Daniel Fletcher Webster (July 25, 1813 – August 30, 1862), was an American diplomat and Union Army officer. The son of renowned politician Daniel Webster and Grace Fletcher Webster, Fletcher graduated from

Boston Latin School The Boston Latin School is a public exam school in Boston, Massachusetts. It was established on April 23, 1635, making it both the oldest public school in the British America and the oldest existing school in the United States. Its curriculum f ...

circa 1829 and from Harvard College in 1833. During his father's first term as Secretary of State, Fletcher served as Chief Clerk of the United States State Department which, at the time, was the second most powerful office in the

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

. As chief clerk, he delivered the news of President William Henry Harrison's death to the new president, John Tyler. Fletcher Webster married Caroline S. White on November 11, 1836. They raised two sons, Daniel (April 1840 – 2 September 1865) and Ashburton (7 December 1847 – 7 February 1879), and four daughters but three died in childhood. His third daughter Caroline W. Webster (24 October 1845 – 16 August 1884) married James Geddes Day.History of the Twelfth Massachusetts Volunteers by Benjamin F. Cook, page 159 During the Civil War, Webster served as colonel of the 12th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. The unit was known in the Army of the Potomac as "The Webster Regiment" in honor of their commander. While reinforcing Union forces attempting to repel Longstreet's counterattack, Webster was mortally wounded on Chinn Ridge in defense of Henry House Hill in the

Second Battle of Bull Run The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate ...

on August 30, 1862. A memorial boulder stands in Manassas National Battlefield Park in Colonel Webster's honor. A memorial to the Webster Regiment stands in Gettysburg National Park. He is also memorialized on the marble PRO PATRIA shield in the lobby of the

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Brief of Fletcher Webster

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1818 births 1862 deaths People from Portsmouth, New Hampshire Union Army colonels People of Massachusetts in the American Civil War Union military personnel killed in the American Civil War Harvard College alumni Burials at Winslow Cemetery Boston Latin School alumni Chief Clerks of the United States Department of State {{AmericanCivilWar-bio-stub