Brigadier General John Gibbon

John Gibbon, born in Philadelphia in 1827, became an artillery officer after graduating from the United States Military Academy in 1847 and served in the Mexican War, the Seminole Wars, and as an instructor and quartermaster at the Military Academy. He authored The Artillerist's Manual, published by the War Department in 1860. At the start of the Civil War he was a captain in the 4th Artillery in the Utah Territory, then served as Chief of Artillery in McDowell's Division during the advance on Fredericksburg in the Peninsula Campaign. Promoted to brigadier general on May 2, 1862, he took command of the Iron Brigade, which fought at Second Bull Run, South Mountain, and Antietam, then became commander of the 2nd Division, I Corps, in November 1862 and was wounded at Fredericksburg. In April 1863 he took command of the 2nd Division, II Corps, and at Gettysburg he commanded that division on July 3, 1863, serving with conspicuous gallantry and distinction in repulsing Longstreet's Assault until he was wounded and carried from the battlefield; he was also wounded there in the left arm and shoulder. After duty in charge of draft depots in Cleveland and Philadelphia until March 1864, he returned to the 2nd Division, II Corps, for the battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, and the investment of Petersburg, and he was promoted to major general effective June 7, 1864. He later held temporary command of the XVIII Corps and then commanded the XXIV Corps, Army of the James, in January 1865. In April 1865 he was in charge of the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox. After the war he became colonel of the 36th U.S. Infantry and then the 7th U.S. Infantry in 1869, commanded posts in the West, and carried out duties largely against Indians. His troops took part in the 1876 campaign in which Custer was defeated at the Little Big Horn, arriving in time to rescue survivors and bury the dead. In 1877 he took part in the campaign against the Nez Percé and was seriously wounded. Promoted to brigadier-general in the regular army on July 10, 1885, he served in the Department of Columbia and then the Department of the Pacific until retiring in 1891. He later lived in Baltimore, served as Commander-in-Chief of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States in 1895-1896, died on February 6, 1896, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Pennsylvania · United States