Raleigh Edward Colston was a Confederate officer during the American Civil War (1861–1865). Born in Paris, France, Colston attended the Virginia Military Institute (1843–1846) and after graduation taught at his alma mater. In December 1859 Colston served as adjutant of the VMI detachment sent to Charles Town to supervise the hanging of John Brown. Throughout the war Colston commanded several different regiments, brigades, and districts, and rose in the Confederate army from colonel to brigadier general. In June 1862, after fighting in battles at Williamsburg and Seven Pines, he contracted “Peninsular” fever, jaundice, and malaria, and was placed on leave. He recovered to fight at the battles of Chancellorsville (1863) and Petersburg (1864). Following the war, Colston lectured about his friend and former VMI colleague Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, and served as principal at two North Carolina military schools. Colston moved to Egypt in 1873 to teach at a military college and lead expeditions for the Egyptian army. His poor health, however, caused him to return to the United States, where he worked as a teacher and writer at various schools until he was too ill to do so. Colston died on July 29, 1896.
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