Alfred Howe Terry (November 10, 1827 – December 16, 1890) was a
Union general in the
American Civil War and the
military commander of the
Dakota Territory from 1866 to 1869, and again from 1872 to 1886. In 1865, Terry led Union troops to victory at the
Second Battle of Fort Fisher in North Carolina.
Early life and career
Although born in
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
, Alfred Terry's family quickly moved to
New Haven, where he spent most of his childhood. Terry graduated from the
Hopkins School in New Haven in 1838. After attending
Yale Law School in 1848, Terry became a
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
and was appointed clerk of the Superior Court of
New Haven County
New Haven County is a county in the south central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, the population was 864,835, making it the third-most populous county in Connecticut. Two of the state's top 5 largest cities, New ...
.
Civil War
South Carolina
When the Civil War started, Terry raised the
2nd Connecticut Infantry Regiment
The 2nd Connecticut Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Service
The 2nd Connecticut Infantry Regiment was organized at New Haven, Connecticut and mustered in for three-months ser ...
, and was appointed
colonel. The regiment fought at
First Bull Run, after which Terry and his regiment were transferred to
South Carolina. On September 13, 1861, at New Haven, Connecticut, Col. Terry organized an elite and special regiment,
7th Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, a three-year regiment, naming
Joseph Roswell Hawley
Joseph Roswell Hawley (October 31, 1826March 18, 1905) was the 42nd Governor of Connecticut, a U.S. politician in the Republican and Free Soil parties, a Civil War general, and a journalist and newspaper editor. He served two terms in the Unit ...
, who assisted in raising the regiment, as lieutenant colonel. He was appointed
brigadier general of volunteers in April 1862 and placed in command of the Morris Island Division of the
X Corps 10th Corps, Tenth Corps, or X Corps may refer to:
France
* 10th Army Corps (France)
* X Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
Germany
* X Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army
* X ...
. Terry was heavily involved in the siege operations against
Charleston
Charleston most commonly refers to:
* Charleston, South Carolina
* Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital
* Charleston (dance)
Charleston may also refer to:
Places Australia
* Charleston, South Australia
Canada
* Charleston, Newfoundlan ...
during 1863 and
Morris Island
Morris Island is an 840-acre (3.4 km²) uninhabited island in Charleston Harbor in South Carolina, accessible only by boat. The island lies in the outer reaches of the harbor and was thus a strategic location in the American Civil War. The ...
,
South Carolina. Troops under Terry's direct command were engaged at a skirmish at
Grimball's Landing and later succeeded in capturing
Fort Wagner in September 1863, but the following year the entire X Corps was sent north to
Benjamin Butler's Army of the James in
Virginia.
Virginia
Terry's Morris Island Division was redesignated the 1st Division, X Corps, and fought at the
Battle of Proctor's Creek and in the
Bermuda Hundred Campaign around
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
. Once the
Siege of Petersburg began, Terry continued to fight in the battles north of the
James River
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...
, notably at the
Battle of New Market Heights
The Battle of Chaffin's Farm and New Market Heights, also known as Laurel Hill and combats at Forts Harrison, Johnson, and Gilmer, was fought in Virginia on September 29–30, 1864, as part of the siege of Petersburg in the American Civil War.
...
. Upon the death of X Corps commander
David B. Birney in October, Terry briefly assumed command of the corps before it was dissolved. His leadership was never in question, but he had not achieved the same battlefield glory that many of his counterparts had won by this time in the war.
Fort Fisher and North Carolina
Terry's greatest achievement of the war came when he was placed in command of the Fort Fisher Expeditionary Corps. Benjamin Butler had previously failed in an expedition against
Fort Fisher at the end of 1864. Terry had gained the confidence of General
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
and was now in command of the ground forces in a second expedition against the fort. Unlike Butler, Terry worked well with the Navy under the command of
David D. Porter
David Dixon Porter (June 8, 1813 – February 13, 1891) was a United States Navy admiral and a member of one of the most distinguished families in the history of the U.S. Navy. Promoted as the second U.S. Navy officer ever to attain the rank of ...
. On January 13, 1865, Terry sent a division of
United States Colored Troops
The United States Colored Troops (USCT) were regiments in the United States Army composed primarily of African-American (colored) soldiers, although members of other minority groups also served within the units. They were first recruited during ...
to hold off
Confederate
Confederacy or confederate may refer to:
States or communities
* Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities
* Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between ...
forces under
Braxton Bragg to the north of Fort Fisher. He sent his other division under
Adelbert Ames against the northern part of the fort. After hand-to-hand fighting, the Union troops took control of the fort. For his part in the
Battle of Fort Fisher, Terry was promoted to
major general of volunteers and
brigadier general in the
regular army. Reinforcements arrived in February and
John M. Schofield
John McAllister Schofield (September 29, 1831 – March 4, 1906) was an American soldier who held major commands during the American Civil War. He was appointed U.S. Secretary of War (1868–1869) under President Andrew Johnson and later served a ...
arrived to take overall command of the campaign against
Wilmington, North Carolina. After the
fall of Wilmington, the Fort Fisher Expeditionary Corps was renamed the X Corps, with Terry remaining in command, and participated in the final stages of the
Carolinas Campaign. He is generally considered one of the most capable generals with no previous military training to emerge from the war.
Postbellum activities
After the war, Terry remained in the military. He helped to negotiate the
Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868), which ended
Red Cloud's campaign against American troops in the region. Terry became a strong opponent of the
Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
after being assigned as the last military governor of the
Third Military District, based in
Atlanta, where he served beginning on December 22, 1869.
Terry was the commander of the U.S. Army column marching westward into the Montana Territory during what is now popularly known as the
Centennial Campaign of 1876–77. Two other columns marched toward the same objective area (
George Crook
George R. Crook (September 8, 1828 – March 21, 1890) was a career United States Army officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. During the 1880s, the Apache nicknamed Crook ''Nantan ...
's from the south and
John Gibbon
John Gibbon (April 20, 1827 – February 6, 1896) was a career United States Army officer who fought in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.
Early life
Gibbon was born in the Holmesburg section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the fourt ...
's from the west). A column of troops under his command arrived shortly after the
Battle of Little Bighorn and discovered the bodies of
Custer's men. His
aide-de-camp,
Robert Patterson Hughes
Robert Patterson Hughes (April 11, 1839 – October 27, 1909) was an American military officer. He served from 1861 until 1903 and attained the rank of major general.
A native of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, he was educated at local academies and t ...
, who was also his brother-in-law, investigated Custer's activities before and during the battle and authored a critical report.
In October 1877, he went to
Canada to negotiate with
Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull ( lkt, Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake ; December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota leader who led his people during years of resistance against United States government policies. He was killed by Indian agency police on the Standing Rock I ...
. He was still in command in
Montana during the
Nez Perce War and sent reinforcements to intercept
Chief Joseph.
In 1878, Terry joined Maj. Gen.
John Schofield on a presidential board asked to reexamine the conviction by
court-martial of Fitz John Porter. The board found that Porter had been unfairly convicted of cowardice and disobedience.
In 1881, as the
Northern Pacific Railway's
transcontinental rail line
A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous railroad trackage, that crosses a continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single ...
was building across Montana, the new town of
Terry, Montana
Terry, incorporated in 1910, is a town in and the county seat of Prairie County, Montana, United States. The population was 562 at the 2020 census.
History
The site where Terry is located was first called Joubert's Landing, in recognition of t ...
was named in his honor.
In 1886, Terry was promoted to
major general and was given command of the
Military Division of the Missouri
The Military Division of the Missouri was an administrative formation of the United States Army that functioned through the end of the American Civil War and the Indian Wars that continued after its conclusion. It was created by the War Departmen ...
, headquartered in
Chicago. He retired from the Army on 5 April 1888. He died two years later in
New Haven, Connecticut, where he is buried in
Grove Street Cemetery
Grove Street Cemetery or Grove Street Burial Ground is a cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut, that is surrounded by the Yale University campus. It was organized in 1796 as the New Haven Burying Ground and incorporated in October 1797 to replace the ...
.
General Terry was a First Class Companion of the
Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, a military society for officers of the Union Armed Forces and their descendants.
In 1897, construction commenced on
Fort Terry, part of the
Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound.
Media portrayals
In 1967, Terry was portrayed by
Robert F. Simon (1908–1992) on the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
television series ''
Custer''.
Terry is interpreted by
Philippe Noiret in the 1974 Franco-Italian satirical
Marco Ferreri
Marco Ferreri (11 May 1928 – 9 May 1997) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and actor, who began his career in the 1950s directing three films in Spain, followed by 24 Italian films before his death in 1997. He is considered one of t ...
movie ''
Don't Touch the White Woman!
''Don't Touch the White Woman!'' (french: Touche pas à la femme blanche !) is a 1974 Western comedy film co-written and directed by Marco Ferreri.
Plot
A fictionalized version of Custer's Last Stand, set at a real building site in Paris, France ...
'', a farcical, counter-cultural, highly politicized and surreal re-enactment of the run up to the 1876
Battle of the Little Bighorn.
In 1991, Terry was portrayed by
Terry O'Quinn
Terrance Quinn (born July 15, 1952), known professionally as Terry O'Quinn, is an American actor. He played John Locke on the TV series ''Lost'', the title role in '' The Stepfather'' and ''Stepfather II'', and Peter Watts in ''Millennium'', w ...
in the television film ''
Son of the Morning Star
''Son of the Morning Star: Custer and the Little Big Horn'' is a nonfiction account of the Battle of the Little Bighorn on June 25, 1876, by novelist Evan S. Connell, published in 1984 by North Point Press. The book features extensive portraits ...
''.
See also
*
List of American Civil War generals (Union)
Union generals
__NOTOC__
The following lists show the names, substantive ranks, and brevet ranks (if applicable) of all general officers who served in the United States Army during the Civil War, in addition to a small selection of lower-ranke ...
*
7th Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry
*
Fort Terry
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Terry, Alfred
1827 births
1890 deaths
Union Army generals
People of Connecticut in the American Civil War
People of the Great Sioux War of 1876
Burials at Grove Street Cemetery
Yale Law School alumni
Military personnel from Hartford, Connecticut
Lawyers from Hartford, Connecticut