Henry Boyd McKeen (September 18, 1835 – June 3, 1864) was an officer and brigade commander in the union army 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 ...

. He was killed in the

Battle of Cold Harbor The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought during the American Civil War near Mechanicsville, Virginia, from May 31 to June 12, 1864, with the most significant fighting occurring on June 3. It was one of the final battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S ...

Biography

H. Boyd McKeen was a native of

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, and a graduate of

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

, class of 1853.Rhea, p. 338. He was a lumber merchant in Camden, New Jersey, at the beginning of the War. He began the war as a First Lieutenant and Adjutant of the

81st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment The 81st Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 81st Pennsylvania Infantry was organized at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for a three-month enlistment begin ...

, commissioned on October 27, 1861. McKeen was promoted to the rank of major on June 1, 1862, during the Peninsula Campaign. As major he led the regiment in first division

II Corps 2nd Corps, Second Corps, or II Corps may refer to: France * 2nd Army Corps (France) * II Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * II Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French ...

at the

Battle 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 ...

. Promoted to colonel in November 1862, McKeen commanded the regiment at the

Battle of Fredericksburg The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. The combat, between the Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnsi ...

and the

Battle of Chancellorsville The Battle of Chancellorsville, April 30 – May 6, 1863, was a major battle of the American Civil War (1861–1865), and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville campaign. Chancellorsville is known as Lee's "perfect battle" because h ...

. He was wounded in both battles. (The 81st Pennsylvania served in the temporary fifth brigade first division II Corps at Chancellorsville.) McKeen entered the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

still commanding 81st Pennsylvania. Col

Edward E. Cross Edward Ephraim Cross (April 22, 1832 – July 3, 1863) was a newspaperman and an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Journalist Cross was born in Lancaster, New Hampshire, son of Ephram and Abigail (Everett) Cross; atte ...

, commander of the brigade, also gave him responsibility for the

148th Pennsylvania Infantry The 148th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 148th Pennsylvania Infantry was composed of volunteers raised chiefly in Centre County, Pennsylv ...

. When Cross was mortally wounded on July 2, 1863, in the Wheatfield, Col McKeen became acting commander of his brigade. McKeen wrote the official report of the brigade's actions at Gettysburg.
/ref> He records his command's role on the third day of the battle, watching the repulse of the Florida brigade under David Lang (colonel), David Lang. The regiment’s memorial stands in the Wheatfield, where it did its hardest fightin

Col McKeen was back in regimental command at the

Battle of Bristoe Station The Battle of Bristoe Station was fought on October 14, 1863, at Bristoe Station, Virginia, between Union forces under Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren and Confederate forces under Lt. Gen. A. P. Hill during the Bristoe Campaign of the American ...

and the

Mine Run Campaign The Battle of Mine Run, also known as Payne's Farm, or New Hope Church, or the Mine Run campaign (November 27 – December 2, 1863), was conducted in Orange County, Virginia, in the American Civil War. An unsuccessful attempt of the Union A ...

. During an absence of Col

Nelson Miles Nelson Appleton Miles (August 8, 1839 – May 15, 1925) was an American military general who served in the American Civil War, the American Indian Wars, and the Spanish–American War. From 1895 to 1903, Miles served as the last Commanding Gen ...

, McKeen led the brigade once more during the winter of 1863-1864. Col McKeen also led the 81st Pennsylvania at the

Battle of the Wilderness The Battle of the Wilderness was fought on May 5–7, 1864, during the American Civil War. It was the first battle of Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Arm ...

. When BG

Alexander S. Webb Alexander Stewart Webb (February 15, 1835 – February 12, 1911) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War who received the Medal of Honor for gallantry at the Battle of Gettysburg. After the war, he w ...

was wounded at the

Battle of Spotsylvania The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, sometimes more simply referred to as the Battle of Spotsylvania (or the 19th-century spelling Spottsylvania), was the second major battle in Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's 1864 ...

, McKeen was assigned command of his brigade in second division II Corps. Col McKeen was mortally wounded, shot through the body, in the

on June 3, 1864, leading a charge. His brigade had been in the second line of BG

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 second division at the beginning of the assault, but the brigade in front of it had been driven to seek cover by heavy fire. McKeen's command had tried unsuccessfully to go forward under the same fire. McKeen is buried in

The Woodlands Cemetery The Woodlands is a National Historic Landmark District on the west bank of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. It includes a Federal-style mansion, a matching carriage house and stable, and a garden landscape that in 1840 was transformed into a ...

in Philadelphia. Fort McKeen in Dakota Territory was named in his honor when it was established in 1872. It was later renamed

Fort Abraham Lincoln Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park is a North Dakota state park located south of Mandan, North Dakota, United States. The park is home to the replica Mandan On-A-Slant Indian Village and reconstructed military buildings including the Custer House. ...

References

* Raus, Edmund. ''A Generation on the March: The Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg'', Gettysburg: Thomas Publications, 1996. * 81st Pennsylvania Infantr

* Pfanz, Harry W., ''Gettysburg the Second Day'', Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1987. * Rhea, Gordon C., ''Cold Harbor: Grant and Lee May 26 - June 3, 1864'', Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2002. {{DEFAULTSORT:McKeen, H. Boyd Union Army colonels People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War Union military personnel killed in the American Civil War Year of birth unknown 1864 deaths 1835 births Military personnel from Philadelphia Burials at The Woodlands Cemetery