★  MOH Willcox, Orlando B.

Orlando Bolivar Willcox

:us34stars:
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Born:
April 16, 1823

Birthplace: Detroit, Michigan

Father: Charles Willcox 1783 – 1827
(Buried: Elmwood Cemetery, Detroit, Michigan)​

Mother: Almira Rood 1790 – 1870
(Buried: Elmwood Cemetery, Detroit, Michigan)​

1st Wife: Marie Farnsworth 1831 – 1873
(Buried: Elmwood Cemetery, Detroit, Michigan)​

2nd Wife: Julia Elizabeth McReynolds 1841 – 1923
(Buried: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia)​

Children:

Marie Louise Willcox Mills Unknown – 1889​
(Buried: Cementerio Ingles, Puerto de la Cruz, Spain)​
Major Elon Farnsworth Willcox 1855 – 1910​
(Buried: San Francisco National Cemetery, San Francisco, California)​

Education:

1847: Graduated from West Point Military Academy – (8th in class)​

Occupation before War:

1847 – 1850: 2nd Lt. United States Army, 4th Artillery
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1847 – 1848: Served in Mexico City, Mexico and Cuernavaca​
1848 – 1849: Garrison Duty at Fort McRee, Florida​
1849 – 1850: Garrison Duty at Jefferson Barracks​
1850 – 1857: 1st Lt. United States Army, 4th Artillery​
1855: Escorted U.S. Army Recruits to Texas​
1856 – 1857: Served in the Seminole Indian War in Florida​
1856: Author of Shoepac Recollections​
1857: Author of An Army Memoir by Major March​
1857: Resigned from United States Army on September 10th
1857 – 1861: Attorney in Detroit, Michigan​

Civil War Career:

1861: Colonel of 1st Michigan Infantry Regiment
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1861: Served in the capture of Alexandria, Virginia​
1861: Wounded right forearm and Captured at First Battle of Bull Run
1861 – 1866: Brigadier General Union Army Volunteers​
1861: Prisoner of war kept at Confederate hospital at Lewis House​
1861: Kept for six weeks at St. Mark’s Hospital in Richmond, Virginia​
1861–1862: Prisoner of War held in Charleston, South Carolina and Columbia, South Carolina​
1862: Served in the Battle of South Mountain and Antietam​
1862: Served in the Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia​
1863: Temporary Commander of 9th Army Corps​
1863: Temporary Commander of District of Central Kentucky​
1863: Commander of District of Indiana and Michigan​
1863: Served in suppressing the draft riots in Indiana​
1863 – 1864: Served in Eastern Tennessee​
1863: Served in the Battle of Blue Springs, Tennessee​
1863: Served in the fighting at Walker’s Ford on Clinch River​
1864 – 1865: Division Commander in 9th Army Corps​
1864: Served in the Battle of the Wilderness, Virginia​
1864: Served in the Battle of Spotsylvania, Virginia​
1864: Served in the Battle of Bethesda Church, Virginia​
1864: Served in the fighting on the Weldon Railroad​
1864: Brevetted Major General for gallantry since crossing Rapidan​
1865: Served in the Siege of Petersburg, Virginia​
1865: Commander of District of Washington, North Carolina​
1865 – 1866: Commander of District of Michigan​
1866: Mustered out of the Union Army on January 15th

Occupation after War:

1866: Attorney in Detroit, Michigan​
1866: Assessor for United States Internal Revenue Service​
1866 – 1869: Colonel of United States Army, 29th Infantry Regiment​
1866 – 1869: Commander of the District of Lynchburg, Virginia​
1867: Brevetted Brigadier General for gallantry at Spotsylvania​
1867: Brevetted Major General for gallantry at Petersburg Capture​
1869 – 1886: Colonel of United States Army, 12th Infantry Regiment​
1869 – 1873: Regimental Commander at Alcatraz Island, California​
1873 – 1874: Superintendent of General Recruiting Service in New York City​
1874 – 1878: Regimental Commander at Angel Island, California​
1878 – 1882: Commander of the U.S. Army Department of Arizona​
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1885: Treated for Carbuncle of his neck​
1886 – 1887: Brigadier General, United States Army Infantry​
1886: Commander of Madison Barracks in New York​
1886 – 1887: Commander U.S. Army Department of Missouri​
1887: Retired from United States Army due to his age​
1889 – 1892: Governor of Soldiers Home in Washington, D.C.​
1895: Recipient of the Medal of Honor for his duty at First Bull Run​
1896 – 1897: President of Michigan Association of Washington​
1896 – 1897: President of Willcox Division Society, 9th Corps​
1897: President District of Columbia Commandry​

Died: May 11, 1907

Place of Death: Coburg, Ontario, Canada

Cause of Death: Acute bronchitis

Age at time of Death: 84 years old

Burial Place: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia
 
Last edited by a moderator:
He was 8th in his West Point class and no one from 1st to 7th made it as a civil war general. He was "first in his class" among the Civil War Generals. The other notables in his class included A.P. Hill (15th) and Ambrose Burnside (18th).
 
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