Lafayette McLaws (/ləˈfeɪ.ɛt/ lə-FAY-et;[1] January 15, 1821 – July 24, 1897) was a United States Army officer and a Confederate general in the American Civil War.

He served at Antietam and Fredericksburg, where Robert E. Lee praised his defense of Marye's Heights, and at Gettysburg, where his division made successful assaults through the Peach Orchard and Wheatfield, but was unable to dislodge Union forces from Cemetery Ridge.

Finally, he was sent to his native Georgia to resist Sherman's March to the Sea but retreated through the Carolinas, losing many men through desertion, and was presumed to have surrendered with Joseph E. Johnston in April 1865.

McLaws remained bitter about his court-martial, especially since the charges had been filed by James Longstreet, his friend and classmate at West Point, with whom he had served for years.

He did accomplish this, but Lee was disappointed that McLaws had not attacked more aggressively and caused more harm to Sedgwick's corps instead of letting him escape across the Rappahannock River.

When Lee reorganized his army to compensate for Jackson's mortal wounding at Chancellorsville, Longstreet recommended his subordinate for one of the two new corps commands.

On the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, July 2, 1863, McLaws commanded the second division to step off in Longstreet's massive assault on the Union left flank.

He achieved great success (at a high cost in lives) in the areas known as the Wheatfield and the Peach Orchard, but the army as a whole was unable to dislodge the Union forces from their positions on Cemetery Ridge.

In the Knoxville Campaign later in 1863, Longstreet relieved McLaws due to the failure of the attack on Fort Sanders, citing "a want of confidence in the efforts and plans which the Cmdg Genl has thought proper to adopt.

"[5] In a letter addressed to Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General Samuel Cooper on December 30, Longstreet submitted three charges of "neglect of duty"; however, he did not request a court-martial because McLaws's "services might be important to the Government in some other position."

[8] McLaws left the First Corps, and since Lee would not accept him for command in Virginia, he proceeded to Savannah, which he could not defend successfully against Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's March to the Sea in late 1864.

In the aftermath of these battles, McLaws had problems with the discipline of his division, holding multiple roll calls daily to prevent desertion and looting.

[2] After the war, McLaws worked in the insurance business, was a tax collector for the IRS, served as Savannah's postmaster in 1875-76,[2] and was active in Confederate veterans' organizations.