Charles Jarvis Whiting was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

officer who commanded a cavalry regiment, and briefly a brigade, 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 ...

Biography

Earlier years

Whiting was born on November 28, 1814, at

Lancaster, Massachusetts Lancaster is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. Incorporated in 1653, Lancaster is the oldest town in Worcester County. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 8,441. History In 1643 Lancaster was first ...

but shortly moved to

Castine, Maine Castine ( ) is a town in Hancock County in eastern Maine.; John Faragher. ''Great and Nobel Scheme''. 2005. p. 68. The population was 1,320 at the 2020 census. Castine is the home of Maine Maritime Academy, a four-year institution that graduate ...

where he spent the rest of his childhood. Whiting applied for the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

but was initially rejected due to being too short but was later admitted the following year before graduating 4th in the Class of 1835. His first post was as Brevet Second Lieutenant in the 2nd United States Artillery on July 1, 1835. Whiting then served as an engineer in the Second Seminole War before resigning on May 31, 1836 to be a railroad surveyor at

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and in 1838, served as an engineer in the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

delta before returning to

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

and founding the Military and Classical Academy at

Ellsworth, Maine Ellsworth is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Maine, United States. The 2020 Census determined it had a population of 8,399. Named after United States Founding Father Oliver Ellsworth, it contains historic buildings a ...

. Whiting then got married in 1841 but his wife died in 1847 leaving him as a widowed father with his only daughter, Anna Waterman Whiting and left his wife's family to raise the infant. After teaching for six years, Whiting went to survey the new border between the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

that was established by the

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ( es, Tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo), officially the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits, and Settlement between the United States of America and the United Mexican States, is the peace treaty that was signed on 2 ...

before settling at

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...

where he was a farmer and surveyor there and from 1850 to 1851, he served as Surveyor-General of California. When the reserves increased in 1855, Whiting re-enlisted in the

and was appointed a captain of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment on March 3, 1855. He would go on to lead campaigns against the Comanche, giving him praise and being described as an ambitious martinet who was eager to advance his career.

American Civil War

In March 1861, Whiting was stationed at

Fort Inge Fort Inge was a frontier fort in Uvalde County, Texas, United States. History Established as Camp Leona on March 13, 1849, Fort Inge was garrisoned intermittently until March 19, 1869. The fort served as a base for United States Army troops assign ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

before Texas seceded from the Union, Whiting and some other officers were stranded in the fort before escaping via a steamboat. He was then sent to Carlisle Barracks to train recruits on basic cavalry tactics before briefly returning to Maine to marry Phebe Whitney. But soon returned to the frontlines where he was stationed at the defenses of

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and in the

Manassas campaign The Manassas campaign was a series of military engagements in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. Background Military and political situation The Confederate forces in northern Virginia were organized into two field armies. Br ...

where he fought in the

Battle of Hoke's Run The Battle of Hoke's Run, also known as the Battle of Falling Waters or Battle of Hainesville, took place on July 2, 1861, in Berkeley County, Virginia (now West Virginia) as part of the Manassas campaign of the American Civil War. Notable a ...

with a squadron in search of a militia regiment. However, during his movements, he never ceased to share his opinions of the militia as well as the politicians who started the war, reportedly being openly critical about them. Later on, Whiting participated in

George B. McClellan George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American soldier, Civil War Union general, civil engineer, railroad executive, and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey. A graduate of West Point, McCl ...

's Peninsula campaign but was captured during the

Battle of Gaines' Mill The Battle of Gaines' Mill, sometimes known as the Battle of Chickahominy River, took place on June 27, 1862, in Hanover County, Virginia, as the third of the Seven Days Battles (Peninsula Campaign) of the American Civil War. Following the inconc ...

when his horse was shot from under him. After spending some time at the infamous

Libby Prison Libby Prison was a Confederate prison at Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. In 1862 it was designated to hold officer prisoners from the Union Army. It gained an infamous reputation for the overcrowded and harsh conditions. Priso ...

, he was paroled as he was exchanged for another officer and sent back to Washington where he was shortly promoted to major and was then made Major of the

5th Cavalry Regiment The 5th Cavalry Regiment ("Black Knights") is a historical unit of the United States Army that began its service on August 3, 1861, when an act of Congress enacted "that the two regiments of dragoons, the regiment of mounted riflemen, and the t ...

on July 17, 1862 which he then took to participate at the battles of

Antietam The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union G ...

and Fredericksburg as well as Stoneman's 1863 raid. Despite being one of the few senior majors remaining in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

, Whiting assumed command of the Reserve Brigade when

John Buford John Buford, Jr. (March 4, 1826 – December 16, 1863) was a United States Army cavalry officer. He fought for the Union as a brigadier general during the American Civil War. Buford is best known for having played a major role in the first day ...

assumed command of the 1st Division of the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confede ...

's Cavalry Corps. The Reserve Brigade consisted of the corp's

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

elements; portions of the 1st, 2nd, 5th and 6th U.S. Cavalry regiments, as well as the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment. He would serve as brigade commander for just a few weeks. Whiting led the Reserve Brigade at the

Battle of Brandy Station The Battle of Brandy Station, also called the Battle of Fleetwood Hill, was the largest predominantly cavalry engagement of the American Civil War, as well as the largest ever to take place on American soil. It was fought on June 9, 1863, aroun ...

but due to his orders conflicting with Buford's orders, the Regular Army failed to save the 6th Pennsylvania in time and Whiting was relieved from his post and sent to

Fort Preble Fort Preble was a military fort in South Portland, Maine, United States, built in 1808 and progressively added to through 1906. The fort was active during all major wars from the War of 1812 through World War II. The fort was deactivated in 1950 ...

. Where, after an incident that occurred on the fort with

Benjamin Butler Benjamin Franklin Butler (November 5, 1818 – January 11, 1893) was an American major general of the Union Army, politician, lawyer, and businessman from Massachusetts. Born in New Hampshire and raised in Lowell, Massachusetts, Butler is ...

, Whiting was dismissed on November 5, 1863, for "disloyalty and for using contemptuous and disrespectful words against the President of the United States".

Incident with the Navajo

After his dismissal, Whiting returned to Castine to ponder his future until when in 1866, the United States Army was again looking for experienced officers for the Western Frontier and Andrew Johnson reinstated his rank of Major of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment. He was first stationed at Fort Marcy, New Mexico before transferring to Fort Union. In July 1867, a group of Navajo natives were suspected of having stolen livestock and when six soldiers died trying to recover the livestock, Whiting commanded the 3rd Cavalry to quell the peasant unrest and ensure peace between the settlers and the Navajo. Whiting later met up with the board of officials at

Fort Sumner Fort Sumner was a military fort in New Mexico Territory charged with the internment of Navajo and Mescalero Apache populations from 1863 to 1868 at nearby Bosque Redondo. History On October 31, 1862, Congress authorized the construction of For ...

and came to the conclusion that the former post commander had provoked the Navajo.

Later years

On May 6, 1869, Whiting was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and was transferred to the 6th Cavalry Regiment and was then stationed at

Greenville, Texas Greenville is a city in Hunt County, Texas, United States, about northeast of Dallas. It is the county seat and largest city of Hunt County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 25,557, and in 2019, its estimated population was 28,827. ...

to ensure peace during the Reconstruction Era. On 1870, Whiting was stationed at

Fort Griffin Fort Griffin, now a Texas state historic site as Fort Griffin State Historic Site, was a US Cavalry fort established 31 July 1867 by four companies of the Sixth Cavalry, U.S. ArmyCarter, R.G., ''On the Border with Mackenzie'', 1935, Washington ...

but was honorably discharged on January 1, 1871, and went home to Castine. Whiting and his wife remained there but his back pain from Gaines' Mill grew worse and this eventually caused him to die on January 2, 1890.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whiting, Charles Jarvis 1814 births 1890 deaths People of Maine in the American Civil War Union Army officers People from Lancaster, Massachusetts United States Military Academy alumni Military personnel from Maine American Civil War prisoners of war