John Reese Kenly (January 11, 1818 – December 20, 1891) was an American lawyer, and a Union Army general in the American Civil War.

Biography

Kenly was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

. He studied law and was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1845, but went to the Mexican–American War as a lieutenant with a company of volunteers he had raised and was later promoted to the rank of major. As a

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 ...

he led a company in the Baltimore-Washington Battalion and wrote a book about his experiences, ''Memoirs of a Maryland Volunteer''. The battalion was part of the division of

David E. Twiggs David Emanuel Twiggs (February 14, 1790 – July 15, 1862), born in Georgia, was a career army officer, serving during the War of 1812, the Black Hawk War, and Mexican–American War. As commander of the U.S. Army's Department of Texas when the ...

's 1st Division. During the Battle of Monterrey on September 21–24, 1846, Kenly's battalion was involved in heavy fighting and Colonel

William H. Watson Lieutenant Colonel William H. Watson (1808 – September 22, 1846) commanded the Battalion of Baltimore and District of Columbia Volunteers in the Mexican–American War. Prior to that, he had been a captain in the "Independent Blues" Company of ...

was killed. He entered the American Civil War as colonel of the

1st Regiment Maryland Volunteer Infantry The 1st Regiment Maryland Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 1st Maryland was organized at Baltimore, Maryland and 4 companies (A, B, C and D) were mustered into Un ...

organized at

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

, Maryland, which was mustered into Union service on May 16, 1861. Together with some Pennsylvania companies, it was captured by

Stonewall Jackson Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, considered one of the best-known Confederate commanders, after Robert E. Lee. He played a prominent role in nearl ...

, after hard fighting, at Front Royal on the Shenandoah, May 23, 1862. Kenly himself was severely wounded when he was taken prisoner, but his stand had saved General Banks's division at Winchester, and he was raised to the command of a brigade in 1862, which he led at Hagerstown, Harpers Ferry, and elsewhere. Kenly joined the Army of the Potomac after the Battle of Gettysburg and was assigned to I Corps during the Bristoe Campaign and the Battle of Mine Run, commanding the third division of the corps. Afterward, he was assigned to the

Middle Department The Middle Department was an administrative military district created by the United States War Department early in the American Civil War to administer the troops in the Middle Atlantic states. The department was created on March 22, 1862 by the ...

, commanding the Third Separate Brigade in 1864. Kenly died in

, and is buried there in Green Mount Cemetery.

Notes

References

* Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., ''Civil War High Commands'', Stanford University Press, 2001, . * :

External links

Lawyers from Baltimore American military personnel of the Mexican–American War United States Army officers Union Army generals People of Maryland in the American Civil War 1818 births 1891 deaths 19th-century American lawyers {{AmericanCivilWar-bio-stub

Biography

See also

Notes

References

External links