★ ★ Wilson, James Harrison

James Harrison Wilson​

Born: September 2, 1837

Birthplace: Shawneetown, Illinois

Father: Harrison Wilson 1789 – 1852

(Buried: Westwood Cemetery, Shawneetown, Illinois)​

Mother: Kathrine Wilson 1803 – 1877

(Buried: Westwood Cemetery, Shawneetown, Illinois)​

Wife: Ella Andrew 1846 – 1900

(Buried: Old Swedes Cemetery, Wilmington, Delaware)​

Children:

Mary Wilson Thompson 1867 – 1947​

(Buried: Lower Brandywine Presbyterian, Owls Nest, Delaware)​

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Katherine Wilson 1870 – 1918​

(Buried: Old Swedes Cemetery, Wilmington, Delaware)​

Education:

Attended McKendree College​

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1860: Graduated from West Point Military Academy - (6th​ in class)​

Occupation before War:

1860 – 1861: Brevet 2nd​ Lt. In United States Topographical Engineers​

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1860 – 1861: Assistant Topographical Engineer in Oregon Department​

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1861: 2nd​ Lt. In United States Army, Topographical Engineers​

Civil War Career:

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1861 – 1863: 1st​ Lt. In United States Army, Topographical Engineers​

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1861 – 1862: Chief Topographical Engineer, Port Royal Expedition​

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1862: Chief Topographical Engineer for U.S. Army, Dept. of South

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1862: Participated in the Siege of Fort Pulaski, Savannah, Georgia​

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1862: Aide to Major General George B. McClellan in Maryland​

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1862 – 1863: Chief Topographical Engineer, Army of the Tennessee​

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1862 – 1863: Lt. Colonel in United States Army, Volunteers​

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1863: Assistant Engineer, & Inspector General in Vicksburg, Mississippi​

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1863 – 1865: Brigadier General of United States Army, Volunteers​

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1865 – 1866: Major General of United States Army, Volunteers​

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1865 - In Georgia, cavalrymen under Wilson's command captured Confederate President Jefferson Davis, and Captain Henry Wirz, the commandant of Andersonville​

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1866: Mustered out of the Volunteer Army on January 8th​​

Occupation after War:

1866 – 1869: Lt. Colonel of United States Army, 35th​ Infantry Regiment​

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1866 – 1870: Superintendent Engineer of Survey of Rock & Illinois River​

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1870: On Leave of absence from the Army​

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1870: Resigned from United States Army, December 31st​​

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1870 – 1876: Vice President, St. Louis & Southeastern Railroad Company​

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1876 – 1878: Receiver & General Manager, St. Louis & Southeastern Railroad Company​

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1876: Chief Engineer of the Gilbert Elevated Railroad​

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1878 – 1880: Vice President & General Manager, New York & New England Railroad​

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1880 – 1883: President of New York & New England Railroad​

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1870 – 1890: Author and Writer​

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1898 - Returned to the Army as a Brigadier General, when the U.S. declared war on Spain, commanding a brigade of volunteers in Cuba and Puerto Rico​

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1901 - Commanded a brigade of volunteers in China during the Boxer Rebellion

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1901 - Retired from military life.​

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1902 - Represented the United States in London for the coronation of Edward VII in President Roosevelt's stead​

Died: February 23, 1925

Place of Death: Wilmington, Delaware

Age at time of Death: 87 years old

Cause of Death: Dilatation of the heart

Burial Place: Old Swedes Churchyard Cemetery, Wilmington, Delaware

 

[Luke Freet]

1870: On Leave of absence from the Army
1870: Dishonorably Discharged from United States Army December 31st

Was not aware of this. What was this for exactly? Him being on prolonged absence I presume

 

[mofederal]

All the sources I have seen, say he resigned, so there must be an interesting story there.

 

[John Hartwell]

According to the attached article from 1912, he was made a Major General of Volunteers during the SpamWar, and "later he distinguished himself at the coronation of King Edward VII, and in 1901 was placed on the retired list by special act of congress with the rank of brigadier general of the United States Army." When he died in 1925, he was the last surviving Civil War Corps commander.

He authored biographies of Grant, Rawlins, McCook, and Andrew T. Alexander.

Major Gen. James Harrison Wilson in 1898:

[https://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/wilson.html]​

 

[John Hartwell]

According to his obituary in The Indiana Gazette, 27 February 1925, he had resigned in 1870, and:

 

[James N.]

Wilson's Charge at Selma, Alabama, April 2, 1865, documents Wilson as one of the very few Union commanders to beat Nathan Bedford Forrest - collector's print by artist Don Stivers. This was accomplished during one of the notable cavalry raids of the war, on a par with John Hunt Morgan or Jeb Stuart, but it was so overshadowed by Appomattox it got little of the coverage that likely would had it occurred a bit earlier.

 

[Pollaco]

He was a volunteer aide-de-camp to McClellan in September of 1862 before joining Grant for the Vicksburg Campaign.

 

[rbasin]

Quickly becoming a big fav of mine

 

[Lubliner]

Yet he wasn't considered a Cavalry Commander by rank, just Infantry Volunteers? I think he would have been given a brevet cavalry rank.
Lubliner.

 

[rpkennedy]

It took him a while to get the hang of cavalry operations. His actions during the Overland Campaign left a lot to be desired but he performed better later in 1864 and 1865.

Ryan

 

[Pollaco]

There is an interesting biography about him by Edward G. Longacre titled "From Union Stars to Top Hat; A Biography of the Extraordinary General James Harrison Wilson".

 

[James N.]

Yet he wasn't considered a Cavalry Commander by rank, just Infantry Volunteers? I think he would have been given a brevet cavalry rank.
Lubliner.

Unlike the German Army, there's no corresponding U.S. rank to General of Infantry, General of Cavalry, etc.; we had Generals - period. Only lower-ranking so-called Officers Of Field and Line were designated as belonging to particular branches of the service.

 

[Irishtom29]

Was Wilson gay?

 

[rpkennedy]

Was Wilson gay?

Some have surmised that he was but who really knows?

Ryan

 

[gentlemanrob]

Happy Birthday week (September 2nd) to Major General James Harrison Wilson! Salutes remembering General Wilson on his birthday.

 

[Pollaco]

Upon his death in 1925 Wilson was the fourth- to-the-last living Union General.

 

[Pollaco]

I'm a little puzzled how he was assigned to the ''newly created 35th U.S.Infantry"right after the war but so far all research states that the 35th wasn't organized until 1916.Were there 2 of them?

 

[Luke Freet]

I'm a little puzzled how he was assigned to the ''newly created 35th U.S.Infantry"right after the war but so far all research states that the 35th wasn't organized until 1916.Were there 2 of them?

It may have been raised and then reorganized and disbanded. Same thing with the Buffalo Infantry, originally four regiments consolidated into the 24th and 25th Infantry Regiments

 

[DixieRifles]

1861 – 1863: 1st Lt. In United States Army, Topographical Engineers

Lt. Wilson produced maps of the towns along the Memphis & Charleston RR: Collierville, LaFayette Station(now Rossville), and Moscow. All three towns had a battle/skirmish that relates to General Chalmers' and General Forrest's cavalry operations.
These maps were not very detailed as there was not much in this area to put on the map. However, he marked the location of the M&C RR mile markers on his map---which are still there today.

Map entitled LaFayette and Colliersville, Tenn. This was published in a history of Collierville and printed on two separate sheets.

Enlargement of Title

Someone annotated the map with additional info—likely our town historian who published the book.

 

[USS ALASKA]

University of New Mexico
UNM Digital Repository
History ETDs
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
1-14-1957

The Civil War Career of Brevet Major-General James Harrison Wilson, U.S.A.
Spencer Wilson

This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in History ETDs by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected].

https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1226&context=hist_etds

File too large to attach, please use above link

Cheers,
USS ALASKA