Augustus Louis Chetlain (December 26, 1824 – March 15, 1914) was a

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 ...

soldier who was the first man in

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to volunteer at the outbreak of 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 ...

. He served as a

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general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Early life and career

Chetlain was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. His parents were Swiss, and they came to the United States by the way of Canada. As an infant, he was taken to Galena, Illinois. He studied at local schools in Galena and later became a clerk. In 1852, he started a career in business, and by 1859, he had become wealthy. He sold his business in the U.S. and traveled in Europe. Upon returning, Chetlain participated in the 1860 presidential campaign.Warner, p. 81.

Civil War service

When the

began in 1861, Chetlain chose to follow 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 ...

cause. He was said to have been the first man in

to volunteer for the Civil War. On April 16, he was part of a meeting held in Galena to raise a volunteer company and, with

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 ...

, was prominent in its creation. When Grant declined the post, he suggested for Chetlain to be elected as the company's captain. In

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in late April the 12th Illinois Infantry was organized, and Chetlain's company was added to it.White, p. 390. On May 2 he entered the Union Army as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the 12th Illinois, and the next day, he was elected the regiment's

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 ...

.Eicher, p. 171. Shortly afterward, the 12th Illinois was ordered to

Cairo, Illinois Cairo ( ) is the southernmost city in Illinois and the county seat of Alexander County. The city is located at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Fort Defiance, a Civil War camp, was built here in 1862 by Union General Ulysses ...

, and that September, it was part of the force used by Grant in the expedition against and capture of Paducah. Chetlain was then given command of Smithland, Kentucky, where he constructed fortifications to defend part of the

Cumberland River The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...

. In January 1862, he rejoined his regiment, led it during the expedition up the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names, ...

, was at the capture of Fort Henry on February 6, and led his command during the Battle of Fort Donelson from February 12 to 16. Corinth Oct3-4

On April 6, 1862, Chetlain led his regiment with distinction during the

Battle of Shiloh The Battle of Shiloh (also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing) was fought on April 6–7, 1862, in the American Civil War. The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee, which was part of the war's Western Theater. The battlefield i ...

in which he lost about a quarter of his men, and he was wounded when his face and his chest were seriously bruised. On April 27, he was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

for gallantry during the action at Fort Donelson. In May, his command participated in the Siege of Corinth and then the battle there on October 3 and 4 during which Chetlain was again highly praised for his performance.Warner, p. 81; White, p. 391. Chetlain was then given command of Corinth, Mississippi, where he began to organize and train black soldiers for Union Army service. This assignment lasted until May 1863, and on December 18, he was promoted 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 ...

. On the advice of Grant, Chetlain was given the task of raising black troops in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

and in

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, with his headquarters located in Memphis. By October 1864, he had trained a force of about 17,000 men, who were "well armed, drilled, and disciplined."White, p. 391. On June 18, 1865, Chetlain was brevetted to the rank 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 ...

. Between 1865 and 1866, he commanded at Memphis and then at

Talladega, Alabama Talladega (, also ) is the county seat of Talladega County, Alabama, United States. It was incorporated in 1835. At the 2020 census, the population was 15,861. Talladega is approximately east of one of the state’s biggest cities, Birmingham. ...

On January 26, 1866, Chetlain was mustered out of the Union Army. His wartime performance has been described as follows:

Later life

After the American Civil War, Chetlain was assessor of Internal Revenue for the district of Utah from 1867 to 1869. From 1869 to 1872, he was at U.S. consul in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. In 1872, he established himself in the banking business in Chicago and as a stock broker. He was a president of the Home National Bank, organizer of the Industrial Bank of Chicago, director of the

Chicago Stock Exchange NYSE Chicago, formerly known as the Chicago Stock Exchange (CHX), is a stock exchange in Chicago, Illinois, US. The exchange is a national securities exchange and self-regulatory organization, which operates under the oversight of the U.S. Sec ...

, and member of the Board of Education. An active philanthropist, he was prominent in the Military Order of the Loyal Legion and the Grand Army of the Republic for many years. In 1893, he wrote ''Recollections of Seventy Years''. On March 15, 1914, he died in Chicago. He was buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Galena.

Notes

References

* * * White, James T., general editor, ''

National Cyclopaedia of American Biography ''The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography'' is a multi-volume collection of biographical articles and portraits of Americans, published since the 1890s. The primary method of data collection was by sending questionnaires to subjects or the ...

'', Volume 4, J. T. White Company, 1895.
galenahistorymuseum.org
Galena Historical Society site biography of Chetlain.

External links

Augustus L. Chetlain letters, Vault MSS 160
at

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