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Civil War On This Day

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3 Dec

@WestPoint_USMA

General Wesley Merritt, a graduate of the @WestPoint_USMA Class of 1860 who rose to the rank of Major General by the end of the #CivilWar, died #OTD in 1910 in Natural Bridge, VA. He was 76 years old.

@USArmy

A cavalry officer, Merritt served under some of the finest cavalry officers in the @USArmy. Gen. John Buford was his commander before the war, and after it began he served as aide-de-camp to Gen. Philip St. George Cooke and adjutant to Gen. George Stoneman.

At the Battle of Brandy Station, Merritt commanded the Reserve Brigade under Buford, and was slightly wounded in the action. He distinguished himself enough that he, along with Elon Farnsworth and George Custer, was promoted directly from Captain to Brigadier General.

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Civil War On This Day

@CivilWarOTD

3 Dec

#OTD in 1834, Joseph Howland was born in New York City. A direct descendent of Mayflower passengers John and Elizabeth Howland, he chose to join the 16th NY Volunteer Infantry Regiment at the outbreak of the #CivilWar.

@ManassasNPS

Howland was chosen as Colonel and commanding officer of the regiment just before the First Battle of Bull Run (@ManassasNPS), and briefly saw action there.

On June 27, 1862, while leading the regiment at the Battle of Gaines’ Mill, Howland was shot in the leg, but continued to lead his men from horseback during the confederate assault despite his wound. He was later breveted Brigadier General for his actions that day.

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Civil War On This Day

@CivilWarOTD

3 Dec

@USArmy

General George B. McClellan was born #OTD in 1826, in Philadelphia, PA. After rising to prominence during the #CivilWar, becoming General-in-Chief of the @USArmy, McClellan became @TheDemocrats nominee in the presidential election of 1864, losing to Abraham Lincoln.

@WestPoint_USMA

McClellan was accepted to @WestPoint_USMA when he was just 16, and graduated 2nd in his class when he was still only 19. Within months he was in Mexico, where he served with distinction at the Battles of Contreras, Churubusco and Chapultepec.

@USArmy

McClellan left the @USArmy in 1857 and became a railroad executive, but returned to service at the outbreak of the #CivilWar. He had great success in command of Union forces in West Virginia, and was called east by President Lincoln after the Battle of Bull Run (@ManassasNPS).

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Civil War On This Day

@CivilWarOTD

2 Dec

@CityOfFranklin

Theodrick “Tod” Carter died #OTD in 1864, in @CityOfFranklin, TN. He enlisted in the 20th Tennessee Infantry at the outbreak of the #CivilWar, and served in all of the regiment’s major engagements, including @ShilohNPS, Murfreesboro (@cityofmborotn), and @ChickamaugaNPS.

Ultimately, he and his unit were part of the confederate assault on the Union position at his hometown of Franklin, in December, 1864. Carter was mortally wounded only 500 yards from his home. Found by family members after the battle, he died in the home two days later.

Carter House is now preserved as a museum, part of the Battle of Franklin Trust (boft.org).

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Civil War On This Day

@CivilWarOTD

2 Dec

@WestPoint_USMA

General Eugene Asa Carr died #OTD in 1910. A native of Hamburg, NY, Carr attended @WestPoint_USMA and graduated with the class of 1850. He served in the cavalry on the frontier until the outbreak of the #CivilWar.

At the Battle of Pea Ridge in March, 1862, while commanding a division of Samuel Curtis' Army of the Southwest during the Union defense near Elkhorn Tavern, Carr was wounded several times and succeeded in blunting the confederate attack.

@USArmy

For his actions that day, Carr was later award the #MedalofHonor. He remained in the @USArmy after the war and returned to the frontier with the cavalry. He retired with the rank of Brigadier General, and when he passed away he was buried at the West Point Post Cemetery.

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Civil War On This Day

@CivilWarOTD

2 Dec

Harriet Wood, an actress better known by the stage name Pauline Cushman, died #OTD in 1893. During the #CivilWar, she used her status as an actress to travel through the confederacy as a Union spy. By socializing with confederate officers, she was able to gather intelligence.

Cushman would write down confederate battle plans and hide them in her shoes to smuggle to Union lines. Twice she was caught in 1864, and was tried for espionage by Braxton Bragg. Sentenced to death by hanging, she was spared when Union forces overran the area and rescued her.

Given the brevet rank of Major by Gen. James Garfield, she continued to sneak into the south dressed in an Army uniform. President Lincoln made her rank honorary as well, and by the end of the war she was touring the country giving lectures about her service as a spy.

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