John Joseph Abercrombie
Encyclopedia
John Joseph Abercrombie (March 4, 1798 – January 3, 1877) was a career United States Army
officer who served in numerous wars, finally reaching the rank of brigadier general
during the American Civil War
.
. The son of John Joseph Abercrombie, Sr. and Sarah DeNormandie, their family was living in Nashville, Tennessee when the younger John entered the United States Military Academy
in 1818. Graduating 37th of 40 from the United States Military Academy
in 1822, Abercrombie's class included future Union Army
generals Joseph K. Mansfield
, David Hunter
, and George A. McCall
, as well as future Confederate Army
general Isaac R. Trimble
.
Abercrombie began his long military career with garrison duty at Baton Rouge, Louisiana
, until 1825. He became the adjutant of the 1st U.S. Infantry and was assigned administrative duty at regimental headquarters. He was promoted to first lieutenant in September 1828 and served in the Black Hawk War
against the Sauk Indians
in 1832. He was then on garrison duty in Illinois
and Wisconsin
.
Seeing additional combat action as a captain during the Seminole Wars
, Abercrombie was brevetted
a major
for gallantry at the Battle of Lake Okeechobee
. Serving on frontier duty throughout the 1830s and 40s within the South and Northwest, Abercrombie fought again during the Mexican-American War, where he gained distinction at the Battle of Monterrey
and was promoted to lieutenant colonel
.
Following the war, he married Mary Engle Patterson, the daughter of General Robert Patterson
, a wealthy Philadelphia merchant. They would have nine children.
He founded Fort Abercrombie
in what is now North Dakota
in 1857, selecting the site and supervising construction of the wooden fort. He then commanded the garrison until promoted and reassigned to duty in Minnesota
.
in the Regular Army
.
Promoted to brigadier general
in the Union Army on August 31, 1861, Abercrombie commanded troops under his father-in-law Robert Patterson in the Shenandoah Valley
and at the Battle of Falling Waters. He was reassigned as commander of the I Corps'
2nd Brigade, attached to the Army of the Potomac
. He led the brigade throughout the Peninsula Campaign
in 1862, during which he was wounded at the Battle of Seven Pines
. During the Battle of Malvern Hill
, his command assisted in repulsing the Confederate attack against Union forces. His unit later participated in several skirmishes during the Federal retreat to Harrison's Landing.
After the conclusion of the Peninsula Campaign, Abercrombie was replaced as commander in favor of younger officers and spent the next year involved in the defense of Washington, D.C.
, and, in 1864, headed various Union supply depots in Virginia
during the Overland Campaign
. Abercrombie commanded the troops that defended a depot in Fredericksburg, Virginia
, in June 1864 against an attack by Hampton's Legion
.
On March 13, 1865, Abercrombie was brevetted a brigadier general in the Regular Army
in recognition of his long service. Abercrombie retired from active duty on June 12 after commanding Fort Schuyler in New York
.
duty for the next 3 years.
Abercrombie died at the age of 78 in Roslyn, New York
. He was buried in The Woodlands Cemetery
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
.
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
officer who served in numerous wars, finally reaching the rank of 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...
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
Abercrombie was born and baptized in Baltimore, Maryland, although some accounts suggest he was a native of TennesseeTennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. The son of John Joseph Abercrombie, Sr. and Sarah DeNormandie, their family was living in Nashville, Tennessee when the younger John entered 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...
in 1818. Graduating 37th of 40 from 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...
in 1822, Abercrombie's class included future Union Army
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...
generals Joseph K. Mansfield
Joseph K. Mansfield
Joseph King Fenno Mansfield was a career United States Army officer, civil engineer, and a Union general in the American Civil War, mortally wounded at the Battle of Antietam.-Early life:...
, David Hunter
David Hunter
David Hunter was a Union general in the American Civil War. He achieved fame by his unauthorized 1862 order emancipating slaves in three Southern states and as the president of the military commission trying the conspirators involved with the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.-Early...
, and George A. McCall
George A. McCall
George Archibald McCall was a United States Army officer who became a brigadier general and prisoner of war during the American Civil War. He was also a naturalist.-Biography:...
, as well as future Confederate Army
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
general Isaac R. Trimble
Isaac R. Trimble
Isaac Ridgeway Trimble was a United States Army officer, a civil engineer, a prominent railroad construction superintendent and executive, and a Confederate general in the American Civil War, most famous for his leadership role in the assault known as Pickett's Charge at the Battle of...
.
Abercrombie began his long military career with garrison duty at Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
, until 1825. He became the adjutant of the 1st U.S. Infantry and was assigned administrative duty at regimental headquarters. He was promoted to first lieutenant in September 1828 and served in the Black Hawk War
Black Hawk War
The Black Hawk War was a brief conflict fought in 1832 between the United States and Native Americans headed by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted soon after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis, and Kickapoos known as the "British Band" crossed the Mississippi River into the U.S....
against the Sauk Indians
Sac (tribe)
The Sacs or Sauks are a group of Native Americans of the Eastern Woodlands culture group. Their autonym is The Sacs or Sauks are a group of Native Americans of the Eastern Woodlands culture group. Their autonym is The Sacs or Sauks are a group of Native Americans of the Eastern Woodlands culture...
in 1832. He was then on garrison duty in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
and Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
.
Seeing additional combat action as a captain during the Seminole Wars
Seminole Wars
The Seminole Wars, also known as the Florida Wars, were three conflicts in Florida between the Seminole — the collective name given to the amalgamation of various groups of native Americans and Black people who settled in Florida in the early 18th century — and the United States Army...
, Abercrombie 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...
a 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...
for gallantry at the Battle of Lake Okeechobee
Battle of Lake Okeechobee
The Battle of Lake Okeechobee was one of the major battles of the Second Seminole War. It was fought between 800 troops of the 1st, 4th, and 6th Infantry Regiments and 132 Missouri Volunteers and between 380 and 480 Seminoles led by Billy Bowlegs, Abiaca and Alligator on December 25, 1837...
. Serving on frontier duty throughout the 1830s and 40s within the South and Northwest, Abercrombie fought again during the Mexican-American War, where he gained distinction at the Battle of Monterrey
Battle of Monterrey
In the Battle of Monterrey during the Mexican-American War, General Pedro de Ampudia and the Mexican Army of the North was defeated by U.S...
and was 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...
.
Following the war, he married Mary Engle Patterson, the daughter of General Robert Patterson
Robert Patterson
Robert Patterson was a United States major general during the Mexican-American War and at the beginning of the American Civil War...
, a wealthy Philadelphia merchant. They would have nine children.
He founded Fort Abercrombie
Fort Abercrombie
Fort Abercrombie, in North Dakota, was an American fort established by authority of an act of Congress, March 3, 1857. The act allocated twenty-five square miles of land on the Red River in Dakota Territory to be used for a military outpost, but the exact location was left to the discretion of...
in what is now North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
in 1857, selecting the site and supervising construction of the wooden fort. He then commanded the garrison until promoted and reassigned to duty in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
.
Civil War service
By the start of the Civil War, at the age of 63, Abercrombie was one of the oldest field officers in both the Union and Confederacy. He served as the commanding officer of the U.S. 7th Infantry in Minnesota with the full rank of colonelColonel (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...
in the Regular Army
Regular Army
The Regular Army of the United States was and is the successor to the Continental Army as the country's permanent, professional military establishment. Even in modern times the professional core of the United States Army continues to be called the Regular Army...
.
Promoted to 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...
in the Union Army on August 31, 1861, Abercrombie commanded troops under his father-in-law Robert Patterson in the Shenandoah Valley
Shenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...
and at the Battle of Falling Waters. He was reassigned as commander of the 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:...
2nd Brigade, attached to the 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...
. He led the brigade throughout the Peninsula Campaign
Peninsula Campaign
The Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The operation, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B...
in 1862, during which he was wounded at the Battle of Seven Pines
Battle of Seven Pines
The Battle of Seven Pines, also known as the Battle of Fair Oaks or Fair Oaks Station, took place on May 31 and June 1, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of an offensive up the Virginia Peninsula by Union Maj. Gen....
. During the Battle of Malvern Hill
Battle of Malvern Hill
The Battle of Malvern Hill, also known as the Battle of Poindexter's Farm, took place on July 1, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia, on the seventh and last day of the Seven Days Battles of the American Civil War. Gen. Robert E. Lee launched a series of disjointed assaults on the nearly impregnable...
, his command assisted in repulsing the Confederate attack against Union forces. His unit later participated in several skirmishes during the Federal retreat to Harrison's Landing.
After the conclusion of the Peninsula Campaign, Abercrombie was replaced as commander in favor of younger officers and spent the next year involved in the defense of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and, in 1864, headed various Union supply depots 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...
during the 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...
. Abercrombie commanded the troops that defended a depot in Fredericksburg, Virginia
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Fredericksburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia located south of Washington, D.C., and north of Richmond. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 24,286...
, in June 1864 against an attack by Hampton's Legion
Hampton's Legion
Hampton's Legion was an American Civil War military unit of the Confederate States of America, organized and partially financed by wealthy South Carolina plantation owner Wade Hampton III...
.
On March 13, 1865, Abercrombie was brevetted a brigadier general in the Regular Army
Regular Army
The Regular Army of the United States was and is the successor to the Continental Army as the country's permanent, professional military establishment. Even in modern times the professional core of the United States Army continues to be called the Regular Army...
in recognition of his long service. Abercrombie retired from active duty on June 12 after commanding Fort Schuyler in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Postbellum
In his retirement, Abercrombie stayed associated with the U.S. Army. He served on court-martialCourt-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
duty for the next 3 years.
Abercrombie died at the age of 78 in Roslyn, New York
Roslyn, New York
Roslyn is a village in Nassau County, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2010 Census, the village population was 2,770...
. He was buried in The Woodlands Cemetery
The Woodlands Cemetery
The Woodlands is a National Historic Landmark District on the western banks of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It includes a magnificent federal style mansion, a matching carriage house and stable, and a garden landscape that in 1840 was transformed into a Victorian rural...
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
See also
- List of American Civil War generals