Amos Beebe Eaton (May 12, 1806 – February 21, 1877) was a career officer in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, serving as a general for the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Biography

Amos B. Eaton was born in

Catskill, New York Catskill is a town in the southeastern section of Greene County, New York, United States. The population was 11,298 at the 2020 census, the largest town in the county. The western part of the town is in the Catskill Park. The town contains a v ...

. He graduated from

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

in 1826; he was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

lieutenant until the Florida campaigns of the late 1830s. After that, his only fighting experiences took place in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

, for which service he was appointed a

brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. Eaton served for 12 years as a field officer in the U.S. Army, then joined the commissary department for 23 years. Appointed a

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

and assistant commissary general in 1861, Eaton was given the task of creating an effective supply system for the fledgling Union army. The large number of troops entering the Army at the beginning of the war was overloading the existing system. His work provisioning and distributing supplies to the troops led to President Abraham Lincoln's July 6, 1864, appointment of Eaton to the rank of

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

, U.S. Army, to rank from June 29, 1864.Eicher, John H., and

David J. Eicher David John Eicher (born August 7, 1961) is an American editor, writer, and popularizer of astronomy and space. He has been editor-in-chief of ''Astronomy'' magazine since 2002. He is author, coauthor, or editor of 23 books on science and American ...

, ''Civil War High Commands''. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . p. 716 President Lincoln formally nominated Eaton for the appointment on June 30, 1864, and the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment on July 2, 1864. Eaton took over the position of commissary general of the

Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregulars, irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenary, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the ...

at the same time due to the death of Brigadier General Joseph P. Taylor on June 29, 1864. On March 8, 1866, President

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Dem ...

nominated Eaton for appointment to the

grade of

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

to rank from March 13, 1865, and the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination on May 4, 1866, and re-confirmed it on July 14, 1866, in order to have line officers precede staff officers in rank. He retired May 1, 1874, with the grade of brigadier general, USA, and commissary general of subsistence. He then moved to

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

. Eaton died in New Haven, on February 21, 1877, and was buried there.

Personal life

Eaton is the son of

Amos Eaton Amos Eaton (May 17, 1776 – May 10, 1842) was an American botanist, geologist, and educator who is considered the founder of the modern scientific prospectus in education, which was a radical departure from the American liberal arts tradition of ...

and Sally Cady Eaton. His first cousin is

Elizabeth Cady Stanton Elizabeth Cady Stanton (November 12, 1815 – October 26, 1902) was an American writer and activist who was a leader of the women's rights movement in the U.S. during the mid- to late-19th century. She was the main force behind the 1848 Seneca ...

. Eaton married Elizabeth Selden Spencer (1796-1868) on April 21, 1831. She was the widow of New York State Senator

Joseph Spencer (New York politician) Joseph Spencer (1790 – May 2, 1823) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. Life He was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the son of Isaac Spencer who was Connecticut State Treasurer from 1818 to 1835. Joseph Spencer graduated from ...

. Elizabeth and Joseph had one daughter, Elizabeth Selden Spencer Colt (1819-1910). Elizabeth was the sister of New York State Lieutenant Governor

Henry R. Selden Henry Rogers Selden (October 14, 1805 – September 18, 1885) was an American lawyer and politician. He was Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1857 to 1858. He defended Susan B. Anthony in her 1873 trial for unlawfully voting as a woman.Alan D ...

and politician

Samuel L. Selden Samuel Lee Selden (October 12, 1800 – September 20, 1876) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals in 1862. Life Selden was born in Lyme, Connecticut in 1800 and moved to Rochest ...

. Amos and Elizabeth had three children: Ellen Dwight Eaton (1832-1907),

Daniel Cady Eaton Daniel Cady Eaton (September 12, 1834 – June 29, 1895) was an American botanist and author. After studies at the Rensselaer Institute in Troy and Russell's military school in New Haven,"Daniel Cady Eaton", ''American Journal of Science'', A ...

(1834-1895), and Frances Spencer Eaton (1836-1911). Following his wife's death on May 8, 1868, Eaton re-married, on September 7, 1870, to Mary Isaacs Jerome Smith. She was the widow of Captain Ephraim Kirby Smith, who was killed in action near

Mexico City, Mexico Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of Mex ...

while serving in the United States Army during the

Mexican-American War Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexicans, Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% ...

. Smith had three children of her own: Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Lee Smith Kirby, U.S. Army (1836-1862), who was killed in action during the

United States Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

in Corinth, Mississippi; Emma Jerome Kirby Blackwood (1840-1916); and Second Lieutenant George Geddes Kirby (1843-1875), an Ensign during the U.S. Civil War and later a lieutenant stationed in Wyoming who took his own life. Her second cousin, twice removed was

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

. His daughter Frances Spencer Eaton married Charles Atwood White, the great-grandson of American founding father

Roger Sherman Roger Sherman (April 19, 1721 – July 23, 1793) was an American statesman, lawyer, and a Founding Father of the United States. He is the only person to sign four of the great state papers of the United States related to the founding: the Cont ...

. They were the parents of

U.S. Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of th ...

Henry L. Stimson Henry Lewis Stimson (September 21, 1867 – October 20, 1950) was an American statesman, lawyer, and Republican Party politician. Over his long career, he emerged as a leading figure in U.S. foreign policy by serving in both Republican and D ...

's wife Mabel Wellington Stimson and

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

leader

Elizabeth Selden Rogers Elizabeth Selden White Rogers (July 23, 1868 – December 18, 1950) was a civic reformer working to improve the New York public schools, and to win suffrage for women in the state of New York and the nation. Early life and education She wa ...

. His grandson, Dr. George Francis Eaton (son of Daniel), earned his Ph.D. from Yale University and was an instructor at that institute. His 3rd great-grandson, Staff Sergeant Richard Selden Eaton, Jr. (1966-2003), was a United States Army counterintelligence analyst who died in Iraq from illness while active service.

Notes

References

* Eicher, John H., and

, ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. .

Archives and records

U.S. Army Office of Assistant Commissary General of Subsistence records
at Baker Library Special Collections, Harvard Business School.

External links