ColorizedPast
Corporal
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2016
- Location
- Hangzhou, China (Wisconsin, USA)
Brigadier General Robert Huston Milroy (USA)
Robert Huston Milroy was born near Salem, Indiana on 11 June 1816. He graduated from Norwich Academy in Vermont in 1843. During the Mexican-American War, he was a captain in the 1st Indiana Volunteers. He graduated from Indiana University Law School in 1850 and became a lawyer and judge in Rensselaer, Indiana.
Early in 1861, Milroy recruited a company for the 9th Indiana Militia. On 27 April, he was appointed to Federal service as colonel of the 9th Indiana Infantry. He served under Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan in western Virginia and was promoted to brigadier general on 3 September 1861. He commanded the Cheat Mountain District of the Mountain Department and served as a brigade commander against Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign of 1862. 8 - 9 May 1862, Milroy led Union forces in the Battle of McDowell. His spoiling attack surprised Jackson, seized the initiative, and inflicted heavy casualties, but did not drive the Confederates from their position.
Milroy commanded another brigade in Maj. Gen. John Pope's Army of Virginia at the Second Battle of Bull Run. He was promoted to major general on 10 March 1863.
From February to June 1863, he commanded the 2nd Division of the VIII Corps, Middle Department. During the Second Battle of Winchester, he was outmaneuvered and "gobbled up" by Confederate Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell's corps, the vanguard of Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia on it way north to invade Pennsylvania. Although ordered to withdraw his 6,900-man garrison from Winchester, Milroy chose to remain in the face of the Confederate invasion, assuming the fortifications of Winchester would withstand any assault or siege.
General-in-chief Henry W. Halleck had wanted Milroy to withdraw, but Milroy's immediate superior Maj. Gen. Robert C. Schenck remained undecided and allowed Milroy to remain until further orders. As Ewell's corps closed in, Milroy was blinded due to his vedettes and pickets not being extensively placed in the surrounding territory. His harsh treatment of the citizens of Winchester turned many pro-Unionists against him, further hindering Milroy's ability to gather intelligence.
On 15 June 1863, Milroy and his staff escaped, but 3,000 men, artillery, and 300 supply wagons were captured. He was called before a court of inquiry to answer for the debacle, but after ten months, he was cleared of any culpability.
Milroy was transferred to the Western Theater, recruiting for Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas' Army of the Cumberland in Nashville in the spring of 1864. He commanded the Defenses of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad in the Department of the Cumberland until the end of the war. He fought briefly in the Third Battle of Murfreesboro. Anxious to reduce some of the stigma of Winchester, he ordered the 13th Indiana Cavalry to make a mounted charge directly at an enemy artillery position, assuming it was only a portion of Maj. Gen. Nathan B. Forrest's dismounted cavalry. The Hoosiers suffered heavy casualties. When Milroy realized he was facing an infantry division of Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Cheatham's corps, he returned to the safety of "Fortress Rosecrans" in Murfreesboro. The following day, Maj. Gen. Lovell H. Rousseau reinforced Milroy with two brigades and Milroy attacked and routed the Confederate infantry and cavalry.
Milroy resigned his commission on 26 July 1865. He was a trustee of the Wabash and Erie Canal Company. From 1872 to 1875, he was the superintendent of Indian Affairs in the Washington Territory and an Indian agent for the following ten years. During this time, he was active in ensuring that the aging Yakama chief, Kamiakin, would not be evicted from his ancestral land by area ranchers. He died in Olympia, Washington on 29 March 1890.
Robert Huston Milroy was born near Salem, Indiana on 11 June 1816. He graduated from Norwich Academy in Vermont in 1843. During the Mexican-American War, he was a captain in the 1st Indiana Volunteers. He graduated from Indiana University Law School in 1850 and became a lawyer and judge in Rensselaer, Indiana.
Early in 1861, Milroy recruited a company for the 9th Indiana Militia. On 27 April, he was appointed to Federal service as colonel of the 9th Indiana Infantry. He served under Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan in western Virginia and was promoted to brigadier general on 3 September 1861. He commanded the Cheat Mountain District of the Mountain Department and served as a brigade commander against Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign of 1862. 8 - 9 May 1862, Milroy led Union forces in the Battle of McDowell. His spoiling attack surprised Jackson, seized the initiative, and inflicted heavy casualties, but did not drive the Confederates from their position.
Milroy commanded another brigade in Maj. Gen. John Pope's Army of Virginia at the Second Battle of Bull Run. He was promoted to major general on 10 March 1863.
From February to June 1863, he commanded the 2nd Division of the VIII Corps, Middle Department. During the Second Battle of Winchester, he was outmaneuvered and "gobbled up" by Confederate Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell's corps, the vanguard of Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia on it way north to invade Pennsylvania. Although ordered to withdraw his 6,900-man garrison from Winchester, Milroy chose to remain in the face of the Confederate invasion, assuming the fortifications of Winchester would withstand any assault or siege.
General-in-chief Henry W. Halleck had wanted Milroy to withdraw, but Milroy's immediate superior Maj. Gen. Robert C. Schenck remained undecided and allowed Milroy to remain until further orders. As Ewell's corps closed in, Milroy was blinded due to his vedettes and pickets not being extensively placed in the surrounding territory. His harsh treatment of the citizens of Winchester turned many pro-Unionists against him, further hindering Milroy's ability to gather intelligence.
On 15 June 1863, Milroy and his staff escaped, but 3,000 men, artillery, and 300 supply wagons were captured. He was called before a court of inquiry to answer for the debacle, but after ten months, he was cleared of any culpability.
Milroy was transferred to the Western Theater, recruiting for Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas' Army of the Cumberland in Nashville in the spring of 1864. He commanded the Defenses of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad in the Department of the Cumberland until the end of the war. He fought briefly in the Third Battle of Murfreesboro. Anxious to reduce some of the stigma of Winchester, he ordered the 13th Indiana Cavalry to make a mounted charge directly at an enemy artillery position, assuming it was only a portion of Maj. Gen. Nathan B. Forrest's dismounted cavalry. The Hoosiers suffered heavy casualties. When Milroy realized he was facing an infantry division of Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Cheatham's corps, he returned to the safety of "Fortress Rosecrans" in Murfreesboro. The following day, Maj. Gen. Lovell H. Rousseau reinforced Milroy with two brigades and Milroy attacked and routed the Confederate infantry and cavalry.
Milroy resigned his commission on 26 July 1865. He was a trustee of the Wabash and Erie Canal Company. From 1872 to 1875, he was the superintendent of Indian Affairs in the Washington Territory and an Indian agent for the following ten years. During this time, he was active in ensuring that the aging Yakama chief, Kamiakin, would not be evicted from his ancestral land by area ranchers. He died in Olympia, Washington on 29 March 1890.
Forum Host
Bringing the