Soldiers in American History

More Lists:      Explorers | Gunfighters | Lawmen | Native Americans | Outlaws | Outlaw Gangs |                 Scoundrels | Soldiers | Trail Blazers & Cowboys | Vigilantes | Women

<< Previous  1 2 3 4 5  Next >>

Philip Henry Sheridan (1831-1888) - The third of six children by John and Mary Meenagh Sheridan, Philip was born in Albany New York, before his family moved to Ohio. As a boy he worked in a general store and in 1848, obtained an appointed to the United States Military Academy from one of his customers. "Little Phil," as he was called due to his short stature of just 5 feet 4 inches, did not do well at West Point, failing in mathematics, described as having a "poor attitude," and once suspended for fighting. However, he graduated in 1853 and was commissioned as a brevet second lieutenant, assigned to the 1st U.S. Infantry at Fort Duncan, Texas. Over the next several years he worked at a number of posts in the West before being promoted to a first lieutenant in March, 1861, just before the Civil War. He was promoted again to Captain in May, just after the war began.

During the war, he fought in a number of battles, primarily in the Western Theater and was quickly promoted to a Major General. Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant then transferred Sheridan to lead the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac in the Eastern Theater and in 1864, his forces defeated the South in the Shenandoah Valley. In 1865, his cavalry pursued General Robert E. Lee and was instrumental in forcing his surrender at Appomattox.

After the Civil War, Grant appointed Sheridan commander of the Military District of the Southwest, where he was avidly involved in Reconstruction, and became became one of the most well known Indian fighters in the West. However, it was during this time that his reputation began to suffer, at least in the eyes of historians, as he is perceived in this role as a tyrant and a racist.

In 1883, he was made commander-in-chief of the army. He died on August 5, 1888 of heart disease.

Alfred Howe Terry (1827-1890) - Born in 1827 in Hartford, Connecticut to a prosperous family, they soon moved to New Haven, where Terry grew up. Having a good education he became a lawyer and was appointed as the clerk of the Superior Court of New Haven County in the 1850s.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Terry raised a regiment of Connecticut volunteers and led them into battle at First Bull Run, as well as other engagements in Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia. His success on the battlefield earned him a promotion to brigadier general during the war.

Afterwards, he became the military commander of Dakota Territory, where he played an important role in the army's long, often ruthless campaign to gain control of the northern plains. Terry became George Armstrong Custer's commanding officer in 1873, when the Seventh Cavalry was posted to the Dakotas, and the following year he found himself caught up in controversy when Custer's well-publicized expedition into the Black Hills triggered a gold rush onto land that had been set aside for the Lakota under the Fort Laramie Treaty Terry himself had helped negotiate. After the massacre at the Little Bighorn, Terry accepted unmerited criticism rather than tarnish Custer's reputation. He ordered the court-marshal of Major Marcus Reno, Custer's second-in-command. Terry never fought again, serving on numerous army Indian commissions and commanding the Department of the Missouri. Terry became seriously ill in 1888, retired from the army, and died two years later.

He was commissioned as a Lieutenant Colonel of the Infantry in the Confederate Army the next month and quickly received a number of promotions and became the Cavalry Commander. By July, 1862, he received the rank of a Major General, fighting in a number of campaigns including the Peninsula Campaign, the Second Battle of Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg, before losing his life on May 12, 1864 during the Overland Campaign, at the Battle of Yellow Tavern.

William B. Travis (1809-1836) - Born in the Edgefield District of South Carolina on August 9, 1890, William's family moved to Alabama. After finishing his education, Travis worked as a school teacher and a lawyer. Travis fled a wife and family in 1831, setting up a law office in Anahuac, Texas . Strongly disliking Mexican rule, he became one of the leaders of what became known as the "war party" and on June 29, 1835, he raised a company of 25 volunteers and captured Captain Antonio Tenorio, the commander of Mexican forces in Anahuac. After the outbreak of the Texas Revolution, Travis joined the Texas army and soon afterwards Samuel Houston appointed him as lieutenant colonel of cavalry. Soon after, the Texans surrounded San Antonio de Bexar on December 7, 1835 and the volunteers attacked the town. On January 21, 1836, Travis was ordered to go to the Alamo with volunteers to reinforce the 120-150 men already there. On February 3rd, he arrived with 20-30 reinforcements and within a short time, he immediately became the commander of the regular soldiers, while James Bowie commanded the volunteers. When General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and 7,000 Mexican troops arrived in San Antonio, the Texans took refuge in the fortified grounds of the Alamo. Bowie was struck down with typhoid and Travis eventually took over sole command of the fortress. Santa Anna ordered the shelling of the Alamo but the Texans refused to surrender. On March 6th, the Mexican army stormed the fortress and during the battle 189 Texans, including Travis, Bowie, and Davy Crockett, were killed, but not without a valiant fight. It is estimated that 1,500 Mexicans died during the battle.

Sarah Rosetta Wakeman; aka: Private Lyons Wakeman (1843-1864) - Documentation shows that 135 women soldiers fought in the Civil War, though estimates believe the figure to be closer to 400. Of these brave women fighting on both sides of the line was one named Sarah Rosetta Wakeman. Wakeman disguised herself as a man and joined the 153^rd Regiment of the New York State Volunteers in 1862 under the name of Lyons Wakeman. Her first tour of duty was protecting the perimeter of Washington City. In February, 1864 she participated in Major General Nathaniel P. Banks' campaign in Louisiana. Near the end of the campaign, she was diagnosed with dysentery and died n June 19, 1864. During her tenure as a soldier, her true identity was never discovered. She was buried as a soldier at the Chalmette National Cemetery in Lousiana. More ...

Cathay Williams (1842-??) - When Congress passed an act authorizing the establishment of the first all Black units of the military, later to become known as "Buffalo Soldiers," Cathay Williams became the first and only female Buffalo Soldier.

Updated September, 2007

<< Previous  1 2 3 4 5  Next >>