James G. Grindlay
Encyclopedia
James Glas Grindlay was a Union Army
officer in the American Civil War
and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor
, for his actions during the Battle of Five Forks
. He served with the 146th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment
and rose to become commander of that unit for the last year of the war. He twice briefly led his brigade
after his superior officers became casualties, and was brevetted
brigadier general
shortly before the end of the conflict.
, Scotland
, Grindlay immigrated to the United States
as a young man. He was trained as a clerk, accountant
, and insurance
agent. Before enlisting in the Army he worked as a bookkeeper
for a tannery
in Boonville, New York
.
's Overland Campaign
in Virginia
. At the Battle of the Wilderness
in the first week of May, the 146th took heavy casualties. Both the regimental commander and the second-in-command were killed in action
, leaving Grindlay as the most senior officer. He assumed command of the regiment and led it through the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
which immediately followed. Promoted to major
, Grindlay led the 146th for the remainder of the campaign, including the battles of North Anna
, Totopotomoy Creek
, and Cold Harbor
.
During the subsequent Siege of Petersburg
, Grindlay again led his regiment through a series of battles, beginning with the Second Battle of Petersburg in June 1864 and the Battle of Globe Tavern
in August. At the Battle of Peebles' Farm
, the commander of 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, V Corps
, of which the 146th New York was a part, was severely wounded. The injured officer, Elwell Stephen Otis
, was carried from the field and Grindlay took over his position. Grindlay's tenure as brigade commander lasted only two days, from October 1, to October 3, before a replacement was found. He reverted back to his previous position as leader of the 146th, and saw the regiment through several more battles from late 1864 into early 1865. He led his men at the Battle of Boydton Plank Road
in late October, and, after being promoted to lieutenant colonel
, at Hatcher's Run
in early February.
In the final weeks of the war, Grindlay was promoted to colonel
and brevetted before seeing action again in the Appomattox Campaign
. On March 13, 1865, he was simultaneously awarded the brevet ranks of lieutenant colonel for his actions as Spotsylvania, colonel for his actions at North Anna, and brigadier general for his "gallant and meritorious services". At the Battle of Five Forks on April 1, 1865, the 1st Brigade, including the 146th New York, led the 2nd Division's attack on the Confederate breastwork
s. Just after breaching the defenses, brigade commander Frederick Winthrop was mortally wounded. For a second time, Grindlay took over command of 1st Brigade. Under his leadership, the brigade took the Confederate defenses and captured more than one-thousand prisoners and four battle flags. Two of the flags were captured by his own regiment, the 146th New York. Again, Grindlay was brigade commander for only two days until another replacement was found. For his actions during the engagement, Grindlay was awarded the Medal of Honor twenty-six years later, on August 14, 1891. His official citation states that he was "[t]he first to enter the enemy's works, where he captured 2 flags."
Grindlay and the rest of the 146th New York were mustered out of service on July 16, 1865, three months after the end of the war.
. He married twice, first to a Miss Anderson from Boonville and second to Mary Peckham from Utica. He was active in the Loyal Legion
veterans' group and was president of the V Corps
Veteran Association. In 1874 and 1875 he served as the U.S. consul
to Kingston, Jamaica
, and from 1891 onwards he worked at the New York State Comptroller
's office in Albany
. Grindlay died in a car accident
in Troy, New York
, at age 67 and was buried at Forest Hill Cemetery
in Utica.
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...
officer in 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...
and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
, for his actions during the Battle of Five Forks
Battle of Five Forks
The Battle of Five Forks was fought on April 1, 1865, southwest of Petersburg, Virginia, in Dinwiddie County, during the Appomattox Campaign of the American Civil War. The battle, sometimes referred to as the "Waterloo of the Confederacy," pitted Union Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan against...
. He served with the 146th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment
146th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment
The 146th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, nicknamed Garrard's Tigers, was a Federal regiment mustered on October 10, 1862, and was mustered out on July 16, 1865. The regiment was raised and organized in Utica New york, and was known as the 5th Oneida Regiment...
and rose to become commander of that unit for the last year of the war. He twice briefly led his 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...
after his superior officers became casualties, and was brevetted
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
brigadier general
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...
shortly before the end of the conflict.
Early life
Born in EdinburghEdinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Grindlay immigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as a young man. He was trained as a clerk, accountant
Accountant
An accountant is a practitioner of accountancy or accounting , which is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and others make decisions about allocating resources.The Big Four auditors are the largest...
, and insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
agent. Before enlisting in the Army he worked as a bookkeeper
Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping is the recording of financial transactions. Transactions include sales, purchases, income, receipts and payments by an individual or organization. Bookkeeping is usually performed by a bookkeeper. Bookkeeping should not be confused with accounting. The accounting process is usually...
for a tannery
Tanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...
in Boonville, New York
Boonville (town), New York
This page is about the town in New York. For other communities of the same name, see Boonville or for the village, see Boonville , New York...
.
Civil War service
Grindlay enlisted from Boonville on September 8, 1862 for a three-year term of service in the Union Army. He joined Company D of the 146th New York Infantry as a captain. In May and June 1864 the regiment took part in General Ulysses S. GrantUlysses 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 Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. At 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...
in the first week of May, the 146th took heavy casualties. Both the regimental commander and the second-in-command were killed in action
Killed in action
Killed in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...
, leaving Grindlay as the most senior officer. He assumed command of the regiment and led it through the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
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...
which immediately followed. Promoted to major
Major (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...
, Grindlay led the 146th for the remainder of the campaign, including the battles of North Anna
Battle of North Anna
The Battle of North Anna was fought May 23–26, 1864, as part of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign against Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. It consisted of a series of small actions near the North Anna River in central Virginia, rather than a...
, Totopotomoy Creek
Battle of Totopotomoy Creek
The Battle of Totopotomoy Creek , also called the Battle of Bethesda Church, Crumps Creek, Shady Grove Road, and Hanovertown, was a battle fought May 28–30, 1864, in Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses Grant's Overland Campaign against Confederate Gen. Robert E...
, and 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...
.
During the subsequent Siege of Petersburg
Siege of Petersburg
The Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War...
, Grindlay again led his regiment through a series of battles, beginning with the Second Battle of Petersburg in June 1864 and the Battle of Globe Tavern
Battle of Globe Tavern
The Battle of Globe Tavern, also known as the Second Battle of the Weldon Railroad, fought August 18–21, 1864, south of Petersburg, Virginia, was the second attempt of the Union Army to sever the Weldon Railroad during the Siege of Petersburg of the American Civil War. A Union force under...
in August. At the Battle of Peebles' Farm
Battle of Peebles' Farm
The Battle of Peebles' Farm was the western part of a simultaneous Union offensive against the Confederate works guarding Petersburg and Richmond, during the Siege of Petersburg in the American Civil War.-Background:...
, the commander of 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, V Corps
V Corps (ACW)
The V Corps was a unit of the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War.-1862:The corps was first organized briefly under Nathaniel P. Banks, but then permanently on May 18, 1862, designated as the "V Corps Provisional"...
, of which the 146th New York was a part, was severely wounded. The injured officer, Elwell Stephen Otis
Elwell Stephen Otis
Elwell Stephen Otis was a United States of America General who served in the Philippines late in the Spanish-American War and during the Philippine-American War.-Biography:...
, was carried from the field and Grindlay took over his position. Grindlay's tenure as brigade commander lasted only two days, from October 1, to October 3, before a replacement was found. He reverted back to his previous position as leader of the 146th, and saw the regiment through several more battles from late 1864 into early 1865. He led his men at the Battle of Boydton Plank Road
Battle of Boydton Plank Road
-References:****...
in late October, and, after being promoted to lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
, at Hatcher's Run
Battle of Hatcher's Run
The Battle of Hatcher's Run, also known as Dabney's Mill, Armstrong's Mill, Rowanty Creek, and Vaughn Road, fought February 5–7, 1865, was one in a series of Union offensives during the Siege of Petersburg, aimed at cutting off Confederate supply traffic on Boydton Plank Road and the Weldon...
in early February.
In the final weeks of the war, Grindlay was promoted to 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...
and brevetted before seeing action again in the Appomattox Campaign
Appomattox Campaign
The Appomattox Campaign was a series of battles fought March 29 – April 9, 1865, in Virginia that culminated in the surrender of Confederate General Robert E...
. On March 13, 1865, he was simultaneously awarded the brevet ranks of lieutenant colonel for his actions as Spotsylvania, colonel for his actions at North Anna, and brigadier general for his "gallant and meritorious services". At the Battle of Five Forks on April 1, 1865, the 1st Brigade, including the 146th New York, led the 2nd Division's attack on the Confederate breastwork
Breastwork
Breastwork may mean:#A form of temporary fortification#Surgical alteration of the breast...
s. Just after breaching the defenses, brigade commander Frederick Winthrop was mortally wounded. For a second time, Grindlay took over command of 1st Brigade. Under his leadership, the brigade took the Confederate defenses and captured more than one-thousand prisoners and four battle flags. Two of the flags were captured by his own regiment, the 146th New York. Again, Grindlay was brigade commander for only two days until another replacement was found. For his actions during the engagement, Grindlay was awarded the Medal of Honor twenty-six years later, on August 14, 1891. His official citation states that he was "[t]he first to enter the enemy's works, where he captured 2 flags."
Grindlay and the rest of the 146th New York were mustered out of service on July 16, 1865, three months after the end of the war.
Post-war life
After the war, Grindlay lived in Utica, New YorkUtica, New York
Utica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census....
. He married twice, first to a Miss Anderson from Boonville and second to Mary Peckham from Utica. He was active in the Loyal Legion
Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States
The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, also known by its acronym MOLLUS or simply as the Loyal Legion, is a United States patriotic order, organized April 15, 1865, by officers of the Army, Navy, or Marine Corps of the United States who "had aided in maintaining the honor,...
veterans' group and was president of the V Corps
V Corps (ACW)
The V Corps was a unit of the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War.-1862:The corps was first organized briefly under Nathaniel P. Banks, but then permanently on May 18, 1862, designated as the "V Corps Provisional"...
Veteran Association. In 1874 and 1875 he served as the U.S. consul
Consul (representative)
The political title Consul is used for the official representatives of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, and to facilitate trade and friendship between the peoples of the two countries...
to Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
, and from 1891 onwards he worked at the New York State Comptroller
New York State Comptroller
The New York State Comptroller is a state cabinet officer of the U.S. state of New York. The duties of the comptroller include auditing government operations and operating the state's retirement system.-History:...
's office in Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
. Grindlay died in a car accident
Car accident
A traffic collision, also known as a traffic accident, motor vehicle collision, motor vehicle accident, car accident, automobile accident, Road Traffic Collision or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other stationary obstruction,...
in Troy, New York
Troy, New York
Troy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital...
, at age 67 and was buried at Forest Hill Cemetery
Forest Hill Cemetery, Utica
-Notable burials:*Ezekiel Bacon , represented Massachusetts's 12th congressional district from 1807 to 1813.*William J. Bacon , represented New York's 23rd congressional district from 1877 to 1879....
in Utica.
See also
- List of Medal of Honor recipients
- List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: G–L