During the Atlanta Campaign, he achieved a notable success in a cavalry action near Macon, Georgia, capturing Union Army Maj. Gen. George Stoneman and hundreds of his men.

He was the son of Alfred Iverson Sr., United States Senator for Georgia and a fierce proponent of secession, and Caroline Goode Holt.

[1] At the start of the Civil War, Iverson resigned from the U.S. Army and received a commission from his father's old friend, Confederate President Jefferson Davis, as colonel of the 20th North Carolina Infantry, a unit he played a strong role in recruiting.

He distinguished himself at the Battle of Gaines's Mill, in the division commanded by Maj. Gen. D.H. Hill, by leading the only successful regiment of the five that were assigned to capture a Union artillery battery.

"Stonewall" Jackson's famous flanking march, suffering heavy casualties (including Iverson himself, wounded in the groin by a spent shell), but managed to get less credit and notice than two other brigades in the line.

His reasonable performance at Gaines's Mill the previous year forgotten, rumors swirled that he had achieved his command only by family political influence.

[2] The nadir of Iverson's career was at the Battle of Gettysburg, where on July 1, 1863, his brigade of North Carolinians unknowingly marched into an ambush to the northwest of town.

As the Confederates approached within 50 to 100 yards of the wall, the Union soldiers opened fire, hitting at least 500 men, felling them almost in parade-ground alignment.

[10] (The men were later buried in shallow graves on this spot on Oak Ridge, which is known to locals as Iverson's Pits, and is a favorite site for believers in the supernatural.)

[12] During the retreat from Gettysburg, Iverson's brigade fought credibly against Union cavalry in Hagerstown, Maryland, but Gen. Robert E. Lee wanted nothing more to do with the tarnished officer.

[13] At Williamsport, Maryland, Lee assigned Iverson as temporary provost marshal, which removed him from combat command, reassigning his men to another brigade.

[14] He was removed altogether from the Army of Northern Virginia in October 1863, ordered back to Georgia to replace Maj. Gen. Henry R. Jackson in command of the state forces, headquartered at Rome.

He spent several months reorganizing the Georgia troops in preparation for the defense of the state against Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's Atlanta Campaign.