John Sanford Mason (August 21, 1824 – November 29, 1897) was a career officer in the

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 ...

who served as a

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 ...

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 (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the American Civil War.Eicher, p. 367.

Early life and career

John S. Mason was born in Steubenville, Ohio, in the late summer of 1824. His father was a prominent physician who had been a military surgeon during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

.Reid, p. 928. He was educated in the local schools began his college studies at

Kenyon College Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio. It was founded in 1824 by Philander Chase. Kenyon College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Kenyon has 1,708 undergraduates enrolled. Its 1,000-acre campus is se ...

in Gambier. In the winter of 1842, he transferred to Washington College in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. However, he withdrew when he received an appointment to 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 ...

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York, West Point was identified by General George Washington as the most important strategic position in America during the Ame ...

, on July 1, 1843. He graduated 9th of 38 cadets in the Class of 1847 and was commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the 3rd U. S. Artillery. Among his classmates were future Civil War generals A.P. Hill, Henry Heth,

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 ...

, and Ambrose Burnside. With the Mexican War raging, he was assigned to garrison duty at Tampico,

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 ...

, where he contracted

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...

. After spending time in Cincinnati, Ohio, recovering, he returned to Mexico to

Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...

as a commissary officer. He survived a second severe bout with yellow fever in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

at the end of the war. He later served in a variety of posts, including Fort Adams in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

, Fort Yuma, several garrisons in California, and finally at

Fort Vancouver Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading post that was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, located in the Pacific Northwest. Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was located on the northern bank of the ...

in the Washington Territory. He was a quartermaster from June 1854 until June 1858, and was promoted to

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

in September 1860.

Civil War

Lieutenant Mason was still at

when news arrived in April 1861 of the outbreak of the Civil War and the bombardment of Fort Sumter in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

. After the departure of Edward O. C. Ord, Mason assumed the role of post commander at Fort Vancouver on May 7, 1861 and remained in that position until June 11, when relieved following the arrival of Capt. Henry K. Black of the 9th U.S. Infantry. . Later in May, he was promoted to a

captaincy A captaincy ( es, capitanía , pt, capitania , hr, kapetanija) is a historical administrative division of the former Spanish and Portuguese colonial empires. It was instituted as a method of organization, directly associated with the home-rule ...

in the

11th U.S. Infantry The 11th Infantry Regiment is a regiment in the United States Army. In 2007, the 11th Infantry was reflagged as the 199th Infantry Brigade, as part of the "Transformation of the US Army" effort. Today, the 11th Infantry Regiment is part of the ...

. In October of that year, he was appointed as the colonel of the three-years'

4th Ohio Infantry The 4th Ohio Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the Eastern Theater in a number of campaigns and battles, but perhaps is most noted for its actions in helping secure Cemetery H ...

. He joined 4th OVI in

western Virginia Western Virginia is a geographic region in Virginia comprising the Shenandoah Valley and Southwest Virginia. Generally, areas in Virginia located west of, or (in many cases) within, the piedmont region are considered part of western Virginia. T ...

, where they served during the fall and winter under command of

Maj. Gen. 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 ...

James Shields. In 1862, Mason's

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

participated in the Peninsula Campaign of Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, where they guarded Harrison's Landing. He was involved in the Maryland Campaign and 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 ...

. Late in the year, he commanded a brigade in Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick's

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 ...

' "Right Grand Division" and fought 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 ...

. He was cited for gallantry in both of those actions and brevetted. On November 29, 1862, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general of U. S. Volunteers. His health, never robust following the two yellow fever bouts, again failed him and Mason asked for and received administrative duty. In April 1863, Mason was assigned to muster and recruit duty, first in Ohio (where he also commanded

Camp Thomas Camp Thomas was a United States Regular Army (United States), Regular Army training facility located in North Columbus, Ohio (now Columbus, Ohio, Columbus), during the American Civil War. It was primarily used to organize and train new infantry r ...

for more than a year), and for the last two years of the war in California as an Adjutant General, and finally in the new state of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. He was promoted to Major of the

17th U.S. Infantry The 17th Infantry Regiment is a United States Army infantry regiment. An earlier regiment designated the 17th Infantry Regiment was organized on 11 January 1812, but it was consolidated with four other regiments as the 3rd Infantry in the post ...

in the Regular Army in 1864. Mason was responsible for John Hunt Morgan and his raiders imprisoned in Columbus, OH at the time that seven escaped. From March 7, 1865 - July 21, 1865 he was commander of the District of Arizona under the Department of the Pacific. In the omnibus promotions at the end of the Civil War in 1865, he was brevetted through the Regular Army grades to that of brigadier general.

Postbellum career

Mason remained in the U.S. Army following the war (reverting to his Regular Army rank of major and transferring to the 35th U.S. Infantry in September 1866 as commander of the new District of Arizona). He subsequently performed garrison duty in a number of outposts on

Western frontier The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

in the 1870s and the 1880s. He was transferred to the 15th U.S. Infantry in March 1869. He was promoted to

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 ...

of the

4th U.S. Infantry The U.S. 4th Infantry Regiment ("Warriors") is an infantry regiment in the United States Army. It has served the United States for approximately two hundred years. History Origins It has been alleged that the regiment traces its lineage to the ...

in 1873 and to colonel of the 9th U.S. Infantry in 1883. His stations included the states and territories of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

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, ...

, Ohio, and Arizona. Mason was a cousin of President

James A. Garfield James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881 until his death six months latertwo months after he was shot by an assassin. A lawyer and Civil War gene ...

’s wife Lucretia and during the Garfield administration was Deputy Governor of the Soldiers Home at Washington. He was married twice, first to Anna Worrell Judkins and then to Cornelia (Keller) Wilson. Mason was active in veterans affairs, particularly in the

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or simply the Loyal Legion is a United States patriotic order, organized April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Army. The original membership was composed of members ...

. He retired in 1888 as the colonel of the 9th U.S. Infantry at Fort Whipple, Arizona, and took up residence in Washington, D.C., where he died at home on November 29, 1897, from general paralysis brought about from a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

. He was buried in Section 1, Grave 541, of Arlington National Cemetery.Arlington National Cemetery
/ref> One of his sons, Captain John S. Mason, Jr., perished at the army post at the

Pine Ridge Indian Reservation The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation ( lkt, Wazí Aháŋhaŋ Oyáŋke), also called Pine Ridge Agency, is an Oglala Lakota Indian reservation located entirely within the U.S. state of South Dakota. Originally included within the territory of the Gr ...

from exposure in the line of duty, and is also buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Another son, Charles, also served in the Army.

Notes

References

* Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., ''Civil War High Commands'', Palo Alto, California: Stanford University Press, 2001, . * Reid, Whitelaw, ''Ohio in the War: Her Statesmen, Her Generals, and Soldiers''. Volume 1, Cincinnati: Moore, Wilstach, & Baldwin, 1868. * Horan, James D. (1954). Confederate Agent: A Discovery in History. Crown Publishers.

External links