★ ★  Doubleday, Abner

Abner Doubleday
:us34stars:
Doubleday.jpg


Born:
June 26, 1819

Birthplace: Ballston Spa, New York

Father: Ulysses Freeman Doubleday 1792 – 1866
(Buried: Evergreen Memorial Cemetery, Bloomington, Illinois)​

Mother: Hester Donnelly 1798 – 1859
(Buried: Evergreen Memorial Cemetery ,Bloomington, Illinois)​

Wife: Mary H. Hewitt 1823 – 1907
(Buried: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia)​

Education:

1842: Graduated from West Point Military Academy – (24th in class)​

Occupation before War:

1842 – 1845: Brevet 2nd Lt. United States Army 3rd​ Artillery​
1842 – 1844: Garrison Duty at Fort Johnston North Carolina​
1844: Garrison Duty at Fort McHenry, Maryland​
1844 – 1845: Garrison Duty at Fort Moultrie, South Carolina​
1845: Garrison Duty at Fort Preble, Maine​
1845 – 1847: 2nd Lt. United States Army, 1st Artillery​
1845 – 1846: Served in the Military Occupation of Texas​
1846: Served in the Battle of Monterey, Mexico​
1847: Served in the Battle of Buena Vista, Mexico​
1847 – 1855: 1st Lt. United States Army 1st Artillery​
1848 – 1849: Garrison Duty at Fort Columbus, New York​
1850: Garrison Duty at Fort Hamilton, New York​
1850 – 1852: Garrison Duty at Fort McHenry, Maryland​
1852 – 1853: Member of Commission to investigate Gardiner Mine​
1854 – 1855: Frontier Duty at Fort Duncan, Texas​
1855 – 1861: Captain, United States Army, 1st Artillery​
1855 – 1856: Garrison Duty at Fort Monroe, Virginia​
1856 – 1858: Served in the fighting against the Seminole Indians​
1858 – 1859: Garrison Duty at Fort Moultrie, South Carolina​
1860 – 1861: Garrison Duty at Fort Moultrie, South Carolina​

Civil War Career:

1861: Served in the Defense of Fort Sumter, South Carolina​
1861: Served Garrison Duty at Fort Hamilton, New York​
1861 – 1863: Major United States Army 17th Infantry Regiment​
1861: Served in the Shenandoah Valley under General Patterson​
1861 – 1862: Served in the Defenses of Washington, D.C.​
1862: Brigadier General of Union Army Volunteers​
1862: Served in the Second Battle of Bull Run, Virginia​
1862: Served in the Battle of South Mountain, Maryland​
1862: Served in the Battle of Antietam, Maryland​
1862: Served in the March to Falmouth, Virginia​
1862 – 1866: Major General of Union Army Volunteers​
1862: Served in the Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia​
1863: Served in the Demonstration against Port Conway​
1863: Served in the Passage of Rappahannock below Fredericksburg​
1863: Served in the Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia
Doubleday 1.jpg
1863: Division and Acting Corps Commander Battle of Gettysburg​
1863 – 1867: Lt. Colonel, United States Army, 17th Infantry Regiment​
1863 – 1865: Served on Court Martials and Military Commissions​
1865: Brevetted Colonel in United States Army​
1865: Temporary Commander Southeastern Defenses of Washington​
1865: Brevetted Brig. General and Major General in the U.S. Army​
1866: Mustered out of the Union Army on January 15th

Occupation after War:

1863 – 1867: Lt. Colonel United States Army 17th Infantry Regiment​
1866: Reorganizer of a Detachment of 17th Infantry Regiment​
1866: U.S. Army Commander in Galveston, Texas​
1866 – 1867: Assistant Freedmen’s Bureau Commissioner in Galveston​
1867 – 1869: Colonel, United States Army 35th Infantry Regiment​
1868: Member of United States Army Retiring Board​
1869: Colonel with Unassigned duty in United States Army​
1869 – 1871: Superintendent of Recruiting Service in San Francisco​
1870 – 1873: Colonel, United States Army 24th Infantry Regiment​
1871 – 1872: Regimental Commander at Fort McKavett, Texas​
1872 – 1873: Regimental Commander at Fort Brown, Texas​
1873: Retired from United States Army on December 11th
Attorney in New York​
1876: Author of Reminiscences of Forts Sumter and Moultrie
1882: Author of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg
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U.S. Army, Public Domain Photo, by Rachel Larue, June 2015

Prominent Member of Mendham Township Theosophical Society​
President of American Theosophical Society​
A Myth is Doubleday may have helped with founding of Baseball​

Died: January 26, 1893

Place of Death: Mendham, New Jersey

Cause of Death: Aortic Stenosis

Age at time of Death: 73 years old

Burial Place: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, Section 1, grave 61
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I had never read of the "Old forty eight hours" moniker before, but I have always thought of him as being a mediocre general, at best. Too harsh do you think?

John

A little. I would describe him as solid but nothing special. That said, he fought the First Corps brilliantly on July 1 at Gettysburg, undoubtedly his finest hour.

Ryan
 
..and for his great performance at Gettysburg, taking emergency command after John Reynolds was killed, Meade removed him from acting corps command and replaced him with John Newton.:nah disagree:

Doubleday's personality got the better of him there. He tended to rub people the wrong way and Meade hated him, going back to when they were both division commanders in the First Corps. And when Howard cast aspersions on Doubleday and the First Corps, Meade had the excuse to keep Doubleday out of corps command. And to make it worse, Newton was Doubleday's junior in date of rank.

Ryan
 
After Gettysburg he spent the majority of the war in Washington, except for a brief stay at Buffalo where he helped in preventing their "draft riots." The full title to that book is "Reminiscences of Forts Sumter and Moultrie in 1860-1861".
 
After Gettysburg he spent the majority of the war in Washington, except for a brief stay at Buffalo where he helped in preventing their "draft riots." The full title to that book is "Reminiscences of Forts Sumter and Moultrie in 1860-1861".

He accompanied President Lincoln in November 1863 to Gettysburg for the dedication of the National Cemetery. He and his wife were friends of the president and first lady.

Ryan
 
At Brawner's farm just before 2nd Manassas when his divisional commander, Gen. Rufus King, had an epileptic seizure Doubleday took the initiative to send 2 of his regiments to reinforce Gen. John Gibbon's outnumbered brigade. Command of King's division went to Gen. John P. Hatch instead however Doubleday did assume command later when Hatch was wounded at South Mountain.
 
He seems to have been a good “backup” when he had step up and fill a higher command position when needed.

As a few people have stated, it seems his personality and rubbing people the wrong way slowed down and/or hindered his chances for promotions and/or advancement?

I know very little about him, this is just what I have gathered from the previous posts?
 
Meade and Doubleday did not like each other anyway but a (false) report by General Howard that Doubleday's Corps broke first at Gettysburg didn't help matters. It was in Howard's report that the breaking of Doubleday's Corps caused a collapse in the entire Union line.
 
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