★  Wessells, Henry W.

Henry Walton Wessells

Born: February 20, 1809
Wessells.jpg


Birthplace: Litchfield, Connecticut

Father: Ashbell Wessells 1771 – 1853

Mother: Grace Ward 1775 – 1864

1st Wife: Mary Griswold

2nd Wife: Hannah Cooper 1816 – 1863
(Buried: Christ Churchyard, Cooperstown, New York)​

3rd Wife: Caroline Elizabeth Wadsworth 1837 – 1895
(Buried: East Cemetery, Litchfield, Connecticut)​

Children:

Brig. General Henry Walton Wessells Jr. 1846 – 1929​
(Buried: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia)​

Education:

1833: Graduated from West Point Military Academy – (29th in class)

Occupation before War:

1833 – 1836: Brevet 2nd Lt. United States Army, 2nd Infantry Regiment​
1836 – 1838: 2nd Lt. United States Army, 2nd Infantry Regiment​
1838 – 1847: 1st Lt. United States Army, 2nd Infantry Regiment​
1847 – 1861: Captain United States Army, 2nd Infantry Regiment​
1847: Wounded at the Battle of Contreras, Mexico​
1847: Brevetted Major Gallantry in two Mexican War Battles​

Civil War Career:

1861 – 1865: Major United States Army, 6th Infantry Regiment​
1861 – 1862: Colonel, 8th Kansas Volunteers Infantry Regiment​
1862: Served in the Siege of Yorktown, Virginia​
1862 – 1866: Brigadier General Union Army Volunteers Infantry​
1862: Wounded at the Battle of Fair Oaks, Virginia​
1862: Commander of Rear Guard from Haxhall’s to Harrison Landing​
1862: Served in the Defenses of Suffolk, Virginia​
1862: Served in the Battle of Kinston, North Carolina​
1862 – 1863: Served in the Defenses of Newberne​
1863 – 1864: Commander of Sub District of Albemarle​
1864: Captured at Plymouth, North Carolina​
1864 – 1865: Commissary of Prisoners​
1865 – 1871: Lt. Colonel United States Army, 18th Infantry Regiment​
1865 – 1866: Commander of Draft Hart’s Island, New York​
1865: Brevetted Colonel and Brig. General for service in the war​
1866: Mustered out of Volunteer Service on January 15th

Occupation after War:

1865 – 1871: Lt. Colonel United States Army, 18th Infantry Regiment​
1866: Commander of Fort Kearney, Nebraska​
1866 – 1867: Commander of Fort Reno, Dakota Territory​
1867: Commander of Mountain District​
1867: Commander of U.S. Army Post Fort McPherson, Nebraska​
1867 – 1868: Commander of U.S. Army Fort Fetterman, Dakota Territory​
1868: Commander of U.S. Army Fort D. A. Russell​
1868 – 1869: Member of U.S. Army Retiring Board​
1869 – 1871: Commander of U.S. Army Depot in Newport, Kentucky​
1871: Retired from United States Army after 30 years of Service​
1871 – 1889: Retired Citizen living in Litchfield, Connecticut​

Died: January 12, 1889

Place of Death: Dover, Delaware

Cause of Death: Some Say heart failure

Age at time of Death:
79 years old

Burial Place: East Cemetery, Litchfield, Connecticut
 
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As a POW Wessells was one of the officers placed under Union guns firing on Charleston.
Serving in the Army of the Potomac's IV Corps in the Peninsula Campaign was something like the "kiss of death" for going on to achieve great things in the Civil War.
 
His and namesake, Henry Walton Wessells, Jr. was a Career U.S. Army officer who enlisted as a private in the 7th U.S. Infantry in March 1865. Through the years he was promoted thru the ranks to colonel and subsequently to brigadier general after retirement. The younger Wessells is probably best known to historians for his role with the Northern Cheyenne Indians and the Fort Robinson massacre in 1879.
 
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