederate Publishing Company, 1899. . Sifakis, Stewart. Who Was Who in the Civil War. New York: Facts On File, 1988. . Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. . Smith, Gordon Burns, History of the Georgia Militia, 1783-1861, Volume One, Campaigns and Generals, Milledgeville: Boyd Publishing, 2000. ASIN:B003L1PRKI. Further reading Pfanz, Harry W. Gettysburg – The Second Day. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1987. . Keehn, David C. "Knights of the Golden Circle". Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2013. * Machowski & White "Chancellorsville's Forgotten Front" El Dorado Hills Savas Beatie , External links Sheet music for a Requiem in Honor of Paul J. Semmes The burial of Paul J. Semmes 1815 births 1863 deaths People from Columbus, Georgia Confederate States Army brigadier generals People of Georgia (U.S. state) in the American Civil War Confederate States of America military personnel killed in the American Civil War