Who were Generals Sedgwick & Granger?
Our Camp’s Namesakes
John Sedgwick (September 13, 1813 – May 9, 1864) was a teacher, a career military officer, and a Union Major General in the American Civil War, killed by a Confederate sharp-shooter at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House.
Gordon Granger (November 6, 1822 – January 10, 1876) was a Union Major General during the American Civil War.
John Sedgwick was born in Cornwall Hollow, Connecticut on Sept 13, 1813. Sedgwick attended Sharon Academy briefly and taught school for 2 winters before entering West Point where he graduated 24th in the class of 1837. Affectionately called “Uncle John” Sedgwick by his troops, he became the third and final corps commander in the Army of the Potomac to be killed in action.
This Connecticut-born West Pointer had an unusually active prewar career. Originally posted to the artillery, he fought in the Seminole War, was involved in the Trail of Tears episode, and earned two brevets in the Mexican War. Upon the expansion of the regular establishment in 1855 he transferred to the mounted arm. In this branch he served in “Bleeding Kansas,” on the Mormon Expedition, and in further Indian fighting. During the secession crisis he was twice in a matter of weeks promoted to replace Robert E. Lee, once when that officer was himself promoted and once when Lee resigned.
Sedgwick’s Civil War assignments included: major, 1st Cavalry (since March 3, 1855); lieutenant colonel, 2nd Cavalry (March 16, 1861); colonel, 1st Cavalry (April 25, 1861); colonel, 4th Cavalry (change of designation August 3, 1861); brigadier general, USV (August 31, 1861); commanding 2nd Brigade, Heintzelman’s Division, Army of the Potomac (October 31 1861-February 9, 1862); commanding Stone’s (old) Division, Army of the Potomac (February 9-March 13, 1862); commanding 2nd Division, 2nd Corps, Army of the Potomac (March 13-September 17, 1862); major general, USV July 4, 1862); commanding 2nd Corps, Army of the Potomac (December 26, 1862-January 26, 1863); commanding 9th Corps, Army of the Potomac January 16 – February 5, 1863); and commanding 6th Corps, Army of the Potomac (February 4 1863-April 6, 1864 and April 13-May 9, 1865).
Initially in charge of a brigade in the fall of 1861, Sedgwick took over a division when General Charles P. Scone was placed under arrest. This he led to the Peninsula where he fought at Yorktown and Seven Pines. During the Seven Days he was wounded at Frayser’s Farm. On the nation’s birthday he received the second star of a major general and continued in division command until Antietam where his division marched into a trap, being struck on three sides. Sedgwick himself suffered three wounds and was out of action until after Fredericksburg when he returned to lead first the 2nd Corps, then the 9th, and finally the 6th. In the Chancellorsville Campaign he commanded Hooker’s force at Fredericksburg. He broke through Marye’s Heights in an effort to relieve the pressure on his chief but was stopped at Salem Church and was forced to withdraw north of the river. At Gettysburg his corps was in reserve, but he scored a signal success at Rappahannock Bridge that fall.
One of the top corps commanders with the army, he retained command when the five corps were reduced to three. He led his men into the tangled fighting of the Wilderness and then on to Spotsylvania. While placing his corps artillery he was shot by a Confederate sharpshooter in the head. Ironically he had just declared that they couldn’t fire accurately at that distance. He died almost immediately. Sedgwick was buried where he was born, in Cornwall Hollow, Connecticut.
Source: Who Was Who In The Civil War by Stewart Sifakis
Gordon Granger was born in Joy, Wayne County, New York, in 1822. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1845. During the Mexican-American War, he fought in Winfield Scott’s army. Between wars, he served on the frontier. His first fight in the Civil War was the Union defeat at Wilson’s Creek, Missouri, in August 1861, where he was in command of a volunteer regiment of cavalry. He was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers on March 26, 1862, and commanded the Cavalry Division in the Army of the Mississippi during the Battle of New Madrid and siege of Corinth. He was promoted to major general of volunteers on September 17, 1862, and took command of the Army of Kentucky. He conducted cavalry operations in central Tennessee before his command was merged into the Army of the Cumberland, becoming the Reserve Corps.
He is most famous for his actions commanding the Reserve Corps at the Battle of Chickamauga. There on September 20, 1863, the second day of the battle, he reinforced, without orders, Major General George H. Thomas’s XIV Corps on Snodgrass Hill. This action staved off the Confederate attackers until dark, permitting the Federal forces to retreat in good order and helping earn the sobriquet “Rock of Chickamauga” for Thomas.
Granger’s success at Chickamaugua earned him command of the newly formed IV Corps in the Army of the Cumberland. Under his command, this force distinguished itself at the Battle of Chattanooga. Two of the IV Corps’ divisions, those commanded by Thomas J. Wood and Philip Sheridan, were among the force of units that assaulted the reinforced center of the Confederate line on top of Missionary Ridge. There, the Union forces broke through and forced the Confederates, under General Braxton Bragg, to retreat. After Chattanooga, Granger took part in lifting the siege at Knoxville, Tennessee. Despite these successes, his outspokenness prevented him from gaining more prominent commands. Nevertheless, he was sent to the Department of the Gulf and continued to lead troops and gain recognition. He commanded the land forces that captured Forts Gaines and Morgan in conjunction with the Union naval victory at the Battle of Mobile Bay. He commanded the XIII Corps during the Battle of Fort Blakely, which led to the fall of the city of Mobile, Alabama.
When the war ended, Granger remained in the Army, and was given command of the Department of Texas. There, in the city of Galveston, on June 19, 1865, he declared the institution of slavery dead in the state, setting off joyous demonstrations by freedmen and originating the annual “Juneteenth” celebration, commemorating the freeing of the blacks in Texas.
In 1876, Granger died in Santa Fe, where he was serving in command of the District of New Mexico. He is buried in Lexington Cemetery, Lexington, Kentucky.
Source: Gordon Granger from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gens. Sedgwick-Granger Camp No. 17, SUVCW | Who were Gens. Sedgwick & Granger?
Created: 4 Mar 2008; Modified: 27 Feb 2024