Henry L. Eustis
Encyclopedia
Henry Lawrence Eustis was a civil engineer, college professor, and soldier who served as a general in the Union Army
during the American Civil War
.
near Boston, Massachusetts. His father Abraham Eustis
, a career army officer, was stationed there at the time. Henry graduated from Harvard University
in 1838 and then attended the United States Military Academy
at West Point, New York
. After graduating first in his class, Eustis was assigned to engineering roles, including working on several improvements to the unfinished Fort Warren
in Boston Harbor
. Eustis taught engineering at West Point from 1847 to 1849. He resigned on November 30, 1849, and took an appointment teaching engineering at Harvard.
being raised in Massachusetts. He was commissioned as the new colonel
of the 10th Massachusetts Infantry on August 21, 1862. (The regiment
had been mustered into the service on June 21, 1861.) He joined the division
of Brig. Gen.
Darius Couch in the IV Corps
, Army of the Potomac
. Couch’s division served in the Maryland Campaign
, but it was not present at the Battle of Antietam
.
After the battle, the division became 3rd Division of the VI Corps
under Brig. Gen. John Newton. Eustis participated in the Battle of Fredericksburg
in the brigade
of Brig. Gen. Charles Devens
. He then served under Col. William H. Browne in the Chancellorsville campaign
. When Browne was wounded at the Battle of Salem Church
, Eustis succeeded to command of the brigade. He led the brigade at the Battle of Gettysburg
, where his units were in reserve. Eustis became a brigadier general on September 12, 1863. He served in the autumn campaigns of 1863 under Brig. Gen. Henry Dwight Terry, who had taken over after Newton became commander of I corps
.
In the reorganization of the Army of the Potomac preceding Ulysses S. Grant
’s Overland Campaign
in 1864, Eustis’s brigade was moved to the 2nd Division of VI Corps under Brig. Gen. George Getty
. Eustis commanded his brigade in the Battle of the Wilderness
. After Maj. Gen.
John Sedgwick
was killed at the Battle of Spotsylvania, Brig. Gen. Horatio Wright
became the corps commander. Brig. Gen. David Allen Russell
took over Wright’s 1st Division and Eustis was moved to the command of Russell’s former brigade. He led this brigade at Spotsylvania
and the subsequent actions of the army through the Battle of Cold Harbor
. Eustis resigned his commission on June 27, 1864, for reasons of “health.” It is reported that he was compelled to resign because of his addiction to opium
, which caused neglect of military duties.
of his family in 1878. He became the dean of the Lawrence Scientific School, later the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
. He was holding that post when he died in Cambridge, Massachusetts
, on January 11, 1885.
General Eustis was buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery
in Cambridge.
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Early life and career
Henry Eustis was born at Fort IndependenceFort Independence (Massachusetts)
Fort Independence is a granite star fort that provided harbor defenses for Boston, Massachusetts. Located on Castle Island, Fort Independence is the oldest continuously fortified site of English origin in the United States. The first primitive fortification was placed on the site in 1634 and...
near Boston, Massachusetts. His father Abraham Eustis
Abraham Eustis
Abraham Eustis was a lawyer and notable U.S. Army officer, eventually rising to become a Brevet Brigadier General...
, a career army officer, was stationed there at the time. Henry graduated from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1838 and then attended the United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
at West Point, New York
West Point, New York
West Point is a federal military reservation established by President of the United States Thomas Jefferson in 1802. It is a census-designated place located in Town of Highlands in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 7,138 at the 2000 census...
. After graduating first in his class, Eustis was assigned to engineering roles, including working on several improvements to the unfinished Fort Warren
Fort Warren (Massachusetts)
Fort Warren is a historic fort on the Georges Island at the entrance to Boston Harbor. The fort is pentagonal, made with stone and granite, and was constructed from 1833–1861, completed shortly after the beginning of the American Civil War...
in Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeast.-History:...
. Eustis taught engineering at West Point from 1847 to 1849. He resigned on November 30, 1849, and took an appointment teaching engineering at Harvard.
Civil War
After the Civil War broke out, Eustis joined the volunteer infantryInfantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
being raised in Massachusetts. He was commissioned as the new colonel
Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
of the 10th Massachusetts Infantry on August 21, 1862. (The regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
had been mustered into the service on June 21, 1861.) He joined the division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
of Brig. Gen.
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
Darius Couch in the IV Corps
IV Corps (ACW)
There were two corps of the Union Army called IV Corps during the American Civil War. They were separate units, one serving with the Army of the Potomac and the Department of Virginia in the Eastern Theater, 1862–63, the other with the Army of the Cumberland in the Western Theater,...
, Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
. Couch’s division served in the Maryland Campaign
Maryland Campaign
The Maryland Campaign, or the Antietam Campaign is widely considered one of the major turning points of the American Civil War. Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's first invasion of the North was repulsed by Maj. Gen. George B...
, but it was not present at the Battle of Antietam
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...
.
After the battle, the division became 3rd Division of the VI Corps
VI Corps (ACW)
The VI Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Formation:The corps was organized as the Sixth Provisional Corps on May 18, 1862, by uniting Maj. Gen. William B. Franklin's Division, which had just arrived on the Virginia Peninsula, with Maj. Gen. William F. Smith's...
under Brig. Gen. John Newton. Eustis participated in the Battle of Fredericksburg
Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside...
in the brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
of Brig. Gen. Charles Devens
Charles Devens
Charles Devens was an American lawyer, jurist and statesman. He also served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...
. He then served under Col. William H. Browne in the Chancellorsville campaign
Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on...
. When Browne was wounded at the Battle of Salem Church
Battle of Salem Church
The Battle of Salem Church, also known as the Battle of Banks' Ford, took place on May 3–4, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, as part of the Chancellorsville Campaign of the American Civil War....
, Eustis succeeded to command of the brigade. He led the brigade at the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
, where his units were in reserve. Eustis became a brigadier general on September 12, 1863. He served in the autumn campaigns of 1863 under Brig. Gen. Henry Dwight Terry, who had taken over after Newton became commander of I corps
I Corps (ACW)
I Corps was the designation of three different corps-sized units in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The units served in the following armies:...
.
In the reorganization of the Army of the Potomac preceding Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
’s Overland Campaign
Overland Campaign
The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, in the American Civil War. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, general-in-chief of all Union armies, directed the actions of the Army of the...
in 1864, Eustis’s brigade was moved to the 2nd Division of VI Corps under Brig. Gen. George Getty
George Getty
George Franklin Getty was an American lawyer, father of industrialist J. Paul Getty and patriarch of the Getty family.-George Franklin Getty:...
. Eustis commanded his brigade in the Battle of the Wilderness
Battle of the Wilderness
The Battle of the Wilderness, fought May 5–7, 1864, was the first battle of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Both armies suffered heavy casualties, a harbinger of a bloody war of attrition by...
. After Maj. Gen.
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
John Sedgwick
John Sedgwick
John Sedgwick was a teacher, a career military officer, and a Union Army general in the American Civil War. He was the highest ranking Union casualty in the Civil War, killed by a sniper at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House.-Early life:Sedgwick was born in the Litchfield Hills town of...
was killed at the Battle of Spotsylvania, Brig. Gen. Horatio Wright
Horatio Wright
Horatio Gouverneur Wright was an engineer and general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. After the war, he was involved in a number of engineering projects, including the Brooklyn Bridge and the completion of the Washington Monument, and served as Chief of Engineers for the U.S...
became the corps commander. Brig. Gen. David Allen Russell
David Allen Russell
David Allen Russell was a career United States Army officer who served in the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War. He was killed in action as a brigadier general in the Union Army.-Early life:...
took over Wright’s 1st Division and Eustis was moved to the command of Russell’s former brigade. He led this brigade at Spotsylvania
Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, sometimes simply referred to as the Battle of Spotsylvania , was the second major battle in Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Overland Campaign of the American Civil War. Following the bloody but inconclusive Battle of the Wilderness, Grant's army disengaged...
and the subsequent actions of the army through the Battle of Cold Harbor
Battle of Cold Harbor
The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought from May 31 to June 12, 1864 . It was one of the final battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign during the American Civil War, and is remembered as one of American history's bloodiest, most lopsided battles...
. Eustis resigned his commission on June 27, 1864, for reasons of “health.” It is reported that he was compelled to resign because of his addiction to opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
, which caused neglect of military duties.
Post-war
Eustis returned to teaching at Harvard and wrote several technical articles, as well as a genealogyGenealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
of his family in 1878. He became the dean of the Lawrence Scientific School, later the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
The Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Science , a school within Harvard University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences , serves as the connector and integrator of Harvard's teaching and research efforts in engineering, applied sciences, and technology.Engineering and applied sciences at Harvard...
. He was holding that post when he died in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, on January 11, 1885.
General Eustis was buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery
Mount Auburn Cemetery
Mount Auburn Cemetery was founded in 1831 as "America's first garden cemetery", or the first "rural cemetery", with classical monuments set in a rolling landscaped terrain...
in Cambridge.
See also
- List of Massachusetts generals in the American Civil War
- Massachusetts in the American Civil War