Military officer; born in
Geneseo, N. Y., Oct. 30, 1807; educated at Harvard and Yale colleges; studied law with Daniel Webster; and was admitted to the bar in 1833, but never practised, having sufficient employment in the management of a large patrimonial estate.
He was a member of the peace convention in 1861, and was one of the first to offer his services to the government when the
Civil War broke out. When communication between
Washington and
Philadelphia was cut off in April, 1861, he chartered a vessel and filled it with supplies, with which he sailed for
Annapolis with timely relief for Union soldiers there.
In June he was volunteer aide on
General McDowell's staff, and was noted for bravery in the
battle of Bull Run.
In August he was made brigadier-general of volunteers, and in March, 1862,
military governor of the District of Columbia.
In that year he was Republican candidate for governor of New York, but was defeated by
Horatio Seymour.
In December he commanded a division under
Burnside in the
battle of Fredericksburg; also in the battles of
Chancellorsville and
Gettysburg in 1863.
Early in 1864 he was sent on special service to the
Mississippi Valley; and at the opening of the campaign against
Richmond he led a division of the 5th Corps, and was mortally wounded in the
battle of the Wilderness, dying near
Chancellorsville, Va., May 8, 1864.
