★ ★  Gillem, Alvan C.

Alvan Cullem Gillem

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Born: July 29, 1830

Birthplace: Gainesboro, Tennessee

Father: Samuel J. Gillem 1800 – 1875
(Buried: John F. Gillem Cemetery, Bloomington, Tennessee)​

Mother: Rutha “Ruthy” Crook
Wife: Margaret A. Jones 1839 – 1878
(Buried: Mount Olivet Cemetery, Nashville, Tennessee)​

Children:

Jennie Jarvis Gillem Donnell 1859 – 1884​
(Buried: Mount Olivet Cemetery, Nashville, Tennessee)​
Carrie Sinclair Gillem McMillan 1863 – 1944​
(Buried: Old Gray Cemetery, Knoxville, Tennessee)​
Colonel Alvan Cullem Gillem Jr. 1865 – 1935​
(Buried: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia)​

Education:

1851: Graduated from West Point Military Academy – (11th in class)​

Occupation before War:

1851: Brevet 2nd Lt. United States Army, 1st Artillery​
1851 – 1855: 2nd Lt. United States Army, 1st Artillery​
1851 – 1852: Served in the Seminole War in Florida​
1852: Garrison Duty at East Pascagoula, Mississippi​
1852 – 1853: Garrison Duty at New Orleans Barracks, Louisiana​
1853 – 1854: Garrison Duty at Baton Rouge, Louisiana​
1855 – 1861: 1st Lt. United States Army, 1st Artillery​
1855 – 1856: Garrison Duty at Fort Monroe, Virginia​
1856 – 1858: Garrison Duty at Fort McHenry, Maryland​
1858: Garrison Duty at Fort Columbus, New York​
1858 – 1859: Frontier Duty at San Antonio, Texas​
1859 – 1860: Frontier Duty at Fort Clark, Texas​
1860: Frontier Duty at Fort Brown, Texas​
1860 – 1861: Duty at Key West Barracks, Florida​
1861: Declined to be Captain in U.S. Army 19th Infantry Regiment​

Civil War Career:

1861: Captain, United States Army, 1st Artillery, Vacated on same day​
1861: Served in the Defenses of Fort Taylor, Florida​
1861 – 1866: Captain and Staff Officer in United States Army​
1861 – 1862: Brigade Quartermaster in Kentucky Operations​
1862: Served in the Battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky​
1862: Brevetted Major for Gallantry, at Battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky​
1862: Chief Quartermaster for the Union, Army of the Ohio​
1862: Served in the Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee​
1862: Served in the Siege of Corinth, Mississippi​
1862 – 1863: Colonel of 10th Tennessee Union Infantry Regiment​
1862: Provost Marshal for the City of Nashville, Tennessee​
1863 – 1865: Tennessee State Adjutant General​
1863 – 1866: Brigadier General of Union Army Infantry​
1863 – 1864: Commander of troops guarding Nashville Railroad​
1864 – 1865: Commander of Expedition to Eastern, Tennessee​
1864: Commander of surprise of Rebel Raiders in Greeneville, Tennessee​
1864: Union Army Commander at Battle of Morristown, Tennessee​
1864: Union Army Commander at Battle of Bull’s Gap, Tennessee​
1864: Cavalry Commander in Stoneman’s Raid in Southwestern, Virginia​
1864: Brevetted Lt. Colonel Gallantry at Battle of Marion, Virginia​
1864: Served in the Capture of Saltville, Virginia​
1865: Vice President to revise Constitution in Tennessee​
1865: Tennessee State Representative​
1865: Brevetted Colonel for his service in the War​
1865: Brevetted Brigadier General for his service in the War​
1865: Cavalry Division Commander, District of East Tennessee​
1865: Served in Expedition to North Carolina​
1865: Brevetted Major General for Gallantry Battle of Salisbury, North Carolina​
1865: Served in the Skirmish at Morgantown, North Carolina​
1865: Served in the Battle of Asheville, North Carolina​
1865 – 1866: Union Army Commander, District of East Tennessee​
1866 – 1869: Colonel of United States Army, 24th Infantry Regiment​
1866: Served on Court Martial Duty in the Union Army
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1866: Mustered out of the Union Army on September 1st

Occupation after War:

1866 – 1869: Colonel of United States Army, 24th Infantry Regiment​
1866: Served on Court Martial Duty in the Union Army​
1867: U.S. Army, Commander of District of Mississippi​
1868: U.S. Army, Commander of Sub – District of Mississippi​
1869: U.S. Army, Commander of Fourth Military District​
1869 – 1870: Colonel of United States Army, 11th Infantry Regiment​
1870: Served on Frontier Duty at Galveston, Texas​
1870 – 1875: Colonel of United States Army, 1st Cavalry Regiment​
1873: Garrison Duty at Benicia Barracks, California
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1873: Served in the Attack on the Lava Beds, California​
1874 – 1875: Suffered from Softening of the brain​
1875: Garrison Duty at Benicia Barracks, California​

Died: December 2, 1875

Place of Death: near Nashville, Tennessee

Cause of Death: Softening of the brain

Age at time of Death: 45 years old

Burial Place: Mount Olivet Cemetery, Nashville, Tennessee
 
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Gillem served as second in command for most of Stoneman's Raid thru Virginia and North Carolina in March - April 1865. On April 17, 1865, Stoneman considered he had accomplished his mission and was suffering medically. He led a cavalry detachment and a column of Confederate prisoners, freed Federal POWs and ex-slaves back over the mountains to Tennessee. Gillem assumed command for the duration of the Raid which ended in Asheville NC at the end of April.
 
I grew up in a suburb 8 miles east of Nashville. On an 1867 map of Nashville there is a home denominated "General Gillem." It is in the same neighborhood as my boyhood home no more than 1/4 mile away. It must have been a post-was residence since it is so far outside the Union fortifications. There is nothing there now and I have not been able to find out anything more about it. There is another wrinkle. He was born and raised in Gainesboro TN, which is 8-10 miles from the location and houses of my maternal grandparents' family roots.
 
As a footnote one of General Gillem's sons was a colonel in the US Army and served in the Spanish War. The colonel had a son who reached the rank of lieutenant general during WWII. One of Lieutenant General Gillem's sons attained the rank of lieutenant general in the U.S. Air Force. All were named Alvan Cullom Gillem.
 
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